RPing with Slyl and Kalestri

here are some good RP moments with me and kalestri...she doesnt say much..and neither do i (that was horrible)

When we knocked out the Ur-priest and i was looting him

Slyl pulls out a dagger from the Ur-priests belt and stares at it as if it was everything one could want...he affectionetly touches it..and slightly drools staring into the reflection of the light... he then notices Kalestri is giving him THE EYE........Slyl then smiles and hands the dagger over to kalestri after she says "let me look at that" ...i think she ment to add Fool to the end of that statement


In the church in Kurth

Balancing one of the new throwing knives i got at that very nice weapon shop. i spin it around and do some tricks to see if i am still able to hide it in my hand when all of a sudden Kalestri backhands me in the arm...i almost drop the knife...she gives me a very mean stare....(i dont know why but i think shes very attractive when shes angry..something about the fire in her eyes...its very beautifull....hmm i wonder....naaah...never seen a female one of us...eh....) so i put it away...but i just cant stand here...so im fingering my other dagger...and she punches me.....(grrrr ....i dont know why but damnit shes turning me on.....must stop this..cant get that intamit [sic] with a party memeber...unless shes ..offers..) so i stop and i cross my arms


thats all i can remember..that was from the last 2 sessions... slyl is starting to really like kalestri...to bad he cant tell her...and hes not good with women...this is gunna be FUN

Roza Vantrazha

His tiefling eyes drew me to him. The poor, poor boy was so confused about his nature. He took my hand, I took the disappointment from his heart. I gave him answers and love—two things I think we all long for in life. I could not help but cry.

Hello from Evan

It has been, I think, both my great pleasure and fortune to meet all of you. I look forward to accompanying your fine company in your quest to liberate the Vast from tyranny. I believe it is Selune's will that has put our paths together. May Our Lady of Silver watch over us all. Read more...

Corim's Thoughts

Shades! Now that I am out here in the fresh air I can think a little.

It has been a day. I haven't the words to name it.

I can't believe I actually KILLED the ur-priest. I think his name was Golig. Pttta! I spit on his name, the pig. I really don't even regret it. I know it was the right thing to do, even though Animosus disagrees with me. Sorry bud, I had to do it.

So here we are in Kurth. We picked up another adventurer. A priest of the moon goddess.(I didn't know the moon had a goddess.) I think his name is Evan. Seems O.K. A little on the cheesy side maybe.

Five gold to get in, I wasn't going to argue, but it seems a little steep.

I can't think anymore about Rose and what she said............and did to me. It gives me shivers.

Now it's over to St. Sollars. So Pavel can deliver his letter.

I hope we can rest soon. This has been one long day...............and it's not even over yet!

Campaign Map

Corim's Thoughts

Rose!.............My mind is spinning...............Rose, who are you, what are you?

She called me, us, tieflings. Human, but with demonic blood running through our veins. My power to call darkness, now it makes sense. My whole life..............makes sense.

How much of me is demon, or devil, or whatever evil thing that I have in my ancestry. I must find out. I think this means that I may have been wrong to accuse my parents of lying to me. She says that sometimes the tiefling trait skips generations. They might not know, they might be as ignorant as I was about this. How would they know? A barrel maker and a flower grower, not exactly the kind of folks who would be doing research into weird planar crosses.

Hey! What is she doing?..............How did I get half undressed?.............Oh!......This is not what I expec..........?!

Uuhh! Shades! I c-can't believe what just happened! No, this definitely must be another one of those dreams.........I must have passed out from blood loss.

Oh! She LICKED the blood off of me. I am in way over my head here. I can't believe that got her excited. What kind of freaks are tieflings. Well, I do like my meat less than fully cooked.

How long have I been back here? I have to find Leif and Animosus. Leif!......... You set me up, you knew what she was after. I guess I should thank him................Yeah, definitely thank him.

Maybe I should ask if I could see her later? I have a few more "questions." he he

How can I ever repay her for the thing she has given to me? I still can't fully grasp it all. Oh, I will, I know. But it'll take a little time............ Yeah, a little time.

From the Writings of Slyl

(note: im figuring we are resting after we get to the monestary/church/whatever...so this is what slyl writes down)

It seems that this adventure is going to be one told in many tales..if all goes the way i need it to do then not only will it be a tale it will be LEGENDARY........(scribbilings as if the writers hand is shaking)

i believe i know that corim is a tiefling..i saw some fangs...and he seems to "naturaly" use darkness...though stronger then mine..hehe.... i think tonight im going to tell him about us.. about what him and I are.. he seems a bit niave with that... from what i have gleened from him he left his parents at an early age..similar to me but not exactly.... well more on corim tomorrow..

i think i really like kalestri..though i dont think im her type..though hey..i got no problem with watching..hehe.. she helped me get a nice set of throwing daggers... i will not loose these daggers... very nice..and its a set...thinking of getting a better rapier..maybe something magical..not sure i can afford it....though i want to get these rings and that second dagger checked out.... and i need to go to that one tavern..hehe throwing daggers...hehe..so silly.. if that isnt blatently apparent i dont know what is......well animoses being a palladin is damn obvious..

