The group makes their way stealthily and slowly toward the center of town, not really hiding, as nobody is paying them any attention. After walking just a block or so, their path is crossed by a family - a man and woman, and three small children - who are closely pursued by eight kobolds. The man is badly injured and barely able to stand, and the woman is doing... read more

Black Barry immediately charges for the doorway, but the guard and cultists silently block him. Hooflepoof pulls up his hood, making himself invisible, and also charges, managing to get past them and out into the street. Black Barry tells them that he just wants to get out, and after looking at each other for any reason why they shouldn't, decide to let him pass.... read more

Having gotten all the information from the cultist that she could, Karat sets the cultist free, first taking his cultist uniform, leaving him to run off in his underwear. Black Barry, Hooflepoof, Bilbo, and Karat now have cultist uniforms. Hooflepoof puts his cultist uniform on, under his cloak of invisibilty.

Linan at this point has moved her family to... read more

Of course, Hooflepoof wonders why a cultist would be carrying around an empty box, so he feels around inside the box, and discovers something heavy and spherical, with a fuse sticking out one end. Seems like some sort of bomb. He sticks it in his bag of holding. Bilbo is really curious about this unlabeled potion, and after some negotiation, buys it from Hooflepoof... read more

The rest of the adventurers battle the kobolds and cultists on the riverbank. Dumpy, Karat, Elbolin, and Gourbain knock off a few of the kobolds before they realize that they are outmatched and try to run away. One of the kobolds grabs Nars and manages to tie him up and start to drag him away, but Dumpy and Elbolin kill a couple more of the enemies and Hooflepoof... read more

The adventurers don't spend much time watching the raiders around the mill. If they did, they might have wondered, if the raiders' purpose is to set fire to the mill and they are standing there with torches, why it isn't already consumed in flame. But they don't; from their position hiding on the riverbank only two guards are in view. They take a few range shots... read more

And then, an epic battle ensues. Seven cultists charge the adventurers and attack them with scimitars, while seven guards launch volley after volley of spears from just inside the mill. Nars is quickly injured and runs around the side of the mill out of range of the spears, Elfo soon follows to check on him, and Elbolin also uses the corner as a launching point... read more

As the battle continues, Nars looks to Elfo for guidance, and Elfo signals for him to stay out of the battle, since he has significant injuries already. Recognizing that not only Nars, but also Black Barry and Gourbain are running pretty low of energy, Karat uses a Prayer of Healing on those three, and also Hooflepoof, Elfo, and Elbolin.

Several of the... read more

Governor Nighthill also asks about their experience at the mill. He's surprised that there weren't any villagers over there - and if they wanted to burn the mill, why they didn't just do it. Elbolin also wonders about this; it rather looks like some sort of ambush. Nighthill wonders if anybody knows the adventurers are here, who might want to trap them.

There... read more

Karat and Black Barry focus mainly on rescuing the villagers. The large main entrance doors on the north side of the temple are shut tight, so Karat asks Hooflepoof to unlock them with his thieves' tools, and he tries but finds that the doors are not locked, but heavily blocked from the inside. He also tries to break down the doors, but they are strong and cannot... read more

Black Barry produces a glowing rat (provided by Karat some time earlier) from his bag and holds it above his head, calling out to the villagers, "follow the glowing rat - I'll protect you and lead you to the keep." Some of the villagers just run away as fast as they can, but many of them begin to gather around him, including four of the ones with spears.

Elbolin... read more

One of the villagers steps up and volunteers to challenge the half-dragon. He introduces himself as Sergeant Markguth, and he looks like a capable warrior, for a villager, though a little beat up from the day's skirmishes. Governor Nighthill pulls Bilbo aside and encourages her not to let Markguth challenge the half-dragon, as he would likely lose his life -... read more

Everybody gets a good night's sleep and enjoys a hearty breakfast, after which they decide to head over to the Townmaster's Hall. On the way, they are greeted and hailed as heroes by any villagers that they meet in the street. Apparently anybody that didn't interact with them directly at the keep or the temple heard about them from their neighbors, and being... read more

The rest of the kobolds, caught out in the clearing, are killed fairly quickly. The cultists grab their weapons from where they are stashed against a rock, and also try to scatter and find good hiding places, but soon they are also bested. Karat and Elbolin gang up on the last one and wrestle him to the ground to see if they can get any information out of him.... read more

After some discussion, the adventurers decide they'd really rather not fight the rearguard, if they can find another way around, so they split up into a few groups: Elbolin, Gourbain, and Hooflepoof to start searching the cliffs to the left; Karat, Elfo, Nars and Beans to search the cliffs to the right, and Black Barry and Bilbo to stay with the wolves and keep... read more

The camp is mostly dark, with just a few torches around, and flickering lights inside a few of the tents. Holding each other's cloaks to make an invisible conga line, the adventurers sneak over to where they saw the monk chained to the pole. He is still there.

