Auteur: Thijs

Thunder and Lightning

Swords clash against claws, rain pours down, spells fly, an apocalypse is brought to the Island.. The Dragon Kalalos was sat in his office, unaware of the judgement that would come down upon him. Four adventurers spoke to him, trying to take him off of th edark path he’d been following, but instead he simply tried to use the adventurers and the guild for his own ends, his words like poison meant to turn the soul…

The adveturers didn’t fall for it, and got all that they needed, they sprung their attack. The battle was swift, the Kobold retinue Kalalos kept was defeated without much issue, and the skill at arms of the Dragon was not enough to evict the adventurers from his dark lair. He fell back in his true form, to the grey cliffs above, where a storm conjured by the dragon was harrowing nature and man alike.

There they battled, shapeshifted adventurers resisting lightning and claw, yet it was too much.. the Dragon became more savage with every painful strike upon him, and he dove for the archer to release his rage. The adventurer was downed, and taken to the clouds, amidst the lightning and rain- and only timely intervention by a holy warrior prevented his death there and then. Yet this left two adventurers in the Dragon’s claws in the clouds, with the other two adventurers scrambling to repair a great crossbow left by previous assailants…

It was too slow, and both Trak’tor and Leomaris were slain, their corpses tumbling to the earth with the vengeful dragon. Acidum fell.. and only Toby remained, before a lizard of godly power.. it would have been the end, were it not for the timely intervention of a familiar. Acidum was ressurected, and together they drove the Dragon off, collapsing to the ground in pain and exhaustion.

Yet Toby held strength within him, and as Acidum slept, Toby ensured everyone’s soul returned to their broken bodies. Kalalos lives, and the adventurers were nearly all slain-… Yet not all glory was lost, the Dragon is heavily wounded and incapable of acting for a while…

Freedom at Last

Several brave adventurers travelled south deeply into the woods to explore the shielded ruined villa area. Unable to penetrate the magic sonic shield, the adventurers allied with some local Ogres to create the ultimate battering ram consisting of an ancient magic felled oak, strengthened with divine forge metal, enchanted into magic. The ogres were meanwhile enhanced with magic and herb by the floating magic head locked inside the shield. This all combined allowed them to break through the sonic shield. Once inside the ruined villa (after setting of a few explosive runes) they encountered the now in-undead-flesh floating head owner, which thanked them for setting him free. The brave adventurers left after some prompting of the host (them being drained whenever any damage was done to him might have something to do with it) and reported back to the Guild..

To boldly go where no one has gone before

A strange mix of adventurers followed the weird pull in their heads towards a huge crater surrounded by strange purple veined abominations. Using stealth and natures shadows they entered the crater only to stumble upon a group of cultists performing a ritual sacrifice in front of a huge Starstone. This starstone was the source of all starstones and seemed to contain the locked-in essence of an Ancient One, crashed into our world not to long ago. Bravely our Tiefling Anilia offered herself to become the new vessel of the Ancient One instead of the cult leader, which the Ancient One all to eagerly accepted. Realizing the Ancient One was about to be released on the world, Qam, the first Warlock and worshipper of this Ancient One, had a change of heart and decided to blast all worshippers out of existence. The huge magical blast killed all cultist in the blast area, but the poor Goblin Sorcerer, Rimple, was also caught in the blast and perished. The Ancient One saved Anilia’s physical form taken full control over it (except for 1 hour per day) and quickly transformed in a more appropriate form with wings and flew off into deep space and the darkness beyond…

Other table finishes Quest from last time.

Sharks
An adventure to investigate Jhanna’s old home went south almost immediately. The adventurers assigned to the task were ambushed by a group of three Land Sharks, or Bullettes as their official designation is known. The fight was bloody, and tough- with Quam the Warlock nearly finding himself slain once again. Fortunately, cooperation prevailed, and the ravenous beasts driven off.

Peace and quiet weren’t all they were cracked up to be however. Betwixt between Tarquin’s Golden Grass, lays the Named Nymph Olahn, spying on the Adventurers, seeking a particular quarry. However his intentions turned out to be good, together with the Galeb Duhr called Kruk, they were seeking to help Tarquin’s woes, a red gem stuck between his bones of stones.