and those DAMN gaurds...asking my real name....i DONT HAVE A NAME...i dont even remember much of my life before i was 6..... my name...my parents....though i know i lived in the vast..but not exactly where i live... so i gave him Vasht...dont wanna go by slyl...bit of a bad name in the deep..got caught twice under that name...so i am suspect in the deep..hehe...though now im rather good with concealing my deeds.... didnt pay that damn 5g ENTRANCE fee.... they need help, true, but i would rather pay for a service..not to enter the damn city.... think i need to hone my hiding skills...maybe pick some locks...but no pilfering..not here....just need to up my skills..hehe

i like Skippy...i dont know why...but i genuinely like him.... somethings up with that...oh well...hehe

this new guy..pavol...or palvol...or palov......hmm...something about dogs and that name seem to come to mind........not sure why....oh well...... he seems like a good guy...but cant trust him to be able to handle what i am... not sure if anamosis could handle that i have the blood of a greater demon in me....though i dont know the name of the demon...i do have friends looking into it..... but whom knows...

Well i guess i should go check out the Night life here....hope i can have some fun... till tomorrow..... keep quiet

Leif's tale

I finally wrote one




After dispelling evil with my crossbow and arrow of death i had realized the horrors to witch i had bare whitness to, i broke down.

After paying our toll at the gates of Kurth which was a bit much for my likng though i would have payed more to be in the company of the fine lady at the desk, i hope i see her later. Anamosis is greatly disturbed by the contence of the crate which he has shared with me,i think i will try and find somthing about the delivery for him but first i need relaxation and have fun before more buisness is taken care of.

At the Thirst Nymph a beutifull moon elf on stage sang a most wonderfull song i must learn that before i aproach her or learn it from her, in a private lesson. Corum cought a glimps of an elegant women at the bar i think he is very intersted in her and her apperance, i think i will do him a favor in helping them to get to know each other on a personal level, althugh i dont think what im going to do, corim has in mind. I hope what he has found out about himself will shed some light on what has happend to his body, and i believe has been enlightend on what he can do behind the cutains

the man namosis is talking to is nice but is pissing me off with way he has a conversation. Doesnt he understand how to have an intelligent conversation, he just rambles on. But anamosis isnt much of the talker either i dont think he know how to get information he appears to beforword and needy not very subtle. But he has a really big sword.Once night comes i will do my investigation.

It's been a good day i met and saw three very,very fine ladies, corum has more knowlege on life and anamosis has learned anout his family a little, not good but none the less has learned.


P.S i think i spelled the names wrong sorry

Background: Monks of the Yellow Rose

Primarily for DM reference, I've added a (too lengthy as I look at it now) post with some background and hierarchy for the Monastery of the Yellow Rose. Not nearly as entertaining as some of the other posts, but it's out there for those of you who enjoy this kind of stuff. Check it out here.

From the Mind of Slyl

...guess ill go tell the group about these two (slyl has no recollection of the events from the time he was "feared" till he pillfered his new dagger)

...oo0ooo SHINY...mmm...HREK...think kelestri thinks im a bit odder then normal...oh well...its so pretty..and SHINY...something different about it......hmm...guess ill use it and this other shiny orc killing dagger.... and maybe ill just tie him up....hey that name sounds familiar.....really damn familiar...DAMN IT..i HATE it when i cant remember someones name and what its connected to...oh...nevermind..hehe.....well im just gunna use this rope here and HogTie him up..hehe...


hmm nothing over here.....guess me and corim can go ahead.....corim says to go right...but maybe we should check whats straight ahead.....oh well......... owch....well that didnt hurt all that much....hmmm this looks fun....HREK...hes dead...oh i can.....no hes dead now too....oooo...GRRRR.........welll THAT was fun...maybe something interesting is in here...... (i cant release anymore info as it will give people Above board info and i think it would effect the party...or a couple of players of the party as i am playing slyl how i see him..how i see his actions..as i see/hear his thoughts....i cant help but play him how he truely is)

A Gift for Skippy Leafspringer ?

Hi all. Some of us would like to give a set of new dice as a gift to Leif. If you'd like to participate in the gift-please give a buck or two to Pavel. As more seasoned players, it might be nice to recognize the quality role-playing we've seen and solidify his feeling of belonging at our table of seasoned veterans. I belive Pavel picked some dice up this week, so we could give it to him at the onset of session 11 on Monday.

P.s. Its a surprise—of course go-figure if today is the day he actually checks out this blog=)

Discussion Thread: Good vs. Evil And Prisoners?

QUESTION: What should player characters do -- especially good-aligned characters -- with captured prisoners? Specifically, is it okay to kill evil prisoners?

Bloggers Note: As the DM, I must remain neutral on this topic. I believe that players are the experts on their characters.

