A Bridge Between Troubled Waters

A story that continues, in part, the tales of Black Diamond, Shining Sea, this adventure focuses on the troubles centered in the city of Suldolphor. This is the third campaign run by Ryan Neenan, and is set in 1373 DR.

The Active Player Characters

 * Gafflure Hilltyrn, a Human Knight raised by Dwarves. Played by Ignacio Jaramillo.
 * Antillado Sarkozy, an old Elven Cleric. Played by David Jaramillo.
 * Donovan Pierce, a Human Rogue and Good Assassin. Played by Keith Novack.
 * Reginald Quincey Muldoon, a "sophisticated" Human Conjurer. Played by Jorge Jaramillo.

Main Non-Player Characters

 * Fedallah - the ruthless captain of the rogue ship The Predator, whose power and motives are unknown and troublesome.
 * Maven Avada - The Elder Cleric of Bane in Suldolphor
 * Lord Drake - the Sembian ally of Avada whose motives are still a mystery.
 * The Olanger, Uraj Khalid, the leader of Suldolphor.
 * The Viziers, or main advisors, of the Olanger:
 * Aseir Rein, the Vizier of Commerce.
 * Zanthan Dumein, the Vizier of Peace
 * Emed Usko, The Vizier of Magic and Relgion
 * Yasheira Say’kal, The Vizier of the People

Supporting Non-Player Cast

 * Suldolphans:
 * Lonehunter - a mysterious Goliath warrior.
 * Keeneye, Lonehunter's consort.
 * Constable Raahmid Basha, head of the Suldolphan Guard.
 * Thomas Smith, a friend of Sarkozy's brother, who knows way too much and shows up at all the wrong times.
 * The Elder Clerics of Suldolphor:
 * Master Danar Eld, half-elf elder Cleric of Valkur.
 * Mistress Aldia Jaran, elder Cleric of Lathander.
 * Mistress Sheveya Skeled, elder Cleric of Umberlee.
 * Leaders of Other Friendly Cities:
 * Burlon the Burly, leader of Theymarsh
 * Hartom Berolino, leader of Yeshpek
 * Enemies in the Thornwood:
 * Vaxall, the evil Beholder of the Thornwood, and ally of Lord Drake
 * Kallionastiryne, the Green Dragon who calls the Thornwood his forest.
 * Enemies in Innarlith:
 * Areia Sunglory, now Vhail-Crux, former fiance of Donovan and now Cyricite and companion of Croznoc
 * Croznac, a immensely powerful orc and follower of Cyric.
 * Tyxari Hez, a Banite terrorist
 * The Crew of the Scorpion:
 * Thorock, former shipmate, and now captain of the ship after the Predator.
 * Derek Dragonsong, navigator and contact of Sarkozy.
 * Brigitte Petzer, Sciron Petzer's wife and first-mate.
 * The Crew of the Predator:
 * Saulthan Ophisus, former crewmate and now half-golem killing machine.
 * Idolian Lauchik, Saulthan's former mortal enemy and now best friend.
 * Ezri Rundeen, Captain of the Rundeen Ship Renegade.

The Story
A metropolis of over 140 thousand, Suldolphor is the Istanbul of Faerun – its place between the Shining Sea and The Lake of Steam has made it a very important city, and the taxes it levees on the shipping business has made it a very wealthy city. Far removed from Calimport, it stays a membercity of the nation so it is simply left alone. As a result, the safety of the city has always been tantamount, and the battle between the Rundeen and the Calimshite armada worried many people. It was not long after this battle that clerics of the evil god Bane approach the Olanger for permission to establish a temple to their god in the city.

Prologue: New Horizons
Flamerule 15th - 16th

The story opens in the always intriguing establishment of the Yellow Bellied Newt. There, our four heroes awake the morning of Flamerule the 15th. To Gafflure and Sarkozy, this is two weeks since their battle with the Rundeen, and a little less than that since their friend Saulthan was abducted, and apparently joined the crew of Fedallah. The two have passed the time in the city by learning as much as they can: about Saulthan, about Fedallah, about the Rundeen, about the mysterious flaming knife symbol, and about a man named Croznac. Some of these avenues are more forthcoming than others. A man by the name of Egaro Therver fills them in with much information about the city, and they find that it is very much like Calimport.

Two others dot the Inn that morning - one Donovan Pierce, a man who seems to marry the terms socialite and rogue with his appearance - and another by the name of Reginald Muldoon, a rather snobbish mage, by the way he orders his breakfast. It is not long before a disturbance occurs not far from where they are all sitting. Two men in robes had been conversing when, suddenly, one was shoved back to the ground. The other stands, a clear symbol of Lathander on his breast, accosting the man on the ground as to who he really is. The man brandishes a horrific smile, rises, and pulls a scythe from his robes. A startled breakfast crowd hides under their tables as the man charges at the Cleric of Lathander.

The four independently rise to defend the follower of Lathander, and an intense fight ensues. The Scythe wielder continues to pound on the Cleric, shrugging off magical attempts to hold him. Eventually, the Scythe wielder is hit, and it is not long before the image of a human is dispelled before their eyes, and a 7 foot tall horned figure stands before them. The figure seemingly divides himself, creating an exact duplicate, and the two work together to kill the Cleric, maiming what is left of the body.

The monster turns to the cleric's defenders, and the battle is long and hard fought. Despite using its spells to great effect, the two halves of the monster are both eventually slain - they coalesce moments later to reveal the dead monster which Reginald identifies as a Protean Scourge, a monster often hired as an assassin. It is not long before a contingent of guards appear, wearing the blue and orange of Suldolphor. They take in the situation, including Reginald and Donovan arguing about a cold breakfast. They collect the bodies and ask all that were involved to follow them for questioning. Reginald and Donovan reluctantly agree, despite their moaning about empty stomachs.

The guards lead them to a small temple to Lathander, sitting on the highest point in the city. A beautiful woman emerges as they draw near, her robes hiding little of her perfectly formed muscular and curved body. Upon seeing the dead priest, her hand comes to her face, tears are held back, and she motions them to enter.

She introduces herself as Aldia Jaran, head cleric of the temple, and immediately starts asking what happened in the Inn. Through a combination of explanations from the four, Aldia gets the picture. She is clearly shocked, but this turns to anger when Sarkozy reveals he sent the fallen a message on the way here - while the reply was of little help, the word "Bane" was mentioned. As Aldia thanks them for their effort, another man walks into the temple. He is a middle aged and average looking human, the sour tone on his face looks like it is hardly worn. He wears elegant robes, and has symbol of Sune Prominently displayed. He is accompanied by several guards, also dressed in robes like his.

Upon seeing the new arrival, Aldia confronts him, who the four realize through the conversation is Emed Usko, Vizier of Magic and Religion. The two argue for a bit, Aldia trying to convince Emed that the Banites were behind this tragedy, for the victim - named Keplan - was outspoken in his opposition to the church being established here. Through the rest of the overhead argument, and some questions of the guards, the four realize the situation: the Olanger must decide on the Banite's request for a temple, and that decision is coming tomorrow. Many in the city are not happy about this, especially the churches of Ilmater and Lathander.

Aldia and Emed return to the group, and the latter thanks them again for their help. He asks for their names for the record, and each responds honestly. The four are excused, and return, eventually, back to the Newt, where Throog has a fresh breakfast waiting. The four have brief conversation with each other, mostly about the events that just unfolded. Donovan, now realizing Gafflure is female, makes an attempt to invite her to "dinner." Gafflure turns him down.

The rest of the 15th is spent in and around the city. Donovan explores some of the other Inns and Taverns, and eventually ends up with a pair of women back at the Newt. Reginald explores the Mage's College, where he learns some more of the history of magic in Suldolphor. Sarkozy and Gafflure stick together for most of the day, and the pair travel to the temple of Valkur in the city, named The Calming Wind. The pair eventually get in to see the head cleric of the temple, Danar Eld. A venerable half-elf, Danar is kind enough to answer the many questions Sarkozy asks of him. On the topic of the fallen Keplan, Eld does not know for sure if the followers of Bane were involved, although he does tell Sarkozy he has suspicions that the followers of Umberlee are allied to Bane. On the topic of the flaming knife symbol, Danar has no information, other than the group is native to the area. On the topic of Fedallah and the battle, Danar loses his cool for a moment, ranting that "Sheveya" was the one who probably caused the mysterious hurricane. He is impressed that they are survivors of the battle, but has little information on Fedallah, other than she now is being hunted and deserves her fate for her evil actions. Gafflure waits till the end to ask Eld about Croznac and "Loki." Eld shows concern and tells the young woman to forget whatever quest she is on - Croznac is dangerous, and supposedly worships Cyric. Eld tells her that if he is not in the city, there are rumors that Cyricites are prevalent in the city of Innarith, on the eastern shore of the Lake of Steam. The two depart, thanking Eld immensely for his help, and dropping large donations in the donation pool.

The next morning comes, and the Newt is much abuzz over the Olanger's scheduled announcement at noon. Sarkozy, seeing an opportunity, moves with Gafflure in tow to the other's table. Sarkozy asks Reginald if he has ever seen the flaming knife symbol. To Sarkozy's surprise, Reginald answers yes, he has - it sounds like the symbol of the Fire Knives, an old group of assassins from his native Cormyr. Sarkozy tells Donovan and Reginald about his encounter with the group and his "loss" of the artifact, something Reginald is shocked over - both that he lost the artifact and that he had one in the first place.

Eventually, people start making for the city palace, and the four follow the crowd. The castle that the Olanger calls home is imposing, and the front tower is draped in the orange and blue of Suldolphor. The tower has a great balcony, and there stands what can only be the Olanger, a beautiful older woman on his arm. To his right are four people – they recognize Emed and Yashiera – and they guess the other two, opposites in body type and facial expressions, are the other two Viziers. The nearest to the Olanger is short, fat, balding and wearing a large smile. The other, dressed in full plate, is tall, thin, and regal looking, a frown dominating his face. To the Olanger's left are two men, both dressed in full plate. One is nearly as old as the Olanger, a clear symbol of Bane on his breast. He is bald, and appears to have nearly black eyes. The other is much younger and rather handsome, wearing a large smile on his face. He has no markings of religion or anything else, but one can tell he is not from this area of Faerun.

The Olanger raises his hand, and the four see Emed do a complicated hand motion. The Olanger’s words amplify a hundred-fold.

''“People of Suldolphor. It is with joy that I am able to address you today. My remarks today will be short. I would first like to assure you, my people, that the battle that is now two weeks old has been a victorious one. The Syl-Pasha himself has informed me that the Rundeen’s attempts at controlling our Strait and the Shining Sea have been halted, their resolve broken after our slaughter of their fleet at the Battle of the Suldophan Straits.”''

Cheers from the crowd. Sarkozy can't help but roll his eyes. ''“As for the rumors surrounding one Fedallah, well you can be assured his days are numbered. A small task force of ships, led by the warship Scorpion have been charged with bringing the Pirate to justice, so he may pay for his crimes. No one escapes from justice.”'' More cheers. A few chantings of “Zanthan” erupt but are quickly quieted by the Olanger.

''“I would also like to assure you that the wave of magic that passed through our city during the battle had little to no effect on our people or our goods. Vizier Usko has assured me that the rumors you have heard of malfunctioning magic and broken magical tools are mostly fabricated. I implore those that hear me to halt their tales of panic.”'' To this, Reginald adds half aloud, that this means the rumors must be true.

The Olanger pauses, his body looking momentarily very frail. ''“Finally, I also must announce the decision presented to me one week ago. Suldolphor has never been a city of peace or war, of good or evil. We are an accepting culture… and the thought of barring a religion is not something that I can stand. Therefore, compliant to city zoning laws, a Temple dedicated to the god Bane will be constructed...'' Boos start drowning out the Olanger. A horn is blown and all is quiet. "...near the western city wall. Dearest Suldolphans, I bid you all good day.”

He walks out of sight, the rest of the people near him following. The only Vizier smiling is the small fat one. The crowd immediate erupts in conversation. The four turn to each other, each trying to digest the words of the Olanger.

Session 1: Broken Magic
Flamerule 17th - 20th

The four retreat to the Newt and briefly discuss their feelings behind the Olanger's decision. Between lunch and dinner, Sarkozy ventures to the temple of Umberlee in the city, Darkwave Hall. Though he does not get a warm reception, the head cleric, Sheveya Skeled, agrees to see him. He asks the "witch queen of the sea" about the death of the cleric of Lathander, and if her church has an allegiance to the Church of Bane. She tells the elf that no alliance exists, and the death of the Lathander Cleric is of little consequence to her. When asked about the Hurricane during the Battle at the Suldolphan Straits, she smiles, and tells Sarkozy that she was not responsible, although she believes her goddess caused the hurricane, punishing those who didn't pay her worship. Sarkozy for the most part believes her words, and quickly exits. On the way out, he sees who he later identifies as the head cleric of Bane, Maven Avada, enter the temple. Sarkozy manages to pause on his curiosity and leaves back for the Newt. Nothing of consequence happens that day, with the exception of a delivery by bird to Sarkozy, Reginald, and Donovan - they are all summoned to the Vizier of Magic and Religion in the morning to register as magic users in the city.

The three leave Gafflure behind the next morning and head to the Vizier's office. Gafflure spends her time purchasing and studying a map of the Lake of Steam. The three eventually reach Emed Usko's office, and enter a waiting room. There, they spot a pair of tired looking clerics, in a intense conversation with others that are waiting to see the Vizier. By a combination of listening and then directly asking, the three learn that the pair of clerics are from a town across the straight of Suldolphor called Theymarsh. Shortly after the Battle, a wave of intense magical energy passed through the town, the same that passed through the ships, and Suldolphor itself. However, something different happened in Theymarsh - pockets of antimagic areas started to appear. Eventually, these grew, and when the clerics left their city 2 days before, the whole town was nearly encompassed. With no magic, the head of the town, a wizardess of Mystra name Filana, was coming under fire, and even being blamed for the antimagic zones. The two clerics tell the three that they fear Filana would be overthrown, and the city corrupted.

Eventually, the two clerics are called into Emed's office, and it is not long before the three are called in as well. After taking care of the formal business of registering their magic abilities, Emed tells them that the Olanger does not believe these clerics, because doing so might bring fear to Suldolphor. Emed would like an unbiased assessment of the happenings in Theymarsh, and he thinks the three would be perfect to do such a thing due to their performance trying to save the cleric of Lathander and their newness to the city. He offers them a fine reward and gives them a down payment, telling them to take Gafflure with them, since she will be most useful in a town where magic doesn't work. The clerics warn the three that a man named Burlon might have taken over for Filana, and to be wary for he is a very strong and violent man.

The four set sail some time later - Donovan using the time on the boat to once again try and "impress" Gafflure. Eventually, and none too soon for the Knight, they reach shore, and head toward the small walled city in the distance. They reach the city walls and find that they are guarded by very large and burly men. When asked for their business, the four tell the guards the truth - that they are from Suldolphor and are looking in to what is happening. The guards let them in, but warn them that they will be watched. As soon as they enter the city walls, the magic users feel a wave of fatigue pass over them, as their magical gear is suppressed and they are no longer able to cast spells.

The four gather information, and head to the nicest Inn in the town, the Rushing Waters Tavern. On a cliff overlooking the Lake of Steam, the Inn is lush and extravagant. They eat a nice meal and sleep in a plush room, and emerge early in the day to visit the Temple to Mystra in the city.

It is not hard to the find the largest temple in the small city, and as they enter they see a dozen clerics praying, some chanting to Mystra with words of repentance and apologies. Eventually, Sarkozy approaches one of the clerics and asks for more information on the situation in the town and City Hall. The cleric tells the elf that Filana was arrested two days ago by the head of the town's guard, Burlon, for treason. Burlon believes Filana is responsible for the antimagic that has engulfed the town, and has taken over, his guards loyally following his decision. Though Burlon is not an intellectual, he sees the situation clearly - the cleric believes that Filana is not at fault, and that Burlon is partially using the circumstances to his benefit. Without magic, the clerics have been helpless at standing against the strength of Burlon and his men, and have spent much of the past week praying. When asked why Filana has been jailed, the cleric tells the four that she was on her way to Waterdeep, where she planned on seeing some higher powers to investigate this predicament further, and commune with Mystra herself.

A plan is hatched by Reginald - he would travel to Waterdeep himself and elicit aid, while the other 3 remain behind and gather information on the town and the chance of breaking Filana out of her cell. Before the four leave, the cleric discreetly offers his churches' help, little as it is, if they need.

Reginald travels to Waterdeep and eventually makes contact with one of the temples of Mystra. He is send several message after this meeting, telling him that the spell Mage's Disjunction had something to do with it, as several wizards have said the spell fades in and out of their spellbooks. This is not the only cause, however, and they tell Reginald several people will arrive in Theymarsh in 3 days.

Meanwhile, the three investigate the workings of the town, and find that the City Hall and jail is guarded constantly. In addition, the regular townsfolk - mostly common farmers and merchants, are too effected, and some think that Burlon is the best leader, as he is the strongest in the town, and that is what counts now. Donovan and Sarkozy are disgusted at the situation and feel Filana has been wrongly imprisoned and Burlon is tyrant. Eventually, Reginald makes it back and the four eventually hatch a plan: they will ask the clerics of Mystra to start a diversion, hopefully making it easier for the four to sneak in the back entrance.

The plan goes off the next night, and the diversion works. They battle and knock out the lone guard left and enter the city hall. Eventually, they find their way downstairs to the jail cell, where they knock out the last two guards. They enter the jail cell and see an elderly human woman wearing robes, clearly Filana. Reginald, who had already taken the keys from the unconscious guard, goes to unlock the cell, when he is interrupted by another sending from Waterdeep. This one informs him that Filana has not been heard of in over 2 months - before that she was in contact with Waterdeep regularly.

Reginald is immediately suspicious of the woman in the cell, and asks her why she has not contacted her friends in Waterdeep in the last two months. She tells the mage that she has been too busy running the city, and that trade has been high over the last two months. Donovan tells Reginald she thinks she is holding something back. It is then Reginald makes a bold decision - he leaves the keys, telling them to free her if they so choose. He doesn't trust her, and is going to talk to Burlon.