Hooflepoof whispers, "Are you Leosin? I'm Hooflepoof the Great, and I'm here to rescue you."

"Yes,... read more

Black Barry whispers to the others "Let's go check out those stairs," and leads them in that direction. When they get to the cavern with the stairs, they stop and look around in the dim light. At the bottom of the stairs, they can see another large cavern, this one full of fungus. There are two trails through the fungus, to the left and right, which converge... read more

Meanwhile, Gourbain is idling around the campfire when he hears a subtle noise a little ways off. The camp is situated in a small grove of trees in a large patch of grassland, and he sneaks out into the trees to see where the noise might have come from, and sees a kobold standing idly out in the field, facing toward the camp. He sneaks back to the campfire and... read more

Everyone gathers back at the camp, and shares their stories. Karat reports that while on the trail, she was casually quizzing Leosin about what he knew about the dragon cult, specifically about Tiamat, as they had been hearing that name spoken quite often (especially the cultists using "Praise Tiamat's Glory" as a greeting, departure, or in between). Leosin says... read more

The guards immediately attack the party, apparently having been posted on the trail to intercept them if they attempted to flee back to Greenest. The acolyte casts a Bless spell on the guards, which makes them harder to kill, and a winged kobold appears from somewhere and starts dropping rocks on the party. Karat throws Inflict Wounds on the winged kobold and... read more

The adventurers are pretty sure they should try to defend the Townmaster's Hall, because it's probably Leosin in there, and he's in trouble. They talk for a bit about a plan; Bilbo is concerned that however many bad guys there might be surrounding the hall, they could easily summon more. They talk it through for a couple of minutes and don't really come up with... read more

The adventurers make short work of the rest of the dragon gang, and inside the Townmaster's Hall they find Leoson, Nighthill, and three villagers with makeshift weapons, like hoes and scythes. "Wow, I'm glad to see you guys," Leosin says, "I wasn't sure how long we could hold out in here!" He explains that he was surprised how quickly the cultists found him;... read more

The cultists and their minions continue to gather outside the Old Greenest Inn; they don't seem to be making a move to invade, but they appear to be keeping the inn surrounded. The adventurers suspect they are waiting to gather up a sufficient force. Some of them have torches.

Hooflepoof puts on his Cloak of Invisibility and explores the Inn. Just outside... read more

Elbolin, upon hearing from Elfo about the underground tunnel, decides to see if he can round up Bilbo and Hooflepoof, who left a few minutes ago to see if they could get up on the roof. He ventures upstairs, where he sees the hole in the ceiling. He calls out to anybody on the roof in sort of a stage-shout, so as not to give away their position to the enemies... read more

ust as the adventurers and Governor Nighthill are rallying the army of villagers and preparing to move out, a murmur starts in the crowd, and some of them start to question their motive: if the goal was to rescue the adventurers who were trapped in the Old Greenest Inn, and they are now here, what exactly is the purpose of this fight? One tall, dark-haired villager... read more

"What do you see?", whispers Leosin, who cannot see in the darkness of the cave. Only Elfo, Karat, Elbolin, and Black Barry have darkvision.

"I don't see nothing", whispers Hooflepoof.

Elbolin explains what they see in the room. "Sounds like they were storing some sort of loot in here," says Leosin, "but now they've packed it up."

They can... read more

Bilbo, concerned about being recognized as the warrior that slew Langdedrosa Cyanwrath, makes up a riddle and tells it to the cultists and kobolds. They think about it, but don't have an answer, and don't seem to be very worried about it. So she mentions that she dropped her knife "back there somewhere", and goes off pretending to find it. As she leaves the cave,... read more

Elfo, Nars and Gourbain continue helping the cultists and kobolds disassemble the guard tower on the bluff above the camp. While they are doing that, a cultist comes up from down below and begins to talk to the main cultist directing the disassembly. Though everyone is too busy to hear their conversation completely, the one from below seems to be saying that... read more

Bilbo waits, but Zokar doesn't arrive. After a few minutes the cultist who went to find him returns and says "I talked to Zokar, he said all the jobs are full right now but when your friends are done with their shifts, you can either train drakes or guard the eggs."

