"All in the Family" or, The Family that Prays Together, Stays Together...

... or something like that.

Here we have a family interred within their family tomb, which is also a shrine to their god, as well as a gateway for an avatar of that god to treat with them, other faithful followers, as well as those who may seek conversion and the gifts that act bears...

It took me a while to come up with what "lived" in the pool, until the phrase 'flayed god' came to me. Leaning heavily on the imagery of Xipe Totec, I went with it.

The OG Flayed God

Anyway, I'm not sure how this one turned out. It was an interesting presentation and content challenge. The adventure-bits themselves are basically one page, with lore, monster and spell descriptions, and other material taking up four pages... The spell Fear doesn't show up in B/X-OSE, with its first appearance in AD&D as a mage/illusionist spell. Likewise, Shadowdark has neither Fear or Remove/Cause Fear in its original edition. So those spells are included, and modified to fit the systems. I got lazy and didn't convert the family members and avatar to SD, but I think they are straightforward enough to run on the fly. Also, this can be approached as a delve, or potentially access to a resource, depending on how it plays out. 

Anyway, you can check in on the Viermetz family and their fleshless proselytizing here. 

Going to step into the Crumbling Keep of Khashmur with some other yahoos on Monday evening. Watch our hapless adventures here.

Campaign Journal: Final Entry

Who made it through all this nonsense:

• Jax-barbarian
• Slick-thief
• Frederick-thief
• Rondel-elf

This will be a long one. Buckle up.

We set the scene:

The smoke cleared from the battle. Forces bandaged up and counted their dead. Militia dispersed, back to protect their own town walls. The Acroria forces considered their situation – their city destroyed, their people refugees, their leadership dead or scattered. Out of this, the Librarian offered to help them solidify this new network, and journey to the Ha-Tak Pyramid to connect it to the Barrier.

Half the Khanate cavalry was returning north, and would escort the Librarian against harm.

That left the party, half the cavalry, and a handful of knights. There was still the root of the Chaos to be eliminated. Dukan Dildran and his contingent of cavalry would join, as well as Benedikt. And Serafina, who has been spending some time with Slick, will join on this final crusade. Oh yeah, and Kavderac, because dragon. After all, dragons may sense another dragon's horde location and size. It is how they assess the strength and age of their potential competitors, and whether it is wise to confront or give them a wide berth.

West toward the mountains and the blighted lands. First, the lair of Eorvalth, the doomed dragon. Consistent with the elven rangers' report, the lair was found to have been the site of a battle, with the dragon missing, as well as their loot. Kavderac sniffed around, disappointed. The dragon equivalent of couch cushion change was found, as well as a couple of overlooked scrolls. The company rested and considered next steps.

While they paused, Kavderac scouted the foothills and mountains for Eorvalth's missing hoard. Successful, he returned.

The dragon guided the party and their cohort into the mountains, with assurances that Eorvalth's hoard was found, and the mutant stronghold assumed to be close by.

Campaign Journal: Forces Clash

Who hears the drums of war?

• Jax: Barbarian
• Fred: Thief 1
• Slick: Thief 2
• Rondel: Elf

It has been a week since Acroria burned. The anchor lens is active, helping communication up and down the Western lands, as well as creating a deterrent to the Chaos forces pressing into the settled areas. Chirath's embattled forces are mopping up both Acroria's strike south and outbursts of Chaos that penetrated past the barrier.

Scattered forces gather at Gaerborin: local militias, Victor Matui with his knights and mercenaries, other adventuring parties and their forces, and the naga Adra with her hobgoblins and outlaws. Umm, let's keep her out of sight, ok? Maybe as a reserve... Oh yeah, and a bunch of dead dudes.

Knowing that the twisted dragon heralded from the west, Slick and Rondel flew invisible scouting missions west, looking for troops. Sure enough, two columns of mutant soldiery were spotted. Time to dig in. 

The party arrayed their forces west of the tower. Rondel found a massmorph scroll in his collection, and hid the undead troops as a copse of trees. Two hurriedly-constructed trebuchets were wheeled out. The mutants and their leaders formed up, charging across the plain. Slick was able to kill one leader, causing some to hesitate and pull back. Rondel took out the second, as the dead clattered into the mutant flank.

