Its Bad. But Is It Bad Enough

Maddox and Val are still in the sewers. They are stealthily following 3 goblins completing a delivery of 3 large barrels of Wonder Ale. The two adventurers duck into a side tunnel to let the goblins go by, as the goblins return down the tunnels where they came form. Maddox, along with his dire wolf, and Vall follow along until the goblins turn a corner up ahead.

Maddox rushes forward to catch them by surprise. He turns the corner and utters the spell command as he speaks the word, "surrender!"

He then realizes he is in a vast chamber in which dozens of goblins throughout are busy moving about in a surprisingly organized fashion.  Several of the nearest goblins cower in fear. They drop whatever they are holding and kneel with their hands raised. Most of what they drop results in the toppling of several large casts of what look and smell like regular ale.

A large female goblin approaches them and asks them who they are and why they are here. Maddox announces that he is of The Order Of The Obsidian Dagger and he would like to know how they make Wonder Ale. She is to show him or they shut down the entire production.

Wonder Ale Production Facility

1,000 XP

She eventually agrees. She shows them several goblins in a line drinking regular ale and producing constant streams of urine into the sewer channel in front of them. Meanwhile several goblins collect in small casks, the urine mixed in the sewage and bring it up to goblins who simmer the whole vile concoction in a large cauldron which sits over a fire.

Wonder Ale is goblin piss. Don't worry they strain out the more nasty bits.

Maddox and Vall are disgusted and their first instinct is to shut down the whole thing.

A Diplomatic Misson Is Derailed

Taelis, back in his elven Temple, brings a alchemist friend a sample of the Wonder Ale he had take from back in the city. He asks her to analyze the stuff and tell him what it is made up of. She agrees to the challenge and excitedly wanders off with the sample.

Taelis then goes to the counsel chambers and demands that the Counsel of Six be assembled. He has important issues to discuss. Soon the chamber fills with the elder elves as well as several guards which stand near each entrance.

The counsel demands why Taelis has absconded with most of the coins in the treasury. Taelis is taken aback. He has come to discuss whole empires in need of assistance. He didn't think the temple would need the money immediately. It wouldn't be missed. The counsel tells him that the money was to be used to build important allegiances across the land.

Yes, Wonder Ale Is Goblin Piss

A knock interrupts the proceedings. It is the young alchemist. She wishes to pass on a message to Taelis. "The liquid seems to be mostly ale. But there is a disturbing amount of urine in it. Goblin urine to be precise." Taelis thanks her and she waves her goodbye to the room.

The head counsel member rises and bids Taelis to approach. The counsel member raises his hands and Taelis feels the force of a magic spell descending upon him. He hears the elder speak, "You will return the money in two days or suffer the consequences". The spell leaves Taelis with the compulsion to do nothing but return to Baldur's Gate and get the money back from Araxie.

He grabs the first horse he can and rides at full speed back to the city.

Yes, Wonder Ale Is Goblin Piss

Maddox and Val learn from the mother that she is making up for a wrong that one of her goblins was guilty of. The goblin had entered the Grayslicer bakery, enticed by the odor of baking. During his quest for food he had unfortunately startled the father during the small hours of the night. A fight ensued and a fire started, which burned down a large portion of their business and home. The mother soon emerged from the nearby sewer in seach of the wayward goblin and ulimately intervened to spare the life of her goblin and offered to make the Grayslicers money to rebuild their home and business. She offered to make them ale from a secret family recipe. After trying the beverage the Grayslices could not refuse.

Maddox and Val debate what to do. Eventually they decide to leave the goblins to their production, for now. Perhaps there is a way for the Order to profit by this. The Grayslicers have obviously made their money back from the fire, and then some. This will have to be discussed.

Madam Tuqill's Magic Emporium

Meanwhile, Araxie and Sarafina are drinking in the whorehouse, the Whetstone. Their discussion soon brings them to the conclusion that what they need is magical shit. That's what's needed. They exit the Whetstone in the inebriated search of magical items.

DM Note: This was very distracting having multiple story lines going all at once. Splitting the party was never so entertaining.

Oddly enough a small building, not noticed before, is right across the street. It does not look like the other buildings. It is misshapen. Make from odd stone and bent timbers. On the door, knocker is placed, the face of a young child smiling disturbingly with a brass ring in its mouth. Araxie knocks three times. The door swings open.

Inside is a small hovel crowded with boxes, crates, odds and ends is haphazardly piled everywhere. The air is warm and close. The smell of fragrances is overwhelming but underneath it all is the smell of something rotten. A small gnome woman, white hair in a bun with a bone passing through it.

The gnome introduces herself as Madame Tuqill. This is Madame Tuqill's Magic Emporium. The group is late. And they seem to be missing three of their party. No matter. She gestures them to sit at a large round table with 5 rough round stools placed around it. She sits in a worn but ornate chair.

Araxie tells the woman they are here for magical weapons.  Ideally a way to make her trident magic.

Madam Tuqill, says, no. But they can take something else of hers, for a trade. No money. Money is so common.

Araxie is disappointed. She has a lot of money.

A Trade For Services

Madam Tuqill says she will offer them for trade in service. She tells them of a young man, Azim Chariwala. He has been fortunate enough to have a recent inheritance. Unfortunately, it would seem the tower he has inherited from his great uncle is infested with some sort of creatures. It would be of enough of a service to Madam Tuqill if Araxie, Sarafina and the others would be so good as to get rid of the creatures.

As Araxie ponders the odd woman's request, Araxie searches for something of enough potential value to make this worth her while. She eyes some googles sitting of a shelf. She reaches out and grabs them. Madam Tuqill claps her hands and the light in the room extinguishes. Even the light pouring through the windows in dust filled columns disappears. Madam Tuqill, tells Araxie to put on the goggles. Araxie dons the goggles and is pleased to find she can see perfectly well, if only in shades of grey. Madam Tuqill, then lights a small candle and places it on the table.

Sarafina begins to complain. What kind of magic store is this. Why cant she just answer questions put to her. She wants something awesome. Sarafina blows out the candle. Madam Tuqills pleasant smile immediately disappears and her scowl is hidden in the sudden darkness. The carpet beneath Sarafina's feet wraps itself up and around her until it covers her entire body including her face. Sarafina attempts to perform magic to get out of the rug but she can neither speak nor make any movements.

