The Path of the Tome

A tale with its roots in religion, focusing on a seemingly destined group of adventurers who travel on a path with a holy quest on their minds, and a longing in their hearts. This was the first campaign run by Ryan Neenan, and the fourth installment in the Faerunian timeline.

The players in this campaign were a part of the Circle of the Tome.



The Main Characters

 * Bwh, in the role of Mozariq al'Soleth, a human wizard;
 * Bill Fehringer, in the role of Xarxes Theodike, a human ranger;
 * Jorge Jaramillo, in the role of Kehlkagt Stonevictor, a dwarven cleric/fighter;
 * Jason Stapels, in the role of Xavier Fledliweth, a wild elven druid;
 * Dan Moffitt, in the role of Talbane Daggerfall, (aka Therran Aldonson) a human fighter;
 * Dan Rogers, in the role of Anly Starshin, a human monk.

Main Non-Player Characters

 * Trajan Bertoh, Cleric of Lathander. Head of the government in the town of Beregost, and protector of Ulcaster's Portal.
 * S'ilan Trelane, Drow Thief. Head of the group The Devil's Laugh and member of the Auzkovyn Clan, this Drow has the slightly unnerving habit of giggling uncontrollably. Deceased.
 * Arteus Starshin, Lost, now Found Brother to Anly. Deceased.
 * Xenon Theodike, Betrayer Brother. Brother to Xarxes, and thief of one of the Boxes of Netheril, which contained the Scepter of the Neutral Spirit.  Briefly occupied by the Avatar of Myrkul.
 * Ladira Chembryl, Cousin to Fzoul Chembryl. Aka Lady Akrasia, apparently plots to resurrect her cousin and eventually her god Bane. Deceased.
 * Nhyris D'Hothek, Pure Blood Undead Yuan-ti, and one time holder of the Crown of Horns, the evil piece from the Boxes of Netheril. Member of the Bleeding Wound Tribe of Yuan-ti in the Black Jungles of Tashalar.  Deceased.  After death, the Crown left him.
 * Eric Frost, Human Wizard. Leader of the Death Flames.  Killed in the final confrontation.

Supporting Non-Player Cast

 * Valen Retoran, Cleric and Chosen of Lathander. Leader of an adventuring group of Chosen, including a former Wandering Guardian.
 * Ulraunt, Keeper of the Tomes. Master of Candlekeep, and a lover of a good meal.
 * Neira Vektori, Witch of Rashemen. Head of the Wychlaren.
 * Chosen of the Tome:
 * Malis Hertak, Bishop of Chauntea in Rashemen. First chosen of the Tome. (Green band)
 * Kawosret, Paladin of Sune. Second chosen of the Tome. (Red band)
 * Pera Jeran, Sorceress of Lliira. Third chosen of the Tome. (Yellow band)
 * Dorgan Rivenstone, Gnomish Rogue and Divine Seeker of Garl Glittergold. Fourth chosen of the Tome (Blue band)
 * Aiden Evenwood, Half Elf follower of Tymora and Bard of Battledale. Fifth Chosen of the Tome (Orange Band)
 * Gelgar Talonguard, Ranger of Helm. Sixth Chosen of the Tome (Violet Band)
 * Aleena Paladinstar, Wizard of Oghma, and heir to a Lordship in Waterdeep. Seventh and final Chosen of the Tome (White Transformation)
 * Ezri Rundeen, Thief. Son of the Rundeen, and a Tainted Soul of the Yuan-ti, his goal of finding the Gauntlets of the Seraph failed in his death in Halruaa.
 * Isimud, Wizard of Unther. Leader of the Northern Wizards of Free Unther.
 * Jeral, Blue Wizard. Head of a cell of Blue Wizards in the Methwood in Unther.
 * Jorlo Treethrower, Amoral Dwarf. Befriended Kehlkagt in Suzail.  Zela one of his "followers."  Deceased.
 * Zela, Half Elf. "Friend" of an old Dwarf named Jorlo, clings to Kehlkagt upon his death.  Fey'ri spy in disguise.  Deceased.
 * Vaerana Hawklyn, Ranger of Mielikki. Co-Leader of Westgate
 * Sememnon, Former 2nd in Command of The Zhentarim. Ask the Circle for help in breaking in Darkhold; told them of Ladira's Plans.
 * Trenom Rundeen - Brother of Ezri, and headman of the Rundeen Consortium. Murdered in Calimsham.
 * Galen Nevek - Favored Soul of Kossuth, right hand of Eric Frost, and holder of the Voice of Reason. He was killed in the final confrontation.
 * Maliro the Destroyer - Half-Elven Blighter, and ally of Jericho. He was killed in the final confrontation.
 * Palar the Darkhearted - Blackguard of Loviatar, fallen Paladin of Ilmater, and ally of Jericho. He is presumed killed in the final battle.
 * Vega Jericho - Vampire Warlock and member of the Horned Harbingers, he put together the plan to resurrect Myrkul. He is presumed killed in the final battle.

Prologue - "The Prophecy"
Six adventurers are called upon by their deities in different ways. They all are told to travel to a small town in the Western Heartlands by the name of Beregost. About halfway between Baldur's Gate and Athkatla, this sleeping caravan town of 40 some odd buildings is headed by the church of Lathander.
 * All arrive and go to the massive church of Lathander. They are greeted by the leader of the town and head cleric, Trajan Bertoh.  He is not forthcoming as to why they are here, but rather directs them to a local Inn, The Silent Dawn, and promises them answers in the morning.  Arrivals are staggered.
 * Most head off to bed right away, although Xavier leaves Xarxes and camps out in the woods instead. The barkeep: "But that was only five!"  Kehlkagt decides to stay up drinking.  He is soon greeted by a familiar face - Mozariq joins him at the bar, and the two later stagger up to their rooms.
 * Morning comes, and the six come down to the common room. Some realize they are aquainted with others.  Some small talk is started, and several of the group find that their purpose in this town is way too similiar to be a coincidence.
 * A small explosion blows open the western wall of the Inn, and the group finds a large army of fiendish creatures have somehow teleported into the fields. The army numbers over 100, and has devils, undead, orcs, and other nasty nasty things.  Trajan: "We'll handle this."  With that, a dimension door opens, and five beings step out.  Obvious to all involve: these five are very, very powerful.  The 5 proceed to destroy the army, although a small group attempts to escape.  The group of six blocks their escape, and kills the enemies before they can leave.

The five include a moon elf (Later realized to be Oryn Silverrain), a Drow (introduced as Saldar Es'Viladrae), a Dwarf (introduced as Emerus Warcrown), a Wood Elf, and a Human. The human is the leader, and a cleric of Lathander, named Valen Retoran. He addresses the group, and speak of the importance of their presense here. They have been called upon by their gods to undertake a vital quest.
 * Oryn steps in, teleports he, Valen and the group to Candlekeep. Anly reveals a tome that lets the group enter the immense library.  The man in charge, named Ulraunt, requires that the group sit down for lunch.  Throughout lunch, various questions are asked and discussed. Satisfied with their answers, and their patience, Ulranut leads them through several rooms that make up the immense library to a secluded and heavily protected room.
 * In the room is a box, which makes Xarxes very anxious all of a sudden. Ulraunt explains it holds one of Alaundo's prophesies.  The great seer used to live in the tower that is now Candlekeep, and his prophesies have been studied greatly.  Several have come true, and Ulraunt believes this one is dead on as well.  He opens the box, a parchment floats up, and Alaundo's 42nd Prophecy is read by all.
 * Ulraunt explains that he believes that an ancient magical tome must be opened once again, and this parchment has foreseen this group as its guardians. Oryn steps in and reveals a large tome, wrapped in leather, telling the story of how he received it from a gold dragon.
 * Ulraunt goes on more about the tome - it is an artifact of good, but little is known of its origins or purpose. All that is known is that it chooses who opens it, and the path it takes will lead good to its salvation.
 * Just as the sun brings life to Faerun, one of Lathander must bring life to the Tome. The tome is given to Valen, and he opens it.  A blinding light enters the groups eyes and souls.  Talbane screams like a little girl.  Moments later, the light ceases.  Valen is on the floor, near unconscious.
 * The six feel stronger (+1 ability point) and receive magical items, each glowing a different color, at their feet. The tome, which glowed white then returned to its gray now has writing on the cover, and a symbol. Ulraunt explains that the tome will tell the tome bearers where to go next.  On the tome is the holy symbol fo Chauntea, and the following text: "Nature, the gentlest mother, Impatient of no child, The feeblest or the waywardest, Her admonition mild. The destruction, random effects, chaos, The oldest of the mothers cries, Worse than the Red menace, Soon even the Witches may die.  The Path will lead you, A land in the Northeast, Yet only five will leave, --one has a detour at least."

Session 1 - "Chauntea and Talos"
The five remaining members are ushered down to the basement of the church of Lathander, and come to a rather amazing site: Ulcaster's Portal. After a brief explanation of its history and ability, Oryn hands Mozariq three scrolls of teleportation to return, and our heroes say their intended destination, earlier figured out from the clues on the tome: "Rashemen"


 * The group finds themselves in a cave. After eventually climbing up some slippery stairs, exploration brings them to a lair of a harpoon spider, whom they defeat.  A door is found, but it is magically sealed.  While Mozariq and Anly stay behind, the rest travel back through the caves and explore.
 * The Room of Three Rings - instead of getting a translation of a sign on a wall, the group decides to pull all three rings at the same time. Eight magic missiles and a burst of acid later, the group finds a secret door as opened revealing scrolls and potions.
 * The Room of Stone Spikes - The group battles stone spikes, and defeats them. Further exploration of their tunnel yields a pool of acid and what sounds like a den, which Kehlkagt believes is warning them away.
 * The Room of Electrum Horrors - after rejoining with the mage and the monk, they enter the last room and battle several mechanical spiders. A key is found encased in a block of ice, and another hole is filled with the remains of the spiders.
 * Using the key to open the door, the group finds themselves in the basement of a tavern. Exploration reveals that they are in a Tavern in the Rashemi city of Mulptan.  After trying some very strong local cheese called sjorl, the waitress tells them of the recently weird weather, and a commoner on the street informs that the nearest temple to Chauntea is in the Rashemi capital of Immilmar.
 * After briefly exiting the city, the group goes back in and decides to sell the gems they recovered in the cave, and identity the magic items they received and found. An attempt at these endeavors met with failure in one shop, as Talbane met a nice old witch who magically tattooed the Rashemi word of "asshole" on his forehead.  Eventually, the group sells their goods and identifies their items, and heads to sleep at the Hill Giant Inn  During the day, the weather goes from snow to rain to hail to intense heat.  The next morning, Kehlkagt finds a weird looking white mask in his room, and takes it along.

The next day, the group sets out for Immilmar.
 * It is a 5 day walk, and as the group moves on it is rather boring. The weather continues to do weird things.
 * On the second day, they are met by a carriage who asks if they need any help. Declining the offer, the carriage man warns them to stay away from the forest coming up, called the Ashenwood.  As the carriage drives away, a beautiful women regards them - Kehlkagt a little longer than the others.
 * They arrive at the forest and camp for the night, intending to enter it despite the warning. As they approach it at dawn, they are met by a women and two guards, who forbid them to enter the forest at this time.  The women also claims that Kehlkagt has something that belongs to her "sister," and that he needs to give it back - the white mask.  Through some intense moments, the group agrees, and the women teleports the party to Immilmar.

The women leads the party into the gates of the mighty town, which is dominated by a huge center fortress. As they walk toward this point, the group notices the overall depression of the townsfolk, and near a thousand people are outside a very large temple to Chauntea praying and waiting to get in.
 * They reach the central citadel, rise up in an elevator to the top, and emerge in a glass room overlooking the city. In the room is another women, and a very large-and-in-charge looking man.  They are introduced as the head of the Wychlaren and of Rashemen, Neira Vektori, and the Iron Lord and head of the military.  The women with you gives the white mask to Neira, who asks the party to sit down.
 * Situation: The Bishop of Chauntea was kidnapped almost 5 days ago. Shortly thereafter, the weird weather started to happen. Droughts have claimed crops (and, as a result, livestock) throughout the nation, and Neira has little explanation of how or why this has happened.  She does think, however, that the source of this weather is coming from the Ashenwood Forest.  The forest, she tells the group, is off limits to Rashemi and holds spirits far older than anything known.  She asks for the group's help to investigate the forest.
 * The group agrees and is teleported to the Ashenwood. Three clerics of Chauntea wait there - they have called off the spirits for now, so they don't bother the group.  But as for the living creatures...
 * The group enters the forest. Eventually, they are ambushed by a group of humans.  An intense battle ensues, and the forest is nearly caught ablaze by one of the attackers.  Xavier, now back out of rhino form, calls upon two water elementals to eliminate the fire before it spreads.  The small groups defeated, Mozariq finds a symbol on the dead - the holy symbol of Talos, God of Destruction.
 * The group goes on further and finds a massive, dead circle. They clearly see three clerics chanting in front of what is obviously the Bishop of Chauntea, tied, gagged, and bound on a wooden stake.  Above the stake is a massive black void, growing with each word of the chant.
 * As the group enters, hoping to catch them by surprise, a massive wall of flame appears, blocking their progress. A insane battle ensues, as two paladins emerge from tents, and two clerics walk through the flames to engage the group.  Xavier, again in rhino form, charges at the remaining cleric.  He hits, but then is held in place, inside the wall of fire.
 * Eventually, the battle turns toward our heroes, as the enemies fall one by one. Before the last cleric is defeated, however, he manages to call upon a storm elemental out of the black void above them. The heroes converge and slay the beast, and as the wall of flame sinks, they take an unholy dagger from the Chauntea Bishop's heart and untie him. He regains consciousness, and brings them out of the wood, where the waiting clerics transport them all back to Immilmar.

After receiving a reward and thanks from Neira, the Bishop - named Malis - invites them back to his temple. He reveals that he knows why they are here, and asks for the tome. He opens it, and the same bright light appears. When closed, Malis is on the floor muttering: It has chosen me, and I have given it what it wants. The tome now quickly glows green, eventually going back to gray. On the binding now, however, is a permanent back of green. On the cover is new text and symbol. The symbol is found to be that of Sune. The text reads as follows: "A lost empire most fair - her people full of despair. Two faithful of the moon, and a woman of the air. A pharoah of the sand, Now rules most of this land. Loved and righteous, a man of the air takes a stand."

Through some conversation, the next desintation is decided to be Unther. The group rests at the citadel as guests of Neira's as they ponder their next move.

Session 1.5 - "Xarxes' Detour"
Xarxes takes a detour to the nation of Halruaa, and its capital Halarahh, paralleling what the others do in Rashemen. In this detour, Xarxes takes over the task of finding more information about the box that held the Prophesy. During his quest, he finds a few important details:
 * The box is one of three boxes created by the ancient Netherese. The boxes were said to hold ancient artifacts of extreme power - power, it is said, to make one rival the Gods themselves.  For simplicity, they were called the Boxes of Netheril.
 * The box he takes from candlekeep once held an extremely evil artifact.
 * The box that was stolen from his hometown of Cimbar, is believed to be the second of these three boxes. The location, and even the existence of, the third box is still a mystery.
 * A man by the name of Ezri accosts Xarxes, looking, it seems, to be trying to steal the box. The Halruaans explain that Ezri is a thief for hire, but recently had become strange and odd in his actions.  In the battle with Ezri, Xarxes notices his slurred speech, his licking of his lips, and his affinity for snakes (he can both change into one, summon them, and had a large viper companion)  A ring from his body is taken - its markings are unintelligible.

