Egor, get my notes. Part 1.

The party returns to the chilled lowered caverns.  Scouting ahead, the next cavern looked clear.    But to the groups surprise two driders and a cultist were lying in wait.  The driders prove to be difficult foes, mixing melee, spells, and climbing on the walls into their tactics.  Rubbish attempts a spectacular maneuver to jump down on the cultist, but tragically misses (e.g. rolls a '1').  Things are tough, as the driders maneuverability helps them maintain the upper hand.  The cultist falls first, as he is simply the easiest target to pummel.  The party catches a couple of lucky breaks and one of the driders dies, making the last several round a game of whack the spider.

Triumphant, the band of adventurers enters a large cavern filled with whirring noises, metal boxes with blinking lights.  Giant glass tubes contain what look like pickled dwarves floating in a eerie green viscous liquid.  Lars cries out, "Finally!", when he sees the Emkrah bashing itself against some invisible barrier.  Two ESUs (that's Entropic Shadow Unchosen) are attacking the Emkrah, while on the other side of the barrier, five CTDs (Chaos-technology infused dwarf zombies), fire their last round of zero pistols shots at the Emkrah, which have no effect.

Three more cultists, though not in yellow robes, work in the background.  The humpback tiefling alchemist yells to the back of the cavern, "Master!  They're here!".  An old cranky voice yells back, "Gah!  How am I supposed to work in these conditions?!?!".  The four armed associate, in a finely tailored gold and white suit, with a shiny mithral breastplate, calmly responded "Egor is right Zed.  The outsiders are also coming soon.  We must prepare to go."

Zed curses loudly from the back, with some loud bangs and thuds.  "OK, I'm shutting the reactor down.  Damn, I was so close this time."  Egor runs to several lab tables with alchemical equipment on them and starts sweeping everything into his portable hole."  The party reacts and starts attacking the ESUs to clear them away from the Emkrah.  Lars stashes the potion on Eddies now broken body, "It's time buddy, it's almost over."  Eddie smiles, mentally broken as well after days of being tended to by the undead ettin, not really aware of what is going on.

==========
continued on: Egor, get my notes.  Part 2.  1/11/15 Post.

Gnolls to the left of me, Dwarves to the right.

Returning to the passage down, three wraith emerge out of a nearby well.  As the party battles the dark undead, an Entropic Shadow Unchosen (ESU) comes up from the party and engages in combat.  The rascally adventurers overcome their adversaries and head out.

In a high-domed cavern, with an inexplicable breeze, more wraiths and three ESUs, not sure if they've been detected by a patrol or not, the group quickly dispatches the vile creatures and make it to the passage down.

Descending into the lower caverns, the air gets much colder, requiring warmer clothing.  The group creeps along to a main hall with a large ramp, loading gear, surrounded by a dozen headless statues.  The party dwells for but a moment, before moving on into a side corridor at Rubbish's suggestion.  In the side corridor there are two of the chaos-technology infused dwarf zombies (CTD), one shadow entropic unchosen, and a yellow robed cultist.

The party prepares for combat, and sends Kushii in invisibly, to get the drop on the cultist.  Luce and Billy are to take out the CTDs and ESUs.  Lars is general support and chief eater of cheese.  As the plan unfolds, Kushii avoids the CTDs and their supernatural senses and gets the drop on the Cultist.  Her attack, however, misses wildly (read epic '1' failure).  Turning visible, is the signal that everyone else engages in combat.  The battle is slow, Luce takes a lot of punishment holding the line with the ESU and a CTD.  The party grinds down the opposition eventually, and Kushii finds out that the Cultist had some kind of protective field around him.

After the brutal encounter, the party retreats and regroups, for another foray into the deeper caverns.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP: 5400 XP
Session Loot:  3 masterwork warhammers, 3 masterwork chain mail, 3 masterwork steel heavy shield, 3 zero pistols (4 charges each), 2 bang grenades, +1 mithral agile breastplate, +1 darkwood heavy wooden shield, +1 keen shock adamantine rapier, masterwork cold iron morningstar, handy haversack, alchemist's lab, cleric's kit, 200 GP.

Jelly Babies

Descending into the mining shaft, following the rails of a pair of mining carts.  Adjacent to the main mining cavern, the party finds an outpost.  Moving in, Kushii detects and disarms a trapped door.  The party spies a colony of vegepygmies, worshiping some weird stone egg.  On the south wall, "The curved Elven blade comes" in orcish.  Lars is able to make contact and inquire about the path of the emkrah.

Through a side door the party crosses a side room, into a hallway where an ochre jelly engages the party but proves not to be much of a threat.  The ochre jelly had removed the trail the emkrah was leaving.  Further down the hallway, the party spies a group of morlocks morning over the loss of one of their comrades.  Not to let an opportunity pass, Lars goes invisible and pretends to be the spirit of their fallen friend and admonishes the morlocks to help the party when they arrive.  The morlock leader agrees, and after a few moments Lars announces himself and gains the help of the chieftain, heretofore referred to as 'Rubbish'.

Leading the party down into the lower caverns, the party ambushes a group of derro digging at some metallic object imbedding in the stone.  The party quickly dispatches them and loots the area.  Over in the next cavern, a mural of ancient mythology where gigantic tentacled horrors roam the countryside covers the wall and the smell of urine fills the air.  Troglodytes mill about and the party ambushes and loots them as well.

Jelly cubes (Gelatinous Cubes) are blocking the passage down into the lower caverns.  The poor jellies are savagely overcome by the energetic adventurers.  More looting happens.  The party retreats to recuperate, before descending below.


==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP:  3400 XP each.
Session Loot:  75 GP, 40 SP, Aquamarine (450 GP), Chrysoberyl (100 GP), Green Spinel (60 GP), Hematite (10 GP), Moonstone (40 GP), Obsidian (10 GP), Smoky Quartz (35 GP), Masterwork Breastplate (350 GP), Masterwork Chain Shirt (250 GP), Masterwork Falchion (375 GP), Oil of Mage Armor (50 GP), Oil of Magic Weapon (50 GP), Potion of Ant Haul (50 GP), Scroll of Aqueous Orb (375 GP), Wand of Prestidigitation (375 GP).  56 PP, 453 GP, 500 SP, 2800 CP, Masterwork Composite Longbow [+3 Str] (700 GP), Masterwork Scale Mail (200 GP), Masterwork Shortbow (330 GP), Potion of Feather Step (50 GP), Potion of Magic Fang (50 GP), Potion of Pass without Trace (50 GP), Potion of Protection from Chaos (50 GP), Potion of Stabilize (25 GP).  30 PP, 230 GP, Amethyst (110 GP), Green Spinel (40 GP), Onyx (60 GP), Topaz (400 GP).

Which Way Did He Go?

Following the trail of the Emkrah, the party heads west out of the city of Katapesh, shadowing the river Scorpius.  The Emkrah makes tracking easy by leaving a wake of destruction.  Turning to follow the Pale River, the trail leads into a nearby oasis.  In its history, the oasis was named the Deep Well of Paradise and served as a shrine to Sarenrae until it fell to the vampire Rotaimvei.  In recent years, a paladin of Sarenrae, Fadiyah Al’Qirym, set out to liberate the oasis and return it to being a shrine of the Dawnflower.  
As the party approaches, a lammasu named Assad Ashraf-asim introduces himself and warns the group to leave as the oasis is now called the Hell of Eternal Thirst as it is overrun with undead.  The party tells Assad that they are there to cleanse the well and recover the artifact Dawn’s Swift Burning, the sword Fadiyah borrowed to purge the evil in the oasis.  Assad reluctantly agrees and warns the party to be especially careful at night.
Entering the oasis, the party is assaulted by eight large apes.  Really no match for the deadly adventurers, the beasts fall to the group and the group resumes their trek.
Making their way to the ruined temple, the party spots an undead ettin lurking in the shadows.  Further in the temple a burnt corpse with a sword in its clutches.  Moving in the adventurers provoke both the skeletal ettin and the spectre dwelling inside.  Kushii engages the dangerous specter while Lars breaks out his trusty make-nice-with-the-undead spell.  The evil in the temple falls, and Luce is able to consecrate the place to purge the remaining vestiges of the curse.
The party passes through a graveyard, to a large obelisk structure.  Crude desecrations cover the base of the pillar, and a small circle of crushed skulls and red wax lies nearby.  The party makes camp and begins clearing the site to restore it back to its original purpose.  Vampire spawn and lacedons attack the party in the night.  Swift shadowy forms and wet stinky ghouls prove to be no match for the group.  At dawn the pillar is retouched by the Dawnflower and the party recovers under the rejuvenating effects.
Having spied something under the water from the top of the temple, the group takes a boat and discovers the unholy shrine at the bottom of oasis’s pool.  Luce isn’t about to let anyone else do the defiling in his presence, and purges the remnants of the lacedon’s dwelling.  
Still haunted, the party searches the graveyard and finds the sarcophagi of the vampire spawn.  Luce drops down into the well and smashes the stone sarcophagi with his adamantine falchion.  
With the last remnant of evil purged from the oasis, Assad returns and congratulates the party on their success.  Lars impatiently reminds the party that the Emkrah, while having visited the oasis, is still traveling further away.  With the chase back on, Rayhan sends a message that the Emkrah is being drawn to a site near the Pale Mountain:  Hammerfalls.
Quickly resupplying in Kelmarane, the party makes for the mysteriously abandoned dwarven stronghold of Hammerfalls.  Arriving there, the party discovers that the main entrance is sealed with an enormous stone slab.  Searching around the party discovers a secret entrance.  Wandering in the first room is a killing pit.  The group climbs up the ladders and moves down a hallway.  Suddenly, they are attacked by heavily armed and armored dwarven zombies.  Blackish-purple chaotic energy seeps out of the dwarves.  Into the constrained space of the hall, the dwarves toss a flash grenade.  
Well, the party isn’t too happy at this point.  Such rare items as flash grenades being tossed about by undead dwarves, so far from Numeria, can’t be a good sign.  The dwarves prove incredibly resistant to damage as the battle drags on.  After creating a pit to block the dwarves in their barracks, the over equipped walking dead draw zero (cold-laser) pistols and begin to shoot the party.  Luce closes a door to the room with the pit, and the party focuses the fight on the two dwarves in the other room.  Slowly they wear them down and it is time to go back to the trapped dwarves.  Pulling a replay of the hobgoblin crossbow incident, Lars turns the door invisible while Luce antagonizes the dwarves by smacking and wiggling his bare arse at them.
Predictably, the dwarves shoot at Luce.  It is a this point the party discovers an interesting principle of laser pistols, they can shoot through invisible barriers.  So, Luce gets bit in the buttocks for a nice chunk of cold damage.  That is all Luce is willing to put up with, and he charges into the room and engages the dwarves.  After a long, painful battle, the party prevails.
Kushi wonders out loud, “What crazed evil would create such creatures?”
Lars’ statue whispers to him, “It is very close now.”
Moving through a secret door in the end of the hall, Kushii disarms a trap, and the party travels though a banquet all, into a large open room.  They party encounters two more dwarves, who toss a bang grenade and a darkness grenade when the fight starts.  With more room to maneuver and 50% fewer dwarves, the party gets through the encounter more effectively that the last one.  
========== Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy, Scarlett, Nykton Session XP: 8080 XP each 