Araxie can see perfectly in the dark with the googles. She sees Sarafina struggle and asks Madam Tuqill to release Sarafina. Madam Tuqill agrees if Sarafina will keep her tongue and actions civil. The shape within the carpet nods. The carpet releases itself around the halfling's face.

Araxie asks if Madam Tuqill has any liquor. Wonder Ale perhaps.
Madam Tuqill, makes a face. Do you know what's in Wonder Ale? Goblin Piss.

Yes, Wonder Ale Is Goblin Piss

Araxie spits out the Wonder Ale she has been drinking and scrubs her tongue with the edge of the rug wrapping around Sarafina. Does Madam Tuqill have anything else. She does. She hands Araxie a small stoppered jar with a bubbling clear fluid. As Araxie looks the bubbles she notices the bubbles are not bubbles at all. They are small skulls which pop in an out of existence within in the liquid.

She downs the liquid.

She immediately begins to burn. Flames surround her but she feels no more than a warmth. As she burns the stool beneath her and the table she is resting her hands on begin to char then alight. Araxie says "oh, I probably shouldn't have done that. Do you have something to turn back time?"
Madam Tuqill claps and Araxie and Sarafina stand outside what was the location of the shop but it is there no longer. Araxie is not on fire and she holds the stoppered jar full once again. Sarafina holds her arms up around her shoulders in the position she was restrained in but she is no longer wrapped in the carpet.

Araxie's Liquor Quest

It is then that they all meet back in the main street. Taelis begins to beg Araxie for the money he gave her. He needs it back. Araxie doesn't even pause and tells him no. Immediately, Araxie is striding off in what seems to be a mission of dire importance. She continues out of the city and eventually comes to nice farm land with humble but cozy homesteads. The others follow behind and look at each other to see if anyone knows why they are out here. Araxie meets a farmer and asks if he has a still. She is in desperate need of liquor. Not Wonder Ale.

The farmer says he has no still, but he definitely knows who does. He gives them directions and she eventually comes to a farm with rough untended land and a broken down shack. Out behind, she finds a small shack with a filthy sleeping figure, sitting beside it. She shakes him away and demands his alcohol. She flips him a few gold which gives him cause to wake more than he has been in years. He says she can take all she wants. She finds little more than an Araxie mouthful. Disgusted she quickly swallows what there is and storms back towards the city.

Araxie tells them of the magic store as they pass the spot where they think it was before it disappeared. Maddox and Vall would love to enter the magic store. Vall starts shouting for the store to come back. Maddox kneels down to pray for his god to bring back the store.

Jabir's Revenge
10,400 XP

Maddox's prayers are interrupted by the sounds of screaming, buildings crumbling and people rushing by them. With no hesitation, the group strides off in the direction that the people are fleeing from. Soon they can see above the roofs the familiar figures of the troll family from Icethorn castle. They can hear the mother yelling "where are they? Where are the ones who did this to my son?"

The group can hear the odd sounds of heavy steps and scraping as they see what was Jabir,  the troll, shambling down the street. He is emaciated and his skin blackened. He drips foul liquid and his body grows black vines which drag behind him.

The Fall Of Taelis

Maddox tries to speak with the mother but Araxie's raged attacked halts any possibility of diplomacy and understanding. The battle is hard fought. The trolls' ability to regenerate makes the fight much longer and deadlier than expected. Maddox's commanding aura continues to make the trolls flee before from but Taelis and Sarafina fall under the trolls' massive claws and sharp teeth. Vall uses a portal to rush to the side of Sarafina and revives her but Taelis dies just moments before they can reach him.

Vall is able to use his powers of persuasion to confuse one of the troll brothers enough that he escapes most of what could have been a deadly battle for him. ("Look it's your father!" "My father is dead. Mother killed him." "Or did she?")

Soon enough the mother troll and one of the brothers have fallen overwhelmed by the party's might. One brother, though, has fled away, in fear of the powerful Maddox. But whatever Jabir has become he is now much more powerful. And filled with hate.

Araxie is about to be crushed under the teeth of Jabir but she is able to implore to the portion of the creature which is still Jabir and convinces him that she would never harm him, that she has no part in his condition. Jabir pauses and decides to carry her off. Jabir's plan is cut short when Maddox intervenes and Jabir's fear of the paladin, makes him flee to the rooftops.

Vall is able to shoot a spell towards Jabir, who is on a rooftop and prevents the troll's regeneration ability. The giant troll topples and rolls off the roof and tumbles to the middle of the street.

They stand around the fallen body of Jabir but without the familiar feeling of triumph after battle.

The Wrath Of Wraiths

The group awakens in dark tunnel that is part of the secret passage within IceThorn castle.

It is disturbing for Orson, Redwald and Araxie as they cannot see. All they can hear is the rest of the group moving about and talking in whispers getting ready to move out. They hope for the best but plan for the worst.

H gives a very nervous Orson Goosecry a spare short sword. When this does not seem to alleviate the thin man's fears, H gives him his newly acquired magical ring. He tells Orson that if someone gets close to him, he can use the ring to bind them. Orson seems way but the ring helps calm his fears, if a little. To Redwald he pulls from his Heyward's Haversack, a shield and long sword. The man is definitely ready to move out and now bransishes the sword with more than a little skill. Vall takes the time to don his new armor which as he pulls it on, it seems to quiet his whole body and he no longer makes any sound.

Magic Items Corrupted

As they make their plans and ready themselves to move out, they realize that they have not seen their troll friend Jabir. Araxie calls out but there is no reply. Orson is more than a little disturbed that she is making so much noise. He cannot see anything. Vall hands him a torch and then uses a bit of magic to make the flame much brighter. Orson seems again a little more comfortable with this but he decides he will take up the rear. So as not to hinder anyone's eyesight, of course. Not for any other reason, such as cowardice.

As they move through the tunnel Araxie discovers she cannot see out of her right eye and begins to yell out, "I cannot see! I cannot see!". H covers her mouth but it is too late. He is sure that the wraiths or whatever they are have probably already heard. They have only moments to get ready. He drops down and pulls out his rife.

Vall notices from further back that Araxie seems to be agitated and yelling something but he hears nothing from her. He is able to hear the groans of complaint and horror at Araxie's outburst from those right beside him. Very quickly he deduces that his armor of stealth makes it so no one can hear him but he cannot hear anything beyond his immediate vicinity. The armor is not as good as he thought once.