Interesting Reading

From a Monte Cook forum:

Some say that killing captured prisoners is fine for good Player Characters (PCs), so long as the captured foes are unambiguously guilty of great evil (human sacrifice, torture, etc). Rory Weston said:
"These guys are guards for evil priests who capture innocent people for bloody sacrifices & are buddy buddy with all sorts of vile monsters whose alignment entries in the MM read 'always evil.' No neutral or good guys would hang with these cultists and claim 'just doin' my job' for more than about a day before finding their alignment shifting to evil. I also view the guards as being members of the cult -- they are not priests, but I expect they take part in the ceremonies and rites ... My players have no compunction about executing these bas*ards after they have questioned them -- and frankly I as DM would be more likely to look at alignment if they let one of these "monsters" go free after questioning."
On an Opposing View:

"Good characters are bound to accept surrender and treat prisoners properly. Torture is out. Summary execution is out. Cutting down a surrendering foe is out. Those are evil acts. That said, a good character doesn't need to be stupid about prisoners. Bind, gag, and blindfold them, just don't torture them." But he somewhat dodges the question of what you can or can't do to enemies who do not surrender, but who you capture alive. Is it evil to kill a helpless enemy -- even an evil one?
From a WOTC message board:

...one poster asks if it is okay to kill a captured enemy in order to inspire his captured friend to talk. The information sought would save innocent people, so his intent was good, said some in the discussion. Other said that killing one person just to intimidate a second person is evil no matter what the motive. So, is it good if your intent is good? Does intent matter?
From An Official Online DnD DM:

"The Players Handbook says "Good" protects innocent life. Good does things for others. Says nothing about the killing of evil people. Therefore, if players have a helpless, helpful prisoner who is bad, it is fine to kill him after interrogation. It is fine to inflict pain to get that interrogation. No evil in it. The worst dilemma is how to get the blood off your armor." If you inflict pain on the prisoner after you got what you want out of him? That's evil. If you interrogate and kill a shopkeeper who doesn't want to tell you some piece of info? That's evil.
From the Sage Advice column in Dragon Magazine (#341, p82):
Is a coup de grace attack an evil act? (i.e., can a paladin make such an attack without falling from grace?
"The coup de grace is simply a kind of attack and is neither inherently good nor inherently evil. In some cases, it's the best option against a foe (such as an unconscious but regenerating troll). If attacking a particular character would be considered an evil attack -- such as stabbing an innocent merchant in the middle of his shop -- delivering a coup de grace would be just as evil. Of course, if the paladin has already promised to face her foe in nonlethal combat, delivering a coup de grace would almost certainly violate her code of conduct. "
From the Book of Exalted Deeds (page 28):
"Prisoners must be treated with a certain amount of respect. Torturing prisoners is out of the question, of course, and generally knocking prisoners unconscious every time they wake up amounts to cruelty ... There is one good and important reason to take prisoners rather than kill every enemy: live prisoners give better information than dead ones ... While evil characters readily resort to torture to extract information from prisoners, good characters simply can't, and even using the threat of torture ... is morally questionable. "
The book goes on to suggest compulsion spells and intimidate skill: "This intimidation need not include threats of physical harm, since displays of holy power or strong moral exhortation can serve the same purpose." The book suggests using Diplomacy long term to convert creatures to Good. Even the definition of alignments may not specifically answer the question of what you can and can't do to a prisoner.
From the D&D Core Rules:

Good characters and creatures protect innocent life ... "Good" implies altruism, respect for life, and a concern for the dignity of sentient beings.
Possible Conclusions? (according to an anonymous author):

It is possible to establish first, that captured prisoners are not innocents. If so, letting these villains go may lead to the villains hurting innocents. It may be that killing prisoners, even in cold blood, so to speak, is what you have to do to protect the innocent people that villains would tend to target if they are not slain. But the respect for life and dignity rule then kicks in. Torture is prohibited because it is disrespectful of life and dignity. On the other hand, I think (says this author) threats and intimidation, not to mention charm spells and such, are not an affront to respect and dignity, especially not when dealing with criminals and enemies.
To conclude, (says the author of this article (not your DM) ) you can certainly extract info and then kill prisoners, but kill them cleanly.

T H O U G H T S ?

Click the comments button below:

Corim's Thoughts

I know what I must do. I don't know if I can.

Things were so much less complicated just a few days ago.

Only a being of great evil could do the things this ur-priest has done and speak so matter-of-factually about it. He must die. No one seems willing to do it. Kelestri thinks she can outwit him. He has no wit, only greed and disdain. Animosus seems to think that letting him go would do little harm. I think he is blinded by the possibility of greater glory. The ur-priest is the only reason the Baneites have been so successful so far. Without him they would at least be slowed. I don't know where Slyl has run off to.

It was a very chaotic, what? half an hour. I can't believe it has happened so fast.

Slyl came back, followed by the orc chief. I went to the side of the doorway to wait for him to come through, when all of sudden I found myself running in fear. I hadn't been afraid two seconds before so I was kind angry at the same time. I thought, "That orc must have cast a spell on us." When the fear had passed, I ran back as fast as I could.

I had to tumble off the wall to get past the monk and his friend, but I couldn't hit him. He tried to push past us, but that was a mistake. We three all got good hits on him, even though he still got through, and he was bleeding as he ran. The funny thing was,even though he looked like an orc, my short sword didn't react to him. It should have dug into him. Maybe he wasn't an orc. hmmm.

Animosus had been between the "orc" and the Baneite, he took a lot of damage. I switched to my longsword, and with the "orc" gone we had no trouble finishing him off.