The three remain, and Filana convinces them to let her out. They quickly exit the building, and Filana tells them to follow her to a way out of the city. Sarkozy is suspicious the whole time, but does no think the woman is lying. Eventually, they reach an abandoned looking house, and Filana leads them down to the basement, and then down stone stair to an underground cavern. There they see a glistening wall of force blocking their way - Sarkozy realizes that this spell works in an antimagic field. Filana, who had grabbed a dagger and chain shirt on their way out of City Hall, turns, her mouth curled into a wicked smile. Donovan manages to see the two men hiding in the shadows, symbols of Bane on their chest, just as they jump and attack the three.

Meanwhile, Reginald makes his way to the top of City Hall, where is he questioned and stripped of weapons. Eventually, he is brought to Burlon, who is a massive man dressed in fur pelts and a tarnished breastplate. When Reginald tells him that Filana is most likely free of her cell, he goes into action, first making sure Reginald is not lying. Burlon tells Reginald that their is evidence that Filana is indeed guilty, and that she is an impostor. He sets off toward the west, having the guards drag Reginald along, eventually entering the same building as Filana. The group finds the three battling Filana and her allies, and Burlon rages and joins the fight, helping to defeat the foes. Donovan, however, is overcome with rage, and kills Filana as she lays unconscious, her obvious makeup and fake hair now flaking. Burlon is not happy about this, as he hoped to question the woman further.

Burlon points to the Wall of Force. He tells the four that this wall, and the original antimagic field surrounding it was the cause of what the city now suffers under. He has tried to break through, to no avail, but he believes that there is something very dangerous and powerful on the other side. Filana, he tells them, was replaced by this woman some time ago. Burlon himself did not see the treachery until the antimagic field grew and Filana herself lost the ability to magically disguise herself. It was then that he had her arrested. The two clerics the four met in Suldolphor, he tells them, were most likely allied with this fake Filana.

Later that day, the dead body of Filana is brought outside the walls, and the Clerics of Mystra, now convinced by the four and Burlon that Filana was indeed a fake, speak with her dead soul. She reveals herself to be a member of the Zhentarim, and assigned here to guard the Wall. She does not know what is on the other side.

Two elder clerics of Mystra arrive from Waterdeep the next day and decide to stay and study the situation. Burlon thanks the four for their role in all of this, promising to lead the city honestly and faithfully. The four leave for Suldolphor on the next ferry, arriving on the docks on the evening of the 20th.

Session 2: A Giant Favor
Flamerule 21st - 24th

Donovan and Reginald feel like celebrating, so they travel to the Feathered Fancy, the most lush tavern in the entire city. They dine on fine food and a very expensive bottle of Firewine, all on Donovan's coin, and then retreat back to the Newt. Reginald finds a note on his bed - there is a room finally available at the Fancy, something he has been waiting for. Gafflure also finds a note in her room, asking for a meeting at someplace called the Laughing Mermaid, with a promise of some information she has been needing. Finally, Sarkozy receives a sending from Lonehunter - he would like to meet tomorrow at noon at the Screaming Eagle - Sarkozy is to bring anyone he can trust.

The next morning brings much activity. They first travel to the Vizier's office, and report their adventure in Theymarsh to Emed. The Vizier is pleased at their results, but at the same time very troubled at the discovery of the mysterious wall of force, and the seemingly randomness of the spell mage's disjunction. He thanks them, and gives them the rest of the reward. As Gafflure heads off on her own meeting, the other three travel together. They first stop to book Reginald's room at the Fancy, and then head off to explore the city a bit more, taking in the massive temple to Waukeen.

Gafflure, meanwhile, travels to the Laughing Mermaid. She is surprised to find a building worse off than the Salty Seadog - it has an air of menace, not to mention a stench that she encounters at a thousand paces. When she enters, she shrugs off a cold shiver, and takes in the place. The owner, a hulk of a man, grunts at her appearance. She sees many unconscious (she thinks) patrons, and a near nude waitress snoring in a booth. In a corner, she finds the obvious writer of her note. She approaches and pays for some valuable information from this man. The man tells her of a group that operates in the Shining Sea and Lake of Steam area called The Rune's Hand. The man tells Gafflure that this group is more than a typical thieves group - they always seem to have a higher purpose. What matters though, is the group has been contacted by a man named Loki, who has hired them to seek a man named Croznac. Both are followers of Cyric. The group is looking for Croznac in Suldolphor and other places along the Lake of Steam.

Eventually, the four make it back to the Newt and travel to the Screaming Eagle. Sarkozy manages to get much of the information that Gafflure learned out of her on the way. They reach the Eagle and find the Goliath named Lonehunter sitting in the usual corner, taking up several chairs. After assuring the trust of the four and introducing himself, Lonehunter tells them that he has a favor to ask of them - a favor that will have its rewards.

Lonehunter tells the four of a town to the northwest called Yeshpek. A small human mining settlement, it is a chokepoint between the Alamir mountains and trade routes to points north. About two weeks prior, a Giant from the mountains took over the city - far too easily. His reign has been chaotic, harsh and ruthless, and many innocents have died, disrupting the trade routes between Suldolphor, the mountains, and the cities on the north shore of the Lake of Steam. Lonehunter and his tribe wish to have this giant stopped, but personal involvement will make matters with the other giants in the mountains dangerous - they do not know how many allies this Giant in Yeshpek has, and war is something they do not wish to have. Lonehunter promises a large reward of money and information that he promises they will find valuable, regarding the recent Banite activity in the city. The four agree - for different reasons - that this is something they should do, and accept Lonehunter's task. After a few hours to obtain supplies and horses - Donovan paying nearly 3 times the value for his - they head toward the western gate. Before they leave the city, they catch a glimpse of the Temple to Bane, its construction continuing rather quickly. Maven Avada is there, supervising the construction. Both Reginald and Sarkozy notice that the men working are not all from this part of Faerun - some are from the north, where they are from.

The four head out toward the northwest, traveling the well trodden trade route. At the end of the second day, they come to the town of Tulmon, and stop to rest there. They meet a man here who fled Yeshpek right before the Giant took over - he tells the four of the Giant's treachery and brutality, and how he was lucky to escape alive. He also tells them that the fire giant, named Vreeg, has proclaimed himself King and has several allies with him, including bribed human guards.

At the end of the third day, near sunset, and halfway between Tulmon and Yeshpek, they come across a small hamlet of twenty or so dilapidated shacks. A wooden sign, half rotted, identifies this as the town of Grenlop, population 54. Not able to resist their curious nature, Sarkozy and Donovan lead the four into the town. As they get closer, they get a glimpse of movement here and there around the town. There are two people carrying buckets from a well, back and forth to a large holding pot – they notice the buckets are empty. There is a man trying to chop wood - with a large club. A few moments later, a woman comes out of a building and shouts “Noon and all is well!.” It is almost 7 at night.

Rather confused at the situation, they enter a tavern, amid arguments from Reginald and Gafflure that they should leave this place, and quickly. They see much of the same in the inn - several people playing darts with carrots; a table of men trying to eat off empty plates; and a group of people playing a game of cards, but holding them upside down. They talk to the bartender, who gives nonsensical answers. Later, outside, the mages try to detect any illusions or disguises at work, but fail to see anything magical. It is then that a man in Full Plate comes up to them and asks for their help.

He tells the four that he needs to find the children - the children are missing. He pleads for their help, and Donovan and Sarkozy, again not able to stop themselves, follows the man down a dirt path into the nearby forest grove. The other two follow despite themselves. They eventually reach a clearing, where two children are indeed playing. However, it is not long before the faces of the children and the man in full plate detach, and hideous insects, still with the faces of the humans, emerge from the bodies and attack. A larger creature, which Reginald identifies expertly as a Mockery Monarch, looms on the edge of the woods, looking very hungry.

The battle is rather intense. The Monarch is extremely hard to hit, and resistant to magic. It ends up biting and nearly swallowing Gafflure and Sarkozy, but both free themselves using teleportation. Eventually, the three drones are killed, and the monarch lets out a ear piercing shriek. Reginald believes that the Monarch has called for its other drones - at least 40 - in the town. They decide to retreat, since defeating the Monarch in time looks nearly impossible.

They get as far away from the town as possible and make camp. The next day they head again toward Yeshpek, and get near the large town near nightfall on the 24th. They see the port town in the valley from above, and see it is not walled, and that there is several well traveled roads to the nearby mountains. They decide to get a little closer, when a patrol spots them and heads toward them. The two human guards are riding on some kind of fire elemental spiders, and demand to know their business. The four tell the guards that they are traveling to the city. The guards tell them that there is a tax to travel these roads, and demand all their gold. Obviously at an impasse, the four act and attack the guards. The battle is tough, but the four prevail, and hide the bodies as best they can. They settle down and discuss their strategy at entering the town.

Session 3: Yeshpek and Back Again
Flamerule 25th - 26th

The four enter the town late on the 24th, and find it mostly barren. They duck into the nearest inn, The Hill Top Inn, and find a downtrodden and morose group of customers, all dressed in near rags. The four, two of which are rather garishly dressed, order some food, and are a little depressed to find that the only meal here is leg of goat and warm water - they have no alcohol or other food. They suffer through it, however, book some rooms from the skittish bartender.

The morning of the 25th comes, and the four decide to scout out the town. They find that it is obviously well off due to its geography, and that the town's merchant sector is presently rather empty. They come across a small, deserted temple to Ilmater, a guarded barracks, and a large mansion near the docks. The mansion is guarded by several roguish humans, and several skeletons hang form a post near the back. The four try to find the best Inn they can, and come across the Soaring Falcon. While the other customers are just as morose, they seem to be more talkative. The four hear lots of complaining about the current condition of the city, and the harsh and brutal leadership of their new "king." They do learn that there are people working at the mines, the roads to which they noticed on their approach to the city.

Wanting more information, the four decide to infiltrate the Fire Giant's mansion. Donovan is prepped with magic and makes his approach, invisible. He manages to go mostly undetected by the front guards, and climbs up toward the second story windows. He finds a trap on one window and is able to disable it. After checking on his other options, he decides to go through the window, gently stepping into a dusty office type room. As he walks into the hallway, he sees stairs to his right, and hears men talking downstairs - both common and a language he guesses to be giant - along with the sounds of chains and the none too happy sounds from women. To his left, he sees a pool of blood coming from a locked door.

He decides to try to sneak down the stairs to gain more information, but about halfway down he is halted by a very loud and menacing growl. The first floor gets quiet before he can see anything, and he decides, wisely, to retreat back up the stairs. He hides back in the room he came in as a human walks up the stairs and checks out the upstairs. The human goes to the blood door, unlocks it, and shouts at someone to "keep it quiet up here." The human retreats back down the stairs. Donovan decides he needs to find out what is in the room - he manages to pick the lock, and finds a horrifying sight. He barely manages to hold back his nausea as he sees a dozen or so bodies, in different stages of decomposition. Hanging from his hands in the middle of the room is a barely alive, nearly naked man - a symbol of Ilmater rests around his neck. The blood is coming from him, as several wounds seem to not be closing by themselves.

Donovan is near a breaking point with anger - but he decides he needs to retreat and get the others to help this man. Before he does, he does a quick search of the room and finds a group of papers on a desk in a corner. He decides to jump out the window, and then runs to meet his group. He tells them of the man being held, and that they have to help him. Reginald, however, is interested in the papers. They find that they are rather varied. Some are inventory of "goods" brought in by boat. One is a list of workers in the mines, with about half of the names crossed out. The rest are correspondences. There is a letter addressed to Vreeg from "Your master" - telling him what to do with the town, and promises of great change in the city and the area within two months. One letter tells him that a foreigner named "Lord Drake" will visit him to see how things are going. The last letter, and most recent, asks Vreeg about a something called the "Green Sword." Vreeg, it seems, had started a response, only telling his master that it most likely a myth, but is said to be immensely powerful sword of good that sprouts in a nearby forest every... and that is where the response ends.

Reginald decides he will go and use teleportation to help get the man of Ilmater out. Sarkozy stays behind, but the other three again sneak toward the mansion, invisible. Reginald, however, proves he is no rogue, and all of the guards hear him moving. After hearing Donovan earlier, the guards are now paranoid, and start walking towards their direction, slashing their rapiers. The three decide to rush toward the window. The guards here this, and then see the open window - Donovan could not close it since he jumped out before. They rush back towards the front doors. Meanwhile, Reginald dimension doors the group up to the room, and Gafflure cuts down the man of Ilmater. They teleport out of the room moments before people from downstairs enter. They arrive back at a Reginald's room at the Hill Top Inn, and Gafflure fetches Sarkozy.

The man is healed, and the four talk to him for a bit. The man tells them that Vreeg came to the town about a month ago as an "envoy" from the Giants, or so he said. He wanted to help them with their silver mining, even giving them some gold as a good will gesture. It wasn't long, however, before people knew that he was not here for help. Unfortunately, it was too late. Vreeg had the city council killed. He stormed the temple and killed or forced all the monks to the mines. The four thank the man, and offer him rest in their room. They decide to rest for the night, taking watch around the Inn. They plan the next morning to head towards the mines - perhaps they may find allies, or more answers.

They head out early in the morning of the 26th, taking the well traveled road out of the city and towards the mountains. They walk for a few hours before they see the remains of a dead mine worker, looking as though he collapsed of exhaustion. Another hour goes by before they see a group of people coming their way. They quickly turn invisible, and eventually realize that this is a chain-gang of miners, bound to each other in a line, led by three Fire Giants. Right before they arrive, one of the humans collapses, and one of the giants cuts off his head.

A battle quickly erupts, and Donovan learns first hand that a giant with a greatsword is something to be wary of. The battle is intense. At one point, however, one of the Giants breaks off and begins killing the rest of the miners. Eventually, the giants are killed, but so are all the miners. The four decide to continue on to the mine, to see what else they can find. After another hour, they reach the mine, only to find that the entrance has been caved in.

Not able to stem their curiosity, they dimension door to the other side, arriving partially inside the floor. After they recover they explore the silver mines and eventually find a path leading far to the west. They hear voices and again use invisibility to mask their approach. They find three men in a vast room full of boxes. Sarkozy spots markings on their chest - a large, yellow and black Z - the Zhentarim. Again, the four charge into battle. This one goes a little easier, although Donovan and Sarkozy both are hit hard.

They spend the next few hours going through the boxes. They find Zhentarim paraphernalia, weapons, armor, potions, rations, and other mundane adventuring gear. One of the last boxes, however, yields the most unusual thing - some bands and shields bearing the symbol of a Silver Raven. Reginald recognizes this as the symbol of Miklos Selkirk, a noble from Sembia.

The group gathers their things and exits the mines. Now late in the afternoon, they stop to consider their next move.

Session 4: The Wrath of the Fire King
Flamerule 26th - 28th

The group decides it would be best to return and rest in the safety of Suldolphor. Reginald teleports them back, and the four prepare for the battle ahead of them. Saulthan visits the Temple to Ilmater, and meets its head cleric, Osar Kalliff, after a rather large donation. The others prepare by selling their spoils from the previous battles, and buying more supplies. The night goes relatively uneventful.

Early the next morning, the troupe sets out back to Yeshpek - they teleport right outside the Soaring Falcon Tavern. They can see that security has been heightened, and decide it is best to assault Vreeg as soon as possible, hopefully before they discover the mission miners. They approach the house very carefully, and try and slip to the back entrance. Once again, however, their stealth is not quite enough as one of the guards from the front hears Donovan as he slips and falls on some wet grass. As the guards decide whether to go get the "mage", the troupe continues on to the back and regroups. They decide it would be best to confront the guards here and now, rather them on mass later. The leader - a man Donovan saw in the mansion the previous day - comes around with two guards, and a infuriating battle proceeds, with both sides using invisibility to their advantage. At one point, one of the guards nearly opens the back door with a password - in gnomish of all languages - but is stopped before he can enter. The four are victorious, however, and are curious why reinforcements have not come. They carefully approach the front of the mansion and find the fourth and fifth guards stuck full of arrows, quite unconscious. Sarkozy catches a glimpse of a familiar face hiding in an ally in the distance - the man of Ilmater they rescued earlier, whose name is Hartom.

The man is not alone - he has a rag-tag band of archers with him. He tells the four that he has been waiting for their return - the town has no strength left to assault Vreeg inside, but he offers to make sure no one enters while the four go about their attack. The four agree, and head to the back entrance, where Sarkozy repeats the gnomish keyword. There is still a magical trap on the door however, and Reginald goes about dispelling it. The four enter the door quietly, closing it behind them.

They are in a large corridor - they can see an entrance to a large room up ahead, and stairs ahead to their right. After a few steps, they hear a deep and frightening growl - something familiar to Donovan. The group decides to go forward and face what is in the room - thinking it is just an entrance to wherever Vreeg is. They turn themselves invisible and are surprised when they get close enough to see the room. A huge fire elemental dog is growling in their general direction, a loose chain holding it to the stone floor. In the far corner is Vreeg, sitting on top a large pile of gold and platinum, his bulbous body carving out a monetary thrown. He is talking to two gnomes - one is obviously some kind of mage, the other has a clear symbol of the Zhentarim on his chest, and a very shiny short sword. To the back of Vreeg are several nearly nude, chained, and clearly abused human women.

The dog is not giving up, and Vreeg finally decides that something is amiss. He starts talking to the four, knowing that someone is there by his dog's growl. He tells them that fighting him is worthless - he knows that they are probably the same people who have been in the town for some time, and the ones who took his "prize" man of Ilmater. He promises them that if they attack, they will die, so it would be smart to work for him. He promises them rewards of money, power, women - everything they could ever want. He also promises them that this town - this area - will become much more important, and they can share in that importance.

