Game-Summaries:11/17/2018 Recollections

Ci's Shanjiu Inspiration

Jeroy, Sakura, Ci, Cassio, Ember, Pearl, and Amon have gathered at Shanjiu keep for a meal on the evening before a mission for the Magistery. Their talk expectedly centers around their missing friends, and the mood around the table is dark with worry. Ci, who has been even more quiet than usual has been examining a roasted potato on his plate for most of his meal.

Ember suddenly turns and says, “Ci, what do you think? What fate has befallen our friends?”

“It actually of fate that I have been thinking.” Ci replies quietly. “Do you see this potato? The farmer who grew this, lives a half a day’s journey from the Keep. When he drops off his produce every month or so, he always has a great smile on his face and a kind word for all he meets. On one such visit I overheard some of the servants here calling him ‘Unlucky Liam’, and clucking under their breath about his great misfortune and dubious state of mind. When next he returned, I asked the farmer what tragedy he has seen to be called so.”

“Liam began to tell his tale to me. As a young farmer, he struggled to make ends meet. One day after years of saving he managed to buy a horse to help transport hi crop, The day after he bought it, that horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. ‘Such bad luck,’ they said sympathetically. ‘May be,’ Liam had replied.”

‘The next morning the when he rose , he found the horse had horse returned. In fact during it's night in countryside, it had met three other horses, and brought them home with him. ‘How wonderful!' the neighbors exclaimed. ‘May be,’ replied the farmer."

“A few days later, Liam’s son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, and was thrown, He broke his leg so badly he thought he might never walk normally again. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. ‘May be,’ answered the farmer.”

"A few years later, a vicious mercenary band appeared at the farm. This band was well known to draft all available young men into their ranks, by force if necessary. Seeing that the farmer's son was lame, and the farmer himself was bent from the work of running the farm on his own, they passed them by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "May be," said Liam."

“Liam went on for a quite a time, telling stories of great fortune, and for each was an equally great misfortune that he had endured” Ci recounted. “When Liam finished, I thanked him for his tales, and sent him on his way with my friendship. He left as happy as he had been when he first came, and one could hear him whistling as his cart passed on down the road toward his home.”

With that, Ci went back to studying his potato. After a few moments, when it became clear that Ci was not going to speak again, Jeroy spoke up in obvious consternation: “Well!?! What is is we are supposed to learn from that, Ci? That things will always work out in the end? That we can never know what fate has in store? What!??!”

Ci, looked up again, as if startled from a dream and said, “Friend Jeroy I am afraid I have no idea. I know not where all paths leads, only that I must follow them. I was just thinking however, if that poor unlucky farmer can whistle his way through this world, surely I can go on another day with faith in my friends.”

Ci's Campfire Story

Jeroy, Ci, Cassio, Ember, Pearl, and Amon sit around a hasty campfire carved out the frozen tundra near Frostgorge Sound. Jeroy is doing his calisthenics as usual, but everyone else seems to be taking the moment to truly rest. The fight with the giants tested them all sorely, and some more than others. Amon seems particular down... In between push-ups Jeroy quips "Why so serious, Amon!?! Any fight you walk away from is a good...." his voice trails off as he realizes what his comment might bring to mind. Amon looks up... "it's true I have only recently returned to the land of the living... but that is not what I was thinking of. I just felt so... useless... My skills are not up to par, and though I am pleased to truly serve my mistress, instead of a vile deceiver, I wish I had NOT been so deceived... perhaps then I could have been a greater help to you all."

"Do not worry friend Amon," Ci begins, "your path is your own and only you can walk it. Master Liu used to tell a story that I've always liked. A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On that day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force the body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck. "

"Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

"What the hell CI!?! How is THAT supposed to make us feel better!?!" yells Jeroy.

Ci continued quietly "What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health. Fear not friend Amon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. You can be stronger now than you would have. Now you can be free."

With that Ci went back to quietly meditating, and Jeroy with a quizzical look on his face, went back to push-ups. Amon rested easier that night than he had a many days.

Recollections by Amon

Dying is...unpleasant. If the fates are kind, it will not be an experience I enjoy again for many years to come. Given the dangers we face, and the frequency with which we face them, of course, I do not expect the fates to be overfond. I write this account -my first in some time- in the hopes that some record of our most recent misadventure might make it back to the others in the Order, should we fail to emerge from the darkness one more time. We stand before a gap in the frozen ground at the ass end of the world, the Frostlands, making preparations to delve within. Our hope, bolstered by the words of our most recent associate, the wizard Steel, is to find and bring to justice the dark elf wizard Imphraezl, who has eluded us for many months since our last encounter at Fort Malto. Given his demonstrated control of magical forces far beyond the abilities I once possessed at the height of my pact with Taiia- with an ancient unknowable evil, I do not feel the confidence in our certain victory that I present outwardly to the others.

