Why Are You Dragon, Dungeon Wanna Win?

Treas 1-26, 6638; next holiday: Dragonning, Treas 35 (the spring equinox)

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Midnight, the Panther
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Aroof, Wardog familiar
  • Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
    • The Metal Man, construct
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Laurita Gomez, Priestess
• Quetgar, Thrassian Assassin
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator

The party found themselves next to a clearing. The area was an odd, round shape, not as organic of a shape as one might expect. In fact, the trees at the edge of the clearing were bowed, the middles leaning away from the center. Even the grass and weeds grew more sparsely in the middle. From the center of the glen, a faint sound emanated, like wind blowing past a thin shard of glass, or a thin, sharp sword cutting through the air. As the party squinted at the center of the field, most found their gaze misdirected - sliding past to look at trees, or sinking to stare at the ground. Only Rig, Quetgar, and Elenora were able to pierce the veil of illusion.

Speedrun

A'Chiad 15-Treas 1, 6638; next holiday: Dragonning, Treas 35 (the spring equinox)

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Midnight, the Panther
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Aroof, Wardog familiar
  • Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
    • The Metal Man, construct
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Laurita Gomez, Priestess
  • Sal Rrentath, Thrassian Gladiator
• Quetgar, Thrassian Assassin
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator

Rig, as noted, headed to Forreston, to sell his wares; Caranthir and Quetgar stayed in Wallace, while Gróin and Llarm headed to Riverbend to study the books (and learn new spells). Quetgar learned what his ring does (finally), and took down a rather angry woolly rhinoceros that the ring summoned. Eventually, the party regrouped in Wallace, then headed out into the chilly winter. Due to luck or cold, there were few travelers on the road, apart from some chilly snakes. Once they reached the forest of the Winter Court of the Fae, however, they began running into quite a number of other creatures. They met - and avoided - an 8-headed hydra, and were greeted by five Sylphs, who sneeringly took their money as tax. The sylphs seemed very much on edge, however, and not in a mood to fight. Others had already told the party that the fae were all abuzz; why, however, they did not know. Something about a hunt?

Luce and Elenora's birthdays went by; Luce, offhandedly, mentioned that she finally turned 18.

The Library

The library contains books on history, magic, and knowledge:

• History books
  • The Age of Dragons (see this post), a tale of what happened before the coming of men and elves to Mor-Thir.
  • The Towers, a book on the seven Towers, built where the blood of the ancient Wyrm was splashed; as it turns out, seven dragon tribes were tasked with protecting the towers:
    • Mareten Tower: Silver dragons (lawful white dragons)
    • Airwalker Tower: Gold dragons (lawful red dragons)
    • Pointless Tower: Electrum dragons (lawful black dragons)
    • Toprac Igne: Bronze dragons (lawful blue dragons)
    • Jungle Tower: Green dragons
    • Northern Tower: White dragons
    • The Spire: Black dragons
• Magical books
  • A tome of Dragon Knowledge: when attempting to research a spell on dragons with this book in your library, add +2 to the roll (worth 5,000 gp).
  • A tome of Wall Spells: when attempting to research a spell involving wall spells with this book in your library, add +2 to the roll. (worth 5,000 gp)
• Recipes for making:
  • Potion of Human Control
  • Potion of Longevity
  • Potion of Sweet Water
  • Potion of Polymorph
  • Staff of Commanding
  • Wand of Polymorphing
  • Chime of Opening
  • Armor +1
  • Weapon +1
• A divine book of the Way of the Dragon, describing an ancient order of dragon-clerics, tasked with protecting the land of Mor-Thir; the order is made of all kinds of dragons. Few have heard of, or interact with, the dragon-clerics. As ageless dragons, time is on their side.
• A Scroll of Arcane Spells (Written in Draconic): Lower Water (6th lvl)
• A Scroll of Arcane Spells (Written in draconic): Hold Portal (1st lvl)

The rest of the books contain various magical snippets, or information about ancient times, all worthy of adding to a magical library. As a note, a spellcaster requires a library worth at least 4,000 gp to be able to research first level spells; a further 2,000 gp is required for each spell level. For every 10,000 gp above the minimum value required, the spellcaster gets a +1 bonus (maximum +3) to his magic research throw. Thus, the maximum useful library value to research spells up to level 9 is 50,000 gp.