Elfo, Gourbain, and Nars continue helping to dismantle the guard tower and build a cart.

Hooflepoof... read more

Elfo, Nars, and Gourbain continue helping the cultists and kobolds dismantle the watchtower on the cliff overlooking the camp. As they finish building the boxcart, Elfo asks the cultist who seems to be directing the operation, "what are the boxcarts for?"

The cultist answers, "well this one is for a prisoner we captured. I don't know if we're going to... read more

As Bilbo waits around in the cultists' barracks, suddenly ears perk up as they hear a voice from far away down the corridor, "chow time!". The cultists all get up and Bilbo follows them out to the mouth of the cave, where a makeshift chow line has been set up under a minimal tent. The hunters are carving off and serving pieces of meat from a crudely fire-cooked... read more

The battle continues, and the adventurers prevail against the two berzerkers. They expected Anamith to emerge from the passage, as they were pretty sure she was in the pit room with the berzerkers, but all is quiet. They check the berzerkers' bodies, but neither of them carries anything of value, except their weapons. Hooflepoof and Black Barry each take a greataxe.

Karat... read more

Outside the cave, various groups of cultists and kobolds sit around consuming their meals. A few more filter in, casually serving themselves up and joining the other groups. Bilbo finishes her meal, and without saying anything, gets up and starts to walk toward the cave. Elfo, Nars, and Gourbain aren't quite finished with their food, but they drop their plates... read more

The adventurers consider interrogating Anamith about her plans, but decide she is too dangerous to keep alive, especially considering that Karat is now out of spells until she can take a long rest. Hooflepoof deals her the final blow. They search her corpse for valuables, but find nothing.

The other group waits in the darkness, hoping that maybe Leosin... read more

Black Barry drinks an invisibility potion and sneaks down the stairs to see what is in the pit below. In the central area of the floor, he sees that two eggs are broken, and among the shards, two partially-developed dragons which are already dead. He sneaks back a little further into the pit, where among the rocks and stalagmites he finds another egg, still intact,... read more

Bilbo, Elfo, Nars, and Gourbain find their way into the drake nursery, where three immature drakes are now scavenging on the bodies of more than a dozen dead kobolds, whom Hooflepoof killed earlier. Elfo throws a Fireball at the drakes, which kills one and severely injures another, and the others continue the attack. One of the other drakes is killed, and the... read more

The adventurers are happy to see each other, and to share what happened while they were apart. Elfo shares the letter from Leosin, and Hooflepoof is very happy to hear that his Cloak of Invisibility isn't stolen or missing, though it will apparently take some effort to find it again, and going to Elturel immediately becomes his obsession.

The others are... read more

"I'm sorry, I still have your cloak. After what I've done, there is no other way for me to get out of here alive. I want you to have it back, please meet me in Elturel, find my friend Ontharr Frume. - many thanks, Leosin."

They all wander toward the cave entrance, passing through the room which was formerly full of stirges, but they had all been beaten in previous encounters except two, who stay hidden in a crack in the ceiling to preserve the species. They pass through the room full of fungi, careful to avoid the dangerous violet ones. They pass the two dragonclaws guarding the... read more

The adventurers awaken in the morning, and eat their breakfast cold, rather than start a fire that might give away their location. Hooflepoof skips breakfast altogether. Karat sneaks off for a quiet pee in the woods.

While the morning is still early, they make their way into Greenest, avoiding big roads which might present an opportunity for an ambush.... read more

"Oh, one other thing," says Nighthill, "do you guys need horses? Leosin offered to set you up with horses and tack if you need any. Just let me know, and I'll have them set up for you."

Everybody who doesn't already have a horse - Black Barry, Elbolin, Karat, Gourbain, and Nars - says that they could use a horse, and so Nighthill accompanies them over... read more

Most of the adventurers charge in on their horses, slashing with whatever weapons they have on hand. Except Elbolin, who jumps down and attacks on the ground. The cultists fight back weakly, but mostly they give ground, backing up to avoid any blows. The adventurers continue to advance on them until they are quite a distance from their cart, at which point a... read more

"We don't have anywhere to stay yet," answers Hooflepoof, "we just came into town".