We arrived here at the behest of Steel, who approached us during a training day at the Keep yesterday morning. He informed us that he needed our aid in giant slaying to disrupt a proposed alliance between two giant tribes, and that providing that assistance would lead us to Imphraezl. Seeing the threat such an alliance might cause for the surrounding region, we agreed to be teleported to the location of their planned meeting to do what we could. Through careful planning, acquired knowledge of the terrain, and a modicum of luck and the grace of holy Taiia, we prevailed in battle against both factions, despite the odds and the seeming unearthly powers possessed by the two giant kings, and did so with no casualties. The intervention of a dragon dispatched any remaining giants in the aftermath of the fight, and graciously opened up access to the chasm we currently prepare to enter.

As to the particulars, I must leave that to the others, memories of our conflict little more than a blur of fear and violence. The voices no longer whisper to me. Though I know now their foul origin, their absence still leaves me adrift, unsure of my continued place in the Order and among the Magisters. The battlefield, once my home, seems a foreign land to me. My new magic is unfamiliar, though useful to the others, is not the exultation of death and judgment of the power I once possessed. My lady's grace is now granted in truth, but while it proved vital in keeping the others alive yet I felt the absence of my more destructive abilities all too clearly as I cowered in frigid steel armor that still feels unnatural around me. Perhaps time and continued practice are needed, but time is not on our side today.

No matter. Our cause is just, our weapons ready. If we prevail, then by Her light may I find a purpose once more.

Recollections by Ci

===Day 1===I write these quick notes in the early morning from a hasty campsite in the frigid wastes near Frostgorge Sound. Later today, we will step into the icy unknown, so before we rush again headlong into danger, I wanted to get a few notes down about what brought us here. It all began yesterday morning when a mysterious figure approached us at the Keep while we were training. After confirming that we were a part of the group that had faced Imphraezl at Fort Malto, and survived, this stranger identified himself as Wizard named Steel. He stated that he had been sent to find us by a Seer. This Seer believed that we were destined to avert a terrible alliance between giants. Steel also told us that doing us would bring us closer to our goal of finding Imphraezl, though he was unsure how exactly that would be achieved. Feeling confident that Steel at least believed that he was telling us the truth, and hopeful at the prospect of finding Imphraezl again, we accepted his offer of transportation to Frostlands.

Steel's help came in the form of a Teleport spell that immediately transported us to a nearly featureless landscape of ice and snow. The wizard Steel then informed us that this was the anticipated location of a meeting between two giant kings, one of a clan of Stone Giants, the other of a clan of Frost Giants. Obviously, this alliance would be devastating for this region, and it was for this reason that the Seer had Steel seek us out. We knew precious little of the specifics, other than when, where, and who would be meeting, and thus after some short discussion we ruled out a diplomatic solution, It seemed the only sure way to prevent this alliance was to eliminate the parties when they arrived to negotiate. Steel's intelligence suggested that this would mean facing 10 giants and their respective Kings in less than 24 hours, a prospect that gave even brave Cassio pause.

In order to gain any advantage possible, Ember and I, being the fastest in this terrain, left to each scout one of the approaching parties while the others stayed to prepare the battlefield, with Steel's help. Steel it turns out, is Wizard of some considerable talent, and his help would be invaluable in the coming battle, though less so than we originally anticipated. When Ember and I returned with useful information we barely had time to form a plan and prepare ourselves.

As the giants approached, we had hidden ourselves behind some illusory terrain at the center of the meeting spot. We sprang from hiding and attacked before the Giants were aware of our presence. I had been able to spy a weak spot in the armor of one of the Frost Giant King's retinue, and was able to pierce his heart with an arrow from my Siyah killing him instantly. Ember had identified a Stone Giant with a previous wound, and was able to target that wound with a fire bolt, taking him out of the fight immediately as well. The others focused on luring as many of the Stone Giants as we could into pit traps that we had dug about the area and covered with illusory terrain. In this way were able to trap or eliminate 7 of the giants before they could respond. Steel also proved his power by casting Disintegrate at the Frost Giant King and nearly destroying him outright. Though the sight of his grievous wounds beginning to heal almost immediately was our first hint that our well laid plans might not be enough. The second happened not long after when The Stone Giant King reached out gently and touched [{Steel]] turning him immediately to stone and then picking him up and sticking him to his body! We had focused on taking out as many of the Stone Giants as possible, reasoning that the Frost Giants would be easier targets as they were vulnerable to our ample fire magic. We did not anticipate our wizard Steel being so quickly and so permanently being taken out the battle.

