Getting High with Wrye and Kespin
After our doughty heroes take the dragon's hoard and present some of it (minus expenses, of course) to the local farmers, they argue amongst themselves about whether they should pay the War Tax to the Principality of Ulek. Brother Gerard insists on it; the group discovers that clergy are typically exempt from the tax, so he is unaffected by it. Lysander believes that the lair, being in indeterminite territory, is exempt from the tax as well; the others simply don't wish to pay. Eventually, a token amount of money is left with the halfling farmer along with a letter explaining to the tax collector what it is for.
That's after Westwind and Wrye try to corrupt the farmer's son with pipe weed.
The group continues eastward. Wrye at first tries to guide the party all unwitting north toward Jurne, but the others are too smart for him and look on the map.
Wrye asks after clerics of Yondalla along the way, and finds out that one will be at the lord's manor soon. He diverts the party, which provokes yet more discussion. Eventually all go with him to the manor.
The attempt is made to leave Kespin and Lysander at an abandoned farmhouse a few hours from the village where they expect to find the cleric. Westwind, Wrye and Gerard continue on, leaving the two behind. As the pair try to settle in, they begin to discover far too many signs of far too many rats.
"Forget it. Let's go find an inn," Kespin suggests. Lysander agrees, and the two set off to follow the track of the others. For about three hours, they manage to stay on the right path, but lose themselves in a forest. Backtracking, they find themselves again, only to get lost yet again. Eventually, Kespin hides while Lysander politely asks directions from a burly, unfriendly farmer, and they manage to make their way to the village.
The others are enjoying dinner in the inn when a tall, familiar half-orc strides in, armor shining and blue cloak flowing. His symbol of Heironeous gleams brightly in the lamplight.
Wrye's jaw drops. Westwind freezes. "Kobort?"
"I thought I'd find you here," the half-orc booms.
"Yeah, that's because we told you where we'd be." Wrye answers snidely. "Kespin."
The half-orc laughs, and Westwind nearly throws a roll, then thinks better of it and eats it instead.
Through the evening, "Kobort" can hardly get a bite to eat, because the halflings keep snitching the food from his plate. Finally the innkeeper advises them to stop provoking him, as half-orcs have notoriously short tempers. "He might just snap!"
Before the disguise wears off, Kespin and Lysander head out and camp in some nearby woods.
They wait around for three days. Westwind has a holy symbol of Celestion made for him, and goes to spar at the temple of St. Cuthbert, in Mike's honor. He is told by the priest that when he prayed for Westwind's friend Mike, he received an unmistakeable feeling that his friend was truly at peace.
Wrye meets with the priestess and gets religious advice about Ehlonna and Yondalla, and gets a new holy symbol from her. He gets one for Kespin as well.
They continue from town. On the way, Wrye notices a small cave. It seems that something used to live there, though hasn't been there for some time. Feeling poorer than an out-of-work actor, Wrye convinces the others that there might be something shiny down there, and goes to investigate.
He discovers a strange mist. Kespin jumps to the conclusion that it's another white dragon and follows Wrye closely. As they breathe more of the mist, they begin to find the cave much more interesting.
A vent spews mist into the cave from the floor. It seems to Wrye and Kespin that there might be something else down further; they begin to giggle at the thought of it, and at the strange colors and visions they begin to have. Gerard, who had established a thought link with Kespin, is alarmed.
Westwind and Lysander head down, and Westwind holds his breath against the mist and pushes Wrye and Kespin out -- though not before Kespin managed to fill two vials with the mist.
Wrye and Kespin spend the remainder of the day and night giggling uncontrollably, sneaking up on the others, and speaking gibberish. Kespin spends a good amount of time running in circles, because circles are good. In the morning, Gerard prays to Rao, who restores them to themselves once more (aside from hangovers).
As they travel east once more, they come across a huge track of something slithering, but with many legs and galloping in places. Against Gerard's better judgement, they follow the track. They come upon a ravaged farm and discover two survivors who described their ordeal with the thing. They tell the group that if they hunt it, they will surely die.