Xarxes returns to Beregost and eventually rejoins his group in Rashemen.

The complete text of this adventure is found on the boards here.

Session 2 - "Unther and Mulhorand"
Before leaving Rashemen, Xarxes rejoins the group in the Citadel. The group talks a bit, filling each other in on each adventure. The witch that originally met the group near the Ashenwood Forest comes to them that evening and tells them of a merchant who has traveled from Mulptan - he claims to have done business with the group before, and upon hearing of their deeds, would like to offer his services at great discounts. After a bit of drinking, the group heads out to his shop the next morning.

The visit appears to be some kind of trap. The merchant, who the group realizes is slowly becoming a drow as an illusion is melting away, asks the group for the magical tome they have. Refusing, they are ambushed from behind by a group of rogues and monks. The drow protects himself behind a wall of force, giggling seemingly uncontrollably as the battles progresses. Eventually, the evildoers are vanquished, but the drow disappears behind the wall, and out into the city. On the bodies of the fallen is a new symbol - a magically tattooed emblem of a flame and the head of a horned devil, the two symbols oscillating between each other.

The group proceeds to Beregost via scroll, and eventually teleports to Unther. They arrive in the city of Messemprar, the capital of free Unther. A sprawling metropolis, they arrive in a rather poor section. They find the nearest Inn, called the The Blood and Shield Tavern, and find out where they are and the current events of the area:
 * Unther is currently at war with Mulhorand. Unther's old enemy currently occupies over half the country, its northern garrisons stationed in the port city of Shussel.
 * The leaders of the resistance in the city is a group of wizards called the Northern Wizards. Their leader is the powerful Isimud [Wiz18/Dev5 of Mystra].
 * A group to the south, headed by an Air genasi, are freedom fighters who have been a thorn in the side of Mulhorand since they invaded.
 * Mulhorandi troops all but destroyed the fertile plains in the southern portion of the country, leaving much of free Unther in famine. Outside "brokers" have been paid to smuggle in food.
 * In the city exists churches to Mystra, Tempus, Tiamat, and a new one recently - Selune.

The group proceeds north to a rather lavish temple to Selune, going on the clue fromt he tome. It is learned from the head Cleric there that the church was started and financed by a moon elf named Jeardra, and the church has become popular among the Untheric people. The church is also funding the new set of protective walls being built around the city.

The group then decides to proceed to the central citadel, when they are ambushed in an alley. Our heroes battle a group in between two massive walls of fire. The battle is fierce, and near the end the group is aided by a mysterious wizard. With the evildoers taken care of, the wizard, who looks very much like Mozariq, warns them that they are in great danger, and need to leave the city immediately. Taking him at his word, the group teleports with him out of the city. Before they leave, they notice the symbol on this new group of attackers - a blue flame in the background, and a skull in the foreground.

The group appears in a forest - the Methwood. The wizard, whose name is Jeral, explains that the group that attacked them has been a nuisance in Unther for some time, causing even more animosity between the two sides in the war. In fact, shortly before they were attacked, word was given to the Messemprar guards that they were spies from Mulhorand. Jeral tells them a few more important details:
 * A peace conference, something Unther has asked for for some time, is to begin in the town of Shussel in two days.
 * The Freedom Fighting Group, whose Air Genasi leader Ningal Jeral has had contact with, is planning a major assault on Shussel to disrupt the ports that continually supply the Mulhorandi troops. Bad timing has this coinciding with the peace talks, which Ningal does not know about, or just might not believe in their existence.
 * The cult that just attacked them is believed to know about these talks, and is bent on making sure they don't happen. Their motivations are unknown.

The group stays the night while Jeral leaves to gain proof of the talks. After a fight with two chimera, Jeral returns in the morning and teleports them to Shussel.

They arrive in a safehouse of Jeral's, greeted by one of the wizard's associates. They get right on exploring and gathering information. They first ask the bartender in the safehouse, and later the "ambassador" to Mulhorand - the former asssitant to the leader of Shussel, and sympathsizer to Unther's cause. Through them they learn the following:
 * The talks are to happen tomorrow at noon, at the old administration building. Both Isimud and the leader of the Mulhorandi Army (a cleric of the war-god Anhur) are to arrive tomorrow morning shortly beforehand.
 * If the cult is coming, they are most likley here already.
 * If the Freedom Fighters are here, they most likely are coming in through some unknown way - there are rumors that there exists secret passages beneath the new church of Anhur.

The group proceeds to the church, and through some quick thinking get around two very surprised guards to reach the entrance to some catacombs. Next to a seal of Tiamat on the floor they find an entrance to an underground tunnel. Through the tunnel they come across 4 trials - 3 riddles told by a Rune Guardian; a riddle involving floor tiles; a glass monster who does not like fire or undead; and a door showing the phases of the moon. The theme of the path - the Moon - is quickly realized, and upon entering the last door, they are greeted by a dozen crossbows and a female moon elf wondering very much who the hell they are.

The following is revealed in the conversation:
 * The freedom fighting group is indeed planning to attack, ignorant of the peace talks. The leader of the group is another cleric of Selune, one Hedjtep Kanut, who reveals his real name of Hemakakotep.
 * Upon providing proof of the talks, Hedjtep rethinks his plans, but wishes to witness these talks himself.
 * Later, another freedom fighter comes back. A paladin with long flowing blond hair and blue eyes enters, a symbol of Sune glistening on his formidable looking armor, and Hedjtep introduces him as Kawosret, a long time friend.  Hedjtep tells the group that Kawosret discovered that the cult was indeed in the city, and they will no doubt attempt to stop the peace talks.  Their lair is rumored to be somewhere in the south, near Jeral's safehouse.
 * The group approaches Kawosret, hoping to end this escapade and continue on with their real quest. However, Kawosret has no idea what they are talking about.
 * Convinced that they must wait out until the events of the next day unfold, the group retires back to the safe house, planning to go with Hedjtep and Kawosret the next day to the talks.

That night, the group attempts to investigate the surrounding area, somewhat forgetting that Jeral was supposed to meet them that night. Eventually, Anly and Xavier discover a suspicious building - there seems to be no steps up to the higher stories. The rest join the pair, and Mozariq discovers that the ceiling is indeed magical - there is a hole directly in the center. A battle ensures, as two arrows come flying from the hole. Traveling up to the third floor, the group finds more members of the cult waiting for them.

The battle is long and deadly. A portal in the room comes active during the battle, and a cleric of Kossuth emerges, rather surprised at the battle around him. His sole effort, however, seems to be two chests located in the far corner. Throwing them in his bag of holding, he makes many attempts to get back to the portal, only to be blocked by Polar Bear Xavier, and two summoned wolves among others. His last ditch effort of throwing the bag through the portal fails, and he is slain with the rest of his cult members. Found on the desk in the room are some papers:
 * Diagrams of exposive devices.
 * A list of names - prominent people in Unther and Mulhorand you can only assume, as you recognize Hedjtep's, Jeral's, Ningal's, and Isimud's among others. Several are crossed out, although none you recognize.
 * On the back of the list is more writing - though unreadable, some of the characters resemble those on Ezri's ring.

The group returns and sleeps for the night, only to be met by Jeral early the next morning. He takes them hurredly to the Freedom Fighter's chambers, telling them along the way the news: The peace talks were moved to 9 am... an explosive device was detonated in the area, hurting many. Kawosret saved most of the room, however, as he jumped on the device, shielding its corrosive contents from the leader of Mulhorand. The peace talks are still going on and look favorable for now. However, despite the attempts of both Hedjtep and Jeardra, Kawosret is not healing and expected to die any minute.

The group finds the broken paladin with only moments left - he looks at the group and says "I understand... Give me the book." He opens it and the familiar bright light fills the room, the book glowing red. He closes it moments later, saying "It has chosen me and I have given it want it wants." Kawosret falls to his bed, his body crumbling to dust.

On the book is a new clue, and a new symbol. In addition, there is a permanent red stripe on the binding, next to the green one. The symbol is a triangle of six pointed stars - one yellow, one red, and one orange. The group identifies it as the holy symbol of Lliira.

The next clue reads as follows: "A nation of sin, purified by fire; A Mask in the Night flees. There a woman, deep in a mire; More than anyone she sees. The spread of Good, three cities in a line; You seek one of the cold. Evil will spread, her claws grip the vine; In the end all will be told."

Not sure where the clue refers to, the group decides to try and teleport to a large city to plan and rest. With Isimud's help, they manage to teleport to Suzail in Cormyr. Before leaving, Mozariq befriends Jeral, and the latter teaches the former what his group is all about. The peace talks are a sucess and, for now at least, the war between Unther and Mulhorand is over.

Session 2.5 - "The Circle in Cormyr"
The group stays in Cormyr for over a week, finding out several pieces of information in the process.


 * Xavier accompanies Anly on a quick trip to the latter's home - Ashabenford, in the Dalelands. Anly tells her parents that Hedjtep has told her that her brother Arteus is alive - Hedjtep saw him in Thay.  Overjoyed, they spend some days together, Anly focusing on her sister and her amulet.  Alysta seems to be able to sense her siblings presence, and tells Anly that Arteus is ok, but he is not in Thay, he is to the West somewhere.
 * On the way back from Ashabenford, the pair stop with Celestia in the forest, Xavier revealing to Anly that he must perform a ritual to Meilikki while he has time and is in a forest. Anly agrees to accompany him.  They enter the woods and Anly watches as Xavier performs the ritual.  Eventually, a Treant comes forth to answer the call.  It tells the group of a battle between humans and Drow which somehow released a group of small fire creatures which now are burning much of the woods.  The treant asks Xavier to stop them.  He agrees, and eventually the three meet up with the 4 fire elementals and quickly dispose of them.  Investigating their origin, the group traces their path back to the start - they come across what was obviously a battle between humans from Cormyr and a Drow scouting party. Further investigation yields a dead human who fought on the Drow side.  Around his neck is a simple gold medallion.  The group clears the woods, takes the medallion, and then heads back to Cormyr.


 * Mozariq, now a Blue Wizard, takes to the task of finding out more information about what to do and where to go next. With Xarxes and Kelkagt's help, they focus on the words "three cities in a line."  Eventually, they decide that Westgate is the place they want to go next - Mozariq sends the dwarf out to try and gather current information about Westgate.
 * Mozariq then turns his toughts to Ezri's ring and the note - both in the smae writing. He manages to decipher them both.  The note is from a "D.E" and it is addressed to a "E.F."  The note says to make as much chaos as possible in Unther, and stop any attempts at peace.  It also warns of a group of six, led by a young Chessentan - it tells the recipient to eliminate them.  The ring is a bit more confusing - the words are keyed to runes.  Mozariq figures out while though very powerful, the ring is also linked to Dominate Monster and Symbol of Death Spells.  He prudently decides not to put it on.
 * Troubled by the fact that the letter gives Xarxes top billing, the young ranger eventually lets the mage know of his past - his brother and what he has done. Mozariq decides to try and find out more information through a scrying spell, but attempts to look in on Xarxes' brother and "D.E." fail.
 * The next morning, Kehlkagt comes downstairs with a headache, not remembering most of the previous night, while Mozariq and Xavier get into a minor fight. Hours later, a older dwarf enters the Inn, with an entourage of females and bodyguards.  The dwarf, named Jorlo, apparently was befriended by Kehlkagt the previous night, and agreed to give him information if Kehlkagt beat him at a drinking contest.  Jorlo hands over some documents, tries to convince Kehlkagt to join him on a real adventure of finding more beer and women, and then leaves.  One of his entourage, a young female half elf, whispers something in Kehlkagt's ear, gives him a kiss on the cheek, and then scurries off.  The documents contain current information on the southern Dragon Coast, including Westgate.  They are signed Jorlo Treethrower, with a note that "Zela sends her love."


 * Talbane spends the week working in and around Suzail, training in several "underground" fighting arenas. He does quite well.


 * They decide to sail to Westgate. But before they go, Anly decides to take a day and search the city for hints on Nassim's family.  She eventually finds that Nassim has a living sister named Sylvia, and that she works for Caladnei, the Royal Mage of Cormyr, herself.  Spirits lifted, she attempts to talk with Sylvia the nest day.  She gets an audience but is caught offguard when Sylvia comes off as uncaring of her brother.  Not wanting to believe what she is hearing, Anly is escorted out by guards.  On her way out, she notices Caladnei's carriage, and wonders if the "real" Sylvia is in there.  She rushes the gates and demand to be seen.  An older mage knocks her out and brings her into the castle.  It is there that he tells her that Sylvia Molrin has been missing for two weeks, with no lead on to where she went or what happened to her.  The mage dismisses Anly with the warning to keep her knowledge a secret, especially to her companions.

Session 3 - "The Past and the Future"
The group decides to travel on the cheapest of the three ships leaving for Westgate the next morning. The ship is full of peasants, and the accommadations are little more than empty rooms. During the trip, the group begins to fish. Anly, seeing the condition the peasants are in, decides to try and teach them how to fish. She is wildly successful, and Xavier in shark-form is quite taken aback when hundreds of hooks fly into the water. Through later discussion with the peasants, they find out some weird things:
 * Westgate is no longer what it was. After it was razed, it was taken over by two zeolous women who transformed the city into a haven for good.  It is to good was Westgate once was to bad, and some peasants think its worse off now.
 * Several of the farmers onboard complain about missing livestock.

The ship approaches Westgate, and the group gets it's first look at its change - around the city seems to be some sort of protective shield. The ship docks, and the group disembarks into a large building that straddles the shield. Inside, an office-type environment confuses them briefly, as they are ushered through a line toward a gate that passes through the shield. Talbane and Xarxes both try to lie about their names when asked, but the headman does not believe them. Eventually, they all give their real names and pass through the gate, which somehow itemizes their magical inventory.

Upon entering the city proper, the group is rather astounded by its cleanliness. After a brief look-around, some hear a commotion coming from the west. They start to walk towards it, and eventually learn whats happening by asking someone walking with them - "an execution." They continue on, hearing a loud ZAP and then wild cheers. They eventualy reach a large crowd of townsfolk, who are standing in front of a large golden stage. On top of the stage are three poles - one is empty. The other two have women bound and tied to them. On the stage is a scribe, a cleric of Tyr, and a mage. The scribe stand up, and proclaims that the human woman left on the stage, named Jackie Stillwater, is a known criminal and is guilty of several crimes. When finished, the mage kills her with a powerful word, and the cleric performs a spell keeping her remains from being resurrected.

It is about this time that the group notices something rather unnerving. To one side of them are several members of the "Oscillating Devils" group. To the other are several members of the Fire Cult. Both groups appear to be looking at the stage. In addition, unknown to the rest of the party, Talbane feels rather compelled to save the remaining woman on the stage. The scribe begins his speech, and it is revealed that the woman, an air genasi, is a Westgate thief named Schara. When done, the mage gets up and prepares to kill her. About to react, the group is surprised to see their enemies act first - two arrows fly toward the mage, the second knocking him unconscious. Seconds later, a fireball goes off in the middle of the crowd, and chaos erupts. After sorting through the stampeding crowd, the group now sees the two groups on either side of them, and a small squadron of guards standing in front of the only entrance to the stage. The groups appear surprised to see each other, and it become clear they both want Schara, although the Fire Cult wants her dead. A battle erupts, as both groups notice the Circle.