"Well, then you're in luck!" says Ontharr, "I've got a few rooms to spare, and any friend of Leosin is a friend of mine! By the way, are you hungry? We've got the best food in Elturel!"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" asks Hooflepoof. There are five more of us... read more

The adventurers hang around with Ontharr for several days. He says that Leosin was here just before they arrived, but he seems to have disappeared. He left most of his things in his room, and didn't mention that he was going anywhere, so Ontharr expects him to be back any time. They have a blast with Ontharr anyway; he is a more-than-gracious host, filling the... read more

After a few days, Ontharr informs the adventurers over breakfast that Leosin has returned! He came in late last night, and is now resting, but he said he would join you for dinner.

Indeed, when dinnertime arrives, Leosin joins the adventurers at their table in the inn, and you start to fill each other in on what has transpired since your last meeting.... read more

When they get back to the dining room, Leosin tells them that he plans to leave in the morning, whether or not they are ready, and they can catch up. He doesn't want the cultists to get away, and he is afraid they will miss them if they delay too much longer in getting to Baldur's Gate.

The adventurers consider their options. They now have two different... read more

They all meet for breakfast and discuss their plans. They would like to go to the north side of Baldur's Gate, but the road from here leads them only to the eastern gate, which will require them to pass through the city to get to the north gate. If they do that, they won't be able to bring their cart, stock, wolves - or the dragon egg. Or they will have to hide... read more

The night before, we should mention, Black Barry met with Leosin to discuss becoming a Harper. He told him more about the Harpers, and their principles. Black Barry still wished to join, so they recited the Harper Oaths together, and Leosin gave Black Barry a book called The Harper Way and a pendant with the sign of a harp inside a crescent moon.

Meanwhile,... read more

"Where are the goblins now?" asks Hooflepoof.

"They're out in their bunkroom. I just gave them their breakfast. Anyway, they don't go out in the city in the daytime."

"Can we talk to them? They might have some info that would be useful for us."

"Goblins? If you say so... well, I don't generally give guests permission to bother other guests,... read more

Leosin also suggests that they take on fake names for the caravan, just in case any of the cultists learned their names back in Greenest. Leosin calls himself "Nisoel" (and soon everybody starts calling him "weasel"). Elfo takes the name "Cabrone", Nars goes by "Bungo", Bilbo adopts the pseudonym "Flubber" (sometimes with an umlaut over the 'u'), and Karat calls... read more

"Stop beating your animals!" says Hooflepoof.

The man seems surprised that anyone would be challenging him. "Who are you to tell me..."

"I am Salbon the Great!" interrupts Hooflepoof.

"...so I suppose you know everything about horses, Salbon-so-Great?"

"Yes, I do."

"Then how am I supposed to get this nag going?"

Bilbo... read more

"So, what's up with those ladies?" asks Leosin of Elfo, after the latter has returned to their camp.

"You don't want to know," says Elfo, but Leosin does want to know. "They were a little too friendly, and they offered us some soup."

"You didn't eat the soup, did you?" asks Leosin.

Elfo doesn't answer, but the look on his face gives away... read more

Meanwhile, somewhere along a lonely trail on the way to Phandalin, Gourbain and Elbolin are setting up camp when suddenly ten stirges swoop in and attack them, thirsty for blood. Elbolin hears their wings flapping as they approach and readies his weapon, but Gourbain is taken by surprise. Both take some damage, Elbolin kills one sturge, and then manages to escape... read more

Elbolin runs until all the stirges give up trying to catch him. Then after a brief pause to catch his breath, he makes his way back to the cart, fearing the worst for his friend Gourbain, whom he last saw in a cloud of stirges, and with one attached to him, sucking his blood.

It takes Elbolin quite a while to get back to their camp, and he sneaks back... read more

A few days pass uneventfully. Elbolin and Gourbain arrive in Phandalin one day around noontime, and find it about like they left it. Tranquility prevails, and although they notice the presence of Sildar's men keeping an eye on the town, and it's obvious that they notice them too, nobody approaches them.

They go first to the Townmaster's Hall, to see if... read more

Elbolin continues his conversation with Sildar Hallwinter in Phandalin. "So we met this monk named Leosin Erlanthar, and we've been traveling with him. He's a Harper, studying the dragon cult. Do you know him?"

"Personally, no," says Sildar. "But I've heard of him through Sister Garaele, I know he's a Harper. I think she knows him pretty well."

"You... read more

The dead ogre, upon a closer look, turns into a medium-sized humanoid with dark grey skin. A doppelganger!