Archers fired, knights charged. All very cinematic. From the south, Chaos knights plunged across a river, intending to catch the allies' flank. A company of mercenary foot, supported by Adra and her forces, halted their charge.

get 'em, boys!

Campaign Journal: The Smoke Nears

 Who's staring slack-jawed at the news that Acroria is on fire?

• Jax: Barbarian
• Fred: Thief 1
• Slick: Thief 2
• Rondel: Elf

Things were in motion. Slick and some loyal soldiers secured the captured priest in the fortification's oubliette, with Slick giving plenty of both vocal and implied threats of what would occur if he were to attempt any more shenanigans. 

Now what's this with the fire? The soldiers could report little more than seeing columns of smoke and meeting a swarm of terrified refugees. Some of the dispatched soldiers had ventured on, with intent to learn more.

But first, shenanigans. The party and Manchin were attacked by soldiers and priests loyal to the head priest. Their attacks focused on Manchin as the fortification's leader, and he took several wounds before the party was able to counter them. More sounds of combat rang through the halls of the fort. The priest, freed by loyal troops, emerged. Rondel attempted to web a door to halt their charge, but the priest was able to dispel his barrier. More struggle, and Slick made good on his promises, shanking the priest, before Henry Cee was able to unlimber his flail and punch his clock for good.

The surviving rebels surrendered and were secured. 

More troops returned, confirming that most of the city's troops had marched south to attack the "incursion" of Chirath forces gathered at Mithlonde in preparation to mobilize west for the region's defense. Gerhard returned, confirming the attack, followed by a confused retreat as news of the city's demise spread. Regardless, both forces were out of play as they fought running, pitched battles.

And what could have caused the fire? Word arrived of mutant chimera bursting from the city's prisons and sewers. Chaos had gained much more than a foothold. It had been staging for some time...

And the response was in kind. 

Hi again!

Campaign Journal: Smoke on the Horizon

Who's looking over the wreckage of Madrual?

• Jax: Barbarian
• Fred: Thief
• Slick: More Thief
• Rondel: Elf

The party sorted through the loot of recovered from the Chaos troops as well as found in the basilisk's lair. No, that Broom of Flying is not going to be used for excessive mischief.

As always, capturing a place is not the same as holding it. As The Librarian Grancet and his crew got to work, Benedikt sent Gerhard back out to summon more city troops. Restoring the Lens would take time, as the original mount had been destroyed by the Chaos crew or other squatters. Fortunately, a second statue worthy of the job had been found buried in the bottom level of the complex, and the team got to work excavating it and dragging it up the stairs.

With no flying blanket, Bendikt decided that magic transportation was beneath him, anyhow. A whistle, and some time later, a horse manifested itself, in full tack.

That's more like it

The meager surviving troops got to work re-erecting fortifications, and the party used their signal devices to send word down the fortification line. Attacks and skirmishes were reported, particularly from flying beasts. But things were holding. Word came that some local militias were mustering northward, as well as a force from Lake Cobalt. 

In the meantime, three battered elves arrived at the fort, the remains of a party sent to investigate the rumor of a dragon in the Deneng Mountains to the northwest. Well, they found no dragon. Its lair was vacant, and loot mostly stripped. They had found Chaos, and one elf showed the results of said meeting in a tentacle mutation ("Still getting the hang of it."). The missing dragon and its loot was curious and a serious concern, especially with the proximity to mountain passes where the Chaos forces allegedly manifested. Anyway, the elves were welcomed to heal and rest, and reinforce the current detachment if willing.

DragonFlight 2025: Games and More Games

Ok, this will be a long one, so either grab some coffee or come back when I'm less vociferous. I ran five sessions through the three day weekend, three of Shadowdark and two of OSE-B/X. Had full tables for all, and a lot of good play. Met a few folks, saw a few old friends, and generally enjoyed the scene. 

With five sessions, I'll just be hitting the highlights, and some impressions.

Friday Afternoon: Shadowdark; Adventure: The Howler.

After my recent test-run of the adventure using Shadowdark, I posted it up as my first session. This is the only session for which I pre-selected the adventure. I had a full table, plus a few folks on standby. My intent is to get as many people to the table as I can since picking and choosing games at a con can be a fraught affair. So I ran a table of nine for this game. Which meant that foes were bulked up and hazards slightly inflated to keep up with the crew.  