Session Loot:  ring of sustenance, three potions of cure moderate wounds, coins and art worth 3600 GP, three timeworn chaositech zero pistols (0 charges), timeworn chaositech zero pistol (3 charges), two timeworn chaositech zero pistols (4 charges each), six masterwork warhammers , six masterwork chainmail, six masterwork heavy steel shields, two bang grenades 

Are You My Mummy?

Exploring further, the party finds a room with a sarcophagus.  Detecting Undead, Lars prepares his spell to control undead.  Opening the lid, the mummy immediate falls sway to Lars' persuasion. Nubkaura Inyotef VII is your typical cranky mummy, he enjoys defiling the grave of his traitorous sone.  Lars strikes a new deal with Nubkaura and he agrees to help the party.

The Mummy warns the party about a few gargoyles that are guarding a storage room.  Ready for the surprise from the ‘statues’, the party makes short work of the guardians, and wishes they had been guarding better loot.

With the mummy's guidance, the party arranges an ambush for Khair al Din, the resident priest.  Knocking on the door, posing as one of the hapless rubes, they momentarily distract him and get the drop.  Quickly moving through the underground lair of the One source guild, the party passes up some sahuagin in an sea-filled cave.  Then they find the temple room, and a few smelly corpses and a few smelly ghouls hiding among them.  The ghouls never stood a chance.

Then the party finds a water filled cavern, with a rope and wood bridge crossing over to a rocky outcrop with an elaborate stone door.  While crossing the bridge, a weird-looking mutant eye of the deep, strikes out of the water at the party.  Lurking up to the bridge, it is unable to pull Luce into the water.  The party finishes off the beast quickly before anyone has to go for a swim.

Taking a bit to get the stone door to open, the party moves into the hallway and locates Rayhan.  Healing him, the party gets Rayhan back on his feet, and they move forward to the door at the end of the all.  Searching around the room, Father Jackal enters the room and combat ensues.  With a loud howl, Father Jackal summons help and pulls a giant bear out of a sack at his waist.  Lars hits the bear with a bead of force, while Father Jackal continues to dance around the edge of the summoned spiked pit.  Then another door opens and the ugly twisted form of a skeleton head in a veiny gelatinous blob with a base of tentacles wanders in.  Using the last bead of force, Lars gets the emkrah trapped in a bead of force, while Father Jackal falls into and jumps out of the spiked pit.  Now with all their focus on the jackalwere, he succumbs to the mighty prowess of the Little Rascals.

Lars starts to communicate with the Emkrah with his bizarre other planar knowledge.  Eventually Lars figures out that the Emkrah wants to eat the corpse of Father Jackal, and Lars agrees so long as the Emkrah leaves the party alone.  Once the force wall drops, the Emkrah eats the corpse and heads out the stone door.

The party finishes exploring the lair and encounters the captain of the Sunset ship.  After introductions are made, and the party finds out the captain's plan to ruin Father Jackal, the captain offers the party 40,000 GP in rubies to feed a vial to the Emkrah.  The party negotiates the reward up to  45,000 GP, and agrees to get it done in 7 days.  It is at that time the Sunset ship will sail away for another 7 years.

The party heads out after the Emkrah...

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP: 7200 XP each
Session Loot:  wand of cure moderate wounds (37 charges); +2 full plate, +1 greataxe, obsidian and gold unholy symbol worth 140 gp, three potions of shield of faith +4, tan bag of tricks; +1 breastplate, +1 battleaxe, throwing axes (6), gauntlets of ogre power, key to one source temple and the prison cells

And... He's Gone.

After the dinner party, Rayhan and the party retire for the evening.  The party sets watches and all is quiet until the wee hours of the morning.  Then there comes a knocking.  Not really.  There was a noise at the gate.  Luce gets up, but before he can check, an elemental bashes in the door.  Several other thugs crash the party.  The rascally adventurers drag themselves out of bed and confront the band of thugs.  The thugs fall quickly, as if they are underpowered for the task.  Rushing up the stairs, the group discovers that Rayhan has been kidnapped.

The cops show up after the scrap.  Kazim warns the party that unless they can recover Rayhan in 24 hours, the Pactmasters will be forced to intervene.  Billy and Luce managed to drag several of the bodies off to a hiding spot, and Luce revived one for questioning.  They find out that the One Source Merchant Guild is behind the kidnapping and that little bastard Tamir led the kidnapping at the order of Father Jackal.

The party loads up on supplies, including several new and "gently used" pairs of pants.  Heading for the warehouse that Billy saw Tamir enter when he tailed him, Kushi disguises herself as a lady of the evening, and enters the front office.  Frontman for the One Source, Maysam Fajr, is not fooled and sets her pet cockatrices loose.  The party makes quick work of Maysam, the cockatrices, and a few thugs.  Peeking into the warehouse, the group spies a six guards milling around a score of slaves.  Sneaking into position, the party bushwhacks the guards and liberates the slaves.  Luce immediately puts them to work on his laundry, and they are offered freedom in exchanged for a year of service in Kelmarane.  The slaves accept the deal.

Going back and searching the front office again, the party finds the stairs down.  Exploring on, the party finds a barracks and completely overwhelm the thugs inside.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP:  3750 XP each
Session Loot:   seven potions of cure moderate wounds, four masterwork studded leather armors, nine masterwork short swords, four masterwork saps, nine masterwork hand crossbows, 78 bolts, four masterwork thieves’ tools, eighteen small flawed rubies worth 250 GP each, wand of cure moderate wounds (45 charges), chain shirt, +1 rapier, shortbow with 20 arrows, headband of alluring charisma +2, six potions of cure moderate wounds, six masterwork studded leather armors, six masterwork short swords, six masterwork saps, six masterwork hand crossbows with 60 bolts, six masterwork thieve's tools, twelve small flawed rubies worth 250 GP each.

Big City Lights

Arriving in Katapesh, Garavel leads the group up and around to Rayhan Xobhadi's villa.  The quivering merchant, Radi Hamdi, seems to be relieved to be out from Billy and Luce's watchful gazes.  Radi takes his leave and sets out for the northern gate into Katapesh.

Once at the villa, there is a stiff introduction as Rayhan's gardener/butler/cook Eramin greets them into the common room.  Things loosen up when Rayhan begins to examine the Scroll of Kakishon.  By then end, he is positively excited at the possibility that this may indeed be the genuine Scroll of Kakishon.

The party, at various times, is contacted by a few notable merchants in Katapesh.  Rumors of an ancient artifacts arrival in Katapesh, is whispered in the streets.  Marzuk, of the Mus'ad merchant family, Badra former Mercenary and now powerful merchant, Tamir of the One Source Merchants' Guild, have all made clear their interest in purchasing the scroll.

Rayhan suggests a dinner party, which is a traditional tactic when one is preparing to make a big sale in Katapesh.  The guests show up, along with Kazim, a very attractive cleric of Abadar, the representative of the authorities of Katapesh.  The party goes well, Billy demonstrated an extraordinary acrobatics feat.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP:  800 XP each
Session Loot: 100 GP each

The Gang is All Here

Uncle Tolo pays 1000 GP to each character for recovery of the two urns.  Uncle Tolo also suggests showing the recovered scroll to Alma.  Alma's eyes widen as she examines the scroll and informs the party of its significance.  Alma knows an expert that can provide more information, and he is located in Katapesh.  Alma says she will provide a letter of introduction and Garavel with a few guards as escort.

The party takes a few days to prepare, load up, and then head out.   After a couple of days, as the party begins to camp at an oasis.  A giant sand worm attacks the party.  The party scatters apart as the monster bursts through the sand.  Billy hops up on the back of his camel and starts shooting.  The rest of the party closes in and discovers that the beast can spew both lighting and acid.  But the massive creature is no match for the hearty adventurers.

Then as the party leave the oasis the next day, some hapless rube [insert name here] asks to join the caravan.  He claims that bandits struck and he got separated.  No one trusts him.

A couple more days go by and the party is set upon by a large group of brigands and gnolls.  Seeing the havoc that they loosed on the oasis, the party readies for combat.  The gnoll pack leader is a sorceress and there is an ettin backing them up.  Charging into the fray Luce makes short work of everything he swings at.  Kushii follows.  Lars, Billy and Itarilde provide artillery support.  Victory is quickly won.

They still don't trust the rube.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy, Itarilde
Session XP:  3300 XP each
Session Loot:  1000 GP each, 43 GP, obsidian unholy symbol of Rovagug (20 GP), wand of lesser restoration [19 charges], +1 studded leather (1615 GP), masterwork spear (302 GP), masterwork light crossbow (335 GP), cloak of resistance +1 (1000 GP), ring of protection +1 (2000 GP), obsidian unholy symbol of Rovagug (200 GP), 45 GP.

