(G238 17/04/2015 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF, Mira, Guru)

(G238 17/04/2015 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF, Mira, Guru)

DAY 228 (25 Marpenoth)

The monastery compared to the rest of the Plane of Shadows was an oasis of calm, well once we'd cleared
all the monsters out of it anyway. The rooms were comfortable and their was a good supply of food and drink.
I had no wish to leave, but we had to make progress.
As Gurudor kept reminding us, there were unknown amounts of captives out there in need of rescue, and some
kind of plot to turn the Vast Swamp into an area of 'dead magic' afoot that definitely sounded like it was
in need of thwarting.

I was beginning to loath this land, as a druid it was a bad place to be, and I just wanted to do what we
needed to do and get back. I was looking forward to getting back to the Vast Swamp and really getting to
know all about its flora and fauna. Everything on this Plane seemed to be either dead or wrong in some way.

Well anyway, so we set off in the morning towards the lights we could see in the distance. After about
an hour we arrived at a new place. There was a hut beside a bridge that crossed over a waterfall.

I cautioned the others about just charging in, having nearly died in the last encounter I had no great
desire to repeat the experience. Mirabella nodded and skulked off to have a look about. She disappeared
into the darkness but her skulking abilities must have failed her as she was spotted by and attacked
by two long tongued monsters.

Badger heard the cries and made a dash into the darkness but I lingered a while to summon up my usual gang
of crocodiles. Sylvia followed along after the badger, as did Gurudor. The monsters, whatever they were,
had massive powerful tongues and they had no problem in lashing up both Sylvia and Gurudor and near swallowing
them hole!
Gurudor was paralysed but Sylvia managed to break free.

Flanked by crocs I joined the battle and cast 'Babua Slime' on Gurudor which I hoped would make the
creature spit him out, but it had no effect. Meanwhile, Mirabella, Sylvia and the crocodiles managed to kill
the other one. After that Mirabella snuck behind the remaining one and stabbed it in its vitals making
it jump up in alarm and run off into the river.

Sylvia cast Entangle and I cast Sudden Stalagmite which stopped and killed the creature. It did also have
the effect of further injuring Gurudor and near drowning him. In fact, we laughed about this later (well, when
I say we, I mean everyone except Gurudor), it would have been an unusual death had he not survived, swallowed,
then drowned and impaled by a skewer of rock - quite a catalogue of disaster!

We did manage to fish him out though, before he died and Sylvia healed him up and patched up everyone else
that had been injured.

After getting our breath back we moved on. From the hut we cautiously crossed the bridge which lead to a
tower. From here some steps lead down into a room where some sort of large construct or golem spotted us
and attack.

Here we go again, I thought, as I cast Barkskin on Gurudor and summoned up more crocodiles. This thing,
whatever it was, advanced on us, its flailing limbs lashing out like some kind of whirlwind of death.

To battle once more!

(G237 10/04/2015 via Roll20 - JF(GM), AP, MI, TR) 32

(G237 10/04/2015 via Roll20 - JF(GM), AP, MI, TR) 32


DAY 97 (thu) cont ...

It was 1230 hour Voyager time.

Ensigns Kirk and Kevek and Crewman Mioen were now back on board the Aeroshuttle having escaped from the clutches
of Major Strank.

Kirk got to a console and raised the shield and locked the doors. Looking out the shuttle cockpit windows he saw
that they were inside a hangar and that a squad of soldiers were getting very animated about the situation outside.

Next Kirk tinted the windows opaque and took a look at the science console but it was fairly well shot up.
Mioen was in the back crew quarters searching the prisoners, but returned to the cabin to talk to the technician
that was still in there albeit rather stunned.

A voice from a loud speaker outside demanded, 'Surrender or Else!'

Kirk ignored this and ordered the numiri technician prisoner to remove the intrusion device that was wired into
the main shuttle control console. The numiri tried to communicate with outside though and spotting this subterfuge
Kirk stunned him in the back of the head with his rifle.

Cursing Kirk closed down all comms and pulled out the plugs from the two numiri devices wired into the shuttle.

Mieon returned to the crew quarters and scanned the mind of the second unconscious technician that had been shot
back there.

The next moment there was a heavy clunk on the main entrance door to the right of the cockpit and thinking it
might be a shaped charge Kirk opened it in an attempt to shake it off. It wasn't as sophisticated an attempt
to breach the air lock as that though, it was just a burly looking tech with a sledgehammer.

