Session 19 - Scene 2 (of 10)

Merend, still upset, decides to walk the dark creeper around town for a while, using the rope as a leash.  Always one to enjoy stirring the pot, Merend wants to make sure everyone sees the creature, just in case the creeper was working for one of their enemies.  He also makes sure to loudly proclaim such phrases as "you won't believe what he told us!" as part of his not-so-subtle plan.

After he's certain everyone in the city has had a good look, Merend hauls the creeper over to the magistrate's office.  The man behind the desk is an old tiefling with dark, burning eyes.  He asks what Merend wants.

Merend, slightly nonplussed because he feels it's obvious, explains they have brought the creeper to him.  To Merend's surprise, the old man simply asks what crimes the creeper has committed.  Merend mentions burglary and grave theft, while Leigh is quick to add "attempted murder".

The magistrate, still rather disinterested, asks about the grave robbing.  But once Merend explains that it occurred in the Tombwoods, the magistrate is quick to point out that as a wild area of the city, the Tombwoods is free from protection of grave theft laws.  Krolec says nothing, but has a knowing look on his face; he was fully expecting that to be the case.

The attempted murder, however, is an offense and the magistrate is eager to hear more about it.  He asks what evidence they have.  As Leigh starts to show her injuries as evidence, Merend starts raising his voice and mentioning the body they brought back to town.  Before the magistrate can really respond, Merend simply tosses the creeper over to him and tells him that the creature is the magistrate's problem now then storms out of the room.  Leigh and Krolec quietly follow their hot-tempered companion out.

As they start leaving the area, one of the local guardsmen stops them.  He tells Merend he has been looking for their group, as Lord Markelhay is in need of speaking to them right away.  Merend and the others agree to follow him back to Moonstone Keep.

Session 19 - Scene 3 (of 10)

Once at the keep, the group is quickly shown into the reception room where Lord Markelhay greets them.  He explains that an important situation has developed.  Merend starts to grumble a bit about the local temple of Erathis and their own recent developments, but Markelhay pays little mind.

Lord Markelhay goes on to explain that the previous night, Lord Hepplewhite's baliff, a man named Stevenson, went missing.  Markelhay suspects the man was kidnapped as part of a plot by their political enemies to exert pressure on Hepplewhite.  Since the lord has not received his promised territory of Kobald Hall yet, he is their weakest ally.

Merend, sensing a possible connection, explains to Markelhay about Eric Pembridge's visit a few days ago.  After Merend confesses the group tricked Eric into getting his men killed, Lord Markelhay is convinced that action is what precipitated this latest maneuver.  He emphasizes it will be imperative that the group find Stevenson quickly, and while still alive, in order to keep their position safe.

Merend agrees and immediately begins forming a plan.  Trying to get more information about where the man was seen last, he asks if Markelhay has any idea which properties Stevenson was collecting from.  The lord knows the baliff was collecting from the farmlands out of the north side of town.  He goes over to his bookshelf and pulls down a large tome of tax allotments.  He is able to provide Merend with a list of five houses that would have been travelled to.

With the others still relatively quiet about the affair, Merend continues to dominate the discussion.  In order to save time, he asks if Lord Markelhay can have someone sell the jewelry they found in the Tombwoods for them while they are out looking for the bailiff.  Markelhay agrees to have his steward take care of it.  He also wants Markelhay have someone talk to the magistrate, briefly mentioning the situation with the dark creeper.  In return, Markelhay has Merend pass along a message to have his cousin Berend come see him about a different task he needs done.

Session 19 - Scene 4 (of 10)

Meanwhile, back in the cemetery, Al leads the team of revenants in clearing out several empty barrows by mid-day.  They come next upon a smaller barrow.  Al decides the best tactic is to only open one of the doors to get a look in first.  Rhogar moves to open the door, only to find nothing but rubble behind it.

With little other choice, Al goes ahead and opens the other door and the team clears out the rubble.  Once the doorway is clear, he lights a stone and has Rhogar toss it inside.  The back of the tomb is illuminated, and the first thing anyone sees is a large swarm of rats.  Rhogar immediately closes his door.

Mitka, however, finds himself overcome with the idea of killing the swarm of rats based on his vague memories of dying at the hands of a different kind of swarm.  He charges in and immediately attacks with his most powerful maneuver, the handspring assault.  He follows it up with a torturous strike.