However we fought on, with the Divine power of Cassio flowing freely, with Jeroy's soulmate digging great gouges into Giant flesh with our casters raining fire and thorns upon the giants formations all the while offering healing where able, and I moved about, burying arrows into huge targets and attempting to stay out of reach of their huge axes and clubs. Garnet fluttered about spewing great gouts of flame, while the giants hurled boulders around the battlefield with abandon. one even managed to grab and throw Pearl when she got to close to one, nearly taking out both her and Ember with one toss! Cassio nearly fell time and again, only to be healed, while the Frost Giant King, under some enchantment of Necromancy, did indeed fall and rise again many times.

We were finally able to kill both kings and and the remaining free giants on the battlefield. Ember was able to restore Steel to the flesh, and we began to discuss what to do with the giants trapped in our pits. At this moment, a giant red dragon appeared and seared the entire area with his breath of fiery doom. While Steel was able to shield us from the blast, but the trapped giants, as was the dragon's intention, died violently in the conflagration. The dragon gave his thanks for killing the rest of the giants (I gathered there is no love lost between these monsters) and flew away. As he departed however he used his breath to uncover another patch of snow in the distance, apparently as a final thank you. Steel supposed this would be where we might find our answers to the Imphraezl mystery, and so we resolved to find out what the strange draconic visitor uncovered, but only after some well needed rest. So we rest. What the next day was to bring, we could not have hoped to guess. It turned out to be more unexpected and strange than the even the day before.

Day 2

The night before we had constructed what we believed to be a solid plan. We agreed that I would scout ahead and we would proceed cautiously. Above all else we did not want to find ourselves surrounded by enemies in the heart of what we could only assume was Imphraezl's lair. We approached the spot that had been the target of the dragon's fire the day before, and spotted what appeared to be a forge, deep below us, powered by dragon' fire. We surmised that there must be some way down to that forge and began to scout the surrounding area. We eventually found a chasm that looked promising. My friends let me down on a rope and discovered a holdfast of some kind cut into the side of the ice, with well paths well worn by the tracks of dwarves. I discovered no immediate danger, and encouraged my companions to join me. Our sturdy dwarf Jeroy, could not identify the clan or allegiance of these dwarves from their construction, so we decided to proceed with caution. All except Amon apparently, who decided to open the first door he came upon!

As one might have suspected, he was fired upon immediately! He managed to survive the volley of crossbow bolts and was hailed by the hold's occupants and challenged. What followed was a bizarre scene of talking and drinking and negotiating with unknown dwarves (for dwarves indeed they were, though of an unfamiliar race known as grey dwarves or Duergar). I managed to hold their attention in the entrance, while Jeroy negotiated from behind. He managed to convince them that we were no threat, and indeed were here to trade. We also managed to ascertain that our quarry, Imphraezl was possibly within. Over Cassio's objections, and with little knowledge of what lay ahead, we were led into the fortress, ostensibly toward a meeting with Imphraezl himself. As we were led deeper into the complex, we began do despair of ever getting out again. We were outnumbered, and would have to pass a number of fortifications on the return trip. We were to door and asked to wait. We concocted a hasty plan to ambush the dwarves outside with us, rather than face whatever awaited us that room. thanks to Amon we were made aware of a number of invisible dwarves who were watching us, as well as the two guards we could see. Using a combination of surprise, haste, and faerie fire we were able to quickly dispatch both our seen and unseen guards. We quickly decided upon a two pronged attack, rather than a frontal assault, so Cassio and I made our way to a second door. Before we could act however, the hunters became the hunted! Our prey appeared, threw down a staff of some kind, and quickly blinked away. I recognized our danger immediately, in the form of the Staff of the Magi we had recently sold! If Imphraezl could somehow manage to break that item now lying in our midst, here might be nothing left but cinders where The Eternal Order once stood! Indeed, that seemed to be the damnable Drow's very plan! He began to fire off bolts of magical energy aimed at the staff! The fates as yet remained ever in our favor, however, and we were able to distract and deflect his attacks long enough for Jeroy and Pearl to grab the staff and retreat into the adjacent room. We would have to keep that staff away from Imphraezl at all costs!