A Maze of Twisty Passages

A'Chiad 9-14, 6638; next holiday: Dragonning, Treas 35 (the spring equinox)

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Midnight, the Panther
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Aroof, Wardog familiar
  • Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
    • The Metal Man, construct
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Laurita Gomez, Priestess
  • Sal Rrentath, Thrassian Gladiator
• Quetgar, Thrassian Assassin
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• Gottes Segen, Cleric
  • Betül Tirmizi, Ectomancer

The adventurers once again returned to the tower, certain that they were near the lowest levels. The winding passages of the 9th floor turned this way and that - a maze!

Laying out the occasional chalk lines, they slowly moved through the maze, looking for traps and fighting the occasional zombies or hulked-out skeletons. Down one corridor, hidden in a secret passage, they found a group of creatures, huddled at the dead end. One had a gold ring, which Quetgar took.

Completely Floored

A'Chiad 8-9, 6638; next holiday: Dragonning, Treas 35 (the spring equinox)

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Midnight, the Panther
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Aroof, Wardog familiar
  • Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
    • The Metal Man, construct
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Laurita Gomez, Priestess
  • Sal Rrentath, Thrassian Gladiator
• Quetgar, Thrassian Assassin
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• Gottes Segen, Cleric
  • Betül Tirmizi, Ectomancer

After a quick rest upstairs, the party once again returned to the tower, planning on delving into its depths. Rig and co stayed behind.

The adventurers continued sweeping the 8th floor. The discovered (and avoided) many traps, though found few creatures. The first creature the party ran into was actually summoned into a trap - a mummy! The creature, surrounded, didn't last long.

Don't Eat That

Dara 27 - A'Chiad 7, 6638

Next holiday: Dragonning, Treas 35 (the spring equinox)

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Midnight, the Panther
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Aroof, Wardog familiar
  • Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
    • The Metal Man, construct
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Laurita Gomez, Priestess
  • Sal Rrentath, Thrassian Gladiator
• Quetgar, Thrassian Assassin
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• Gottes Segen, Cleric
  • Betül Tirmizi, Ectomancer

With the godmurder dealt with and the pockets stuffed, the party made one last shopping trip before leaving town, picking up a strange ring that seemed to be a +1 Ring, a Duck of Many Things, a Bag of Banking, and a Tankard of Theft. All handy items in their own right. The duck (currently in the form of a cat) seemed ambivalent about the party, but that may simply be because it's in the form of a cat. Gróin, meanwhile, opened a bank account at the nearest Gnomish Bank, which immediately linked it to his Bag of Banking.

The Godkiller Part II: I'm All A Clone

Dara 25-27

Next holiday: Darkest Night, Dara 35th, the winter solstice.

The Party:

• Rig Bigny, Gnomish Beastmaster
  • Flit, the bat familiar
  • Clench, the Wardog War-Badger
  • Midnight, the Panther
  • Faufe Yitaw, Dogwere (Badgerwere?)
    • Rawf, Wardog familiar
    • Aroof, Wardog familiar
  • Llarm Paphyra, Elvish Polydoctorate
    • The Metal Man, construct
• Caranthir, Human Leader of Men
  • Rhea Trueheart, Elvish Nightblade
  • Lucille "Luce" Burwood, Fighter
  • Elenora Garrard, White Mage
• Gróin of Norston, Dwarven Sapper
  • Laurita Gomez, Priestess
  • Sal Rrentath, Thrassian Gladiator
• Quetgar, Thrassian Assassin
  • Zarc, Thrassian Gladiator
• Gottes Segen, Cleric
  • Betül Tirmizi, Ectomancer

Between searching for clues, Rig decided he'd put together a caravan, and hired a mercenary: Joel Nyman, and explorer. He loaded up on goods, ready to travel.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the deaths on the Street of the Gods continued, this time joined by Quetgar, who had been partying with his lizard buddy. Thus far, four gods had been killed: the Immortal Phoenix, the Skincrawler, the Angelic Sword, and the Fighting Horror. Gróin, suspecting Resting Cougar, began scrying on her; Rig and Caranthir decided that the killer was likely going after regenerating people, and were forced to choose between Magic Stan, a tree-person with incredible regenerative powers, and the Abomination, a self-healing mechanical monster. As they camped out at Magic Stan's house (which he built from wood grown from, well, himself), Gróin watched Resting Cougar enter a tiny hut. She sat on something, then after about an hour, left.