Of course, the four do not respond, not even tempted by his promises. Vreeg sighs, turns to the gnomes and tells them to kill the intruders. He then says a command word in Giant, which simultaneously releases the dog's chains, calls his armor toward him, and casts a magic circle against good in the room. Battle begins shortly thereafter, with the large dog charging at the area where the four are, blocking the entrance to the room.

The battle is very tough. The dog eats away at the four, as the sorcerer flings spells at them. The other gnome disappears, and eventually starts attacking, his sneak attack nearly killing Sarkozy. Vreeg, meanwhile sees where the rest of his guards are. Eventually, the dog falls, as does the sorcerer. Vreeg enters the frey, but it is far too late. The other gnome falls soon later, and Vreeg does his best to fight against the others, but eventually falls as well.

After searching the room for more information, and stripping the three enemies of their gear, Hartom comes in and congratulates the group on killing Vreeg, thanking them immensely. The bodies are left there for the day, and the four retreat to an Inn to rest. Hartom tells them that they are welcome to their spoils, and thank them for not trying to take the platinum and gold, which belongs to the city. Hartom tells them they are welcome to take the ship the gnomes arrived on - it is still in the harbor.

The four go to investigate, finding a small ship, about half the size of the Black Diamond. They find little of interest however, except for orders that tell someone to come to Yeshpek to ask Vreeg about the Green Sword, and then to head to Mintar and find "Vaxall" for more information. There are also detailed sailing maps of the Shining Sea and the Lake of Steam. Mintar, Yeshpek, Suldolphor, Theymarsh, Almraiven, and the island of Tharsult are all circled.

On the morning of the 28th, Sarkozy performs a Speak with Dead on both Vreeg and the Zhent Gnome, asking about their connection to the Zhentarim, who Vreeg's "master" is, and about the Green Sword. He gains little new information, but gets the name "Darkhope" out of the gnome. Meanwhile, Hartom reappears and tells them that he has been elected to lead the city through this tragedy and into a rebuilding stage. He thanks them again, telling them they are always welcome in the city.

Session 5: Invitations
Flamerule 28th - 30th

After finishing with the bodies of the gnomes, the group decides to sail their new ship back to Suldolphor. It takes them about a day and a half, and they arrive at the docks of the city near Midday on the 29th. Both Reginald and Donovan are impressed the other's abilities on the small ship - especially the Elf, who compensates for their lack of sailing experience. After the disembark, they are approached by a docksman and guard who asks them if they are residents of the city. He informs them that they need to pay for that dock, either by monthly payments for a private dock, or by taking jobs for the city. They tell the group that they need to see the Vizier of Commerce for the paperwork.

As they about the leave the dockward, Sarkozy and Gafflure see a familiar face in the distance: Inga, the second in command of their old rival ship, the Diamond Dust. Not able to stem his curiosity, Sarkozy approaches Inga, who doesn't recognize him at first. Through a brief conversation, Sarkozy finds that the Diamond Dust was just in an encounter with the Predator, and barely made it out alive. He also finds out that Inga is being referred as "captain," but she admits the boat still is owned by Aasma Quarash. Confused, Inga pretty much ignore the elf when he talks about Aasma being killed on the Black Diamond. Eventually, Sarkozy gives up and the four continue on to the Vizier's Office.

The Vizier of Commerce building is massive and ornate, quite different than the Magics and Religion Building they visited previously. They enter and eventually decide to take jobs with the city. They fill out some paperwork, christening their small ship the Degnominator, and listing Sarkozy as its owner. Eventually, they see the Vizier of Commerce, Aseir Rein, whose dress is fancier than Donovan and Reginald put together, although he does compliment them later on their clothes. He goes through the terms of the deal, and asks for signatures, and for each to give their name. Happy to meet them, Aseir wishes them well as they depart.

The group then heads to the Screaming Eagle to meet with Lonehunter. They find him easily enough, and tell him that the city has been liberated and that Vreeg is dead, although there was some business with the Zhentarim and a group from the north called the Silver Ravens. Lonehunter decides to move the conversation to a more secluded spot, and takes them across town to a small house. The four tell Lonehunter complete details of what they saw in Yeshpek. Lonehunter, in turns, gives them the information he promised. He says much that the group has guessed: The Church of Bane, and Maven Avada, do indeed have ties to the Zhentarim - in fact, Avada himself is under the command of the leader of the Zhentarim in Mintar, one Teldorn Darkhope. He is worried with all the recent activity in the area, something larger is going on. In addition to this, the men with Avada, those that come from the north, seem to be equal partners in something as well, and he believes that something has to do with the Shining Sea. Lastly, and this he cannot prove, but merely believes - The Olanger has been less and less public as of late. While rumors spread of an illness, Lonehunter believes that Avada and the Banites have somehow gained control over him. Lonehunter hands over the money he promised them as well for their help, and ids them farewell. Before they leave, however, he tells them to be very careful if indeed they try to do something about this mythical "green sword." The Thornwood, the forest they believe it is in, is one of the most dangerous in Southern Faerun, and the sword is protected by both good and evil. Thanking him again, the group leaves to do some shopping.

After selling their spoils from Yeshpek and buying new supplies, the group heads to dinner at the Feathered Fancy and celebrate a job well done. Reginald goes to his room, as the other three walk back to the Newt. Sarkozy decides to take a detour to the Temple of Bane. The three are amazed to see it nearly completed - its marble black walls gleam in the setting sun, and the large symbol of Bane towers over the large entrance. A very tall man with blond hair seems to be giving orders to the remaining clerics and workers that are finishing the temple. He is clearly not from here. Again, Sarkozy cannot help himself to look around, and the result is that the man takes notice and confronts them. The conversation turns dangerous very quickly, as every veiled threat the man dishes out, Sarkozy returns with an infuriating honest and annoying response. The man is appalled and infuriated when Sarkozy goes on and on about their dealings in Yeshpek, including information about the Zhentarim and finding the banners of the Silver Ravens. Eventually, the man reveals his name is Lord Drake, and Sarkozy is quite surprised to remember that a piece of paper in Yeshpek told that a "Lord Drake" was to check up on Vreeg in the near future. Seeing that Sarkozy's mouth may have already gotten them into more trouble then they would like, Donovan and Gafflure practically tackle the elf to get him to shut up before Drake decides to take out his rather large axe. The three retreat to the Newt and to their rooms.

That evening, however, is rather trying for three of the four.
 * Reginald finds an invitation in his room - it is to a ball on Midsummer, two days from now, apparently from the Vizier of Commerce. It tells him that he may bring one guest to the celebration at the palace at sunset.  Then, around 2 AM that night, Reginald awakes due to a scream and some commotion in the hallway.  Taking precautions, he steps into the hall and demands some workers there what the noise is all about.  They tell him that there was an "accident" and that he should just go back to sleep... nothing to see here.  Reginald goes back in his room and waits for the commotion to stop, not able to hear what is said in the hall.  He exits once he thinks the cost is clear, and finds the door they were guarding is heavily warded by protective magic.  He tries to dispel it, but cannot get rid of it all.  He also notices a trail of blood - he uses a summoned hound to track the scent of the blood as best he can.  He believes it leads to the Temple of Waukeen.  Not sure what else he can do, he turns in for the night.
 * Donovan finds an identical invitation. He goes to sleep, peacefully.
 * Sarkozy finds a most interesting visitor - Thomas Smith, a "friend" of his Brother whom he met some years ago. Thomas tells him that Gafflure is in over her head, and that anything he learns from her about Croznac he would like to be informed of also. Thomas tells the elf that he has "business partners" who are interested in finding Croznac, and that Gafflure will just get herself killed.  He parts by telling Sarkozy he will see him at the "ball."
 * Gafflure, meanwhile has the biggest surprise - the head of the man who met him a few weeks ago in the Laughing Mermaid, severed in her sheets, with a note balled up in his mouth, asking her to go the a place called the Broken Dagger to talk. She heads out, getting rather strange and worried looks from people she asks directions from.  Eventually, he finds the place, dark and dank in a dangerous part of town.  The doorman lets her enter when she tells him her purpose, and he sits at the table that is obviously meant for her.  The man sitting there is frank and direct: Stop chasing after Croznac.  Your questions only warn him of more important and more powerful individuals who are looking for him.  The man tells Gafflure that if she does ever meet him however, or gain more information, she should come back here and tell him immediately, if she survives the meeting that is.  All Gafflure has to do is ask for the "Hand" and she will be let in.  Gafflure agrees and leaves.

The next morning, the four head out individually and go shopping. Sarkozy decides to inform Emed Usko, the Vizier of Magics and Religion, about everything they learned from Yeshpek, and his suspicions about Lord Drake. Emed is receptive, but cautious - he wants proof, and even with that, he says, it may be too late to do anything about it. As the four meet later while shopping, they talk a bit about their night - Gafflure speaking freely at one point about her adventure. Eventually, they believe that they should talk in a more private area, so they retreat back to Reginald's room. Reginald is a bit surprised to fine the suspicious door from the night before completely gone. The four tell each other about what happened the night before, and Donovan and Reginald decide that they should take the other two with them to the ball, as long as they are dressed formally enough. Sarkozy asks Reginald to bring the documentation they found in Yeshpek to Emed with him later, and he agrees.

After shopping for expensive and tailored outfits for the ball, the four go meet Emed one more time. Again, Emed asks for the proof, and asks if he may keep the documentation at least until the ball, where he can give them back. Reginald reluctantly agrees. Emed also informs them of another blow: The Temple to Bane is set to open on Midsummer as well - right before the ball is supposed to start. Sheveya Skeled is said to be attending to give the Banites her blessing and protection on the high seas. Finally, Emed warns them, again, about the Thornwood and the Green Sword. He tells them that he does believe it is real, but that the Zhents would never get their hands on it - although he is a tad worried since it is said to sprout on Midsummer of this year...

The four leave Emed's office and spend the rest of the day eating and discussing what they plan to do the next day. They head off to their respective rooms for bed. Once again, however, Reginald is awakened near 2 AM by a similar scream - this time from the room next to his. He eventually confronts the owner in the hallway, who shushes him back into his own room and admits that these are no "accidents." He has tried to cover the events up because he has a reputation to maintain. He comes clean and tells Reginald that in the past 4 nights, 4 people have been murdered, all apparently by drowning in their own rooms. He asks, perhaps, if Reginald and his friends can help, as if he went through official channels his business would be ruined. Reginald agrees, after getting his room paid for the next 6 months. The owner tells him all that he knows: all of the victims are merchants who were passing through the city. The one last night was a very wealthy follower of Waukeen. Through the screams and a clue left written in one of the victim's blood, he believes it to be a female sea elf. Other than that, he has no knowledge of motive or how these murders have been done. Reginald agrees to help, and that he will tackle the problem first thing in the morning with his companions.

The four sleep, as Flamerule passes on, and awake on Midsummer.

Session 6: A Midsummer Night
Midsummer - Elasias 1st

Midsummer morning comes to the city of Suldolphor, and our heroes immediately get the sense that it is going to be a rather depressing day. The sky is dark with clouds, and although no rain falls, the populace knows this: bad weather on midsummer is a very bad omen. Reginald eats breakfast at the Fancy while the other three discuss what they wish to do for the day at the Newt.

Donovan leaves first and spends most of the morning at the temple to Ilmater, where he enjoys one of the many celebrations going on in the city. He again leaves a sizable donation to the church and prays for guidance and protection for any trials ahead. Meanwhile, Sarkozy and Gafflure head to the Screaming Eagle and try to gather some information. Reginald does the same around the city. Both find much of the same: though the weather is not cooperating, the people are still celebrating and enjoying their holiday. The rumors of the opening of the Temple to Bane that evening also float about, and whispers to drunken boasts of problems with the Olanger are overheard as well. Some say the Olanger is sick and dying, others think he has been corrupted by the Banites.

As Sarkozy and Gafflure leave the Eagle, they catch a glimpse of a commotion in the distance. They investigate and find that the city guard have captured a man, who the gathering crowd call a spy from the Predator. Intrigued, Sarkozy tries to get information from one of the dozen guards trying to subdue the man and drag him to the center of town. Even though Sarkozy reveals that he knows of the Predator, the guard tells him Vizier Dumein will be interrogating him personally, and it is of no concern of Sarkozy's right now. Sarkozy decides to leave it alone for the day, as other things are on his mind.

Near dinnertime, Donovan and Reginald are enjoying a light meal in Patty O'Friday's, when Sarkozy enters, and tells them that he has just been contacted by Emed Usko, saying that the Vizier of Peace wishes to see them. Knowing that time is growing short, they get ready for the evening ball, and head to the center of town and Dumein's office. Emed meets them there, and brings them to Dumein and eventually the prisoner. Dumein tells them that since they know about the Predator, that they perhaps can garner more information out of the prisoner. Sarkozy tries - and gets quite a response when he mentions Saulthan. The prisoner goes off that Saulthan was indeed stubborn at first, but has been shown "the way." He then rants about how great Fedallah is, and that "she" is a strong and competent captain, who has allies everywhere. "His" allies are even here, right under their noses, and they don't even know it. When threatened, he tells the four and Dumein that the walls will not hold him. When asked about the Rundeen, he scoffs and claims they have slithered back to the coastline and are of no threat now. Finally, he claims that the Predator will rule the Shining Sea, Lake of Steam, and Sea of Falling Stars - and there is little anyone can do about it. The four leave, as they and Dumein want to witness the opening to the Temple of Bane. As they travel, they notice the thunder has increased, and lightning can be seen on the horizon.

The Opening of the Hall of the Black Lord - They arrive, fully dressed for the later ball, outside the massive Temple to Bane. The sun is about to set, but is obscured by the massive clouds. They see a large crowd gathered outside the huge temple. Large yellow lights shine to light up the Gothic-like towers, and a large single balcony in the central tower is the focus of attention. Danar Eld and the head cleric of Waukeen are there, as are the 4 Viziers and the Olanger, who are located near the side, quietly separated from the crowd by the city guard. The Olanger is on a carried thrown-like platform. He looks extremely tired. Many of the crowd bear symbols of Bane – the four are quite surprised at how many they see, cleric and commoner alike.

Thunder and lightning roll in as the sun finally is fully shrouded by the clouds. Motion appears on the balcony, and soon Maven Avada appears, flanked by several other clerics of Bane, Lord Drake, and Sheveya Skeled, whose flowing purple robes are the lone color among them. The ceremony starts as Avada hushes the crowd. He starts by acknowledging the Olanger and his extreme wisdom in letting this temple be built. He praises his own clergy in the building process, and gives much praise to Lord Drake and his help. Finally, he praises the open minded community of Suldolphor for accepting this. He says a couple of quick blessings on the church, asking Bane’s guidance and power to oversee its wellbeing. It is then that the crowd gets quite a surprise.

In a blast of sound, and a bolt of lightning, a huge man with blond hair appears next to Avada. The force nearly blinds and deafens the whole crowd. Cheers are heard from the Banites, and Avada bows to the man in homage. The man reaches up an impressive looking scepter in his hand, flies up and touches the huge symbol of Bane above the balcony. It starts to glow a deep red. He flies back down, says something quickly to Avada, and then vanishes as quickly as he came. It is not long after that the skies finally open - it begins to rain, hard. The four notice quick quickly that the Viziers are ALL surprised at this – the Olanger’s face, however, does not change much. They also see both Eld and the other good clerics look severely annoyed and angered. A few people ran at the sight, and the crowd has thinned.

Avada quickly quiets down the few remaining cheers. He tells them that the temple is now truly blessed. There is but one more thing – he introduces Sheveya as his “good friend.” Sheveya stands up and greets the people to little fanfare. She then tells them that she is here to proclaim a blessing on the ships of Bane – she starts chanting a slow chant, proclaiming her protection of these ships on the high seas – she mentions the Shining Sea specifically. Meanwhile, the weather has reached a head. Storm clouds blow in, and gusts of wind rock the crowd as Sheveya issues her blessing with wild eyes. Sarkozy notices Eld saying his own incantation – the rain continues, however, accompanied by thunder and lightning. Many of the crowd run for cover. The Viziers and the Olanger look as they are about to leave.

Sheveya's blessing ends, and the four finally retreat towards the castle and the Ball. Sarkozy, however spots a disturbing sight - two large winged creatures fly from the Banite church rear steeples. Others see and shout. The four try and gather information about what they just saw - the result is that these creatures are known as “Valrak” – a name for the evil gargoyle-like creatures, bent on killing all who oppose them – a clear sign of evil, doom, and destruction.

The Midsummer Ball: The four finally make it to the castle as the sun finally sets, the rain not letting up the whole way there. After being magically dried, they enter with their invitations, but not before they are given masks. They arrive in the main ballroom and see hundreds of people there, almost all wearing masks and dressed in their finest. Aseir Rein, Vizier of Commerce, finds them rather quickly and tells them how glad he is that could make it. The four see the other Viziers there - it is not hard to find the masked Emed, surrounded by other clerics or Yasheira, surrounded by nobles. Dumein, meanwhile, is dressed in full plate and has no mask, and looks rather grumpy while talking to other guards. The Olanger is in the far end of the room, surrounded by a mound of pillows and members of his harem. He wears the same bored face he had on at the Temple. He is surrounded by guards, and there is one man, dressed in black with a black mask, that is closer to him and appears to speak with him every so often. Sarkozy also spots Lord Drake, who too looks like he is not enjoying the festivities.

For the next few hours, the four mingle. Donovan, however, has quite a surprise when a scantily clad red haired female comes up to him, looking rather annoyed at him and Glaffure on his arm. Not having any clue who this woman is, he pleads ignorance, but goes with her alone to a corner in the room. The woman grills him on where he has been and why he has not contacted her. During Donovan's pathetic retorts, the woman finally comes out with why she is here: she is pregnant, and Donovan is the father. After giving her some money to support the kid for the next few weeks, and then more to get her to leave the party for her safety, he spends the next 4 hours twitching at the bar. As Gafflure tries to figure out what is wrong, all Donovan does is blubber and drink glass after glass of Firewine. He gets quite inebriated.