Cast summary:

• 1 Ras-Godai
• 2 Fighters
• 2 Priests
• 2 Wizards
• 2 Thieves

The party found Gundrin's corpse, and was set upon by the vultures. After emptying pockets, they advanced to the tomb, where the goblins ganged up on them. Shooing them away, they entered the tomb to investigate. One thief scouted into the dark. The purification room had LOTS of spiders, and there was much whiffing. The thief aced his find traps roll and everyone made it down the trapped corridor with no harm. Rains was stabilized and ranted before pointing out the Howler. Light died during the battle, and the Howler absorbed a spell and magic sword to heal (And the players had thought the GM was being generous with those magic items...). The Howler was distracted with other thrown magic items, and set on fire. It fled, leaving the PCs to explore. They dodged a gas explosion from a brazier, and identified mystery mushrooms by taste test. They then found the mummy sarcophagi, and in contrast to the last party, did NOT read the inscription out loud. After discussion, they chose not to risk potential powerful undead. The PCs gathered up scattered loot and carried the two doomed explorers back to town to reveal their fates.

DM Notes: 

It wasn't too bad running a large table. Everyone was a "grownup" and worked and played well together. Of course, there were a couple of players who took a bit more initiative at the table, but not to the session's detriment. I did a rough initiative houserule, with the highest scoring player going 1st, then rotating turns either clockwise or counterclockwise around the table. The enemies went at a selected turn within the combat round, usually at "that water bottle."  I stuck with this system for Shadowdark throughout the weekend. The adventure ran better with familiarity, and I was able to use the Howler to better effect, particularly during the light loss. Accordingly, the players took advantage of its compulsion to lure it towards the strongest fighter before immolating it.

Campaign Journal: Keepin' up at the Keep of Madrual

Who's stormin' the castle?

• Slick-thief
• Fulvus-halfling
• Jax-barbarian
• Rondel-elf
• Plus Various Hangers-On

Some quick retcon to describe the interactions and reactivation of lens at Vansho Reliquary. A significant observation was that two undead knights in residence who were bound to their funerary chamber now had free movement around the place.

Back to the present: The party assessed Toronin as Librarian Grancet repaired and etched the lens with the help of his bound demon. Benedikt noted that they would need reinforcements to hold the hardpoint if the Barrier was to remain intact. Gerhard was dispatched to see if he could rustle up some troops.

In the meantime, Cleric Henry Cee was reminded that he had a Potentially Useful Relic in Sister Sowena's Gauntlet. Donning it and casting about, he located a small mass grave of slain soldiers from the original fall of the Barrier. A handy platoon of skeletal warriors was summoned, arising from the turf, reattaching limbs, digging up rusted weapons. And soon enough, Gerhard returned with a similar platoon of (living) soldiers and Roderick, Fulvus' archer hench. Reunion made, and Roderick was put in charge of the station's defense. The party and others departed as the soldiers and undead set to digging trenches and sharpening stakes.

The group moved north along the West Trade Road. Several towns they passed through were completely depopulated, either by apparent Chaos raids or fleeing refugees. Coming to the small town of Lany, they found that the Beguines led by Sister Isabel were still entrenched with the locals. They were aware of the predations and turmoil along the road, but were staying put for now, as their oath was to aid and heal. The party encouraged them to decamp for one of the recently liberated fortresses, where there were troops and fresh fortifications. 

source

Bella Hoekstra, former second in command at St. Vivinna's Home for the Wayward, caught up with the party (while also conveniently disguised as a beguine). Acroria was in turmoil, with the merchants and clergy overriding the military on the city council. Conflicting commands were going out, and large numbers of incarcerations were occurring for a variety of trumped-up charges. Most of the “wayward children" had either been arrested or fled. It seemed that little aid would come from Acroria, if at all.

With this in mind, the party considered heading straight to Gaerborin Keep, known to be held by Acroria troops, in an effort to sway them to their cause. But securing Madrual, the next node to the north was a priority. The party had never visited the location, and its occupants were unknown. Off we go.

Campaign Journal: A Question of Tactics, or, Questionable Tactics?