Kirk quickly closed the door again and went back to getting the Aeroshuttle back on line. Between them they
managed to get it moving again and Kirk was just wondering if his basic piloting skills were up to the task
when the hangar doors opened and a tank shot at them.

It was firing rail gun flechettes that sent ripples across the shields.

Mioen reached out with her mind and managed to stun one of the crewmen in the tank and Kirk used the transporter
to move a chunk out of it but after a few tens of seconds it was back in action again.
Meanwhile Kevek was at a console in the science lab using the scanner on the tanks looking for weak spots and
passing the data along to Kirk who soon gave up on the transporter and turned to the shuttle's Phase Cannon.

Another tank rolled up just as they disabled the first one, and then another. Kirk decided to leave as quickly
as they could and piloted out into the air field and staying as low as he could flew out into a snow storm.
The shuttle was badly shot up by now, the shields were off line and the hull plating badly damaged.

The storm helped them evade detection but also made it harder to manoeuvre and as he flew along the valley
he clipped a snow bank that caused them to plunge dangerously into a ravine and land with a thump in a
snow field. Mioen took over and although her piloting skills were little better she managed to get them to
a hidden spot where they hoped they would be safe for a while, overlooking the castle and village.

Kirk stuck to the consoles and scanned the castle's shields. They were of the type that would stop fast moving
projectiles and energy weapons but allow slow moving objects through.

Meanwhile Mioen and Kevek decided to see what they could get out of their prisoner known as Private Rocket.
Kevek used a mind meld on the soldier and got what little he knew about the castle from him. Although he
had never been there he knew that prisoners being taken to it were always guarded by an officer and a four
man squad.

Kevek then performed a mind meld on Kirk and relayed everything he had got out of Rocket to him.

Rocket, who presented himself as a simple farm boy turned soldier requested that he could take the personal
affects from the dead bodies of his officer and fellow private and Mioen nodded approval.

Kirk continued to scan the castle and the shields. They discussed various plans mainly involving Kirk (who you
should remember still looked like a numiri and was dressed as an officer) acting as if he had taken Kevek
and Mieon prisoner.

As they talked Kirk noticed that the cable car that ran from the village to the castle was moving. A plan
suddenly formed in his mind and he quickly put it into motion. Acting quickly he transported the five
occupants of the cable car into a field ten miles away. He also then transported out all the prisoners
and bodies cluttering up the shuttle.

They then transported themselves into the cable car just as it passed through the shield. Spotting
a security camera in the car Kirk smashed it with the butt of his gun. He hoped the operator had not
seen them but then the car lurched to a halt and stopped.

Mieon reached out with her mind and found the operator down at the control room in the village and
suggested to him that he send on up the cable car.

The cable car started moving again, going on up to the castle and whatever dangers waited up there...

Synopsis for Kevek

Synopsis for Kevek

You were part of the Voyager crew when the Caretaker moved the ship to the Delta Quadrant. However, you were not
moved with the crew but kept on the Caretaker Array for study by the Caretaker. With no way of contacting Voyager you
managed to escape and land on the Occampan homeworld.

By this time though Voyager had left and since then you have been trying to rejoin them. Traveling mainly as a medic
on board Talaxian trade vessels you finally caught up with Voyager as they entered the Rivo System.

You were welcomed aboard and found that the Emergency Medical Hologram had been running almost constantly as there
were very little in the way of medical personnel.

An away mission had recently brought in Enroll, someone from a 'lost tribe' of Kreetassans who was also medically
trained, but he left Voyager not long after when they entered the Banean home system and he met up with a Kreetassan
trade ship.

You were anxious to prove yourself to the crew of the Voyager and the caustic EMH and volunteered for the next away
mission. Tuvok, a fellow vulcan, was quick to supply you with one. Tom Paris was in trouble on the Banean home world
and had been punished by having his brain implanted with the last memories of his supposed murder victim. This
was slowly killing Tom though and Tuvok was in charge of proving his innocence. While Tuvok investigated at Banea
he also assembled a team to go to the Numiri home world to follow up on some interesting leads there.

The Aeroshuttle was originally designed as the captain's barge but had recently been refitted to fly combat away
missions. The original commander had been Ensign Paul Kirk, but had been dismissed for his ruthless destruction
of alien patrol vessels during a battle in the Rivo system.