Meanwhile, Reginald mingles and drinks, eventually listening in on a conversation Yasheira is having with a group of nobles, finding her reasons for the Olanger's behavior to be rather flippant and half true. Sarkozy, after listening in on Emed and the other clerics lament at Fzoul Chembryl's appearance, manages to get close enough to Lord Drake when he leaves to hear a few words of interest - "Mintar", "Vaxall", and "7 Days." Eventually, he spots his friend Thomas, who is dressed in a Blue Suit and wears a unique Blue Dragon mask. Sarkozy asks him a few questions - but only gains more questions. He is interrupted by a large gong - the Olanger looks as though he is going to speak.

The speech is typical of a speech at a party on Midsummer would be, until about a minute into it when the Olanger faints. He is quickly taken out of sight by guards and a few men dressed in white robes. Rein gets up and assures the crowd that he is ok, and has just been a little under the weather lately. Sarkozy turns to find Thomas gone. Dumein, however comes over and informs him that he has just learned that the prisoner from the Predator was killed earlier that evening, his head was taken, and no clues were left as to how someone got into the room or left without being seen.

It is near midnight when Rein appears again to inform the crowd that the Olanger is recovering nicely and wishes the gathered crowd a good and safe night. Despite doubts, Reginald and the others believe what he says. With that, the gong rings at midnight, and the party begins to break up. Gafflure carries the nearly unconscious Donovan, and the group work their way back towards the Fancy.

The Hit: About halfway back to the Fancy, the group hears some weird sounds coming from a side street. It is not long before two beings come out of the street - a flying drow wizard and a Chondathan warrior - and attack the group. A golem made of rope also appears on the scene, and all three target Sarkozy. It is not long before the Elf falls unconscious, and it is at this point that Reginald finds it prudent to retreat - especially with noise of a fourth foe coming slowly from the street. Reginald teleports himself and the unconscious elf away, as Gafflure stays behind and aides the invisible Donovan in retreating. Once Sarkozy is gone, the Barbarian, who speaks Chondathan, sulks and stops fighting. Donovan catches a familiar sign on the man's arm right before he leaves - it is the symbol of the Silver Ravens of Sembia.

Past Deeds: Sarkozy is revived and rather outraged that he was apparently the target of the attack. He assumes the attack was ordered by Lord Drake, and the four decide to retreat to Reginald's room. Despite the hour, the Fancy is still bustling with holiday spirit, and the four wade through to the upstairs room. They get quite a surprise as they enter, however, and Reginald even briefly believes he is somehow now in the middle of the sea. After the others break him out of the illusion, they view the real scene - a female sea elf is sitting in the corner, sobbing. Several holes litter the ceiling, letting the still pouring skies fill the room.

The elf turns and asks who they are, and then if they are sailors. Once Sarkozy answers the latter to the affirmative, the elf stops crying, and her demeanor turns rather aggressive, ranting about the abuses of the sea by the humans. Donovan, still quite drunk, starts to talk - the elf decides that it annoys her, and she makes him fall asleep. Despite Reginald's harsh tones, Sarkozy is respectful enough to learn why the elf is there. She reveals that she was murdered in the Fancy, locked in a room, drowned in the air. She takes revenge - drowning those that stay here and do not respect the seas. She would like to be freed - however, as they learn, there are only two ways to do this. The first is to destroy the Fancy, an option Reginald refuses. The other, she tells them, is to take something to her family. She gives Sarkozy a box, in which is contained a beautiful pearl necklace, laced with runes. She tells them that they must take this to her family, named Nyryn, who lives on the "bottom of the Lake of Steam." She warns them that any attempt to steal the necklace or failure to return the necklace in 7 days will result in her revenge continuing - and they will be included. Sarkozy tells her they will return the necklace to her family, and to not worry. By this point, Reginald starts to annoy the elf, and she convinces him to check out of the Fancy. The four leave, with Gafflure carrying the slumbering Donovan.

They teleport directly back to the Newt, concerned about traveling in the streets. The four soon learn that all three of their rooms in the Newt have been thoroughly torn through - while nothing was stolen, it was quite clear someone was looking for something. Sarkozy decides to check his ship, so the four make their way to the dock. The Degnominator is found to be searched as well, and Sarkozy is now incensed and rather paranoid. The local guards claim that the only person they saw even near their ship was Vizier Rein, who was by earlier in the evening.

The four look for new room and board. Reginald leaves the others and stays in Patty O'Friday's. The others check into a closer inn, named the One Eyed Bear.  Gafflure is considerate enough to stay with the slumbering Donovan - although she leaves him on the floor.

A New Month: The first of Highsun comes, and the four awake to yet another day of gloom and rain. Gafflure, Donovan, and Reginald sleep till near noon (Donovan having no choice till the spell wears off). Sarkozy, meanwhile, is on a mission and goes to visit the Vizier's offices in the morning. Annnoyingly, however, they are still closed, so he goes back and waits for the others.

Broken from his own spell, Reginald goes back to the Fancy and confronts the manager, telling him of what he plans to do to stop the elf. The manager eventually promises him a new room. He then travels to the Vizier's office, where he meets the other three. The four go in and see Dumein, reporting the attack and the break in of their ship. Unfortunately, the Vizier is less than helpful, claiming quite truthfully that they have no evidence to go on, and that Lord Drake left the city earlier that morning. He promises the four, however, that he will be keeping a close eye of everyone involved, and that he will alert them if anything changes.

The four go across the center square to Emed Usko's office, and eventually see the tired looking sage. Reginald asks for his Yeshpek papers back, and Emed returns them. Reginald also confronts Emed about the Olanger, asking what the "real story" is. Emed admits that he believes something is wrong, and has been since around the time of the Battle against the Rundeen, but ever since the Olanger switched to his "personal" physicians, Emed has had little individual contact with him. He admits he is deeply concerned with the events of the previous evening, but promises the group that he and the other good clerics are on guard against any ill move the Banites should take. He suggest that the four "watch their back" and "keep the papers safe." The four leave, and head back toward the Fancy.

They discuss their next course of action. The group decides that it is time to confront their problems and follow Drake to Mintar. Sarkozy insists that the "elf" situation should be taken care of on the way their, but Reginald laments that the Lake of Steam is huge, and finding one family of Sea Elves at the "bottom" of it is going to take forever. Reginald decides to look at the necklace, and he deciphers the runes. He finds that this is a family heirloom, and uses his spell knowledge to research a powerful divination spell that will help them find the owners much quicker. The four travel to the Fancy and demand that the manager buy the expensive scroll for them. After a tense few moments, the manager agrees to pay them - $700 more than it is worth, in fact, thanks to Donovan's slick tongue.

They purchase the scroll and Reginald casts it and finds that the family lives at the western base of the Arnrock. Satisfied, the four depart to their rooms with a plan on leaving for Mintar by way of the Arnrock in the morning. While the humans sleep, however, Sarkozy receives a sending from Emed - making sure they have looked at the papers. Intrigued, Sarkozy decides to wait for morning tot talk to Reginald, and begins to meditate.

Session 7: Into the Fire
Elasias 2nd - 6th

Setting Sail - The four meet for breakfast on the morning of the 2nd, and decide quickly to leave for the Arnrock and deliver the necklace to the family Nyryn. Sarkozy is quite confident, even saying that he "doesn't expect any problems." They head to the Degnominator, and start making arrangements to set sail. Sarkozy, however, is rather paranoid, and asks everyone to search the ship. Reginald detects some kind of magic at the base of their main sail, and identifies as illusion. He pushes his finger through it and it comes out covered in blood. At this, Sarkozy dispels the illusion, and the four find the quite dead figure of Egaro Therver, a docksman they met some time ago at the Newt. At this feet, written in his blood are the words "The hunt is on." Quite annoyed, the four take the body to the guards on the dock. A captain comes over and takes their statement and their names, and eventually allows them to leave.

Emed's Help - The trip to the Arnrock goes rather smoothly. For two days Sarkozy leads the other four in the running of the ship, and thanks to his expertise they make decent time. During the second day, Sarkozy finally remembers the sending he received from Emed a few nights before. He tells Reginald that the Vizier suggested they look more closely at the papers they got back from him.

They get the papers out and find a few extra sheets in the center of the pile. The first is a note from Emed, basically saying that they need this information and to be careful with what they do. The next pages is a complete profile of the cities of Mintar and Saelmur. Mintar, it warns, is totally Zhent controlled, and to go there would require the utmost caution and planning. Saelmur, on the other hand, is a good-aligned city, and is safe port.

The last pages have a marking Reginald recognizes - it is the seal of Candlekeep. The pages all have information about The Green Sword, including a piece of information they did not know - The Sword is said to sprout on midsummer and bloom for a full seven days. The four had given up hope on finding the sword. They now realize they can still seek it, if they hurry. The last piece of paper is a full tale, and it is written in Elven. Titled The Tale of the Green Sword, it is a fable about an elf, named Thornwood, who first used the sword for good. The four decide to expedite their delivery and then head to Saelmur, hopefully finding someone there who can help them reach the Thornwood in time.

The Arnrock and Family Nyryn - The Degnominator arrives at the western end of the Arnrock. Donovan feels that someone should remain above with the ship, so he and Gafflure volunteer to stay behind. Meanwhile, Reginald and Sarkozy, after some protective magic, take the plunge into the salty Lake of Steam. Sarkozy's armor has no problem helping him sink to the floor. Reginald, however, has some trouble swimming downward, as the buoyant salty waters work against his paltry swimming ability. Eventually, he reaches the bottom, and the two start walking toward the distant lights.

Soon they hear a peculiar mechanical sound, and the frightening sight of a gargantuan crab comes their way, its four giant claws grasping in the murky water. The crab halts some distance away from the two, seemingly daring them to walk closer to the town. Reginald, rather annoyed that only two of them are there, decides that time is of the essence and dimension doors the two of them around the crab and into the outskirts of the city.

Cries of alarm go off around them, and a group of sea elves with tridents quickly surrounds the duo, demanding to know their intentions. Sarkozy produces the necklace and tells them their purpose. The Sea Elf agrees to let him see the family Nyryn, but the human, he says, must remain behind. Worried he might become a prisoner, Reginald dimension doors himself back to the surface.

Sarkozy follows his escort into the city. It is a long but beautiful walk, as the city is carved into the coral bed on the slope of the Arnrock itself. Eventually, Sarkozy nears a large manor near the top of the city, and enters alone. The house is quiet and near empty. He hears and follows some babbling upstairs and comes across a lone, old, female elf, babbling nonsense in Elven to herself. Sarkozy eventually gets her attention and shows her the necklace - she seems to recognize it, and takes it from him, then sits back down. Sarkozy gets a weird feeling as he leaves, but does so quickly. He thanks the Elves, and then moves back to the surface.

The City of Saelmur - The ship reaches the safe harbor of Saelmur on the morning of the 5th. They go about the usual business of finding a place to stay, and decide on the Shiny Sea Urchin, the nicest Inn in the city. The four sit and discuss how they should get to the Thornwood, as regular travel would take too long. They decide to try and find the Academy of the Drawn Sword - the organization Emed mentioned in his papers. Not getting any help from the locals - though Reginald does little, spending the whole time drinking wine and learning about Art from the Silver Marches - they head to the leaders of the city, who they discover are the head clerics of the three major temples: Helm, Torm, and Tyr.

They eventually meet with the clerics at city hall. The clerics ask why they want to find the Academy, and thanks mostly to Sarkozy, they answer quite truthfully, and fully. It is quite clear that the Clerics disagree on several things - the methods of the Academy for one thing, the existence of the Green Sword another. Still, they tell them where to find the Academy - a 30 minute ride northwest out of the city. The four leave, purchase horses, and travel to the location.

The Academy of the Drawn Sword - They eventually come to a large wooden structure built at the edge of a small wooden area. Not wanting to provoke a negative reaction, Reginald votes that Donovan and Sarkozy should go forward and ask for their assistance. The two listen and ride forward, stopping when two arrows fall at the feet of their horses. Two men come out to meet them and demand to know their intentions. Sarkozy tells them they are here to seek help in getting to the Thornwood as quickly as possible. When queried why, the usual honest truth comes forward. Though pleased they are interfering with the Zhents, the men say them they are crazy to go into the woods. Still, they leave to get a price for a teleport. Reginald and Gafflure come up and join them, and soon the men come back to say that it will cost 10k gold for the teleport. Reginald is a little outraged at the price, but the men claim quite truthfully that it is a dangerous job - their are Zhents everywhere. Reginald then asks if he can just buy a description of a place near the Thornwood, so he can teleport the group himself. The men, though confused, eventually get a mage to come out and agree to a 2k description. Reginald gets all the information he needs, and the group rides back to Saelmur to rest for the night and prepare for the coming day.

The Entrance to the Thornwood - After a decent night's sleep, the four wake early. Reginald, Donovan, and Gafflure go out to buy a greater teleport scroll. Meanwhile, Sarkozy gets lost on his way to gather information, and ends up drinking at the bar. The beer is just too much for the old elf, and after blabbering about his mission and past, and giving the bartender over 100 g in a tip, he falls unconscious off his stool. The three come back to this, and try to get him sober. Eating does not help - he vomits all over the bar. Eventually, after a few hours, he is ready to go, and the four teleport away.

They appear on a hill overlooking a small valley holding a very large river. To the north, an hour away by foot, is a massive, thick, and dark forest. The four decide to stay on the hills and head toward the forest. It is not long, however, before Donovan thinks he spots something off to the side, behind an outcropping of trees and rocks. As Donovan reaches for his wand of invisibility, three arrows fly out from behind the rocks, and strike Donovan. Battle commences shortly thereafter.

Four enemies eventually appear, all wearing Zhentarim symbols. An archer on horseback stays in the distance, devastating the four with powerful arrows, while three rogues battle up close. Sarkozy saves much trouble by purging invisibility, and the rogues are quickly handled by Gafflure and Donovan. Meanwhile, the Archer continues to own the party, but Reginald annoys him by killing his horse. Fallen prone, the Archer does not give up and continues to fire. Reginald throws an orb at him, and the Archer is clearly near death. Donovan decides to give the death blow, giving an eloquent soliloquy before attacking. Unfortunately, he misses the near unconscious enemy, and the Archer takes his revenge by piercing Donovan's heart with his next arrow. Donovan falls, quite dead. Gafflure comes up and finishes off the Archer.

After gathering their spoils, the four pause and wonder just how long it is going to take to resurrect Donovan.

Session 8: The Search in the Thornwood
Elasias 6th

The four teleport back to Suldolphor, straight to the Church of Ilmater. Knowing that Donovan had given thousands of gold in donations to the church, they believed it the best place to bring him back to life. Upon arriving, the clerics recognize that they need help, and fetch their master. Master Kaliff sees that it is Donovan and offers to bring him back to life, free of charge, although he tells them, he is not powerful enough to bring him back without penalty. The three agree, and a few minutes later, Donovan is conscious and confused as to what happened. The three fill Donovan in, and go about selling the gear they found on the Zhentarim. They also buy what they can from that shop, knowing they have little time to spare.

Eventually, they set off again, teleporting back to the battle scene. They are a little surprised to see the bodies of the Zhents missing, but they continue to walk towards the entrance of the forest. Donovan and Sarkozy think they see something moving in the nearby River, and go closer to investigate, finding some weird markings, and eventually blood near the bank. Deciding to ignore it as best they can, they try to continue on. However, about 5 minutes from the forest they get an unpleasant surprise - a huge Green Dragon flies out of the River, landing in between them and the forest.

The dragon, however, does not directly attack, but instead paces a bit back and forth, snorting and growling. The four too wait to see what the dragon does, deciding to not take the first action. Eventually, the dragon starts talking, in Draconic, and asks them why they want to go into his forest. Reginald is the only one who can understand, and he responds, truthfully - that they are seeking something. The dragon starts blabbering on, clearly insanely angry. He goes on about how all the "humans" have been entering his forest, and how their allies have conspired to take it away from him - the "evil eye," and that "filthy Fey." Reginald, clearly seeing an opening here, tells the Dragon that they are not allies of any of those people, and in fact are enemies of them.

The Dragon smirks, and again asks the real reason why they are entering the forest. Reginald admits that they are seeking the same thing the others most likely are. The Dragon roars with rage, spitting a gaseous cloud into the sky. The dragon then offers Reginald a deal - he will tell Reginald and his friends information about the forest, if they promise to kill the Fey and the Beholder that are helping the other humans. One they are gone, he says, he can finish any humans that come his way - after all, he is Kallionastiryne, the mighty green dragon. He also says they are not allowed to touch or take any of his hoard, and in return he will not eat them - after all, he is quite full from the Zhents he found dead an hour ago.

The other three, not understanding any of this, are quite confused, but Reginald holds off their questioning, and agrees with the dragon. The dragon tells them a few things: illusions and a maze await them, beginning with 7 paths. He also says those that value law should not approach the sword. Finally, he warns them to stay away from the river, and the "middle" path is always the one they should take.

Reginald decides it is high time to get moving, and he leads the others towards the forest. Sarkozy barrages him questions, since he is rather confused why (1) the evil dragon isn't killing them, and (2) they aren't killing the evil dragon. Reginald tries to hold off till they get in the forest, for the Dragon is circling above them, but he does tell the elf that they made a deal. Luckily, they hold off any objections Sarkozy and Donovan have until they enter the forest.

They start walking on the rough path, toward the center. After a few hours, Gafflure starts acting a little strange, and really wants to move faster, not wanting to take breaks, or stop for anything. The others kind of shrug this off, and eventually, they reach a huge marshy clearing. At the center of this clearing is a very tall twisted and sick looking tree, and Gafflure starts walking straight for it. Behind the tree, they clearly see seven paths.

The trap is quickly sprung, and roots start growing and entangling the group. A dragon-like creature, looking as though stitched together from the rotting pieces of other dragons, descends, and two fey appear in the trees above the clearing. Gafflure, enchanted to not attack the tree, battles the Dragon Golem, while the others battle to free themselves and target the twisted tree. The battle is intense, as one fey calls lightning and the other attempts to enchant the heroes with his flute. The tree's limbs are found to be devastating, and Gafflure eventually falls. Sarkozy, however, revives him, and Reginald starts to throw fire spells at the tree.