We're on the march with:

• Frederick - Revived thief
• Jax and Goober - Barbarian and reliable sidekick
• And a player to be named at a later time.

Rondel and Slick were off due to work commitments, and Fulvus was doing halfling things.

The party, along with their contingent from Chirath and Lenscrafters(tm) started at Ashryn Tower, with some more lens maintenance. That night, as they prepared to head north, Jax (likely via Faith Perpetual) received another vision, that of an old knight, who let the party know that challenges lay ahead (like we didn't know that), and that those who went before were waiting for them when the time came. Nothing foreboding about that.

Anyway - off they went northbound. While scouting ahead, Fred and Jax came on a small Chaos mutant raiding party, which they dispatched with minor difficulty. Fred finally upgraded to +1 leather. 

They paused at the Vansho Reliquary to reactivate that stronghold's lens and check in with its NPC party (and the undead knights in the crypts). (*Author's note - we skipped this location because the DM borked up his notes. Retconned during the following session.)

Slowed by the entourage, the party snaked north. Another encounter, this time zombies.

howdy

Campaign Journal: A Three Hour Tour....

Who woke up in Queen Adra's domain?

• Frederick - No Longer Dead Thief
• Slick - More Thief
• Jax - Barbarian

The smoke is clearing. The dead are being sorted and buried, or burned (more smoke, again). The Chirath forces were allowed to stay, for the time being, as long as they helped. Benedikt agreed, as a campaigner, himself. The troops went to work helping with rebuilding.

Oh, since you're here, and in light of our battle, perhaps Chirath may be useful in the end. Send me an engineer to help us reinforce our defenses. Benedikt agreed, and he knew a guy. He tasked Gerhard with flying back to the city. So off he went:

by Nicholas Roerich

Somewhere in this, I mis-labeled the flying carpet as a flying blanket, so apparently now it's a magic quilt. 

In the meantime, the Librarian had work to do. He took a lens and locked tomes to the lakeside tower.

via Dyson

Rondel (offscreen during this session), the Library Paladins, and desert elf Goladan joined in the effort. Librarian Grancet opened the book, then took out a small lead box and a fist-sized ruby (where was that when we were collecting rubies?!?). From the box he took a ring and put it on. A tiny figure appeared in the ruby. "What is your name!?" Grancet demanded. The tiny demon (for that is what it was) cringed and said, "Raz'Gonol." With that, Grancet guided the demon in the slow process of etching the runes for the anchor lens. 

Since it would take a few days, and thieves tend to get into trouble, Adra "asked" the remaining three members of the party to cross the lake to collect her sister Salax, and her followers, who had arrived on the south shore. Adra provided longboats for the party to use, as well as crews. 

Off they went. Each out and back crossing would take a day, and it would take three days to complete the ferrying process.

Campaign Journal: Breaking the Siege

Who's saddling up?

• Jax - Barbarian
• Fred - Dead Thief
• Rondel - Elf
• Fulvus - Halfling
• Various Mooks

We started with a bit of retcon as the party stepped from various sinking ships onto the two dwarven galleys. Well, except Fred, who was probably unceremoniously bundled along. 

At the end of the battle, Slick still had an active water breathing spell, so I had made up a D10 random treasure table of how much he grabbed before the sinking ship became too much of a deathtrap. They got a respectable pile of loot. 

The two ships sailed on to Chirath, then sat just out of catapult range as Rondel flew to the citadel guarding the harbor (somehow not getting shot). Some tense conversation with the guard captain, a few dropped names, and the city's Legate was summoned to meet with Rondel. The party has interacted with him in the past, and he was aware that they were out and about seeking resources. A cutter was dispatched to escort the dwarven ships in, and they entered the harbor under watchful eyes.

Like this, but full of dwarves.

There was animated discussion on whether the dwarves would be allowed off the ships...

By now, word of the ships' arrival had run through town, and the city's priest and librarian hustled to meet their counterparts who had arrived with the party.

To the business at hand. De-corpsifying Frederick. Well, that does take some time and effort and correct sacrifices and gifts and chanting and such. And we really need an addition to the temple. Ok, if we name it after Frederick and Rondel, since the party emptied Fred's pockets and Rondel put in most of the rest. And so the local temple now has the new "Frederick & Keebler" hospital wing.