Sa-ika tells the others that as the tomb contains no undead, they should just close the doors and move on.  But with Mitka still inside, she holds back a minute to see if he will leave.  She wants to just close the rats in and burn the barrow down.

To either side of the rat swarm is a pair of larger dire rats.  Al tries to blast one of them with his magic missile, but misses.  The rat swarm and the dire rats then swarm Mitka, biting into him with their razor-sharp teeth.

Rhogar decides the best course of action is to run in and grab Mitka.  Mitka, however, is focused on the rats, muttering "Rats! Rats! Rats!" the whole time.  When Rhogar grabs him, he tries to resist.  But being the bigger man, Rhogar is able to pull him against his will out of the tomb.

As Rhogar exits, Sa-ika slams the door shut behind him.  But the rats inside move quickly, and she can already hear them starting to chew through the wooden doors.  Rhogar starts up a torch and throws it down at the door to start a fire, but it's obvious that a fire won't start in time.

Mitka, enraged at Rhogar holding him back, tries to kick Rhogar in the groin, but is held back.  The swarm of rats then break through the door, biting Sa-ika in the process.

Thinking quickly, Al uses his pinioning vortex to lift the swarm of rats into the air.  Sa-ika, who still thinks it is a waste of time fighting non-undead creatures, attacks the aloft mass with her swordburst.

The rat swarm being aloft gives the dire rats room to move in.  They move in and one of them bites deeply into Mitka.  Rhogar uses his lay on hands power to heal Mitka's wound.  

Mitka is still unconcerned with the dire rats, however, and continues to strike at the aloft swarm.  Sa-ika follows suit with another swordburst while Al blasts a dire rat with his phantom bolt.

The dire rats attack at Mitka and Sa-ika, but miss.  The floating pile of rats, however, still manage to score a lucky bite on Mitka.

Trying to help, Rhogar calls forth a sacred circle for protection, then grants divine strength to Mitka that stops his bleeding.  Meanwhile, Al's spell ends, causing the pile of rats to fall to the ground behind the dire rats.

Unable to get to the rat swarm, Mitka uses his adaptable flanker maneuver and scores a solid hit with his disheartening strike on one of the dire rats.  Sa-ika tries to hit them both with swordburst, but misses.  The dire rats bite back, sinking their teeth into both of them.

The swarm of rats scurry through the other fighters and move to the back of the pack, where they begin attacking Al.  Thinking quickly, Al steps back and uses his thunderwave blast spell to push them away.  Rhogar then turns around and charges at the swarm to keep Al protected, but fails to strike with his paladin's judgment.

Back over at the tomb entrance, Mitka takes a moment to recover, using his unnatural vitality.  He knows a normal living man who have long since died.  Sa-ika stays on the offense, blasting both of the dire rats with her swordburst.

The rats attack back.  Mitka is bitten again by the dire rats while the swarm chews into Rhogar.  Al, sensing the situation is dire, decides to pray to the Raven Queen for help.

Al's prayers appear to be answered, as Rhogar attacks the swarm with his invigorating smite, striking them down.  Sa-ika follows up by attacking the dire rats with her swordburst, hitting one.  

Mitka, however, seems dazed and confused now that the rat swarm is dead.  He can't remember how he got into this fight or what is going on.  He assumes Al must have rushed in too quickly, and starts to get upset.  One of the dire rats bites him again, and he responds by attacking back, ignoring Al's command to back up and let Rhogar take care of it.

Sa-ika, concerned Mitka is in the greater danger, begins to attack his rat instead of the one in front of her.  Al assists with a phantom bolt.  The rats respond by biting Sa-ika and Mitka again.

Mitka, barely holding on to consciousness, decides to retreat behind Rhogar.  Sa-ika and Al try with another round of attacks, but both miss.  One of the rats hits Sa-ika in return.

Rhogar, moving up, attacks one of the rats with his invigorating smite.  Mitka, meanwhile, finally feels the effects of his injuries and collapses.  Sa-ika uses an inspiring word to rouse him, then misses with another swordburst attack.  Al misses with another phantom bolt as well.