Pavel found a villager hiding in some cubbyhole, he told us there were more still alive deeper in the tunnels. Kelestri had run into the "orc" on her way back and captured him. He wasn't an orc, he was some kind of spellcaster.

Slyl and I took point and searched the rest of the complex. Slyl had gone on ahead and found a room full of dead bodies. I looked for signs of life, but found none. We could hear chanting further ahead and came upon an evil rite in progress. Pavel was maddened and charged forward. I think he said something about saving the children. There were two priests and two guards. They had a man on the altar with tubes hooked up to him and it looked like they were draining his blood. I then saw what Pavel was talking about, a cage, with some children in it. One of the priests just fell down as we closed to battle them. Pavel knocked him back down when he tried to rise and I took that opportunity to finish him off. Leaf took the other one out with one single shot from his crossbow. WOW. Most impressive. I looked around and found only one guard still standing, so I took a swing and down he went.

While Alyona and Pavel freed the children, I unhooked that poor villager from the tubes and things that were draining his blood.(Can I say again just how much Bane and his twisted followers sicken me.) I asked if anyone had any potions of healing, but no one heard me, I guess. We left that evil place very swiftly. Leaf seemed to take the whole thing pretty hard, I hope he doesn't leave this group. He's a good fellow.

We went back to the tavern, the survivors were really glad to see each other. Kelestri hauled the fake orc chief out of that ruined temple so we could question him. I suggested we take him to the blacksmith's shop to interrogate him. Kelestri asked Animosus and Pavel to let herself, Slyl, and me handle the questioning. They agreed. I told Kelestri to stoke up the fire and she seemed really happy to do it. She started to question him and he demanded a chair to sit on. She gave it to him! It went downhill from there. He kept asking if he told us everything, would we give him his potion and let him go. Kelestri never gave him a real answer, but he told us some stuff we already suspected. To show how much he COULD tell us, I think. Animosus showed up and Kelestri asked him to see if he could tell if this guy was as innocent as he claimed. After staring at him for half a minute, he said he would give him the potion if he was satisfied with the information he could give us.

Then this ur-priest starts yelling,"Where is the potion?". That's when I noticed Slyl was gone. I think he may have had it and didn't want to give it up, as it could let you take a gaseous form.

He is not going to tell us anything really useful and he is not begging for his life. He thinks we are stupid and easily manipulated. He IS too dangerous to let go free.

I have to do it. For the couple in the field. For the survivors of Many Oaks. For the Colms, though they know nothing of what's going on here, who taught of the kindness of the Earthmother. For all of them and more, I can't let this monster go.

I can't. Let my had be steady as I do this.

Die you abomination, Die!!

Animosus teaches Pavel about diplomacy and evil...

This next conversation takes place between Animosus and Pavel outside the blacksmith's shop. I tried to reproduce the spirit of that exchange (with a little extra drama for good reading). In this dialogue, Animosus explains to poor, naive Pavel that diplomacy and civility are tools of a peaceful Vast- a swift sword and angry vengeance are the proper tools for the job at hand. Perhaps even an old monk can learn a new trick...

The Shot

I couldn't let Leif's crossbow shot go unheralded. A pair of 20s deserves a writeup. Check out Pavel's view here.

