I Must Think - by Endymion

News, big news. But I'll let Endymion tell the tale. One word, it seems an appropriate time for me to make use of one of the background themes available to characters. While technically you can select/switch one when you level, the timing & apropos story is too good to pass up, and I am very close to levelling. Assuming James finds it acceptable.

The fires burned madly, shooting hot embers skyward as the timbers of the buildings crackled and snapped under the consuming flames. A few citizens had ventured out into the streets, and the reeve was organizing a water brigade, but it was clear. The town's inn would be nothing but cinders by mid-day, and the tailor shop adjacent to it was quickly collapsing in on itself from the feeding flames.

Silhouetted by the inferno behind him, Endymion sat forlornly on a stump in the middle of the road, alone. His clothing was burned to rags and his face was caked with soot and blood. His eyes, though, were watery and clear as two blue orbs in a blackened face. They were glowering, with pain, grief, and rage.

The reeve approached Endymion, who despite his fearsome appearance, had been the awkward late teenager of last night drinking ale in the tavern, making little headway with the local folk, and being a source of genial amusement with his wild elven companion Milo. Much had changed. Endymion and Milo had spoken to the Reeve about the reports of Songsteel's troops in the area, confirmed by the Reeve, and Endymion likewise brought word of the Duke's concern – thus their presence to investigate the claims. That morning they were going to set out into the surrounding woods and try and flush out some of these men, possibly with the help of a fellow female adventurer who possessed a fine horse and seemed a skilled rider. They had bedded at the Inn for the night, only to be awoken in the morning by screams.

The reeve, a man in his forty's, broke the half-elf's reverie. “The town thanks you, Endymion. Were those … was … “ The man stumbles over his words.

“Yes.” Endymion replied hollowly. “Those were dragons. Three of them, red wyrmlings.”

“Then dragons are real.”

“Yes.”

“What happened to your companions?”

Endymion blinked his eyes, and slowly looked up at the older man.

“I lost them.”

He gestured with his hand down the road. “It was a difficult battle. The lady Eolia fought bravely, but she was surrounded by all three and taken down almost instantly. I healed her time and time again, until all my elven magic was spent, and the three dragons remained. My elven companion Milo was chased through the tailor shop by one of the dragons, and even I on my dragonhawk couldn't deter its course. The dragonhawk fought bravely, but what could it do against three dragons after Eolia fell for the last time? My mount … died. And then Milo, soon after was struck unconscious.”

“It wasn't until then that by some miracle, my wolf finished off two of the dragons. During most of the battle I had stayed hidden, commanding my beasts to fight while I healed those in reach. But even staying out of the center of the fray, I was badly burned by their dragonfire.”

“Out of healing magics, I roused the lady Eolia one last time and she successfully ran for her horse and fled down the road. I was on my way to do the same for my friend Milo, when the last dragon caught my scent and I was forced to keep my distance, hoping he would ignore Milo and fly to some other part of the town. But no, he grabbed Milo's unconscious body and flew off with him in his claws. He flew west.”

Endymion pointed with a soot-stained hand.

“And now I am alone.”

The reeve considered this, for a moment.

“You are alive, Endymion. And the town thanks you for driving off the dragons. We are sorry for your loss.”

“I must think.” Replied Endymion, and waves the reeve to leave him be.

“As you wish.”

After a time, Endymion rose from where he'd been sitting, and slipped into an alley between buildings. Under his breath he mumbled, “I never thought I'd be doing this...” and he pulls out a ring he'd carefully concealed. Etched on its surface, was a supine wolf surrounded by embroidered markings. He twisted the head of the ring and muttered a few elven syllables. There was a rush of magic, and an elven man stepped through a feywild portal. He was dressed as a soldier, with an immaculate tabard of brown and green. His face was weathered with age, and battle-hardened with time. He quickly peered about taking stock of his surroundings, before narrowing and focusing on Endymion.

He bows slightly in Endymion's direction. “Your summons, young lord Endymion?”

Endymion looks half-surprised that it worked. “I see my mother's words were true.”

The warrior nods, “I am Arbos, one of Countess Darya Marae's attendants, and she has assigned me to serve you in times of utmost peril.”