Frederick was going to take some time to recover, once he was dragged back from the afterlife (where he witnessed forgotten gods panhandling for worshipers). In the meantime, the party caroused, of course. Property damage, taunts and boasts, feats of derring-do. The usual. The surviving ship's crew was discharged with substantial coin, except Geatio, who was kept on as a hireling because of his chiurgeon skills.

source

Once all were healed and over their hangovers, it was time to plan. The lenses had been secured in the city's main citadel under the watchful eyes of the Library Paladins. The Legate approached the party and let them know they would have aid, because this was a concern for the whole region, and much bigger than the party.

Campaign Journal: Rapture of the Deep

A lot went on - gotta get it recorded before my notes become more confused... 

Who's aboard? 

• Jax - Barbarian
• Fulvus - Halfling
• Slick - Thief
• Rondel - Elf
• Frederick - tardy Thief

So, first things first - we needed to resolve some carousing outcomes from last session.

A few dice rolls, and Jax was determined to have pulled off a small heist (200gp item).

Frederick busted up one of the better joints in town, got blacklisted, and paid several hundred gp damages.

Slick didn't get off the hook, either. As the party headed to the dock for departure to the dwarven isles, a shadow passed overhead, and the party was confronted by knight (and squire) on a flying carpet. Benedikt Silberbauer was insistent on satisfaction regarding the duel challenged the evening before.

"Gerhard! My dueling swords!" No level-draining sword for Slick... Honor must be claimed in a duel to scars! 

Fine. Slick squared up, went invisible, and whispered into Benedikt's ear, "But I am not honorable," ducking below the knight's swing. Visible again, he squared up, and the two went at it, evenly matched. Back and forth, until Benedikt slashed Slick's face, and honor was satisfied. Until next time! Honor is preserved, and we will share a drink! And away he flew.

Slick has a scar to show off to Serafina the next time they meet.

Slick every morning in the mirror

Debts paid, the party sailed on. Spotting a hulk afloat, they investigated, rustling up a few wraiths. Henry C was in good communication with Garond, and the three spirits were driven from their haunt. A chest of goodies was found.

Onward to the isles. They were escorted in by a dwarven galley. Arriving in the dwarves' "Sub pen" docks, a delegation met them, announcing that the lenses were complete, with one to spare. Escorted to the depths of the isle, into the crushing heat of the island's core...

To the demon's lair. The demon oversaw the loading of the lenses into crates for transport.

"Ah! Back in time. My best work, if I say so myself! And, with this, my contract to you is done. You won't see me again. Unless you deserve to..." (Rondel asked the demon's name from a dwarf, writing it down for later reference...).

With that, the demon sank into the lava, the pool cooling and solidifying behind him.

Campaign Journal: Wherein Goober Almost Dies

Who's riding with Serafina Rissanen to meet with Victor Matui and his faction of worshippers of "Old Khador" at his keep?

• Slick (And Dukan Dildran)
• Frederick
• Jax (And Goober)

Might want to stand back, in case the religious discussion gets heated.

Serafina was greeted with, understandably, distrust and some hostility, as her zealots were among the parties who persecuted the Keepers of Light, Green Star, and others of the old orders after the original fall of the western lands and resulting upheavals.

But her approach with humility and explanation of her escape from Acroria under duress won over a few of the old campaigners. Discussion soon led to questions and much animated pointing to lines of text in various holy books and requisite religious armwaving.

The party sat back and tried not to nod off.

Just in time before Slick started to either 1) snore and drool, or 2) go steal shit, an alarm from the tower went up. "Something's botherin' Momma!"

That was a curious phrase.

Well, one of the original occupants of the keep tower was a giant eagle. Victor had made the choice to wait for her to fledge her chicks prior to evicting her. Which turned out to be fortunate, as the eagle rehomed to a large tree not far from the keep and "Momma" now acts as an impromptu sentry to things moving about in the area. 

Slick offered to ride out to see what was amiss. 

Could it be Chaos troops with Damned Horses? Of course it was Chaos troops with Damned Horses. 

YeeHaw!