At almost the same time, the other ogre (who is too far away to see that her companion has been killed, and the secret revealed) turns back to the form of a buxom lady. "Help!" she calls out, "I've been cursed to turn into a vicious ogre! I'm innocent!"

But... read more

As the adventurers are having their breakfast and packing up the cart, they notice that Leosin and Carlon don't get up with them, and don't seem to be anywhere around. Later in the morning, Hooflepoof asks Noohar the cartmaster, "Have you seen Leosin or Carlon?"

"Leosin came to me last night and said they couldn't stay with the caravan and would be leaving... read more

Back at the cart, Bilbo and Elfo assure Noohar and everyone else that everything is fine in Daggerford, and that there is a really fun festival going on there. After all these days on the road, everybody is ready for a celebration, so they all go into town for Lliira's Night. Everybody enjoys some music, dancing, and the spectacular smokepowder sparkling overhead.... read more

As they continue on the road, Hooflepoof again notices that one of the nondescript members of the caravan seems to be watching him. In fact, it seems like there are more than one of them watching him now. But they are being very subtle; if Leosin hadn't mentioned it, Hooflepoof isn't sure that he would have noticed. Leosin had mentioned that a couple of the carts,... read more

Elbolin tells the elf, whose name is Erras, that they are going to Waterdeep, and if he'd like to come along, they can escort him, as long as he is willing to wear a rope and remain tied up, to maintain the ruse that he is one of their own stock.

"I wouldn't mind," says Erras. "But some people consider my hide and horns of great value. Are you sure that... read more

Everybody fishes around in their bowls, looking for small flat disks. Hooflepoof finds some lumps and riff raff, but nothing that looks like a disk. Elbolin and Karat find nothing in their bowls except oatmeal and regular bugs.

Elbolin sticks his finger down his throat and barfs up his breakfast, then looks through the disgusting mass for anything suspicious,... read more

Hooflepoof stops by the cart and tells Bilbo and Barry about the men under the cart and the hobgoblins in the bushes. Bilbo is ready to battle some hobgoblins, but Noohar looks sternly at Barry and he decides he had better stay and perform his bodyguard duties. Hooflepoof and Bilbo go back to the rest of the group, who are following along a ways behind the cart,... read more

Barry pulls Noohar into the cart, protecting him while fighting the hobgoblins as best he can from that position. As the battle continues, the adventurers clearly have the upper hand, even with the hobgoblins attempting to stay hidden in the foliage. Bilbo kills one, Hooflepoof kills another, Karat brings one down, and the rest disappear into the forest.

Noohar... read more

The captain of the Hobgoblins, the only one remaining alive, dashes off into the woods, and Hooflepoof gives chase. Before long, he catches the captain and wrestles him to the ground.

"Why did you attack the caravan?" asks Hooflepoof.

"Because... because... we were hungry," answers the hobgoblin captain. "Did you see what we have to eat?"

"Well,... read more

A couple minutes later, the new guards pile out of the back of the cart, pick up their weapons from the road, and walk off to the side, as if considering what to do next.

"If you want to prove yourself to Noohar," suggests Hooflepoof, "help us fight these perytons."

The guards laugh, and one of them says "what, with these weapons?"

Hooflepoof... read more

Elfo and Bilbo overhear the whispering between Hooflepoof and Jamna. Elfo pretends to remain asleep, but Bilbo decides to follow them. Jamna leads Hooflepoof out of the tent and about 60 feet down the edge of the road, finding a concealed place just to the side. Bilbo follows along, hiding near enough to hear them talking.

"I think we're safe here," says... read more

"Should we wake Noohar?" asks Elbolin.

"Yeah, we had better bring them with us," answers Barry. He shakes Noohar and Selvek, gently waking them up. "You're in grave danger," he says. "There are people trying to attack us. You'd better come with us."

"Who's trying to attack us?" says Noohar sleepily.

"I don't have time to explain," says Barry.... read more

Hidden in the bushes across the road, to the west from the camp, the adventurers discuss their plans in whispers. Elbolin asks Karat if she has any spells for invisibility; she does not, but Elfo does. So they have Elfo cast invisibility on himself, Elbolin, and Karat, all of whom have darkvision. Elbolin circles around the north side of the camp, Karat circles... read more

While most of the group stays hidden, the invisible ones - Karat, Elfo, and Elbolin - sneak over to the opposite side of the campsite, where they had spotted the cultists in the bushes. As soon as they get close, Karat calls out to them, "hey, what are you guys doing?"