Which of course means that they have to hunt it.
Wrye tracks quickly, riding upon Kespin's shoulders with Westwind while Lysander and Gerard both ride Gerard's horse. Eventually, near dark, they come upon it resting in a gully.
It smells Kespin and snatches him up, holding him in its mouth so that it can rip him to shreds with its legs. He bursts free with a great effort, as the attacks of his compatriots give the creature great wounds. It tries to flee, but Wrye finishes it off with a precise shot to what might have been its brain, had it had one. Gerard doesn't seem to mind, as his vow only applies to things that have brains.
The group starts harvesting souvenirs from the corpse, working well into the night. The camp is slowly surrounded, and a voice booms out in guttural common, "Surrender yourselves and your possesions, or die!"
"We choose death!" yells Kespin. Lysander quickly adds, "Yours!"
Battle ensues. Ten-on-one, ogre-halfbreeds converge on the party in the dark. An ogre mage stands back, watching his troops get slaughtered. They manage to injure Gerard severely, surrounded as he was near Lysander and Westwind. Westwind was cutting great swathes in the ogre ranks, and Kespin alternately dodged and skewered. Wrye ducked into the carcass of the creature and shot from there.
The ogre mage chants, gestures, and turns into an exact replica of the dead creature -- only quite alive and vicious. It turns toward Kespin, rushing for him. Before he can get there, Gerard, nearly slipping unconscious from his injuries, drags himself into the clear and summons all his will to pray for Rao to smite down the creature. A great blast comes down from the heavens, searing the creature and blinding it. At the same moment, Lysander dispels the magical energies from the mage's spell, causing him to reform into an ogre once more. The ogre stood, burned and blinded and suddenly back in his original form, and Kespin thrusts his spear through the mage. The ogre mage crumples.
Westwind slices through three more ogres, ducking the blows of a particularly large and dangerous one. Wrye continues his potshots, and Lysander sends a blast of swirling energy into the chest of a lieutenant ogre. His rage dissipates, and he seems shaken. He stops and looks around.
"We take shaman. We leave." He offers in broken common.
The party agrees, and the ogres withdraw. The group binds their wounds, Gerard revives himself (looking much better now) and after looting the remaining corpses, the party leaves the scene.
That's after Westwind and Wrye try to corrupt the farmer's son with pipe weed.
The group continues eastward. Wrye at first tries to guide the party all unwitting north toward Jurne, but the others are too smart for him and look on the map.
Wrye asks after clerics of Yondalla along the way, and finds out that one will be at the lord's manor soon. He diverts the party, which provokes yet more discussion. Eventually all go with him to the manor.
The attempt is made to leave Kespin and Lysander at an abandoned farmhouse a few hours from the village where they expect to find the cleric. Westwind, Wrye and Gerard continue on, leaving the two behind. As the pair try to settle in, they begin to discover far too many signs of far too many rats.
"Forget it. Let's go find an inn," Kespin suggests. Lysander agrees, and the two set off to follow the track of the others. For about three hours, they manage to stay on the right path, but lose themselves in a forest. Backtracking, they find themselves again, only to get lost yet again. Eventually, Kespin hides while Lysander politely asks directions from a burly, unfriendly farmer, and they manage to make their way to the village.
The others are enjoying dinner in the inn when a tall, familiar half-orc strides in, armor shining and blue cloak flowing. His symbol of Heironeous gleams brightly in the lamplight.
Wrye's jaw drops. Westwind freezes. "Kobort?"
"I thought I'd find you here," the half-orc booms.
"Yeah, that's because we told you where we'd be." Wrye answers snidely. "Kespin."
The half-orc laughs, and Westwind nearly throws a roll, then thinks better of it and eats it instead.
Through the evening, "Kobort" can hardly get a bite to eat, because the halflings keep snitching the food from his plate. Finally the innkeeper advises them to stop provoking him, as half-orcs have notoriously short tempers. "He might just snap!"
