D&D at the Games Tower

(Scroll for tl;dr) The echo of a hammer hitting steel reverberated around the caverns. The Adventurers™ now somewhat rested, followed the sound and found a makeshift smithy in a large chamber. They saw a fire pit in the middle of the room and a dishevelled dwarf working steel on an anvil.  He was chained to one of the natural stone columns.  There were also two Black Earth priests leaning amongst the weapon racks and boxes around the edge of the room.  As the party attacked the priests, one of them shouted “Protect the weapon!” The other attempted to run off down a tunnel.  Skonn pursued the priest and cut him down.  Aubrey took aim at the remaining priest and began to cast a fireball.  Garon realised that the spell’s area of effect would include and most likely incinerate the dwarf so he cast counterspell and nullified Aubrey’s spell.  This resulted in some bickering between the mages while the remaining priest was hacked to death. Now that ...

(Scroll for tl;dr) Sorin dropped the poisoned mushrooms down the Xorn’s throat.  Its mouth snapped shut and a noise like stone grinding together could be heard in its stomach.  The Xorn convulsed as Skonn attacked it from behind.  A Dragonborn cleric appeared and rushed to the party’s aid.  The Xorn gained some composure and lashed out at the party as the priest, who had been feeding gems to the Xorn, was quickly cut down.  Once the Xorn had been dealt with Sorin slashed at where he expected the stomach to be, looking for the treasure that had been poured down its throat.  He eventually found some gems and gold while Aubrey found a magic scroll on the priest.  The dragonborn, Fendril explained that he had been hired by the Lord’s Alliance to eradicate the Black Earth Cult.  He and his friends had fought their way through the monastery and mines but only the dragon born had survived.  They decided to join forced for now.  Balderpoor h...

(Scroll for TL;DR) Skonn slashed at the giant with a hand axe and managed to get free of its grip.  The giants were tough but eventually bested, with Skonn and Sorin each strikingly a killing blow.  Garon hurled spells from a safe distance, managing to stay conscious in this fight.  The giants didn’t have many items of interest except for a kite shaped gem that pulsated with an eerie glow.  Garon examined it but did not believe it to be magical.  They found a strange suit of armour in a crate by the giant’s bed.  On closer inspection the party found that the armour was solid and could be fitted together.  In the chest plate was a kite shaped recess and the party immediately placed the gem in it.  The armour came to life and started to speak.  It was disorientated and said that its name was Warden. It had been a bodyguard for the Hand of Yartar.  It agreed to follow the party as it believed the earth cult was responsible for its disasse...

As they tended their wounds, the rock in Aubrey's pocket started to speak.  "Zeran, have the intruders been dealt with? We’re sending all remaining mages to the hall. The Mud Sorcerer is also on route so watch out!" Aubrey recognised the item as a Sending Stone and realise he would reply with a short message.  He said that the intruders had been dealt with and there was no need to send anyone else.  There was no response and The Adventurers™️ waited nervously while they looked over a Staff of Swarming and a Ring of Spell storing that had been found on the cultists.  Garon sensibly took up a defensive position in the corner of the hall while the others huddled around the glowing campfire.  More cultists appeared from two difference corridors and four gargoyles suddenly barred the exit from the Temple. Unfortunately Garon had positioned himself near to a sorcerer and his Stone Golem.  He desperately tried to disorientate and harry them, unleashing a thick ...

(Scroll for tl;dr) As the battle cries and footsteps grew louder, Aubrey, Balderpoor, Garon, Skonn and Sorin readied themselves for the inevitable battle. In the ancient hall there were already two Hobgoblins and Bulette. They were joined by two more hobgoblins and spear wielding Bulette rider. Balderpoor, Skonn and Sorin killed the hobgoblins easily but the Bulette proved tougher until Skonn eventually downed the beast. From the south corridor five Duergar approached but as Skonn recklessly charged at them, Aubrey crackled a lightning bolt killing four of the dark dwarves. The final Duergar cast invisibility but was not stealthy enough to sneak past Skonn, who swung his sword at the darkness, cutting the dwarf down where he stood. As Skonn was taking out his unseen foe, a Bulette and rider appeared from the west corridor followed by three Black Earth Guards and a Battlemage. Skonn charged again while the others took up positions. As the Bulette burrowed into the ground Skonn took ...