May RPG Blog Carnival Late Entry: Oaths - The Beguine/Beghard Class for OSE and Shadowdark

Ok, here we are on May 32, and I'm right on time to contribute to the month's Blog Carnival. This time hosted by Tabletop Curiosity Cabinet and themed, "Oaths." So let me share a small introduction to a historic religious community, as well as a player class (OSE and Shadowdark) inspired by them:

The beguines (and their male counterparts, the beghards) were religious lay-communities most active during the 13th - 16th centuries. While not formally monastic in nature, the members typically took vows, most commonly chastity, as well as of charity and religious devotion. Members were also able to quit the role, and return to secular life. 

The communities were typically self-supporting, with their members taking part in cottage industries. These beguinages could be as small as a shared house up to a walled compound. Larger examples contained shops, hospitals, breweries, and cloth mills.

Because many of the beguines came from middle- or upper-class backgrounds, many were literate and wrote treatises and poetry reflecting their faith and the visions that they experienced during contemplation and prayer. This mysticism was a common theme among the communities, as well as the idea of sharing these "visions" through religious or secular texts. Because these publications were outside the orthodoxy and independent of Church doctrine, they were often criticized or suppressed, with the most egregious example being the burning at the stake of Marguerite Porete as a relapsed heretic by the Inquisition.

After all, there is nothing more frightening than a financially independent, literate woman interpreting religious dogma.

Campaign Journal: Why is it Always the Spiders?

(5/18)

The party stands in the cold, stomping their feet by the doors of a nondescript warehouse. We see:

• Jax
• Rondel
• Frederick
• Slick

Magnus Stonewill greets them and loads six casket-sized crates onto the party's wagon. They provide him with the pilfered "crystal ball" taken from Ejnar Winther.

(Wait, if it's fake, what does it really do? Better check the oracle. 45: "Becomes exceedingly dense until it weighs approximately 256 tons." Well then...)

Anyway - west-southwest to an area known as the Barrowlands. No reason. The party overnighted, with no complications. The manikins were activated, and none malfunctioned or failed to act as night guards. So far so good. 

An extended family of goblins was encountered, fleeing more Chaos and avoiding the roads. They were bedraggled, with gaunt wolves pulling travois. Jax shot them a deer while the rest of the party pointed them south to find Queen Adra and her community along the shore of Cobalt Lake. Rough map and fresh provisions in hand, the sad group continued on.

Oh look, a tomb:

thanks Dyson

How convenient. The party entered, interspersed with their new toys. They found a doomed explorer near the entrance. Ah, an auspicious sign. Onward. Broken doors on their right revealed five empty sarcophagi. A few bits of treasure were scattered about, and collected. The southern door was spiked, and the party returned to the main corridor. Entering the first room on the left, they were set upon by three undead knights. 

Surprise!

Henry C's turn attempt failed, and the fight was on. Everyone rolled like crap for a while, undead and party alike. Finally, the party made some progress... Tittering was heard in the corridors. And Rondel and Henry were slowed. A glimpse of eight reflecting eyes, then gone. More chaos, sounds of babbling, and part of the party, as well as most of the manikins, were webbed. Dammit. A magic missile hit Henry. More alien tittering. DAMMIT. 

Campaign Journal Catchup 2: Sneaking and Scrying

(4/13)

Oh look, the gang is prepping for another heist:

• Jax
• Rondel
• Frederick
• Slick

Time for intelligence - gathering. 

Some quick questioning of Solange - she confided that the "doll" had been secured by a third party, but that she or her contacts had no direct information on who may have tipped off Stonewill. Even though allegiances were fluid, the various guilds in town recognized that they had better odds coexisting, so direct conflict or betrayal was not in their best interests. That said: Ejnar Winther is a powerful member of the Merchants Guild. A half-elf by heritage, who keeps his skills and talents close to the vest. I'm sure a break-in will be a trivial affair...

Easy enough. Party members reconnoitered the half-elf's somewhat ostentatious residence - a converted temple, formerly of the Temple of Combris, a deity of merchants and messengers. An informant notified the party that Winther and other guild members were gathering for an emergency meeting that evening. 

Was the party going in through the sewers again? Nah. Wouldn't want to stink up the carpets. 