Distracted by each other, the group finds the battle going rather easily. Talbane, however, cannot fight the urge to save Schara himself, and he bolts toward the stage. Eventually, he manages to jump up on the stage and begins cutting down the pole holding the thief in place. As the battle draws to a close, and the last enemies are killed, the cleric, who had teleported away to get help, arrives back with an imposing female ranger of Mielikki. Simutaneously, the pole drops from Talbane's blows, and Schara bolts from the stage. The ranger tries to shoot her down, but misses horribly. The ranger, now with close to a hundred guards coming down the street, orders the Circle arrested until they can be questioned about this incident.

They are magically bound and led toward the center tower of the city. After a half hour in a prison cell, the ranger enters and asks what the hell that was all about. The group proclaims their innocence, at one point claiming they were helping the guards there. The ranger is outraged at Schara's release, which Kehlkagt blurts out is really HER fault for missing that one shot. Taking the lead from Kehlkagt, Xarxes decides to comment on how terrible the shot really was. Consequently he is rendered unconscious for the rest of the questioning. The group finds out the following information from the ranger:
 * Her name is Vaerana Hawklyn, and she is one of the two women who run Westgate, along with the town of Elversult.
 * The "oscillating devils" real name is The Devil's Laugh, a thieves guild dedicated to Mask. They have known ties to Schara, which explains why they wanted to rescue her.  They operate in the north, all along the Sea of Fallen Stars.  While they are not offically tied to the Drow, they are led by a member of the Auzkovyn Clan named S'ilan Trelane.  They have been a thorn in her side for years.
 * The "fire cult" is newer to her, and she does not know what they call themselves. All she does know is that they have created chaos wherever they go, but mostly operate in the south. They attack both sides of arguments, target good and evil deities (they recently destroyed a temple to Shar in Starmantle), and basically reap havoc wherever they appear.  They have ties to Kossuth, are believed to headquarter in Thay, and, she believes, although they have no clear goal, they are acting for some central purpose.  While they wanted Schara is unknown to her.
 * There is a small shrine to Lliira in the city.

Reluctant but tired, Vaerana agrees to let them go, but tells them to conclude their business in the city as fast as possible.

The group heads out to the shrine of LLira, and discover some sort of celebration going on. The shrine's greeter tells them they are celebrating the loss of one of LLira's followers, and invites them in, taking great note of Talbane. After putting a flower in Anly's hair, she departs, and the group decides to talk to some of the drunk partygoers. They learn the following:
 * The woman "celebrated" is named Pera Jeran. She has been missing for over two weeks.
 * She was from the "north" and arrived in the city a little under two years ago.
 * Where she is now, no one knows, but the party is a sign that they have given up hope of her returning.
 * She had been rather distracted lately, obsessed with research and some personal quest. Though she told no one specifics, the word "prophesy" came up often.
 * She was last seen in her room, in the Inn across the street.

The group (some reluctantly) leave the party, and head to Pera's room. Mozariq and Xarxes disguise themselves in LLiiran robes and pretend to be clerics sent to search Pera's room. The Innkeeper, rather annoyed that MORE clerics were coming into his Inn, believes them and hands over keys. They enter her room, and find a rather brightly colored chaotic mess. Books are tossed around the room, opened to histories of such things as Bane, the Battle of the Citadel of the Raven, Kossuth, Westgate, the Night Masks, and Fzoul Chembryl. Xarxes finds something of note under the bed, a rather nondescript box, which appartently had been there the whole time. After figuring out a riddle, the box opens and reveals four things - a ring of acid resistance, a dagger with the initials "PJ", a bright green gem, and an identical plain gold medallion that Xavier and Anly found earlier in the forest. Three thing happen, rather unexpectedly:
 * Talbane, seeminly unconsciously, reaches for the medallion. As he touches it, a bright light comes from his fist, and he begins to scream... an explosion later, Mozariq is dying, and Talbane is unconscious on the floor.  The most unnerving part is this:  the medallion now bears a symbol - the Symbol of Bane.  The same symbol is burned into the left hand of Talbane, while the right bears the burned symbol of Torm.
 * After recovering, Xavier takes the other items out of the box. The green gem immediately enters his skin and he sees a vision which quickly reveals itself to be a memory of Pera and an unknown contact.  In the vision, it is revealed that Pera believed that Bane was being resurrected somehow... and that the Devil's Laugh is tied to this.  She believes her answers can be found by finding a "woman" in the undercity, as a map is among the information she seems to be paying for.  The vision ends abruptly, although the gem tells Xavier than this conversation happened 20 days ago.  The last words of the informant fortell another meeting in three weeks.
 * Xavier, after touching the dagger, is very intent on finding and helping Pera... and giving her dagger back.

Through much searching, the group manages to find the same meeting point as in the vision. They set up a crude ambush in a nearby building, as Anly disguises herself and pretends to be Pera. As the time of the meeting comes, a man steps through a dimension door into the ally. He immediately sees through the illusion, and sighs. He takes off his cloak to reveal a holy symbol of Tyr. He is disturbed to hear the rumors of Pera being missing is true, and tell the group that he was helping her because he truly feared a resurrected Bane, though he didn't believe it could happen. He tells them that Pera was headed to an abandoned part of the undercity, once a Night Mask lair, where she believed a seer is held prisoner that could help her find the answers she sought. He provides a map to the entrance, for a small donation to the church.

The next day is filled with preparation. Mozariq uses his magic and a hair from Pera's brush to see her location - he is rather unnerved to find her in a bleak room and turned to stone. Talbane, Kehlkagt, Xarxes, and Mozariq also sell the ring of acid resitance behind the other's back. Preparation done, they head out to the entrance of the underground. As they enter the abandoned building and disbelieve an illusion in the basement to find the entrance, they are greeted by Schara. She warns them that they should stay clear of this part of the undercity. She expresses her generosity for her earlier rescue, and tosses Talbane a magical cloak as thanks.

The group, keeping the warning in mind, crawl through the entrance. What follows is a very difficult test of mind and body. Making their way through the dungeon-like atmosphere, they encounter countless monsters and riddles preventing them from advancing. Highlights include:
 * A battle with animated equipment - including a gargantuan sword rack, and two pesky tapestries, one of which almost constricts a helpless Anly to her death.
 * A battle with the undead, apparently the animated remains of the founder and former leaders of the Night Masks. Slaying the Death Knight founder leads them into an office of a necromancer.
 * A battle with gargoyles and a dangerous carrion crawler over a deep pit.
 * A mindnumbing maze, filled with teleports.
 * A room with two turnstiles, which when turned released water into the room. The water was the key to unlock the mysterious door leading them forward.

They eventually make it to the room Mozariq scryed earlier. There is Pera, still turned to stone. The stone Minotaurs, however, don't like this new intrustion. A battle erupts as two regular minotaurs burst forth from their stone coverings, and the huge statue minotaur comes to life. The battle is fierce, and Kehlkagt's arm is turned to stone, but the group is victorious. They turn Pera back to flesh, and while she is mourning her dead owl familiar, the group unlocks and solves riddles to open three doors on the side wall. They reveal depositories of treaure of the Night Masks'. Now, the group turns toward the door exit. Pera is intent on going through, and will not help them with the Tome until her answers come. They solve the riddle, and walk through.

What they find is less than exciting - a large black dragon, chained to the wall and sleeping, sits in the next room, his rear end physically against a door which Pera proclaims as the entrance to the woman seer. As the group quietly talks amongst themselves and forms a plan, a large sound emanates from an area of magic on the side wall. Two large cows appear in front of the dragon. The dragon, waking at this familiar sound, devours the cows in a few bites, and then finally notices the group. The last battle begins. Thanks to help from Pera, the dragon is vanquished rather easily. The group unravels the last riddle and enters the last door.

Behind the door is a room made entirely from dirt. In the center lies a churning pool of earth, rock, and mud. As they approach, a being starts to emerge from the center. It's top half is in the form of a beautiful woman, its lower half a column of earth attaching it to the pool. Mozariq recoqnizes this being as a Weird, an elemental seer. This one, an earth Weird, specializes in the telling of coming Doom and Destruction, and Wealth. It becomes quite clear why the Night Masks might keep this being for themselves. Pera immediately starts asking questions, and the following is revealed:
 * In response to Bane being resurrected, she replied "blood tries but comes to a wall. Your companions, one in particular, will have a say in such matters before it is decided... But you must remember, your worries are not the greatest dread... no... NOOOO... a much greater evil rises in the south.  The firesnake is coiling as we speak, ready to attack.  The brother continues his betrayal, the scepter and the crown are coming together, only the gauntlets will stop them, and only the completion of the Path."
 * Others ask some questions. Xavier asks of his mother.  The weird reveals that she is alive, and her fate is tied to his, and the Path.  Anly asks of Nassim, to which the weird replies that his "fate is sealed."  As for Arteus, "the brother who doesn't know his sister, the one will might know all very soon."  She reveals he is alive, and the Path will eventually find him as well.  As they leave, Xavier asks a private question of the Weird.

Pera teleports them all back to her room at the Inn. She agrees to fulfill her part of the Path and asks for the Tome. She tells them of the "Dead Three," a term she has been obsessed over the past year. The "Dead Three" refer not to Bane, Cyric, and Mordeth, but Bane, Myrkul, and Bhaal, all Gods who died during the Time of Troubles. Just before she opens it, she asks everyone else if the Weird spoke to any of them in their head. She gives a sad look and opens the book. The usual happens, and when the book is closed, a yellow band appears on the binding. Pera gives the tome back, lays down on her bed, and falls asleep.

On the tome now is a new symbol - a gold nugget. The group identifies this as the symbol of the chief god in the Gnome pantheon - Garl Glittergold. A new clue is below it: "''Former Evil you must trust; The Black Figure's help is a must. Together two towers will be felled; The plot of the Black Hand will be welled. A vast stretch of land and back to start; A brother is found and soon a broken heart."

Guessing that they must go back to Beregost, the group heads back to the Inn to rest. One more surprise waits them there however - a sobbing half-elf emerges from a corner and runs toward Kehlkagt. She is sooned recognized as Zela. She proclaims: "Oh Kehlkagt, Jorlo is DEAD!" and sobs in his beard. Quick questioning reveals that he was killed in Starmantle, and she didn't know where to turn but here. Kehlkagt gets her a room adjacent to hers, and the group settles down for the night, counting their gold and identifying their treasure.

Session 3.5 - "The Circle in Westgate"
While resting in Westgate, several important events happen.
 * Mozariq attempts to scry on Arteus, with Anly's help. The spell is successful, and the two gaze upon a very healthy Arteus.  He appears to be on some kind of guard duty, outside an obvious Harper city, a Harper pin on his lapel.  The two get a lucky glimpse of his amulet, and the back of it, revealing a similar saying to Anly's.  Anly is more intent on finding him now, and it is quit obvious this place is not Thay, but a friendly place slightly West of Westgate.
 * The whole of the group questions Zela on her history and how she came to be here. Instantly, Mozariq rubs her the wrong way, but luckily cooler heads prevail.  It is revealed she knows WAY too much about any of them, and has quite the slippery hand.  She insists on joining their group, but Mozariq puts out the condition that they must know about her past.  She tells them of her life in and around the Sea of Fallen Stars.  Mozariq seems to finally give on the matter, when Anly finally voices her frustration in the whole matter.  Through a telepathic bond, the group decides that it is better to keep her close since she knows so much, and that a close eye is needed.  Everyone finally agrees, and thoughts are turned to their next potential destination.
 * The group starts discussing where they should go next. Anly leaves to visit the Temple to Tyr in the city.  The rest tell Zela of the rhyming clue that is supposed to point them to where they are to go next.  Stuck on the "back to the start," Zela asks about the "Two Towers" portion of the riddle.  While the rest are thinking about what they know of the area around Beregost, Zela palms the piece of paper Mozariq wrote the clue on.  Eventually, the group comes up with several place in and around Beregost that could be a tower.  They decide to teleport to Beregost and decide from there.  Zela wants to go as quickly as possible, and offers to "hasten" the making of Xarxes' shortbow.  Xarxes accepts her offer.  The group retires for the evening.
 * Anly visits the huge and garishly decorated Temple to Tyr in the city. As she approaches, she quickly notices a sign to the "Garden of Heroes," unfortunately missing the strange looks from several paladins.  Investigating, the garden is revealed to be a huge plot of land covered in plant life, decorated with massive statues of great heroes of The Triad.  It is not long before she sees the glistening head of her hero, and runs to the center of the garden.  There in all is gargantuan beauty is a golden statue of Nassim, Lord of Light, and Hero of the Triad.  There is no death date listed.  Anly is so overcome by joy she falls to her knees and prays for hours.

Session 4 - "The Light and the Dark"
That night, Xavier decides to follow Zela, and he witnesses her sneaking out of her room to the merchant district of the city. There, she breaks into a shop and emerges with a sack full of what Xavier can only assume includes a swordbow for Xarxes. Both he and Zela make it back to the Inn.

The next morning, as Xavier confronts Zela of her "shopping" escapade, she hands over the swordbow to Xarxes. Xarxes finds that it is not quite the same parts he gave to his weaponsmith. Eventually, the details are forgotten, as a rather formidable looking paladin comes into the inn, accompanied by a half dozen city guard. He tells the group (well, except Zela) that they are under arrest. The charge is trespassing in a restricted area. The group quickly realizes that he must mean the building that was warded against entrance to the underground, the building they entered a few days ago. Despite their dealings with Westgate justice, the group decides to go willingly, as no one really wants to start a fight. As they are being escorted away, Mozariq recieves a telepathic message from Zela, asking him to get them out of there once she makes a distraction. The mage agrees, and before he knows it, Zela charges at the paladin, sword drawn. The attack works, as the guards are drawn from their charges enough to be distracted. Zela does an expert tumble through the guards, and lands in front of Mozariq - the mage pulls out a scroll from his bag, and the group dissapears.

They arrive back in Beregost. Immediately, the group notices the town is on edge. It is not long before Trajan notices their presence, and comes to meet them, staring rather curiously at their new addition. He expresses his wonder and surprise to see them, and see them alive, and asks if they need the teleport again. The group tells him they are not sure as of yet, and then inquires as to what is going on. Trajan seems surprised that they don't know - especially Mozariq and Xavier. He brings them into his study, after asking if he can trust Zela. Trajan tells them a few things:
 * A week ago, a small cabal of Red Wizards attacked The Forest of Shadows in southern Amn. Almost a fourth of the forest was destroyed, but the Red Wizards were beaten back by the natives elves aided by an unknown force.  The motive of the attack is unknown to him.  It has been said the Red Wizards are moving northward.
 * The Harpers in the city of Berdusk are keeping track of their movements.
 * In addition, a few days ago a group of monsters, led by snake-like creatures, attacked a small town to the southeast. They were beaten back, and were last seen heading in this direction.

The group asks him if they should stay and help defend the town - Trajan tells them that they are very capable of defending themselves, and their path is much more important. Discussion then shifts to their next destination. Eventually, the group decides to visit Durlag's Tower, as Trajan tells them a small town of Gnomes and Humans is right outside the tower. They choose to travel there via land, and make a short cut through the Wood of Sharp Teeth. They bid Trajan farewell and depart in the morning.

The road to the woods is uneventful. Once in the forest, however, they are ambushed by a Forest Giant. Not wanting to waste time, Xavier unleases a nasty spell and morphs the giant into a harmless bunny. Moments later, Celestia has a nice snack. Later, as they are about to leave the forest, they come across a 10-headed Pyrohydra. Confident that this is nothing compared to their past dealings, both Anly and Kelkagt rush into battle. The fight proves rather easy, and the hydra is quickly dispatched. As they leave the forest border, they hear and see a rather large green dragon feasting on the hydra's remains. They decide to leave it be.