Endymion nods. “There is much I have to tell you ...”

The Lair of Delith - Endymion's Perspective

The Lair of Delith

Endymion crouched in the passage. Just outside the door, the blades of the trap room whrrd through the night, gyrating in slow, deadly arcs. The room was cramped for four people to sleep in. Tyrion stood guard just outside the chamber, along with Nightsong. Fortunately, nothing disturbed their fitful rest in the underground chamber.

The next morning Milo ventured back the way they came up to the surface to see to the camels and to Tyrion and Gallaron's elven servant. Endymion decides to join the sellswords of the Duke down the passage past the lair of the giant lizard creatures they had fought the previous night. He wonders at the wisdom of this, with the brown 'dragon' yet to be found, but these two sellswords had proven their mettle in battle time and time again.

They discovered a passage sloping up. The drow Tyrion ventured up to peer over the ledge where a faint light emitted. At the bottom, safely out of view, Endymion and Gallaron quietly traded jokes about what could lay ahead. The drow went still as stone at the top of the ledge, then scurried his way back. None noticed the slight shower of gravel he kicked free with his rapid descent, though he was not pursued. He began claiming to have seen the 'dragon' up there, as well as another scaled lizard-like man and a third giant lizard guarding a cavernous furnished room. The room was decorated with drapes on the walls, sconces burning brightly, and a pair of locked chests shoved against the side wall. In one corner, a scaled and feathered winged creature was chained to the wall. In another corner, the lizard-like man turned a spit with a roasting sheep. In the center, a shaft of daylight brightly illuminated a brown, winged lizard the size of a man, but with a smooth scaled body suggesting speed, power, and grace.

Endymion and Gallaron dismissed his tale of this 'dragon'. “The light played tricks on you – did you see it move? I'm sure it was nothing but a statue, carved of stone.” Other theories were bantered about, but they all agreed to a simple course of action. They would sneak up the ledge to see for themselves, all together.

Unfortunately, the brown 'dragon' was waiting for them, and spoke to them in their own common tongue. It was haughty and sly, supremely confident in itself. It challenged them to come in, and stop skulking about, that they were granted audience to see Denith. The dragon conversed, asking for their names – which Gallaron gladly provided, though Tyrion demured and Endymion pretended to not understand by a ruse of speaking only Elven. Talk was made of their intrusion upon her domain, slaughter of her guards – and her taking of sheep that did not belong to her. That surely there would be consequences, even over mere sheep. The debate grew heated and tiresome, bordering on insulting, and Denith with a quiet command ordered her allies to attack Tyrion, Gallaron, and Endymion.

Surprised, they were barely able to resist the sudden assault. The dragon turned into a whirlwind of sand, blinding Endymion with her passage. Fortunately Tyrion unlocked another power of the Amulet of passage and banished the dragon, who abruptly vanished for a space of time – enough for the rest of the party and the blind Endymion to retreat out of Denith's lair. Tyrion and Endymion, who recovered his sight, laid down a thicket of earthen roots and twisting vines to block the passage and slow their pursuers, but the dragon reappeared and teleported past every entangling root and vine.

It was bloody. Endymion fell, was shaken back to his senses by Tyrion, and then the half-elf fled down the corridor with surprising speed as he was suddenly in fear of his life. For a moment, Tyrion and Gallaron faced the dragon alone, while Endymion's vines and earthen roots continued to ensnare and prevent the dragon's henchmen from joining the fray.

By Tyrion's sharp arrows and Gallaron's blades, the dragon was finally slain. After the dragon, the rest of Denith's henchmen were easy to mop up. They tried to take the lizard-like humanoid captive, but Gallaron's blade slipped at the last instant and ended its life.

Venturing into Denith's lair, now much more cautious after such a fierce battle, they looted the chests (one which turned out to be a mimic!) and Endymion pacified the Dragonhawk chained to the far wall. The dragonhawk proved to be a flying mount, complete with bridle and saddle. But before Endymion had a chance to try and fly it, they were interrupted once more.

A second party of adventurers arrived at the scene: A dwarf, an elf, and a human. And a third elf, bound and gagged and dragged behind them, significantly roughed up: Milo.