Uncoiled, Deflaming the Salamander Brothers

Returning to the vent, the sulfurous gases belch forth to greet the party.   The earth mephit guarding the entrance didn't even know what hit him, the adventurers struck quickly and effectively.  Lars, thinking impatiently, divides up the group.  Kushii and Lars wander into a den of fire snakes, and battle on to victory.  Luce and Billy find a tougher fight, with two salamander brothers.

The group reforms and wanders into the salamanders den, battling two more salamander brothers.  Coming out to see what was the commotion, the salamander sorcerer, his brother, and the high priestess stumble into the rumble.  There is a long drawn out battle, made even longer by the reenforcement by a guardian belker.  The belker is a dangerous foe, but falls before it can bring much harm to bear.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP:  2800 XP each
Session Loot:  wand of summon monster II [17 charges] (1350 GP), three flasks of alchemists fire (20 GP each), small stone dagger (1 GP), ancient bronze ring (30 GP), eight lapis lazuli (8 GP each), demonic snake statue (200 GP), eight flasks of alchemists fire (20 GP each), six spears (2 GP each), potion of invisibility (300 GP), necklace (70 GP), bracers of armor +2 (4000 GP), iron staff (5 GP), masterwork silk robe (40 GP), +1 shocking spear (8302 GP), two masks (40 GP each), bloodstone (60 GP), +1 spiked light wooden shield (1163 GP), two black beads of force (3000 GP each), necklace of jet (240 GP), necklace of monkey's hand (hand of the mage, 900 GP), masterwork owl bear pelt cloak (40 GP), fifteen +1 arrows (690.3 GP), one sleep arrow wrapped in vellum (132 GP).

The Long Arm of the Squid

At the end of the clam, restful area, an elaborate room vault down into the Pit of Screaming Ghosts.  The winding stair eventually spirals around a column into a vast cavern, with treasures as far as the eye can see.  As Lars makes for a pile of treasure, but finds out that it is all just an illusion.

Edimmus, the twisted undead spirits of genies, swirl about the room and attack the party.  Their shrieks are dangerous, but the party manages to slowly take them down, one by one.  Even during a blast of their gust of wind.

Moving into the ruins, the party encounters a room with a crystalline sand kraken.  Lars studies things for a moment, and says the magic words.  Lars enters the room and does not set anything off.  Luce then enters the room and the waiting beast attacks with all 10 tentacles, even reaching out into the hallway.  Billy and Itaridë move back further in the hall, and continue their ranged attacks.  Everyone else except Lars spends a few rounds grappled with the squid.  Distracted by so many tasty morsels, the sand kraken is taken down by ranged fire.

Back further, in the tomb of the ancient gnoll priestess Shirak, the party loots and finds the Scroll of Kakishon and a few other shiny objects.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Karabella, Itarildë, Luce, Lars, Billy
Session XP:  2400 XP each.
Session Loot:  Periapt of Wisdom +4, +3 mithral chain mail, great axe of life stealing, scroll of Kakishon.

Did Somebody Call a Doctor

Madfang, crazy guy behind the lobotomized gnolls, is wandering around his lab.  The party bushwhacks him and cleans out the operating room, his quarters, and few other places.

The banging behind the door can only be trouble.  Five Unchosen attack as soon as the door opens.  Keeping them pinned at the doorway, the party manages to make reasonably quick work of them.  No loot, just poo.

After double checking everything, the party descends under the throne into a calm, restful area.  Sneaking in Kushii and Billy are attacked by rasts.  Fiery, scab monsters, they fly about attacking everyone.  Slowly the party brings them down, one by one; each time narrowly escaping gaze and bite attacks.  Luce smashes the stone faces from which these beasts sprang.  At least the almonds are good.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP:  3400 XP each
Session Loot:  six injection spears (100 GP each), nine potions of calm emotions (300 GP each), anatomy scrolls (250 GP), potion of remove disease (750 GP), potion of neutralize poison (750 GP), potion of tongues (300 GP), +2 leather armor (4160 GP), masterwork dagger (302 GP), masterwork surgical tools (150 GP)

The King Is Broke

So the king is dead, lets go find his stuff.  And in the king's chambers there is nothing of value and everything smells like wet dog and rancid meat.  The king without a copper.

And in the next area, the party meets the king's harem.  The gnoll wives are not particularly pretty, even for gnolls, and viciously attack the party.  The fight is over quickly, and the party loots a haversack and some hookahs.

The next area is the carrion guard barracks, and catching them off-guard did not bode well.   After quickly defeating the guards, the initiates next door came out to see what all the fuss was about.  For priests, these guys were tougher, especially with those battle axes.  But the party prevailed.

The next room full of empty slave pens, except for old Amwyr Yuseifah.  Nasty, infected, and a vile slave trader, the party frees him and he promises a thousand gold and a slave if he is returned to Katapesh.  The party drags him along, but not too closely.

==========
Session Characters:  Lars, Luce, Billy, Kushii
Session XP:  1750 XP each
Session Loot:  handy haversack (2000 GP), book of erotic poetry (135 GP), small fancy box (carved alabaster inset with crystals-50 GP), rock crystal urn (265 GP), six gallons of bitter wine (5 GP each), five hookahs (50 GP each), four potions of cure light wounds (50 GP each), four +1 studded leather armor (1175 GP each), four masterwork scimitars (315 GP each), four masterwork composite +4STR longbows (800 GP each), eighty arrows poisoned with large scorpion venom (200 GP each), six wands of cure light wounds [10 charges each] (125 GP each), six splint mail armor (200 GP), six masterwork great axes (320 GP each)

The King Is Dead

An enormous howl draws the party over to look through the columns.  There on the throne sits the Carrion King with his Troglodyte priest beside him.  The party wastes no time and strikes out. Billy shoots, Lars summons an air elemental, Luce races around, and Kushii vanishes to an acrobatic launch onto the pillar where the throne resides.  The priest runs off to the side, and disappears, leaving the Carrion King the sole target.  After taking his share of lumps, the Carrion King brutalizes the air elemental.  Luce closes and finally lands a blow on the oversized gnoll.  As the battle goes on, at the moment the Carrion King seems to weaken, his troglodyte priest attacks him, appearing in midair beside the throne.

Lars thinks for a brief second, and tells Billy to take out the priest.  Billy shrugs, and fires away.  The priest looks surprised and after the second bullet strikes him, charges Billy.  Trading lumps with the Carrion King, Luce and Kushii finally bring down the lumbering oaf.  After dancing with the priest, Billy and Lars drop the disguised Janni.

Exploring the pit, the party finds a passageway.  Lars says there is magic thataway, and the party finds a huge monstrosity of a centipede.  Fighting with everything they got, the centipede falls.  Luce rips into the centipede's belly and finds a mummified hand of an elf on a golden neck chain.  Back in the cavern there is also a magical whip.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP:  2133.3 each
Session Loot:  +1 large breastplate, Goreshred (medium +1 human bane greataxe), belt of constitution +2, ring of protection +1, +1 chain shirt, +1 fire outsider bane frost scimitar, 4 daggers, hat disguise, ring of protection +1, a hand of the mage, +1 vicious whip.

Gnolls, Gnomes, and Gnowledge

Deeper into the House of the Beast, the party returns to the lower dome section.  Two Carrion Guards meet untimely ends and the party get the drop on them quickly.  Exploring west, Kushii assassinates another Carrion Guard at his post.  The party rummages through several rooms, eventually surprising a few gnolls in their bunks.  Using a handy wand, Lars excavates a filled passageway to reveal a blocked room.  This room appears to be the study of the impostor priest of which the Troglodytes warned.

There is a book of The Birth of Light and Truth, annotated in such a way to suggest that the impostor has also impersonated a priest of Sarenrae.  There are even garments to confirm this idea.  A notebook is full of prayers transcribed from another source.  The focus of the analysis appears to be a search for a place called "The Pit of Screaming Ghosts" located under the House of the Beast.  The last page mentions a great, priceless treasure called "The Scroll of Kakishon" that was buried with a gnoll named Shirak a long time ago.

Finally, heading down deeper the party descends into the Hall of Whispers.  There are six gnoll guards, 2 Carrion Guards, and 2 Initiates on watch.  The party sneaks down and opens combat with a vicious assault.  The regular gnoll guards offer little resistance, as the party moves off the stairway.  The Carrion Guards are brought down before they can bring their enchanted bows to much effect.  And the Initiates fight violently to the end.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy, Karabella, Karabunga, Itarildë Lúinwë
Session XP: 1,833.3 XP each
Session Loot: masterwork abacus (350 GP), box of 150 GP, seven tiny garnets (35 GP each), block of incense of meditation, ring of minor fire resistance, air elemental gem, 2 wands of cure light wounds (10 charges each), 2 splint mail, 2 masterwork greataxes, 2 masterwork scimitars, 2 masterwork composite longbows (+4), 2 +1 studded leather armor, 2 sting chuck, 54 arrows-poisoned with large scorpion venom, 2 potion of cure light wounds, 75 GP.

Trolling the Troll

Heading back to Kelmarane, the hearty adventurers encounter a troll on the mountain pass.  Billy fires a warning shot into the troll.  Forming up quickly, the party deals a good bit of damage before Lars dumps the troll into a pit.  Most of the party, takes Lars suggestion to run ahead and leave the troll in the pit.  Billy secretly lobbed a few vials of lamp oil with an alchemists fire primer.  Only Luce noticed Billy's not-so-innocent smirk and the persistent smoldering of troll in the mountain air.

The party returns to Kelmarane for a bit of rest and relaxation.  Selling of the loot becomes a bit more problematic, but Uncle Tolo says he has a contact that can move the items.  Even 100 poisoned arrows can be gobbled up by the markets in Katapesh.

Returning to the House of the Beast, the party takes out the two carrion guards back on patrol in the courtyard.  Heading for the main dome, the party enters the structure and bushwhacks the gnoll guards with an elaborate door/pit/illusion tactic.  As a result the gnolls tumble down into the pit, one and all.