Luckily, the rats fare no better, and also miss with their attacks.  Rhogar strikes back with his enfeebling strike.  In the back, Mitka stands himself and fires with his crossbow, hitting one of the dire rats.

Sa-ika tries to change tactics, attacking with a lightning clash, hitting one rat but missing the other.  Al misses with yet another phantom bolt as one of the rats bites into Sa-ika again.  Rhogar strikes out at the other rat, killing it.  Mitka then finishes off the second one with his crossbow.

Session 19 - Scene 5 (of 10)

Everyone takes a moment to rest after the battle.  Sa-ika begins to immediately start up a fire to burn the barrow down while Mitka and Al rush in to investigate first.

The back of the tomb has two crypts, each with a gold wedding band atop them.  Behind them is a large, moldy curtain obscuring the back wall.  Mitka eyes the gold with a strange sense of remembering he used to covet it, yet no longer has any emotional reaction to it at all.

Al quickly pockets the wedding bands, and then he and Mitka open each crypt in turn, cautiously trying to avoid any possible attacking creatures inside.  To their surprise, both crypts are empty except for single skeletons.

They then turn their attention to the curtains.  As the smoke begins filling the barrow, they rip down the curtains, revealing some long-decayed offerings lying behind.  One of the bottles, however, looks to be in fine shape.  Al recognizes it as a healing potion and takes it.  They rush out just as the large flames begin inside.

Session 19 - Scene 6 (of 10)

Back in town, Merend is progressing with his plan.  To move as quick as possible, he goes to the third farm on Lord Markelhay's list.  He questions the farmer there about seeing Stevenson.  Once he confirms the bailiff was there, he moves on to the fourth farm.

The fourth farmer, an older man, claims not to have seen Stevenson, but something doesn't feel right.  Krolec can tell the man is very nervous, and probably lying.  Leigh also tries to ascertain what is going on, and can tell the man is nervous but not in immediate distress.

Once they pass this information on to Merend, he launches into a verbal attack on the man, threatening to turn him over to the authorities.  Krolec decides to play good cop, and promises the man protection in exchange for helping them.

The farmer reluctantly agrees, saying that he saw Stevenson kidnapped – he was grabbed by a man and hauled off on a horse.  It takes a bit more prodding for him to reveal the kidnapper – a man named Rufus the Red.  None of the three pay much attention to the name, figuring it must be some infamous sell-sword.

Once the area of the kidnapping is pointed out, Merend wants them to look for tracks.  Oddly, Krolec's famed ranger abilities fail him, and it falls to Leigh to point them out.  The rear hoof prints leading away are deeper, suggesting Stevenson was slung over the back of the horse, probably tied up.

They follow the tracks off to the northeast the rest of the day.  Krolec takes the point, and makes sure to always keep the tracks in sight.  They eventually lead to the Trade Road.  Merend attempts to get them to move quickly with a forced march in hopes of catching up, but Krolec's weak elven constitution can't keep up.  The group follows the road until it begins to get dark.

Krolec spots a place where the tracks go off the road and into the woods a little ways.  It is the location of the previous night's camp.  Merend would like to continue to try and catch up, but with a new moon and needing rest, they decide to camp for the night instead.

Session 19 - Scene 7 (of 10)

The next morning, they are met up by a newly-resurrected Silas, who travelled all night to catch up to them.  The four continue on the road for the day.

After some time, the tracks lead to a curious event in the road.  The horse prints appear to stop and meet with some foot prints coming from the other direction.  Foot prints continue on back the way they came while the horse prints continue down the road, but both appear a bit different now – with the footprints getting heavier and the horse prints getting lighter.

It takes some deliberation, but the group ultimately feels they figured out what happened.  The original rider of the horse, Rufus the Red, apparently met up with an accomplice who took the horse and continued on back to some kind of hideout while Rufus returned to town for some unknown reason.  Merend makes the decision to focus on getting the bailiff back, and has the group continue on following the horse tracks.

Once again, Merend tries to get the group to move quickly, but Krolec slows them down.  As they begin to approach the Thunderspire mountains, the darkness is starting to come in and everyone is getting tired.  But Merend wants to press on – he's certain that the person holding the bailiff will stop and camp again for the night and they have an opportunity to catch up.