The group eventually reaches the gnomish and human settlement of Gulykin. They enter the one lone inn and ask the gnomish bartender for information on the tower. Information is not free however, and he asks 50g a person. Anly puts up enough to cover everyone buy Zela, but the latter covers herself. The gnome tells the group that the tower was built by a dwarf by the name of Durlag Trollkiler, an adventuring dwarf who by the end of his life went slightly insane. He shut up all his wealth in this tower, and filled it with enough traps and creatures to make most adventurers nauseous. Almost everyone that enters don't come out, and those that do are never the same. He warns them that no one really knows what is in there, as the defenses seem to change. It is rumored that Durlag himself, perhaps undead, awaits any worthy adventurers at the top of the tower. The last thing the gnome tells the group is that the last person he knows of that left for the tower was a gnome, about 2 days ago.

The group decides to go to the tower right away, but Xavier stays behind to try to get more information As they near it, they see what looks like a single massive fang atop a wall of volcanic rock, seemingly rising out of a flat plain. As Xavier is returning in giant-bird form, he notices movement near a small set of rocks and bushes. He flies around and notices a group of what seem like Lizardmen waiting in ambush. He lands and relates this to the rest of the group. While the group prepares for battle, hoping to draw them out, Talbane loses control and starts runnign toward the rocks. A battle ensues, as 7 snake-like lizardmen jump out and engage them. One in particular is rather strong, and it takes a combined effort of the group to bring him down, but the battle is eventually won. Talbane again loses control and hacks at the dead leader, despite attempts at stopping him, and gets rather singed from the snakeman's acidic secretion.

After an eventless night of camping out, the group enters Durlag's Tower the next morning. After conquering a rather heavy door with brute strength, the group comes across several traps and creatures:
 * The entrance floor only has one minor obstacle - a haunting fear comes at the group, and it is too much for Zela and Talbane to bear. They both cower for a bit, as the rest of the group finds a spiral stairs and a door marked 1.  They eventually recover and open the door, setting off a trap of magic missiles.
 * The first floor yields a trap set in the floor, in the form of tiles that summon various kinds of swarms. The party manages it rather easily, although both Kelkagt and Xarxes get attack when they step on a tile.  The group passes through another trapped door to floor 2.
 * The second floor has two paths to take. The group eventually takes the right path, and enters what they later find to be a 3-D kennel of some kind of demonic blink dogs.  They dispense of them easily.  Xavier turns himself into a blink dog and examines the other hallway.  He finds a series of traps and eventually gets to a treasure box, grabbing it and dimension dorring away.
 * The third floor brings an easy fight with the undead Allips, and also the discovery of an unconscious gnome. After reviving him, the gnome tells them that he is here to find a key, and he will not stop until he finds it.
 * The fouth floor is the most disturbing yet. On the floor in this room looks to be Xavier's mother and Xarxes' brother.  The two immediately bolt toward them, although Xarxes is stopped.  The obvious trap is sprung, and a battle erupts between the disguised constructs and the group.  They are easily dispatched, however, and the key is found a treasure chest that falls out of a fallen construct.  One problem is apparent though - the key is most obvious imcomplete - a part of it is missing.  The gnome believes it is somewhere else, and starts to leave.  The rest of the party listens to their money purses, and decide to keep going, despite an uneasy feeling in Kelkagt of death ahead.
 * They open the door to the fifth floor and see a massive giant before them. Around the giant are the captured souls of its victims, howling in a fightful yell.  After overcoming their fear, they decide to tackle it.  It quickly becomes apparent that they are severaly overmatched, and they retreat, following the gnome to the base of the tower.

The party heads back to Gulykin. They eventually decide to take the long trip to Darkhold, another potential tower, and a former seat of the Zhentarim, stopping in the city of Berdusk on the way. About halfway on their week long journey to Berdusk, they are met on the road by an old man and a girl, the latter helping the former limp along the road. The group stops, and the old man asks them if they are interested in a job. He can pay well, he promises. Skeptical of his intentions, the group agrees to listen, making no promises. The old man agrees, staring rather obviousy at Talbane, and proclaims that he first must rid them of the spy.

The old man shreds an illusion, revealing himself to be a tall human male, dressed all in black. He casts a spell on Zela, which melts the polymorph hiding her true form. An ugly demonic looking elf with wings emerges, howling in fury. As "Zela" tries to cast an offensive spell, the newcomer steps in front of the group and shields them. "Zela" dimension doors away. The man turns to the group, and tells them it would be safer to meet in his base, some distance from here in the mountains. The group agrees and the man - and his female companion who now appears as a moon elf - teleports them away.

In the improvised mountain hideaway, the group learns several things, several of them rather disturbing:
 * The man eventually reveals himself to be Sememnon, the former second in command of the Zhentarim and former commander of Darkhold. His moon elf companion is named Ashemmi.  Some of his history is revealed by him, and later by Mozariq: He fled from the Zhents shortly before their destruction.  He was never at ease with the Zhent leader Fzoul Chembryl.
 * The being that was posing as Zela was actually a creature called a Fey'ri. This one in particular is a minion of a woman Sememnon is quite familiar with - Ladira Chembryl, Fzoul's cousin.  He reports that she was also not at the battle that killed her cousin, and in the past few years has gone slighty mad and decided to try and resurrect him, and eventually her god Bane.  Her current location is somewhere in the country of Vaasa, and she goes by the name of Akrasia.
 * He gets to business, paying the group a hefty amount to listen - he wants the groups help in breaking into Darkhold. Sememnon needs some "personal" things back that he left there, and he is unhappy to report several Red Wizards have taken up fort there.  He must act soon, he says, before the Wizards can bolster the keep's defenses.  Sememnon also says that the other half of the Gnome's key is in Darkhold.

The group agrees, since they see little other choice, and it matches their own plans. They sleep for the night, Talbane not sleeping that well. The next morning they set out for Darkhold.

They teleport into the building and follow Sememnon's instructions before he leaves in a different direction. They battle their way up the tower, fighting a Bronze Serpent, several Thayan Golems, and a Red Wizard, bypassing some mathematicl and logic puzzles along the way. They eventually reach the top and come to one final battle with two Red Wizards and two creatures who seem to have weird powers over metal objects. The battle is rather difficult, as the creatures start by knocking over those who are in metal armor. Then, after throwing a fireball into the room, Mozariq is targeted by the lead Red Wizard. He is struck in the chest by three powerful scorching rays. Mozariq falls dead. The battle continues, as the creatures reverse their magnetic ability and attract all the fallen metal weapons. Eventually, however, the natural weapons of Anly and Xavier take their toll, and the battle is won.

After tending to Mozariq, the group hears the sounds of battle in the next room. Storming through the door, the group comes upon Sememnon standing over and protecting a near unconscious Ashemmi. The room is littered with Red Wizard bodies, but one remains alive - an older balding man with a long grey beard. At a stalemate, the Red Wizard sneers at the new comers, laughs a bit, and then teleports away.

Sememnon goes into his office, as Xavier helps Ashemmi. He retrieves his belongings, and gives the other hald of the key to the gnome. The group teleports away before any more Red Wizards arrive. They arrive back where Sememnon first met them. The wizard thanks them for their help, and then teleports away.. neglecting to leave them the alluded to extra payment for a successful job.

The group travels to Berdusk. Anly, thinking this is the place she saw her brother in earlier, rushes in and immediatly tries to find him, Xavier following. The gnome heads to a shrine of Garl Glittergold. The rest head off to resurrect Mozariq. Anly eventually meets the head of the city, who tells her that Arteus was here, but was sent off to investigate the land east of here. He should be back soon. Anly, not wanting to wait, convinces Xavier to fly him towards the east to meet Arteus on his return home. Xavier turns into a giant bird which Anly mounts. Grasping Celestia by his talons, the odd sight starts flying for the gate.

Meanwhile, Mozariq is resurrected at a temple to Denier. Another Blue Wizard confronts Xarxes, Kelkagt, and Talbane. He asks them of the battle in darkhold, and then leaves. Eventually, Mozariq comes out and the group goes to meet the gnome. At the shrine, the gnome says that he was told to give the key to Xarxes, and hands it over. The group heads to the inn so the gnome can read the tome. Just as he is about to open it however, he says that "everyone" must be present. Running at a full sprint, Mozariq arrives at the center of the city just in time to see a giant eagle, gripping a dire wolf and ridden by a girl, flying toward the gate of the city. Lacking options, Mozariq dimension doors himself in the air directly in front of the bird, flagging them down. Suffice to say, the guards of Berdusk had quite a sight.

They teleport back to the Inn, and open the book. The usual happens, and the book glows bright blue, before it is shut and a blue band appears on the binding. The gnome, after saying the usual statement, lies down on the bed. A new symbol and clue appear on the book. the symbol is immediately identified as the symbol of Tymora. The clue reads as follows: "''Between a Keep and a mighty Hill, Not far from Selune's Sea; A town where violence has had its fill, Yet a place where evil will always be. An unlucky man with closed eyes, Still lost in the Blood of the Past; Constantly sorting through the lies, The sad melody is what will truly last."

After the opening, Anly gets some strange visions of Arteus in trouble, and the group hastens towards the east. They come Arteus surrounded by weird spined dog-like creatures. The battle is over quickly, but Arteus collapses in Anly's arms unconscious. They go back to the city, and take a well deserved rest, Anly at Arteus' bedside.

Session 4.5 - "The Circle in Berdusk"
After some brief teleports to Waterdeep, Anly sits by Arteus' side for some time. Eventually, Mozariq attempts to read his thoughts, and the result is a tirade of emotions and memories that flood the mages consciousness. Eventually, Arteus awakens, and remembers more of his past, although still has large gaps when it comes to leaving home and fighting the Zhents. Anly fills her brother in on her mission, and he is quite taken aback. Arteus departs shortly thereafter, telling his sister that he must check in to his superiors. Not wanting to let him leave her sight, Anly and Mozariq follow him, eventually arriving at the administration building of the city.

They eventually reach the inside of the building, only to find Arteus nowhere. Sneaking off, Anly dimension doors to the second floor as Mozariq waits to speak with a Harper agent to inquire abotu Red Wizard activity in the Moonsea region. Anly finds a door leading into a meeting room of some kind upstairs. As she hears someone coming toward the room from the other entrance, she quickly hides under a desk. The person turns out to be the leader of the city, who after some pleasant conversation, rather forcefully asks Anly's business in the area. Satisfied with the answers, she leaves.

Downstairs, Arteus comes out with a Harper agent, surprised to see Mozariq. As Arteus leaves, Mozariq and the Harper go upstairs to the meeting room to talk - and find Anly standing there. Anly runs off to follow her brother, as the Harper fills in some information about the Red Wizards in the Moonsea region: Hillsfar has a strong Red Wizard presense, and is not too happy with the city of Yulash and its growing independence. Mozariq also inquires about the Blood Marshes, and the Harper tells him that followers of Kelemvor and Velsharoon have moved into the area, causing much violence in the area.

Eventually, Anly finds her brother. He informs her that he is going to join her in her quest. She is thrilled, and the pair go off to tell the rest of the party.

Later, and perplexed with the Tome's purpose, the group first tracks down Dorgan and attempts to ask him some questions about his experience. He is little help, and tells them that he really has no idea why these things have happened the way they have. Looking into the tome was pure bliss to him, he tells the group, and after the experience he can only say he feels "different."

The rest of the time in Berdusk is used in conversation over group strategies.

Session 5 - "The Living and the Dead"
The group finally decides that their destination is the town of Yulash, a former Zhent town near the western coast of the Moonsea. They teleport back to Beregost, and find that the town has been attacked in their absense. At first, a cleric tells them, it was the Snake Men beasts. They were ready and handled them quite easily. But a second wave brought with them a mage in red who proceeded to rain down fire magic on the town. It took quite a few men, and the near death of Trajan, to fend them off and protect the town from destruction.

The cleric shows them to Trajan, who is sitting in his office. Trajan looks much worse off than at any time in the past - weary to the bone, it is quite clear that he is rather annoyed at recent events. Looking surprised to see them so soon, he asks if he can be of service. The group responds to the affirmative, and Trajan leads them down to the portal. One by one, including a surprised Arteus, they step through.

They appear in the large and long mouth of a mighty cave. Wondering how far off the portal has thrown them this time, they start to exit the cave when they are ambushed by a group of blind monsters called Destrachen. The battle is a tad rough, but the monsters are disposed of rather quickly. Finally exiting the cave, they see that they are a few days south of Yulash, appearing to be on the edge of the forest of Cormanthor. They set out on their journey north, eager to reach the city. Along the way, Xavier discovers that they are being stalked by some rather large predators, and a battle erupts. Despite their best efforts, the huge serpentine Behirs are slaughtered by the group easily. The group decides it best to ride through the night to reach the town. They do so, and enter without much effort. The guard at the gate directs them to the The One Eyed Owl Inn.

Arriving in the middle of the night, little is done until the next morning. While eating breakfast, and later exploring the city, the group finds much information:
 * The town of Yulash is a huge fortified town, built on a large plateau that lets the city command miles in each direction. A very advantageous spot, it is no wonder the Zhentarim and Hillsfar battled over the area for some time.
 * Now that the Zhentarim is gone, Yulash has rebuilt itself and has become a minor regional power hoping to expand its influence. It has already started a small town on the opposite banks of the River Tesh.  Hillsfar wants none of this, and the group finds that a delegation from Hillsfar - accompanied by a Red Wizard - is in the city right now, meeting with the leader of the city.
 * There is a large temple to Torm in the city, but not much else as far as places of worship go.
 * There is a very exciting performance this evening at the Inn. The famous tune called "The Song of the Red Raven" is being performed.
 * There are hints of a slave trade running through the city.

Handing over a small bribe, the group manages to procure front rows seats for the evening's performance. The song is sung by a handsome younger human, and most of the group finds the melody and words mesmerizing. The content of the song is the most surprising - the words tell the story of the Battle of the Citadel of the Raven from the perspective of a man at Nassim's side. Anly, as one can imagine, is speechless, as is her brother.

After the song is over, Anly runs to talk to the bard, and Arteus smoothes things over and invites the bard to the group's table. During a brief conversation, the bard tells the group that he was taught the song by a half-elf named Aiden Evenwood. A strange man with the talent of the ages, the bard continues and says that Aiden is most likley insane, and his current whereabouts are unknown. Although, he speculates, he might have gone back to the Blood Marshes - it is said he wrote this song while there.

Growing bored, the bard excuses himself to a waiting female entourage, and the group ponders his words. It is then that two men are noticed near the door, looking rather out of place. Xarxes catches a glimpse of a patch of clothing as one of the men turn, and sees the Devil's Laugh symbol. The group quickly drops everything and follows the duo out of the bar, masking their stealth with loudly and mock-drunkenly singing of the verses of the Red Raven. The plan works, and the group eventually are led to a rundown building on the other side of the city. Xavier sees and hears how one of the men opens the door, and attempts to replicate it. His elven blood, however, gives him away, and a trap is set off. The group battles a fleet of force swords, but eventually triumphs.

They continue on and enter the building, eventually sneaking downstairs to see a group of 6 men and 2 drow, all with Devil's Laugh insignia. Behind the group is a prison full of obviously abused and nearly dead slaves, all elven. A battle erupts quickly, and the group easily gains the upper hand. Seeing that most is lost, one of the Drow throws a fireball into the prison, killing half of tha slaves. The group manages to kill him before he can do more evil, and the battle is won. Freeing the slaves and giving them the gold they find in the room, the group focuses on some documents found in a desk in the corner. Written in Undercommon, the papers are a ledger of sorts of the Slave Trade business operated by the Devil's Laugh. Numerous entries site sales in Yulash, Hillsfar, Mulmaster, and Calaunt. There are also entries for Vaasa, including the name of "Queen" Akrasia.