The Wrath Of Wraiths
8,700 XP

Two Wraiths emerge and immediately blast them with ice storm. The daggers of ice shred into them and hail stones rain down on them. H, who was waiting for them fires his rifle but the amount of injury he was expecting does not happen to the specter. It would seem their incorporeal form resists much of the bullets damage. Vall's zombies and ghouls, who were leading the charge, are blasted to pieces leaving little behind.

The battle moves up towards the wraiths as the group tries to maim the wispy creatures. This close to the wraiths though proves dangerous. The wraiths, with a simple touch, seem to sap them of their life energy, leaving them injured and unable to completely heal. H remembers bullets created quite some time ago that he had charged with radiant energy. Firing these into the creatures seems to do much more damage than just the bullets alone.

The spectre that Vall fights turns to him with soulless eyes and he finds the creature so frightening that he cannot move. He watches as his friends around him take wound after grievous wound but cannot find it in his will to move against such a fiend.

Ondine's Final Fight

Suddenly, the undead form of Ondine then emerges from the corridor and he tells them that he senses that Vall, the pretty boy, has brought them the book they had been waiting for. He orders the wraiths to retrieve it and bring it to him. Oh and make sure you make his corpse ugly. I've always hated him and his perfect hair.

Ondine is then taken by surprise as he is shot by H. Angered he flies over to H and lands behind him. He leans down to put his foul hand right through H's back and grabs onto his heart. H fills the deatly chill creep through his body as his life energy is drawn out and into Ondine. Taelis sees this and pulls the damage into himself as H feels his life force return to him.

Taelis, though, now becomes so weakened that he retreats and barricades himself behind a barrior of magical energy. Ondine sees this and becomes incorporeal and moves through the stone wall to another chamber within the keep.

The frightened Vall has no way to fend off the specter as it moves towards him and damages him further while reaching into his pack and removing the spellbook that he had taken from the defeated mage, back on the road to this keep. Damn it. He didn't even remember that he had that book. The specter, book in hand, flies off to his master.

Araxie is surrounded by wraiths so Taelis charges her trident with radiant energy and in her barbarian rage she begins finishing off the wraiths.

These wraiths dispatched, the group rushes off and gives chase looking for Ondine.

They peek around a corner to see a room where Ondine is working on a magical circle in the middle of the room. The see Ondine take the book from the wraith and place it in the middle of the circle while he continues work on the circle.

H charges his bullets with fire damage and shoots the book away.

Araxie charges in and stabs repeatedly at Ondine, her radiantly charged trident ripping Ondine to shreds. "Let's see them bring him back this time!"

The wraith seeing his master now vanquished turns to fly away but is stopped by the arrival of Jabir coming through the door. He shrieks, grabs and bites the wraith. It bursts into a black cloud of vapor that quickly dissipates.

The group examines what Ondine was doing and from Taelis can determine, the circle which Ondine was working on is some sort of teleportation ritual portal. It's location is uncertain but it is far from here.

A New Recruit For The Order

Jabir tells them that he is tasked with watching the little one, Malak, and that the others, Mother and 2 brothers are outside. They are looking for these guys and they are probably going to eat them. The group persuades him once again, with promises of respect and honor as a soldier within The Order Of The Obsidian Dagger. But he must get his mother and his brothers away from the chain bridge. He should go to the main entrance and call them back inside, while the rest of them can make good their escape from the secret entrance. Jabir agrees and heads off.

Vall follows along to make sure he understands but ends up distracting them with a prestidigitation light show.

Waiting for Jabir to distract his fellow trolls, H uses a scroll of gaseous form to enter back into the keep. He enters an area he has not seen before. Here he sees a young troll bowling with a rounded skull. Further along he sees a natural pool that glows with an eerie green energy. He continues along and sees a room where the trolls have collected up treasure in the form of coins from the numerous dead they have attended to.

H returns to the others and tries to communicate his findings via gaseous shapes to varying degrees of success.

After not seeing the trolls being called inside they debate the merits of sending out Taelis to distract the trolls while the others escape. But before they can act on it they hear Jabir calling his family in. His mother goes in while the brothers argue to each other outside.

The Escape Plan
3,600 XP

As they try to sneak across the courtyard to the chain bridge they are spotted by the brothers but quick and creative teamwork creates a swirling black snow cube, with showers of light and the gaseous form of a humanoid emerging from it, right in front of the troll brothers. This causes the brothers to run for the shelter of the keep.

The group takes the opportunity and rushes across the bridge.

On the other side they find their wagons and animals. The donkey is long since frozen to death and the horses not much better but at least alive. They make camp creating a fire to cook donkey meat and tend to their wounds. Some of them will need more than a short rest to fix their damage so they decide to rest overnight. Orson tries to engage the group in betting, even though he has no money, and ends up taking a wager of 100 gold against being a part of Araxie's new crew on her promised ship. He says the next troll out of the Keep will be Jabir.

They wait and sure enough a troll exits to relieve it's bladder and it is not Jabir. Araxie slaps Orson on the back and welcomes him as the first of her crew.

H takes the watch and finds an area to watch over the bridge using his rifle and scope. As the night's cold air makes everyone take shelter in one form or another. H watches. Soon enough he sees a troll figure emerge and begin to cross the bridge. But the complete dark makes it hard for him to see which troll. He makes an executive decision. He fires. He shoots for the foot and hits his mark. The troll makes a startled shout and plummets down into the ravine out of sight.

The others wake and question H. H calls out "all clear". The others decide to fall back to sleep. Some of them hope it wasn't Jabir that was shot at. Regardless they all fall back to sleep quickly.

The Codex Potentia

Some time in the middle of the night, Taelis awakens after his necessary hours of sleep and decides to investigate the spellbook that Ondine was so eager to acquire. He opens the book and the pages are disturbingly like dried skin. The words written in a color ink very close to old, dried blood. The words are written in abysal but they swim before the elf's eyes. Soon he is able to decipher enough of the book that it would seem to contain a way to open a portal to within a level of Hell itself. Taelis starts to feel ill and closes the book. Perhaps he should relieve H of watch for a while. But as he rises he realizes that it is dawn already. Hours have passed in what he thought was minutes.

The morning greets them with sunshine and clear skies. They break camp and begin their journey back to Baldur's Gate. Araxie notices that she still is not feeling well. She has her proper eyesight back but now she feels exhausted. Something is wrong.