PANTHEON OF THE BLACK HAND

Book I: Pentegraf
In the beginning, the world was a place of chaos, and mankind was no more than slaves and cattle to the great demons who ruled the world, and nothing at all to their Gods.1 But one God looked down on them, and had pity, and turned against the demons, sending His chosen prophets among them to demand that they free the race of Man.2 The demons paid Him no heed; who was He measured against—the might of their own heathen pantheons?3
Among the people word spread of this God who held mercy in His heart for the plight of men, and they spread His word among themselves, and began to pray.4 His prophets went among them, promising them freedom, but it was a freedom they could only live if they became an army - an army of the One God who fought for them.5 They must live by His word to learn strength and wisdom, and remain free of their evil masters forever.6
But His way was hard, for the path to freedom was hard, and not all were dissatisfied with their lot in life under their demon lords; their masters demanded that they serve as they had always served, seducing them with promises of luxury and pleasure.7 Only those few who were not corrupted by the lies of their masters turned to the One God for deliverance.8
His Chosen walked among the demons with the message of His wrath, and His people, grown strong even in their servitude, rose up against their masters and cast them down.9 Even their Gods could not save them, for the One God hunted them down, driving them from the world, and thus became the Bane of Evil.10
Some Gods saw the Truth and Mercy of Bane, and did join him, while others fled to hide, cowards and tyrants who wished only for a return to their rulership of the world through their demonic lackeys.11
The cost of victory was high, and so many were the fallen that the sea was filled with their blood; but Bane spoke to them and said, "Let the living not despair, for the souls of the fallen shall find their rest in My home, and Glory be theirs forever."12 And he appointed Myrkul the Lord of the Dead, to govern and protect even their souls in the afterlife, that they not fear the greedy Demon Gods would take them. And the faithful did not fear death.13
To those who had fought and lived, but suffered, the One God said, "You must all endure pain, for such is a mortal life, and it shall make you stronger than your enemies, and they shall never rule you through fear.14 But even the strongest mortal may fall to it, and this must not be."15 And He appointed Loviatar to be the Lady of Mercy and of Pain, that she might both teach His flock and take what burden they could not bear on Herself.16 In thanks to the Maiden, the faithful became stoic of nature, to ease Her pain.17
So many were the dead that a great plague came upon the people, and they cried out to their Lord, the Bane of Evil, for surcease.18 And so He appointed Talona the Lady of Healing, to keep them safe from the sicknesses that preyed on the unbelievers, and the faithful were made hale.19
So many had fallen that they were no match for the infidels, who were enraged and frightened by the loss of their masters.20 The cowardly Demon Gods saw their chance, and called out to the faithless, and promised them the world in exchange for their servitude.21 Thus did they fall upon the faithful of Bane, and drive them from the freed lands.22 The One God, weary from his battles, could only hold them back as His faithful fled, and so he appointed Bhaal the Lord of Death, that He might strike against their enemy when the opportunity arose, and teach the ways of the warrior to the faithful, that they might someday retake what was rightfully theirs.23
The Demon Gods gnashed their teeth and fumed, but were not yet thwarted.24 They sent their servants to infiltrate the Holy Land where their Bane had led His faithful, and grew stronger in their own lands.25 So did Bane tell Shar, "Be you the Mistress of the Night, and hide My people from the infidels; cast Thy cloak over the land to protect them from the eyes of the wicked."26 And Shar cast her dark cloak over the land, hiding the faithful from the eyes of the Demon Gods.27 "As they seek to creep close and wound us, do you do unto them the same - learn their secrets, weed out their spies, and let no evil done against the Chosen People go unseen and unavenged."28 Shar swore that vengeance would be the birthright of the faithful for all they had lost.29
And so the Ages passed, and the survivors remained hidden among the heathens, biding their time even as the power of the usurper Gods and their blasphemous servants grew.30 But Bane sought out a place for His people, and caused them to be sent north, where they did find a land of their own; a land that would temper them, and prepare them for the struggle ahead.31 Thus the Moonsea was given unto the Chosen People, for them to grow strong, and someday conquer once more in His name.32 And to remind them for what they fought, the waters of the cold sea remained tainted as once the waters of the world had been dark with the blood of their ancestors.33

From the Mind of Slyl

....not sure what we should do...this is confounding...but ill help those villagers hide here......hey...thats a cute...wait..thats not a normal....oh..its the cat that this bar is named after....cute little thing...... orcs....GREAT..... hmm corim is using those stones way to much...good tactic...but its getting overused..... HOLY MASK....hmm...maybe ill use the tactic...its overused but can come in handy...maybe it will...shit..hes going for animosus...nope..not going to work.....oo..he fell...but hes not dead dead.....NOW hes dead......finaly the stupid orcs have gotten out of the darkness....hmm maybe we shouldnt kill them all....and some bald guy is here hitting them...and chasing after the last one.....lol....hmmm good thing i got my manicles


.....really now...shouldnt I be doing the torturing...i mean..IVE been THROUGH it....oh well...hey..DONT KILL HIM YOU MORON....omg..............lalalalala......oh...we are through..ok then i guess ill grant your wish orge....ooo orc blood...seen a lot of that lately...... animoses wants us to drag the bodies away..maybe we could burn them.....ok..i guess it would be a "signal" but it could be just a camping fire..could be a diversion...oh well....not like i really care hehe.....


kalestri asks me and corim to check the church...and says something about a hidden wall....i need to pay more attention when its important..but kalestri doesnt grab my attentiong today i guess...hehe......guess this new guy..pavil...or pavlov..or..p something......damn it...why can i remember all my aliases and my contact names but i cant remember names of people i just met that wont blow my cover.....this is nutty.... well we get into the back garden area..and are attacked by animated hands....really fun...pavlov calls for help..and everyone comes busting in....so much for the "sneaky" option....well eventualy we get into the main part of the church...and corim and I find the hidden door....and it leads us to some nutter Baneite....i stab him and it end up hurting one of the people hes chained to with his belt.....i figure if we break the chains we wont hurt the villagers...so i point that out to whomever is on the stairs......and i get flanking on him and WAM....but he doesnt go down....skippy takes him down...but once again..i got to make sure.....i felt wierd a couple times...not sure....kinda felt like magic.....not sure though...kinda wierd....well kalestri and animoses sneak up....well...move up..and hear some sound coming down from a hall....so they send me...its dark so i can HIDE woo hoo...and i find the orc leader and a baneite talking in COMMON...i dont get this....but man..thats a NICE dagger......mmm...you know...i really would like that..... um..yea i think i need to get back to animoses and kalestri...its only 2 of them..and if we rush in we can make it so that if anyone else tries to get in they can only do it 1 at a time....hehe...i think i have a plan...only problem..is telling them.....HREK

Corim's Thoughts

I am so screwed.

And I hurt, a lot.

Animosus healed me a little, but I don't think it was enough.

We were waiting in The Winged Cat, I don't know what for, when somebody spotted some orcs marching down the middle of town. Kelestri said, "Throw a stone at them!" So I did. Blotted the whole area in blackness. Please don't ask me why, but while everyone else was drawing bows I decided to creep into the dark and take out some orcs. Bad idea.