Deciding it best to move on, the group plans next to follow the numerous leads to the Blood Marshes. After preparing for their journey, they set off the next morning. The group decides to head through the mountains, making their journey shorter. Their first obstacle comes in the form of the cold - the peaks of the mountains are unusually cold for the time of year. Perhaps an omen of things to come, the group quickly finds itself being attacked by a giant demonic construct, its many legs giving it a spiderlike appearance. Joined later by its partner, the Retrievers eye ray attacks miss multiple times, the group taking advantage of the miscues to slay the constructs.

On the way down the other side of the mountain, Xavier during a nights watch thinks he sees movement in the distance. Taking Anly and Arteus with him, he quickly realizes that a group of 4 hideously disfigured giants are not far away. As the siblings go back for the rest of the group, Xavier stalls the Formorian's attack by creating a patch of thorns in their way. It proves helpful, but a fierce battle ensues as the rest join a few moments later. Celestia gets herself stuck between two of the Giants, and a massive blow cracks the skull of the dire wolf, killing her. The magic of Mozariq and the wrath of an angered Xavier prove too much for the giants, however, and they are eventually defeated. While Xavier teleports back to Yulash to have his companion raised, the rest of the party brave the dank and hideous smell of the giant's cave to retrieve their treasure.

Once again united, the group finally makes it out of the mountains. The haze and the smell make it clear that the Blood Marshes are very near. A few more hours of traveling bring them upon the last stages of a violent fight between the servants of Kelemvor and Velsharoon. As they get in range, the last cleric of Velsharoon, knowing a lost cause when he sees it, teleports away. The priests of Kelemvor size up the newcomers to the marshes, and demand that the group tells them their business in the area. The group answers truthfully, and the Kelemvorians tell the group that they have not seen a half-elf bard, but that there IS something strange going on inside the marshes. The followers of Velsharoon have had visitors recently, and the Kelemvorians believe they entered the marshes. In addition, everytime they attempt to enter, the followers of Velsharoon attack them from every direction. Not too much more help, the clerics warn the group that they should leave now, and that they should stay away from any settlement of theirs. They quickly leave.

Seeing their goal in sight, the group heads to the edge of the marshes. A spell cast by Mozariq, however, sets off a guardian of the marshes, and the group does battle with a lich and his two Dragon Skeleton mounts. Anly makes quick work of the undead, as she drinks a potion and flies up to duel with the lich himself. Once eliminated, the group figures out how to reach an island in the middle of the marshes with their flying spells and quickly take flight. Not far on their journey they are met with repeating waves of negative energy - while no physical affects manifest themselves, all have an uneasy feeling of death wash over them.

They eventually reach the island, where they discover a toppled tower. Also on the island, sitting with his back to a large boulder is a half elf holding a lute. The group descends and talks to the elf, who seems a tad on the mad side, his nearly clear silver eyes staring about as if not seeing anything. Saying that he is here "to finish the song... to write the last verse," he starts singing the melody of the Red Raven but with new verses telling the history of Arteus. The verses include a rather surprising line about a party in Silverymoon, and the tale of a battle he participated in in Thay that involved the Blue Wizards. In addition, a rather surprising transformation is happening to Talbane, something noticed by Anly earlier but not investigated upon. Once blad and with a brown goatee, Talbane now sports a blond goatee, and the sprouts of blond hair. He seems taller, and if possible, more muscular. Before the party can get to the bottom of things, the Bard turns himself invisible, and the door to the tower opens.

Several members of the Devil's Laugh step out, followed by three imposing individuals. The first is easily recognized as Trelane, the leader of the Devil's Laugh. The second is an older human in black robes, holding a large box. The last is an attractive human woman, wearing reagal looking robes and a ornate crown on her head. Upon seeing the group, the woman throws back her head and laughs. She expresses her disdain for the group always meddling in her plans, but claims they are too late. Her cousin will return soon, and soon after her God. Realizing that this must be Queen Akrasia, or Ladira Chembryl, the group prepares for an intense battle. However, before they can act, dimensional anchor is cast on Mozariq, and the big three enclose themselves behind a wall of force.

The rest of the evildoers attack the group. Moments later, now with a full head of blond hair, Talbane feels a slight tick in his head, and turns to see the man in black robes aiming a large Scepter at him. Drawing it from the box he held, Talbane is transfixed for a brief moment and then quickly realizes that he is on the wrong side. Turning, he charges at Xarxes and lands a hard blow, knocking the ranger unconscious. Celestia is also knocked unconscious as the intense battle rages on. Eventually, the tide turns, and the man in black robes leads Talbane back to the wall of force, dropping it to let him through and then erecting another in its place before any of the group can react. Realizing what is happening to Talbane, Mozariq and Kelkagt express their fears that Akrasia will leave with their ally. Springing into action, Anly takes Xavier and Arteus and dimension doors into the tower, intending to rush at the three from the other side of the wall. The man in black then takes the scepter and proceeds to establish a link of sorts to Talbane, drawing some kind of energy from him. Arteus manages to land a blow on Talbane, knocking him unconscious, but it doesn't stop the flow of energy. The man in black does not take kindly to Arteus' presense and causes an earthquake to collapse the tunnel on the paladin, his sister, and the druid.

The battle drawing to a close, the three take down the wall of force, and a moment later the energy transfer stops. The scepter seems to laugh the way only evil can laugh, and the three attempt to escape. Despite the best efforts of Mozariq and Kehlkagt, the three escape the range of the dimensional lock and teleport away. Talbane, now back to his brown self, lays unconscious on the groun, his left hand now completely bare of any mark of Bane.

Before going, however, the scepter influences the hateful sea around the island. As the group rescues the three from the rubble, and Anly attacks Talbane in anger for his actions, the sea around them starts to rise, and hundreds of undead start to encircle the island. With Mozariq locked in placed for many minutes, Xavier summons an ally to telport what he can away from the island. Arteus, however, is hesitant to go. Holding his amulet, which is now glowing very brightly, he tells his siter that this is why he came back. He has to "finish what was started." With tears in his eyes, he tells his sister good bye. Before anyone can react, the massive hands of Ilmater himself come up from the grond and surround the paladin. His amulet explodes in a cascade of brilliantly bright light. When the group opens their eyes, they see Arteus and the whole undead army gone. The island, which had a continual feeling of uneasiness and death, now feels calm and good, and the spell on Mozariq is gone. The bard breaks into song again, and sings a verse of the events that just unfolded. With a final stirring chord, the song ends and the half elf falls unconscious. The group takes the bard and a grief stricken Anly and uses the summoned Janni to leave the material plane. They are taken to the home plane of the Triad.

They materialize on a massive and beautiful hill. Soon, they are met by Arteus. Anly, beyond words and more overwhelmed than at any time in her life, hugs her brother. Arteus tells them that they must return, and soon - time is of the essense. Arteus also tells Anly that Nassim is not here, but is on a mission somewhere else. With little time to spare, the Janni teleport the group back to the Material Plane, however not at Beregost where they wanted. Materializing almost 500 miles south in the middle of a bay, Mozariq quickly casts a spell to get them back to Beregost. They arrive in town, soaking wet. Trajan is, once again, surprised to see them alive.

Trajan removes the curse on the Bard, and he opens his very dark brown eyes. He greatfully take the tome and opens the book. When the book is closed, the usual is said. However, two new things happen: Talbane, who now remembers his real name of Therran, does not scream like a girl when the light comes off the tome. Second, the group's holy symbols all glow for a brief moment. An orange band appears on the side of the book, and a new clue and symbol appear on the cover. The bard, telling them that he has a "song to sing" teleports away. The group looks at the symbol and easily identifies it as Helm. The clue reads as follows: "Far to the North, Two Nations Bound; A witch king and a Dragon, peace finally found. A woman of the mind, the One you must end; The third of what was lost, a Gnomish key making it bend. A man born anew, a tyrant forever dead, A mother saved, a brother's body in red. Royal blood what you seek, Her influence out of his head; The Path will continue, soon South you will be led."

The group spends some brief time discussing waht happened in the marshes. Anly, still grieving, can't seem to comment on the events that unfolded. Talbane, whose real name is Therran Aldonson, tells his companions of what really happened: captured by the Zhents when he was young, he was forced to fight in a gladiator arena in Hillsfar. Beaten and mind raped more than a normal mand could bare, eventually the gladiators in the region were "marked" by followers of Bane. The mark, a curse of sorts, wiped their memory of their former lives and forced them into the servitude of Bane. The man who cursed Talbane was none other than Fzoul Chembryl himself.

After a brief trip to Waterdeep for a shopping spree, the group settles into Beregost to ponder past and future events.

Session 6 - "The Woman and the Tyrant"
The group sees Trajan and asks to be teleported to Damara. Once again, the Ulcaster's Portal does it's job, although barely. The group finds themselves at what they later deduct to be the edge of Damara - next to the mountains that form the border between Vaasa and Damara. They are quickly met by a scouting group from the Damaran wall that guards the lone pass through the mountains. The guard asks where they are going. Upon seeing Anly's holy symbol, he tells them of King Dragonsbane, the leader of Damara, and a chosen of Ilmater. Wanting more information, and Anly wanting to talk to such a holy figure, the group pays for a teleport to the capital of Damara, Heliogabalus.

The group eventually gets an audience with the King. Dragonsbane tells them a few things about current events in Vaasa:
 * Vaasa is a nation with a lack of females. Gelgar Talonguard, now its King, has always led missions to the south to bring back females for his countrymen.  Dragonsbane believes that Akrasia was one of these females.  From what he knows, they fell in love and proclaimed themselves monarchs of the newly unified Vaasa
 * Dragonsbane, though he has reservations about the woman, hasn't been worried - in fact, a more stable Vaasa is a good thing as far as he is concerned.
 * Communication with Darmshall, Vaasa's new capital has been limited at best.

The rest leave, as Dragonsbane and Anly talk alone, presumably about the amulet. It is also at this time that Kehlkagt receives a message via sending. When Anly is finished, the group leaves and teleports back to the Damaran gate. They enter Bloodstone Pass, toward Vaasa. Along the way, they are tricked by the imitation sounds of battle and are attacked by a Fang Dragon. Xarxes takes many mighty blows and falls unconscious, but the rest of the group manages to bring the beast down. The rest of the trip to the Vaasan side of the mountains is relatively uneventful, and eventually the group sees another mighty gate and keep.

Upon entering the keep, they learn that it serves as a camping point for many adventurers who hunt the many monsters in Vaasa. The Vaasans invite the group to either camp out with the others in the main square, or pay for a room in the castle. The group decides on the latter, although Xavier stays up and wanders out into the encampment. He briefly tries his hand at a game of chance, but quickly seeing that the odds are against him, he bows out early.

The next morning, the group sets out for the capital of Vaasa, Darmshall. Along the way they encounter two massive Cadaver Collectors. The fight is intense, but the group escapes with their lives. They do find the remains of a Purple Dragon, the militia of Cormyr, on the back of one of the collectors. Eventually, their travels lead them to a grey walled city.

The city, an epitome of grey, is small and tightly packed. Anly, intelligently, disguises herself to look like a man. The group, wanting to think about their actions, decide to find a local Inn. They go to one that is recommended to them, The Wintry Dagger. There, while discussing their plans, they encounter a small band of adventurers, all followers of Tyr who are about to leave on a divine quest to rid the world of evil. Their leader, Traim, tells the group a little more about the city, and its monarchs. He tells them that Akrasia and Talonguard do not see many visitors, and the once very public Gelgar has been withdrawn and secluded as of late. Traim warns them that getting into the castle will be very difficult... if only they had a female with them, it might be a little easier. Traim departs, wishing the group, and especially Xarxes, good fortune.

The next day, Xavier determines that her mother is being kept somewhere to the north - not in this city. Not sure how to proceed, the group goes to the castle. Anly uses her girlish charm to gain access, but the guard only lets her in. As soon as they are alone, the guard decides to get "fresh." It doesn't last long as Anly jumpkicks him in half. The group kills the other guard as well, and then proceeds to explore the castle, finding it rather eerie that there isn't more defense.

Through many twists and turns, and an enchanted rug later, the group reaches the monarch's sitting room. The walls, floor, and ceiling are covered with ramblings, obviously from Akrasia. They speak of her plans to resurrect her cousin and god, taking over Vaasa to do so, and allying herself with several organizations. The writing, which get smore and more insane, also speaks of the group, spying on them, and the one with her cousin's "essense," the one whose "eyes she sees through." Wanting to get this over with, the group charges through the last door.

There they encounter Akrasia, Gelgar, Trelane, Zela (Baheira in her true form), and several members of the Devil's Laugh. Akrasia looks as wild as ever, and rather annoyed that the Circle is still alive. She tells them again that they are too late. She tells Trelane to "take care of them" and then teleports away with the king.

A great battle erupts between the two groups. Trelane and Zela are particularly powerful, and fight viciously against the Circle. Zela lands a critical blow against Kehlkagt, and the strong dwarf falls suddenly weakly to the ground, quite dead. The rest of the group is eventually dealt with, thanks to Xavier's cocoon and Anly's kicking attacks. Hearing more guards coming their way, Mozariq stops them with a wall of force. Knowing this won't hold them for long, the group teleports out of the city, eventually going back to Heliogabalus, as Anly hopes for help in resurrecting Kehlkagt.

King Dragonsbane helps get the dwarf resurrected, and as Anly tells him of what she has seen and what the group believes Akrasia is doing, he starts to get worried. He tells Anly that Akrasia might have gone to the former base of the Witch-King of Vaasa - Castle Perilous, in the Northern Edge of Vaasa. It is rumoured, he tells the monk, that the Witch-King held his power for so long by absorbing the souls of others through some kind of machine. If Akrasia has taken over the Castle, she might be using this machine to try and fulfill her insane mission.

Anly relays this information to the group, and Xavier teleports them as close as he can to the castle. Eventually they reach the black castle, which rises out of the tundra next to a frozen lake. The castle is half crumbling, but one entrance is visible. The group heads in, and immediately comes across an undead Hound, which they quickly dispose of. They then move on through a several portals that take them throughout the castle. Highlights include:
 * Two Ropers and Glyphs of Warding
 * Xavier using his blink dog form to retrive a valuable box.
 * The "room of the Beholder" in which they open doors of their choice, eventually triggering the floor to rotate and forcing an encounter with an Arcane Ooze and Hellwasp swarm.
 * A final riddle, which Xavier and Kehlkagt come together with the answer.

The group goes through one last portal, finding a massive room. There in the center is a stone table - seen previous in several crys - holding Celes Fledliweth, Sylvia Molrin, and Kromgaaf Stonevictor. All three are encased in a force shield, which is connected by force beams to hundreds of human sized tubes behind them. The tubes are mostly filled with what looks like elven slaves, courtesy of the Devil's Laugh. On top of Sylvia is Fzoul's sceptor, glowing brightly, the man in black robes, now a symbol of Talos visible, is stanidng in front of them. Akrasia reveals herself on a second story balcony, the King by her side, unconscious. Now clearly out of her senses, she screams about the coming of her cousin, claiming the Circle as the first sacrifice in his name.