“Does this belong to you?” Asked the dwarf.

Tyrion and Gallaron were quick to deny so, but Endymion was equally quick to say “Yes. He is under my protection.” with all the cool authority he could muster.

A lively discussion ensued, as the dwarf tried to determine their business here, and the party asked the same of the dwarf and his party. Milo apparently had been subdued trying to prevent these three from entering, to 'protect his friends.'

“And you tied him up for this?” Asked Endymion in surprise.

“We could have killed him.” Reminded the dwarf.

Too true.

Eventually the dwarf was won over, after Tyrion and Gallaron proved they were the Duke's heroes (much to Endymion's surprise – he thought they were sellswords) and Endymion sealed the deal with promise of ale for the dwarf, which Milo may or may not have on his camel. He did not, but as luck would have it, the dwarf had become very companionable by the time they had managed to walk back to the camels, and did not mind so much the mistake.

The dwarf and his company proved to be part of a group known as 'Second Sons', and their trade was to conduct a secret warfare against the plots of dragons, tracking and slaying them when reports of them surfaced. They were tracking this wyrmling that Tyrion's party had stumbled upon. After conversing over a meal and learning of the second sons, the two groups agreed to travel together back to the Duke's kingdom now that the sheep-mauling menace was over, and report their findings. So ends this tale... until next time.

Encounter 16: The First Sign of the Answer

The True and Rightful King

Encounter 16:  The First Sign of the Answer

Level 3:  Easy (party’s level -1 = 2) 125 xp

Kobold Dragonshield, Level 2 Soldier, xp 125 (1 player)
Kobold Hurler, Level 2 Artillery, xp 125 (2 players)
Speelock, Kobold Scavenger, Level 2 Controller (Leader), xp 125 (3 players)
Kobold Pikeman, Level 2 Brute, xp 125 (4 players)
4 Kobold Cleavers, Level 2 Minions, xp 31 ea. (5 players)
Kobold Pikeman, Level 2 Brute, xp 125 (6 players)

Ankheg, Level 3 Elite Lurker, xp 300

Dragonshield black 1
13, 31, 48 d
Dirty tactics used
Hurler red 2
17, 27, d
Scavenger yellow 3
18, 28, 44 d
Pikeman white 4
8, 14, 29, 36, 52 d
Ankheg orange 2

Setup

You notice tracks in the hard dirt.  They aren’t easy to see, but after you follow them a bit, there is no doubt about it.  A party of 4, maybe 5, perhaps more, passed heading south.  The tracks are strange, unlike any you’ve ever seen before.  The closest you can come to placing them is to liken them to the tracks of small lizards on a dusty windowsill, but these are definitely not small lizards.

You also notice, on a thorny bush near their path, a bit of raw wool.

The trail is cold, but not too cold.  Whatever made these tracks definitely did so after the rain.

After several hours of tracking, you top a low rise and see a band of reptilian creatures in the distance.  Perception DC 5 reveals that they are carrying two sheep carcasses.  You are on camels, and they are on foot, so you close the distance rapidly.

At first, they don’t seem to notice you, but when you are perhaps 200 yards away, one of them turns around, sees you, and alerts the others.  They begin to run, but with you on camels, they don’t have much chance.  When that becomes apparent, they turn and prepare to fight.  They drop the sheep carcasses and draw their weapons.

Tactics and Development

The kobolds are determined, but not prepared to fight to the death.  As soon as half of the group are dead or bloodied, they turn to flee.  However, if caught, they fight determinedly.

Intimidate DC 5:  The kobolds serve a brown dragon.
Intimidate DC 10:  The dragon is female.
Intimidate DC 15:  The dragon’s name is Delith.
Intimidate DC 20:  Delith’s lair is to the south, perhaps two or three hour’s ride.

Features of the Area

Illumination:  Bright daylight.

There are stone spires scattered around the battlefield, and a ravine at one edge of the battlefield.

Treasure

Perception DC 5:  In the kobold’s belt pouches you find a total of 110 gold pieces, as well as a good bit of what looks to be nothing more than trash.  Apparently, the kobolds scavenge and are not too particular about what they scavenge.