I was halfway to the orcs when I heard the pounding of hooves and the creaking and groaning of tack and armor. I barely had time to react before I was hit in the side with what I can only describe as a tree, a sharp pointy tree. Luckily, I had started to twist aside or I think he would have run me through. It was almost as if he could see me, he must have just been lucky because I KNOW he didn't hear me. He was going too fast for me to even get a good stab at him.

After he passed, I just curled up into a little ball so he couldn't do that again, but he never came back. I think he must have seen the others, thank Mask. I could hear them, and smell them, so I went after the orcs again. I connected one good shot before they all ran off. I think I may have killed him, I didn't get hit in return. They ran, I chased. When I came out of the darkness I stabbed the first orc I saw, and told them in Orcish," Your doom is upon you!" And I might have growled at them, too. I took down another one and the rest ran. Everyone else was around me then, and we chased them down.

I was a little surprised to see a skinny, balding, old guy run past me. He had a fancy staff and caught the last orc alive. Animosus tried to question it, but his idea of persuasion was stepping on it's neck. I was a little worried for Animosus, that he might get carried away with himself, so I stepped in to scare, I mean convince the orc to talk. We found out that we had really hurt the orcs numbers( hooray for us!). I didn't know what we were going to do with it, but Slyl took care of that by quietly slitting its throat. That was cold, necessary perhaps, but cold nonetheless.

The old guy is a monk named Pavel. He is traveling with a paladin called Aveiry. They are delivering a letter to the temple of Ilmater(?) in Kurth. Apparently some monks had a vision of horror. The funny thing is it included a part with twins fighting, one of whom had a CROWN AND SCEPTRE(!!!!!!). Very interesting.

The big sword gang had taken care of the horseman who thought it would be fun to skewer me. I went over to his corpse to give him a few parting shots. Bastard!

Animosus, Kelestri, and Pavel went to get the horses and brought the three we had rescued earlier, they even remembered Shadowin. Animosus took the dark warrior's horse and lance, now Kelestri has his horse.

We then decided to try and liberate the rest of Many Oaks. The freaks of Bane were headquartered in the temple of Chauntea( May the Earthmother have Her vengeance). I was shocked to hear words of caution and reason coming out of Kelestri's mouth, but she had a plan to sneak into the temple. Slyl, Pavel and I crept stealthily around the back. Slyl spotted a newly married couple who had been run down in the fields behind the temple, probably by the dead horseman. We got into the greenhouse and were looking for the secret door that Kelestri had told us about when something tapped me on the shoulder, and grabbed my leg.

They were severed animated hands!!! Creepy, crawly, nasty, yeeach! I could hear Pavel shouting for the rest of our troop to come, but I was too busy trying to get them off of me. Kelestri arrived and broke down a door and called for us to follow her inside. We all managed to get in without bringing the hands along for the ride. We had been looking on the wrong wall, as Kelestri was so kind to point out, so she suggested a different wall. The correct one as it turned out. Not that I was that glad to find it once we got through.

Slyl and I went first because we can see in the dark. There was a great staircase leading down and coming up it was an awful sight. Some creepy Bane freak had three people, probably villagers, chained to a belt around his waist. He was drooling and making weird noises. I think he tried to zap Slyl with a spell, it didn't seem to do anything. I backed off and yelled for reinforcements. Slyl started shouting, "Break the chains."(O.K. he was pointing and jiggling his rapier, I think those crawling hands shook me up more than I thought.) I got one, I don't know who else did, but we freed the prisoners. I tried to flank him, but I couldn't get a good shot at him. He went down fast anyway. We went down into the tunnels beneath the temple and looked for bad guys or survivors.

We found the bad guys first. Slyl heard someone grunting in Orcish and crept down the hall to check it out. Kelestri is giving him some cover with her crossbow. I hope he doesn't get caught or anything.

I'm just going to stay near the back unless an opportunity makes itself evident.

Come on, Slyl, get back. I hope we can handle this. We've got to live up to this Company of Light And Darkness thing....

Scenes From Module 2: The Banites

Scenes From The Story - Part I

With eyes downcast, Kelestri's eyes flared a firey glow. It could have been instigated by the judgment of her peers upon her reckless though effective actions, or more profoundly, a bitter anger directed toward the Zhent mercenaries. But this was not all that angered her this morning, for the doom and desolation discoverd in Manyoak was severe—and perhaps, instinctively, she knew there would be more.

It was unbridled rage that hurled the Baneguard off the platform, Slyl was only its instrument. Without concern for safety, but with unchecked malace toward the foe, Slyl launched the empty suit of armor off the old bridge in a way that would make most warriors proud. He'd found acceptance with this adventuring group, and was not about to let them down.

Turning to confront Animosus, Corim draws a verbal line between acting as spokesperson for the party and providing parental commands to others. Corim has survived alone for a long time now, having abandoned his parents and all others who's directives could not be trusted. His emotions suddenly raised a wall between he and the stouthearted paladin. Seemingly, Corim does not play well with others.