Eventually, the battle turns, and the golem falls. The tree and the flute wielding fey soon follow it. By now, the last fey looks like he wants to retreat, but does not; instead he starts throwing spell after spell at the four, eventually erecting a wall of thorns to try and protect him. Despite harming the four greatly, however, he eventually meets his end, and Donovan cuts off his head as proof for Kallionastiryne.

Heeding the dragon's advice, they take the middle path. Over the next few hours, they follow a maze like set-up of paths, finding numerous portals labeled with numbers. They also come across several traps, and a room of chaotic angels and neutral golems, both of which they quickly retreat from. Eventually, they find a portal without a number, and approach it, revealing a riddle. Though it takes a painful hour, they eventually figure out the answer, and are able to step through it.

They then come to a choice of unmarked portals. All four come under an enchantment spell - each sees different scenes in place of the two portals, and each each is something very distressing. The four must choose which portal to take - 3 go left, 1 goes right, but all end up on the ground next to each other, quite confused at what they just saw.

Another room is ahead of them, this one covered with 25 doors, and a riddle on the ground, claiming that only certain doors are safe. Time is of the essence here, as vines start to grow, cutting off retreat, and then start to grapple them. Eventually, Sarkozy and Reginald figure out which doors are safe, and they four fight off the vines and enter them.

They find themselves in a long hallway - they walk forward and find a large room at the end of it. Inside that room they see several familiar people: the Drow and the Barbarian who attacked them in Suldolphor, Lord Drake, and a very mean looking Beholder.

Session 9: Emeraldheart
Elasias 6th - 9th

The battle erupts rather quickly. Luckily for the four, Lord Drake seems preoccupied with four screens at the other side of the grove. The barbarian, drow, and Vaxall the beholder prove to be quite a potent combination, and Gafflure feels the early wrath of the barbarian's rage. Meanwhile, the four notice that Drake is moving some levers under the screens. Concerned that he is getting close to finding the sword, Reginald takes a risk and leaves the safety of the back of the battle to confront Drake, throwing an orb at his back. Drake does not take too kindly to this. He throws the last lever, which produces a bolt of lightning. He then turns his eye toward the mage, and charges, slicing Reginald nearly in half with one swing. Only Sarkozy's protective magic keeps his soul from leaving the plane.

Meanwhile, Gafflure and Donovan combine to finally take down the Barbarian, and Gafflure charges toward the Beholder, landing a vicious blow that nearly kills it. The Drow, doesn't like this, however, and shoots at Gafflure with a strong ray, killing her. Sarkozy again comes to the rescue, and revives Gafflure quickly enough to save her from truly dying. The Beholder dies soon thereafter, and the Drow, now desperate to survive sheds its wings and turns in to a massive metal Golem. This protection, however, is not enough, and the drow falls soon thereafter. Now left alone, and unable to decypher the puzzle in front of him, Drake tries despertly to destroy it, but his mighty axe simply goes through it as if it was made of air. Thoroughly annoyed, he touches Vaxall's body and teleports themselves away.

Finding the Sword - After reviving Reginald and recovering from the battle, the four look at the four screens ahead of them. The screens seem to show a scene, with two possible outcomes. Below each scene is a lever which can be moved to either outcome. The review the scenes and try to decide which ones are the "right" answer:
 * A young man has fallen in love with a princess and the feeling is mutual. They are ready to approach the king with their intention to marry when it is announced that the noble has been promised to the heir of a neighboring region. The arranged betrothed is, of course, despicable. If they elope, the entire area could be thrown into war. Elope or Give up on Love?
 * Do you save the king, without whom the kingdom will be plunged into darkness, or prevent your hometown from burning to the ground? Save the Kingdom or Save the Town?
 * Your benefactor tells you to eliminate a town of orcs for his “plans” to work. Kill the innocent Orcs or Defy your Benefactor?
 * A plague has ravaged a village, but a few have survived. The Queen wants to burn the village and the survivors to ensure the Plague does not spread.  Burn them or Stop the Queen?

They discuss the possibilities for some time - should they choose what they would pick, or what the sword would want them to pick? In the end, the group decides Left, Right, Right, Right. Sarkozy chooses first, and the rest follow suite. They discover a large red portal in front of them that simply says "Enter, if you will." They do, Reginald leading.

They find themselves in a huge grove, filled with plants whose leaves are sword-like in shape. Sarkozy and Donovan notice a few dozen plant like creatures in the trees surrounding the orchard, bows drawn and watching them. As they start to look around, another shape comes into view at the far end of the grove. It firsts looks like a tree is moving, but it is soon realized that the shape is humanoid, and the elf/plant like creature starts to talk. They all hear it in their native languages: "You have come this far, and made choices that tell us some of what you are. But still the sword must let you find it.  You are free to try."

With mere minutes until sundown, the four begin to search frantically. All but Sarkozy have no luck at all. The elf, however, feels something and walks to the other end of the grove, finding a sword half buried in the ground. He draws it from the earth, and immediately feels a connection to it - bark from the hilt grows across his skin on his left hand, and he can feel his pulse in the sword itself. The sword feels light in his hand, like none he had ever touched before, and the green blade shines with rune's of a language he has never seen. The elf/plant, now theorized to be Thornwood himself by Reginald, tells them they should leave, and quickly. They look behind them and see the start of their path - and the bodies of the fey and evil tree. They walk toward it, Sarkozy putting the sword on his belt.

We Had a Deal! - As they arrive in the grove, they start to hear sounds of wings overhead, and it is not long before Kallionastiryne lands in the clearing, roaring in jubilation. He smiles cruelly as he asks for the heads of the Fey and Beholder. Reginald admits to him that the Beholder was killed, but a human ran away with the body. At this the dragon is clearly annoyed, but happy he is back in his forest. He has, however, noticed one thing that does make him angry - the sword on Sarkozy's belt. Kallionastiryne quite simply says that they broke the deal - the sword is part of his hoard, and he will not let them leave with it. He orders them to hand over the sword, or he will take it by force.

Sarkozy will have none of this, and refuses. Kallionastiryne responds with a cone of acid, and with this battle begins. With an enemy at hand, Sarkozy suddenly realizes some of the powers of his sword. While Kallionastiryne concentrates on killing the elf, Gafflure quite effectively wails on the Dragon, and Kallionastiryne realizes quite quickly he is outmatched, especially once Sarkozy looks as though he is going to attack him with the sword. The dragon flies up and away, and the four watch it go, unable to pursue it.

Eventually, the sword tells Sarkozy telepathically to stop calling it the "green sword" - it's name is Emeraldheart.

A Late Night Visitor - They teleport back to Saelmur, and go to the Shiny Sea Urchin for a much needed night's rest. It is not long after they all fall asleep in their suite when a sharp knock comes at the door. Sarkozy and Donovan both wake up, but the latter goes and finds out who it is. He is very surprised to see someone very familiar on the other side - Weston, a very old friend who set him on the path of religion. Weston is glad that he has found his old friend, but turns serious very quickly, and asks Donovan if they can talk downstairs. Donovan agrees, and follows him.

Donovan can see there is something different about his friend. Weston tells him that he just returned from a trip, finding rumors about Ariea Sunglory – she is still alive, somewhere near the Lake of Steam – but it is rumored she is held by evil, quite possibly Cyricites. He would have looked more, but he had to return here, for his duties at the Church of Torm. Weston then goes a little crazy-eyed: warning Donovan evil is all around him – he must be careful, and trust no one. He says he will contact him when he knows more, and asks him to keep a look out for Ariea. Donovan thanks Weston and promises him that he will help to find her.

Back to Suldolphor - The Degnominator sets sail early the next morning, and the trip back to Suldolphor is uneventful, save for the breaking of an expensive rigging by the inexperience of Donovan. Still, the ship makes port in the city in the early hours of the 9th.

Immediately, they get the sense that something has changed during their absence in the city - the docks are swarming with guards, and several accost them when they get off, one looking at them with a Gem of True Seeing. When asked, the guards say "new security" and glaze over some information about "recent attacks" and "civil unrest." The four decide they want clearer information, and decide to go straight to the source, Zanthan Dumein, Vizier of Peace. Dumein eventually sees them, and tells them some unhappy updates:
 * The Church of Lathander was attacked two nights ago. Details are sketchy at best, but it is believed it was attacked by the Valrak, the gargoyle like evil creatures.  The church was severely damaged, and several clerics were killed.  Rumors persist that the Valrak work for the Banites.
 * The Church of Ilmater was also attacked, but this time by cloaked figures who destroyed priceless relics and stole from their treasury.
 * Overall, there has been an increase in clerics of Bane in the city. The church itself has been quiet.  But crime in all forms throughout the city has increased.
 * The Olanger has not been seen publicly since Midsummer. Rumors abound of an illness, and that he is near death.  Dumein himself has not seen him, claiming he does not need direction in protecting the city.
 * There is dire news from the Shining Sea – The Predator has reared its head, and attacked several ships in the past week. The Scorpion is currently missing, and was last seen near Tharsult.
 * Lord Drake has not been seen in the city since Midsummer.

The four thank Dumein, and then make a brief stop at Rein's office where they go through some paperwork to see what ships have docked here from Mintar. They find several have, but all were in Mintar simply due to trade - none originated there. Sarkozy, meanwhile, sends a message to Emed Usko, who tells him that he is at the Church of Lathander. The four decide to go and meet him there. Emed is a little squirrelly, but answers their questions. He tells them little new information except for one thing: should the Olanger die, Rein, as most senior Vizier, would be the favorite to replace him. He also tells them that Rein most likely has seen the Vizier last. Finally, Emed goes wide eyed when he sees what is on Sarkozy's belt, but he asks no questions.

The four decide to go shopping, and eventually end up back at the Feathered Fancy. Reginald finds his room a little humid, but otherwise fixed up nicely. When the others arrive, Donovan's eagle eyes spot a rather dusty note on the floor. It is addressed to all four of them. When opened, they find it is from Rein - it is a job for the crew of the Degnominator per their agreement of docking rights. The group decides it is high time they go and talk to Rein.

The Job - They get through Rein's building rather quickly when they show the summons, and are quickly in front of the ornately dressed, bulbous man himself. Rein is rather jovial, claiming much happiness at seeing them. He gets right down to the job: they are to deliver some supplies to the eastern city of Innarlith. He warns them that this will not be an easy job - Innarith has been rumored to be taken over by a follower of Cyric, and those who follow religions of good are not welcomed. If they accept, however, they will be rewarded greatly.

The four accept and ask for the full information. Rein tells them that they must deliver the supplies to a contact of his named Tyxari Hez, at a tavern called the Square Sphere. There the job can end, or it can go further with more reward. Tyxari will be running an operation - to "borrow" some supplies from the government. Reginald has some concerns, wondering if stealing from a established government is something he wants to do. Still, he says, he agrees, and the rest follow suit. Rein gives them information to get through customs, and tells them the supplies - which they should NOT be curious about - will be loaded that evening. They are to set sail first thing in the morning. He gives them one last warning - the group of evil sea elves off the Arnrock are at it again - he says they should stay away from that area if they can. It is weird, he says - they had been reclusive ever since one of their leaders was captured and executed here in the city.

The four leave - rather annoyed and embarrassed at what they have done - and go back to their respective Inns to get a good night's sleep. In the middle of the night, however, Gafflure awakens to find a man in her room. The man is wearing a perfectly tailored gray suit, and has a cane. He tells Gafflure to remain calm, he does not mean her any harm. He is here to help, actually. He has heard that she will be traveling to Innarith. Croznac is believed to be there – it is important... no VERY important, he says, that the impious Croznac pays for his crimes. My associates, he says as he holds out the palm of his hand, want this very much, as do I. He tells Gafflure that she will be watched in Innarith, and if she comes against Croznac, run fast, for she will not survive the encounter. If Croznac finds out that she hunts him, he will come here, and that would not be prudent. Finally, before leaving, he tells Gafflure to say "hi" to Sarkozy for him.

Gafflure, a little confused, goes back to sleep. The morning of the 10th comes soon thereafter.

Session 10: Face of the Enemy
Elasias 10th - 20th

Innarlith - The four take off in the Degnominator early the next morning. Little happens on the trip, but Gafflure does discuss his visit the night before. The information only raises questions, however, as Sarkozy wonders if it was indeed Thomas. Also, one night during the trip, curiosity gets the best of the elf, who decides to go against Rein's warnings and investigate the cargo they are carrying. He manages to open a box and finds an assortment of weapons. Satisfied, he tries to close the crate, but gets the top on crooked. Worried that Hez will find out what he has done, he elicits the help of Donovan to fix it. After some effort, the top is put back on adequately enough for the elf.

As they approach Innarlith on the afternoon of the 15th, they are approached by a small warship, and are boarded by a customs official. Sarkozy is on deck, and the official asks their purpose for the visit to the city. Sarkozy, in his usual honest way, tells the man that they were sent here by a Vizier in Suldolphor. Unfortunately, the papers he hands over that Rein gave him say they are merchants from Calimport. Sarkozy, even given 5 days, did not read them. Donovan tries to play it off that Sarkozy is a senile old elf, and that he really is the captain. Though Gafflure tries to help by agreeing with Donovan, the official does not believe them, partly due to Sarkozy refuting their claims at every turn. Reginald eventually comes up from studying and attempts to smooth things over. The official is satisfied, but tells them to be less careless in the city if they want to survive.

They disembark from the ship and explore the Innarlith. The city is rather large, grand, clean, and fortified in all directions. It is quite clear that this was a long journey – the architecture is completely different from anything in Suldolphor or the rest of Calimsham – it is a contrast of sharp curves and pointed spires. Eventually, they find the Square Sphere Tavern - it is literally a square frame building comprising the first floor, but with a sphere framed for the second and third floors. The sphere looks like it could roll off the top of the Tavern at any moment, and most of the windows are tinted dark. The four enter and find many commoners drinking, but none looking like a contact of Rein's. They ask the bartender and he tells them Tyxari Hez does stay there, and he should be down soon.

They sit and order a few drinks, and eventually a man approaches their table. He is dressed much like a Pirate would dress – complete with an eye patch and scars down one side of face. He is also not clearly human – he has pointed teeth and two small horns at the top of his head – Reginald and Sarkozy both identify him as a Tiefling. Once introductions are made, Hez tells them to meet him at their ship in one hour. They agree, and Hez leaves.

An hour later, Hez shows up with a mage-type companion, and they enter the Degnominator to inspect the cargo. Satisfied (though Sarkozy did sweat a little), the mage starts loading the boxes into several bags of holding. Hez asks if they are in for the second part of the plan, and the four all agree. Once finished, the mage teleports them all to Hez's base - the basement of an abandoned building in the western part of the city. Here, Hez goes over the plan: they will assault a government warehouse in the northern part of the city at midnight. They are to expect guards and magical protection on the outside doors, but once inside the supplies should be theirs for the taking. Silence and speed are the goals here, he emphasizes. The four agree and part ways.

The four spend the rest of the day in the Sphere, where they book rooms. Donovan lets the others know that he is certain both Hez and the mage are evil. Still, this doesn't change the groups plans, but they decide to be extra vigilant. Near midnight, Reginald dimension doors them into an alley near the warehouse. Hez is already there, along with the mage from earlier and another man in full plate, which they later find out to be a cleric. As chimes ring nearby to signal the midnight hour, the group creeps up on the warehouse and ambushe the guards.

The six guards prove no match for the group and are killed in very little time. Hez proves himself to be an excellent melee combatant. The door proves to be just as easy as an obstacle as the guards - Sarkozy and Reginald team up to dispel the various wards protecting it. The group enters, dragging the dead guards in with them.

Surprise Guests - They find an immense warehouse, filled with boxes of weapons, magical items, mundane supplies, food, and medical supplies. Hez orders his men to start laying oil and Alchemist Fire around the area. The four realize something is up, and Hez tells them that they plan to blow up the warehouse - he does not want this stuff used by the Cyricites. The four are forced to agree and keep watch as the others do their tasks. The laying of the explosives is complete when a large group of people smash through a door into the other side of the warehouse. A group of rogues are led by a stunning woman dressed in full plate, a helm of a demon resting on her head and an emblem of Cyric on her breast. Donovan nearly faints as he realizes it is his former love and adventuring companion Areia Sunglory. When he knew her, she was a devout cleric of Ilmater.

Chaos erupts as Hez tells his men that "Croznac's bitch Vhail" is here, and Areia/Vhail curses the Banites for their actions. The cleric that is with the four takes out a holy symbol of Bane, and the mage twists a cap to reveal red robes and tattoos. The battle is on, and the confused heroes are in the middle. Donovan, desperate to clear up that he is NOT a Banite starts to yell this to Areia. Hearing this, the Cleric of Bane attacks Sarkozy, who never hid his holy symbol. Not sure who is an ally or an enemy, the four desperately battle on, Reginald trying to convince Hez to not attack them. Eventually, however, Hez attacks Donovan, and Reginald blinds him.

Bodies continue to fall, and soon it is just the four left with Hez, the Red Wizard and Areia/Vhail. It is then that a massive and evil looking Orc enters the room, behind Areia. It is quite clear that this is Croznac. A dozen rogues, only marked with a white hand on their chests appear out of nowhere nearly immediately thereafter. The Red Wizard tells Hez to run and shoots a scorching ray at the fuse. Gafflure, who is clearly contemplating attacking the Orc, is warned off by the Rogues, who tell her and the rest to get out of the area. Croznac gives them all an evil eye, cursing them and Suldolphor, Loki, The Rune's Hand, and someone named Zhalilafajjahad. It is then that Reginald decides it is high time to flee, as the fuse is getting shorter and shorter with every second. The four teleport away - back to Hez's base.

The few people that are there give Reginald a confused look, and Reginald tells them that Croznac showed up, and implies that Hez is dead. The people leave the base to hide in other places, and the four take the time to search the base quickly, finding several magical items which they take. They make haste back to the Degnominator, and try to leave Innarlith's waters. Several small warships try and block their exit, but thanks to the Degnominator's small size and maneuverability, not to mention Sarkozy's skills at the helm, the ship escapes, but not before taking minor damage from several cannon ball blasts.