The leading cultist answers by attacking toward the sound with his spear, dealing Karat... read more

The battle continues, although the cultists and guards seem less than enthusiastic for fighting. Apparently they were expecting an ambush more than a battle, and perhaps a little more assistance. They try to fall back, but are taking quite a beating when two bugbears appear, better late than never. But even they are no match for the adventurers, and after the... read more

Hooflepoof and Elbolin go back to where Jamna Gleamsilver had been left hiding. She is still there, and they tell her about what just happened. She says she knows, she heard the noise and snuck up closer to watch, but didn't get involved since they seemed to be doing fine, lest she blow her cover as an inconspicuous traveler.

"Do you want to join up with... read more

They accompany five wagons, along with a gaggle of stray laborers, for most of the day, up the High Road, running into nothing worth mentioning. Nearing dinner time, they arrive at the Carnath Roadhouse. They are greeted almost immediately by a burly half-orc named Bog Luck, the greasy but friendly manager of the roadhouse. When they first see him, he is welcoming... read more

The adventurers stand around looking awkward, and finally Leosin speaks up. "I'm here to work, but I've been on the road quite a while, and in need of a good rest. So if it's ok with you, I'll pay for the first day and stay as a tourist. Then I'll work for my wage." The rest of the group mutters that they'll do the same.

"Arright," says Bog Luck. "Are... read more

All the adventurers gather together and head over to the mess hall to get a head start on the chow line. Already there is Gristle Pete, slaving over the hot stoves, and a handful of grubby-looking human workers at a table. The adventurers take a table near the stairs in case they need to make a quick getaway, which also happens to be adjacent to a couple of the... read more

Around 7am, the adventurers start to hear activity in the central area of the Carnath Roadhouse, as carts are pulled in and loaded with building materials. Around 8am Gristle Pete calls everyone to breakfast, and by 8:30 the carts are pulling out, loaded for the day's work on the road. Bog Luck and Ardred are seen a few times among the loading teams, counting... read more

Hooflepoof heads back upstairs to the dining area. On the way, he sees Leosin, still on the balcony, pretending to smoke his pipe, and watching whatever is going on in the central area of the roadhouse, which right now, is nothing. The crews have gone to work on the road, and the day's delivery from Waterdeep isn't expected until later in the day. Leosin doesn't... read more

"I'd totally go down there, if I could be invisible," suggests Leosin. "Hooflepoof, can I borrow your Cloak of Invisibility?"

"Um, no," says Hooflepoof, but Elfo jumps in to suggest that he has an Invisibility spell; who wants to go? Barry and Bilbo volunteer, so Elfo makes them and Leosin invisible. Hoofepoof dons his Cloak of Invisibility, and they head... read more

The entrance to the trail is in the deep woods, but listening carefully, they can hear some activity not so far away - the sounds of voices, lumbering carts, and the occasional whinnying of a horse. Judging by how far they went in the tunnel, they guess that they are hearing the Carnath Roadhouse, not so far away. They decide that rather than going back through... read more

Barry sees an interesting bug and chases it into the woods, but he is unable to catch it, and it disappears into the foliage. He returns to the group in tears.

The twilight is now fading, and the outside group walks around the Carnath Roadhouse to the main gate, and casually saunters in. They see a large cart in the process of unloading, with Bog Luck... read more

Gristle Pete serves up the dinner, and it is greasy, primitive, and delicious. The cafeteria becomes a din of clattering forks and chattering workers. The adventurers catch up on what each one saw.

Leosin, while invisible, had followed the workers into the store room. "They are putting some things in the storage room. But some boxes, they put back in the... read more

In the middle of the night Bilbo, Elbolin, and Barry are awakened by the sound of an explosion somewhere on the other side of the roadhouse. They wake the others in their group: Elfo, Bilbo, Nars, Leosin, Hooflepoof and Karat in the upstairs room, and Elbolin, Barry, and Gourbain sleeping downstairs.

Elbolin is the first to react, listening at the closed... read more

Elbolin and Barry are overpowered by the dark-clothed humans, who start dragging them toward the stables, still beating them all the while. "I'm not against you!" yells Elbolin between blows, "I'm just a monk!"

"Well it was one of you guys," answers one of his attackers.

"I didn't do anything!" says Elbolin.