Arnogall had taken the last watch.  As the dawn broke, the other members of the party, Balderpoor, Sorin and Skonn started to wake to find their companion missing.  They assumed Arnogall would be back so over breakfast Sorin told the others about a strange dream he’d had that night.   He described the centre of the a crossroads corridor where his God, Gwaeron Windstrom, pointed to a door. When Sorin walked through it the ground trembled. He entered a large empty dwavern hall where the stoneworked floor gave way and he fell, landing in a narrow cavern. Ahead was an evil looking altar.  There was a figure with snake hair with its back to him. As he began to approach he felt immense pain and looked down to see a metal horn had pierced through his chest from the back, then pulled out. As he fell to the ground he saw a goat with long sharp metal horns. As he lay there dying, he noticed the goat’s eyes had a strange symbol where it’s iris should be. There the dream end...

(Scroll for tl;dr) Skonn charged at the Umber Hulk burying his greatsword, Frost Brand, into the beast. As he fought, he noticed a figure above the pit watching the fight.  As Balderpoor, Sorin, Arnogall and Aubrey began to move to help Skonn, the figure pulled a lever and an iron portcullis trapped Skonn and the Umber Hulk in the chamber.  The ogres Balderpoor had seen earlier appeared and attacked the party from the rear.  The mighty Skonn beat down the half beetle half ape monstrosity and began to try and lift the portcullis so he could help his comrades.  They were finding the orges difficult to deal with and Balderpoor and Arnogall had been downed.  The mine tunnels were crowded with four projections of Aubrey but the orges were some how managing to hit the real Aubrey more often than not.  Skonn eventually gathered his strength and lifted the portcullis, joining the fight only to be struck down by the Ogre Captain.   Monks armed with s...

(Scroll for tl:dr) After pledging allegiance to the Lord’s Alliance, Arnogall, Aubrey, Balderpoor, Skonn and Sorin took off on their Hippogriffs and headed for a shrine called Gwaeron’s Slumber.  Sorin had wanted to go here as it was rumoured that his god, Gwaeron Windstrom was sometimes seen walking in the woods and would grant a boon to anyone who slept there.  They arrived at the edge of the woods where Sorin expected to find the area in a perpetual state of Autumn.  However the scene more closely resembled winter.  Sorin led them to the centre of the wood where he meditated and slept. When he woke Gwaeron approached and asked Sorin if he wished to receive a blessing.  Sorin agreed and knelt down before him.  Gwaeron raised his warhammer and struck Sorin’s head.  A fight ensued and “Gwaeron” revealed its true form and transformed into an evil giant known as an Oni.  It’s hammer caused a thunderclap that incapacitated the entire party and Sorin...

(Scroll for tl;dr) The party emerged from the tomb and healed the fallen Balderpoor.  Across the graveyard they could see the old man from earlier.  He began to straighten up from his hunchback stance and called over, “Give me the orb, or die!”  Then he lifted his hands above his head and bellowed, “Rise!”  Four flameskulls now floated above the ground and a revenant clawed its way out of a fresh grave.  The flameskulls shot rays of fire at the party while the revenant protected the necromancer. During the battle, Aubrey was cursed with a Crown of Thorns spell and forced to fire a spell at the party.  Luckily his Wand of Wonder only cast Slow but no one was affected.  The flameskulls and necromancer were defeated and the revenant was slowly beaten down. Nareen Dhest emerged from the shadows demanding payment now that the Orb had been recovered. The party felt inclined not to pay considering that getting the orb had not been entirely straightfor...