When the investigation of this red gem started however, Jhannas trap was sprung, and the adventurers investigating the event had part of their being transported to her home, where they were fed, and caught a rest most tranquil and warm. There she offered her apologies for the way communications had been conducted lately. She laid out her plans for the Island, and her opposition to the Hobgoblins, spoke of the Dragon Kalalos and his ambitions which the adventurers had witnessed before, and offered them a pact. An alliance most unbreakable..

In a moment that may yet hold sway for years to come, the Vampiress got her wish. Three adventurers, who on behalf of the guild, aligned themselves with her and her designs for the Island via a blood pact. Yet if the guild feels this betrays her good intentions, or if otherwise the adventurers fall to evil, their expulsion shall swiftly follow.

A new path has been laid, let it be the right one!

Romancing the Stone

Brave adventurers escorted a supply of relief goods from the City to the tree creatures in the forest, yet distrusted the firmly sealed crates. After accidently dropping a crate, many martial weapons were exposed and the adventurers refused to deliver the supplies. At the same time they discovered that the receiving Tree-creature was actually a Fox General of the Beast creatures in magical disguise. The fox is now a living scarf for our Tiefling for the time being. The brave adventures continued however, knowing a starstone to be nearby. Stumbling upon the heavy frontlines between the Trees and Beast of the Forest, a dash was made to the Starstone lying in the middle of some heavy fighting. Again the stone was eaten by our Tiefling (who was promptly granted Eternal Life in return for undisclosed future favors). A fortuitous escape was made by our adventurers carried by the Orc who through magical experimentation had increased Large in size and could short-distance magically teleport. The decision was made to continue to the final Starstone nearby…

Tunnels and S.T.A.C
An old Dwarven catacomb is no laughing matter, and the descent into the dust filled caverns was nerve wracking for most of the party. They inched forth. watching their every step. After a few dozen minutes crawling in the dust, seeing the remains of an ancient civilisation, they arrived in the true purpose of this place: An open chasm, filled with glittering white metal, milky and gorgeous!

There they crossed thin bridges, ruins, as the eerie ghosts of this place haunted them. Through teamwork and strength the adventurers reached a safe haven, an old guardpost, defending the passage to heroic burial grounds. Yet the way forward was blocked by rubble. One of the adventurers, being lithe and agile crawled through secret passages, and found a new companion for the guild, STAC! A multitool and map of the Dwarven megalopolis…

Eventually, the blockade was surmounted, with an automaton of old make destroyed without shedding any blood, only to square off at the arena which was the adventurer’s destination. It was not the warlord they faced however, but a Hobgoblin necromancer! Wading through his honour guard and undead hordes, they tied him up, and subdued him! Another hobgoblin warband destroyed!

            Bound by the letter dispatch.

A small group of new adventurers, Caw, Futhark, Anjara, Fvenn, and Filas took up the task of the odd letter. With a cart full of pyre wood they headed out to the northern coast to see if they could aid the unknown writer. They soon arrived at the coast and begun to construct the pyre, and after it had been built they waited to the writer to arrive.

In the night as the party rests near the fire, a gnome in grubby robes approaches the party. The entire left side of his face is covered in burn scars and had no hair. He introduces himself as Garrebad, High Druid of Silvanas and that he has kept balance on this part of the island for over 900 years. He is old now and wants to pass on but first he has one last task he needed to complete.

The woods nearby are the domain of some kind of spirit, and Garrebad wants to help it find rest, but the spirit has always kept him at bay through magic or might. He tells the group of a massive tree in the heart of the woods, and how it might be the key to this mission. Garrebad warns the party that there are more than one malicious spirit in the woods and gifts the party with a bag of holy salt, that when cast on the ground will prevent such evil from passing. He sends them into the woods and informs them that he will be right where they left him, waiting for their safe return.

Not long after the group enters the woods, in the distance they can hear the sound of a boar crying out, and as they head towards the heart of the woods do the cries grow louder. After a small detour, the find a pregnant boar, caught in a bear-trap. Filas applies his strength and devotion to the trap, opening it. Fvenn then calmed the creature and cured its wounds as the rest of the group kept watch. Once the boar could move again, it bolted into the woods.

The group returned to the mission at hand and quickly found the heart of the woods, and the tree that Garrebad had described.

The tree was massive and ancient, with almost half its entire length scorched and burnt. The “wound” was covered in a sticky resin, but it was also noted how much the burn on the tree looked like an actual burn wound…

Caw clambered up onto the tree to investiagate further as Anjara, Fvenn and Filas all debated the nature and origin of the tree. One theory is that it could be an Treant that hasnt awakend yet and had been possessed by a spirit. Another was that it was somehow linked to Garrebad, since they both bore heavy burn scars.