For the moment we lived however, and Imphraezl was revealed! We all closed the distance as quickly as we could, determined to not let him escape again! As most of us focused on talking down the Drow, we could here Jeroy's voice from the next room... "Hey! The Forge is in here! And a whole bunch of dwarves!" Amon, nearest to Jeroy, recognized our opportunity! "Quickly! The Staff!!! Throw it into the Forge!" he shouted. "The Forge? Really?" Jeroy asked, as he and Pearl shared a quizzical look. "Yes damn you!" answered Amon, "and then RUN!!!" Moments later Jeroy and Pearl emerged at a sprint followed by the deep rumble of an explosion that seemed to shake the very earth to its core! Even Imphraezl seemed shaken for a moment and the look for confidence that had graced his face moments ago, seemed to fade. Despite my best efforts however, and that of Ember's animal companion and trusty dragon, we were unable to kill that slippery elf. He managed to teleport away, just as Cassio closed for what surely would have been a death blow. What followed, though dangerous, was as inevitable as it was anticlimactic. Made aware of our presence by the destruction of their forge, we were quickly beset by a number of dwarves from all directions. To the northwest, Garnet, Ember, the bear and I dispatched a dozen or more dwarves, some clad in whirling dervish suits of spinning blades and steam. To the northeast, Cassio stood his ground against a small horde of dwarves with surprising ability to grow to more than twice their height. To the southwest, Pearl's wall of thorns shredded an approaching Duergar and his companions quickly gave flight. In the devastation that had been the forge to the southeast, Jeroy finished off the few Duergar who remained. After a short, but intense melee, we were able to defeat and drive off all the remaining defenders. They even set fire to their fortress as they fled, presumably to prevent us from learning anything of the nature of their association with Imphraezl.

Since our way out was blocked by fire, we gathered what loot we could, including a great number of magical discs, as well as a metal golem that the discs seemed destined to power, and made our way further into the fortress. In the deeper levels we, we stumbled upon a lone vault. It was inscribed with strange sigils, and we were unable to gain entry. As we descended we came upon a subterranean river. At dick was a contraption I could only have dreamed of... It seemed to be a vessel of some kind, but the form of some kind of crustacean, with claws and tail. Pearl and I braved it's metal interior, and in short order, determined the purpose and function of it's many levers. We realized this could be our way out! We all piled into its shining interior and Pearl drove us out through the river, and into the sea! I write these words from atop our mechanical beast, our home for next few months, as we make our back to Solace. We have named our vessel C.L.A.W. (Crustaceous Lethal Assault Weapon). Though the quarters are cramped, especially with Jeroy's ancestors showing up every time he loses his temper, we know we are bringing back a valuable weapon in our war against Chaos. I still think of Imphraezl's parting words however: "You cannot stop me! I have already released the Curse!" we can only hope that Solace still stands when we make it back!

Recollections by Ember

Jeroy, Cassio, Pearl, Amon, and I train with Ci on the Sanjiu keep grounds all morning. During our training I notice someone approaching. As this person comes closer I can tell it is an old man dressed in wizards robes, a fine long sword at his side, plus a walking stick. I immediately let my party know of his approach. Ci and Cassio decide to go meet the man and they are close enough that I am able to hear the conversation. Cassio first boasts of his greatness to the man. I feel my morning breakfast come up my throat a little. The man pays no mind and I can't help but giggle. Somehow though I don't think this will even register with Cassio's large ego. The man says the Seer told him where to find the group responsible for cleaning up Fort Malto and facing Imprazel. Cassio confirms this information. The wizard then asks a curious question, why did we do it. Cassio then explains to him about the chaos curse and then says "You may know who we are, but who are you?". He introduces himself as Steel. Ci then asks what his interest is in Fort Malto and Imprazel is. He tells us Imprazel is causing havoc in the Frost Guard Sound and he needs our help to stop this. I am suspicious so I cast a spell to see if he is telling the truth. Once the spell is complete I do believe him and let the discussion continue. Ci then invites him into the keep to continue the discussion in private. We all head to the war room. Once we are settled Ci asks what information he has for us. Steel says he knows very little but that we definitely need to search for Imprazel. He also explains to us that there will be a Giant summit between the Stone and Frost Kings. He says we need to stop this at all costs. Cassio asks him if he will be traveling with us and he says yes. I am very excited at the prospect of having a very high level wizard with us, it will be very beneficial. He says he is happy to teleport us there and back, but we probably won't want him to teleport us back. Jeroy is curious about this and asks why. He explains that our paths will probably diverge and we will be close to catching Imprazel and we will want to pursue him.

Steel reaches out his hand to us to make the teleportation circle. We accept and teleport to the Sound. It's a shock of biting bitter cold as we emerge in the Sound. I've never felt anything like it. It's so incredibly beautiful yet dark and ominous. There is ice and snow as far as the eye can see and no sun to be found. Steel tells us the summit will be held a quarter mile South East at dawn. He also explains to us that each King will have five companions. We begin to head to the meeting spot and discuss a course of action. Us against 12 Frost and Stone Giants, including two Kings will not go well if we don't have a plan.

We discuss the makeup and weaknesses of Frost and Stone Giants as we travel. We remember Frost Giants are made of snow and frost and are vulnerable to fire. We also remember that their beards are coveted and were used for the Chaos curse. As for Stone Giants they are more reclusive and are crafters with no known weaknesses. We discuss all our options and the best course of actions seem to be suggestions from Jeroy and Cassio, I'm just as surprised as you are! It took us an exceedingly long time to come up with a plan, but it seems like our best option. The plan is to keep them divided and dig holes big enough for the Giants to fall in, taking them out of the battle. The holes will be covered by hallucinatory terrain so they can't avoid them. Steel tells us his sword is called Steel Wind and we will see what it can do tomorrow. Personally I hope it kills Giants with one poke! However I doubt it.

