A group gathers

Tuesday 2nd September

Amongst smoke, beer and childish pranks we formed, a loose group of people brought together through circumstances still not fully explained.

The first to arrive was Owyn, he walked in from the dark, wet night shrouded in a hooded cloak.

He seemed nervous, and took quite a few moments to settle, although the offer of a beer did cause a smile to crack his stony face a little.

His youthful face is badly scarred, with a portion of his left ear ripped away, Owyn acknowledged the disfigurement but offered nothing more on the subject. At such a time I felt it was best not to enquire any farther, I needed adventurers and people with talent.

Owyn did say that he had good reason for wanting to depart from Sassarine, I believe his scarred cheek and somewhat shortened ear are involved in this and there is a much more interesting story to be discovered. He mentioned that he is able to acquire items and get into places others might not be able to, truly talents we are likely to need.

He has family in Cauldron, a mother who lives on Ash Lane. Even though he hardly mentioned her I believe he was been away for sometime and has missed her, the news of the vanishings from the City cannot have been welcome news to him.

Next through the door came a man and woman, a striking couple, he walks with intent and presence of physical strength while she walks with lighter feet and a more secretive power. They headed to the bar after a brief chat with William, who nodded in my direction, they approached our table.

Owyn stiffened at their approach, I felt his tension. I rose to greet them and put on my best welcoming smile, anything to try and defuse any situation that Owyn's past here in Sasserine might have caused.

The young woman showed me a poster, one of the many I had put up around the city. They want to return to Cauldron and are looking for adventure at the same time. Even though they did not look related, she is much shorter than him with a totally different build and her hair is fiery red and his dark, they seemed like brother and sister.

Kellen is well built, with a powerful presence and reminds me of Tyron, obviously he will bring a strong sword to the group, something I fear we will be in great need of and currently in much need for.

Cass is totally different, shorter than Kellen, with a lithe frame and that fiery red hair of hers. Her green eyes seemed haunting and could draw you in very easily. I could feel a magical presence coming from her, so her talents are likely to compliment the group perfectly.

Both Cass and Kellen are from Cauldron originally, although guarded about their pasts, they did say they had struck out from the Lantern Street Orphanage on the own to see the world. I get the feeling that they left without informing the orphanage of their plans, which should make returning to the City an interesting prospect for them.

I offered to get the group another round of drinks and we agreed to leave as soon as they were finished, Owyn seemed to be relieved to finally be readying to leave. When the beer arrived it was bubbling, not normal for the good ale served in the inn, as I was getting up to enquire what was going on with beer when there was a theatrical flash and a burst of smoke.

Stood in front of me was a tall, thin, human with long black dread-locked hair and a fresh face. Introducing himself as Khandalar The Magnificent, he tried to leave us in no doubt that he was going to guide us and that he was a very powerful Wizard.

Sometimes it is best just to smile and accept what the fates deal you, the hand can be played until fates deal another card. Of course the teachings of Tyron have got me into trouble before, I am sure this time it might be different.

We accept Khandalar into the group for his talents if not his approach to introductions or the fact that he decided to change my fresh clothing to those smelling of slops, not something I will be quick to forget. Thankfully the light rain freshened me back up before we got to the gates of Sasserine, it was at this point that Owyn's face vanished from sight inside his cloak, the guards did not even bid us farewell as they sheltered from the rain.

We rode through the gates leaving Sasserine at our backs heading toward Cauldron, adventure, and a future unknown.

The Journey to Cauldron

Monday 8th September

Jungle, rain, walking, whispers and monkeys

The journey from Sasserine was very uneventful with the group walking for the most time in near silence. I find this slightly uncomfortable and have tried with varying degrees of success to engage the group and bring them together, rain and the close confines of the jungle paths does not help the mood of even the most seasoned traveller though.

Cass and Kellen stayed close to each other talking quietly, apparently forgetting about my elven ears, about returning to Cauldron and what this meant to them. The both seemed concerned about something although it was never named it hung heavily in the air between them.

The more I see them together the more they seem like brother and sister; Kellen appears to be older than Cass and is protective towards her, not in an overt way but there is certainly something in the way he stands near here that screams warnings of getting too close.

