Present: Myrtle [Andrew], Bear [Ian], Oliver [Jeff], Ouzo [Darryl], Scuttle [Chris], Tu [Shane], and Gillard [Kevin].
Marmalading: Debbie [Steven] and Dexter [Jamie].
From Myrtle's diary:
Rewinding back a bit of time before Oliver's Hymer Saddle dream: while we were doing the post-battle tidy-up and licking wounds, Oliver was feverishly doing an Identify on the magical short-sword. In Oliver's case, this spell takes a whole day. This turned out to be +2 OV. Scuttle bagsied that.
We left for Toluene with the two charmed (Animal Friendship) Price warhorses and captive Thomas Price himself (husband of Malechai witch Hayley Price). This trip would take three solid days and two nights on the road.
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| Dotted line our path: Penstoke to Toluene, then back to Penstoke, then to Oble hills |
REAL Priest Ingbot Mosley of Penstoke had sent dispatches to Toluene REALs. As these were sent by Gnome Post, they would arrive at Toluene in one day (far faster than us).
It was a quiet day of travel in light drizzle. The first night was at a way-station stockade, but was uneventful.
The next day was clear and quiet, and we stopped at a way-station in a small wood. Again, we were the only group there. This way-station building had glass windows; luxury.
Halfway through the night, twelve glowing balls, the size of squash balls, started bouncing against the windows, like firefly moths. Three came under the door. Tu, Ouzo and I were attacked by them and were electrically zapped. So, we resorted to using hessian sacks to block the gap under the door. Then more sacks to catch the ones inside, which we funneled outside.
During this encounter, Cellar (marmalading Dexter's cat companion) took off up the chimney and was gone. Not wanting to go outside with these dangerous things around - I identified them as will-o-wisps - we cowered the rest of the night inside.
The next morning, the wisps were gone, but Cellar had not returned. Scuttle climbed into the roof of the way-station, and spotted a tower off to one side in the wood.
We investigated the tower on the off-chance that Cellar had gone this way. It was four storeys and very old. But there was a newer door on ground floor. Arrow slits on storeys three and four.
The door was trapped and locked, but our thieves took care of that. Just inside were the rotting corpses of two orcs, a couple of days dead. We could hear cackling upstairs.
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| Sparrow |
So, we forayed up. There was a bedraggled, but very attractive, woman. She introduced herself as Sparrow, a sage. She knew a lot about us: our names, our quests, our histories. She was rather disparaging of Oliver "That one reeks of evil".
There were a bunch of the will-o-wisps floating around her room - her pets. She offered one for me to stroke, but all this achieved was one hell of a zap. Tu too. But the wisps seemed to take to Gillard, and she never got zapped. Sparrow gave Gillard a blue wisp as a pet.
In a cage off to one side was Cellar. I asked for her and Sparrow nodded, but upon opening Cellar's cage, he shot out the room's arrow slit and down the side of the tower.
Sparrow then claimed - well, boasted - that she could easily cure Oliver's curse, but it would result in him losing his boline knife. This was too much for Oliver who took off, downstairs, out the door, and into the forest.
Tu organized a party conference. He suggesting that we all take Oliver by force, but Tu wanted all of us to agree. I certainly agreed - that boline knife was part of the Malechai prophesy so better gone than not. But Tu insisted that one naysayer (apart from Oliver!) would be enough.
Sure enough, contrary Gillard refused. So much for that idea.
Later, when we were all outside the tower again, Scuttle threw a stone at the tower and it went through an arrow slit into Sparrow's room. This act enraged her and she zapped him.
I returned to Sparrow to see if I could get any more info about Oliver, but.. Sparrow had forgotten all about Oliver's curse. Mad as a march hare? Strange...
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| REAL High Priest Brian Crabb |
I relayed the story of Sparrow, but they didn't know about her. They did however offer to cleanse Oliver: "We can certainly get rid of that cursed knife of his," but the High Priest told me that it was doubtful that frail Oliver (with his low CON) would make it through the cleansing. Boiling holy-oil enemas and blood distillation is seldom survivable.
Thomas Price was taken into REAL custody. He would be magically questioned by the REAL staff.
"We will contact you when we have an answer," proclaimed High Priest Brian.
Ouzo then got us, via the Toluene Thieves' Guild, a secret apartment to stay a few nights.
Two mornings later, we got summoned. Thomas' interrogation had revealed all: his wife Hayley Price and some other witches were now in the Oble Hills near Hymer Saddle. This agreed with Oliver's dream, which was a small consolation. Hymer Saddle was the next most klibwards crossing of the Oble mountains range (from the Toluene Pass). It was two or three days travel from Penstoke.
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| Oliver's cursed boline knife |
So, we left that day, headed for the Oble Hills. It did cross our minds that the prophesy (confirmed by Oliver's dream) said that Oliver was one of the Malechai witches and that the boline knife he was carrying was THE sacred item required for the ritual! But never let a prophesy get in the way of a determined party.
The REALs had a mercenary called Tankard the dwarf. A superb strength-fighter and clad in heavy armour. He knew the Oble ranges, so they insisted we take him.
The three day trip back to Penstoke was uneventful. We passed by the Price farm to see if the REALs had visited. Sure enough, it was just a blackened smoking hole. Flame Strike and Sunray does do quite a bit of damage.
Then we headed towards Hymer Saddle. The first day and night were uneventful.
The second day was overcast and drizzly. We entered the foothills. About noon, with the aid of the magic telescope, we spotted a squad of 13 orcs. They were out during the day, which did not bode well.
Tankard now took the lead. He guided us up trails through the hills and told us when to hide and when to move. Apparently, there were bands of orc scouts all about - not that we saw any....
... until later that afternoon. Tankard spotted a large group ahead. Ouzo, doused in the invisible powder (20-30 mins) went to investigate invisibly. There were 12 orcs in an ambush position. We are a large party and not very quiet with our armoured folk, so this was expected, I guess.
So, let them come to us. We chose a good ambush position, let them see us deliberately, and they did come to us.
It was a relatively big battle. After a few arrow shots (which dropped one orc), Tankard, Bear, Tu, and Gillard took on two orcs each. Ouzo and Scuttle hid so that they could back-stab. The remaining three orcs took on Oliver and me (Oliver fought with his new Armour 2 spell, so he wasn't too worried, despite being so frail). And Debbie and Dexter marmaladed.
Apparently we are strong enough to take on 12 orcs with not too much risk. Gillard was dropped, a few of the group took some wounds, but after a bunch of my cures we were right as rain. That said, my spell reserves were halved, and this was not a safe space for a long rest.
Onwards and upwards, Malechai here we come!
Myrtle Rust
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