The crew now consisted of :
Ensign Munro - A human female tactical officer
Crewman Dell - A human male operations specialist
Crewman Paterson - A human female operations specialist retrained as a pilot
Crewman Rumbleton - A human male science officer
Crewman Mioen - A female orion comms crewman

You joined them on the mission to Numiri but it was doomed from the start. The Banean spies that were your contact
were riddled with traitors and you flew straight into a trap.

The Aeroshuttle was moved to a snowy mountain location on the Numiri planet and you were all taken prisoner and moved
to a nearby barracks.

The next day you were taken away from the others and without any explanation bundled into a truck. Through the
back door you could see that you were been taken up a steep sided valley to a village.

As the truck entered a yard behind the main square a fight seemed to break out beside a building that looked like
a tavern. Two numiri officers ran out into the yard returning fire to a whole gang of soldiers. The officers seemed
to be expert marksmen and were shooting down the soldiers with the brutal Numiri phaser weapons. Blood was slashing
all over the snow outside.

Your two guards jumped down from the back of the truck to see what was going on. You were unguarded! This was your
chance!

(G236 27/03/2015 via Roll20 - JF(GM), AP, MI, TR) 31

(G236 27/03/2015 via Roll20 - JF(GM), AP, MI, TR) 31

[GM note - Mieon was brought into the game so MI could play after Captain Akar died.]

Log update:

Mioen was in fact onboard the Aeroshuttle. She had practiced her Astral Projection on an earlier day than
previously mentioned and her communications course was started on route to the numiri planet.

DAY 97 (thu) continued ...

The firefight continued out into the snow covered yard, but the end was inevitable. Akar was shot one more time and
slumped to her feet. As her combat rage left her she died in the blood and snow.

Kirk seeing that his comrade in arms was dead and that he was out numbered by the soldiers in the yard and the
ones coming out of the tavern decided to surrender, the wised course under the circumstances.

While that had all been going on, Ensign Kevek had been doing his best to escape from the truck he was being held
in and managed to over power two of the guards. When Kirk surrendered though he saw the futility of it and also
gave himself up as more soldiers flooded into the yard.

The superior officer on the scene ordered them bundled into the back of a truck and taken to the barracks. Kirk
and Kevek discovered Mioen here also, coming around from a drug that had been given to her to neutralise her
psychic powers.

Before leaving the village though they were taken from the truck and put in the back of an armoured sedan car.
They were sat in the middle seat while the driver and officer sat in the front. Two guards sat in the back seat.
The officer, they learned, was Major Strank and he seemed quite angry with them and looked forward to getting
them back to the barracks. He also took Ensign Kirks comms badge and put it in his pocket.
'We have enjoyed looking over your ship' he taunted, 'It seems you are no more advanced than us!'

A truck of soldiers went ahead of them, slipping along in the snow. The road was cut into a steep mountain side
with a cliff face to their left and a precipitous drop to their right.

Mioen was pretending to be half asleep and still drugged but she was using her mind to probe about and pass
messages to Kirk and Kevek. They all knew that they were about 20 minutes drive away from the barracks and
that their best chance of escape was right now.

While passing messages to Kirk she also realised his mind had metaphorically trampled on with muddy boots and
she came across one of his dreams.

It went thusly:

''
You are in a darkened room. A shadowy figure enters holding a gun. You cannot see their face.
You step backwards in fear and hold your hands up in surrender. The figure pulls the curtains
across the window to their right hand side and shoots!
You slump to the floor and then darkness..
''

That aside, she was set on causing havoc of some kind and after a few rather more dangerous suggestions such
as making the driver veer off the cliff they settled for her mentally suggesting to Strank that they divert
to the air field and the Major ordered the driver to turn right at the junction between the air field and the
barracks.

From the junction it was a further ten minutes up onto a flat area of land between the mountains. When they
arrived there though the officer at the air field check point turned them back again,
'Major Strank, get back the barracks!'

Driving back down the hill, with the truck now in front again Mieon threw her psyche forward and stabbed at the
mind of the truck driver. The truck veered off the road and fell on its side into the snow. The driver of their
car panicked and they swerved and turned completely around in the road.

One of the guards behind them had dropped his gun as they were thrown around and seeing his chance Kirk jumped
over and grabbed it. Meanwhile Kevek used his vulcan nerve pinch on the driver and knocked him out for a moment.
When he came round the driver opened his door and ran off into the snow then dove into a ditch.