The closer we get to Cauldron the more nervous they seem, there is certainly something of a history between them and the city. In stark contrast Owyn seems happier with every step he takes towards Cauldron.

Whatever his history in Sasserine I think he carries more scars than he shows on his face.

Owyn and I tend to walk together slightly; it seems a natural blend of quiet movement and alertness. Our conversations originally quite short have become more interesting, he listens to stories that I tell and although he accepts gentle probes into his recent past usually giving very guarded responses. I have found, to my delight, the further back into Owyn’s history you delve the more open his is. This has lead to some very engaging exchanges and I can feel stories and songs being inspired by some of his more youthful activities, although I would have to embellish them a little.

Khandalar is a different matter, he walks alone and aloof. His attitude is hard to get past; I feel there is a vulnerable person wrapped up in the persona he has developed for himself. Time will tell and I sure with the right level of guidance and support he will turn out to be a very personable young man.

I have found that talking to Khandalar makes me feel quite old sometimes; an adult talking to a child, a petulant child at times.

Each night we set camp I try to draw the group together with song, music or stories. As the journey has gone on we have started to open up to each other and share jokes at these times, Khandalar does not appear to know any humourous jokes, rather opting for put downs and snide comments. Again I believe this is all part of his persona that he has developed and in truth he would rather laugh and make jokes with the rest of us.

His past is still closed to us and this bothers me, the secret to opening him up must lie in finding out why he feels he has to hide behind this haughty, superior mask.

During our mornings I play my flute softly, Cass sits and meditates for a while and Khandalar pours over his books which he then carefully wraps up and secures in his pack. We then strike camp, with Owyn ensuring that no obvious sign our site is easily found and carry on with our journey.

Not much happens in the jungle so even the smallest events take on extra significance than maybe they should. At several points during our journey we were observed quite obviously by a troop of Baboons. They just sat in the trees or just off the ground on low branches watching us walk past. As we approached them they start chatting, then stop and just as we pass them they chatter again more softly.

Each time we encountered them I got a feeling of foreboding as if they were watching us with a purpose, I have not shared these thoughts or feelings with the rest of the party. It is bad enough people laugh at me for my belief in the Morkoth, I do not need the group laughing me for thinking that Baboons are spying on us for some nefarious purpose.

After a week of walking the jungle has started to fade away, we are able to see further than about 20 feet and the volcano and majestic black walls of Cauldron are now visible. The camp tonight was more excited than before with very animated conversations, with Khandalar remaining just on the fringes of the group.

In the morning I will play a soaring tune, no longer feeling constrained by the jungle. I'll play as we strike out with our destination in sight and growing larger with every step.

Back in Cauldron

Tuesday 9th September

Home is seen, unexpected events occur and homes are lost

Seeing the black walls tower against the slate grey of the sky trough the break in the trees lifted every one's mood, the music I played matched perfectly. As we got closer to the city walls the black, apparently seamless, walls started to blot out the grey sky above us.

We approach the North Gate of Cauldron and try to pass the guards; Owyn seemed full of trepidation, probably hoping his Sasserine past has not travelled faster than us. The guards ignore him in favour of curious and quite furtive glances turning into hard stares at Cass of all people.

The girl seems to go inward under the stares and muted guard conversations, as sharp as my ears are I cannot tell of what they spoke upon.

My citizen badge is accepted but as we announce ourselves as an adventuring group we are escorted into an office. Behind a very impressive desk sits Terseon Skellerang who again stares at Cass, by this time I am growing extremely concerned; what has this apparent innocent done to warrant such attention of not just members of the Town Guard but the Captain?

After a brief word with Terseon one of our escorts departs while the others remain arrange a couple of steps behind us. After a few formal pleasantries exchanged between myself and the Captain of the Town Guard the door opens again. A young looking private enters the room, after another hushed exchange with Terseon, the private then stares at Cass. Examining her more and more closely, his eyebrows knitting together as he examines her; under such scrutiny I half expected Cass to crumble and to admit to anything they asked here. As suddenly as the examination starts the private’s face relaxes, he straightens up, turn to Skellerang and shakes his head. Without a word being uttered he turns smartly and marches out of the room, leaving Cass and the rest of us confused and more than a concerned.