Encounter 15: "They" Appear

The True and Rightful King

Encounter 15:  “They” Appear

Level 3:  Hardest (party’s level +4 = 7) 300 xp

Shrieking Cultist of Demogorgon, Level 7 Brute, xp 300
Lesser Mezzodemon, Level 7 Soldier, 300 xp
Bloodseep Demon, Level 7 Skirmisher, xp 300
Quasit, Level 7 Controller, 300 xp
Corrupted Warrior, Level 7 Artillery, 300 xp
Human Lackeys, Level 7 Minion, 75 xp

1 player:  Shrieking Cultist of Demogorgon
2 players:  Shrieking Cultist of Demogorgon and Lesser Mezzodemon
3 players:  Shrieking Cultist of Demogorgon, Lesser Mezzodemon, and Bloodseep Demon
4 players:  Shrieking Cultist of Demogorgon, Lesser Mezzodemon, Bloodseep Demon, and Quasit
5 players:  Shrieking Cultist of Demogorgon, Lesser Mezzodemon, Bloodseep Demon, Quasit, and Corrupted Warrior
6 players:  Shrieking Cultist of Demogorgon, Lesser Mezzodemon, Bloodseep Demon, Quasit, Corrupted Warrior, and 4 Human Lackeys

Shrieking Cultist of Demogorgon (red) 1
15, 26, 42, 49, 62, 72, 83, 91 d
Lesser Mezzodemon (black) 2
23, 34, 49, 29, 48, 43, 35, 66, 72, 82, 98, 114 d
Resist used
Poison breath recharge 5
Bloodseep Demon (yellow) 3
13, 29, 47, 55, 60, 80 d
Resist used
Poison portal strike recharge 4 recharged used
Poison blast used
Quasit (gray) 4
9, 4, 0, 12, 25, 50, 58, 78

Setup

After fighting the goblin patrol, you proceed farther south, looking for any sign of what might be causing the loss of animals in Shadowlea.  The weather improves, the clouds clear, the sun beats down, and soon it is so dry that you can’t tell it ever rained.

You drop down into one of the ravines and you spot what looks like bones off to your right, so you turn that direction.  When you investigate, it appears that the bones are fresh, and are those of a sheep.  They are stripped clean.  Marks lead off farther down the ravine.  They might be tracks, but if they are then perhaps they have been obscured by the rain, because it is hard to tell.

The ravine quickly becomes a small canyon, with steep rocky walls rising up on either side.  You round a sharp bend and you see a man wearing a smooth mask that covers his entire face up to his eyes and a robe with a cowl that covers his head.  All you can see are his eyes, his bare hands, and, strangely for such a harsh environment, his bare feet.  He has a greataxe and three javelins strapped to his back.  His hands are moving in wide wavy motions and just as you see him, a dark shimmery surface appears next to him, like a black mirror in existence.

[If there are 5 players: There is a man standing next to him whose face is weirdly contorted, almost as if it has been burned.  He is wearing chainmail and is carrying a longbow, drawn and loaded.  If there are six players:  There are also four other men, the Human Lackeys.]

The man in the mask and cowl seems to laugh, but the laughter is high and shrieking.  Then he hisses, low, but loud enough for you to hear, “They said you would come.”  There is another shrieking laugh and then he says, “Now I will prove to them that I am worthy of the honor they have given me!”

Tactics and Development

The Shrieking Cultist of Demogorgon has been waiting for the adventurers and he’s heard them coming down the ravine.  He’s the one who placed the bones and the strange tracks, to draw them to his ambush.  The wavy mirror is an opening to the Abyss, from which the Lesser Mezzodemon, the Bloodseep Demon, and the Quasit all appear on their first turn.  After the third one appears, another one can be seen through the opening, trying to get through, as it closes.

They all fight to the death, except the Corrupted Warrior, who flees down the canyon if all the other monsters are killed.  Around the corner are two camels.  He mounts one and tries to get away.

Features of the Area

Illumination:  Bright daylight.