With the wonder of a child, Leif toyed with the ceramic wand. He played and pointed it at the skelletal guardian beyond the bridge. This newly acquired power intrigued him, and like a childhood game the wand stuck its target with a bolt of flame. Bullseye, he thought—this thing never misses. And the game of magic was solidified somehow within him—beginning the desire for more and more.

Animosus reassured the three beaten rescued men, compassionately commanding them to stand their ground, encouraging their sense of security to build by trusting his words. "I promise you will be safe," he said. They watched Animosus' armor reflect the sunlight, the way he remounted his steed, and the convincing way he brandished his longsword as he charged down the path to the forsaken hamlet of Manyoak.

From the Mind of Slyl

we are setting out to many oaks...it seems eragon...or whatever his name is will not be coming.... to me it seems that this group is more me corim animosis and kalestrie...though skippy is starting to gain more combat confidence....think i need more damage deturrent...

we ride off and we see this large cart moving up ahead..kalestrie asks to use my heavy mace...so i hand it to her...then the crazy Zhent puts it into the spokes of the wheel and lets go....... im going to SMACK HER........i dont know what happens..i was angry and completely stunned...so..im not even sure what i did.......

we ride forward and we come to a bridge...we stop to wait for animosis and corim when all of a sudden im a Hrecken pin cushion...what the heck...i jump off my horse....its rather nice to have a mount..may need to derust my riding skills..hehe.... and charge at one of the boards that are hiding the assaliants...i slam into it and launch the thing into the revein...then i attack the other one...i smash it to crap....... i dont remember much after that...im once again unable to control my rage....somethings going wrong with me...oh well...a lot of blackness....i need some better damn armor...or something that helps me not get hit......well we get into the city and sneak into the bar one of the survivors said more survivors are...we see a dead priest of bane...i make sure the bastard is dead...im still thinking of making it look like somone skilled killed him...yea.....well before that we get the survivors to hide...i think its a bit to obvious to me...ill try to make it look less obvious.....


yea..think im going to do something to mess with these bane guys...yea....hehehe

Edict Of The Far Vast

Dred Brothers and Sisters

PRAISE TO LORD BANE, THE BLACK HAND, THE DARK ONE, MASTER OF US ALL:

From hamlet to city, subvert the governments of The Far Vast. These northern lands shall soon completely belong to THE LORD OF DARKNESS. Neither question nor disobey the orders of your superior, for to do so is to insult THE BLACK LORD’S supremacy, therefore righteous torture, disfigurement or death shall quickly befall you.

Keep you holy vows: attend any ceremonies being held, keep your basic clothing black in color, abstain from all fish, carry rod of office marked with rank, eat fresh land animal meat at every meal, bless or curse any non-clergy touched with hands, bless all Moonsea homes entered, marry by the age of 30 and produce offspring, obey all Church edicts, obey higher-ranking clergy instantly, pray on your knees with eyes downcast and arms behind your back, preach obedience and hard work, tithe 50% of any earnings to the Church.

Make regular use of undead provided by the clergy or the wizards that follow THE TYRANT LORD.

I have alerted the Knights of the Black Gauntlet to support your holy orders. Your immediate objective is to harvest the blood of the living, and harness the power of collected magic items, people, or places.

THE BLACK LORD, BANE, demands that his faithful worship no other deities (false gods) than THE DARK GODS with HIMSELF supreme among them. Praise-be to The Five Servants of Bane.

As our scripture reads (13:13), “BANE is the savior of humanity.” I order you to root out and destroy the churches of those heathens who refuse to recant their ungodly ways (except in the trade wards of the cities) and sacrifice them before the Black Altar, sentencing them to death for heresy.

As our LORD OF DARKNESS has been reborn, this is an age of rebirth for The Vast. Let the Truth and Mercy of Bane be given to those young men, mercenaries, warriors, barbarians, bandits, pirates, and others with skill in sword or masonry. You may send these correctable men to your superiors for re-training as Banewarriors. Let all wanderers answer this call and find thrill in the hope of their own rebirth as Banewarriors.

Our Lord Bane blesses you with power during all Circle Magic ritual. Ritually bless the harvested blood with Circle Magic. Enfuse your prayer and other raw magic into it. Make use of UR Priests to assist you in extracting the Prayers Of The Faithful Past from each ungodly church you restore in HIS POWERFUL NAME.

Deliver this Holy Blood to the cities – With your faithful obedience to this edict, Selfaril’s dominance over The Far Vast has begun.

HIGH IMPERCEPTOR OF MULMASTER,
SZCHULAN DARKOON

Survivors

With quick staccato phrases, one of the three captives spoke about the horror befallen the town. Manyoak was no more. Not in spirit, not in population. Evil had arrived, leaving its mark everywhere.

"Black carriages arrived a week ago with Bane’s symbol draped upon them. They unloaded some goods and quickly befriended the counstable, who began inviting townsfolk to his manor. We noticed many people entering the Church of The Earthmother, but never returning to their homes."

"After several days, the townsfolk numbers dwindled and the rest of us knew something was wrong. Two nights ago the murders began. Sinister skeletal warriors blocked our escape. We hid in our homes, huddled our children close to us. That’s when they came for them. The women first, then our offspring. As they came from the church, their eyes dripped blood, and they breathed heavily, as if in ecstasy. They pulled them by their hair and by their legs into the temple. Some of us hid in the cellar beneath the Winged Cat, and wept."