Terseon Skellerang relaxes back into his chair and apologises for the reaction of himself and the guard, it transpires that Cass has more than a passing resemblances to a former member of the guard, who was killed. Nothing more could be gained from Terseon about this former member of the guard although the fact she was dead could explain a lot of the concern with her apparent reappearance.

He then moves on to talk to us about becoming a registered adventuring party within Cauldron, we agree to the conditions and sign up confirming when we come back for the badges to prove our status within the city we will provide a name for the party.

Once we leave Terseon’s office we head towards the church of St Cuthbert as we agree that speaking with Ord about his letter would set us in the right direction with regard the vanishings occurring within the City. I have another motive for wanting to speak to Ord on a purely personal and slightly selfish point; the matter of Anari ’s new friends.

As we walk toward the Church the sounds of a fight can be heard coming from an alley, we go to investigate to see to ruffians assaulting a lone person that appears to be dressed as a Cleric of St. Cuthbert. A lone female was already engaging them, trying to rescue the Cleric moving with a very fluid and slightly familiar style.

Another ruffian tries to block out way he is dispatched quite quickly with the combined efforts of the group. As we move into the alley the lone female fighter becomes recognisable it is none other than Anari.

She is now fighting on the ground with one of the assailants, as we as a group tackle the third. Khandalar fires some magic missiles from his hand seriously injuring the man, a point I cannot let go by and shout words of encouragement to Khandalar, and the rest of us rush forward, the second man falls quickly. By the time we attack the third man fighting Anari it is pretty much over.

The assailants all have their faces painted in white and black design that Owyn recognises as the mark of the Last Laugh, as thieves guild operating in Cauldron.

As we tend to the unconscious Ord a laugh can be heard from upon high, standing on the roof tops is a young woman with her brown hair tied into a ponytail. Her face is also painted in the style of the last laugh she shouts down to us, “Ha, ha well done, but take this as a warning Cleric; stop the investigations into the vanishings.”

I called to her to explain herself more fully but she was already running skilfully across the rooftops and away from us. Although the encounter with her was brief it certainly made an impression on me; what is it about women with brown hair that have my friends beaten up, that are involved in nefarious organisations and that can run across wet rooftops at night I find so appealing. I really need to talk to Tyron.

After the fight ended I turned to talk with Anari, who was standing sheepishly in the alley seemingly wanting to vanish into a wall holding her rapier behind her as if it wasn’t really there. Before I come berate her for being out so late, getting into such a dangerous fight and for having a rapier, the Town Guard appeared.

Why are they never around when you actually need them but arrive just after the trouble has been quelled? We quickly explained the situation and what had transpired, our case strengthened as one of the town guard was the same private that had been sent for by Terseon and knew we were an adventuring part, the last laugh painted ruffians and the unconscious and seriously injured Cleric of St. Cuthbert.

Private Skylar Krewis identified the three assailants as off duty members of the town guard, apparently also members of the Last Laugh. This seemed to trouble Skylar as much as it troubled myself and the rest of the party. The surviving assailants were taken off for interrogation and prison. We were assured by Private Krewis that they would be feeling the fully weight of the Cauldron justice; we wait to see.

My scolding of Anari has to wait as we carry Ord back to the Church of St. Cuthbert so that his injuries can be properly assessed and tended to. It is a sombre group that approach the Church; upon entering we are met by Lilah a young Cleric, who is shocked to see an injured Ord. After explaining the story to her, she thanks us for saving Ord from the gang that attacked him but is unable to answer any questions regarding Ord’s task or the Church’s investigation. Lilah suggests returning tomorrow to speak with Jenya at ten of the clock.

After the excitement and questions the evening has given us we decide it is probably for the best that we get some rest and meet at The Drunken Morkoth at nine of the clock before returning to the Church.

Anari and I head to the The Drunken Morkoth with promises to Khandalar, Cass and Kellen for cheaper beds for the night as they have no where else to sleep for the night. Owyn says he will see us in the morning as he is going to reintroduce himself to his mother.

I breathe deeply and close my eyes as I open the door to The Drunken Morkoth, the smells, sounds and atmosphere wash over me; I am home again with all the worries, troubles and happiness that means.

My mother greats me warmly and I try to ask about Anari’s activities, before I can get much further she asks me about the people with me. Remembering the rest of the group I introduce each in turn and explain a letter from Ord brought us together and prompted our return to Cauldron.