On the other side of the hall, behind the double doors, the biggest scorpion that the party has ever seen.  The pit provides some cover for the party, but Luce eventually get snatch up.  Steady fire from Billy and stabbings from Kushii, weaken the scorpion.  Luce gets a couple of blows in before the beasts collapses.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP: 2800 each
Session Loot:  2 masterwork scimitars, 2 masterwork composite longbows (+4), 2 +1 studded leather armor, 2 sting chuck, 58 arrows-poisoned with large scorpion venom, 2 potion of cure light wounds, 100 GP

Processing the Loot Sheet

Lars:   potion of sanctuary,  small masterwork adamantine heavy mace, wand of enlarge person (10), wand of expeditious excavation (18),

Luce:  scroll of shield of faith, scroll of restoration, scroll of bless, scroll of delay poison, scroll shield of faith, potion of remove fear.

Kushii:  wand of cure light wounds (50), wand of know direction (50),  wand of mending (24), book "journey of the dead in ancient osirion", scroll of obscuring mist, masterwork composite longbow (+1 str),  potion of cure moderate wounds

Billy:  potion of hide from animals,  small masterwork cold iron heavy mace, oil of grease, potion of sanctuary,

Miracle Max:  wand of inflict light wounds (50),

Scarlett:  scroll of cure light wounds,  potion of remove fear, scroll summon nature's ally, scroll of inflict moderate wounds

Sold:  scroll of detect magic, scroll of magic weapon, masterwork spear, scroll of slipstream, wand of prestidigitation, masterwork longbow, 2 small masterwork mithral chain shirts, 2 small masterwork heavy wooden shields, wand of mud ball (23), potion of resistance, scroll of identify, cold iron masterwork longsword, scroll of protection from evil, wand of shocking grasp (50).

Game Update: Character Advancement

Zhadora and Miracle Max are now 6th level.

Who Let The Dogs Out

Returning to the house of the beast, the party cautiously approaches the troglodytes and parleys with their leader, Grundmoch.  The troggies want the Carrion King and his traitorous impostor ally dead, so they agree to hide the party between trips into the House of the Beast.

Time for killing.  The party kills a snake, some gargoyles, another carrion guard and his doggie, then heads up into the minarets for a peek.  The party goes up into one and kills the resident spider, and finds their way into the lower level.

Sneaking in the back way, the party manages to surprise a big ogreish dude, that Luce drops with a single blow.  The party races through the dungeon looking for another fight before the buff spells wear off.  They find an alchemically disfigured larger than normal gnoll, kill it, and roll on to another area where they face off with a couple of carrion guards and their slaves.  The slaves don't really want to fight and the gnoll guards drop quickly.

The party searches around and finds another area 300' down near a geothermal fissure.  But they decide to go back and look for more gnolls, which they find in a giant domed room.  There are several hyenadon pens here, and three mounted carrion guards.  The party strikes quickly and dispatches the first guard.  One of the remaining guards runs toward the down stairs, presumably to raise the alarm.  Lars bags him with a pit, and the last remaining guard falls shortly after.

In the next area, Billy finds a crazy goblin cleric of Lamashtu.  The cleric rambles on all sorts of the comings and goings of the House of the Beast.  But most importantly, the party must kill the Carrion King so the temple can return to the worship of Lamashtu instead of the bug in the ground.

==========

Session Characters:  Luce, Lars, Kushii, Billy

Session XP: 4900 XP each

Session Loot:  2 rings of minor fire resistance (12000 GP each), 820 SP, 450 GP, amethyst (90 GP), turquoise (11 GP), scroll of obscuring mist (25 GP), silver tube (40 GP), wand of bear's endurance [37 charges] (3330 GP), 6 masterwork scimitars (315 GP each), 6 masterwork composite longbows (+4) (800 GP each), 7 +1 studded leather armors (1175 GP each), 2 sting chucks (0 GP each), 120 arrows [poisoned with large scorpion venom] (200.05 GP each), +1 chain shirt (1250 GP), +2 belt of mighty constitution (4000 GP), large great club (10 GP), ceramic brazier (500 GP), injection spear (100 GP), 2 copper arm bands (150 GP)

Gonna Rock This House

Zayifid, a really tall fellow with a posh beard, wanders into Kelmarane and wants to speak to Almah and the heroes.  So word gets to Lars from his the shop in the battle market, and Almah arrives about the same the party does.  Zayifid warns that the Carrion King still lurks in the mountains and is planning to attack Kelmarane.  He reluctantly suggests that the party strike first, and take down the House of the Beast.  After a few drinks, he wanders back out of town.

Well rested after their year vacation, the party jumps at the chance for some action.  The party stocks up on supplies and heads out following the river up toward the Pale Mountain.  After switching off the river path, to one that heads a little more northerly, the party encounters a gnoll patrol.  Quickly dispatching the gnolls, the group interrogates the lone surviving gnoll.  He is from the White Canyon tribe, and that the White Canyon is a few miles ahead.  The party also asks about treasure, the only place the gnoll can think of is Hammerfalls and the mysteriously abandoned dwarven enclave that resides under the falls.  The party talks Lars down from jumping at the possibility of dwarven treasure.  Instead, the party decides to dress-the-part, and just wander through the village quietly and continue the path.  Kushii impersonates a gnoll, and everything goes as planned.

Rounding up the mountain, the party finally lays eyes on the House of the Beast.  Spotting some recently escaped slaves, the party gears them up and they agree to help out, after Kushii sweet-talks them into it.  Going around to the east gate, the party decides to assault the two hyaenadon-riding gnoll rangers.  The rangers aren't too tough, although the hyaenadons are particularly vicious.

The party makes the scene look like the White Canyon tribe raided the gate.   And they sneak off into the mountains to camp and regroup for the next foray into the House of the Beast.

==========
Session Characters:  Scarlett, Luce, Lars, Kushii, and Billy
Session XP:  1280 XP each
Session Loot:  2- masterwork scimitars, 2- masterwork composite longbows (+4 STR), 2- studded leather armor +1, sting chuck, 40 arrows (poisoned with large scorpion venom: injury; save Fort DC 17; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Strength damage; cure 1 save.)

Game Update: Payout and Loot Sheet

It looks like the party is going to have 2,000+ GP payout.  [EDIT:  The payout is 2500 GP]  There is another 10,000 GP of loot on the loot sheet.  Remember to suggest items to be dispensed to our infrequent players.

==========
Loot sheet:
Qty Item
1 Scroll of Detect Magic (12.5 GP)
1 Wand of Cure Light Wounds (750 GP)
1 Scroll of Magic Weapon (25 GP)
1 Wand of Know Direction (375 GP)
1 masterwork spear (302 GP)
1 Scroll of Slipstream (150 GP)
1 Wand of Prestidigitation (375 GP)
1 Potion of Hide from Animals (50 GP)
1 Wand of Inflict Light Wounds (750 GP)
1 Masterwork Longbow (375 GP)
1 Potion of Sanctuary (50 GP)
1 Scroll of Cure Light Wounds (25 GP)
1 Scroll of Shield of Faith (25 GP)
2 small masterwork mithral chain shirts (1100 GP)
1 small masterwork cold iron heavy mace (324 GP)
1 small masterwork adamantine heavy mace (3012 GP)
2 small masterwork heavy wooden shield (157 GP)
1 Scroll of Restoration (700 GP )
1 wand of enlarge person [10 charges] (150 GP)
1 wand of mud ball [23 charges] (345 GP)
1 wand of expeditious excavation [18 charges] (270 GP)
1 wand of mending [24 charges] (180 GP)
1 book “journey of the dead in ancient Osirion” (400 GP)
1 oil of grease (50 GP)
1 scroll of bless (25 GP)
1 scroll of obscuring mist (25 GP)
1 Scroll of Delay Poison (150 GP)
1 Potion of Remove Fear (50 GP)
1 Potion of Resistance (25 GP)
1 Potion of Sanctuary (50 GP)
1 Scroll of Identify (25 GP)
1 Beneficial Bandolier
30 Alchemical cartridges (paper)
1 Gunslinger's Kit
1 Handy Haversack
2 Medium Pistols
1 Cold Iron Masterwork Longsword
1 Handy Haversack
1 Medium masterwork composite shortbow (+1)
1 Scroll of Protection from Evil (25 GP)
1 Scroll of Shield of Faith (25 GP)
1 Scroll of Summon Nature's Ally I (25 GP)
1 Wand of Shocking Grasp (750 GP)
1 Masterwork longspear (305 GP)
1 Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (300 GP)
1 Potion of Remove Fear (50 GP)
1 Scroll of Inflict Moderate Wounds (150 GP)

==========

Don't forget to level up.

A Year In Kelmarane

Heroes one and all, the party is the center of a celebration.  Almah bestows the title of "Knight Protector of Kelmarane" to each party member.  The party is also granted ownership of the Wharfmaster's Manor, in no small part to keep an eye on the harpy Undrella and her shop.

Lars starts a business, Chinchilla and Associates, in the battle market, and over the course of a year makes a little money, but acquires a strange elven adamantine blade. [3000 GP payout]

Luce and Scarlett lead patrols to deal with any gnolls wandering into the Kelmarane surrounds.  Alma pays a 250 GP per month salary for the activity.  [3000 GP payout]

Kushii explores the powers of Tempest, and her moldspeaker abilities.  She learns to summon Tempest from mold dust for 3 hours per day, as long as the actual weapon is not within 30 feet.

Billy helps out with the restoration and protection of the Sarenrae Church.  He is given the title Abbot-Protector of Kelmarane's Sarenraen community, ranking 2nd only to the high priest, who arrives a few weeks after the celebration.   Billy studies the teachings of Sarenrae and religions in general.  Billy is given a relic of the church as a reward for his service.


==========
Other party members will have to review the options and choose how they spent their time in Kelmarane.

Game Update: Character Advancement

Kushii, Lars, Luce, and Billy advance to the 6th level.

All other party members advance firmly into the 5th level.

The Liberation of Kelmarane

An orc walks into a bar.   Then she rips it down and stomps it into the ground, so she'll never suffer that indignity again.  Then she hands a note for party, that Uncle Tolo needs to talk with the dark elf, and she's the replacement.  The party nods speechless, as the almost 6' symbol-scarred green monster smiles a tusky smile.

Searching around the crypt reveals everything that should be dead is dead.  And although there is some loot to be had, Billy is very reluctant to desecrate this space.  Billy was a temple guard in Katapesh, and they spent quite a bit of time teaching him not to take things from sacred places.