The next three days go quietly, although they can't help but look back a few times, just in case. Reginald uses the opportunity to send a message to Areia. Not taking kindly to treachery, nor wanting word to get back to Rein, he tells Areia the exact location of Hez's base, hoping that she will finish the Banites off for them.

The Wealthy Giant - On the afternoon of the fourth day, hours past the Arnrock, they come across a severely damaged ship. From afar they see the name Wealthy Giant on its bow, a white flag flying on its mast and several people on its deck. Donovan can't help to notice that most of the damage on the ship looks like it came from massive claws.

Using extreme caution, the ship approaches the Giant. Two people, introducing themselves as Vadamar and Sorilae, tell the four that the ship was attacked a day ago, and the captain is dead. They have several wounded, and need a healer, if they have one. Sarkozy and Donovan end up boarding the Giant. Sarkozy is led down and heals a dozen injured crewmen. Vadamar and Sorilae tell the elf that with the Captain dead, they do not know how to steer the ship - they would appreciate it if he could put them on a heading to the nearest port.

Paranoia gets the best of the elf, and he goes back to talk about the situation with Reginald and Gafflure. Reginald is very suspicious that no one else on the huge ship can steer it. Sarkozy, however, decides to go forward and help set a heading. Donovan accompanies him up to the top of the ship. Once a heading is set, he attempts to leave. Sorilae, however, blocks his path, and she tells him that unfortunately, that can't happen. You see, she tells him, their Lord needs that sword that is on his belt.

A battle erupts in the room. Vadamar and Sorilae prove to be rather powerful, and Donovan and Sarkozy have a tough time battling them. At one point, Sarkozy falls unconscious, and Vadamar takes the Green Sword from his belt and places it in his bag of holding. Donovan, however, kills the beautiful Sorilae and starts to battle Vadamar.

Meanwhile, suspecting something has gone awry, Gafflure starts cutting the ropes linking the ships. Two rogues respond to this and jump down to do battle. Gafflure, however, makes quick work of the enemies. Meanwhile, Reginald takes his anger out on the ship, and heaves orb after orb of acid at the ship's side. The orbs rip into the ship and cause it to tilt forward, and eventually it starts to sink. It is then that two things occur: First, the bow of the ship rises, and Reginald can see that the ship is registered out of Saerloon, a city in Sembia. Second, both ships seem to shift and find themselves randomly teleported to another area - and it is snowing. Later, this happens a few more times, and they go from snow, to intense heat, to another inland sea, and then back to the Lake of Steam. During this time, crate after crate of cargo falls from the wounded hull of the Giant into the sea.

Reginald and Gafflure head up to find the others, and come in on Donovan and Vadamar dueling. They help their friend defeat Vadamar, take the body of Sarkozy and and the bag of holding, and quickly get back to the ship before the Giant sinks into the water. They revive Sarkozy, and look in the bag of holding, finding quite a treasure of information. Pouring over the papers, they piece together a few things over the next day and a half while they sail to Suldolphor:
 * The ship is indeed a Sembian ship – out of Saerloon. They were bound for Mintar, and indeed is coming from there, having just unloaded what looks like to be a lot of supplies.  How they got here is unknown, but they passed through the Strait of Suldolphor from somewhere in the Shining Sea.
 * There is evidence of some sort of alliance between the Silver Ravens, and Miklos Selkirk in particular, and Bane, with Lord Nicos Drake as the mediator. There are references to the islands of Presper off Sembia, and Tharsult in the Shining Sea as bases of operation.
 * There is information about payments to Fedallah for protection of Tharsult against the Rundeen and the Syl Pasha. It is quite a lot of money.
 * There is a schedule of Banite troop movements from the north to the south. Suldolphor and Mintar are on the list, as are Yeshpek and Almraiven.
 * Something has gone wrong with their plans - something about random teleports and Theymarsh. The specifics, however, are missing.

Martial Law - They head to Suldolphor, arriving there on the morning of the 20th, and instantly see things have changed. There are Calimshite warships guarding the straight, and many ships are leaving the city. They also spot at least two other ships with Sembian markings. When they dock, they find a most unwelcome development: Martial Law has been declared in the city, by "acting" Olanger Aseir Rein.

Realizing they are fast running out of allies, they spend the day trying to piece together information and plan out what to do. Spending most of the day in a Magnificent Mansion Reginald creates, they do find out some information:
 * Many people have been arrested – this includes several minor clerics of good deities. Not one Banite has been arrested.
 * Emed has been jailed – suspect of conspiring with the Banites. Many of the good clerics have protested this act as inconceivable and unjust.
 * Zanthan is on Rein's side since he was lawfully put into the position of power by the Pasha.
 * Yaheira has not been seen since Rein took over.

Reginald also uses the time to scry on Lord Drake. He finds the villain in an unknown city, in a Sembian embassy next to a temple of Bane under construction. Sarkozy uses the time to contact Derek Dragonsong on the Scorpion. He drops a few bombshells: Thorock has been killed by "Quarash." He tells the elf that if he wants to help in the Shining Sea, they should look toward Theymarsh.

They sleep the night of 20th, deciding to leave the city the next morning. Whether it is to Theymarsh to investigate what is happening there, or straight to Tharsult to confront Fedallah, they are not yet sure.

Session 11: The Keyhole
Elasias 21st

The four wake on the morning of the 21st and decide to go ahead with their plan of investigating Theymarsh. They set out to the Degnominator and make the short trip across the Strait. During the trip, Donovan makes use of a scroll and tells his friend Weston about finding Areia alive. Weston says he will investigate this and get back to him.

They arrive on the docks off the town of Theymarsh. The town looks much as they left it, and indeed two of Burlon's men are standing guard and ask their names and purpose. Once Sarkozy starts spewing the long story as to why they are here, the guards tell them to go see Burlon. As they enter the town, they feel the now familiar sensation of all magic draining away. Sarkozy, however, shudders a bit, as his sword starts to pulsate and the word unnatural screams in his head. Still, he continues on.

They seek out Burlon, who tells them there has been little activity around the house with the Wall of Force. The mages, he tells them, left a few weeks ago, and the barbarian hands them a beer and meat stained report. Reginald looks over it briefly and finds that the mages could not bring down the wall, and decided that mortal magic could not do so, period. Burlon does tell them that a scouting party did say they thought they saw something off the bay a few days ago - a large ship, and some men. But after an investigation, nothing was found. Sarkozy decides that perhaps his sword can do something to the wall, and he confidently shows it off to Burlon. The barbarian is very unnerved at this, and Sarkozy wisely puts it away on Reginald's council. The four decide to go visit the wall of force, and Burlon tells them he will alert his guards so they don't shoot at them for doing so.

Minutes later, they enter the house and find the wall of force in the basement. Sarkozy decides to just go for it, and thrusts his sword into the wall. He is rather surprised to see it cut through it like butter, however, it also drains magic from the sword and tires him greatly. He manages to cut a doorway into the wall, and then nearly falls, fatigued. The four decide that they must investigate what is here, since it is so protected, and they enter. They find a long and spiraled staircase leading downward. It is quite obvious from the cobwebs and the stale air that this place has not been visited for some time. They go downward for over a mile, and eventually come to a small stone room. A stone wall blocks their progress. Around them they see the very eroded remains of humanoid bones. There is also a very weathered stone statue of a human, his hands up to his face trying to protect himself.

Knowing something is up, Donovan's sharp eyes notice some colors in the wall, and he brushes away hundreds of years worth of dust to reveal some sort of square doorway. The seven colors of the rainbow are pulsating behind the square doorway, and to the right are words and some sort of cross-like light symbol. The text is an archaic form of Alzhedo, but Reginald and Gafflure work together to decipher it. They realize that the colors in the doorway are a prismatic effect, and messing up deactivating the puzzle-like symbol will release its power. The four turn the text around in their heads for hours, finally deciding on what to do. They make several attempts to deactivate it, and proceed well, although they do have three mistakes. Luckily, the chaotic wall only sends red out each time. Eventually, they deactivate the symbol, and only red is left in the doorway, which they are forced to go through. They all do so, and find that on the other side of the wall their magic returns.

They walk forward and fall through the floor, eventually finding themselves in a circular room with 8 paths perfectly spaced out. Methodically, they walk down each path. Each path has an obstacle to overcome - four contain spells that target alignments - luckily none of them are low enough in level to be killed. One other has a frost spell which momentarily entombs Reginald - luckily, he easily escapes. Finally, the other three contain enemies to confront: an evil monstrous water elemental, a cross between a roper and a mind flayer, and two huge Wickerman constructs. They dispatch the first two easily, the last however proves difficult as both magic and piercing weapons seem to bounce off or go through the constructs. At the end of each path is a lever that must be pulled. They decide to ignore the constructs and pull the lever and retreat. The constructs are too tall to chase them back down the path.

With all the levers pulled, a large spiral staircase opens in the original room's floor, and they again descend. They find another circular room, much larger than before, and higher. The ceiling is magically decorated with what appears to be a map of Faerun. However, the map doesn't look quite right - the scope of the bays, the marked cities, and several islands all look wrong. Even Reginald can't understand the language the cities are labeled in. The most interesting part of the map, however, is that an island off what is now Sembia and an island in the Shining Sea (now Tharsult) are highlighted, and a thing yellow line joins them.

The rest of the room is decorated in the same scenes they saw in the 8 paths above. The focus of the room, however, is a huge statue of a dragon on the far wall. The dragon appears armored with bony plates that rise into projecting spurs at its limb joints, and end in a long forked tail tipped with a pair of scythe like bone blades. The body is jet black, appearing to be made out of obsidian, and it has small wings. Its eyes appear to be a lifeless black, and its head is adorned with many small spikes. It sits atop a short pedestal, its mouth slightly open, and its large teeth bearing down seemingly straight at the entrance. Around the Dragon’s neck, dangling on a strong chain is a slightly glowing yellow rectangle.

Sarkozy doesn't even hesitate - he goes directly at the dragon and goes to grab the rectangle. It immediately electrocutes him, and brings the dragon to life. A very fierce battle erupts. The dragon proves impervious to most magic, and its near ethereal body and hard exterior prove very resistant to the strength of Gafflure and Donovan; its hide even seems to repair itself every round. Eventually, however, the four bring the dragon down, and it crumbles to the ground.

Before they can take the rectangle, they are given quite a shock - two figures dissolve from invisibility. Though cloaked, Gafflure gets a glimpse of their faces - it is none other than Saulthan and Idolian. They grab the rectangle and place it in a bag of holding. Saulthan turns and sneers: "Thanks for doing all the work!" The two return to invisibility. Sarkozy immediately casts an invisibility purge, and Reginald casts a spell to see invisibility. Saulthan and Idolian become visible as they streak past the group, back up the stairs...

Session 12: The Dark Sea
Elasias 21st - Eleint 2nd

A battle erupts shortly thereafter, as Reginald teleports after the two thieves, and the others later charge up the stairs. Reginald manages to stun Idolian in his tracks, which stops both from fleeing. Reginald then emits a massive fiery blow to Idolian, killing him instantly. Saulthan, is not too happy about this, and the four now see that Saulthan is no longer the same. His limbs seem to be made of iron, bolted to his body. His eyes seem menacing, almost primal with rage. He charges at the mage, but thanks to Reginald's protective magic, he is able to dodge the massive blows, although not his corrosive breath attack. The others eventually join the fight, and Saulthan proves to be quite a foe, although he does stop to grab the bag of holding off Idolian's body. An invisible Donovan disarms him, however, and takes the bag back from him.

Clearly confused on what to do, Saulthan takes out his rage on Gafflure, knocking her down in one hit. Realizing that Saulthan may be too much trouble than its worth, the four decide to retreat. Donovan takes the rectangle out of the bag, and drops the bag to distract Saulthan. Reginald then teleports the four to Saelmur, not trusting Suldolphor, and believing their ship to be lost. Upon arriving, the mage comments that is definitely time for a rest. He then proceeds to cough violently, falling over dead from the gas he inhaled. Luckily, Sarkozy acts quickly to prevent his soul from leaving his body, and heals both Gafflure and the fallen mage.

The four spend the next few days in the city of Saelmur, resting and planning their next move. Reginald researches and buys new spells. Donovan uses the time to try and find Weston - he eventually reaches him before they leave, with Weston telling him that their friend Areia is lost and angry. Sarkozy also shops a bit, and uses the time to contact Derek Dragonsong again. He also scries on Isolian, and is shocked to find him back alive, and looking on from the Predator at a seemingly destroyed town of Theymarsh. Gafflure, realizing that they will probably need new transportation, goes and buys a new ship. Donovan and Sarkozy find her as she seals the deal, and argue over what to call it. She decides to name it the Silver Flipper.

The group eventually decides to travel to Tharsult: too many things point there. Sarkozy agrees with Derek to meet with the Scorpion east of the islands, and the four set off in the Flipper on the morning of the 24th. The trip on the Lake of Steam goes with little problem, and as they near the Strait, they see to the east a still lingering haze of smoke over Theymarsh. They decide not to investigate, and head through the strait past the many Calimshite warships.

Three more days go by as they sail toward the eastern side of the islands of Tharsult. On the morning of the 1st of Eleint, the four have an unwelcome surprise: four beasts have boarded their ship. The infernal words of the hunt is almost over brings up memories of earlier words, and Reginald identifies the beasts as Astral Stalkers - extra planer beings that thrive on the hunt. A battle erupts, and the stalkers clearly go after the mage first, almost killing him. However, the battle goes quickly thereafter, thanks mainly to Gafflure's spikes chain. The four shrug off the attack, and continue on sailing.

Later that day, they spot a ship on the horizon. Eventually, they find it to be the Scorpion. The mighty warship comes abreast of the tiny Flipper, and Derek Dragonsong comes on board to talk with the four. He tells them that they were set to assault the Predator, but all the Suldolphite ships were called back by the "acting" Olanger - Captain Petzer, he says, thought it best to take it slow. Derek also tells them that something clearly is going on at Tharsult, as the Predator is always around it, and recently more ships - Sembian ships - have appeared. He comments on the death of Thorock - and that he did indeed see Saulthan during the battle - his strange alterations are not unique, the Predator is filled with crewman disfigured like him. Sarkozy asks him about Fedallah, and he says that Awdan and Hig swear Fedallah was indeed Aasma Quarash. Leaving it at that, Derek asks Sarkozy if he has the supplies to bring back Thorock. Sarkozy agrees to do it, and goes back to the Scorpion, while the others stay behind. It is just about then that a klaxon rings out from the Scorpion and everyone sees that another ship has been spotted on the horizon. Cannons start to roll out in anticipation of an attack, but a tense few minutes later, it is realized that the ship is not the Predator, but a Rundeen ship.

As the ship gets closer, Sarkozy learns from Derek that this ship is the Renegade, one of the Rundeen's flagships, and captained by non other than Ezri Rundeen himself. The massive green and black sailed ship comes up to the Scorpion and lowers some gangplanks. Shortly after a short and pale - but very well dressed - man comes across the planks. Brigitte Petzer, acting captain, bellows what a good thing it is to see Ezri looking so well. Rundeen looks annoyed and asks to talk with Petzer about the "situation." Brigitte agrees and asks Derek and Sarkozy to join them in the Captain's quarters.

As soon as the doors are shut, Ezri starts shouting, demanding to know what has happened. He is clearly annoyed at the disappearance of many of the Calimshite fleet, and the missed opportunity of attacking the Predator. He wants to know where the Scorpion stands, for the Rundeen, he says, still plans on assaulting Tharsult. Ezri really looses his cool when he starts talking about the appearance of Sembian ships in the Shining Sea, something he says through clenched teeth, is unacceptable, as the Rundeen Consortium will be the only merchant power in these waters. Ezri wants Tharsult investigated and whatever Sembian influence there stopped. Brigitte thinks it over a bit, and tells Ezri she will need to consult her crew. Ezri leaves, but not before giving her coordinates to meet his small fleet in the morning. The massive and menacing Renegade sails off slowly thereafter.

Through conversation, a plan is hatched between the three that are left. Sarkozy tells them that his crew very much wants to infiltrate the island, find Lord Drake, and get to the bottom of what is happening there. Brigitte agrees, and tells him that the Flipper should use the battle to get into port, as most merchant ships are let through anyway. Brigitte then asks if Sarkozy intends to bring back Thorock. The elf says he does, and after a few tense seconds, Brigitte smiles ruefully and tells him that the half-orc will love another chance at killing that bitch Fedallah. Brigitte orders Derek to see that Thorock's body is readied, and when they are alone Mrs. Petzer asks the elf very intensely about her husband. Sarkozy answers quite truthfully that he hasn't seen the treacherous Petzer since before the destruction of the Black Diamond. Brigitte believes him, but basically orders him to tell her anything he learns about Petzer's whereabouts.

Sarkozy goes and briefs the rest of the party. The elf then goes and resurrects Thorock, who is rather confused as to when and where he is. Sarkozy and Derek fill him in on what has happened in the past week, and what they plan to do with the Rundeen's help. Thorock smiles, pats Sarkozy so hard on the back it nearly knocks him over, and then leaves to talk with Brigitte and sharpen his axe.

The next morning comes, and the Flipper keeps close as the Scorpion sails to meet the Rundeen. There they see four mighty ships, the Renegade leading the Vertigo, Agile, and Malicious. The five warships and the tiny Flipper sail toward Tharsult. A few hours before sunset they reach the south end of the small archipelago, and the small strait that separates the two main islands. The city of Urbeth can be seen in the distance, and several dozen small merchant vessels are coming in and out of the strait. Soon, however, ten ships appear off to the west, all have Sembian markings, and the lead vessel has a mighty white raven on its sail.