A apocolyptic battle erupts, as Akrasia reveals three huge stone-like reptilian monsters, and a large half-orc monk of Loviatar. The battle is fierce, as the cleric erects a blade barrier and starts fireing javelins at the Circle. The large monk is cast upon and grown even larger, but stands back and protects his charge, Akrasia. Several of the Circle are knocked unconscious, and Anly is dispelled rather handidly, but the tide turns with another cocoon by Xavier and a dispel on the evil monk by Mozariq.

With the major combatants killed, the group turns to the now conscious King. He holds a key, and eventually it is relized that Xarxes must take it. The foundation of justice is good faith… Xarxes takes the key and opens a panel behind the king, revealing a large treasury, and a very familiar looking box - one of the Boxes of Netheril. Xarxes takes out the key from the Gnome, but finds that a force shield blocks the key hole. Hearing the king's words - The blood of the repentant will remove all barriers…, Therron's hand is cut, his blood dissolving the shield. As Xarxes opens the box, a pair of gunatlets hover in the air, slowly rotate and then rush at his hands. His gloves are destroyed and the gauntlets take hold. He immediately jumps up and out toward the machine. Mozariq quickly dispels the blade barrier just before Xarxes hits the force shield. His reaches through the shield without injury and grabs the scepter, breaking it in two in a large and powerful explosion. Without a focus, the machine's energy backs up, the shield goes down, and the castle starts to rumble. Grabbing the three on the table, and the King - and a little spoils in the meantime - the groups teleports out of the castle just as it crumbles to the ground.

They camp out for the night south of the tower, and await their rescued prisoner's consciousness. The King awakens, and gladly opens the Tome. A usual happens: a new symbol appears, identified as Oghma. A band of purple appears on the binding, the last slot for a color. Finally, a new clue appears: "Under a Mountain, Deep in the Water; The Ship docks at Death’s Port. A Lord is lost, bitten by a Snake; The Red Fire meets the Black’s Moon of sorts. Death will be near, the Coffin not far behind; The Old Lord is near to his head. Down beneath the city you must go; By him to the end you will be led. The three that were lost, once again found; Evil paces with an unending lust. A Scepter and a Crown lurks in the night; All hope rests on the arms of the just. "

Session 6.5 - "The Circle in Darmshall"
Several thigns happen in the next few days.

Gelgar Talonguard is questioned about the last few weeks and what he remembers of Ladira and her plans. He is not very helpful, as he doesn't remember much. He does tell Mozariq that Ladira did say that there were still followers of Bane in the "northwest," but Gelgar seems to think this may have been delusional ramblings on her part.

Mozariq spends the rest of the time in Darmshall studying over the clue on the Tome. He comes to the conclusion that the last line refers to Xarxes and his new gloves. He visits the Ranger in his room, and asks more about what he knows. He casts a spell to learn more about the gloves, which results much information on the legend of the Boxes of Netheril. He comes to the conlcusion that the Crown was in the box from Candlekeep, the Scepter is probably in the hands of Xenon, and the Gloves on Xarxes' hands is the third artifact. He also thinks the clue points to Waterdeep, or perhaps Skullport, and is intent on finding out more information on the Boxes from Khelben Arunsun and the Moonstars. He is wary about teleporting to the city, thinking that there will be trouble involving the "Red Fire."

Xavier and his mother have a heartfelt reunion. Xavier brings her back to his father's grave, where the two talk a bit about Xavier's mission. Intent on finshing the path he started, Xavier says goodbye to his mother, who has elected to return to her home, and teleports back to the group a day later in Darmshall.

Kehlkagt and his father have a brief conversation. Kehlkagt, still obviously holding grudges against his father's past actions, walks away from him. His father, visibly stricken with grief, teleports away moments later.

Anly strikes up a conversation with Sylvia Molrin. Sylvia has no knowledge of Ladira or her plans. After talking to Anly for a bit, the two become somewhat friends. Sylvia, after contacting Suzail that night, teleports back in the morning. Anly spends the rest of the time contemplating her life's direction. In front of witnesses, she takes an oath to Ilmater and his dogma, and to all that is just and good, becoming a Kensai of Ilmater. She spends the rest of the time in her room.

Therron finds Darmshall most welcoming, and spends all his time in bars and "gentlemen's" clubs.

Session 7 - "The Lord and the Serpent"
The group leaves in the morning a few days later. Therron decides that he needs to stay in Darmshall for a few days to help the King reestablish his kingdom and undo the evil Ladira did in her time there. The other 5 say their goodbyes and teleport to Beregost. The group eventually gets there, and Mozariq deposits a copy of his spellbook with Trajan. Not trusting the portal, the group decides to split up and teleport into Waterdeep. Anly goes with Celestia and Xavier, while Xarxes and Kehlkagt go with Mozariq. The latter group decides to teleport directly to the temple of Mystra in the city.

Anly and Xavier arrive in the city and find something that rarely occurs in Waterdeep - an empty street during the daytime. They are near the merchant district and find almost all the shops are closed. They are soon approached by a squadron of guards, who ask their business. The guards relay that the city has been attacked on several fronts and most people are hiding from the attacks. After asking if they can be of any assistance, the guards tell them that a group of lizardmen and what is reported to be Red Wizards were headed toward the Religious District. Upon hearing this, Anly and Xavier bolt toward the District at their top speed. They arrive at the Temple to Tyr and find several dead clerics and the Temple severely destroyed. After a brief search, they find the body of a dead Red Wizard in the rubble, the symbols of both Kossuth and the Fire Cult on his tunic. While Anly says a short prayer, Xavier hears the sounds of a massive explosion to the North. The two again run in that direction... straight for the Temple of Mystra.

Meanwhile, Mozariq's teleport takes them a bit off target... hundreds of miles north. Luckily, it is a town Mozariq knows well, so he shrugs it off and tries again, this time succeeding. The trio finds themselves in the temple of Mystra, however something strange is afoot. Two clerics are in front of them, bolting the doors shut, and bolstering the locks with nailed planks of wood. As they listen, they hear combat above them and on the other side of the door. The group decides to head to the roof. There they see a Red Wizard and two Yuan-ti fighting a cleric and Paladin of Mystra. They instantly join in on the fight. Despite their best efforts, the Cleric is slain. Kehlkagt manages to save the Paladin, but he remains unconscious. Xarxes is also dropped as he stands toe to toe with a barbarian. Moments later a massive explosion rocks the temple, as the main doors are blown from their hinges. With Kehlkagt casting Righteous might, and an unknown invisible ally helping them, Mozariq goes back down the stairs to investigate.

About 12 seconds later, Anly and Xavier arrive at the Temple, and instantly start to battle the other half of the enemy group. The battle is extremely fierce, and through the combination of a powerful necromancy spell from an elder Red Wizard and the massive sword of a barbarian, Anly is killed. Xavier, weakened by the same necromancer, is forced to resort to his spell casting. As Kehlkagt takes care of the remnants on the roof, Mozariq, the invisible ally, and a now revived Xarxes help with the rest on the ground. Eventually, the last of the enemy group is killed.

The invisible ally reveals himself as Thior, a Moonstar and companion of Xarxes on his trip to Halruaa. He urges the group to exit the area immediately as there is no telling how many more enemy groups are in the city. With Kehlkagt bringing Anly's body, Thior leads them to an alley, where he reveals a teleport. The group steps through and lands in an abandoned warehouse on the other side of the city.

Thior tells them much that they already know - the city has been attacked. The government believes it to be a break in the Undermountain, but the Moonstars know the real perpetrators: the group known as the Death Flames. Thior himself has little information on their history, but knows they are followers of Kossuth and although have ties to Thay, are not sanctioned by all the Zulkirs. The involvement of the Yuan-ti is a mystery to him. The group, though listening to the information, can't help but notice Thior's preoccupation with Xarxes' hands. Mozariq, dropping his illusion for a second, tells Thior that the group would very much like to talk to Khelben. As if on cue, Thior receives a telepathic message moments later. His face briefly contorts as he tells the group that the meeting has been arranged. Opening another teleport on the wall, the group steps through...

...directly into a cage made entirely of force. A spell is cast upon them to prevent dimensional travel. The room, though dank and dark, reveals two figures bathed in shadows on the opposite end of the room. Khelben is one of the figures, and he casts a spell on Xarxes to gain information. Satisfied, he gives a brief apology for his rudeness, promises help where he can, and then teleports away. The second figure then emerges from the dark, and reveals herself to be Laeral Arunsun, wife of Khelben. Dismissing the cage, she again apologizes for her husband's actions. He seldom has the past come back to haunt him, she explains.

She goes into a narrative describing the fact that it was Khelben and herself that discovered the first box of Netheril. Inside was the evil artifact known as the Crown of Horns. She explains the history of the artifact and its last known whereabouts - on the head of a Yuan-ti named Nhyris D'Hothek. Further, she reveals that the daughter of the one unmasked Lord of Waterdeep, and heir to his title, has been kidnapped during the attacks. She and Khelben believes that these things must all be related - especially now that the Gauntlets have also appeared in Waterdeep.

Asking for assistance with finding the girl and helping a still dead Anly, Laeral takes them to the one place under the city that she deems safe: the massive religious complex home to her youngest sister, Qilué Veladorn. A full-blooded Drow, Qilué is not just a chosen of Mystra, but also of Eilistraee as well. As Laerel leaves them, they view the massive complex in front of them, gracefully split down the middle between decorations, statues and tributes to the two Goddesses. They head toward a central spire, and climb the many stairs to see a beautiful young Drow in priestess robes sitting behind a desk.

The Drow tells them that Nhyris indeed is said to have a lair somewhere nearby, but it is not easy to get to, as its only entrance is deep in a monster-infested water. Seeing that Anly needs help, she agrees to assist them as long as they provide a donation to help the churches that have been destroyed. Feeling rather generous, the group decides to donate all of Anly's money, nearly 55 thousand gold. Greatful, Qilué resurrects the girl and gives directions to the water. Curious as to obtaining provisions, the Drow says that Waterdeep's market might be open, although not fully. The group thanks her, and leaves the Promenade.

Not wanting to try their luck in Waterdeep, Mozariq decides that the group should teleport to another large city, and chooses Calimport. Xavier obliges and they whisk away to the South... and arrive about 200 feet from a Slave auction. Anly, whose ideas about slavery are even stronger since her oath, immediately takes offense at the auction, as Xarxes and Xavier go looking for the merchant district. Incredibly, she does keep her cool despite talking to several of the buyers, as Mozariq and Kehlkagt try to explain to Anly that this is the law of the land in this city, and doing anything to disrupt it would be breaking the law. The last auctioned slave, a young girl barely older than Anly herself, is sold to a man next to Anly. Anly gets a bad vibe from the buyer, thinking more than just the usual "cooking" is going to be done, so she starts to follow the man. Mozariq, really fed up by this point as he realizes he was pick pocketed during the conversation, follows. Kehlkagt stays behind and waits for the others.

Eventually, Mozariq reaches the man who bought the slave, and offers to buy her off of him. The owner, however, knows when he has a desperate buyer, and demands five times his buying price. Annoyed at the situation, Mozariq decides that enough is enough, and casts hold person on the buyer. Anly, trying to convince the very confused slave to come with her, starts to notice a crowd gathering around. Mozariq, seeing it prudent to leave, convinces Anly to dimension door them back to Kehlkagt. They leave just as guards come into view.

The group is now back together, and Mozariq briefly explains to the confused others who this new girl is. Sprinkling dust of illusion on the girl to disguise her for the time being, the group goes about their shopping. As more and more guards are in their immediate area, they decide it prudent to leave the area. Xavier takes Anly and the girl, whose name they finally learn is Lelu, to Anly's parent's house. The group eventually meets back up near the banks of the underground ocean.

After making appropriate precautions for underwater travel and combat, the group starts to descend the murky depths. During their travel they come across a pair of Dragon Eels and a pair of Legendary Sharks, both of which they dispose of rather handily. Finally, the enter the mouth of an underground cave and reach shore. They notice that both the water and the cave are very hot, and those in armor feel rather tired. They move on, however, and twist and turn their way through a maze of caverns obviously built by the Yuan-ti. Along the way they come across several foes, including a necromancer Red Wizard, 4 Yuan-ti, and a magic eating Aberration. Anly also fails to be cautious and falls into a pool of lava. Mozariq rescues the girl with a levitate spell. The group also finds the remains of countless clerics in one area of the tunnels, along with the fresh and evasculated remains of a Yuan-ti.

Fully exploring the depths of the caves, the group heads to the cave's exit - a massive door with the head of a Cobra. Finally figuring out how to open the door, the group emerges into what looks like the center of a massive pyramid, one door on each face. After an exhaustive search, they approached an alter in the center which seems to have a series of gems on its face. They eventually find a secret compartment in the alter revealing the code of the gems, written in Yuan-ti. Mozariq deciphers it and realizes that each row of gems is a key code to open or close each door in the pyramid. One door is opened to reveal a malfunctioning portal labeled "Skullport." Another has a more-recently used portal labeled "Waterdeep." The last opens a door revealing a staircase.

They walk up the staircase and emerge into an arrowhead shaped room. They immediately see 4 Zombie Red Wizards seal a sarcophagus with someone inside it. Behind them are two portals labeled "Bleeding Wound Tribe" and "Tashluta." While the latter is active, there is another zombie activating the former by pulling levers. The portal springs into life as they reach the top of the stairs. Anly rushes forward toward the portal, and as she passes the sarcophagus, 5 massive statues behind them come to life, a wall of force blocks the stairway, and the room starts to fill with gas. Xavier realizes a troubling situation: the floor is made of flint, and the gas appears combustible. As the Iron Golems start to move, the threat of sparks from their feet loom large. Mozariq also reminds them that Iron Golems are healed from fire damage. Needless to say, a battle erupts.

Thanks to some very smart moves, the battle goes rather easily. Anly kills one of the zombies and begins to shut off the portal. Before she is successful, one Yuan-ti emerges. Kehlkagt destroys the rest of the zombies, and then turns and helps the others battle the Golems. Mozariq destroys the wall of force and then erects another to minimize the gas coming into the room. The last of the golems eventually falls, and the group searches the rooms for the 6 keys needed to open the Sarcophagus. When it is finally opened, a young girl, covered in funeral wrappings, and wearing a bright symbol of Oghma around her neck emerges... and falls in the hands of Anly, quite dead.

The group decides to travel back to Waterdeep through the portal. Xavier, not liking this unnatural place, summons several elementals as he leaves last. The group emerges on the streets of Waterdeep. As they move into view, guards start rushing toward them, seeing what looks to be the dead Lady-to-be in Anly's arms. Xavier heeds their progress, and they eventually retreat for reinforcements. The group then hastens to the Temple of Oghma, where they eventually gain entrance. The head cleric takes the girl, Aleena, to the back room to resurrect as the rest wait in the temple. Kehlkagt sends a message to Laeral telling them that they have the girl.

About 10 minutes later, Aleena emerges from the room. She starts to say something but then sees the group for the first time. Immediately her demeanor changes and her eyes start to glow. She asks for the book, saying their is not much time left. Then, she and Mozariq have the same thought... ONE IS MISSING. Cursing to himself, Mozariq teleports back to Darmshall and abducts a very drunk Therron from the middle of a rather immense party. Now that the Circle is complete, Aleena leads them up to the roof of the temple. There she opens the book, and something rather different happens. Instead of a blinding light, a prism of colors emerges – the group see all 6 colors swirl and twirl around the room, wrapping themselves around all 6 members. A comforting and peaceful feeling wraps around the group. At several points the colors almost seem to form humanoid shapes, but not enough to tell features. Aleena now seems to be in some kind of trance – her eyes roll to the back of her head, and she spits out prayers in celestial, the tome floating in front of her. Suddenly the colors regroup and start a vortex between themselves – eventually coalescing into a white pulsating sphere, which explodes in a bright cascade. When the group opens their eyes, they see a nearly unconscious Aleena on the ground, and the tome now a bright white, golden runes lining the binding and a new clue on the cover. No symbol new symbol is found. Moments later, Laeral arrives with Aleena's father, and the Chosen of Mystra teleports them away from the scene. The clue reads as follows: "The Three will meet, long ago misplaced; The City of Snakes, Where Evil is based. Follow the Crown, the Hands your guide; To the end We go, when time open Me wide. "

Laeral thanks them for their help in rescuing the Lord's daughter, and eventually leaves. The group settles in at a local Inn to rest after a very long day.