We decide we should scout both groups. So Ci goes to scout the Frost Giants and I change into an eagle and scout the Stones. While we are gone the rest of the party digs the pits. Once I reach the Stone Giants I can tell which is the King immediately. He appears to have a bunch of mechanical items attached to him. I can tell another Giant has a large wound and I believe I would easily be able to take him out instantaneously if I hit him in it. I fly back and relay this information to the party. Ci returns and tells us that the Frost Giant King looks like an abomination with many heads attached to his body and one of the companions is wounded. He feels the same as I do, that he can take down the companion if he hits him in the right spot.

With preparations made we lay in wait for the Giants to arrive. We are all gathered in the middle of the ice shelf when they arrive and they are more then surprised to see us. We begin the battle immediately. Steal starts us off with his magical blade wounding 5 Giants at once! Then Jeroy, Cassio, Pearl and Amon are all able to knock a Giant each into a pit. I am so thankful 4 of them are out of this fight. Ci then skillfully kills the Frost Giant with the wound as I do the same to the wounded Stone Giant with my black flames. Steel then tries to disengage with the Stone King, but I see a strange look in his eyes and believe he is charmed. So he sends a disintagrate beam to the Frost King and the King's skin begins to peel off. Jeroy then goes into a barbarian rage and goes after the Stone King but misses. I then hear him calling for his ancestral guardians and he barley damages the king with his axe.

I then hear blood curdling screams which I realize is coming from all of the Frost King's heads and I feel a looming sense of doom as his wounds begin to close! What in the world!?!?! He then appears to be raging and slams his great axe on Cassio. Cassio is wounded but retaliates Screaming "Cassio" striking his flaming sword into the King. A divine light comes blasting out from the Kings spine and he falls dead. I am thankful for Cassio in battle, but those words will never pass my lips! Pearl then drops the closest Frost Giant into a hole and he is out for the count. Another down, thank the Gods! Amon then sends his blessings on most of us. We definitely need all the blessings we can get, thanks Amon! The Stone Giant then flashes the group a vicious smile and touches Steel on the forehead turning him to stone! He then grabs Steels stone body and presses him into his flesh and he is absorbed. Just like that, in a single instance our strongest party member is out for the count and I feel the world crashing around me but resolve to fight harder. He then picks up Jeroy and slams him into the ground, but Jeroy manages to stand up only suffering a small amount of damage. That is one tough little dwarf. One of the Frost Giants plucks a boulder from his belt throwing it at Cassio. It hits him, but he keeps going. Ci then sends flaming arrows, which I made for him, at one of the Frost Giants and one arrow hits. The Giant retaliates by throwing a rock at Ci which misses. Another Giant goes after Cassio and slams him with it's axe. The Giant misses at first, then lands a blow. Garnet, now a wrymling sends his fire breath at two of the Giants scorching their skin. Jeroy goes after the Stone King again missing at first then lands his axe in it's flesh. Then to the surprise of all of us, the Frost King's bones begin to knit together, he stands, and slams his axe on Cassio. Cassio is ready for this and has casted a shield over him and heals his wounds. Pearl then casts her flame waver hitting the King and the Giant in front of Cassio. Her flame wave kills the King and throws the other Giant backwards. The Stone King is growing more angry by the second and he bludgeons Jeroy. Good thing Amon had just healed him. The Stone King then moves to Garnet because one thing Giants hate the most is dragons. Especially a dragon that is killing them. Ci shoots his flaming arrows at one of the Frost Giants almost killing him. Another tries to slam his axe on Garnet but misses. I decide we need the Stone King out for the count for a time so I poly-morph him into a rat. Garnets flames then burn two of them. The Frost Kings bones knit back together once again, he stands, and throws a huge rock at Cassio. Whats with this guy?!?! Cassio then attacks the Giant next to him sending him to his grave. He then attacks the Frost King almost killing him once more. That honor goes to Pearl this time as she casts her wall of thorns through several of the Giants and the King, killing him once more. She then tries to run out of the way and the Frost Giant that is closest to her grapples her and she is unable to move. Amon then uses his staff to age the Giant holding Pearl. This seems to backfire as the Giants muscles become larger. One of the Giant's pushes out of the wall and throws a boulder at me. It hurts a great deal, but I press on. Ci then shoots his flaming arrows but misses. He closes the gap and sends a fist and flurry of blows at it. The Giant holding Pearl does the unexpected and hurls her at me. We collide which hurts both of us but Ci is able to sneak attack him for us. Unfortunately my concentration is disrupted and the poly-morph spell fails on the Stone King as he turns back into himself. However I recast it and he once again turns into a rat. I vow to keep him like this until we are able to fight him all together. Garnet once again blows his fire breath burning two of the Giants. Jeroy's attacks one of them and misses, but hits on his second attack so he summons an ancestor. The Frost King's bones once again knit back together. He lurches himself out of the wall of thorns, but dies instantly. Thank the Gods! Cassio then moves in between two of the Giants, slashing them down to their deaths. Pearl and Ci then notice the sky is growing darker by the minute. They inform us all. The Giants in the holes start to unnervingly moan, this cannot be a good sign. The Frost King once again reanimates, but Ci shoots him down dead. I really wish this guy would quit the crap! Jeroy runs to the Frost King to carve out his heart so he can make a belt. He realizes four of the heads on it are still alive. The King would keep coming back to life if Jeroy hadn't taken his heart. Thank you Jeroy for wanting to craft a belt of Giants strength. All the Giants that are not in holes have been struck down so we circle around the Stone King getting ready to attack. Cassio is first and he charges the rat King with his flaming sword. The rat immediately turns back into the Stone Giant once Cassio has attacked. Luckily he takes a nice chunk out of him. Jeroy is the second to attack and almost takes him out. Ci is third and misses his first two attacks. He then runs up the King's body and punches him in the throat twice killing him.