Kirk and Mieon having over powered the guards lowered their guns at Major Strank who raised his hands.
They didn't hang about though since they could see soldiers piling out of the over turned truck. Kevek grabbed
the medkit from back of the car and Mioen swiped Strank's coat. They then ran off as fast as they could for the
trees above the air field.

From above the air field they could see that it was surrounded by a tall chain link fence and looked heavily
guarded. As they dove into the snow covered forest and looked over their shoulders they saw a group of soldiers
coming up the hill form the air field, some of them leading canine type animals.

Getting their breath back and wondering what the hell to do next Mieon suddenly had a flash of inspiration and
reached into her coat pocket. It was Kirk's comm badge!

Kirk thankfully took it and managed to make contact with the Aeroshuttle. There were numiri onboard running
intrusive scans on the shuttle and they had managed to stop all Kirk's special transporter programs. He managed
to reboot that part of the system though and skilfully transported all three of them into the shuttle.

There were soldiers and technicians in the cabin and crew area but they took them by surprise. Kirk blew the
brains out of a startled soldier and accidentally shot the science console. Mieon dashed across to the weapons
rack and threw Kirk his favourite phase rifle. The firefight was brief and another officer was killed and
Kirk injured. Kevek grabbed the medkit from the Aeroshuttle and administered a Booster jab to Kirk.
The surviving soldier and technicians surrendered.

The Aeroshuttle was theirs!

(G234 13/03/2015 via Roll20 - JF(GM), AP, MI) 30

(G234 13/03/2015 via Roll20 - JF(GM), AP, MI) 30

DAY 94 (mon) cont ..

Mioen did take some of the others back into the hulk to check out how strong the Vidiian defences were
but thought better of it when she saw they were still armed and dangerous.

So the Tereshkova returned to Voyager and arrived back 1930 hours ship time.

They had managed to capture Belleth the Vidiian surgeon and rescued the following:

4 Bedean males
2 Bedean females
2 Numiri males
3 Babj-ijo females
Captain Akar - a Xeon mercenary

Everyone reported to the medical bay on arrival and kept the Doctor very busy for the rest of the night
as most of them were injured or ill.

While he was getting patched up Kirk was visited by Ensign Munro who came in to rib him in a friendly
sort of way, along the lines of 'Started any wars lately?'

Mioen didn't like this sort of behaviour at all though and 'suggested' to Munro that she be more humble.
It must have worked because Munro was nicer to Kirk, then smiled and left.


DAY 95 (tue)

Kirk was still in med bay when Ensign Kim was bought in at 0500 hours. He was tired and concerned for
Tom Paris. He had just been interrogated for two days straight by the Banean authorities who thought
that Tom had murdered an eminent scientist called Tolen Ren.

As a result of this Voyager entered orbit around the Banean home system not long after.

At 1700 hours Kirk was discharged from medbay and went to the messhall to get something to eat. Here
he bumped into Munro again, who was still very humble. She told him that she was about to take the
Aeroshuttle out on a mission to the Numiri home system but could say no more than that.

That evening Mioen practiced her Astral Projection powers, a new ability she had only recently mastered.
After she'd followed some people around and noseyed into some cabins (including Seska) she spent the rest
of the evening doing some drawings.

Kirk worked on his pet projects.

At 2000 hours there was a red alert and since neither of them were assigned to duty yet they stayed in
their cabins. From what was reported to them via the internal messaging system Voyager was attacked
by two Numiri warships but that Chakotay used an 'Old Maquis Trick' on them and disabled their engines.

At 2100 hours the Red Alert was stopped.


DAY 96 (wed)

At 0700 Mioen reported to a Communications Course and spent the rest of the day in training, while Ensign
Kirk reported for duty at the Deck 6 Armoury.

At 1600 hours though he was ordered to report to Tuvok who had a mission for him. Here he also met Captain
Aker the Xeon mercenary.

Below is a transcript of some of the briefing:

''
While I prepare the case for the defence of Tom Paris I have also been looking at gathering clandestine
evidence from the Numiri home system. Twenty-four hours ago I sent out Ensign Munro and the Aeroshuttle
to meet a contact at a Numiri colony planet called Navamore. This was a Banean spy called Harvin Hala.
This contact had told us that a Numiri intelligent agent that he knew of would be able to give the name
of the Banean traitor that had framed Paris.