After taking some time to shop and rest, the group decides to head to the city of Tashluta, hoping it is the "City of Snakes" and the city Mozariq has seen in earlier scys. Not wanting to reenter the lair, Xavier teleports them there via plants. They emerge in the middle of a rather large city, with some strange looks. Not long after, a guard approaches them to make sure they have no "snakes" on their person. He explains all forms of snakes are illegal in the city due to Yuan-ti in the nearby jungle. Satisfied with their negative replies, the guard leaves, but tells them the nearest inn is called the The Black Jungle Tavern. The group decides to head there. They enter and find the place a little lower-class, but still very inviting. They procure rooms and sit and order some food, all agreeing to having it "Taslutan Style." They soon find the wine to be some of the best they have ever had. Whil Kehlkagt tries to strike up some conversation with the bartender, the food comes. The group quickly realizes that "Tashlutan Style" is a codeword for "hottest and spiciest food in all of Faerun." As they choke it down, Kehlkagt find the bartender rather disappointing as far as information goes. He does learn that there are three tribes of Yuan-ti in the Black Jungles outside of the city, and although they have attacked the city in the past, there has not been any escalation recently.

Anly and Xavier - along with Rowena - exit the Tavern, and catch a glimpse of something a little unnerving a few blocks away - what appears to be a Red Wizard peacefully talking to a few Tashlutans with an "R" symbol on their arm. While Therron stays and finishes the rest of the food, the group decides to follow the Wizard as he starts to head off. Eventually, they end up in the northwest corner of the city, and a Red Wizard enclave. Anly, who is boiling over the fact that they aren't killing these Wizards, waits for hours outside the Enclave for one to emerge. Xarxes, on the other hand, follows the men the Wizard was talking to, and finds himself at a large mansion on the ocean coast, thousands of ships anchored in nearby docks, the same "R" symbol adorning the ships and houses. Xarxes uses his abilities to gain access to the dock area and learns a bit from some of the workers on break. This area is the Rundeen Consortium, the largest, richest, and most powerful house in Tashluta. They trade everywhere, and have a big relationship with Calimsham.

Everyone eventually regroups at the Inn and sleeps for the night. The next day, Anly and Xavier travel to the temple of Savras, and do some research in the library. While Anly struggles with reading some books, Xavier gleans much from Bob the Librarian. He tells the Elf much about the Yuan-ti in the Jungles:
 * There are three tribes, named the Bleeding Wound, Dark Claw, and Black Horn. While they aren't exactly friends, they try to not openly confront each other.
 * Rumor has it that the smallest of the Tribes, the Bleeding Wound, is in league with the Rundeen. But mentioning such a fact might get you killed.
 * The enclave came in recently, the Rundeen pushing it forward despite the objections from a lot of the populace and the clerics of Istishia. They have caused little trouble, however, and rarely leave their enclave.

Xavier thanks the librarian and leave the complex. Now completely convinced the Rundeen are up to no good, the pair tries to enter the Rundeen mansion. They are quickly stopped at the gate however, as the guard doesn't believe a word of what they are saying. Seeing that this is getting them no where, Xavier transforms himself into a raven and eventually gains access to the mansion, flying through the main door. As the people inside notice that a bird is loose in the house, Xavier takes notice of papers on the main entrance desk. He transforms into a blink dog, eludes some attacks, grabs the papers and dimension doors out of the compound. The two retreat back to the Tavern, papers in hand.

Meanwhile, the others gather information, and find much of the same information. Mozariq attempts to scry on the papers found in the Yuan-ti layer in Waterdeep, but he is blocked by the will of the owner. As the druid and monk come in, they hand the papers over to Mozariq. The papers are just stacks of inventory and records of what and where the Rundeen has traded and shipped over the last few weeks. Many things become clear: the Rundeen is immensely wealthy and well connected, and trade just about everything to everywhere on the Western Coast of Faerun. The group hatches a plan to get in the mansion the next day posing as people in need of jobs.

The next day comes, and Anly and Xavier again go off alone. They wait outside the mansion for someone to come out on lunchbreak. They follow the poor fool to an Inn, where they harass him until he threatens to get the city guard. They eventually leave, deciding that they should set up their own trading company, and compete with the Rundeen. Setting up a small booth down the coast from the Rundeen Mansion, most of the populace ignore them. One guard, however, tells them they can't be a trading company since they do not have nobility in their family. Eventually, the pair leaves for the Inn.

Meanwhile, Mozariq, Xarxes, and Kehlkagt travel to the mansion, Mozariq in mouse form in Xarxes' pocket. Thanks to some magical lying, they get inside and eventually meet Lady Rundeen, head of the family. An ancient and wrinkled old woman, she wears gems on her gown and in her hair that are worth more than most merchants see in a lifetime. Lady Rundeen believes what they say, and tells them that her two sons run the business. Her eldest son, Trenom, is down on the dock now. Xarxes gives her back the papers, much to her delight. The two excuse themselves and head toward the docks. There, they ask around and find that Trenom is not here, but in fact on a ship to Calimport. As far as her other son? Oh, Ezri Rundeen has been gone for quite some time.

Taken aback by the dropped name, the two ask who is in charge of the docks, and the men point them toward Nevim. Nevim is a wiry thin man, with sunken eyes and a long neck. He eyes the group and asks what they want, licking his lips way too often. The group inquires about a job. While the two talk with Nevim, Mozariq casts a spell to read his thoughts, feeling that he is afraid of being late for an appointment. The image of a Red Wizard also enters his thoughts. With the promise of a job the next day, the two depart the docks.

They wait awhile, and indeed see Nevim leave moments later, heading straight for the enclave. Mozariq contacts his bird and Xavier, and tells him to come to enclave as fast as he can. Xavier turns himself into a raven and flies with Rowena. The two of them see Nevim enter the enclave and then a large squat building. Mozariq realizes the building is warded against magical eavesdropping. Xavier, seeing the predicament, although not fully understanding it, transforms into a rat and manages to burrow under the building's foundation inside the protective magical shell. There, he hears several disturbing words between what he assumes was a Red Wizard and Nevim:
 * Nevim is very annoyed that this is taking so long. He can't stand being around that "lich" anymore.
 * The Wizard asks for patience. He tells Nevim that Trenom has been "Taken care of."  He also says "Nhyris" and "Frost" have gone to the Jungle.  He says: "Jericho" and "Extaminos" are ready and have the scepter, and tell me that the gauntlets are on their way.  Soon, he says, this will be over.  Jericho and Nhyris will have what they want, my God will reap the benefits, and this city will be yours.  The wizard asks him to go back to work and to calm down.

Xavier retreats from the enclave, meets the rest of the group back at the Inn and discusses what he has heard. The group decides that they must go into the jungle...

Session 8 - "An End and a Beginning"
Before heading out to the jungles, the group decides to do a few things first:
 * Xarxes, Kehlkagt, and Mozariq (in animal form) report to work at the Rundeen Consortium. Nevim is there, and tells them to report to a Calimshite ship that has just docked and start unloading.  As they talk, Mozariq tries to glean some information from him via a spell and is somewhat successful.  They start to work, Mozariq leaving gingerly through a magically warded fence.  Xarxes and Kehlkagt work for some time before a break is called.  Xarxes, seeing his chance, tries to deliberately smash open one of the boxes to see what is inside.  Unfortunately, the box is full of something that doesn’t take to being slammed against the floor, and it explodes, taking several other boxes and a good portion of the hull’s starboard side with it.  Xarxes escapes and hides as the ship starts to sink – he slinks out later with Kehlkagt.
 * Xavier and Anly (who is a feeling a little annoyed due to a strange dream) head together once again to the Rundeen Docks, shortly after the other three. They get little accomplished.  Xavier is just about to try and get in the compound when Mozariq stops them.
 * Meanwhile, Talbane sits at the Tavern. He learns something quite disturbing:  there is rumor that the Temple to Istishia is going to be attacked soon by the Red Wizard Enclave.

As Kehlkagt, Xavier, and Mozariq discuss matters, Xavier and Anly learn from Talbane about the plot against Istishia and decide to act. They immediately start out for the temple, intent on protecting the good and meeting the Death Flames in battle. When they reach the temple, it seems calm. They enter and ask to see the head cleric. They are led up a spiral staircase to an immense room where a very old man sits and looks up expectantly. The group of three tells the cleric of their suspicions, and wish to help protect the Temple. The cleric responds much to their disappointment: he knows that they will attack, but when it will happen is not known. They are well prepared and are well defended: the Circle’s help is not needed. Dejected, the three go down the steps just as the other three reach the temple floor. The six eventually get back to the Inn and decide to teleport to the Black Jungles as soon as possible.

The next day they teleport themselves to the edge of the Jungle and find that the name is not a coincidence: a rough path leads them into a steamy hot and very dark jungle. They notice many natural dangers: poisonous plants, insanity mists, and diseased water, but avoid it all. They eventually reach a strange clearing – all the plant life in a rough circle is completely destroyed, and the soil looks infertile. Xavier gets the feeling that a spell not unlike ‘’unhallow’’ has been cast here. Before they can make more sense of it, they are ambushed by a Greater Flame Snake. The heroes, however, make quick work of it.

After some more hours of traveling, several of the party spot a figure in the trees. Though he looks like a human, Xavier believes he is actually a Yuan-ti pureblood. After some anxious moments, including Anly flying up to get a better look, the Yuan-ti asks in a tongue only Mozariq knows what they are doing, and are they in league with the Bleeding Wound (Se’Sehen) or the Extaminos. Mozariq answers to the negative, and states there mission. At the mention of finding and stopping Nhyris, the Yuan-ti laughs a bit and says that this is a worthy cause: that the impurity Nhyris has let into the forest must be purged. He tells offers them help: a map that shows the easiest way to the Temple to Sseth, the place where he believes Nhyris to be. He also says that he will be able to convince both his tribe, the Dark Claw (Eselemas) and the Black Horn (Jennestas), and hopefully even the Coiled Cabal, to leave the heroes alone and in fact create a diversion for them. He asks for a price, though. He demands gold or equipment, or the map and his help will disappear and he himself will help kill them.

After much debate, including several of the party displaying their greedy side, some of the money is given over, and the Yuan-ti seems satisfied. He warns them that once Nhyris is killed, they must leave as soon as they can. He also tells them that doing anything to the temple would be most unwise. He leaves the map behind and then runs off, jumping from branch to branch. The party walks for hours more, along the way seeing more examples of circular areas where all plant life has been destroyed. They also get the sense along the way that they are being watched, but they do not catch a good glimpse of any Yuan-ti for the rest of the day.

It is near nightfall when they come to an immense clearing, and several of the members hear the sounds of wings over their heads. Looking up, they see what appears to be two huge black dragons, although part of their skin appears green. The Dragons dive down and attack the heroes. The battle is fierce, as it is sooned learned that theses are not ordinary dragons, but appear to have Yuan-ti genes in them. Several of the Circle are almost killed, but the tide turns, and the Dragons are vanquished. Nearing night, the group finds a good spot and camps for the night.

They set off early the next morning and finally come to a mighty stone structure that can only be a temple to the Yuan-ti god Sseth. The pyramid shaped structure has a set of massive steps running up one of its side leading to an opening, and the whole compound is surrounded by giant stone statues of Yuan-ti, most covered in small vipers. There is no sign of any Yuan-ti, although Xavier things he hears the sounds of battle in the distance.

The heroes start climbing the steps when the first sign of life appears at the top of the steps: a dozen Yuan-ti Guardians step out from the entrance, and appear very surprised to see the Circle. A short battle erupts, but the weak guardians are taken care of easily. As they continue to ascend, a body of a Red Wizard comes flying out of the entrance. The heroes manage to avoid it and Mozariq gives a small smile as the dead body continues to roll down the long steps.

They make it to the top of the stairs, and find themselves very high up. They get a look inside and see a monstrous sight: a huge Yuan-ti whose head is 6 snakes of its own sits in the center, surrounded by a pit of vipers. A Red Wizard is kneeling to one side of the massive Yuan-ti, and to the other is a Yuan-ti whose smell of decay overwhelms the heroes. A silver circlet crown with black diamonds set on the brow and 4 bone horns mounted around its edge adorns this being’s head, encircling 6 horns of its own. Black bone-like claws grip a smooth staff that looks as though it was a leg bone, topped with a red skull. It becomes quite clear that this must be Nhyris, and he still wears the Crown of Horns.

There seems to be some kind of argument going on, but before anything can be determined, Xarxes and the Nhyris both look at each other, as Xarxes’ gauntlets and the Crown both start to glow. A battle immediately erupts. It is a hard fought battle, as the huge Yuan-ti proves both tough and dangerous. Two of the larger vipers in its pit also show their true form, as a cleric and barbarian Yuan-ti. But yet again, the Circle proves too tough for them, and one by one evil is felled. To their dismay, however, the Crown teleports itself away when Nhyris is slain.

Sensing the battle that has been waging outside is coming their way, the group inspects the room and finds an inactive portal in a corner. Around the portal is listed the names of the three tribes, and the name Extaminos. “The City of Snakes” is the intended destination. Mozariq temporarily holds off the coming Yuan-ti with a wall of force, and desperately tries to get the portal working. Xarxes, however, thinks it is wise that they should leave, and soon. Heeding his opinion, the group teleports away. Xavier, before he leaves, attempts to summon Earth Elementals to destroy the temple, but finds that he cannot summon anything in the room. He decides to leave.

They teleport back to Tashluta, specifically to the Inn they were staying at, and are rather surprised to see it totally destroyed. After gathering much information, they find several things have happened since they have left:
 * Their Inn was attacked the previous night. A man, dressed in black with a strange eye patch and a symbol go Loviatar, came to the Inn looking for Xarxes by name.  Not happy with the results, he went about slaughtering most of the customers and staff, and then burned the structure to the ground.
 * The Temple to Istishia was indeed attacked, coincidentally at the same time as the attack on the Inn. While the temple was damaged, the attack was foiled by the combined might of the Clerics of the Water god and Farseer, the mighty sage of Savras.
 * The Red Wizard Enclave has been reportedly abandoned.
 * The Rundeen Consortium has arrested a man by the name of Nevim, who they claim was in league with the Red Wizards and worse, the vile Yuan-ti. They claim he is a tainted one, and a spy, and they had no idea what was happening.  Unfortunately, the Rundeen claim that Nevim was killed in the process of trying to arrest him.  Farseer has turned a heavy eye to the Rundeen.

The group decides to head to the Enclave themselves to make sure the place is completely abandoned. This indeed appears to be the case, although Mozariq sees the shape of an invisible person coming toward them at one point. He decides to act first and ask questions later. Needless to say, a glitterdusted Blue Wizard appears moments later. He holds no anger toward Mozariq and tells him that he is hear to make sure they are all gone. He knows little, but says that at least two have escaped: Frost, and his bodyguard.