As the debate continued, Caw noticed small pustules on the tree and attempted to take a sample of the fluid inside. Fvenn then saw a branch reach out to Caw and called out a warning just as the branch came down and gave Caw a mighty *thwack*. As the large tree began to quiver and tremble, the smaller trees around it sprung to life and ambushed the party. Thinking on his tiny, kobold feet, Fvenn began to scatter the salts given by Garrebad around the tree in an attempt to hold back its swinging branches. Soon the small treants had been defeated and the giant tree returned to its slumbering state. The party noticed writing on the bark “ Through Fire Borne,By Earth Reborne, Through Fire Scorned, By Earth Mourned”

The group then began to investigate around the tree and Fvenn began to dig under its roots, quickly finding an enormous acorn underneath. On one side of the acorn was a crack that Fvenn could peer into, and inside was the mummified corpse of what seemed to be an elf. Using a mix of berry paste and the sacred salt, he managed to patch the crack. The group filled in the hole they had dug. No sooner had they done this did they notice that the burn on the tree had begun to heal itsself. Satisfied they had helped the spirit they returned to Garrebad on the coast.

They found Garrebad waiting exactly where they had left him. Garrebad was very pleased as he felt the spirit and the woods had been satisfied and balance restored, granting the blessing of the Silvanas to the northern coastline. He also apologized to the group, for he had been decieving them. He was the boar they found, testing their morale. He was also the spirit linked ot the tree. Having been buried underneath the roots in a ritual used by secret druid circles. He explains that he has been watching the guild since its inception and intends to leave the care and maintanence of the coast to the guild, but had to test their intentions and motives. Garrebad believes that the island is in good hands with the Guild and its Heroes.

He rewards the party and climbs the pyre, as Caw,Futhark, Anjara, Fvenn and Filas watch it burn and the spirit pass on.

Upon their return to the Guild they find Keth, grounds keeper at the Sanctum of Silvanas raving that a miracle has occured! A pale white oak tree has sprouted and grew to maturity within minutes. A true sign of Silvanas’ blessing!

Romancing the StarStones

A group of heroes struck out to find another starstone. After a long trek through the forest they discovered that some magics were causing them to veer off their destination, but with the help of the local forest animals they were able to find the source: a magically shielded ruin. Some strong Ogres under the command of a spectral creature were trying to smash the shield with a Starstone. The spectral creature tried to escape through the crack, but was only able to magically project his head outside of his entrapment. Negotiations quickly turned ugly and the Ogre group was decimated and ran. The Starstone was safely returned to the guild along with a detailed report of the surroundings.

of Starstones and Cultists

Brave adventures went searching for starstones, while avoiding existing conflicts in the forest. Warned by a tree-creature that a ferocious monster was responsible for corrupting the forest (in a familiar purple-veined starstone manner) a deal was struck with a group of robed humans searching for the creatures lair. Arriving at the lair the groups was surprised by the plants itself coming alive and consuming one of their new-found allies.
These allies then quickly dashed past the Shambling Mound collection of plants to the back of the lair (destroying several smaller vine plants in process) to grab the Starstone. Jan the ranger distrusted them and opened fire on them, upon which their leader teleported out with the Starstone and the others ran away. The heroes decided to finish of the corrupted Shambling Mound to at least prevent further forest corruption which they promptly did (from behind the Paladin).

The Mudgates
The first part of the attack is over, as units of Goliath infantrymen clambered through the soft mud, trying to reach the large wooden wall, a hail of arrows cast them down to be one with the ground! Attack after attack was repulsed, and the forested hill turned into a site of great tragedy.

Yet all was not lost however, as a new assault was being planned with the soldiers sheltering at the bottom of the hill, betwixt the pine trees, the adventurers arrived. Together they pressed forward slowly, and disabled the advanced fortifications, a watchtower and a Dwarven ruin. During this battle the mighty resplendent Rider, a Hobgoblin Hero sought to face the army, yet was felled swiftly, through majestic magics!

By the end of the afternoon, the Dwarven ruin was under the Adventurers’ control as well, and a new path opened through careful investigation. A Path that would allow them to strike in the belly of the beast!