A battle erupts, and the Rundeen show their prowess on the seas, downing two of the Sembian ships before they can even fire a cannon. The Flipper makes haste to the east and toward the bay as the Scorpion takes on the lead Sembian ship. It is not long, however, before another ship comes from the east, seemingly out of nowhere. The crew of the Flipper watches as a massive beam shoots from the Predator's deck, totally destroying the Agile and Vertigo. Reginald is in awe at the sheer power of the weapon, guessing that it is some kind of disintegration ray. Despite the growing chaos, the Flipper sails on, not looking back again. No one notices another ship enter the fray.

The four find a dock and disembark into the large city - they have little trouble as many are distracted at the fireworks at sea. As they enter the city, Reginald is suddenly hit with a hint of recognition: he has seen this city before. After some time, he realizes this was the city he scried Lord Drake in some time ago. The four set out to investigate.

Session 13: The Cracked Doorway
Eleint 2nd - 3rd

The four decide to find the Sembian Embassy and the under-construction Temple to Bane that Reginald saw in the earlier scry. They find it rather quickly with some help of the locals, and observe it briefly from a safe distance. Before taking any action, they decide to discuss things, and Reginald casts the now usual magnificent mansion. The four spend the rest of the evening inside, coming up with a plan - they decide it best to draw Drake out into the open. Their goal, it soon becomes clear, is to discredit the Sembians, and their plans. The four decide that Sarkozy will be for all intents live bait, as he will strut in front of the Embassy and Church with the Sword and Rectangle in full view. Gafflure will be with him, while the other two lie in wait to strike at the enemy. Before they sleep for the night, Sarkozy contacts Derek, and finds that he is still alive, and that the Predator is "down." Wanting to know more, the elf decides to wait for the next day to investigate.

The next morning Reginald and Donovan go out and scout the scene more thoroughly. Meanwhile, Gafflure and Sarkozy go out to buy some supplies. Sarkozy also finds a temple to Valkur and decides to spend some time praying. While doing so, he notices a lot of fellow patrons, and he strikes up a conversation with one of the clerics. The cleric tells him a bit about the Sembians - they showed up about 2-3 months ago, and Drake is their leader. The cleric seems nonchalant about the Predator and its presence, but is rather concerned about recent reports of citizens disappearing in the middle of the night, and the winged "gargoyle-like" creatures that have been spotted around the town. Sarkozy, clearly upset with these circumstances, thanks him for the information and he and Gafflure head back to the mansion to meet the others.

Shortly thereafter, prepped and ready for a battle, they go ahead with their plan. Sarkozy and Gafflure walk toward the embassy. It is quite clear that someone inside recognizes him or what he is holding, for a few moments later a shade is drawn and a "closed" sign comes up in the embassy's window. But no one exits the building, and no one seems to take notice of the elf from the temple. Minutes go by, and only a commotion on the opposite side of where the four stand break their concentration. Distant screams eventually bring forth a flying gargoyle-like creature. Donovan spots that the creature is carrying an unconscious woman, and is flying directly south, straight toward them. Sarkozy eventually also notices this and decides to try and shoot down the flying beast with a spell. It hits true, but the Gargoyle just screams and continues to fly south, over the temple of Bane. Sarkozy immediately starts to follow it. The others, rather annoyed at the elf's apparent lack of focus for their plan, reluctantly follow.

The gargoyle creature is not flying that fast due to its load, and the four keep up with it as best they can as they discuss just what they should be doing. Sarkozy insists that they need to save this "innocent" girl, and that these gargoyle creatures have to be linked with Drake and the Banites - following it can only eventually lead them to Drake. The others acquiesce, and the group follows the flying monster for nearly an hour, eventually coming face to face with a large and dense forest on the southeast edge of the island. Though it is hard to notice, Sarkozy thinks the gargoyle landed in the forest somewhere. Not wanting to waste the efforts of the last hour, the four enter the forest. They first notice a rather foreboding sign - the forest appears to be completely devoid of all animal life.

After traveling for some time, they spot a outcropping ahead - two guards seem to be talking to the gargoyle, all in front of a doorway into a small hill. Sarkozy decides to just walk ahead and become the bait again. As soon as the gargoyle seems them, however, he tells the guards that they are enemies and need to be killed - it then retreats into the door.

A battle erupts, and the group finds that there is actually a third guard in the trees. The guards target the now large-and-in-charge Sarkozy, but the elf stands strong thanks to his magic. Reginald, however, is not so lucky, and falls victim to the archer in the trees. However, the other three eventually down the two guards on the ground. The scout in the trees, seeing he can't kill all three, decides to toss idle threats at the four and then teleports away.

After looting the bodies, the four enter the doorway, finding a small and cramped hallway on the other side. They follow, Sarkozy in the lead, and find a spiraling downward staircase, something that looks very familiar to the cavern they explored in Theymarsh. They travel downward for some time, and come to a hallway with three paths. Though they hear sounds, they cannot tell what they hear or which path it comes from. When discussion comes as to which path to take, Reginald reminds them of the now month-old and thousand-mile away advice from Kallionastiryne - always take the center path. No argument follows, so they follow the center path. It leads them to a very large room, the entrance of which has obviously been recently destroyed. The room is very dark, but Sarkozy's light spell does reveal a magical map of the Shining Sea on one wall and scenes of death and battle on the others. Though they detect magic from the upward direction, they decide not to investigate, and retreat back to the three-way split.

They decide to take the left hand path next. This leads them to a make-shift jail, holding several Urbethians, most dead, some alive. Those that are dead seemed drained of water and life, their bodies dry, empty, husks. There is also a wall of force protected window for most of one side of this room - it reveals them to be a few feet above sea level. Unfortunately, there are other people in this room. Saulthan and Idolian's eyes go wide at their appearance, and they scream that they will avenge their fallen ship. Battle happens shortly thereafter. Saulthan in his half-golem state again proves difficult to combat, but Reginald again uses anti-construct spells and Donovan carves into the fiend's side with an anti-construct weapon crystal. Meanwhile, Gafflure pounds on Idolian, and eventually both enemies fall over dead.

It is then that Sarkozy does something quite unexpected - he starts to cast raise dead on Saulthan. The others, clearly upset with this situation, proceed to loot Idolian's body and disarm Saulthan of all magical gear. It is clear from Sarkozy's words during the spell that he feels that this may have a chance at bringing back Saulthan's soul to the body, even though it was lost a very long time ago during its alteration. If his soul returns, Sarkozy seems to think, the "old" Saulthan will return.

Even Sarkozy is somewhat surprised to find that the spell works. After 10 minutes, Saulthan's eyes open, and the elf can immediately see that the robotic, soulless, killing machine is gone, and the old Saulthan's eyes are looking at him. Saulthan is clearly confused at where and when he is... and, eventually, he is clearly horrified at what has happened to his limbs. Sarkozy tries to explain to the clearly groggy and now semi-slow witted half-golem what has happened. Meanwhile, the four realize that there are innocent villagers left alive in the prison. They decide to ask Saulthan to protect the prisoners while they investigate the last path. Saulthan agrees and takes back his sword. The four leave, but not before Saulthan asks for something to eat - he is famished.

The four go back to the last path, and follow it to a massive room. The room is only 3 sided, the last side is open to the sea. A small cove is seen outside, and a most astounding scene: a large portal is in the rock, halfway in the water. It is glowing slightly, but randomly. In the room is another glowing area – it is an archway, with ancient text in the center, and a symbol of a flying ship. The keystone at the top of the arch is missing – it is roughly rectangle in shape, and understanding seems to dawn on the four. Instead of the piece, tubes are running from the empty slot, directly down to a inclined table, which holds the girl the gargoyle kidnapped earlier, writhing in pain. Next to the villager is a tall and brooding man, dressed in black robes, a massive symbol of Bane stitched on the back.

In front of the sea side are several figures, and all are arguing as the portal suddenly sparks and comes to life, a ship suddenly bursting through with Sembian markings on it. It seems to pause for a moment, and everyone is silent, except for the barely audible scream of the villager, who slumps over dead as the portal sparks and powers down. Then the ship disappears, and Lord Drake, foremost of the figures screams with annoyance. The ship appears back later, but Drake is clearly annoyed and somewhat nervous - clearly he is in a state the four have never seen, he does not look confident in what is happening. Around Lord Drake is another human – dressed in all black, his face a shadow, but the symbol of bane on his breast is easily noticed. The other figure is just as disturbing: it is the gargoyle-like creature, its eyes a dark red, his mouth sneering in a perverted laugh at the others.

The rush of the sea seems to muffle the four's presence, and they use that to their advantage...

Session 14: The Best-Laid Plans
Eleint 3rd - 4th

Battle starts quite quickly, with Sarkozy unleashing a Waterspout and Reginald holding the necromancer. The result of the two take the mage out of the battle for some time, and the four turn to the other three. Gafflure gets the best of Drake, who spends much of the fight on the ground or frustrated by not being able to get revenge on Sarkozy. The tempest rogue gets a good invisible hit in before his invisibility is nullified. He spends the rest of the fight trying to get through Reginald's mirrored image and concealment. The Kir-Laanan, however, named Gar-dryem, proves to quite annoying, draining Gafflure of strength and levels. The necromancer gets away from the waterspout and unleashes massive spells at Reginald and Sarkozy. Reginald eludes his, but Sarkozy is not so lucky and is hit to near unconsciousness. Drake then unleashes a massive hit on Gafflure, who drained by Gar-dryem's attacks, falls unconscious, only saved from death by Sarkozy's magic.

Reginald, however, turns the tide of battle by blinding Drake, and later the Rogue. The necromancer falls to Donovan's sword, and Gar-dryem, who has yet to be seriously harmed, begins to get annoyed. He yells at the floundering Drake that he will be leaving unless he tells him where "they" are. Drake only tells the Kir-Laanan that he will tell them once the battle is over. Not enough for Gar-dryem, he begins to leave. Meanwhile, Drake pulls out a sending stone, and tries desperately to convince the four that he has information that can help them fight the "real" enemy in Suldolphor. The four ignore and scoff at the pathetic attempt at self-preservation and keep attacking, with Sarkozy and Reginald combining to down Drake. Reginald and Donovan then attack the flying Gar, but it is not enough, and the Kir-Laanan flies out the open wall. At this point, the four realize the Sembian ship, fresh through the gate, has turned around and has aimed its cannons in at the battle.

Sarkozy drops a comet on the ship, and then freezes the cove in which it is in, but it doesn't stop the cannonballs from starting to fly. Reginald decides it might be time to go, and tells Sarkozy to insert the rectangle into the keystone hole and activate the portal. Sarkozy gets over there just as cannons fire, destroying the remains of the device that was powering the gate, and its fuel source. Sarkozy, now full of shrapnel and not tall enough to insert the key, grows larger and inserts the rectangle. After a short spark, the portal glows to life... as does the large outdoor portal.

Reginald smacks his head and realizes they just did exactly what Drake wanted done, and if they go through the portal, the Sembian's would have what they want. Luckily, the active outdoor portal also makes the ship pause outside, and inside of blasting them to pieces with more cannons, they try to free the ship from the ice. Sarkozy removes the rectangle, and the three begin looting bodies while the newly healed Gafflure wrestles with the Tempest, who is blind and trying desperately to flee away from her mighty grip. He fails, of course, and just as the ship starts firing the cannons again, the four teleport back to the jail room with loot, Drake's body, and a prisoner in tow.

They quickly grab Saulthan and the prisoners and lead them out of the complex, up the stairs to the forest. The Sembian ship does not stop firing, and eventually a large explosion is felt in the ground and a small earthquake-like shock flows across the ground. The party looses their balance as the forest behind them caves in, collapsing the entrance and the structure beneath. Content that at least for now they are safe, they make their way back to Urbeth.

When they arrive, Donovan gives the prisoners a gold and Reginald tells them to make sure they tell the authorities that the Earthquake - whose effects even touched the city - was the Sembian's fault. Tired from the ordeal, they retreat back into Reginald's pocket mansion, Saulthan joining them. They decide to rest there and prepare to speak with Drake's dead body in the morning. Before they can sleep, however, Sarkozy receives a sending - from Ezri Rundeen. The Consortium leader demands to meet with them and learn what they know. After a brief exchange, the four head off to the Lion's Mane Tavern.

Ezri is there, with a whole squadron of men. The four sit and Ezri grills them about the Sembians and what has happened. The four answer quite truthfully, and then demand to know what happened the previous day with the Predator. Ezri reveals that the Predator indeed did sink. While the Rundeen ships took out the Sembians, the Scorpion assaulted the Predator and boarded her. Though he only spoke with Thorock and Brigitte afterwards, they told him that the crew was all killed, and Thorock personally killed Fedallah. The ship went down shortly thereafter. Ezri makes it quite clear that this part he did not like, alluding that Fedallah's weapon went with it. Only the Renegade and the Scorpion survived. After a day of repairing, the Renegade docked, while the Scorpion slowly sailed east.

The four are rather paranoid - they don't believe that Fedallah is indeed dead. Still, they leave, but not before Ezri asks them to tell the Pasha or his underlings to stay away from the area for some time, as he will be "recovering" Rundeen lost treasures from his downed ships. The four grumble, but walk away. They retreat back to the mansion and rest for the night.

The next morning dawns, and Sarkozy goes to the task of speaking with Drake's dead body. Four times he tries, and four times he is unsuccessful. Reginald, not wanting to give up, goes to buy scrolls. Two more times the spell does not work. Frustrated, Reginald decides it might be best to give in to Sarkozy's curiosity and visit the Temple to Bane. Before they leave, Sarkozy attempts to contact Derek Dragonsong. He gets a reply, but it makes little sense. The party is rather perplexed at this.

The under-construction temple is somewhat deserted, and both doors are closed. The four sneak towards the back, and Sarkozy boldly opens a door. He continues to enter the temple, Reginald staying outside so he does not break an entering, and Gafflure and Donovan nipping at the cleric's heals trying to tell him to get out of the building. Unfortunately, Sarkozy is spotted by a lone group of clerics in the main room. A short exchange occurs where Sarkozy exasperates his allies with his truthful and blunt replies and questions as the clerics tell him repeatedly to leave. Eventually, one of the clerics spots the green sword on his belt, and it seems this triggers a response. After the elf does not leave when asked one more time, the middle cleric takes out an orb and throws it at the ground...

...the clerics disappear. And then the earthquake starts.

Luckily for the three that are inside the building, the unfinished ceiling is a blessing. Gafflure totally avoids the falling rubble, but both Donovan and Sarkozy are pinned underneath. Eventually, the two are freed, and the four retreat back to the mansion to discuss "what went wrong."

Session 15: The Stand, Part I
Eleint 4th - 8th

The group talks a bit about the situation in Urbeth, and what may be going on in Suldolphor. Reginald asks the others if Suldolphor is even worth going back to. Not finding an easy answer, the group decides that selling the immense amount of gear they had accumulated will ease their minds. The next morning Reginald teleports the group to Waterdeep. They spend all of the 5th in the city, selling their loot and buying items. Both Reginald and Sarkozy take the time to find and buy Tomes of Intelligence and Wisdom. Donovan researches the possibility of getting some Bracers of Murder redeemed so he can use them without guilt. Gafflure thinks about and eventually buys a new and improved spiked chain. They all make their way back to the mansion hole, but Sarkozy is met along the way by a familiar blue friend - Thomas Smith.

Thomas strikes up a rather odd conversation with the elf. Though, as usual, he gives away no easy answers, Sarkozy does learn a few things:
 * The death of Drake and the destruction of the portal created some kind of explosion on the other end on the island of Prespur, Sembia. The whole situation is a little "annoying" to Thomas, as he comments that his business in Sembia will probably be effected by the "changes" happening there.
 * It is clear that Suldolphor is in flux, and things are not going well. Sarkozy is reminded by the conversation that the last time they were there, Emed Usko was sentenced to be executed, and Yasheira was just plain "missing."
 * Lastly, Thomas tells him his reason for meeting him: there are people in Suldolphor looking for the four. Sarkozy eventually gets that he means Croznoc and Vheil.  Thomas tells the elf that the longer he waits to go to Suldolphor, the messier it will be for him and his friends.
 * Sarkozy asks if he is in league with The Rune's Hand. Thomas laughs and deflects the question.

Sarkozy makes his way back to the mansion and reveals what he has learned. Donovan is immediately affected and sulks. There is a long conversation about what the four should do. While they are worried that they have no allies in the city, there are semi-assured by Thomas' remarks that Rein is not looking for them, as he has "bigger problems." Sarkozy is worried about Emed, and tries to contact him and locate him through magic. Being blocked at every turn, he assumes he is alive. Donovan wants to go to the city to see Vheil. Gafflure still has a desire to fight Croznoc. Only Reginald is a little hesitant at first to find a reason - but he eventually gets it in his head that he would really like to see Rein dead for the all the crap he has put the four through. The group decides that they will teleport the next day outside the city, and have Donovan and Gafflure scout out the situation while the mages read their tomes.

They teleport that afternoon after a bit more shopping. A few hours later, Donovan and Gafflure enter the city gates with little trouble. They visit many of the places they are familiar with.
 * The docks are mostly the same, but Sarkozy notices their are no warships in the bay - the blockade has been pulled back. Throog in the Yellow Bellied Newt tells them it happened recently.  Throog also wonders if they know where Thorock is - he owes Throog money and his ship is several days late from returning.
 * The Feathered Fancy is closed. Patty O'Fridays looks to have collapsed.  The Screaming Eagle is badly damaged by fire.
 * The One Eyed Bear is filled with patrons - including Dumein. The two do not talk to him, but instead ask the bar keep some cryptic questions that really don't explain much.
 * Gafflure takes Donovan to the Broken Dagger. She manages to get herself in and finds a gray suited Thomas Smith and a member of the Rune's Hand talking.  He gets a little bit of information, and the two then decide to go back.

After reading, Sarkozy decides to contact Yasheira on the off chance she is alive. Reginald scries on Rein, who somehow fails the save. They put together all this information to form the following story:
 * Yasheira has been in Calimport trying to get the Pasha to see the evil of Rein. She has finally succeeded in convincing him to relieve him of power.  He has 36 more hours to step down.  Dumein will not act until this occurs. Yasheira and the Pasha are on the way here by ship, but will not be here for some time.
 * Emed is probably still alive, as the good clerics of the city are too powerful if Rein executes him now.
 * Rein is clearly in league with the Banites, and is very nervous about the events that are unfolding.