We then cut the stone Steel out of the Giant and I cast greater restoration on him and he returns to his flesh. Steel then looks up at the dark sky and says this is what he's been waiting for. We are all perplexed. I look up and see a huge shadow growing larger and larger until a massive red dragon emerges from the clouds. Steel immediately shields our party as the gigantic dragon blows fire over the entire battlefield killing the remaining Giants in the holes. She then turns to us and says "Thank you for that". She takes off and lands one hundred feet away firing the ground once again. We are again perplexed by this. Thanks to Steel we didn't turn into a pile of ash! He says that the dragons name is Vala and she has been seen around these parts. He then tells us this is where we part ways because he needs to see the Seer. He says he will return in two days and then teleports away. We had luck on our side today and remain whole to battle once more.

DAY 2

We rested and recuperated after our daring fight with the Giants and encounter with the dragon. Ci, Cassio and Jeroy kept watch throughout but it was uneventful, thank the Gods! Ci went and scouted the other area where the Great Dragon blew flame on the ground. Through my knowledge of Dragons I know that red dragons are generally evil, often times the most evil of dragons, and they are the most intelligent. This is why I am nurturing Garnet as much as possible. Jeroy also told us that dragon fire is used in Dwarven tradition to light their ademantiam forges.

We head over to the area and I see a crevasse one hundred feet down. Cassio also tells us he senses magic down there. We have Ci venture down first for stealthy reconnaissance. I'm honestly surprised he doesn't turn invisible with how stealthy he is. After he is done scouting he tugs on the rope three times signaling it is safe to go down. It is surprisingly warm and exceedingly calm down in the crevasse, I find this unnerving. Nothing good has ever come from calm. It is very surprising to find foliage growing down here in the tundra. We see several trees and plants, 2 doors, and a break in-between the walls large enough for us to fit through. Ci tells us in his scouting he has put and ear to both doors. Through the right door he hears nothing and through the left door, nothing. However he points out the three sets of dwarven footprints going in-between the two doors and through the break in the walls. He asks Jeroy if this is common Dwarven construction. Jeroy says it is but that is seems confused. This worries me a great deal.

As we discuss what to do next, Amon takes it upon himself, before consulting with any us and opens the door on the right!! What the.... ! We see a room with a dining table, hear a cranking noise, and 2 bolts come flying out straight into his armor! Amon, Amon, Amon I thought as I shook my head and prepare for battle. We hear more cranking and shuffling within. Jeroy runs over and yanks Amon out of the doorway before another bolt comes flying in his direction, and narrowly misses.