The party goes down into the well, and explores the passage to find another series of crypts.  The coffer corpses really weren't much of a threat.  Getting to a great big door at the end of the passage, the party buffs up and goes in.

At first there is Kardiswan in an earthen cavern.  Kardiswan starts talking some smack that makes no since.  Fight?  Sure.  Billy starts acting a bit weird calling Kardiswan a horrific monster, but the fight goes on.  Kushi and eventually the others, finally see the scorpion-crossed-with-a-dragonfly bizarre monster for what it truly is.  The monster seeming toys with the party, until it starts making for the door and out into the passageway.  Kushi goes down, but Luce, sensing the end is near, charges to vanquish the monster.  The illusion covering the room fails, and the party sees the area clearly.  Alas, the evil that was Xulthos is no more.

Alma has a big party in Kelmarane, and Uncle Tolo has something special for the party.

=========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Billy, Lars, Luce, and Scarlett
Session XP:  1120 XP each
Session Loot:  TBD

Bang a gong and set fire to the rain.

A dark elf walks into a bar.  Well, not a bar really.  More like the room where the party was camping, which can smell like a bar at times.  Anyway, back to the elf.  So this elf comes with a note from Uncle Tolo to hurry up.  The captured bard was lead back for medical treatment.

The party moves on, and hears talking behind a door.  They kick open the door and move in to find a room full of urns, vases, and statues.  There are also five hobgoblins and two humans.  The humans are in explorer gear, and are well equipped.  Billy makes eye contact with the human with the two pistols.  Time slows down, a drop of sweat crawls down through the air.  Fingers flex, eyes squint, and Billy moves first and whips his musket around to fire right into the other Gunslinger's chest.  Time speeds up and combat continues.  The hobgoblins do not fare very well as Luce, Kushii, and Itarildë wade through them like they are meat puppets.  The gunslinger dies, but they manage to capture the bard alive.  [Insert tortuous interrogation here.]  The party recovers the urn that matches Uncle Tolo's description, and a few others.

In another room, the pompous Janni is back with flind troops.  They do not do any better than last time, and the Janni is killed before he could get away.  Lars looks at the map and wonders, where the bottom of the sewer drain could be.  Only a ratfolk would be preoccupied by such thinking.

Back near the entrance, the party buffs up before entering the one remaining room on the level, using a map provided by the bard.  Opening the doors, the oder of burnt poop does indeed dwell here.  Along with a very stinky gibbering mouther.  The ghoulish torture equipment in this room only hints at the depraved horrors that must have taken place here.  The twisted aberration is a difficult opponent, but everyone wants out.  After killing the beast, only Billy and Lars seem enthusiastic about searching the room for loot.

Returning to Kelmarane, Alma hears the tales of the party's adventures and now considers them ready for the final task.  Alma has the interlock key to open the vaults below the church.  Many years ago, the Pactmasters forces imprisioned an evil creature that they could not defeat.  The party must go eliminate that evil, so Kelmarane can be free.

Down into the depths they go.  And after someone rings the gong, three angelic fire elementals appear and attach the party.  With swift and sure action, the party brings them low, and are ready to explore more.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Lars, Luce, Billy, Itarildë Lúinwë
Session XP:  2160 XP each
Session Loot:  Benefical Bandolier, Alchemical cartridges (paper), Daggers, Gunslinger's Kit, Handy Haversack, Heavy Mace, Medium masterwork studded leather, 196 GP, 2 Medium Pistols, Medium Rapier, Arrows, Bard's kit, Cold Iron Mastwork Longsword, Handy Haversack, Medium masterwork buckler, Medium masterwork composite shortbow (+1), Medium masterwork rapier, Medium masterwork studded leather, 28 GP, 157 GP, 340 SP, 2300 CP, Agate (10 GP), Aquamarine (450 GP), Black Pearl (450 GP), Chrysoprase (45 GP), Citrine (40 GP), Deep Blue Spinel (90 GP), Malachite (10 GP), Moonstone (45 GP), Onyx (55 GP), Rock Quartz (9 GP), Smoky Quartz (45 GP), Tourmaline (90 GP), Turquoise (8 GP), Small Masterwork Light Steel Shield (159 GP), 93 GP, 360 SP, 2200 CP, Polished darkwood chalice (50 GP), set-six ivory dice (30 GP), Silver candelabra with holy symbol (75 GP), Scroll of Protection from Evil (25 GP), Scroll of Shield of Faith (25 GP), Scroll of Summon Nature's Ally I (25 GP), Wand of Shocking Grasp (750 GP), 32 PP, 302 GP, 270 SP, Masterwork longspear (305 GP), Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (300 GP), Potion of Remove Fear (50 GP), Scroll of Inflict Moderate Wounds (150 GP)

We All Live In A Yellow Pub, Marine.

After a good night sleep, the party goes back to the Owlbear and kill it.  Then they resume their exploration of the crypts.  Going into a secret door, they find a room filled with a giant mushroom.  And it turns out, the mushroom doesn't like visitors.  Once the battle is underway, the mushroom releases a spore into the air that seems to affect everyone's sense of reality.  Some were melting, some were drowning, some were running away.  But everyone agreed, as they floated on purple clouds, that they needed to own and operate a yellow pub.  Somewhere in the haze, enough will comes to bear to destroy the dire fungus.  Everyone's heads clear, and the party regroups to move onward.

Back to a side corridor, the party forces its way into a well guarded room.  The dark stalker was not amused and turned out the lights.  Not able to overcome the deeper darkness, the party threw grease around, stumbles, summoned a pit, and pushed every area of the room.  Eventually the dark stalker, Luce, and Kushii fall into the pit.  The lights come on suddenly, and Kushii seems to be cleaning off quite a bit of blood.  The dark stalker is dead.

Going on, the party wanders into a room with a demon face scribed on the wall.  Stirges spring forth and attack the party, except for Luce who is wearing a demon mask from elsewhere in the crypts.  After Billy shoots the last stirge, the party decides to rest again.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushii, Billy, Lars, Luce, Karabella
Session XP:  1120 XP
Session Loot:  22 PP, 300 GP, 128 SP, 1090 CP, 22 GP, Scroll of Delay Poison (150 GP), Wand of Light (375 GP), 33 PP, 236 GP, 100 SP, Bloodstone (35 GP), Lapis Lazuli (9 GP), Obsidian (10 GP), Masterwork Whip (301 GP), Potion of Remove Fear (50 GP), Potion of Resistance (25 GP), Potion of Sanctuary (50 GP), Scroll of Identify (25 GP)

And The Monsters Came Tumbling Down

Lars pep talks Barry to continue his slaughter of hobgoblin soldiers.  Barry leads the way, smashing his way through another door.  The five skeletons don't flinch as Barry runs by and begins smashing another door, but they begin to move as the party approaches.  They party makes quick work of the skeletons, as Barry gives up on the iron door and smashes through a wooden one instead.  Kushii works the chime of opening and succeeds in getting the iron door open.  Inside the room, Barry has charged the fiendish earth elemental, as the yellow and brown robed figured take cover behind him.  The party hears a clap of thunder and gets a whiff of ozone.

Zhadora follows the wight-train into the northern door, and Luce and Kushii move in through the southern one.  Lars, Max, and Billy follow in and start their mayhem.  One of the robed figures strikes at Barry with another lightning bolt.  Barry and the elemental trade blows as the first of the priests falls.  Focus then falls to the robed arcane caster, as the earth-fiend strikes Barry again.  The robed priest moves into the corner, and the party re-positions to engage.  The elemental strikes down Barry and moves between Luce, Kushii, and Lars.  The wight-spawn attack the party.  Zhadora tries to end-round the escaping priest, by going out another exit.  After the rock monster falls, Billy follows Zhadora.  The last of the wight-spawn is defeated quickly.

The Priest exits into the next room, where Lars gets a glimpse of a minotaur.  Then an obscuring mist fills the area, cutting of any visibility.  The party tentatively moves into the misty room, Zhadora finds her way to the Minotaur.  Lars goes invisible and moves past most of the ruckus, in search of the escaping priest.  The group battles on with the minotaur.  And Lars wanders into the owlbear room, sneaks by, and catches up to the priest.

Lars catches up with priest, and bloodies him with the ring of the ram, just as the goes into stirge room.  Lars hears a scream, then takes some damage from the surge of negative energy.  Lars retreats back to the party, as he hears more screaming.  Later, the party recovers the body of the priest and finishes off the two remaining stirges.

==========
Session Characters:  Zhadora, Miracle Max, Kushii, Billy, Luce, Lars
Session XP:  1379.2 XP each
Session Loot: 122 GP, 30 SP, 4000 SP, diamond (1000 GP), 2 small masterwork mithral chain shirts (1100 GP each), small masterwork cold iron heavy mace (324 GP), small masterwork adamantine heavy mace (3012 GP), 2 small masterwork heavy shields (157 GP each), scroll of restoration (700 GP), wand of enlarge person [10 charges] (150 GP), wand of mud ball [23 charges] (345 GP),  wand of expeditious excavation [18 charges] (270 GP), wand of mending [24 charges] (180 GP), book "journey of the dead in ancient osirion" (400 GP), 65 GP, 400 SP, 1300 SP, milky quartz (35 GP), large masterwork greataxe (340 GP), masterwork rapier (320 GP), oil of grease (50 GP), scroll of bless (25 GP), scroll of obscuring mist (25 GP).

Can't Get Enough Of Your Blood, Baby. -Barry Wight

The party, rested and ready, sees that the coast is clear.  They sneak over an check on the room where the wights were last located.  Still there, the party plans their attack.  Inside the room, there were only three wight-spawn.  The fourth was elsewhere.  Luce took the brunt of the response, but the spawn were dispatched quickly.  Only a couple of rooms over, Benson the third was lurking about.  Kushi was the front man taking the hit, for that encounter.  Benson had amassed his own pile of loot.  Lars finally gets to read, "The line of Garthok shall be hidden until the keep is laid to ruin", the dwarven note by the small pit.