After a few more hours of travelling in the dark, Krolec and Merend finally spot a campfire off in the distance.  They slowly advance the group in to as close as they feel comfortable getting.  Then, Krolec heads in on his own to get a better look.

Krolec spots a young rough-looking type putting out the campfire and heading to bed.  Nearby is the tied and gagged Stevenson.  Krolec reports back with what he saw, and everyone waits an hour or so for the bandit to fall asleep before moving in.

After untying Stevenson, Krolec wakes up the bandit with a blade to his throat.  The man reacts with shock, wondering what Krolec wants.  Krolec tells the man he has something he wants, causing the man to clinch up at the mistaken interpretation that Krolec intends to violate him.

Merend uses the ropes from Stevenson to tie the bandit up.  He then throws the rope over a tree branch and lifts the man up upside down and begins to question him.  Krolec aims his bow at the man, and makes comments about target practice.

It doesn't take long for the bandit to break.  He explains that he was hired by Rufus to take the bailiff into the mountains back to a hideout for a couple of days, and then release him.  Merend wonders why the bailiff was to be released, and not killed.  Stevenson can shed little light on the situation, knowing little more than what they already did about him being jumped and taken here.

They then wonder what Rufus is up to back in town.  Merend sends Krolec off on the bandit's horse right away so he can get back quicker.  Merend then decides it's not worth hauling the bandit anywhere and turns him loose, first threatening to kill him if he ever returns to the Fallcrest area.

Session 19 - Scene 8 (of 10)

Back in the cemetery, Al's group has spent the last couple of days clearing out more tombs, most of them unremarkable.  The next one they happen upon is a large, double-deep barrow marked with the family name of Guron.

As is the usual practice, the doors are opened and an illuminated rock is thrown in.  This time, a separate step of tying a rope around Mitka to use as a tether is added, much to Mitka's chagrin.

After Rhogar throws in the rock, he spots some crypts in the middle of the front barrow.  Mitka immediately moves in.  He can feel the unnatural cold of the barrow.  There appears to be another set of crypts in the front barrow, while the entrance to the back barrow is coated with ice.  Mitka alerts the others of the icy cold.

Sa-ika and Rhogar decide to move inside for a better look.  They each move inside and to the sides.  Al also advances, deciding to stand on one of the crypts to get a better vantage point.  As Mitka tosses the stone into the rear crypt, they immediately see that zombies are back there.

The zombies do not appear as normal zombies, they project a feeling of cold.  They are clearly chillborn zombies.  They slowly advance towards the entrance.

Al begins by blasting one with his phantom bolt.  Sa-ika and Rhogar advance to the back barrow entrance to protect the others.  Mitka, learning his lesson, moves back to stand on the crypt with Al.  He fires off a shot with his crossbow, but misses.

The zombies attack, but Sa-ika and Rhogar fend them off.  Sa-ika blasts one with a swordburst while Rhogar hits the other with his enfeebling strike.  From the back, Al hits with a phantom bolt while Mitka misses again with his crossbow.

The zombies attack again, this time striking Rhogar and Sa-ika.  They both feel the overwhelming cold from the zombies, and know they can't take too many more hits like this.  Rhogar immediately responds by killing one of the zombies with an invigorating hit then retreating.

Mitka fires his bow, hitting one of the zombies.  They strike back again at Sa-ika, who tries to use her teleportation powers to resist the zombie attack, but fails.  She takes a moment to recover herself, and back across the room, Rhogar does the same.  Al tries to help out by throwing out a flaming sphere, hoping to melt the zombies.

Mitka then charges forward, killing a zombie with a handspring assault then retreating back.  Al sustains his flaming sphere which is still injuring the remaining zombies, and tosses the healing potion he found earlier over to Mitka.

Sa-ika strikes out at the zombies with a lightning clash, hitting one of them.  Rhogar tries to attack with an enfeebling strike, but misses.  Mitka rushes over and tosses the potion to Sa-ika.  He then strikes a zombie with a torturous strike, but is hit back in return.  He is saved by Al, who finishes the zombie off with a phantom bolt.

Back on the other side of the tomb, Sa-ika quickly drinks the potion and hits the remaining zombie with a swordburst.  Mitka follows it up with a disheartening strike.  Rhogar tries to assist as well, using a shielding smite, but fails.  The zombie strikes him back for his troubles.