Ci immediately runs to the doorway with hands held high and says "friends, there is no need to fight". From inside we hear "state your business". Ci tells them we hunt a great enemy of all the lands and two more bolts fly in his direction, but none take purchase. It's only at this point I see Amon pull the bolts from his armor and move away from the door way completely. I shake my head in disbelief and am amazed that it took this long. Jeroy says in dwarven "we mean you no harm". I believe I am the only one who understands this. They yell back "state your buisiness". Jeroy responds and tells them that we have killed the Giant Kings and that we have their hearts. He says we would like to make a belt of Giant strength. We hear shuffling and the tell us to stay where we are and lay down the heart and our arms. He removes a heart from his pack and shows them. Ever the most difficult, Cassio refused to lay down his arms. The Dwarves are none to pleased by this and as if it was magic, two Dwarves flank Cassio. I tell him to lay down his arms and and I am ignored, big surprise. Somehow he always seems to get us in trouble. However, now that they are out in the open we can tell they are Gray Dwarves. We says we mean you no harm and they boisterously laugh. Cassio in his most annoying voice says he will not lay down his arms because he doesn't want to be robbed blind. Ci responds to him by asking him to lay down his arms because this is not a fight we can win. Then Cassio says "We won with the Giants" and I shake my head again at his sheer arrogance. However, I'm not surprised. What was with these men today? Jeroy then tells them we worked with the dragon Vela to help relight their forge. This seems to have some effect because the two Dwarves flanking Cassio lower their weapons. Jeroy then introduces himself. They tell us they don't trust us enough to give us their names but they do want to trade. They ask us how much we want for the Giant King heart and tell us we are welcome to come in and drink. Jeroy has to relay this to the rest of the party, besides myself. Then confers with us and we decide the heart is best traded for information. Jeroy and I then thank them in Dwarvish and have a seat at the table and have some ale. He then asks if he can use the forge to make his belt of Giant strength. They say we can use a smaller forge because the big one is being occupied. He inquires as to what it's being used for and they tell him it's none of his business. Ci then puts his hands on Jeroys shoulder and tells him to remember why we are here. We can see in this room and down hall it is filled with murder holes, just like the one that shot the bolts in Amon. We must be cautious at how we play this. Jeroy tells them we will trade the heart for information on Imprazel or how we can meet him. They seem to perk up at this. This can't be good. I am becoming more and more nervous the longer we are here. They ask if we know him and Jeroy says yes. He tells them we know the business with the Chaos Curse and seek an audience. They tell us to wait here and one of the Dwarves disappears down the hallway. After a few minutes the Dwarf returns and tells us Imprazel will see us now. Oh boy, here we go!

We are lead down several hallways by one Dwarf and have another at our rear. There are alot of statues decorating the hallways, but something seems off with them. We reach a door on the right and the Dwarf leading us tells us to wait again and he disappears into it. During this time, Amon had cast his see invisibility spell and tells us we have several invisible Dwarves around us as well. As we are waiting we quietly confer about what to do next. We decide it is in our best interest to kill the Dwarves guarding us before Imprazel comes out. Quietly and in a flash I cast faire fire so we can see the invisible. Amon then casts silence so we can kill them quietly and quickly.

I see a Dwarf appear to the North of us and send Garnet after it. He blows his fire breath down the hallway and apparently killed three of them even through I only saw one. Three piles of ash littered the hallway. Ci moves to attack the Dwarf behind us. At first he misses but then sinks a killing blow crushing it's chest cavity with his sword. Cassio then swings at thin air with his rod of lordly might and crushes the skull of an invisible Dwarf. Who's corpse appeared after the killing blow. Then we were alone in the hallway, ready for Imprazel.

Once the Dwarves were all dead Ci scouted ahead and I conjured my polar bear. After some time Ci made his way back to us and told us there is another door around the corner that most likely leads to the chamber Imprazel is in. He also tells us that there are twelve monstrous machines down the hallway the other way. He says they do not appear to be active so we are safe for now. Cassio heads around the corner to the door Ci found.

The door closest to us opens and we see a golden staff thrown out into the middle of us. I recognize this is the staff of the Magi Ci had found on one of our expeditions. I know we are all doomed and headed for death if Imprazel has his way and destroys the staff. He then shoots a fireball at it and I close my eyes waiting for the angel of death to take me, but it misses! How in the gods did we just survive that?! Luck must be on our side this night.

We hear a rattle and scream from around the corner and see one of the machines Ci had told us about come to life. I tell Jeroy about the staff and tell him to get it out of Imprazel's sight or we are all doomed. He then grabs the staff and charges into the room Imprazel came from. Pearl follows and we lose sight of both of them.

I know we are in for a hell of a fight with this wizard Imprazel and bring out my best spells. I cast Blight on him and my necrotic energy washes over him doing some damage. My polar bear goes after him next, trying to bite but missing. However he slashes claws deep into the Wizard. Garnet moves up and tries to bite, but the wizard doges. Ci then flanks Imprazel with Garnet and tries to slash him with his sword and stun him several times. Several of his swords cuts hit, but he is unable to stun the Wizard. Out of nowhere we hear the famous "Cassio" shouted from around the corner. So I can only imagine he went head first into our enemies. At least he's good for something

We suddenly hear a giant explosion and the walls shake around us as stone dust falls from above. A second later Jeroy comes running from the door he went in carrying Pearl on his shoulder. I then see several of the monstrous machines pile around Ci, but I'm not worried about the Monk. One sends a drill into Ci, but he is unconcerned. I then hear shuffling coming from the South and can only assume more Dwarves are rallying. Imprazel is getting weaker by the moments with our attacks on him when he screams "The Chaos Curse has already been let out! You're too late you fools!". We are then enveloped in blackness and once the lights come back on he is gone. Coward.