Before the disguise wears off, Kespin and Lysander head out and camp in some nearby woods.
They wait around for three days. Westwind has a holy symbol of Celestion made for him, and goes to spar at the temple of St. Cuthbert, in Mike's honor. He is told by the priest that when he prayed for Westwind's friend Mike, he received an unmistakeable feeling that his friend was truly at peace.
Wrye meets with the priestess and gets religious advice about Ehlonna and Yondalla, and gets a new holy symbol from her. He gets one for Kespin as well.
They continue from town. On the way, Wrye notices a small cave. It seems that something used to live there, though hasn't been there for some time. Feeling poorer than an out-of-work actor, Wrye convinces the others that there might be something shiny down there, and goes to investigate.
He discovers a strange mist. Kespin jumps to the conclusion that it's another white dragon and follows Wrye closely. As they breathe more of the mist, they begin to find the cave much more interesting.
A vent spews mist into the cave from the floor. It seems to Wrye and Kespin that there might be something else down further; they begin to giggle at the thought of it, and at the strange colors and visions they begin to have. Gerard, who had established a thought link with Kespin, is alarmed.
Westwind and Lysander head down, and Westwind holds his breath against the mist and pushes Wrye and Kespin out -- though not before Kespin managed to fill two vials with the mist.
Wrye and Kespin spend the remainder of the day and night giggling uncontrollably, sneaking up on the others, and speaking gibberish. Kespin spends a good amount of time running in circles, because circles are good. In the morning, Gerard prays to Rao, who restores them to themselves once more (aside from hangovers).
As they travel east once more, they come across a huge track of something slithering, but with many legs and galloping in places. Against Gerard's better judgement, they follow the track. They come upon a ravaged farm and discover two survivors who described their ordeal with the thing. They tell the group that if they hunt it, they will surely die.
Which of course means that they have to hunt it.
Wrye tracks quickly, riding upon Kespin's shoulders with Westwind while Lysander and Gerard both ride Gerard's horse. Eventually, near dark, they come upon it resting in a gully.
It smells Kespin and snatches him up, holding him in its mouth so that it can rip him to shreds with its legs. He bursts free with a great effort, as the attacks of his compatriots give the creature great wounds. It tries to flee, but Wrye finishes it off with a precise shot to what might have been its brain, had it had one. Gerard doesn't seem to mind, as his vow only applies to things that have brains.
The group starts harvesting souvenirs from the corpse, working well into the night. The camp is slowly surrounded, and a voice booms out in guttural common, "Surrender yourselves and your possesions, or die!"
"We choose death!" yells Kespin. Lysander quickly adds, "Yours!"
Battle ensues. Ten-on-one, ogre-halfbreeds converge on the party in the dark. An ogre mage stands back, watching his troops get slaughtered. They manage to injure Gerard severely, surrounded as he was near Lysander and Westwind. Westwind was cutting great swathes in the ogre ranks, and Kespin alternately dodged and skewered. Wrye ducked into the carcass of the creature and shot from there.
The ogre mage chants, gestures, and turns into an exact replica of the dead creature -- only quite alive and vicious. It turns toward Kespin, rushing for him. Before he can get there, Gerard, nearly slipping unconscious from his injuries, drags himself into the clear and summons all his will to pray for Rao to smite down the creature. A great blast comes down from the heavens, searing the creature and blinding it. At the same moment, Lysander dispels the magical energies from the mage's spell, causing him to reform into an ogre once more. The ogre stood, burned and blinded and suddenly back in his original form, and Kespin thrusts his spear through the mage. The ogre mage crumples.
Westwind slices through three more ogres, ducking the blows of a particularly large and dangerous one. Wrye continues his potshots, and Lysander sends a blast of swirling energy into the chest of a lieutenant ogre. His rage dissipates, and he seems shaken. He stops and looks around.
"We take shaman. We leave." He offers in broken common.
The party agrees, and the ogres withdraw. The group binds their wounds, Gerard revives himself (looking much better now) and after looting the remaining corpses, the party leaves the scene.
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