From there the Aeroshuttle traveled, in disguise, to the home system of Jastronel. Twelve hours ago
I was contacted by Hala to regretfully inform me that the shuttle and its crew had been captured.

I need you to go to Navamore, contact Hala and arrange to get to Jastronel. You will have to not only
find the Numiri intelligent agent, but also rescue the crew of the Aeroshuttle.

I know I am asking a lot of you. But from your profile and track record I feel you are a good choice
for this type of mission. Take Captain Akar with you and the Tereshkova.

Captain Akar is familiar with the Numiri and will prove useful to you.

If you succeed in this I will recommend you once more become the commander of the Aeroshuttle.

There is one more thing I should tell you. I suspect that the Aeroshuttle crew were betrayed by an
agent working for Hala. Keep alert for signs of treachery when he prepares you for the mission to
Jastronel.
''

They didn't waste any time in kiting out the Tereshkova again and getting to the Navamore Trade Station,
arriving at 1800 hours Voyager time.

They then met up with Harvin Hala at a hotel that seemed to be being used as a base of operations for a
Banean spy ring. Hala was in disguise as a Numiri.

He offered them refreshments and went over the plan:


''
This is all very cloak and dagger I'm afraid. It's a dreadful shame your previous crew were captured
and I suspect treachery played a part somewhere. I will be sending you with some of my own agents this
time. I'll introduce you to them later.
The Numari are desperate for the weapons tech that was being developed by Ren and will stop at nothing
to get it. Using your Tom Paris as a scapegoat is exactly how they like to operate.

We are sure the brains behind the scheme is an intelligence officer called Major Jonahh Midscht.
Currently he is in the Loss Shadler Castle attending a meeting of army chiefs. Get to him though and you'll
be able to squeeze the name of his agents out of him.

He'll be in the process of squeezing your crew I should think, so the sooner you can get to them the
better. From our spy satellite reports I can tell you that your shuttle is close to the castle.

Once I've introduced you to the others I'll go over the details of the plan ...
''

The other spies were introduced to them, all Banean's that were disguised as Numiri:

Arvik Ariel - Subspace radio operator (male)
Bras Gorom  - Explosives (male)
Treem Carin - Sniper (male)
Wijy Kone   - Communications (female)
Yona Hoom   - Heavy Weapons (male)

The final part of the preparation was to disguise Kirk and Akar as Numiri. This involved lying down in
a machine that altered them physically to look more like the lizard skinned Numiri. They would visually
appear to be Numiri for about a week now and even fool simple medical checks. A medical scanner would
show them up as spies though.

Feeling groggy after the change they went back to the docks and boarded a Banean stealth shuttle at
2300 hours. They were soon in low orbit over the Numiri home world, getting ready to make their jump.

DAY 96 (thu)

They used self deploying halo jump shutes. They were not the easiest things to get to grips with and
they had only received five minutes training but both Kirk and Akar managed adequately and landed in the
snow without any mishap.

Bras Gorom approached them and said,
'Did you see where Arvik landed?'

They found Arvik Ariel dead in some trees, his shute had deployed but his neck was broken. Wijy Kone
took his radio and they made their way to a foresters hut. They were high up on the side of a steep
snowy mountain but the hut provided them enough shelter to get some sleep in.

At 0100 hours Wijy checked the subspace radio and reported it had been broken beyond repair.
Kirk tried his comms badge 'Kirk to Aeroshuttle!'
But Wijy slapped his hands away, 'Has that been security checked? Is is safe? You'll have an entire
Numiri regiment down on us!'
'Oh yea, I suppose', grumbled Kirk.

0600 hours
After a brief rest they headed down to the village. As they were walking down suddenly Akar slumped
into the snow and had a vision...

''
You are in a darkened room. A shadowy figure enters holding a gun. You cannot see their face.
You step backwards in fear and hold your hands up in surrender. The figure pulls the curtains
across the window to their right hand side and shoots!
You slump to the floor and then darkness..
''

Akar awoke with a start. When the others asked what happened she relayed her dream. Kirk helped
her up and they continued on their way.

Once on the main road the going was easier and they saw a lot of military traffic going up and
down the snow covered road, even this early in the morning.

0700 hours
The Banean agents they were with told them that the contact was within the tavern at the centre
of the village. They passed through a checkpoint and gave over their papers. Everything passed
inspection.

It was still too early for the tavern to be open so they walked around the village and saw the
big castle further up the valley and the cable car station that was the only way to reach it.