Backtracking to finish searching the second level, the party discovers a room full of ghouls.  Zhadora gets bitten in the opening round, but shakes off the fever once combat is over.  The party makes one last sweep for secret doors, then rests again before descending to the third level.

At the bottom of the stair, a simple door with many scuff marks, waits for the party.  Inside there are two shredded darkmantle corpses on crumbled torture equipment.  The next rooms doors are battered down, one with a tiny dragon corpse and treasure.  Then, peeking around the corner is the towering hobgoblin barbarian wight smashing his fists into a wall.  Lars polishes up his spellcasting prowess and manages to get control over the rage-wight.  Lars hands him a mace to help him pound through the wall, where there is also a secret door.  With weapon in hand, Barry Wight has no trouble smashing in the secret door and then catching a chest full of heavy crossbow bolts.

With the hobgoblins is Errid Vellishi, the Janni warrior that fought with the party earlier.  Barry Wight charges the barricade they've erected.  The rest of the party files in and eventually pushes Errid back into the other room, while the Hobgoblins and Barry fall into a magical pit.  Kushi, Zhadora, and Billy leap over into the other room.  They take out Errid, but manage to wake up the Owlbear guardian of the room.  The owlbear takes a couple of nics before Billy makes a spectacular shot and scatters owlbear brains all over the wall.

What will the party do?  In three rounds, the pit disappears. Barry Wight and his spawn will be looking for blood.   If Barry had a few ranks in Perform (Singing), I'm sure we'd hear the smooth, soulless sounds of singing from the deep, dark pit.

==========
Session Characters:  Miracle Max, Zhadora, Luce, Lars, Kushi, Billy
Session XP:  800 XP each
Session Loot:  4 GP, 22 SP, Agate (11 GP), Lapis Lazuli (11 GP), Masterwork Spear (302 GP), 60 GP, Black Pearl (350 GP), Garnet (90 GP), Milky Quartz (60 GP), Zircon (45 GP), Scroll of Slipstream (150 GP), Wand of Prestigitation (375 GP), Scroll of Restoration (700 GP), Potion of Hide from Animals (50 GP), Wand of Inflict Light Wounds (750 GP), 15 GP, 93 PP, 780 GP, 250 SP, 2200 CP, Aquamarine (500 GP), 2- Chrysoprase (50 GP), Coral (80 GP), Moonstone (60 GP), Zircon (40 GP), Masterwork Longbow (375 GP), Masterwork Longsword (315 GP), Potion of Sanctuary (50 GP), Scroll of Cure Light Wounds (25 GP), Scroll of Shield of Faith (25 GP).

Wight Out

The party spends a few days in Kelmarane, regrouping, selling off loot, and reequipping.  Old Zastoran (Krieger) is telling Alma and the party that trouble stirs deep below the ancient shrine.  The omens are becoming dire, and the heroes should be very careful.

Returning to the crypts, the party discovers that many of the doors have been smashed and obliterated.  It is as if a wrecking crew came through in a hurry, demolishing each door as they went.  Following the trail of smashed doors, whatever had made its way through went down into the third level.  The adventurers trace back the scene to head to the origin of the latest activity.  A room of four skeletons does not offer much resistance, but working their way past a shadow strikes at them.  Combat is swift and decisive, the shadow is no more.

The group finds a secure stone door and open it, discovering a wight.  But not a wight of hobgoblin origin.  This wight is much older, back to the days of when the crypts were being used actively, thousands of years ago.  The hearty group easily dispatches the wight, and they explorer onward.  Lars inquires if Luce would cast Detect Traps, but Luce responded "I'm not that kind of cleric."

All seems quiet, until the party opens the door to find the next room full of swarming spiders.  Lars has a brainy moment, and informs the party that weapons won't work.  Magic and area damage are the key.  Kushi and Luce are covered trying to combat the vermin, while Billy tosses alchemist fire and Lars fling spells.  Kushi breaks out a torch and tries to burn out the critters.  Luce and Kushi are bitten many times, but Kushi also falls under the influence of their poison.  Eventually the spider swarms are beaten down.

The next room Kushi hears the hissing of wights, Luce overhears the phrases "Magic Rat" and "But why did they call you Benson".  Using detect undead, the group figures out there are four undead in the next room and opt to scout around then camp before assaulting the room full of wights.

Backing around, there is a room with a weird statue and fountain, then the long hall leading to the room where the wight bomb was set off.  The party sees the door they left open, still in that state, and they decide to go back an camp without going any further.

==========
Session Characters:  Lars, Luce, Kushi, Billy
Session XP: 1035 XP each
Session Loot:  28 GP, Scroll of Detect Magic (12.5 GP), Wand of Cure Light Wounds (750 GP), 29 GP, 42 SP, 150 CP, Scroll of Magic Weapon (25 GP), Wand of Know Direction (375 GP).


 

Game Update: Payout

This is the payout for the last several sessions.  It does not include any amounts for the unallocated items.  Uncle Tolo says that with the tales of your heroic deeds, in the future he may be able to negotiate better wholesale prices for the party's goods (i.e. from 50% to 55%).

==========
Unallocated items:
  Scroll of Fog Cloud
  Wand of Spark
  Masterwork Short Sword
  Masterwork Great Sword
  Oil of Purify Food and Drink
  Potion of Pass without Trace
  Scroll of Summon Monster I
  Potion of Guidance
  Potion of Remove Sickness
  Scroll of Protection from Law
  Scroll of Touch of the Sea
  Wand of Bleed
  Scroll of Bull's Strength
  Wand of Protection from Chaos
  Masterwork Chainmail
  Masterwork Heavy Wooden Shield
  Masterwork Falchion
  Mithral Chain Shirt
  Potion of Barkskin
  2-Potions of Bull's Strength
  2-Potions of Bear's Endurance
  3-Potions of Cure Moderate Wounds

Party Fund, current balance:  1,269.30 GP
Each Party Member receives:  2,000.00 GP

Some of the unallocated items may have been allocated, so we'll review everything next game session.

Game Update: Character Advancement

Lars, Luce, Kushi, and Billy are now 5th level.  All other party members are 4th level.

Wight Trash

The party continues exploring and finds a room with ten skeletons, and makes short work of them.  Next door a shadow attacks through a portcullis, and his stash is much better than the empty handed skeletons.

Another room, twelve skeletons.  Lars cringes as Billy fires his musket with six gold piece increments at a monster that will have no treasure.  Billy seems fine with making the loud band noise.  Kushi finds another arrow trap, and keeps insisting that she's just not that kind of rogue.  Billy points out that he's not a rogue at all, just a short-attention-span fighter.

The next room turned out to be most entertaining.  A large, brutish hobgoblin was sitting behind a table with a dozen tankards filled with various brews.  Several casks of various ales line the border of the room.  Rogrock invites the party to sit down and have a drinking contest.  Luce wanders up to the table, while Billy twitches in the corner.  After several rounds, Luce is doing very well at keeping up with this monstrous example of his kin.  Rogrock slides a wanted poster that shows a very detailed drawing and description of the party and the comment to kill them.

Combat breaks out around the table, and Rogrock is deadly with his falchion.  The party scatters around the room, but after a few rounds has not made much progress.  Benson Woodhouse manages to kill two hobgoblins with his level draining ability, before Rogrock smites him brutally.  Billy makes a dash across the room to draw fire, and Lars sinks the two would-be wight spawn down into a pit as a few neighbor hobgobins wander into the room from next door.  Things are looking bad, and everyone focuses on thinning out the hobgoblins, before bringing to bear lethal force against Rogrock.  Billy scores a critical with his musket to finally bring down the hobgoblin brute.  Lars convinces a few of the hobgoblins to run for it before the wights get them, only to be cut down by Kushi and Luce as they exit the room.

With a most strategic, deliberate, and lucky withdrawl, the party exits out as the pit spell fades and two full-fledges wights rise up from below ground.  As a last parting shot, Lars casts control undead and successfully befriends another wight, telling him to feed on all of the dying hobgoblin warriors.  The party shuts the iron door to the room from which they entered, and spike it shut.  Retreating to the entrance of the crypt, Lars giggles "wight bomb".

Farewell Benson Woodhouse.  Hello new Benson Woodhouse.  What horrors will await the party upon their return...

==========
Session Characters:  Kushi, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP:  2092.5 XP each
Session Loot:  1069 GP, masterwork falchion, 6 javelins, mithral chain shirt, 1 potion of barkskin, 2 potions of bear's endurance, 2 potions of bull's strength, 3 potions of cure moderate wounds, masterwork backpack, 3 longswords, 3 longbows, 46 arrows, 50 GP, aquamarine (450 GP), jasper (65 GP), rose quartz (45 GP), saltwater pearl (80 GP).

Meet Benson Woodhouse

Descending to next level, the party spies a room with a rust monster.  After the party engages the beast in combat, the seven Duergar in the next room wander into the fray.  Interestingly they are armed with wooden quarterstaves and leather armor.  The party soon vanquishes them and resumes exploring.

Entering a dark room, the party battles a wight.  Lars tries to control it, but no luck.  The party destroys the undead creature.  A couple of rooms over a 2nd wight waits for Lars to try again.  Luck shines on Lars and the wight becomes friendly.  After a bit of conversations, the wight is named Benson Woodhouse, and equipped to explore the rest of the crypts with the party.