Canyon walls:  Steep and rocky.  If someone tries to climb them, the rocks break loose easily, making them treacherous.  Athletics DC 15 to climb.

Ground:  Smooth and sandy.

Treasure

Perception DC 15:  The Corrupted Warrior is wearing bracers with unusual markings.  A close examination indicates that they are Bracers of Archery.

The 48th day of Corellon's time in the 22nd year of King Ulodannan Wolfswift (Day 42)

The 48^th day of Corellon’s time in the 22^nd year of King Ulodannan Wolfswift (Day 42):  Breaking camp, they continued down the canyon, and it was not long before they found a place where the canyon walls were not too steep for the camels to scale and they made their way back to the more even, but still desolate, land above the canyon.
They rode on to the south for another couple of hours, then they noticed what appeared to be the tracks of large, bipedal lizards in the hard dirt.  A bit farther they noticed a tuft of raw wool on a thorny bush.  After following the tracks for a bit more, they saw a band of what can only be described as very large lizards in the distance, carrying the carcasses of two sheep.

They gave chase and quickly ran down the lizards, who, when it became apparent they could not get away, turned, dropped the sheep carcasses, and prepared to fight.

The adventurers were better able to attack from a distance, and by the time the space between the two parties was closed, several of the lizards were severely injured.  It did not take much more time, nor much more effort, to dispatch all the lizards to the presence of whatever god they might worship.  However, there was one small difficulty.  One of the lizards, just before he died in the jaws of Endymion’s wolf, managed to splash – or maybe just spill – some liquid from a vial he held in his hand on the wolf.

Almost immediately, a very big creature emerged from a hole almost right next to the wolf and in two snaps of his huge mandibles, banished the wolf from this world.  Not to worry, though, it turns out Endymion is a druid, with a strange spiritual connection to this wolf, so it was not long that the wolf who had been dead reappears, not too much the worse for wear, next to his master.

Endymion was not finished, though.  He used his unusual connection to the natural world to somehow convince this hungry creature to release Galloron, who now found himself pincered in the creatures mandibles, and to retreat.  The rest of the adventurers were willing to allow the creature its graceful exit and it disappeared by burrowing back down into the dusty earth of Dracmead.

A search of the lizard creatures revealed a few gold coins and nothing else of much value.  An examination of the dead sheep revealed that they had been killed by nothing more mysterious than stab wounds, perhaps from one of the lizard creature’s swords or pikes.

The 47th day of Corellon's time in the 22nd year of King Ulodannan Wolfswift (Day 41)

The 47^th day of Corellon’s time in the 22^nd year of King Ulodannan Wolfswift (Day 41):  Even as the human druid and the dragonborn paladin were disappearing over the edge of the ravine, on the other side there appeared, riding camels, an elf and a half-elf.  Galloron seemed pretty open to their appearance, while Tyrion kept some distance, perhaps not wanting to reveal yet that he was a drow.  They introduced themselves as Milo, the elf, and Endymion, the half-elf, both hailing from the Kingdom of Dorland, many leagues and many ten-days of travel from the desolate ravine in Dracmead.  Nonetheless, they were obviously ambiguous about why they happened to be in that part of the world, saying only that they were traveling about, seeing the world.  Whether this satisfied Galloron or he was merely pretty used to shady companions, he invited them to join him and the drow on their search for whatever was stealing sheep and goats from the area around Shadowlea.
They proceeded south for a while, the weather growing increasingly drier as they traveled, until before long they could not tell that it had ever rained.  It was not long, however, before, in the shallow of a ravine, they found the fresh skeleton of a sheep, and markings which, before the rain, might have been tracks, leading off down the ravine.

They followed them, and before very long, the ravine deepens and the walls steepen until they are in a narrow canyon bordered by almost vertical walls 25 feet high.  They round a bend and see a man dressed in robes, wearing a mask, with the hood of his cape pulled up, obscuring everything but his eyes.  He is looking at them while he waves his hands in the air.  As they watch, a black, shimmery hole in reality opens next to him and demons begin to pour out.

The parties attack each other, and before it closes, three demons have wriggled out of the hole into another plane.  The man was clearly waiting for him, says that “they” said the adventurers would arrive, and that he will now prove himself worthy.  Maybe he did, or maybe he didn’t, but either way, the adventurers killed him in short order.