Al then pins the zombie to the ceiling using his pinioning vortex spell, and Sa-ika finishes him off with her sword.

Session 19 - Scene 9 (of 10)

Rhogar notices one of the zombies is wearing a pearl and gold necklace, and he stops to pick it up.  The group then proceeds to open all of the crypts to make sure they are clear.

The front crypts are all empty.  The back crypt, however, appears to have a bag of gold and silver coins along with a large ruby.  Without stopping to check for traps, Al grabs the bag of gold.

A large wall slams down over the entrance to the back barrow, cutting them off from the front (where Sa-ika is still standing guard).  Sa-ika immediately goes to try and find a control panel to open it, but doesn't spot anything.

Inside the room, the group notices that the ceiling is beginning to move down.  They will be crushed soon if they don't find a way to escape.  Al and Rhogar try to use a crypt lid as a brace while Mitka examines the trap.

Luckily for everyone, Mitka is able to figure out the trap mechanism and disable it before the ceiling gets too much lower.  With the trap disabled, the wall opens back up and they all escape.

The remaining barrows they check that day are empty.  All that remains now is to take out the center plaza and retrieve the resurrection stone.

Session 19 - Scene 10 (of 10)

A day or so later and the other group of Krolec, Merend, Silas, and Leigh finally make it back into town.  They immediately hear some troubling news – while they were out, Lord Barret, one of their stronger supporters, was assassinated.  A bloody mark of a wolf's head was left at the scene, said to be the calling card of infamous assassin, Rufus the Red.

Session 19 - Session Notes

First off, yes, this report is a week late again.  Just haven't had the time to enter it.

As mentioned last time, I went ahead with the split session idea for this session.  It worked OK.  Part of the problem is that combats take so much more time that non-combats.

To that end, I think I'm going to experiment with reducing monsters' hp while increasing their attack bonuses and damage ever so slightly.  That should keep them dangerous while keeping combats moving faster.

As for this session, I enjoyed having the investigative part, but the PCs really didn't do a whole lot of investigating which was disappointing.  They didn't even bother to ask if they ever heard of Rufus the Red before when they learned his name.  I had all kinds of leads and other red herrings planned.  Instead, it became kind of a boring exercise in tracking.

Half that group seemed out of it that week.  The Leigh player did even less than normal (which is hard), the Krolec player only bothered to show signs of life when they were actually planning to grab the thief, and contrary to how it may appear and the Silas player was actually present that week, he just didn't bother to say or do anything.  And my god, we went ever so slightly later than normal that session (like a half hour) and from the complaining of the Leigh and Krolec players you'd think we were up past 3 in the morning or something.

And yeah, I totally screwed with them that session, but they didn't know that until the end.  I don't think they fully grasp how tentative this makes their position in town either.

Oh, and there will be consequences for the cavalier attitudes they showed towards the local magistrate and the temple of Erathis.  When you are on shaky political ground, it's never a good idea to start pissing people off for no reason (or because you think they aren't worth your time).

The other half of the group was a lot more fun.  The combats were paced nicely, the traps worked just right, and lots of humor was had.

Next session will start off the super mega climactic battle in the tombwoods.  It may or may not take more than one session to complete.  Should be a lot of fun.

Interlude Session - Cast of Characters

Berend - Dwarf Cleric
Scrag - Half-Orc Warden
Vector - Human Wizard
Tor - Razorclaw Shifter Druid
Dante - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger
Sax - Gnome Sorcerer

Interlude Session - Scene 1 (of 11)

Berend finds himself summoned to Moonstone Keep by Lord Markelhay, having received a message from his cousin, Merend.  Lord Markelhay explains that he needs Berend's help with a mission to assist his ally, Lord True Value, who has a small kingdom on the other side of the Dawnforge Mountains.

Berend has heard of Lord True Value, and in particular how he is the illegitimate father of his friend Al.  He hasn't heard particularly good things about Lord True Value, but Berend is open-minded as he knows how biased Al can be.

Markelhay has no real information to impart to Berend, just that he needs him to form a team to go assist Lord Value with some matter that is vital for the relations between the Nentir Vale region and the Asandar region.