She greets each of the party warmly; Khandalar seems to attempt to flirt with her as only a clumsy teenage human can. Her smile and eyes tell the true story of disinterest while her usual manner portrays slight interest. Poor Khandalar doesn’t realise he is being gently played with, having lived in an Inn for all these years Anari and I have seem much more subtle and many more obvious rebuffs than this.

Our Mother obviously sees something in him that she likes, then she always has been able to see the spark of good in people no matter their manner. As she says sometimes, it is just a matter of finding the spark and feeding it to make it grow. Certainly something to consider, Khandalar returns my thoughtful smile with a puzzled look, may be I start looking tonight.

After arranging accommodation for Khandalar, Cass and Kellen and food for all of us we settle in for the evening. While we laugh and joke, with the exception of Khandalar who has again returned to keeping his distance form the group, even though he is sat at a small table with us all. All the while I plan my words with Anari which I intend to speak later.

I am disappointed Tyron is not in the Inn tonight, I hope he is not going to be away on business for long; I value his council as much as Ord’s.

Later on the door to the Inn opens and Owyn walks in looking ashen; after a mug of ale he retells the story of what happened to him after he separated. He returned home to find his mother has left the house, she has moved in with her husband Vortimax Weer.

After that shocking news and a few more mugs of ale to help him recover we all retire for the night. I follow Anari to her room to speak the words I have planned all night away from the others' ears.

The game is afoot

Wednesday 10th September

The morning is brighter, although fine drizzle has replaced the steadier rhythm of the rain; I sit in the common room of the Drunken Morkoth playing my flute and relaxing before they day, an odd ritual I do every morning. Khandalar is pouring over his spell books and furiously studying every symbol on the pages. I fancy we are polar opposites at that very moment; my calm to his tempest of activity.

Anari and Kellen are in the yard practicing with their swords, not something I or our Mum is too keen on but after watching her handle herself last night I must grudgingly accept she is quite adept with the rapier. I doubt Kellen is her first sparring partner, in all probability Tyron found himself teaching her despite his own reservations.

Cass is sat in the stables; she seems to like to meditate in the company of animals and away from people. Owyn moves between the various areas of the inn open to him studying the doors and windows all the time a penny tumbles between his fingers.

At nine we leave the Drunken Morkoth to visit Jenya at the Churchof St Cuthbert. On the way we discuss the events of the evening; the behaviour of the Guard towards Cass, the attack upon Ord, the vanishings and of course Owyn's family. That last topic brought a smile to every face of the group, except for one; Owyn just scowled and refused to engage with the rest of us, which only made the teasing worse.

Before we realise it we are again in front of the Church of St. Cuthbert, our jokes die in our throats as we approach the magnificent white stone building. The enormity of the building seems to represent the scale of the task ahead of us.

Upon entering we are again greeted by Lilah who, this time, guides us to a small office sitting in a comfortable chair is Jenya. She looks up from the tightly held papers her brows furrow for a second as she regards us, what looks like disappointment flashes across her fine features. As she starts to rise a warm smile has already become a mask to her true feelings. She asks us to sit and retakes her own chair, once we have all sat Jenya asks Lilah to bring the items that have been prepared for us.

Once Lilah departs Jenya leans forward, drawing us in, and starts explaining about the vanishing from the city. Starting three or so months ago the first person vanished from their bed, a few personal items were also missing but no one heard or saw anything. Each disappearance has occurred at night with some people going missing from their locked homes or even on their way home from an Inn or another house. The Town Guard are at a loss as they have been unable to link any of the victims, the vanishings appear to be fairly random in their locations throughout the city and there have been no clues left.

Rumours of mystical beasts, demons and even magical curses are coursing through the city and while Jenya believes these to be false there is no way of stopping them, without an explanation backed up with evidence.

More disturbing than the previous vanishings were the kidnappings of the 4 Missing Children from the Lantern Street Orphanage, the girl and three boys were taken form their dormitories. The rooms are on the first floor and secured at night with all the children of the same sex and similar age sleeping one room; none of the remaining children stirred during the night let alone woke.