Not so, however, with the demons, who kept flitting around everywhere, before, behind, beside the adventurers, inflicting horrible black damage with nearly every blow.  More than one of the party fell unconscious, dying, only to be raised again by the magic or the potions of some other member of the party.  There were moments when the adventurers wondered if they would survive the onslaught of these demonic forces, but, in the end, they prevailed, due in no small part to their willingness to use their camels as shields.  In the effort, one of the camels was killed.

No great loss, though, because it was discovered that the strange masked man had tethered his own camel a short distance down the canyon, so it replaced the camel who had given its own life in salvation of the adventurers.

A search of the bodies revealed little, save some strange bracers in the man’s backpack and an unusual gold coin:  one bearing the man’s likeness on both sides – a unique two-headed coin.

The adventurers were feeling the effects of this battle with the demons and their summoner, so they decided to rest, even though it was only about noon.  They camped in a small bend in the canyon, obscured at least from the view of those who might be on the higher ground above, and at least partially hidden if anyone happened down the canyon itself.  Setting watches, they settled down to let their bodies repair and remained until dawn the next morning.

Encounter 14: The Goblin Patrol

The True and Rightful King

Encounter 14:  The Goblin Patrol

Level 3:  Hard (party’s level +2 = 5) 200 xp

Goblin Wolf Rider, Level 5 Skirmisher, xp 200
Hobgoblin Commander, Level 5 Soldier (Leader), xp 200
Shadowgoblin Snarler, Level 5 Artillery, xp 200
Advanced Hobgoblin Warcaster, Level 5 Controller, xp 200

Goblin Wolf Rider yellow
10, 20, 28, 49 d
Hobgoblin Commander red
10, 19, 36, 49, 59, d
Shadowgoblin Snarler white
12, 26, 35, 41, 64 d
Snarling shot – rech 5 &6
Advanced Hobgoblin Warcaster black
14, 20, 37, 51, d
Shock staff rech 456
Force pulse fort rech 6
Force pulse refl rech 6

Setup

You have set out from Shadowlea heading south, into Dracmead, riding your camels.  The land around Shadowlea seemed rough compared to the more northerly parts of Woodlea Forest, but to the south, in Dracmead proper, it very quickly gets much rougher.  The land is dry and rocky, with more and more stone outcroppings reaching up out of the ground as you head south.  There are ravines which cut sharply across your path of travel, but if you turn to avoid them, other ravines cut across that direction, so there is no choice but to ride down into the ravines and up the other side.

What had been a rudimentary road leaving Shadowlea almost immediately becomes a rough trail, and then disappears entirely, leaving nothing but dead reckoning to guide you through the badlands of Dracmead.

As you ride, the sky begins to cloud up, an unusual event for Dracmead.  The wind picks up and it begins to rain.  The thirsty soil drinks in the water, but rapidly becomes a sea of mud in the drenching downpour.  The camels’ feet sink into the muck with each step, slowing them.  On the horizon, slashes of lightning illuminate what has become an almost black sky.

Gradually, even the thickest of cloaks becomes soaking wet and you begin to shiver, even though it is not especially cold.

Endurance DC 15:  failure results in loss of one healing surge of HP.

Tactics and Development

The goblin patrol ambushes the adventurers as they are in the bottom of one of the many ravines.

This is a routine patrol sent out by one of the local goblin tribes which stumbles upon the adventurers by accident.  However, they are highly motivated to repel these invaders into their territory and as long as any hobgoblins remain alive, they fight to the death.  If all the hobgoblins are dead, then any bloodied goblin flees, and once one goblin starts to run, all the goblins run.

Features of the Area

Illumination:  Daylight.

The ground is so muddy that it is all difficult terrain.

Rocky outcroppings at the edges of the ravine provide cover and concealment.

Treasure

Perception DC 15:  In the Hobgoblin Commander’s pouch, way down at the bottom, you find a Power Jewel.  What a barbarian like him might have been doing with such a treasure is not clear.  Perhaps he just picked it up somewhere.