(G217 17/10/2014 via Roll20 - AP(GM), Mira, Guru)

(G217 17/10/2014 via Roll20 - AP(GM), Mira, Guru)

DAY 227 (24th Marpenoth) cont ...

They made an attempt to run for it, but everyone seemed to want to get one last hit in, so without
really meaning to, they got back into a brawl with the monster.

Cale struck at it with his scythe and took most of the beasts blows as Fhu healed him. Elmo shot it
a couple more times and Mathmoss jumped on its back to stab it one more time. Finally, bloody and
beaten, Cale struck it one last time with his scythe and knocked it down. The bullette a final
growl and died.


.....



[And here we must leave them for now! Lets now catch up with what I was doing over in Cormyr.
Mathmoss and Cale had wasted a lot of time getting to the Moat House in Homlett, but then, it was
a difficult time to be traveling about and if adventuring was easy, then everyone would be doing it.
Just to prove that I'm really no better, lets get back to my story then ...]

DAY 225  (22 Marpenoth)(October)

I too had been procrastinating and for days had been feeling I was 'nearly ready' to enter that
dreadful portal but always seemed to come up with 'one last thing to do.'

Today I flew over to the lizardman camp again for one last word with K. As I flew over I saw a
mounted and armoured human talking to him. He was not aggressive though and once I'd landed and
turned back into a human I introduced myself. He said his name was Gurudor and that he was infact
looking for me! It turned out he was a paladin of Mystra and had been sent by Tunaster Dranik to help us.
Once that was sorted out he asked for direction to the Lost Refuge and away he went.

I then went had a pow-wow with K and after talking for a while we both agreed that it would be a good
idea for him and his tribe to occupy the Lost Refuge. This would help guard our back and help keep safe
the folks we were leaving behind.

Including the ones that had already joined us ..

(Nakal, warrior, Nanti, warrior, Jatol, maid, Cupcay, boy)

.. the lizardman tribe numbered 89 souls. How they were going to arrange themselves inside the
Lost Refuge was up to them, but I left it to K. He said they would be along in a day or two
once they had broken camp here.

After that was all decided I flapped back over the refuge and arrived back at the guardhouse.
Even before I could tell them about this new paladin I had Sylvia over and talking to me about poor
Mira who was sulking in the corner. It turned out that something down below the refuge had nibbled her
and in all likelihood she now had lycanthropy!

Well, Sylvia knew she could deal with it on the next full moon with a carefully cast 'Remove Curse'
spell, but Mira did seem worried and rather ill-informed although Sylvia had tried to make things
clear to her, or so she had said anyway.

We were still in the middle of that when Gurudor Silverfeather turned up. I explained the situation to
him and then showed him the interior of the Refuge, where we held Gathan and Kithkin and where the portal
to horribleness was.

For a moment I thought he was going to go a bit 'Destryl' on me when I showed him the prisoners but it
turned out we were misunderstanding each other. If I have to get rough with a prisoner I usually threaten
to 'Set the Badger on them' and if that doesn't work then I have nothing else. It seems Gurudor is prepared
to slap them about a bit but would never go as far as Destryl did.

Having agreed that we examined the portal. As I was explaining the dangers and considerations of the portal
to Gurudor he stuck his hand in it. I yelped in concern, but he seemed none the worse once it was removed.

I tried to council caution but it appeared our new companion was a man of action and he bravely stepped
though. Not wanting to be seen as a coward I also stepped in. After that we summoned together the people that
had expressed an interest in exploring this area and in we all went.

Myself, Sylvia, Mira, Gurudor and Gathan all went in. Lavinia, Jiggles and Shump all preferred to stay behind
and guard our exit.

We found ourselves in a dark and ruined version of the building we had just left. Mira explored outside and
we followed. As we approached a jetty beside a river (or lake, it was too dark to see) we were attacked by
a group of shadow lizard folk. We were 'loaded for bear' though and between Guru's melee attacks, my crocodiles
and Sylvia's Searing Light spell we killed off our attackers pretty quickly.