(Scroll for tl;dr) As Skonn, Sorin, Arnogall, Baldepoor, Aubrey and Baphomet took their seats in the speaker’s dining room, the members of the town council drifted in. Speaker Wiston introduced them one by one: Delora Zann (Human, Female): Once a member of the famed Golden Drake  Company, a band of renowned adventurers.  She  retired to Drellin’s Ferry some years  ago.  Iormel (Human, Male): A wealthy landowner who has been on the Town  Council for thirty years or more. Kellin Shadowbanks (Halfling, Male): Head of the Shadowbanks clan and proprietor of the Old Bridge Inn. Captain Soranna Anitah (Human Male): Leader of the Town Guard, captain of the militia, and chief constable. A former merchants’ guard captain who travelled widely before settling in Drillin’s Ferry. Wisto n set the scene, showing the council members the map and letter that The Adventurers ™ had discovered. “Well, now you all know why we’re here.   In a ma...

(Scroll for tl;dr) Back on the river, Smiley, Baphomet, Jarlier and Wolfgang were still on the keelboat slowly making their way to Yartar. They were arguing over who was in charge because Sorin had taken the captain’s hat with him. Baphomet decided to leave and find the other Adventurers ™ while the other three continued to bicker .  Taking a hippogriff he flew via Yartar and Drillin’s Ferry to Wrath Keep.  Soaring through the night sky he approached Wrath Keep.  As he descended, a manticore flew past causing the hippogriff to panic but they managed to land safely. Baphomet flew through the open roof, landing in the keep courtyard finding the others exploring an underground vault hidden in the keep.  The vault housed three gated alcoves, each locked with a chain and padlock.  Slumped outside one of the alcoves was a human skeleton.  Skonn took a closer look and found a glimmering greatsword that was cold to the touch and a pair of ornate gauntlets. ...

The Adventurers™ waited in the forest clearing for Arnogall to return from scouting the keep. They listened for any sounds of disturbance in the woods but heard nothing untoward. Then silently, Arnogall appeared through the trees.  He explained he’d seen two hobgoblins in the ruined gatehouse of the keep, a large break in the main wall and the skeletal remains of a giant slumped against the wall.  Together with the map of the keep’s interior that Jorr had sketched out, the party had a pretty good idea of the layout.  Jorr piped up that of course there were giant skeletons there, “You all know the history of the keep don’t you?”  The party, being new to the area didn’t so Jorr explained that around 100 years ago the keep used to be garrisoned by soldiers lead by an ambitious nobleman called Amery Wrath.  After the fall of  Rhestilor, Amery laid claim to the entire Wytchwood and seemed to rid it of its evil reputation.  His first task was a tribe of...

Skonn and Arnogall landed their Hippogriff outside of Drillin's Ferry and headed towards the town, instructing the Hippogriff to go and hunt.  At the outskirts of the town was a wooden watch tower.  A guard questioned the two strangers and explained that the town was on edge as there had been more Hobgoblin raids than normal.  Skonn and Arnogall waited in the town common and were shortly joined by Jarlier, Sorin, Balderpoor and Wolfgang who also flew in on Hippogriffs.  The group went to the Old Bridge Inn and saw a mysterious man sat in the corner of the bar wearing commoner clothes. He looked worried. Wolfgang approached and asked what was troubling him.  The man said he'd seen an omen this morning that signified the end of the world.  Balderpoor, who was well practiced at interpreting omens, asked what the man had seen. He explained that a bird of prey had hopped from a rabbit hole, glared at him and returned back down the hole.  Balderpoor thought...

(Scroll for tl;dr) As they continued  their river cruise, The Adventurers™ searched the boat finding it had a cargo hold containing some rations, bed rolls and lots of rope.  They returned to the mysterious box on the deck and continued to examine it.  There was no obvious way to open it; its only notable feature was an inscription which read, “The more there is, the less you see.” Skonn suggested that they drag the box below deck where it was darker.  Once there the box opened and inside they found a vial of dark liquid suspected to be poison, a letter and a scrap of paper with instructions for the magic bowl they found on the pirate captain.  The letter contained orders to buy the lost orb, described as a deverstation orb, from the Hand of Yartar.  The letter also spoke of hidden treasure, should additional gold be needed.  The treasure was rumoured to be hidden under the long ruined Wrath Keep, about 80 miles to the north of Yartar.  Any t...