The vanishing of these children has caused outrage in the city; as a patron of the Orphanage the Church of St. Cuthbert stepped forward to assist in anyway to could. Jenya pauses to sip from a cup on the desk before continuing, she had tasked Ord with the initial investigation. It was his idea to write to me for assistance as he felt the situation too great for just one person; his attack bore witness to this.

The attack on Ord has also further muddied the waters; what exactly is the involvement of the Last Laugh and are they responsible for the vanishings within the city?

Jenya rubbed he eyes, sighed and leaned back in her chair. She tiredly handed several sheets of paper to us, each page full of the names of people that have vanished from Cauldron. A tragic list if there ever was one.

As she leans forward again, talking softly she tells us that we are to find the Missing Children at all costs. The Church of St. Cuthbert will support us in the task and reward us upon the successfully returning the children to the orphanage. The mention of reward certainly pulled everyone towards the cause and excepting the challenges and Jenya as she explains the steps she carried out last night to aid us.

Last night using Star Of Justice Jenya was able to gain a vital, if cryptic clue using divination, Jenya looks defiant as she tells us that only the High Priest Sarcem Delasharn should used the Star of Justice but as he is away and these are exceptional circumstances she will answer to him and St. Cuthbert upon Delasham’s return.

With a positive energy to her Jenya passes a small piece of paper to me, upon which is clue provided from the Star of Justice:

As we read the rhyme though again trying to glean as much from it as possible, Lilah returned carrying a tray covered in small bottles each bearing the crest of St. Cuthbert. In turn we accepted the potions that would cure us of light wounds from Jenya as she said a short blessing to each of us in turn; it was quite humbling for most of us no matter what God you believed in, or not as the case may be. Even Anari managed to hold her tongue for long enough to receive the bottle, as for Khandalar I am not sure the front he projects allows him to remember what “humble” means.

With the potions in our packs, the words of the divination still tumbling around in our heads we set off from the Church of St. Cuthbert to Lantern Street Orphanage. We had discussed our destination briefly; no one was able to suggest a better starting place for locating the missing Missing Children than the place they went missing from.

Approaching the orphanage I was acutely aware of the fact I had never been here before, I have always known where it was located. I just cannot remember ever walking past the building or down this part of the street. I remember the threats of some of the more “noble” born children at the Blue Crater Academy teasing me that when my Mother died Anari and I would have to live there. May be that is why I never walked past this building, too scared that evil jaunts would come true and I would lose my Mother as well as my Farther; an icy chill runs down my spine and breaks my thoughts.

Looking over at Cass and Kellen I can see concern and trepidation bubbling under the surface. They were trying to hide it but Cass was betrayed by her colouring, red blushes had started on her neck. Kellen was betrayed by his jaw, the muscles constantly clenching.

As I leaned to knock on the door I looked over to them and gave them what I hoped would be a supportive smile. My knuckles hit the wood and the knock seemed to amplify within the door, surely I had not hit the door with that much force. Moments later the door springs open, for a second I was puzzled staring into space and then I looked down. The door was being held open by an old Halfling woman and looking quite unfriendly.

I gave her my best smile and explained to her that we were working on behalf of Jenya and the Church of St. Cuthbert, investigating the vanishings within the city and especially the abduction of the children from the orphanage. Her cold stare bored into me and slowly she asked for proof that we were indeed representing the church. A little taken-a-back, I looked to the group stood behind me for inspiration; to be honest an armed to the teeth, mismatched group such as us didn’t look like representatives of the church. In a vain attempt I pulled out the potion bottle that Jenya had given me and showed it to the woman holding the door. Upon seeing the crest of St. Cuthbert her face relaxed a little but the suspicion was still in her eyes, slowly she stepped back and opened the door to us.

We introduce ourselves to the Halfling women who tells us her name is Gretchen, she explains to us that the Mayor has already sent investigators to visit her; two Evlish gentlemen named Fario Ellegoth and Fellian Shard, so she is a little surprised that the Church is pursuing a separate investigation. If I am honest with myself I am also a little surprised that the Mayor and Jenya have not pooled their resources to ensure a more swift resolution to the kidnapping of children.

Gretchen details the layout of the orphanage and the staff employed. The orphanage itself is a two story building with common, utility and staff rooms on the ground floor and then on the first floor the dormatories and a spacious bathroom. The girls dormatory is on one side of the hallway and the boy's is on the other. There are 19 girls and 31 boys.