Eager for a chance to earn some money, Berend begins planning who to invite along.  But he soon finds that is easier said than done.  His friend Quinn left town for parts unknown several weeks back after the falling out with his former group.  Shaelynna and her ward Rhonda are also still out of the area, still down south in the Harkenwold area last he heard.  And the only other free adventurer in town that Berend is aware of is Lucan, a swordmage but also a notoriously unreliable stoner.

With no other immediate prospects in the area, Berend decides to check to see if any of the members of his former group are interested.  Hearing stories about their adventures in the old cemetery, he decides to check there first.

Once inside the tombwoods, Berend quickly runs across his old ally, Zena, who is on patrol with Scrag.  Zena turns down his offer, but Scrag seems eager to leave the woods for the first time and see more of the world.  Although Berend hasn't met Scrag before, he decides to let him come along.

With none of the others around, busy on their own missions, Berend and Scrag head out for Hammerfast.  Berend is reasonably sure he can locate a couple of halfway reliable men there.

After traveling for a few days, Berend ultimately meets up with another small group of adventurers just outside of Hammerfast.  They include a human wizard named Vector, a razorclaw shifter avenger named Dante, a razorclaw shifter druid named Tor, and a gnome sorcerer named Sax.  Vector, the leader of the group, agrees to have his group join with Berend in exchange for an equal distribution of profits.  While Berend initially worries they may have a disputed leadership between the two of them, Vector does appear willing to let Berend take the lead, more or less.

Interlude Session - Scene 2 (of 11)

After spending a couple more days traveling through the underground tunnels passing through the Dawnforge Mountains, the group finally arrives at the small village of Pramayama located right on Lake Halli.  Rather than spend time there, they make their way immediately on to the nearby capital city of Asandara, where Lord True Value's castle at Gunda Keep is located.

Gunda Keep itself is surrounded by a small village of shantytown areas and market bazaars.  It is locally known colloquially as "Value Village".  Lord True Value is said to tolerate the area largely due to his respect for the merchants of the bazaar, being a former merchant king himself.

The group is quickly given audience with Lord Value.  He explains to Berend and the others that his kingdom has been under attack lately by a nation of nomadic bandits known as "The Slave Lords".  Berend recalls hearing from his cousin that Lord Value made this same complaint at the dinner they met at.

Lord True Value then backs up a bit, and details the history of the region.  Hundreds of years ago, the great Kingdom of Sind was built along the fertile plains next to the Dawnforge Mountains.  The kingdom expanded through warfare in the region, and eventually took control of the entire area under the great ruler, King Nekekharan.  Nekekharan was a powerful sorcerer, and used his magic to transform the center of the desert into an oasis where he built a palace.  

As an extra measure of insurance, he prepared his tomb with all the riches of the land in a secret location known only to the workers, who were all summarily executed once the construction was completed.  The few that did escape were confused slaves from other lands, who could not accurately tell where the tomb was located.

When Nekekharan reached the age of 150 years, he decided to enter his tomb and never return.  As soon as he died, the magic protecting his desert palace failed.  The desert reclaimed the area, turning the palace into ruins and leaving little but a small oasis.

Many treasure hunters over the years have attempted to locate the tomb.  None have succeeded.  Until a week ago, when a Fatandiran slave named Beni escaped from his captors and fled back to civilization.  He was found out near Value Keep by the men of Lord True Value.  

Before succumbing to his injuries, he revealed to the authorities in Asandar that he was part of a mining operation in a section of rocky hills uncovered below the sands.  He escaped by following the hills for some time, using various caves for shelter.  One day, he came across a recent landslide area, where a large temple door was now exposed.  The door had the symbol of King Nekekharan.  He took brief notes on his way back to try and find the temple again.

Lord True Value immediately took action to keep the story quiet.  He knew it was important to get to the treasure before the Slave Lords find it, as it would allow them to strengthen their armies with mercenaries and spell the doom of the border princes (Asandar and the other nearby free nations of Haflok, Levrellian, and Fatandira).  Conversely, getting the treasure will allow Asandar to finance a military expedition to rid the area of the Slave Lords.

The mission he has for Berend is simple – they need to locate the tomb, secure it, and bring back evidence of the treasure.  Lord Value will then commit his armies to retrieving the treasures within.  Failing that, they need to make sure the Slave Lords can't get to it.