"Your friend was throwing fireballs.... read more

Barry and Elbolin awaken groggily to the light of early morning streaming in from a couple of narrow windows very high on the wall. Gourbain is with them too, also badly beaten, apparently captured at some point during the night. They are all chained, with handcuffs behind their backs, to a heavy horizontal rail. They can smell hay and horse poop, along with... read more

Bog Luck enters the stable where Gourbain, Elbolin, and Barry are held captive, flanked by his assistant Ardred, and two uniformed cultists. He makes sure everybody is awake, and then addresses them. "All right, who are you really?"

Elbolin speaks up. "We're just traveling adventurers. I hardly know these guys, we just met at Baldur's Gate and decided... read more

Elfo, Bilbo, Hooflepoof, and Karat go straight for the cultists; Nars steps back out the door to avoid the fray. Hooflepoof quickly kills one cultist, Bilbo and Karat each bring down one, and then Hooflepoof and Bilbo finish off the last two. Karat and Bilbo each take some damage, but nothing too threatening.

They step into the roadhouse and look around.... read more

As Karat, Elfo, Bilbo, and Hooflepoof are standing near the doorway of the roadhouse, trying to figure out what to do next, a human rogue gallops up the road on horseback, pulling to a stop just outside the roadhouse. "Is one of you Bog Luck?" asks the rider.

"No, I'm not," answers Elfo.

"I'm looking for Bog Luck," says the rogue impatiently.

"Why... read more

Barry quickly notices and joins in the fight. Because their weapons were confiscated, they can only fight with their hands, and their feet chained, which is a pretty big disadvantage against the cultists' scimitars, but Barry shouts out to Gourbain "Use your Draconic Breath!". Gourbain does so, which kills one of the cultists outright and does significant damage... read more

All is quiet. They pause for a minute, not sure what to do next. Then Leosin calls down from the balcony above, "hey, is that you guys?"

"Yeah, we're down here," answers Hooflepoof.

Leosin comes down the stairs, and seeing all the carnage, says "Holy mackerel, what happened here?"

"Elbolin started it," says Hooflepoof, laughing. Then, as... read more

Hooflepoof continues to search the remainder of the stables. He doesn't find any weapons, but he finds their two horses, who are very happy to see him (at least they seem to be; horses are hard to read, and he doesn't speak Horse). Then he goes back to the group and tells them he didn't find their weapons.

"Hurry," says Leosin, "we really should get out... read more

Now reunited with their weapons, the group prepares to leave. "Can my friend come with us?" asks Leosin. "I think you met Jamna on the road to Waterdeep. In fact, she told me she saved your lives once." He is talking about the deadly curling bones she once pulled out of their morning cereal.

"What is her goal?" asks Elbolin.

"She's also tracking... read more

The adventurers push forward through the mere, following the muddy trail. Late in the afternoon, Leosin, who is leading the group, stops and holds up a hand to stop the others. "There's something up there," he whispers. Everybody stops. Leosin takes a few steps forward, looking up the trail, and crouching to make himself less visible. "It looks like a camp,"... read more

The adventurers have hardly settled in when Hooflepoof hears oars in the water a distance away. He sneakily alerts the others, and they quickly abandon their beds and hide in the bushes near the beach, weapons at the ready.

Nine lizardfolk pull up in three canoes, and pull them up onto the shore near the other canoes. They gather around the firepit and... read more

The lizardfolk are taken somewhat by surprise, though they were cautious enough to expect an attack. The adventurers are all grouped together whereas the lizardfolk are spread around the camp, so the adventurers have the upper hand and kill three of them before they can really group up. Elbolin takes some pretty significant hits, and being low on health, runs... read more

Jamna isn't useless; she uses her Color Spray spell expertly and carefully to blind several of the lizardfolk. Elbolin takes some significant hits and after that spends most of his time hiding among the lean-tos, sneaking blows in but evading any further damage. Even Reddy gets into the action, jumping down from Barry's shoulder and helping to distract the lizardfolk.

The... read more

The battle continues.

By the time the battle is over, all the lizardfolk are dead, as well as Gourbain (but Karat is able to cure him fairly quickly with her magic).

The adventurers are exhausted, and retire to their sleeping bags without even cleaning up the bodies.

In the morning, Bilbo is the first to awaken, and takes a look around the camp, not finding anything of interest. Just dead lizardfolk scattered about, the canoes, and the smoldering firepit. As the others wake up, Elbolin explores the periphery of the camp, looking for an exit trail or anything else of significance. He finds one sort of rough trail into the... read more

As they are getting into the canoes, Barry kicks a leather satchel tucked under one of the seats, and pulls it out and opens it up, to find 3 freshly made blades. They appear to be the blades of large knives, and of very fine workmanship, but without handles. He puts them in his pack.