A couple of rooms with skeletons do not offer much sport for the party, but the nasty traps guarding the treasure do.  Billy's eyes gleam with the shine of platinum.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushi, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP:  1842.5 XP each
Session Loot: 7 leather armor, 7 quarterstaves, 21 javelins, 20 GP, Scroll of Spiked Pit (375 GP), Wand of Disguise Self (750 GP), 5 GP, 30 SP, Masterwork Chainmail (300 GP), Potion of Enlarge Person (50 GP), 28 PP, 253 GP, 66 SP, 70 CP, Carnelian (65 GP), Freshwater Pearl (9 GP), Pyrite (11 GP), Turquoise (10 GP), Masterwork Heavy Wooden Shield (157 GP), 12 GP, 87 SP, 130 CP, Azurite (8 GP), Shell (11 GP), Copper brazier with religious markings (50 GP), Decorated silver plate (60 GP), Gold bowl with dragon engravings (400 GP), Silver and glass decanter (75 GP), Silver chess set (50 GP), Silver comb with gold handle (125 GP)

Peek-a-boo Hobgoblins

Reinforced by some of Kelmarane's finest, the party finishes its sweep of the upper level of the crypts.  First they battle a scorpion, but then the party finds a door with chatter taking place.  Setting up the ambush, Lars cooks up a plan where he can make the door invisible.  Luce and Billy are ready to taunt the occupants, who are speaking goblin.  Everyone else is ready to pile it on.  So, the door goes poof, Luce and Billy give the hey-nonny-nonny.  The hobgoblins have a contraption aim at the door that consists of five heavy crossbows.  They fire it at Luce and Billy, and in the process destroy the invisible door.  Fighting at the door slows things down, until a few of the party members charge into the room showing off their acrobatics.  The fighting is intense, and Billy sets the crossbow contraption on fire.  The last hobgoblin that falls, changes form into a tall gaunt featureless humanoid.  Some people would wonder why there is a doppleganger impersonating a hobgoblin.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushi, Lars, Luce, Billy, Alwin, Miracle Max, Zadora
Session XP:  400 XP each
Session Loot:  7 chain shirts, 7 longswords, 7 heavy wooden shields, 7 longbows, 140 arrows

Rat Race

The party sets out again, exploring the crypts under the shrine.  Into the next room there is a  groaning noise heard, and a bunch of empty bottles in the corner.  But peeking into the next room, rats.  Not the most exciting battle, more disgusting really.  Not to be outdone, the next room contained even more rats.

After a quick clean up, and a fresh round of optimism, the party moves into the next room and wonders, "can there possibly be any more rats?"  The answer, is of course, yes.

Moving on, the next room contains an impossibly tall gentleman, in a shiny breastplate, brandishing a scimitar.  Smiling, he closes into combat.  And just as the party seems to get him on the ropes, he disappears.  The scorpion in the next room fights until the bitter end, and there is a note scratched into the wall in goblin on the south wall:  "the mirror of deception shall be restored when light becomes shadow and the oath is broken."  slimy floor?  No one wants to know.

Going into the next room, everyone in the party is thinking "wow, there must have been a sale on rats when they stocked this place."  But what they should be worried about is, what are all those rats eating?

The next room has a sundered shield lying in it with "emerald, black, iron, black" written on wall. Labyrinth tiles line the next room where Kushi discovers and disables a falling block trap.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushi, Lars, Luce, Billy
Session XP:  2121 XP each
Session Loot:  43 GP, 300 SP, 900 CP, alabaster (8 GP), obsidian (10 GP), onyx (50 GP), painting of a noblewoman (50 GP), oil of bless weapon (50 GP), potion of guidance (25 GP), potion of remove sickness (50 GP), scroll of protection from law (25 GP), scroll of touch of the sea (25 GP), wand of bleed (375 GP), 22 GP, 12 SP, 60 CP, lapis lazuli (10 GP), scroll of bull's strength, wand of protection from chaos, 71 GP, 10 SP, aquamarine (550 GP), azurite (11 GP), carnelian (45 GP), carnelian (55 GP), chrysoberyl (80 GP), green spinel (45 GP), onyx (55 GP), opal (400 GP), saltwater pearl (110 GP), smoky quartz (35 GP), turquoise (11 GP), carved ivory scroll case (60 GP), gold statue of a dragon (110 GP), 2 ivory drinking horn with copper ends (60 GP), ivory drinking horn with silver ends (110 GP), painting of a queen (750 GP).

Karabella and the Beetles of Fire

Resuming the exploration, Kushi clears a trap and discovers as small chest of loot.  Backing out of a dead end, the group doubles back and explores a new set of rooms.  Along the way, they meed a shadow.  With nigh perfect tactics, the party brings the shadow down low.

The next group of rooms, the party encounters a particularly vicious group of hobgoblins.  The action spills over into another room with a few more hobgoblins.  And then someone lets out the fire beetles.  Billy was hoping for fire-breathing beetles, but these were more like lighting bugs and their glowing butts.  The fire beetles were quickly dispatched, and the party even manage to collect some of their glands.  (eww)

Lars spends a few moments listening to his statue.

==========
Session Characters:  Kushi, Lars, Luce, Billy, Karabella
Session XP:  723 XP each
Session Loot:  46 GP, 105 SP, 310 CP, Freshwater Pearl (13 GP), Turquoise (10 GP), Scroll of Fog Cloud (150 GP), Wand of Spark (375 GP), 31 GP, 165 SP, 1190 CP, Alabaster (13 GP), Malachite (12 GP), Obsidian (9 GP), Sard (40 GP), masterwork scale mail (200 GP), masterwork short sword (310 GP), 45 GP, 390 SP, 1200 CP, Agate (10 GP), Obsidian (9 GP), Sard (40 GP), masterwork greatsword (350 GP), oil of purify food and drink (25 GP), potion of pass w/o trace (50 GP), scroll of summon monster I (25 GP)

Party Purchase:  Wand of Mage Armor (750 GP).

The Poop, The Poop, The Poop is on Fire

Zastoran and Uncle Tolo have discovered a map to a buried temple under the ruins of the old shrine across the river from Kelmarane.  Uncle Tolo believe another one of the urns, the one with the feline head, is located there.

Finding their way into the temple, the party is immediately face with a scorpion.  After a quick battle the party moves in and finds doors trapped.  There appears to be a drain/sewer pipe going down to the next level.  Carefully working their way along a southern path, the party hears a noise and decides to knock.  The noise stops and the party opens the door to discover four hobgoblins waiting.  This combat is particularly vicious, and the four hobgoblins wind up splattered about the room.

After a thought, Lars whispers something to Billy and Billy disappears for a bit, returning jsut in time to help pick through the Hobgoblin's loot.  Working their way down, the party navigates through more traps until they encounter a room with a shadow.  The incorporeal nature of the beast was troublesome at first, but after a few moments the party fell into a groove and finally brought the shadow down.

==========
Session Characters:  Jon, Kushi, Lars, Luce, and Billy
Session XP: 880 XP each.
Session Loot: 109 GP, 84 SP, 140 CP, Coral (120 GP), Opal (550 GP), Rose Quartz (50 GP), Sardonyx (45 GP),  Chrysoprase (55 GP), Deep Blue Spinel (70 GP), Lapis Lazuli (8 GP), Lapis Lazuli (9 GP), Opal (600 GP), Rock Quartz (11 GP), Sard (50 GP).

Game Update: Character Advancement

Hazel, Zhadora, Miracle Max, Alwin, and Hoppin Jon have advanced to the third (3rd) level.

Blunderdome

Billy spends a day performing the tasks that Jank normally does.  After being mistreated, spit on, yelled at, ordered about, Billy started keeping a very low profile.  Routine checks on the door, were followed by sneaking off and wandering about the battle market.  When the party returns, Billy discloses that there are only two gnoll patrols inside the market.  And other than Kardiswan, there are a few bugbears, a flind, and a ogre who enjoys strangling opponents.  Billy also notes that there is a fighter who doesn't seem to be there willingly.

Kushi and some of the party go off to try to recruit Haleen, others continue to wander around the battle market.  And after Haleen is on board, a general plan devised, the brave party starts a scrap in the main hall.  The Three Jaw Tribe is set loose on the other gnolls, and the party focuses on the heavies in the room.

Billy starts things with a shot at the ogre, as Luce moves on stage to draw him closer.  The party groups in on the stage, but the bugbears seem to be taking their time finishing their drinks and gearing up.  As the ogre falls, the bugbears are moving in.  The two moving in the main aisle are met by Luce and Kushi, with cover fire from Billy.  The lone bugbear is met by Haleen and Lars.  The bugbears fall quickly, the party is then drawn back into the fight when Kardiswan appears in the ring and strikes Haleen with his vicious-looking great-axe.  Kardiswan shows himself to be a very dangerous foe wielding his axe, so Lars makes attempts to grease his weapon and succeeds on the second try.  This turns the battle to the party's favor, and Kardiswan falls attempting to retrieve his weapon.

Any remaining gnolls flee Kelmarane, anyone the party made an alliance with remains in Kelmarane.  While word is sent to Almah that Kelmarane is clear, the party searches (ransacks) the battle market.  The party finds the gear of the Lions of Senara.  Oxvard and Felliped reclaim their gear, and give the gear of their fallen comrades to the party.  Billy, begins to refer to Oxvard as chief, and joins Oxvard on burial detail.  First, the fallen Lions of Senara, then the priests of the church, then clearing out the battle market.  Billy seems unusually attentive to Oxvard.  Fillaped helps for a while, but later starts searching Kelmarane for maps.  The Moldspeaker feels pity for Kardiswan, as if he was destined for great things and had fallen from his path.

 ==========
Session Characters:  Luce, Kushi, Lars, Billy.
Session XP:  2100 XP each
Session Loot:  +1 ring of protection, +1 cloak of resistance, masterwork chainmail, +1 dagger, wand of bull's strength (8 charges), silversheen (4 doses), +1 amulet of natural armor, +2 cloak of charisma, slippers of spider climbing, small silver masterwork flute (130 GP), three (3) potions of cure moderate wounds, potion of expeditious retreat, two (2) masterwork breastplates, masterwork flindbar, +1 halberd, five (5) daggers, ring of feather falling, +1 lawful outsider bane greataxe, four (4) large garnets (400 GP each),

Game Update: Payout

Two party members accompanied Uncle Tolo and Armando to Katapesh to liquidate some loot.  With Uncle Tolo's assistance, the party was able to generate a bit of cash.

150 GP - Per each Almah's remaining payment
500 GP - Per each payout for liquidated loot

==========
Unallocated items:  +1 longsword, ring of jumping, ring of the ram (37 charges)
Party Fund:  845.85 GP
Each party member receives: 650 GP

Note:  If I have forgotten who spoke up for any of the items, let me know.  Somebody in the party has to be able to use a (medium) longsword.  I'll check the PC sheets.