Once back in the city, Taelis bids the group a farewell and tells them he will return. He is heading back to his temple of academia. The rest of them enter The Order's keep to return the prisoners to Onthar.

The Reunion
1,000 XP

The reunion is a tearful one where Onthar thanks the group for the safe return of Stool, oh yes and Orson and Redwald of course. Through teary eyes he tells everyone assembled that he is retiring. Life is to short to not share the wonders of the world with someone you love. Yes, he loves Stool. Their love may not be understood by all but he and Stool will share the world and their time together.

Vall nods his head solemnly in approval. He understands forbidden love.

Before his departure, Onthar names his successor. He appoints Maddox as now leader of The Order of the Obsidian Dagger here in Baldur's Gate. Maddox stoicly agrees. He definitely has plans for The Order. It is Wonder Ales for everyone and then Onthar is off with Stool. Stool waves his goodbye and thanks to the group as they walk away, hand in myconid hand.

Maddox, tosses down his untouched Wonder Ale. Enough is enough. They will investigate this Wonder Ale, now that Onthar is out of the picture.

The Wonder Ale Inspection

The group travels down through the lower city to the commercial district and to the house of the Grayslicers. Maddox has learned that the Grayslicers have suffered a fire in their bakery some months ago but soon afterwards changed to selling the Ale created from an old family recipe. Since then they have done tremendously well and are now rebuilding their home and business.

The group enters the home, having to push through a long line of customers after passing a large waiting group assembled outside along the sides of the channel. The channel here is used by many businesses to move their trade goods in the city and out to the docks.

Inside they find a harried young girl, Lily who is serving customers. Araxie jumps over the counter to help herself to several flagons full of Wonder Ale straight from the tap. Little Lily about to protest is cut short by the toss of a gold coin, which she quickly pockets.

Maddox strides right through to the back after inquiring where he may find the owner of the establishment. Lily tells him that father and mother, that is Aldebrand and Parnella, are in the back mixing a batch of Wonder Ale. When he enters the back he sees the older couple, two very rotund people, counting coins and bagging gold. They protest but Maddox, using his new found title and power cuts them short.  They will show him and the others where and how Wonder Ale is made.

After some arguing and failed attempts at negotiation, Aldebrand is forced by the threat of death against him and his family. He relents. He tells the others to follow him. A soon as he exits the building he turns to the assembled crowd and loudly pleads their assistance. "The Order is here to take control of Wonder Ale. Will you allow this?! Will you let the corrupt Order take this from you as well?"

The large crowd becomes agitated and begins shouting at the group and throwing their flagons at them. They press in but are held at bay by the fierceness of Maddox and his wolf. He tries to shout words of consilation and wisdom but they are not headed. He places Aldebrand upon the wolf and tells him to direct them to where the Wonder Ale is made.

As this is happening, Araxie and Vall are inside and little Lily pleads with them to protect her father. He is a good man. They were simply doing what they were told, which is to not ever talk about the making of Wonder Ale. The goblins said no one would understand. Yes, goblins are gross but these one are nice, mostly. Well, the one named snugs is nice and the mother is quite smart, for a goblin. Araxie and Vall tell them that their father will be alright, though Araxie's words are a little unconvincing as she has little talent for talking to children.

After moving up and down the streets of Baldur's Gate, Maddox begins to suspect that Aldebrand Grayslicer is leading them around  in a while pig run. He is not going to show them where the Wonder Ale is brewed. Maddox returns him to his home and places guards around the Grayslicer abode, especially in the alley where they have discovered a sewer grate which has been rigged with a hook to hold the gate up and a pulley system within.

Fixing Broken Things

After returning to The Order's keep they attend some basic housekeeping they now have time for. They inspect their odd magical finds only to discover that some of their mage scholars are convinced that they had been true magical items but that have become warped due to some magical taint. Have they been somewhere where they might have come into contact with a source of magic that has become corrupted perhaps?

They think back to the odd magical pool with the sickly green glow back in IceThorn castle.

Can they be fixed? The scholars shrug and suggest praying really hard to their patron deity. Maddox has already tried remove curse but this simply broke the current curse of both Vall and Araxie but their items, both ring and armor, remained cursed. They would suffer the curse if they donned the items once more. Maddox goes off to his shrine to his god and prays on behalf of Vall.

Soon the armor is as it once was intended. As he shakes the armor it gives of no sound whatsoever. He hands it back to Vall.

Maddox then tells Araxie that her ship has already been commissioned and is nearing completion of it's retrofitting. They have taken The Order's only ship currently docked here in Baldur's Gate, The ship, formerly known as the Mirasandra, awaits a new name and a crew. The retrofitting was to make the ship capable of flight. It has taken the mages 4 tireless and sleepless days but they think they have it figured out. This was not a slight task. H offers to oversee the finishing touches to the ship, he will make sure it is supplied with goods and weapons, as he is able. This simply leaves the crew.

Into The Sewers

The next morning, the guards tasked with watching the Grayslicer home return. There was no suspicious activity. Jensen believed he heard noise from the sewer grate but when they looked there was nothing. The apologize and move off to find a bed and rest.

In the meantime, Taelis has returned back to his temple outside Baldur's Gate. He carries with him both a sample of Wonder Ale and the spellbook he has tried to decipher. He goes to seek advice and scholarly wisdom from his fellows in the temple.

Back in Baldur's Gate the group decides to investigate the sewers below the Grayslicer estate on their own. Vall descends down the ladder once the sewer grate is opened. Below he enters a dry storm sewer. The smell of sewage grows stronger as he walks along towards the sounds of rushing water. He soon comes to a river of slime and filth that flows along a channel in front of him. There are thin walkways along each side of the channel. He walks along the closest one until he comes to a large pit that collects sewage from several pipes and the channel he has walked beside.

Soon, Maddox's wolf pads up beside Vall and the wolf's ears prick up with the sounds of goblin noises and voices. Vall and the wolf hurry back down the channel in the direction they came from. Jumping across to the far side they hide themselves along a darkend wall and Vall uses his disguise skill to camouflage themselves. Soon they see three goblins walking along, each rolling a large barrel in front of them. they are complaining that one of them, Frics didn't deliver the Ale like he was supposed to last night.