They all load into three canoes, except Elbolin and Karat, who decide... read more

The river bends off to the left, so from the river they have a clear line of sight to the right bank at the bend. In the fading light, all they can see are some twinkling firelights, so they pull out of the river on the right bank, where they rest and plan.

They decide that a few of them should use invisibility to go up ahead and explore the source of... read more

Hooflepoof tries to close the gate, but it's too late to stop the lumbering mass of Giant Lizards. Six of them get through the gate before he manages to shut it. Most of them run immediately into the forest in the downstream direction, but one bumps into Elfo and instinctively attacks him. Elfo doesn't retaliate, and being invisible, the Giant Lizard can't see... read more

The invisible party follows the wall around to the southeast. Around the east side they find three large longhouses, woven of reeds bound into thick bundles, of an ingeniously intricate design, very well-crafted, but of natural materials. As they are watching, several lizardfolk emerge from the longhouses, 5 of them in two loose groups, and walk to the north... read more

After they fill in their companions on what they saw there, they decide to send out another exploring party, again invisible, but this time sending those with darkvision. Hooflepoof loans his Cloak of Invisibility to Elbolin, and Elfo casts Invisibility on himself, Black Barry, and Karat, and the four head back out to explore.

This time they travel a little... read more

After the dust settles, they hear the Lizardfolk calling out from behind the wall. He uses a common greeting in Draconic, which is neither familiar nor aggressive, the kind of greeting you'd use when passing somebody on the road, or when you don't know whether they are friendly and would like to find out. The adventurers do not answer.

Instead, Black Barry... read more

"Do you want to talk with me for a sec?" asks Elfo.

"Where are you?" asks the Lizardfolk in reply. "I can't see you."

"I'm invisible. Follow this," says Elfo, prestidigitating a shower of sparks near himself.

The Lizardfolk creeps near to where the sparks appeared. "Are you here?" he whispers.

"Yes," says Elfo, making himself visible.... read more

"Do you want to join us?" asks Elfo.

The Lizardfolk doesn't know what Elfo is talking about. As far as he knows, Elfo is just a wayward traveler, alone, although he doesn't necessarily believe the story. "Join who? Doing what?"

Elfo casts a Charm Person spell on the Lizardfolk, making him think that they are familiar.

"Great to see you!"... read more

"Right there," says the Lizardfolk, indicating around a nearby corner (to the east), beyond which Elfo can't see anything.

Elfo goes around the corner, to his left, and opens a door. "Can I help you?" says the gruff voice of a chubby dwarf in a greasy apron. He is scrubbing a grill, as if cleaning up after cooking. The room appears to be a kitchen, piled... read more

Barry, Elbolin, and Karat follow behind, and also explore the room, finding nothing else of interest. Barry is starting to shimmer as the invisibility spell begins to wear off, so he also puts on cultist clothes.

Elbolin opens one of the doors on the west wall, the southernmost door, and behind it he finds stairs heading upward. "Stairs over here," he... read more

The stairway continues upward, so Elbolin continues up to the next floor. At the top of the stairs, he enters a room that appears like an office, but strangely and lavishly furnished. There is a very fancy writing desk, several smaller endtables, and four beautiful but uncomfortable-looking carved wooden chairs. It definitely looks like the office of somebody... read more

There is a second doorway from the office room, and Black Barry investigates. He finds himself in a sleeping chamber. Again, everything seems fancy and unusually lavish. In this room is a large bed, a standing mirror, two wardrobes, and an armor stand holding a suit of scale mail armor. The armor is very nice, but custom-made for a very large person, too large... read more

He gets out his thieves' tools and attempts to disarm the trap. It takes him a couple of tries with all the dexterity he can muster, but he manages to get it open. Inside the wardrobe, Black Barry finds mostly fancy Cult of the Dragon regalia. He takes a purple robe, which is a little too large but fits him anyway, and puts it on.

Also in the room, on... read more

Bilbo and Hooflepoof hardly have a chance to doze off before two strangers enter their camp: A Black Knight and a Goliath. They either don't see the adventurers in their makeshift beds, or more likely, choose to ignore them. The strangers sit down by the fire, wearily, as if they have just made a long journey and are appreciative of the rest. They pull some dried... read more