Naturally, Berend and the others suspect that Lord Value wants the treasure for his own greatness as well, as it will also help gain him power over the other border prince nations.  Berend wants to know how much they are to be paid, and Lord Value gives them a figure of 10% of all the treasure recovered.  Given the rumored wealth of the tomb, the group knows this could make them all wealthy enough to retire as princes in their own right.

To assist them, Lord Value gives them the map that Beni sketched out before he died (due to wounds and extreme dehydration according to Lord Value, though Berend cynically wonders if he had the man killed).  Lord Value also agrees to provide them with any mundane equipment from his armories and pay for any supplies they need in the bazaar.  Berend tries for magical assistance, but apparently Lord Value is somewhat prejudiced against magic after a bad run-in in the past with an evil sorcerer named Salazar.

Interlude - Scene 3 (of 11)

None of the group really needs anything from Value's armory, so they make their way to the bazaar area.  Berend wants to move quickly, but Vector takes a while to carefully plan the logistics for the trip.  After a long discussion of the merits of horses vs. camels, they end up deciding on taking six camels.  

Sax makes sure to point out they will need at least 10 to 15 liters of water per day in the hot desert environment.  Vector insists on taking 45 liters per person, hoping to reach the Da-Kahl-ub Oasis mentioned on Beni's map within two days.

After purchasing their supplies, they begin moving out of the area.  Dante spots a local street urchin pickpocket Beni's map from Vector's saddlebags.  He jumps off his camel and begins chasing after the youth.  Tor does the same.

Running through the crowded bazaar proves difficult, and the two narrowly avoid a vendor's cart as it moves across the street during their chase.  Dante begins to tire and fall behind, but Tor is able to keep pace.  He eventually grabs a solid hold on the boy.

After Dante catches up, the two of them haul the boy back to the others.  Scrag uses his fearsome talents to shake the boy and intimidate the hell out of him.  Unfortunately, the boy only speaks some local tribal language that no one in the group knows.  But, through mimicry, they are able to ascertain the boy simply wanted something to sell for food.  Convinced he is not part of any conspiracy, the group agrees to let him go.  And Vector makes sure to buy a scroll case, put the map in it, and wear it around his neck for the duration of the mission.

Interlude - Scene 4 (of 11)

The days in the desert are hot and long as the group heads into an area known as The Dunes.  The large sand dunes are slow to travel through and difficult to locate any kind of proper path.  Several of the group, particularly Dante, begin to suspect that Scrag as the point man is leading them in circles.

Water use also runs high in the group, as several people drink more than their rationed allotment, particularly Scrag, Sax, and Tor.

The situation gets worse when the group realizes that a patrol of orcs is heading straight over a close by sand dune, headed their way.  Scrag failed to spot them in time, nearly leading the team into an ambush.  The orcs all appear to belong to the local Blue Face Orc tribe, as indicated by their colored war paint.

The leader of the orcs immediately attacks Scrag with a magical chaos hammer from the sky.  The orc soldiers then charge at him, surrounding him, followed by their sergeant.

The rest of the group immediately spring into action.  Berend, Tor, Vector, and Sax are all distance fighters, and blast away at the orcs from afar while Dante rushes in to assist Scrag in closer combat.

It doesn't take long to turn the tide of battle as several orcs fall, though Scrag does suffer heavy injuries in the process.  Berend uses his healing magic to keep Scrag going, however, and eventually the orcs and the orc sergeant are killed while the others blast away at the orc leader.  The leader looks as if he may run away, but is cut down before he has a chance.

After the battle, the group finds a piddling amount of silver and copper on them, but is happier to find extra water.  Vector makes sure to point out they can use it to replace the extra water that the others overdrank earlier.  Berend also finds a nice-looking scimitar on the orc sergeant that Vector identifies as being magically enhanced.  However, as no one uses a scimitar (Scrag has his axe and Dante uses a great sword) they simply pack it up as treasure to sell later.

The group decides to move a fair distance away, until they get out of the dunes and the night begins to darken.  They then make camp for the night.  Vector and Berend spend a long time arguing over a watch schedule, with Berend eventually getting his three shifts of two men instead of Vector's idea of six single shifts.