The four decide it is time to act. The next day they head into the city. Sarkozy, as usual, gives the full and honest reason why they are there to the guard at the gate. Luckily, they guard seem to agree with their actions and let them through. They decide to find Dumein and tackle the problem head on, but they are distracted by posters in the city. The poster proclaims that the sentence against Emed Usko, former Vizier of Magic and Religion, will be carried out that day at noon. He will be executed, in front of the Temple to Umberlee, as he has been found guilty of treason and collusion to overthrow the Olanger.

The four continue on to the One Eyed Bear. There they find an intense argument between Dumein and Danar Eld, head Cleric of Valkur. Eld is threatening intervention by the mages of the city should the execution go through - Dumein tells him (and the four who butt in) that he is guilty by law, and if anyone interferes, THEY will be arrested. Dumein storms out. Eld, nearly mad with rage, hears what the four have to say - Sarkozy wants to help him stop the execution. Eld is thankful, but tells them they have it under control - the real opportunity here is to get Rein. Their intervention during the execution will distract Dumein, and Rein and the Zhentarim's allies in the Temple to Umberlee. Eld tells the four that Rein will not show up in public - he will most likely be hiding with the Zhentarim in the Temple of Bane, afraid of what is to come at midnight when his official power is gone.

The four agree with Eld to go after Rein and Maven Avada. With two hours left before the execution, Donovan takes his leave and visits the mother of his unborn child. He leaves a sizable amount of gold, and tells her to keep safe. He also assures her (in case she was worried) that he will be killing everyone he sees. The awkward moment ends not soon enough and Donovan heads back to the Tavern.

Meanwhile, Reginald and Sarkozy use this time to hatch another plan - why not kill two birds with one stone? They each send a message to a Cyricist, Croznoc and Vheil, and tell them to be at the temple in two hours, to end things. The responses back seem to confirm that they will be there, and pain will come with them. A little before noon, now with Donovan back, they head to the temple.

As they approach, they finally get a sight of the square in front of the Temple to Bane. What they see chills them to the bone. Croznoc, Vheil and other Cyricists are there. A dozen dead Clerics are dead in front of the temple. Worse, there is a Balor attacking the temple's symbol with all his strength. The symbol is slowly cracking, as are the front doors to the temple.

Clearly spooked at the Balor and the strength in the square, the four hastily prepare to escape if necessary. Half of them are invisible by the time another sound peaks their interest. Another group of people have appeared opposite their position - and who it is surprises them even more: the group is led by Thomas Smith and a semi-human male, 6 spider-like arms jutting from his back and a large symbol of Cyric on his chest. A dozen or so members of the Rune's Hand are also with them. Gafflure recognizes the human - his face anyway - it is Loki, the man who hired Gafflure to kill Croznoc.

Croznoc and his party turn. Thomas and the Hand back away, as do Vheil and her party. Croznoc opens a large flask that is in his hand and another large demon appears. Seconds later Croznoc, the Balor, and the other demon charges Loki. The four are in awe at the battle that is taking place between these creatures, but this is quickly broken by the screams coming from Vheil, who has spotted the two that are still visible. Her group charges the heroes, Vheil screaming words of revenge and retribution. Meanwhile, a gate appears next to Loki, and a Red Dragon the size of a house appears...

Session 16: The Stand, Part II
Eleint 8th

The battle is nothing if not intense. Sarkozy makes things a little easier by dispelling the ogre and Vheil. The Drow unleashes a furious attack on the elf however. Soon, Gafflure falls to the combined might of the ogre and Drow, and then Donovan falls unconscious as well. The four are helped a little by a few of the Rune's Hand who distract the ogre, but the battle rages on.

Across the square, a full 5 or 6 blocks now lay in ruins from the battle between Loki and Croznoc. The demons and the Red Dragon both fall, and it is just the two left shooting spell after spell at each other. Sarkozy uses the distractions and heals Donovan, and the ogre and Drow eventually fall mostly due to the potent offensive spells unleashed by Reginald. Sarkozy then traps Vheil in a waterspout, and the fall from the spout helps to knock her unconscious. Donovan finishes the job, as he goes over and kills her.

By this time, the four see that Loki has cast miracle, and Croznoc is surrounded by black shadows, wailing a very unholy sound. They quickly and silently loot the bodies, all the while keeping one eye on the battle. Gafflure, however, is overcome with duty, and starts charging toward Croznoc, determined to help kill the orc. Luckily for her, Croznoc is soon consumed by the flames, a nearly lifeless, and burned body is left behind. Loki takes out a greatsword and kills him, proceeding to chop off his head. This stops Gafflure in her tracks. Loki then takes out a huge gem, and casts Soul Bind on Croznoc's body. The four watch as Loki spits on the body, nods toward the alleyway, and then teleports away.

The remainder of the rune's Hand scuffles away, nearly out of sight, but a lone figure walks out of the alleyway. His suit is a little ruffled, a little singed at points, his hair is smoking a little. He looks very much wild, more than Sarkozy has ever seen him. Thomas Smith smiles, though, and looks at them, thanking them for their help. He tells them he, Loki, and his employers are very happy at this outcome. He smile then disappears as he mentions that the "bit with the Sembians" will clearly hurt his business, and the "death of the Countess" will certainly make things interesting in the coming months. He then points to the temple, telling them to have fun with Rein, and that they should make haste. Not saying much in retort, the four watch as Thomas teleports away.

The four turn toward the temple. Wanting nothing else but to rest, they quickly realize that the damage done to the Bane symbol, and the door, is very slowly mending itself. They realize that if they wait too long, it might be much harder to enter the temple. They quickly gather their loot, switching a few pieces out for the battle, and decide on a plan.

A few minutes later, Donovan flies up toward the symbol with Sarkozy in tow. Th elf lands on the precipice in front of the evil symbol, takes out the Green Sword, and swings with all his might. The symbol almost cried out in pain, the cracks widening. The door below starts to turn green, and after a few more swings, the symbol shatters, the door turns to vines and then to dust, and an intense wave of negative energy emanates out in all directions from the temple. The four shrug it off, get Sarkozy down, and then march in the doors to the temple.

Standing there in the main room, pews moved off to the side, is a another foursome. Maven Avada is standing in the back, his eyes wide with rage, almost daring them to keep coming closer. Beside him is a slightly frightened Aseir Rein, firmly holding an ornate rod. in front of Avada is a familiar face from Innarith - Tyxari Hez. Finally, there is a very large and strong looking gray bearded man to Avada's right - later, his name is found to be Gary. Maven's voice booms in anger: "Theymarsh, Yeshpek, Almraiven, Urbeth, Tashluta.  Suldolphor will not fall like these.  Our vision, Bane’s vision and our conquering of the southern seas will not DIE HERE.  You do not know what you are involved in, but it doesn’t matter, because now it is time you will die..."

With that, battle begins.

The four immediately realize that both Rein and Maven are more powerful then they thought. Reginald's suspicions that Rein is holding a Rod of Absorption are found to be true, and it is also quickly realized that their enemies seem to not be taking full damage on their attacks. Reginald manages to hit Gary with a Ray of Dizziness, however, and soon after Tyxari falls dead. The tide seems to start turning in their direction... until Maven utters a blasphemy spell. The combination of the desecrated area, the altar behind him, and divine spell power makes it very potent, and Sarkozy, Gafflure, and Donovan are all paralyzed. Sarkozy, however, is able to negate this with the Green Sword. The others, however, are quite locked in place - Donovan is invisible when this happens.

Sarkozy makes haste toward Gafflure and manages to release her. Gafflure eventually downs Gary - this drives Avada quite mad, and he retreats to a side of the room and erects a blade barrier in front of him. Rein is also eventually downed by an eventually freed Donovan, but not before he turns a weakened Gafflure blind. Weakened, and almost out of magic, the four turn to Avada. Avada, however, finally seems to have snapped - a maniacal laugh erupts as he casts implosion. He targets Sarkozy first, and the elf implodes, only the green sword remains, dropped to the floor next to the ashes. Donovan jumps through the Blade Barrier to engage the cleric, as Avada targets Reginald next with the implosion. Reginald, however, recognizes the spell and attempts to turn it back on Avada himself. Avada manages to save off the spell, however, but not before Reginald dimension doors toward him. Now with two enemies in his face, Avada continues to laugh and casts his final upper level spell left - Miracle.

Reginald, identifying the spell, is prepared for the worst - will he raise his allies to fight again? Will he just kill him? The remaining three are surprised when nothing much seems to happen... that is, until they feel a little light headed and hear a very loud wind coming from outside the windows. It doesn't take them long to come up with what just happened - the whole castle is thousands of feet in the air somewhere, falling. Maven also quickens a dimensional lock in the area around him. Reginald, now very concerned, tells Donovan that they have to retreat. They both jump through the barrier - Reginald barely surviving the gears - grab the blind Gafflure, run out of the range of the lock, and teleport away, leaving a laughing Avada and the green sword behind. They arrive shortly thereafter in the small town of Yeshpek.

Session 17: Resolutions
Eleint 8th - 

Despite the peculiar looks the three get, they are somewhat relieved. Reginald immediately decides to find out what has happened in Suldolphor, and he casts a sending to Emed while Gafflure's blindness wears off. Just as he receives a response, the leader of Yeshpek, Hartom, comes and greets them, and asks if he can do anything for them. The three tell them of the loss of Sarkozy, and that they could use a meal and board. Hartom brings them immediately to the Soaring Falcon Inn, and the three enjoy a hearty meal and discuss what has just happened.

Reginald reveals Emed's response - the Vizier is alive, saved from his execution by Eld and the others. However, Emed also mentions that the temple - the one that the vacated a mere hour ago - fell on the Olanger's palace. The three talk for a bit and ultimately decide that they need to go to Suldolphor, if nothing more than to find a cleric of enough experience to bring Sarkozy back. After wrapping up their meal, they say goodbye to Hartom, and teleport outside the One Eyed Bear in Suldolphor.

They imemdiately notice a large pillar of wispy smoke coming from the spot of the battle a few hours earlier. They can also see the familiar towers of the castle are gone in the distance. They walk toward the castle and witness the destruction first hand. Most of the buildings adjacent to the castle are damaged, including all four Vizier offices. Where the castle was is now completely barren - no rubble, no remnants of the castle remain. Instead, there is a semi-charred ground, and grass growing.

The three eventually find Emed in his office. The Vizier looks tired and a little unnerved, as if he has not fully absorbed what has happened to him in the past few hours. He is quite happy to see the three, however, and thank them for their cooperation and help in defeating Rein and saving himself. Emed also fills them in on what happened over the last few hours. A fight broke out between Eld and the clerics of Umberlee - Dumein finally agreed to hold off the execution. When they found the temple to be gone, and divination of Rein proved that he was dead, Dumein agreed to wait for the Pasha. Minute later, however, the temple fell from the sky, right on top of the castle. The force shook the city to its core, as almost immediately a pit opened up beneath the rubble, pulling everything into it. The pit seemed to want to grow, and devour the whole city, but something seemed to fight it. The hole eventually closed, and grass started to grow shortly thereafter.

By this point, the topic of Sarkozy comes up: Emed agrees to bring him back - it is the least he can do. Minutes later, the confused elf is filled in on what happened. Emed then excuses himself, but not before telling them of a meeting with the Pasha that evening - set for 10 pm in the temple to Valkur. All four agree to attend.

Hours pass, and the four set off for the temple. They notice right away the commotion at the docks - it is quite obviously the Pasha arriving. It is not long until they see an entourage making their way toward the temple. They arrive there at the same time - the Pasha is escorted on a carried platform, veiled women trailing. Beside him is Yasheira Say'kal, Dumein, Emed... and Brigitte Petzer. It is not long before they are all inside around a large table, Eld joining them. One of the Pasha's handlers claps loudly, and the leader begins to speak.

He speaks of what Yasheira has told him - and he first wants to know if Rein is indeed dead, and was indeed in league with the Zhentarim. Reginald responds to the positive. The Pasha asks about Avada, and Eld confirms that they cannot locate him magically, and that he is most likely dead as well. The Pasha seems satisfied, but then turns to Dumein. He chastises the man for his blindness over the affair, particularly Emed's near death. The Pasha demotes him to head of the city guard. He then turns to Emed: The Olanger is dead, as is the treacherous Rein. He offers the title and job of Olanger to Emed. After a few moments, Emed accepts, as he looks forward to healing Suldolphor.

The Pasha seems pleased, and then turns to Brigitte - he asks her "one more time" is she knows anything else about where "she" went. Brigitte replies to the negative. With that, the Pasha leaves, ordering Brigitte to tell the new Olanger everything that has happened on the Scorpion over the last few days. Eld and Dumein excuse themselves, as does Yasheira, but not before Emed asks her to stay in her current position.

Brigitte then starts retelling the tale of the last hours of the crew of the Scorpion. With the Predator destroyed and her crew dead, the Scorpion started to sail slowly back to Suldolphor. All was fine for the first day, she says - but then people started to go missing. The ship was searched, but nothing was found, and no magic afoot. Eventually, the crew was down to only a dozen, and paranoia set in. Soon, the paranoia came to violence and it was far too late before both Thorock and Brigitte realized what was happening... it was Derek Dragonsong.

Or, at least, who they thought was Derrick. Thorock fell, and Brigitte found herself the last alive, staring into the wild eyes of Derrick... who she soon realized was Fedallah. The evil woman left shortly thereafter, but not before swearing her revenge on Brigitte, the Rundeen, the Pasha, and the "survivors of the Black Diamond." Brigitte also confirms that Fedallah is indeed a woman, and a spitting image of Aasma Quarash.

Brigitte tells the group that she plans on searching out Fedallah and killing her once and for all. Emed promises his full support. She then retires for the evening. The four also look to retire for the evening, but Emed makes an offer to them all before they go: he needs three more Viziers, and he would welcome any of them to apply.

A few days pass, as the four contemplate their options.

Lonehunter continues his days as an envoy from his tribe to Suldolphor and the surrounding areas. He eventually heads to Yeshpek to help train its city guard, helping Hartom lead the city to grow and become an important trading center.

Burlon rebuilds Theymarsh, with help from the new Olanger. The antimagic field does not dissipate as hoped - the entrance to the cave that held the rectangle is sealed.

Emed becomes Olanger and starts the rebuilding process of Suldolphor. He does not rebuild the castle on the same spot - something tells him that would be a bad idea. Instead, he lets it grow, and within a month a quiet and beautiful grove took root.

Saulthan, whose anger surfaces upon hearing Fedallah still lives, joins up with Brigitte. The duo sail a week later on the repaired Scorpion. Sarkozy, who contemplates becoming a Vizier, instead joins them as Brigitte's first mate. Gafflure, now with Croznoc done, decides to join them as well.

Reginald applies for and is accepted as the Vizier of Defense. He contacts Cormyr to warn them of Sembia's actions. His contacts tell him that it looks as though all of Miklos' political opponents have been killed.

Donovan heads back to Saelmur, to seek out Weston and to tell him of his battle with Areia. Donovan finds Weston has changed, and barely recognizes his old friend. He returns to Suldolphor to see his child born - it is a girl.

Thomas Smith is not seen for some time.

Themes
User:Neenan writes: The theme of a central location, one city to protect, was the original theme to this campaign. However, as usual, this changed and grew as the campaign took a life of its own. Another goal of this campaign was to end the storyline of Fedallah and the Predator, and the plot served to show Miklos Selkirk's methods of coming to power, an event that happened in another campaign.

Memorable Moments
As usual, this campaign was filled with memorable moments:
 * Donovan, early on, goes to buy a horse. He walks in and basically says "What horse can I get for 4000 gold?"  He basically pays quadruple of what he was suppose to.
 * Sarkozy, playing his honestly flaw to a T, basically tells Lord Drake to his face that he was responsible for killing his ally Vreeg and messing up the plans of the Zhentarim.
 * Donovan, upon assuring the mother of his unborn child that everything will be fine as he marches off to face Rein and Avada, says, "Don't worry, I will kill everyone I see."
 * Reginald, who received advice from Kallionastyrine about "always taking the middle path" in the Thornwood, brings up that advice several other times in several other places.

Criticisms
From Ignacio: Gotta give your characters accents

Setting the Stage
As a campaign which takes place before some of our completed sessions, the DM has taken leave to lay some of the groundwork for the "future".
 * First and foremost, the mechanism of Miklos Selkirk's ascension to Emperor in Sembia was at the heart of the plot. Selkirk was mentioned in Mists of Cormyr, Swordpoints of the Sea Hook, and Shrouded Wings.  The aftermath of his death is explored in Vindication of the Merchant Nation
 * Ezri Rundeen, son and leader of the trading consortium, makes an appearance here, before he was tainted with Yaun-ti blood in The Path of the Tome.

Side Quests

 * The Town of Idiots - while the PCs did battle the Mockery Monarch, they smartly ran away knowing that they were over matched. The quest was never revisited, however, and it was left to Lonehunter and his Goliaths to destroy the vile monsters.
 * The Haunting of the Sea Elf - executed beautifully. While it was left open for the PCs to try to right what they accidentally did, time and plot did not let them fully consider it.
 * Petzer makes his Move - numerous leads were dropped about things happening in Almraiven, unfortunately, they were never followed. As a result, the PCs never learned that a similar temple and situation was happening in that city, and the head cleric there was defeated by a small group led by none other than their good friend Petzer and his new mage friend.

Unanswered Questions
Answer: No. Petzer will join with other followers of Cyric and eventually die in the Battle of the Citadel of the Raven. Answer: Yes. The Spellplague of 1385 will wreak havoc around Theymarsh, dissipating the field.
 * Will the Scorpion ever track down Fedallah?
 * Will Brigitte ever find her husband?
 * Will the antimagic field in Theymarsh, and the chaotic nature of Mage's Disjunction, ever go away?