The village itself was small and made up just a dozen or so houses around the tavern, townhall
and a few shops. The rest of the buildings were warehouses and sheds that had a military feel
to them.

They followed the road a little around the castle to the north, but as they were being nearly
run over by trucks every time one passed they turned back. They found an early morning bakery
in the town square to have breakfast in.

0930 hours
The tavern was now open. Kirk and Aker entered, leaving the Banean spies outside. It was already
quite busy with numiri soldiers and locals drinking and eating breakfast. It was entered via
a set of steps that lead down into its main room.
Their contact was a Numiri female called Yernah that would be wearing a green dress with an
orange flower. She would be serving drinks.

Kirk spotted her, but had not been given a password so he went back outside and talked to
Bras who told him,
'We have a situation here.'
'Oh yeah?'
Treem Carin was dead, his body tucked in behind a pile of wood. Kirk decided to leave that
for now and with the password went back into the tavern and approached Yernah.

Before he could do that though he had to sit down as he had a vision:

''
You are sat at a desk. You sense someone behind you but are too afraid to turn around. A gruff
deep voice behind you whispers 'Now you die!' and you feel hands around your neck. You struggle
but the hands are too strong. You pass out and know no more...
''

Once he'd recovered from that he greeted Yernah with the correct password, but just as she was about
to start talking to him and Akar an officer and four soldiers entered the tavern.
The officer stood at the top of the stairs and shouted,
'Everyone stay where they are! We are searching for some deserters, please have your papers ready for
inspection!'
Kirk and Akar decided to wait at their table, but when the officer, a Major, checked their papers
he yelled at them, 'Ok you two, come with me!'
Kirk protested but they were to hand over their weapons. Instead Kirk dropped a grenade at the officers
feet and made a dash for the kitchen.

Two of the officer's soldiers and several more who were in the tavern and armed went after him and a bloody
firefight ensued. Numiri weapons are phasers, but they have no stun setting and the pulses explode on impact
leaving holes in concrete, wood, flesh, anything that they hit.

Akar stayed at her table, dodging left and right, ducking behind tables and things and being impossible to
hit as she took out one soldier after another with her two phase pistols. But the numiri soldiers realised how
agile she was and stepped back to throw grenades at her. After a couple of injuries from this she joined
Kirk in his dash across the kitchen and out the back door.

The firefight was brutal and bloody. They ran out into the back yard, shooting and throwing grenades. They
were both injured from the return fire now and in need of an escape route. From what they found outside though
they were jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire!

(G235 20/03/2015 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF, Mira, Guru)

(G235 20/03/2015 via Roll20 - AP(GM), JF, Mira, Guru)

[GM note : All players present so back to the main game!]

DAY 226  (23 Marpenoth)(October) cont...

So where was I? A yes, the fight at the 'Monastery of the Ebon Dome'. To recap then, we were here in
the Plane of Shadows, following a trail of evil that had started at the temple of Mystra in Weyloon,
Cormyr and lead us into the Vast Swamp and the Lost Refuge.
Eager to rescue the people kidnapped by the followers of evil gods Cyric and Shar, we were now deep
into the Plane of Shadows. The party consisted of myself, Rollo, a druid, my cousin Sylvia, a cleric,
a halfling rogue called Mirabella and a boisterous paladin called Gurudor.
Mirabella had recently contracted lycanthropy, but had yet to manifest itself.

Right oh then. Fighting.

Sylvia took a moment to drink a healing potion since all her magic was now gone, or most of it anyway
and certainly all the powerful stuff. The bat swarm was still being an annoyance though and nibbling
away at both of us.

As I was picking bats out of my hair I saw Gurudor's horse jump in through a window and then the paladin
himself. I directed my army of crocodiles and lions to join him in the attack on the denizens of this area.

Mirabella killed the person she was fighting and I stepped back, waited until everyone was clear and wiped
out the swarm of bats with a Frost Breath spell. A few stunned bats survived and flapped off to do whatever
stunned bats do and no longer played a part in the battle.

Outside the two lions caught the teifling runner as he tried to enter the building via another entrance.
The pulled him down and partially ate him before they unsummoned.

It was all rather chaotic and confusing in the darkness, but from shouts and shining lights we established
that all our foes were now dead except for the woman who was making a run for it all the way around the
north side of the building.

Gurudor caught up with her on his horse and leapt off as she ran down the east side. She cast a spell on
the horse and attacked our paladin. Gurudor swung but she ran off again.