The group then heads to the Library and finds much due to the new word “Extaminos.” They discover that the “City of Snakes” is bound to be Hlondeth, a city on the northern shores of the Vilhon Reach. It is ruled by one Dediana Extaminos, who is said to be a halfblood yaun-ti, since she has a snake’s tail and no legs. House Extaminos has ruled the city for over 300 years openly, but some say it has been much longer. The house used to venerate the god Ilmater, but something happened during a war with a large Kobold tribe: an army of snakes were unleashed from house Extaminos which destroyed the Kobolds. It was soon after that the family began showing outward signs of snake-like qualities… and it was not long before a large temple was expanded from seemingly under the Extaminos compound: a temple to the ancient snake god Varae called the Cathedral of Emerald Scales.

The group decided to travel there right away. They teleport to Beregost, where they spend night resting in the Silent Dawn Inn. The next morning, they take Ulcaster's Portal to Hlondeth. They appear outside the main walls of the city, in front of the small forest called the Sunset Grove. They head to the gates and enter with little trouble and find a modest Inn where they try to find more information. They learn a few important things:
 * There is a Red Wizard Enclave here as well, although it causes little trouble.
 * A shrine exists to the God Loviatar in the City.
 * The “Prince of Chessenta” is said to be here, meeting with a representative from Thay and a “Lord” from Waterdeep. They were last seen heading toward the Cathedral.

The group decides to head toward the Extaminos mansion when they are accosted on the streets by a large group of guards. Xarxes, thinking quickly, hides and blends in to his urban surroundings. The guards tell them that they are wanted for questioning by the town Inquisitor, and they need to accompany them to the city Barracks. The group, not wanting to cause a scene, reluctantly agrees and is led across town to the Barracks. They are placed inside and are led into a stone room. The door shuts, and a wall of force appears between them and the door, and an antimagic field erupts around them.

Helpless due to the field, they desperately attempt to break down the stone walls, or make some kind of exit. Eventually, the door opens on the other side of the field and wall, and a man steps through. The man is tall and dressed all in black, and has an eye patch over his eye. No one recognizes him except for Anly. It is Palar, betrayer of her brother, Nassim, and her God. Anly goes momentarlity crazy and attempts to drop kick the Wall of Force so she may get to the man on the other side. Palar simply smiles and waits till the girl is through.

Palar claims that the group has been guilty of spying for the other city states of the Vilhon Reach, and will be executed at the next sunrise. When asked of evidence and justice, he claims that those have already been taken care of. He gets more serious and asks where the 6th member is. The group feigns ignorance. Palar then asks for Xarxes by name, and starts to get impatient. Frustrated, he leaves to go looking for the Ranger himself, although not before insulting Arteus and threatening Alysta while smiling straight at Anly.

While the group again tries to escape, Xarxes tries to levitate up by the barracks instead of trying to enter the same way his companions did. It is quickly noticed what he is doing, and a guard starts yelling at him wondering what he is doing. He claims he is stuck, and somehow the guard believes him. As the guard leaves, Xarxes jumps into a window, and follows the instincts of his gloves down a flight of stairs. This leads him to the main lobby of the barracks, where three guards are wondering very much what is going on. Xarxes tells them that a man is stuck outside, and that they should go help. Again, they somehow believe this tall tale, and Xarxes rushes over and enters his companions prison. Without thinking, he sticks his hand out, and the gloves start to glow as he touches the wall. His hand goes through the wall and seems to absorbs its energy until it collapses. The group quickly tries to escape but come across a squadron of guards. They enter into battle, and the heroes sensing that these are not their real enemy, uses mercy and leaves the guards unconscious.

They leave and head directly to the Cathedral. They meet little resistance, and eventually reach the wall surrounding the complex. They navigate a complex series of jungle paths inside the walls, and find many disturbing things, including a sacrificed human, splayed on a statue of Varae, its blood collecting at its feet. They reach the center of the maze, and find a stairway down. The negotiate the twisted path of stone, and decide to leave many locked doors be. They find one door labeled "Brooding Chambers" and Xavier decides to bypass the door and use his Elemental Wild Shape to glide through the Earth. What he finds is a horde of Nagas on the other side. He comes back and the group decides they should not waste time and move on.

They eventually reach a semi-circle room, with has a lone doorway across from them. Blocking the doorway are three huge crystal golems – one made of Ruby, the other Diamonds. As they get close, the golems attack and a brief battle ensues. Anly finds that her Ki abilities are especially devastating to the Diamond Golems and quickly dispatches them. The Ruby golem is also eventually killed. Left behind in their dust are three large gems – and a quick look sees that identical shaped holes adorn the doorway that they were guarding.

Listening to the door lets them hear bits of conversation, or more precisely an argument. They enter the doorway and travel down a dark corridor. As they get closer, the argument stops, and they emerge in a large room. Six people stand there. Eric Frost is there, as is a very large fire genasi holding a very impressive looking two-bladed sword. To the center is Palar, a very pale looking human holding two rods, and a dirty looking half elf. To the right is a scary sight: a human male, Xenon Theodike, as it is guessed. The Crown of Horns adorns his head, and he is holding an impressive looking scepter. The evildoers looked more concerned with Xenon than they do at the new arrivals.

Xenon welcomes his brother, and addresses the pale human saying that "the third has arrived, Vega." Vega retorts that Xenon is not the chosen, saying that he should be the one to complete Myrkul’s will. Xenon responds that the Crown chose him. The half-elf buts in, saying that he doesn’t care anymore, but that these do-gooders need to be taken care of, so he can destroy more forest, perhaps in Cormanthor next. He eyes Xavier, especially.

No more delay in battle is possible, as Xarxes immediately rushes toward his brother, swords drawn and gauntlets glowing. An apocalyptic battle ensues. Mozariq helps things immensely by casting a Black Tentacles spell which hampers several of the enemy’s movements. The half-elf responds by wild shaping into a skeletal black dragon, and Frost starts to fling spells. The fire genasi, or more accurately his sword, gets him out of the muck with a dimension door, while the pale human turns into mist and floats out of it. Only Palar is left stuck, trying to get out. The five heroes rush the 5 near the tentacles and battle fiercely. Eric Frost is quickly killed, mostly due to Therron’s mighty blows. The Fire Genasi, horrified at this, takes revenge and kills Therron with a harm spell. The blighter half elf is foiled by a cocoon from Xavier, while the pale human, now thought to be a vampire absorbs magical attack after magical attack by the party. Anly rushes toward Palar, trying to avoid the vampire. Meanwhile, Xarxes and Xenon are clashing in an immense battle, and no one approaches them. Thanks to a well placed death ward spell, however, Xarxes holds his own for much longer than is expected. Xenon, however, done playing with his brother, unleashes a maximized disintegrate, destroying his brother. Reaching for the leftover gauntlets, he adorns them, resulting in a rush of intense energy surrounding him.

Kehlkagt, quickly realizes that Xenon has adorned all three of the artifacts, and knows that only the Tome can defeat the avatar that is to come. He manages to retreat from the fighting and gets in a position to open the Tome. The resulting force almost knocks the dwarf prone – a rush of energy exudes from the book, forming a roughly humanoid appearance. The group notices that it has aspects of all the 7 chosen – they see a green amulet of Chauntea; a red Sword of Sune; The Yellow Robes of Lliira; The Blue Boots of Garl Glittergold; The Orange Lute of Tymora; The Violet Shield of Helm; and the finally a white helm of Oghma. The energy being rushes toward Xenon, who by now has emerged from his energy cocoon, grown, and appears to have a second, ill fitting skin. The two engage in battle, each blow rumbling the entire room. The Tome itself has disappeared.

By this time, all but Palar and the Vampire Vega have been killed. Palar, sensing defeat, manages to get into the large crypt in the back of the room. Mozariq halts his progress by casting a force cage around him. Meanwhile, the Vampire is finally slain, transforming to his mist form, desperately trying to reach the crypt. Xavier whips out his sunblade, however, and starts to move it to create sunlight. Just as the blade begins to work, Vega reaches the crypt, and all that is heard is a sharp cry of pain.

The battle raging across the room is intense, and the tome-being begins to talk in the heroes' heads, a voice that sounds as though a thousand voices are talking at once. "Leave, leave, your part is over. Leave, leave, you must save yourselves." It is at this time, the others realize that somehow Xarxes is alive again. They quickly regroup, and teleport away.

They arrive outside the city. Moments later a massive earthquake shakes the land around them. As they look down, the gifts they were given at the beginning of their journey start to fade, and disappear. Mozariq then receives a message from Valen Retoran – They are needed in Beregost.

Epilogue - "New Paths"
Upon returning to Beregost, they find Trajan and Valen in the temple to Lathander. They follow the pair back to a private room and are very surprised to see an unconscious Xenon lying on the bed, lacking the skin of Myrkul or any of the Netherese artifacts. Valen smiles and tells them that the Path has come to an end. He holds up the Tome, which appears as it did when the Circle first set eyes on it so many days ago in Candlekeep. He tells them that as he has given life to the Tome, now he must bury it to be forgotten until it is needed again. He thanks them for their help, and wishes them a safe journey… a journey that is their own.

Trajan, too, thanks them for their help and offers the portal’s services if they should ever need it in the future. He leaves them as Xenon awakens. Xenon is very confused, and remembers little after finding the Scepter in Chessenta. Xarxes, happy to have his brother back, embraces his him and then calls for a celebration. Finally, he decides, it is time to drink that Halruaan wine.

Xenon stays behind to rest as the group travels to the Silent Dawn Inn, sitting at their usual table, in their usual spot. The bottle of wine is opened expertly by Mozariq, and he pours a round to his companions – even Anly participates. They take a moment, staring at the wine, at their friends… they all know that the path that they have shared, the journey that has taken them to distant parts of Faerun, is over. Will they see each other again? Where will they go now, what will they do?

Some answer those questions easily, and have a plan. Others are unsure and ponder the questions, rolling them through their head.

Therron, of all people, breaks the silence, standing and calling for a toast. “To finding ourselves, and each other.” Kehlkagt stands up, a crumbled piece of paper in his hand, which few noticed was slipped to him by Trajan. “To the Tome, and to our faiths.” Anly stands. “To love ones found, and lost.” Xavier stands. “To the ones that helped us along the way.” Xarxes stands. “To a journey that has changed us all." Mozariq finally stands, adjusting his cap. “To the paths we now choose for ourselves.”

A somber clink of glass, and the goblets are emptied. Anly has a bit of trouble handling the drink. Mozariq smirks and makes great effort to hold back any comments. Kehlkagt slaps the girl on the back and promises she will get better at it, but never as good as a dwarf.

The celebration is continued into the night. Soon, most of Beregost is taking part in the party in and around the tavern. The next morning comes too soon for some, not soon enough for others. They gather one last time, saying brief goodbyes.

Mozariq leaves first, taking Therran and Kehlkagt with him. The first stop is Darmshall in Vaasa, where Therron wishes to pay the King a visit, and perhaps start on his plan of building his own colliseum, one that uses volunteers in non-lethal combat instead of slaves. The three say a brief goodbye and Mozariq takes himself and Kehlkagt to Silverymoon. Kehlkagt travels north to Citadel Adbar and a long due meeting with his father. Mozariq shuts down his affairs in Silverymoon, and sells any extra posessions in Waterdeep. He contacts the Blue Wizards near the metropolis, and the group agrees to Mozariq's plans of setting up himself around the Moonsea region. He goes back to Silverymoon where he breifly meets with Lady Alustriel, and then meets Kehlkagt, a full week after their arrival. Mozariq teleports the dwarf as near as he can to the Shaar, says a goodbye, and then starts his jounrey toward the Moonsea.

Xavier leaves next, taking Anly with him. They teleport to Anly's home, and Anly is happy to find her parents, sister, and Lelu all safe. She thanks Xavier and Celestia, and wishes them a safe journey. The Druid heads back south to his home, and his now safe mother.

Finally, Xarxes leaves with his brother. The two contemplate other courses of action, but until they return, their parents will stay imprisoned. Xenon casts the spell, as Beregost winks out of existence, and the unknown of Chessenta begins to materalize around them.

Themes

 * The story is told in many ryhmes.
 * The theme of religion was wrapped in the plot of the story.
 * Though not intended, the theme of the PCs missing something drove the plot. Whether it was someone physical (Anly and Artues, Xavier and his mother, Xarxes and Xenon), or something less concrete (Mozariq and his past, Therron and his Identity, Kehlkagt unresolved family issues), the PCs gave me an easy way to connect their personal histories and needs to the plot.

Criticisms

 * User:bwh says: "I'll go on record and state there are way too many Chosen. (This isn't a complaint of this campaign, so much as it is in regards to the state of our persistant world.) I expect Jorge to remedy this, though."
 * User:bwh says: "In correlation to the above, there are a lot of high-powered people in the world. I'm not sure if this is just me or not, but what are the realistic chances of meeting an army of Chosen, plus lvl 20+ mages, plus lvl 20+ clerics, &c. ad nauseum? It seems a bit exaggerated and unnecessary."
 * User:Neenan says: "Besides the "army" of Chosen, you have met precisely two 20+ Characters, both leaders of nations or cities: Isimud (Unther), and Hawklyn (Westgate). ;-) Besides you guys are important people! hehe
 * Jason says: "I figure that's the whole purpose of the Tome. It's like a Hollywood tour with backstage passes to meet the who's who of Faerun. If you think about it, we're not following our own journey, we're just interpreting what the tome says and following it's orders."
 * User:bwh says: "So we're basically the D&D version of a VH1 Celebreality show? We're not that important. :-) But okay, as long as it's just the two 20++'s; it's just seemed more than it is, from my perspective. Just voicing my opinion. :-)"


 * User:Neenan says: Many of the criticisms were summed up nicely on the regional boards. I'll summarize:
 * The Linear Plot - sometimes it was just too obvious what was next, or where you had to go. There was also the point of connecting the Bane part and the Myrkul part a little better.  Sometimes the plot seemed rushed, and the environment of the places the PCs were in were not fullty explored.
 * Items - inexperience as DM early, and later the abuse of teleporation and urban ranger abilities caused the PCs to get very powerful very early. In addition, not using spell compenents really caused some higher level spells to truly be too powerful.
 * Ruthlessness - most times I was just too damn nice. ;-)

Unanswered Questions
Answer: Rumor suggests that they were handling the followers of Myrkul. Answer: Palar is known to have survived the final conflict. Beyond that, there are no definite answers. Answer: Not if they can help it. Answer: Though nothing is known for sure, it is believed that they were once again split apart, lost again in the far corners of Faerun. Answer: In the time of Shrouded Wings, Xenon became a war wizard for Tchazzar. Their ultimate fate is unknown. Answer: Yes. See Neo-Zhentarim. Answer: No. Tchazzar's armies, and the later damage caused by the Spellplague, will unravel Unther entirely. Answer: Unknown. Although, given the emergence of the Neo-Zhentarim, it is a good bet Sememnon took something to protect himself. Answer: Yes, although it is an evil version of the great hero, the sight of which would drive her slightly insane and into a deep coma.
 * Just what was Valen and his little group doing?
 * Did Palar, and for that fact Vega, actually die?
 * Will any of our heroes ever go to Westgate again and face possible arrest?
 * What happened to the three artifacts? Were they destroyed?
 * What will happen to Xenon and Xarxes in Chessenta upon their return?
 * Was Ladira telling the truth about followers of Bane in Northwest Faerun?
 * Will the peace in Unther truly last?
 * What items did Sememnon take from Darkhold, and what is he up to?
 * Will Anly ever meet Nassim?