They continue along the path that Vall had taken when he first descended into the sewers and past the grate where Maddox stands above. Using his connected senses with his wolf's Maddox follows where the goblins are going while walking above the goblins in the streets. He soon finds himself standing in front of the local whore house, the Whet Stone.

He returns to the grate behind the Grayslicer's and descends when the goblins have passed and returned the way they came. He soon meets up with his wolf and Valll.

Can Maddox let his indignation against Wonder Ale go for now or will he and Vall follow the goblins on their own towards....who knows what they will find in the sewers of Baldur's Gate.

The Day Of The Dead

The group awakens the next day in the icy cold room where the trolls have been storing dozens upon dozens of dead bodies. Some suspect they are being kept for revival into zombies. Vall decides to commandeer a few of the bodies for his own zombie hoard. He performs the required ritual and raises forty zombies and three ghouls. The zombies room begins to get quite crowded so he has the zombies pack themselves like cord wood along one wall.

While the zombies move stiffly around organizing themselves the group debates what their next action will be. Vall uses a bit of illusion and disguises himself as one of the guards and steps out into the main entrance hall. There he sees dozens of men moving about. More than one rushes excitedly about and approach a large barrel-chested man standing shirtless in the bitter cold of the room. Behind him is a robed figure but Vall is able to catch the glint of a metal mask the figure is wearing over his face. This is very much like the metal masks that he has heard some of The Order talk of near the time of the Splitting Of The Order. The guard tells them something that Vall can just barely catch.

Vall suspects that the faction of defectors forom The Order, calling themselves, The Order Of Wend, have discovered that either the guard watch contingency and/or the prisoners have gone missing. He quietly returns to the room to tell the others. The prisoners are told to take cover which they do under the dead bodies. The group decides to use the zombie hoard that Vall has amassed to cover their exit of the room. Vall sends them out and spreads them in a circle which they can slip into the center of.

This massive exodus of zombies out of the cold room doesn't go unnoticed by the large shirtless man. He orders that the guards send the zombies to where they should be and calls for someone to find out who is responsible for making so many zombies at once. This is not the way it should be done.

As the guards approach they grab and try to man-handle the zombies but the zombies resist. They are confused but persist. One guard though figures it out. He shouts back to his leader, "Aion, these are not our zombies!"

Zombie On Zombie Action
9, 000 XP

From that moment on there is no more subterfuge. It is all out battle.

Vall stands in the middle of his zombie army and uses them to attack the guards and uses his own spells to scorch the surrounding guards.
Taelis moves out to stand among the group to boost their attacks and puts up a Wall Of Radiant Fire to protect them against more guards coming in. It crosses the room and keeps most of the guards on the opposite side from them.
Araxie begins her barbarian rage and strides out into the middle of the fray.
H, already in the middle of the zombie circle no longer hesitates, worry his gun blasts will alert the army within the ancient keep. It would seem they know they're here.

H watches as Aion, the shirtless, puffs out his chest and breaths out a swirl of cold misty breath and strides right through the wall of radiant fire without any damage at all. H tries to surprise him by reaching out through the wall of zombies in front of him and grabs at Aion. But Aion is stronger. He instead grabs H and brings his greatsword down on H.

Araxie rushes towards Aion and throws her iron net, shouts the command word and the net turns into a cage, capturing the large man inside. H shoots at Aion several times. Seeing that the man obviously can withstand a lot of damage, H shoots at the greatsword, making Aion drop it.

Aion calls for his guards.

The guards dutifully rush to his aid. Crossing through the wall of radiant fire they are terribly damaged but they run over to the cage and begin hammering away at it with their swords. Soon enough the cage collapses back into a net and they now have to deal with Aion and more guards.

They guards are able to chew through zombies but for the most part the group is protected by the massive amounts of zombies still coming out of the room. This though is now matched with the sounds of more zombies and guards approaching from both the north and south entrances.

New Zombies, Now with Ooze!

Brynn runs to the southern entrance to block  2 guards and several zombies, 3 of which look fresh and drip with liquid that glows a sickly green hue. She blasts them back but soon they are rising up again to continue to approach.

As H is able to fend of and eventually kill Aion, Araxie runs to the southern entrance to help Brynn fend off the new set of zombies that have approached. Brynn's wound where one of the dripping zombies touched her has quickly begun to fester and turn black. The black spreads up her arm towards her neck. Soon Araxie bears a similar wound from these dripping zombies.

Vall's zombie army is soon greatly reduced to just a handful of zombies and still his ghouls. They finish off the remaining guards. While Araxie becomes a zombie killing machine moving from zombie to zombie disemboweling them with her trident.

The entrance hall goes quiet and all that remains is the adventurers and a smattering of zombies under Vall's control. They return to the room and check in on the prisoners. Orson calls out a muffled cry for assistance as he is covered in an avalanche of bodies which he cannot escape from. Araxie moves to him and with one arm grabs him and pulls him free. She walks away without trying to disguise her disgust. Stool asks if they are going home now. Orson tells them that of course they must return them back to Baldur's Gate. He tries to convince them all the while they scavenge what was their fallen comrades bodies for loot.

DM Note:

• Araxie finds a ring which gives her good luck (aka +1 to saving throws) which she pierces through her ear
• Vall finds armor like his own but it is completely silent. (No roll needed)
• H finds a ring of rough iron with a glowing ember inside which gives him the ability to restrain someone from a distance.

An Odd Ally

The group is wounded and out of many of their powers. The would like to not encounter anything or anyone until they have properly rested. They debate while resting at least an hour. Not long after they hear large footstep upon the stones out in the main room. They peek out to see the large troll, Jabir, enter the room.

Jabir loudly whispers for the group to see if they are still there. Seeing their friendly troll companion they exit the room.

Jabir explains to them that whatever agreement they had with his mother, his brothers are no longer abiding by it. It has either expired or is just no longer convenient. He tells them that some are outside awaiting their exit.

H appeals to Jabirs naivety and offers Jabir a position within The Order Of The Obsidian Dagger, that is if he helps them. It is an odd offer to make especially since H does, himself, not belong to The Order. But promises of wonderful weapons and respect quickly convince the troll. He will show them a secret way out.

The Secret Passage

He leads them through the feast hall, littered with food and drink and past rooms with bedrolls upon the floor to a section of the keep with a collapsed wall. Rubble blocks the way but the strong troll makes quick work of moving boulders until a passage way into a further area is made.