Get Me To The Church On Time

Uncle Philler Tolo and Armando return from an unusually quick trip to Katapesh.  In their company is a feisty wayang witch named Hazel.  Uncle Philler suggests that Hazel would be a benefit to the party's effort to reclaim Kelmarane.  With the party already full of unusual characters, Alma agrees.

Making their way back into Kelmarane, the party makes for the south western apporoach.   With the gnoll allies in tow, the group makes for the graveyard behind the church.  Exploring the graveyard, they meet a kindly but grumpy priest.   Suspicious, the party detects that he is undead.  He leads them into the church where he slams the door and bars it to separate the party from their gnoll escort.  Kushi gets raked early and looks a bit worse for wear.  The creature is tough, with the party's weapons not fully affecting the monster.  After he is defeated, the group explores the church and finds an interdict seal in the basement of the church.  Even the chime of opening is insufficient to break the seal.

The party moves on to explore the remaining buildings of the down, and walk by the gatehouse without engaging any gnolls.  The gnoll on watch doesn't seem too interesting in the gnoll escorted group of fellows.  Finally taking the plunge, they go up to the main entrance of the battle market where they are greeted by a goblin in a jester's outfit.  Jank, as he is known, escorts them in to the main area of the battle market.  The party refuses his direction to get on stage, insisting instead to wander the stalls.  Dejected Jank returns to watch the front entrance.

After casing the building, the party gets the idea to get Billy to stand in for Jank for a day.  With some shopping, Kushi gets some help overcoming her fever with 50gp of antiplague.  And Billy gets a dose of stimulant to help him stay awake.  The party returns to the old slave market to rest and recuperate overnight.

==========
Session characters:  Kushi, Lars, Luce, Billy, and Hazel.
Session XP:  387 XP each.
Session Loot:  none.

Game Update: Character Advancement

Kushi, Lars, Luce, and Billy have advanced to the third (3rd) level.

Who's That Knocking At My Door? or Little Pig Little Pig Let Me In!

On their journey back to Kelmarane to search for Felliped, the party was attacked by a blood lizard.  The party got to experience the disgusting blood spew attack of the lizard, fortunately Jon was able to hop out of the way.

Once back at their forward base, the group begins to search door to door along the east end of the south road.  Stealthily searching each building, they discover Felliped.  He is in hungry, ill-equipped, wounded, but able to move out.  While the party prepares to return to the monastery, Jon and Billy sneak over to the battle market.  Billy sets up watch and covers Jon, while Jon climbs up to the balcony where the howler's tent is located.  Jon tosses some alchemists fire over to the tent, and it immediately catches on fire.  Jon hops down, and he and Billy return to the party and leave Kelmarane with shouts of fire in the distance.

Later that night, a band of gnolls show up and signal a parley with the guards on watch.  Lars is summoned to translate.  The gnolls are from the Three Jaw Tribe, and enemies of the Kulldis tribe that now occupies Kelmarane.  He grudgingly states that he has been ordered to offer his help to the forces of Lady Almah.  Dashki shows up and helps further the discussion with the gnolls.  Almah trusts Dashki, but not the gnolls, and she whispers to Lars "if the gnolls look like they will betray us, cut them down and Dashki too if it comes to that."

Lars instructs the Three Jaw gnolls to use their hideout as a base and ambush any gnolls that patrol near that building.  Lars renames them with more common sounding names Scrotanium, Scrotor, Testeclese, Testicullus, and Nads (the leader).

The party returns to Kelmarane and investigates the tannery, where Jon thought he saw an old woman.  Well the old woman turned out to be a harpy.  The party surrounded the house and knocked on the door.  When the harpy answered, there was and immediate beat-down starting with a musket shot to the face.  Her first action is to surrender and offer her help in defeating Kardswann, leader of the gnolls and ruler of Kellmarane.

The party gathers up Nads' group and plans to approach the guardian dire boar, with the guise of a gnoll delivery.  The ambush strategy worked very well, except for Luce, who took a proper goring for the team.  The party returned to the monastery to discuss the next step.

==========
Session Members:  Luce, Lars, Kushi, Jon, and Billy
Session XP: 880 XP each.
Session Loot:  gold necklace worth 130 GP, ring of the ram (37 charges)

Somebody Get The Goat

The party patiently waited for the patrol to show up to deliver the goat.  Billy and Kushi had hidden the signs of the battle outside the mill, while Zadora and Max moved the peryton caracas into the mill.  The next afternoon, the patrol wanders into the mill oblivious to the fact that the the peryton isn't moving.  The party springs the trap and makes quick work of the first three gnolls. The goat runs out the door as the fourth gnoll starts to flee, but Kushi cuts him down.  Max yells, "Get the goat.".  Billy makes a spectacular head shot and drops the goat.  Billy gets odd looks from the party, but he shrugs his shoulders, "I got the goat."

Waiting for another patrol to ambush, the party watches a group of gnolls lead a prisoner out into the pesh fields.  The gnolls push him down to his knees, and begin to beat the ground with a large staff.  While the gnolls are waiting, the party sneaks up and charges the gnolls from behind.  This group of gnolls put up a better fight, but still succumb to the battle-hardened warriors of the Little Rascals.

The rescued prisoner introduces himself as Oxvard of the Lions of Senara.  His group of explorers are from the distant land of Cheliax.  Most of his group has been murdered by the gnolls.  But one of their group, Felliped may yet be alive.  He had escaped two nights ago, but Oxvard believes that he is hiding in one of the ruined buildings in Kelmarane.  The party returns to the monastery with Oxvard and the goat.

===========
Session Characters:  Kushi, Zadora, Max, Billy
Session XP:  800 XP each.
Session Loot:  8 spears, 8 longbows, 150 arrows, 8 medium leather armor suits, 8 heavy wooden shields, 26 GP, one dead goat.

Bird is the Word

The morning started out with one of Almah's guards yelling, "Intruder!".  A pugwampi had returned to the monastery shrieking and babbling.  It ran past the guard and went straight for the courtyard.  Hiding in the shrubs, the pugwampi starts digging around.  When the party finds brings force to bear, a giant vulture swoops in and attacks the party.  The party struggles until the pugwampi received the beat down it deserved.  The geier, distraught over the pillaging of its nest, fought viciously on until the end.  The old caravan priest 

The party decided to makes a venture into the pesh fields when a dust digger pops up and attacks the group.  Billy shakes his head and mutters something about noisy friends.  The dust digger slams a few party members, but eventually grabs Luce.  Billy gets several rounds off, but it is Kushi who deals the death blow and says, "Do I have to do everything around here."  Luce scrapes of the pungent saliva.

Approaching the long edges of Kellmarne, the party works their way back to the mill.  Sneaking up to the building, Billy is spotted by the peryton inside.  Always the hair trigger, Billy's shot informs the party of trouble ahead.  The bird-deer-hybrid monster pummels the party.  Billy looks longingly into his nigh empty ammo horn, as Kushi finishes off the beast.  The party sets up watch, and waits until the next goat delivery to ambush the gnolls.  In the mill the party finds a magical sword and a ring in the peryton nest.

==========
Session Members:  Lars, Luce, Kushi, Billy
Session XP:  834 XP each.
Session Loot:  +1 longsword, ring of jumping

Game Update: Character Advancement

Zhadora, Miracle Max, Alwin, and Hoppin Jon have advanced to the second (2nd) level.

Game Update: Campaign Modification

While GMing the Savage Tide, the rule for giving XP to absent characters was 50%.  This kept characters with 2-3 levels of the leaders, and kept the party from falling out of sync.  But there were moments where the party, as a whole, was too low level to have access to certain abilities that would have helped in critical areas.  Things were painfully difficult in certain moments in the Savage Tide campaign.

I am going to modify the absent character award to 75%, which should keep all the party members within 1-2 levels of the leaders throughout the campaign.

Since the Little Rascals are on the Medium Advancement track, I will have to add enough side adventures to keep the party at level.  The situation will probably need tweaking through the six adventure path books, but I should have sufficient resources to keep the game going at good pace.  I am hoping that the medium track allows for a longer time enjoying the 'sweet spot' of levels 5-12, and allows enough diversions to entertain everyone's character development.

Of course, this is a cooperative enterprise and I leave this open for all to discuss.

Sitting Here In Almah's Town, or Who Let The Frogs Out

Coming in from his watch, Billy drags in a giant frog and announces "Look what I caught".  The frog is actually a grippli, and Lars informs Billy that he can't eat it.  When the grippli regains consciousness, Billy apologizes for shooting him.  The grippli introduces himself as Hoppin' Jon, and he was traveling to Katapesh when slavers overtook his caravan.  Jon fled into the wilderness to escape.  Almah, growing more accustom to the variety of non-humans in her crew, invites Jon to stay with her caravan.  Jon is even eager to help strike a blow to the slaving gnolls, and help retake Kelmarane.

The first night in the Old Monastery, around midnight, an impossibly loud yelping howl bellows out from Kelmarane.  A moment later, a faint but similar howl answers in the direction from the distant Pale Mountain.  Dashki tells the party that the howls are a form of long distance communication between gnoll tribles.  In this case, it is the Carrion King the ruler of the Kulldis tribe in Kelmarane and agent of the gnoll monarch in an unknown base on Pale Mountain.

The party sneaks up to the village, traveling by the river.  After observing the patrol patters, and the apparent feeding of two large creatures hidden in town, the party decides to explore a bit. In the first house, Jon scouts out a massive boar that seems to be watching the southern road.  Backing off, the party skirts around the eastern side and enters what appears to be the old slavers market.

Jon finds a big viper inside and draws Billy's attention.  Billy fires a shot to notify the party that there is trouble inside.  Converging inside the party finds two more vipers.  The vipers don't put up too much of a fight, but Jon is bitten and looks a little greener than usual.  There is no treasure in the old slave market, but tracks in the area indicate that the gnolls seem to avoid this building.  This makes it an excellent location for staging missions into Kelmarane.

The party returns to the Monastery so Jon can rest and recover from his bite wound.  Almah listens to the reports of each party member.  But Uncle Tolo has a curious look in his eye...

==========
Session Members:  Luce, Lars, Kushi, Billy, Jon.
Session XP:  320 XP each.
Session Loot:  one (1) grippli.