We had over-reacted, yes, but I can admit I was full of fear of this strange and dark place and although
she would never admit it I could see Sylvia was nervous. Mira seemed a little lost, but was being brave.
Gurudor was impossible to read, since he had a full visored helmet on, but I should imagine he was enjoying
himself. Paladins are like that.

(G216 03/10/2014 via Roll20 - JF(GM), AP, Mira)

(G216 03/10/2014 via Roll20 - JF(GM), AP, Mira)


DAY 223 (20th Marpenoth) cont...

Recovering in the Abbey, Cale was finally visited by Mathmoss at 11 o'clock. After some discussion
Mathmoss returned to the inn.

DAY 224 (21th Marpenoth)

Mathmoss indulged in one of his favourite sports - namely - chatting up serving wenches and did
get a bit of conversation out of one called Glenda, but that's all he got.

He took her out to another place called the 'Hardluck Poet' at three in the morning (once she'd
finished her shift at the Boar's Skull Inn. He escorted her home after an hour or so there and
he stole a kiss at her door, but she didn't seem to care for it.

After a sleep, around noon, Mathmoss headed back to Homlett. I wonder if it was just to kill time
as much as anything else as Cale was healing. He arrived at midnight.

DAY 225 (22nd Marpenoth)

Using his Hat of Disguise he entered the village and then the Inn of the Welcoming Wench. There
are no hats of disguise for horses though and as Mathmoss lead in faithful 'Clompy' the head groom
noticed that this was the very same horse that had been owned by 'those ruffians that had attacked
our druid.'
A bribe sorted it out though.

Mathmoss went to his room after that and in the morning hired Elmo Oats, for the price of an axe
and some armour, to be his guide to the moat house. First they headed back to Goldenfields to
pick up Cale.

DAY 226 (23rd Marpenoth)

So, another day passed in Goldenfields, the 'Breadbasket of Waterdeep'. Cale healed at the abbey
and Elmo and Mathmoss drank at the Boar.

Glenda was serving there again but didn't have much to say so Mathmoss left her be. Later a nice
plump girl called Hyacinthe came on shift and he tried his luck with her but got nowhere.

With Mathmoss, the desire was always there, but never the ability, sadly, when it came to women.
If you wanted something stolen or someone killed quietly in the night, he was your man, but when it
came to wooing fair maidens, he was sadly lacking in skill.

DAY 227 (24th Marpenoth)

In the morning Mathmoss asked about the inn, chancing his arm to see if there were any adventuring
clerics about and as luck would have it he met one called Fhu'Shion Dhie'Vise.

This was an older gentleman with a huge black bushy beard and a booming commanding voice. He seemed
happy enough to join them in an adventure to take on evil in the Ardeep Forest.

Later Cale joined them, still rather frail, but well enough to travel, but Elmo recognised him at
once as 'that bounder that attacked our poor old druid!'

Elmo would have been prepared to let by-gones be by-gones if Cale promised to appologise to the
druid when they got back to Homlett but Cale was having none of it, feeling that he was very much
the wronged party.

On hearing this, Fhu got up to leave, being acquainted with Jaroo and Elmo also said goodbye. It
was only after chasing after them and smoothing things over for an half an hour or so that Mathmoss
prevented their adventuring party from falling apart before it even got out the tavern!

And so they gathered their things, took one last swig of ale, and set off. They were only a couple
of hours into their adventures when they were attacked by a bullette. You may remember these
creatures from when Oz and Alduin came to the area, large burrowing beasts, covered in hardened
plates of hide and with endless supplies of appetite and stupidity.

It leapt up out of the ground right there on the path they were following and attacked. It first
went for the horse, but when it came under attack it went for Cale and very badly injured him.
It didn't help that Elmo accidentally shot him with an arrow during the chaotic melee either.

Fhu cast Briar Web though which held off the beast just long enough to heal Cale and get him
out of the way. Mathmoss leapt onto the creatures back and stabbed it. It rolled over and he
jumped off.

The bullette shook itself, growled, and charged at them again.