On the other side are unfinished natural tunnels through the mountain. They move through darkness for quite sometime having to be careful to avoid falling into thick cracks in the stone floors. They eventually come to an opening back into the keep. Jabir whispers, quite loudly, that they should be quiet as they are approaching where Ondine usually is.

An eerie glow emanates from down a passageway and grows stronger. A glowing spectral figure smoothly slides forward approaching Jabir, while the others hide further back. The figure speaks in a voice only the undead have and challenges Jabir, why he is here.

Jabir mumbles and stutters until he comes up with the lie that he is playing a game with his brothers of hiding and searching. The spectral figure slide back a little further but keeps watch of the troll. Jabir retreats back to where the others are.

The group decides it would be better to rest before possibly encountering Ondine and his undead protectors.   They retreat further back down the tunnels to rest and don their new found magical items.

They hope that upon waking that they will be better able to face either trolls or the undead leader of this keep. That is as long as no one finds them here in the tunnel.

An Old Friend Is New Again

After surviving the attack by the small group knights, scouts and a mage the group moves the bodies and rifles through their belongings. They find the usual weapons, armor and coin. Vall pulls out of the cloak of the dead mage, a spellbook written in abysal. He tries to read the spells but they are incomprehensible to him and make his head hurt. He tucks it away for later inspection.

They also find 5 packs each with a set of winter gear including fur cloaks and boots and a map showing the path they are on as well as markings for two different locations within the mountain peaks. Beside the dead groups encampment they find a wagon with a harnessed donkey which is loaded beyond capacity with supplies. Dried goods, vegetables and other supplies are in sacks, crates and barrels. All of it strapped down to the overburdened wagon.

DM Note: Poor donkey. How the hell is he going to be able to pull this back up the mountain to the keep.

The sun will set soon behind the mountains and the autumn air already has a chilly bite to it, so the group decides to head back to Baldur's Gate to rest before setting out again. They set back now accompanied by the donkey and his wagon.

Why Are You Back!

Once back in Baldur's Gate they meet Onthar Frume, dressed in his night clothes, who admonishes them for returning so soon.

"Did I not impress upon you the importance of the mission? That lives are at stake?"

They assure Onthar that they have indeed been pursuing their mission and have discovered a map which they show him. Onthar tells them one of the markings is of an ancient dwarven keep. Icethorn Castle. Long since abandoned centuries ago. The other marking is an old symbol warning the travelers of dangers at this location. What dangers it does not indicate.

He admits to their good work and calls for Wonder Ale in celebration. Soon a servant is present with six flagons marked with the Wonder Ale trademark, a cartoon dragon. H declines and downs his own rye which he drinks in great quantity. Araxie drinks H's flagon of Wonder Ale.

Once done his rye, H proclaims he is off to find the closest whorehouse and a real drink. He invites the rest of them to join him. They shrug and follow along. Onthar simply walks away as he calls for another Wonder Ale.

This Calls For Wonder Ale (oh and whores)

The group heads off down the road following H who walks with purpose. The streets are quiet and lit only by the occasional warm light emanating from a window. They finally arrive at The Whet Stone. Music and revelry waft out from the building. As they enter the first thing they see is a poster on a pillar in front of them proclaiming the virtues of Wonder Ale.

Immediately, a young woman, who is haggard and sweaty, approaches them and asks how many Wonder Ales they need. H tells her he needs whiskey. She takes a moment to brush a stray lock of hair out of face and looks at him curiously. No, she tells him, how many Wonder Ales. Araxie tells her 5. The woman immediately hurries away and is seen being beckoned by several others asking for more Wonder Ale.

Vall scans the room for an attractive man and finds one at a gaming table. He puts his persuasive skills to use and soon his companion is asking him to stay and lend him good luck at the game.

H sets off to look for the most attractive women in the room and spies a couple off in the back talking to each other. He has to push his way past a scrawny woman who wears too much makeup and a female dwarf with a mangy beard. He introduces himself to the two woman and asks for their services. He doesn't impress them that much and they tell him that they are taking a break and chatting. They gesture to the scrawny woman and dwarf who will more than gladly be willing to help. H shakes his head as well as his coin purse. This convinces them and they head off to a room upstairs.

Araxie is at the table alone when the barmaid returns with the 5 Wonder Ales. She asks for money and is paid well by Araxie. The barmaid, flushes with excitement and walks away backwards staring at the impressive figure of Captain Araxie. Araxie drinks all 5 Wonder Ales and calls for more.


A Noise In The Alley. A Barrel Left Behind.

Taeilis decides to explore the city. He has never been in Baldur's Gate and wanders the lonely darkened streets. As he returns back near the Whet Stone he approaches a dark alley behind the whorehouse and stops as he hears the rolling of something large upon the cobblestones. When he moves towards the sound the rolling stops and is replaced by the sounds of many footsteps running away. When he reaches the spot where the sounds had come from he finds a large barrel still rolling slightly but no one around. Investigating he finds that the barrel is at the rear entrance to the Whet Stone and on the opposite side of the alley, a large grate. Large enough perhaps for a barrel to have been pushed through.

Taeilis tries to upend the barrel but finds it too heavy to lift alone. Instead he takes a dagger and stabs it into the side of the barrel. It takes a couple of tries but finally a small trickle is let out of the barrel and he collects it in an empty water skin. Saving it for later investigation. He then returns to inside the Whet Stone.

The morning is harsh awakening for some. Araxie peels her face off of the table at which she sat the night before. She reaches out to one of the many flagons in front of her looking for any remnants of Wonder Ale. Flagon after flagon is empty so she grabs one and heads off to behind the bar to find a refill.

Vall awakens beside a large barrel-chested man with thick locks of black chest hair snoring beside him. The room is in a state of destruction. End tables overturned. Plants and their pots smashed upon the floor and sheets flung everywhere but the bed. Vall takes time to freshen up before making his way downstairs.

I Only Take What I Earn

H is awakened by the smell of bacon and fresh bread wafting up from the kitchen below. He is naked save for one boot dangling off the bed. He groggily rises and reaches for his coin purse. H notes that it is much to light. Grabbing his belt with its holsters and guns he marches off downstairs. Walking oddly down the stairs in his one boot. He finds Araxie who barely gives his naked body a glance as he begins interrogating her asking if she's seen the woman who robbed him. Araxie shrugs and returns to drinking.