Unluckily for her though I had just rounded the north east corner and was just within range to use my
last powerful spell - Hypothermia. She froze to the spot like an icy statue, stone dead.

The fight was over then. We gathered and searched the bodies. There were four human guards, the 'Howler'
beast, the Teifling that had been snacked on by lions and the human woman that I'd frozen.

In their quarters we found some books and two parchments.

The first of revealed that the woman I'd just iced was called Ethar and the letter read:

"Most honored Watchful Skull, Blackwill Akhmelere,

Greetings from your bloody hand, Skull Servant Ethar. As expected, the Sharrans hide their secrets well, but I
did discover something that might lead us to understanding their ultimate plan. We aid them in their ritual to
create a field of dead magic over the Vast Swamp. Obviously, this is to their advantage as only Shadow magic works
within these spaces, but claiming the swamp as a base of operations seems foolish. This incongruity bothered me,
and I prayed to the Black Sun to grant me knowledge of their plans. I received no vision, but while living here
in one of their old monasteries I discovered the piece of parchment I’ve attached with this letter, praise be to
Cyric. I believe it to be the writings of a monk that once lived in the Monastery of the Ebon Dome.

It seems the Sharrans have a secret Roll of Years. Of its origin or accuracy, I can say nothing, but some names
seem uncannily close to the history we have witnessed – perhaps even more so than those penned by the Lost Sage,
Augathra the Mad. You can see that the Black Chronology seems to span a mere 34 years, but perhaps there is more
not revealed by this scrap of parchment. Reading the “Book of the Black” might explain more and tell us what the
Sharrans truly plan.

I could not find more writings like this one despite a week of searching. I made subtle inquiries with the
Sharrans and Despayr. Despayr seemed to know nothing, but with his kind, it is always hard to tell. The other
Sharrans said they did not know what I meant, but talked about how the monks at this monastery went mad – but
I sensed some wariness in their postures.

I think we need to find this Book of the Black and "
''

The next parchment read:

''
The shadows fall properly and others signs make it more clear. At long last, the Black Chronology is
coming to fruition.
I trust in the shadows that dance at the edge of my sight, for Shar enfolds me in her dark embrace.  I can with
some authority claim that this year, 750, is indeed the Year of the Lost King.  I know that the events prophesied in
the Book of the Black will soon come to pass.

Behold the Roll of Years and its Shadow.  In due time we shall all bear witness to the unfolding Shar’s greatest work.
''

There then followed a long list of dates.

What in the name of sanity were these people up to? A field of dead magic in the Vast Swamp? This woman Ethar
was a cleric of Cyric then and even she didn't know what the Shar lot were up to. Who was Despayr? What was
his kind? A feeling of dread began to burn into my heart.

In the teiflings room (his name had been Zertharmas) we found a book on Mystra that he had been
reading and annotating. One of the notes read:

''
You think so, do you? Won't you be surprised when it all unravels? Note to self; DIscover
how dead magic affects your powers. Ethar will no doubt be useless. Ask Despayr? his offer
is tempting, but how would Cyric look upon it? Perhaps a consultation with the fiendish
powers is in order?
''

The woman's room was quite plush and well appointed. In the room there was a chest that Mira opened.
She had to dodge a blob of acid as it was shot at her though.

From the eastern side of the building a trail lead down to a black void on the other side of which
we could see another gloomy building lit by a single lantern.

We were all exhausted from our second round of combat in this unholy place but at least the area
was clear now and we could get some decent rest.

Gurudor insisted on dealing with the bodies first though and built a funeral pyre and burnt them.
I would have liked to have had a look at the teifling, but at least I had a good poke about inside
the Howler.

The rest of the day was spent bandaging wounds and repairing arms and armour. I spent a lot of time
scanning and reading sections of the books that we had looted from our slain enemies rooms. Some
were just nonsense but a few of them were pretty good books on magic, the planes, and fiends.

DAY 227 (24 Marpenoth)

Once Sylvia was awake she used most of her magic to heal everyone, including those that had been
hit by draining spells. Once everyone was healed though we decided to wait another day.

I spent some of the day dissecting and drawing what was left of the Howler and the Kir-Lanan guards, the
flappy things that had attacked us when we had first arrived.

I spent the rest of the day reading. The others mainly just seemed to relax and eat their way though
the monastery's food supplies.

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