Rondel did some invisible flying about and spotted a rooftop hatch on the building's tower. Good enough. Nightfall, and well, there was a lot of overly-complicated sneaking, climbing, flying, and manipulation of various spheres of invisibility and silence to reach the roof of the temple. I won't belabor the sequences. We've all watched (or taken part in) a party taking 30 minutes to breach a door.

Artist's rendition of the suspects...

Finally, the roof. Slick inspected the hatch, noticing a rune or two. Best leave it be. Down the side of the building to a less securely-trapped window. More shuffling and sequencing. 

Down through a couple of chambers, converted from the building's religious past. The party did some major filching in Winther's office, avoiding a trapped bookcase and clearing out his petty cash.

No apparent scrying device, though. Down we go to the main level. 

It's dark, too dark. Dammit.

FOOM, and light! And Winther with two of his guild compatriots sitting and waiting for the party. Took you long enough. We're famished. Drinks and hors d'oeuvres, perhaps?

Campaign Journal Catchup: An Invitation to Dinner

Been remiss on my campaign journal summaries - Between other obligation and distractions, took a couple of weeks off to visit the hinterlands and take care of my property back there: 

Slick would touch it.

(3/30)

We return to our scene within the Smoking Isles with: 

• Jax
• Rondel
• Frederick
• Slick
• Fulvus

The party continued their discussions with the priests and Librarians of Athenard. The Library Paladins compared intelligent swords with Jax. Slick stole a mitre from one of the priests and got called out by a Librarian Paladin and her particularly-talented sword as he invisibly crept from the ship. 

Ok, we're just going to get into trouble here. Let's go to Chirath and get into trouble there, instead.

Across the Maranan Sea to a dock in the fishing/warehouse/general thievery part of town.

source

Disembarking, and a quick visit to Eddy's Fish, where the code phrase got them into the basement meeting hall of the Hidden Hand Tavern. Guild thief Solange appeared, notified by a silent signal. What news since we've been gone?

Well, a few troop ships have gone down/missing while crossing from Athnard, leading to the loss of additional reinforcements and increased concern. The city's library has collected a few rare books through trade from the Khanate's mobile libraries in the north. A patrol of elven rangers departed to seek out an old brass dragon rumored to live in the mountains. Word of more raids and depopulated settlements have filtered along the trade roads.

The party considered these things. In the meantime, Fulvus connected with a crew of halflings who agreed to take his growing collection of taxidermied heads to Neuforde, and to pass along some messages to allies and acquaintances.

Well, what now?

Campaign Journal: Lindwurming

 Cresting the dunes, we see:

• Slick
• Jax
• Fulvus

(Frederick and Rondel joined later).

source

Before them were arrayed placer deposits of ruby along the dune faces and valleys. Snogriz Stormvault, dwarven assayer, squealed and trundled off to assess the resource...

like this, but ruby

Of course, something else was there. The PCs recalled that the elves had mentioned that any negotiations for the ruby would need to be with "Calaquendi-Culu." The sand shifted, and Snogriz got himself half-buried in the dune face as he attempted to scramble back to the party.

It was a worm, or, at least, a lindwurm.

howdy

Because desert, of course. Anyway. It lunged at the party, taking a large chunk out of Jax. Goober thought better and was off attempting to dig out Snogriz, avalanche rescue dog style. Slick disappeared, to go be secret-stabby, and Fulvus did his bouncing halfling thing. Much stabbing, biting, sand-burrowing, and attempted constricting, and the thing lay dead. Head too large to recover, but claws make for a good trophy.

Snogriz, now dug out of the dune, recovered his senses and took over. The party spent a few days winnowing the sands to separate enough ruby (and plenty of surplus) for new lens construction. Somewhere in this, Slick wandered off and came upon a terror-bird nest with a deceased parent and conveniently-hatching egg.

Campaign Journal: Crossing the Border

 Who's picking sand out of their teeth?

• Jax – Barbarian
• Fred- Thief
• Slick – More Thief

The group began at the restored spring/shrine, recently divested of corrupting demons. Without further ado, they headed for the border post of Eliond with their desert elf guide, Imiriel.