H finally finds her after banging on the door and surprising an old couple getting ready for the day (and perhaps giving a small thrill to the elderly woman who watches as a tall, thin naked man wearing a gun belt) and a boot inquires if they've seen the woman who robbed him. He tries to remember her name but describes her well enough that the old man points out her room and tells H that her name is Pippa.

He interrupts her with her current customer, a young nervous man, but it makes no difference. She says she took what she earned. He enjoyed it. He should man up and live with it. After realizing the losing battle he is in, H retreats calmly to a room of his own...and proceeds to have a quiet tantrum in private.

In the morning the group heads back to The Order's keep to inspect the wagon that they had brought back with them the day before. They find it still in the courtyard where they had left it. Two young soldiers are looking over the goods when the adventurers approach. The young soldiers ask what they are doing with such an abundance of goods from the westerly villages. This probably represents a whole years worth of goods for an entire village. What they would need in order to survive the winter.

The group looks around at each other with guilty expressions. Perhaps they should return the goods to the villages. After dismissing the soldiers, the group debates the merits of keeping such a hoard and decides to leave instructions that it be returned to the villages (or at least its monetary value). But not before removing what they want. So they proceed to unload the entire cart and find some of what they want.

The Broken Dwarven Bridge
6,800 XP

That done they load up and move along using the now empty cart and donkey as well as H's wagon. After a days worth of travel following the lead of Vall, the group learns that they have passed what would have been a fork in the road and a possible decision. But when Araxie grabs the map out of Vall's hands she finds that they are already committed to the mountain pass they are on. So they press on.

Don't Look Down. Or is it look down...I can't remember.

Soon the group is travelling through blowing snow and bone chilling winds. Out of the swirling winds they see a large crevasse in front of them. Joining the side they are on to the next peak is a massive chain, with links the size of Orcus, himself. The bridge looks drarven made and probably had two chains in order to make a proper bridge. That time has long since passed and only the single chain remains. Someone has take the time and effort to lay boards across some of the links in order to make crossing easier. Halfway along the chain someone has setup a small wooden hut which sits upon a single link.

 As they make their way across, a voice greets them from within the small hut at the center of the chain. The words are faint as the wind whips across the valley and any movement along the bridge is hard to see with the swirling snow. After returning the greeting, H is able to place the voice, a fellow employee from back in the company he had left, Honeywell Weaponsmith and Armorer, Floyd Cullen.

Floyd who is an older surly man who never earned his Letter, The honor of marking a weapon of his making with his own trademark. It would seem he was promised the possibility though with the retrieval of H. The company wants the opportunity to interrogate him as to whether he has given over trade secrets to The Order Of The Obsidian Dagger. Rumors have it that he is working for them now.

H protests but refuses to lay down arms. Floyd Cullen decides diplomacy is over. He quickly grabs Taelis and holds a long dagger to his neck and hides behind the elf, lest H is able to see even a fraction of him and fire off a shot. But Taelis uses misty step and moves behind his would be hostage taker.

Shots are fired weapons are drawn and Floyd tosses his long dagger into the air where it begins attacking on its own. Floyd blows a distinct whistle and two hawkfoxes dive out of the air and attack the group. One of the hawkfoxes knock Brynn, the half-elf, off of the bridge and she is saved from a certain plummet to her death by Araxie's quick reflexes and strong grasp.

After taking care of the two hawkfoxes the group concentrates on overcoming Floyd and soon enough he is wounded to the point he begs off, claiming he was only sent here to collect H. He has no quarrel with the others. H feeling magnanimous allows Floyd to leave without killing him. Floyd passes each of the party on his way off of the bridge and he gives them each a pained apology.

Brynn grins widely and accepts his apology and offers her hand. Hesitantly Floyd takes her hand and shakes it...only to have Brynn use shocking grasp and he jerks, spasms and is dead. Quickly she lays him down on the bridge so his body can be picked over before it falls out of reach. H shrugs.

DM Note: Floyd literally had one hit point left. He really thought he had escaped a painful death. Until Brynn.

Brynn quickly scavenges the body and finds two pistols which she hands over to H for perusal. She then pulls out the scabbard for the dancing dagger that was used to inflict much damage to the group. Just as she pulls it out, the dagger which had been hovering above shoots into the scabbard. The group investigates it but can only come up with the fact that it probably needs attuning and a command word. H quickly inspects the scabbard to look for an initial to see who's handy work this is but cannot find one.

While some of the group are pouring over the body of Floyd, Taelis moves onward along the chain to the other side.

Icethorn Castle
5,500 XP

As Taelis approaches the other side of the bridge he hears a guard call out from behind the curtain of blowing snow. "Is that you Floyd?"

Taelis, unable to tell a lie says nothing. H hears this though and attempts an impersonation of the man he has heard speak only a few words moments ago. The guard seems hesitant and asks what all the shooting was for. H scrambles for a reason but can only come up with a piss poor excuse. The guards launch several spears towards Taelis and one guard charges through the blinding snow, appearing right before Taelis as he stabs the spear directly into the elf's midsection.

As the rest of the group rushes up they see, through a constantly shifting curtain of blowing snow, a mountainside terrace which is littered with dozens of bodies frozen and scattered among the ruins of a castle which extends further into the mountain. The bodies are recognizable as some of the defectors from The Order.

H drops to the ground and scans the mountainside ruin through the scope of his rifle, looking for the soldiers through the blowing snow. Taelis uses wave of force to blast the soldier who is impaling him upon a spear and throws him several feet back. His body thumps into the snow and lies there unmoving. Araxie uses a spell to dump several gallons of water on another soldier who begins to freeze in the mountain snow storm. H finishes him off with a fiery bullet to the chest. Brynn and Vall take on another soldier but the last soldier sees the futility of his fight and runs towards the entrance to of the castle within the mountain. He is cut down, his body dropping into the snow but not before his yells have been heard from within the keep.

Trolls Is So Stupid

Soon the group hears the pounding of very large footsteps coming from within. Out of the darkened entrance emerges a massive troll. He squeezes out of the keeps large double doors and then stands, scanning the mountain courtyard. He frowns as he looks at the body of the fallen soldier in the snow before him. "What's goin' on?"

The group assures him that this is just a misunderstanding and that they are they are sorry for disturbing the troll. The troll frowns and calls to someone else inside the keep. He glowers at the group before returning inside. The adventurers are not sure if the troll believed them.