The kidnapped children were taken from the dormatories, during the night without the other children being roused from their sleep.

I explain to Gretchen that we will need to see both the dormatories that children we removed from. She nods sadly and escorts us upstairs, as she turns her eyes settle on Cass and Kellen and narrow as if a little spark of recognition flared before burning out.

She talks of each missing child fondly as we walk up the stairs, her voice trembling throughout. Her distress is so obvious and genuine that it is impossible to believe that Gretchen was knowingly involved in the kidnapping of the children.

So far there have been no ransom demands, the children were not connected in anyway nor were they particularly remarkable; just normal children that were snatched away cruelly from everything they know. As I considered the plight of the children my hand tightened on the hilt of my sword until it cramped.

At the tops of the stairs we are shown into the first dormatory, children initially scatter from the sight of more strangers but some gentle words from Gretchen soon sees them calmed. One gorup even resume their game of Stormblades. Anari advised the boy claiming to be Todd that he really should not wish to be like him, as Todd is not very nice.

Looking around the dormatory apart fromt he children the first thing that struck me was the size of the windows and the amount of light that they let in, then I realised that light and air would be the only things that would be let it through the window. Intricate extremely strong bars ran the length and width of the windows creaping a grid so small not even one of the chiildren could get though them. In fact Gretchen explained the reason the bars had been installed in the first place was for the childrens safety, preventing them falling out of windows.

I walked around the dormatory looking at the enterance and ruminating on the divination. I turned my coat swirling behind me and asked Gretchen where had she got the locks on the main doors and the dormatory doors.

She looked a little puzzled but explained that she had bought them from Ghelves Locks, a lcoksmiths in Cauldron owned and operated by Keygan Ghelve. He makes the finest locks that, if enough is spent on them, are impossible to open without the correct key. All they keys for the orphanage have been accounted for and none have gone missing for any period of time.

I look again at the barred windows, the impossible climb to the windows and think on the divination, "the locks are the key". I anounce to the rest of the party that I believe Keygan Ghelve is involved in at least these latest kidnappings.

With everyone agreeing that it was the most likely answer to the enterance to the Orphanage, Khandalar was spurred on to resolve the next part of that divination and started seaching behind each pair of the have drapes that were in front of the windows. While I tried to convince Khandalar that the curtains in this room were not the key to resolving the second part of the divination Cass and Kellen stole away to talk to an old friend.

When we all met together again in the foyer they explained that Patch, a one-eyed half-orc, was convinced something big was centring around the Orphanage and the Last Laugh were involved in someway.

I finally manage to convince the entire group that the curtains in the orphanage are not that interesting and that we should visit this person and see what light they can cast on the kidnappings.

On the way from Lantern Street Orphanage we pay a visit on Owyn's Mother and Vortimax Weer; it turns out they are married we all congratulate Owyn, his mother and Vortimax. There seems to be something else his Mother wants to tell him but keeps holding it back and the usually dour face of Vortimax has a trace of smile at the corners of his mouth.

After all the excitement we purchase several healing potions of differing strengths for an obviously distracted Vortimax, I doubt he would have even covered his costs the prices he charged us.

Dungeon Masters Note You bastards kept distracting me!

With the additional potions in our possession we head out yo Ghelves Locks, upon entering the shop we a struck with the sight of locks and mechanisms on every surface. A Gnome enters the shop from a back room, standing taller than normal. As we approach it becomes clear he uses stilts to increase his stature.

Keygan is welcoming and asks what he can do for us. We enquire cunningly about the locks he makes and ensure that they cannot be picked by even a professional. Keygen tells us many of his more discerning customers select these locks for protection against the more subtle intruder. A flash of concern passes over his face when the Lantern Street Orphanage is mentioned, so I decided to go in harder and leaning over the counter demand to know his involvement in the kidnappings of the children.

Suddenly he started to cry and called out "Oh Starbrow", puzzled I pushed him for more information. Apparently creatures from the Under Dark had kidnapped Keygan's rat familier Starbrow. They coerceed Keygen into making them master keys for the whole of Cauldron, threating Starbrow's life. So Keygen made the master keys and since that day the creatures go out at night snatching people from their homes and beds; little wonder there was never a sign of a struggle the intruders simply unlocked the door and walked in.