"The three of us set out to stop them. We tried to get help but were met by powerful armored warriors who lacked form beneath their armor. We were led down a great staircase then herded into a slave pen beneath the church. There were some others there, alive, but covered in blood."

"These merchants arrived last night, and by the looks of them were treated very well to our women, our food, and our belongings. We kept hearing of blood, we were horrified by the gray tuskers and dark priests that seemed busy beneath the church. We heard chanting and screaming in horrific ecstasy and saw flashes of light. Then we were brought back up and told we were being taken to Kurth where we would be put to work. They asked us if we knew our way around a square and compass."

The broken men explained their desperate need to get help quickly. The adventuring parting slowly looked at one another, then gazed back hesitantly at the three worried men, as if to say, "... we are the help."

Corim's Thoughts

Bane sucks. Yeah, I know, he is a god. He still sucks. I am really getting sick of these stupid magic skeletons.

We left Respite Run this morning. Eragon is not coming with us. Apparently he is very sick. The road to Many Oaks was fairly easy and we made good time.

Then we spotted a merchant wagon on a trail that merged with the road we were on. It looked like the Zhent merchants who brought the goods to Unther's funeral. They were going very fast, too fast. We were going to try to stop them to see what they were up to, but, of course, Kelestri had to take matters into her hot-headed, unthinking, " I want to do it my way 'cause I know best", screw it up hands. She grabbed Slyl's mace, rode up to the wagon and smashed one of it's wheels. No big surprise, IT FLIPPED OVER! Way to go, Kelestri.

As we were scrambling out of the way, the merchants jumped out of it, weapons bared. I heard some people yelling from inside the wagon and I drew my bow. One guy was firing arrows at us, so I took him out. We finally got the upper hand, thanks in part to the guys that were held captive by the Zhents. That merchant that tried to rip-off Marina was one of the dead. The last living one tried to sneak off with a big jar of something. I shifted around to head him off, and I had him pinned down, when psycho swordswoman charged in and KILLED him! Before we could question him! As he fell he dropped the jar and all this stuff flowed out, almost like it was alive. It looked like thick blood with sparkly dust in it. Animosus said it was EVIL, and Alyona said it was magical. I can't say that either of those things surprised me.

The three men we rescued(At least Kelestri was right about one thing) were from Many Oaks. They said the town was already taken over by evil priests, and most of the townsfolk were dead, captured, or worse.

Everybody ran off to Many Oaks, except me and Animosus, who was tying to convince the men from the town to go back there. They were all gone, so I left too, to try to catch up.

When I did finally catch up everyone was battling by a bridge. I decided to take the alternate route, down and across the ravine. Bad idea! One of those flaming skeletons was waiting on the other bank for me. I drew my short sword and it hit me with two magic bolts and then had the nerve to disappear before I could finish it off. I hit it twice before it vanished. I thought it might reappear, so I tumbled back a few feet to wait for it, but it never did.

The only casualty was Kelestri's horse, it fell through a trap door in the bridge. Kelestri managed to grab on to a chain or something.

We all sneaked into Many Oaks, it seemed deserted. In the tavern we found two townsfolk, who had just killed some old shriveled priest of Bane. I guess he had tortured their son to death. The boy's naked body was there as well. That pervert wasn't wearing any thing from the waist down. Very creepy. It gives me the chills.

Like I said, Bane sucks.

I have no idea what we are going to do from here. I hope Slyl doesn't come close to death again. This does not bode well...

Corim's Thoughts

I'm glad that's over. Kelestri's restless nature got us out of that dead end tomb.( I guess that should be funny.)

There was no sign of any orcs when we climbed back into the temple. I can't seem to locate any of those stones once I drop them. At least we could have seen better on the way out.

Once we were outside, it was a completely different situation. There was a group of orcs in the clearing, we hit them fast and hard. They didn't even get a chance to strike back. This new short sword is very interesting, to put it mildly. According to what Bromar said, it is an ancient Dwarven weapon, forged to slay orcs. I believe it. It was as though it pulled it's way through the orcs that I hit. The damage it inflicted was phenomenal.

I think I'll keep it. Yeah, I really do.

We sped back to Respite Run from there and were received quite warmly. Marina was overjoyed to find Alyona well, and rewarded us with our own horses. I got the black mare that I borrowed earlier. I will name her Shadowin. She is a very nice horse.

I guess we'll be heading to Many Oaks next, to warn them of the impending orc attack. We talked about calling ourselves something. I suggested "The Company of Light and Darkness", but in the end, no one could agree. I don't think we will be together much longer.

I think I'll go buy myself some nicer traveling clothes and a few odds and ends. I can't believe the amount of money I still have.

Adventure Synopsis

[Module 2: The Banites]
Summary: A group of adventurers seek to warn a hamlet of impending doom.


[Module 1: Calling Hours]
Summary: A hero's dying wish summons young adventurers to protect his family, and his secrets.
Running Time: 18 hours
Campaign Time Elapsed: 2 days
Adventure Level: 1-2
Rated: R- for violence and suggestive material
Player Rating: *****