Vall, strides over to a location in the courtyard where the amount of bodies from a past battle is heavy. He stands among them performing motions and mutter incantations until several of the bodies, including the ones just killed a few moments ago, rise at his command.

The bodies from whatever battle occurred prior to the group arriving are frozen solid. Their bodies creak and bones snap as they stand and begin to move about, icicles stick at odd angles on their extremities. Vall marches them up to the keep, the group following close behind. Vall uses illusion to give one of the dead soldiers a voice while he puppets their mouths awkwardly.

Their are two trolls inside the entrance way. One of them was the one that had come out to investigate. The other is dragging corpses off into another room. The recent battle it would seem had continued into the keep. Vall has the soldier speak, 'You see. No problems. We're not really dead. Just a misunderstanding'.

The trolls buy it.

But Ondine Is Dead

The trolls allow them to stay in the entrance hall. It is a large dwarven built keep but from the looks of it, it has been in disrepair for centuries. Broken columns, cracked walls and rubble litter t Brynn befriends the troll named Jabir and from her conversation with Jabir they party learns that:

• the trolls are not the only ones inhabiting the keep. An uneasy alliance has been formed with the band of humans who have split from The Order Of The Obsidian Dagger, the ones calling themselves The Order Of Wend. 
• The trolls have been promised power and control of these lands once Ondine has completed his task. 

"But Ondine is dead" exclaims H.
"Yeah, he's dead." answers Jabir confused.
"So he is dead.", H even more confused.
"That's what I said. Ondine is dead."
"But he's here?"
"Yeah." Jabir shakes his head.

• The trolls hate the humans and one of the trolls, Jabir, lets it slip that mother says that they will kill the humans once Ondine has fulfilled his promise. The party is comprised of non-humans except for H, but he is wearing his dragon mask.
• The humans keep mostly to the feast hall and, by the way, the zombies are in the wrong place. They are supposed to be in the feast hall helping out.
• This takes the group aback a little as they are surprised that the trolls do not seem to be surprised or bothered by the small band of zombies accompanying the group.
• In fact it is perhaps because of the zombies that the trolls mistook the group as part of the Order Of Wend.
• The trolls answer to no one beside Ondine and, of course, Mother.

The group asks if they can talk to Mother. Jabir agrees but will not accompany them, as he is supposed to be helping with the task of moving the dead bodies into a side room for later use.

Brynn tells her new found friend that, not to worry, she will be back and she will help with moving the bodies. Jabir excitedly tells his brother Hoodah, to save 12 bodies for his new friend Brynn to move! Jabir opens the stone doors and allows the group to move through, zombies and all. Brynn looks back at Jabir and Jabir apologizes as he closes the door behind them, "Sorry, humans don't like the breezes"

Mother Knows Best

The group moves through a dark hallway lit by a light spell attached to one of the zombies heads as well as a torch imbued with a magical boost. The group passes a couple of hallways that branch off. One gives off a large amount of aura when Vall uses detect magic. The other hallway is filled with the noise of revelry and the odd sounds of rolling and thumping. The group passes.

Finally they arrive at a point where there is a door on each side of the corridor. They knock on one.

The large stone door opens a crack and the party sees far above them a large eye looking down upon them. The female troll yells at them to extinguish the torch at the same time slams the door shut. The group complies by Vall diminishing the torch to half a normal flame. They try again.

The meet Mother. The tell her they were sent by Jabir and inform her that they too hate the humans and would be more than happy to come to an arrangement by which they rid the troublesome pests from the keep. They find out that:

• Somewhere in the keep is Ondine who is busy with some sort of magical work
• The Order Of Wend keeps to themselves mostly in the Feast Hall and they only answer to Ondine himself.
• The humans have been busy preparing for more of The Order Of Obsidian Dagger to arrive. For which they have been getting the trolls to store the bodies in a side room. 
• When the group asks where they can stay and rest, Mother says they can stay where ever they want. Just not her room. She suggests:
•  the room where they store the bodies
• the radiance pool, but they would have to put up with the noise of bowling for a bit
• and not Ondine's area in the throne room.

After a bit of negotiating they are granted a 24 hour guarantee that the trolls will not interfere in any fight with the humans. They thank her and leave her be.

They decide to check out the room across the hallway before retreating back to the room the 2 trolls were collecting the bodies in. As they crack the door open the waft of warm air, and something else, wafts through the air to them and they hear, telepathically, the screams of a young voice pleading not to eat him.

Stools Return

When they fully enter the room they discover the prisoners. There are two humans strung upside down and a small junior myconid who is screaming, via telepathy inducing spores he releases. They cut down the humans and release the myconid.

One human is Orson Goosecry, chancellor for The Order of Obsidian Dagger. He is a thin gangly man. He has been tortured and ill abused. His hostage takers have been trying to find out where The Order Of Obsidian Dagger has been keeping their money. (as is Onthar Frume current leader of The Order).

The other human has been tortured and beaten to near death. He is frail and barely conscious. Orson tells the group that this is Redwald Spellgaze. He is a First Lieutenant in The Order. They were tricked and betrayed by their friend and superior Aion Tallhelm. 

The young myconid, a mushroom looking creature standing barely knee high squeals with delight as he is rescued. He immediately rushes to and hugs Araxie's leg. Araxie doesn't know this creature but already they are on their way to becoming fast friends. He tells them that his name is Stool. He is the best friend of Onthar Frume. In fact, Onthar had him created from another myconid named Stool, using a cutting and a lot of magic. It seemed Onthar had missed the other Stool so much that he spent considerable resources trying to re-create his best friend.

The large group then moved back through the corridors and returned back to the entrance room and told the two trolls that they could now stop their toils as Brynn would take over hauling the bodies. They excitedly leave, "to not play bowling but to do other chores."

Sleeping With The Dead

The group makes room for themselves in a side room with bodies haphazardly piled everywhere while Brynn hauls the remaining corpses from the main room. As they rummage through the room and bodies they come across an odd clay jar and a necklace which they discover is a necklace of adaptation. Vall uses the opportunity to raise an even larger undead army using the multitude of bodies around him. 

Eventually everyone finds the time to sleep and are awakened the next morning with the sounds of activity in the main room. The Order Of Wend is moving around.

It will only be moments before they realize that some of their men are missing.