Disgusted I turned away from him, shaking with anger. At that very moment I could imagine drawing my sword and running him through. Keygan though his sobs asks for our mercy in this matter and that he can help us by providing a map of the area below. The creatures from the Under Dark have taken up residence of an old Gnomish called Jzadirune.

At this point Anari starts to walk into the back room, I follow her through the curtain just in time to see astrange figure jump down behind her and swing at her with a sword. I reacted immediate, my rapier slashed accross the back of the creature, from shoulder to hip. It sank slowly to the floor and lay motionless, kicking it's weapon away I checked to see if it was still alive it was a waste of a check. Looking up at Anari I commented that she should be more careful and she actually grinned when she responded that she was bored and going to find something to do.

Owyn and Khandalar drag Keygan into the back room and he identified the body on the floor as one of the large ones. The creature is known as a Skulk is able to hide in plain sight and is truely evil. Keygen mentions there were tall ones and small ones comig from Jzadirune. Owyn pushes him in the back, prompting Keygen to get the back. He hands over a very old map drawn on to leather, he is unable provide us with more details about Jzadirune except for the enterance is beneath his stairs.

Anari smiles in that annoying manner of her when realise she has been clever and points out that have gone behind the curtain, as foretold in the divination. Khandalar looked a little crushed, I am sure he still wanted the Lantern Street Orphanage curtains to be involved some how.

Kellen and Cass come into the back room with members of the Town Guard, Skylar Krewlis is among their number. Quickly the story is retold to the guards and our belief that the children are still alive and held in Jzadirune and that we are going to enter the old Gnomish enclave to recover them.

Keygan still criying is arrested for his part in the disappreances from Cauldron, complicit in at least 25 kidnappings.

He is taken away to face his justice as we turn to face the perils of Jzadirune.

Entering Jzadirune

Wednesday 10th September

The folly of youth, a slip of a finger and signs of fights to come

We walked down the stairs carefully, round one dog leg and then another. Owyn lead the party listening out for movement from below, followed by Kellen and Anari. At the second dog leg on the stairs I made a joke about the empty sconce probably being a way to open a secret door, without warning Khandalar twisted the sconce; the stairs tilted to create a slide sending everyone tumbling down.

Not one of the party escaped without bruising of some description and not one of the party spared Khandalar a deserved dirty look. From that moment on I vowed not to make jokes like that again without announcing them as jokes first, especially around the younger members of the group.

The enterance hall has smiling masks all around it, which make a soft giggling noise when you appraoch them. There is also the sounds of birds singing throughout the room, it is most melodious and relaxing, quite at odds with the environment we a standing in. I approached closely to one mask that then proceeded to recite a message of welcome to friends and a warning to those that would do harm in Jzadirune.

On the southern wall there are two doors that are shaped like gears, one of the doors is partially open and the other is fully closed. Both doors have a Gnomish rune marked on the door next to a hole into the door. The partually open door is marked with XX and the closed door is marked with a J.

The east wall is were we entered or tumbled into the room. The west wall while holding more masks also has the enterance to a corridor, leading tointo the darkness beyond our torch light.

Owyn sets about trying to unlock the closed door when suddenly the is a clicking sound and Owyn shouts for us all to get back, he starts to move away himself just as the door jets a green cloud that catches him on the face and shoulder causing what looks like a painful burn and leaving a smell of acid in the air. Owyn smiles about being neither lucky or fast enough at that moment. I guess now we know that we are heading in the right direction with the Gear Doors certainly proving the line "beware the doors with teeth" true.

Moving away from the door Owyn and Anari decide to check out the room with the partially opened gear door, as they both enter the room they are both attacked by two Skulks who then run down seperate tunnels that have been obviously added to Jzadirune. Anari was able to parry the attack but again luck was not entirely with Owyn, he was able to deflect the majority of the attack but still took a heavy and jarring blow.

The room itself resembled a small barracks with rubble on the floor and a Skulk-tunnel dug into the south and east walls. Unwilling to go charging after the Skulks and fight a hard to see creature in tunnels only measuring about 5' in diameter, Anari and Owyn decided to rejoin the group in the main enterance hall.

Together again we pause to consider our next move within Jzadirune.

Bran Journal Session2