Slick, always slightly invisible, spotted a party of elves a distance off. They didn't quite look like the elves that the party is traveling with, so he circled back to notify Imiriel. She trotted off on her axebeak, and there arose a heated discussion. The other elves were apparently from a neighboring clan, straying across territory in search of a pair of killer lions. After some negotiation, Imiriel gave them a sigil to allow their trespassing, on the condition that any slain lions be brought to Eliond.

As if by fate (or dice) the party was jumped by one of said lions as they traversed a wash. It leapt at Imiriel, injuring her, but she was able to stay astride her bird. Slick, Jax, and Durkan attacked the sprawled beast. Imiriel's bird did a fair Goober impression and stomped it to death.

Onto the wagon with the lion's corpse, and away they went. 

Night fell, and as if on cue, a commotion arose in the dark. “Damnit Kavderak!” The elves threw stones into the dark. Goober stayed close this time. Slick went invisible. The dragon poked his head into the firelight - “Ooo, I smelled blood!” He proceeded to investigate the lion's corpse, damaging the valuable hide. Slick, in his ongoing quest to touch new and interesting creatures, touched the dragon. Kavderak, started, looked around, sniffed, “I see you!” and shot out a cloud of sleep gas. In the entirely wrong direction... Slick revealed himself and gave some BS line about being honored to be in the presence of such an imposing and wise and beautiful dragon, yaddayaddayadda.... So they got along famously and chatted the evening away. Kavderak took his leave, and relieved Slick of some gems, as well as swiping a scroll.

“Worth it!” - Slick.

On to Eliond, a small border village, and welcomed by the local clan-mates. 

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Campaign Journal: Negotiations and Remediations

Due to the three-day weekend, we only had Frederick and Jax. But you run for who shows. And so we went...

The party awoke to see a band of desert elves riding to meet them. Bogumir, the party's guide, walked out to greet the curious elves, who approached riding on a combination of mules, bison, and terror birds. So that's where the curious tracks came from...

Best be polite. 

Bogumir parlayed with the leader for some moments. The leader and a few lieutenants approached, while the rest stayed back, watchful. Findire, the leader, asked why the party was in the desert out of trading season. Frederick replied that they had lumber to trade, and were hoping to negotiate good prices away from the competition. Findire replied, fine, we'll trade you and you can go. A lieutenant inspected the two wagons, finding that the wood was an uncommon northern hardwood. 

Ok, might as well negotiate for real. We need to cross your territory, to reach the desert where the ruby sands might be found. What's your need for the sand? Frederick, roundabout, explained that the ruby was needed to restore the Barrier communication network. Finally, he showed a fragment of ruby lens that the party carried. The elves inspected it, and asked how it involved them. Well, Chaos is on the move after a long time, and twisting nature. We would think that you might find that offensive. Findire and his second, Arielen, discussed. Ok, what to you really have to trade then?

The party threw out their bag of unclaimed magic items, mostly potions and scrolls. The elves poked through them, mostly unimpressed. (Oh, a spellbook, looks like something we give children for reading.) Hmm, what's this book? The elves looked at an unclaimed and unread tome that has been sitting on a shelf in the party's home base. Opening it, a smell of grass and petrichor emerged. Sudden, hushed discussion.

Wait here. We will return with our shaman.

Campaign Journal: Dead in the Desert

Oops, behind on my journaling. I have a few sessions to catch up: my OSE campaign, the Shadowdark campaign, and a Shadowdark one-shot.

Let's get to it, shall we?

Slim attendance at the campaign, with several schedule conflicts. So you run for who shows:

• Slick - thief
• Jax - Barbarian
• Rondel - elf

The party headed south, guided by Bogumir, and with two wagons of good hardwoods in tow. Slick occupied his time by pranking Snogriz the assayer. 

The journey was generally uneventful as they travelled a rugged wagon-road. After two days, they arrived at a caravanserai surrounded by a stout wall and offering stables, a tower with lodging, and a well to replenish water. Symas, the proprietor, welcomed Bogurmir, and had his crew unhitch and settle the animals. Slick was pleased to see active guards on the wall, and that the various stablehands looked like they could handle themselves in a scrap.

source

Symas questioned why the party was attempting to trade late in the season, and shared that the desert elves had not visited much over the last year. They seemed even more uptight than usual...

The stay at the caravanserai was uneventful, the food fair.