Pearl heads North to help Ci with the machines and brings out her flaming sphere on them. We hear a crying scream from inside the machine as it sputters and burns. Unbeknownst to us they are powered by the Dwarves inside. I then send a black flame to another and it agonizingly dies a firey death. My polar bear heads North and bites another to it's death. It tries to claw the next closest and barely misses. Garnet moves to them next and bites it to death. Ci's arrows take purchase in four destroying them.

I have moved up the corridor and can see Cassio down the other hallway. He throws his dagger hitting a Dwarf straight between the eyes killing him. Two of the other Dwarves attack. One hitting and one missing, but Cassio doesn't seem to be phased. All of a sudden the last two Dwarves by him grow very large. Cassio kills the first large Dwarf and a second smaller one with his flaming sword. Then all of a sudden another large Dwarf comes behind Cassio flanking him, he is still unconcerned.

Jeroy goes back into the room he just emerged from with Pear and is out of sight one more. We hear the scuffling down the hall growing closer. Pearl takes the opportunity to conjure a wall of thorns just past the door Jeroy went in. All of a sudden we see a Dwarf run through the wall of thorns, turning into a bloody mist that sprays the hallway. We then hear the scuffling make it's way back into the distance.

I then get a scent of smoke and relay the information to Ci, Amon, and Pearl. My polar bear and I then head to the room Jeroy is in. Through the entrance I can see Jeroy jump on the Dwarf closest to him and slam it with a killing blow from his axe. The room is absolutely destroyed. I can only surmise Jeroy threw the staff in the forge and it decimated almost everything in the room. This is just as Imprazel intended, but too bad for him it wasn't us. We are still too far away to help Jeroy, but he seems to be managing just fine. The remaining Dwarves in the room send fire javelins at Jeroy, the polar bear, and myself but they all miss. They are very weak little creatures thank the Gods. One of them begins to enlarge. Pearl enters at this point and burns the remaining Dwarves to a crisp.

The three of us then begin to explore the empty room. We find shards of metal infused with crystals littered around. Then we find discs with the shards inside. Jeroy and I split the sixteen discs we can find to take back to the Magestry. As we make our way further in the room we come to an area with beds. Many are destroyed, but many are not. The beds contain metal golems that are quite ominous. There is a strange sigil on the chest and what looks like a space for the discs we found. I am more then thankful that Jeroy blew up this room and these were not able to be activated. He decides to drag one back to the Magestry.

It appears the remaining Dwarves have fled since we have not found one during our exploration. I find what I believe is a prayer chamber which is filled with many strange stone idols. I have never seen anything like them and make a sketch of one to take back with us. Jeroy, Cassio, Pearl, and I head down to one of the lower levels and find what looks like a vault with a golden door. There is no handle or key hole or any way for us to get inside. Pearl decides to use her magic to see if there are any traps on the door. Good thing she did because she told us there are glyphs warding the door. See saved Cassio from another certain death because he was ready to ram the door with his rod of lordly might.

The rest of the party meets up with us and we head down to the lowest level. It opens up into an underground cavern with a shallow stream. In the middle of the stream is a mechanical tank contraption that looks like a crab. I don't trust this at all and keep my distance. Ci and Pearl are brave and decide to get inside. All of a sudden we see the crabs legs go inside the body and extend. Next the front window opens and closed and we see the two of them inside. The two claws extend and retract. Then all of a sudden it violently grabs and snaps the tiny dock in two in front of it. It then swims forward, backwards, right, and left. It's two eye beams shine and extinguish next. It starts to sink then pops up and we hear the rear hatch open and close. We decide it poses no threat at this point and it will be a great asset to us, so we take it back to the Magestry.

We all pile into this contraption, Garnet cozied at my feet and we head for the sea with Pearl at the controls. We follow the stream for sometime making our way out to the Sea and heading back to Solace. It takes us fifty one days to get back to Solace. This is the most trying and excruciating excursion I've ever been on. Fifty one days in a metal box with Cassio!! It is New Years day when we arrive and I survived the journey by the skin of my teeth. I am so thankful we are home. I jump out of the machine away from my companions, I need some solitude after this. However I realize this is a fever dream as our rings begin to glow gold signaling us to meet in the main chamber. As we enter the main chamber we see all, and I mean all the Magestry leaders along with a woman in a ornate dress I have never seen before. I am very worried about what this signifies.

Recollections by Jeroy

End of Day 1 .
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We sit around our camp on a frozen and barren plane.
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Beside us is a gaping hole, burned into the ground by an ancient red dragon that nearly killed us along with 6 giants we had trapped.

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Four more dead frost giants are strewn about frozen land
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Two giant kings lay dead, their hearts has been cut our.
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The reason we are here is simple - we were asked to do a favor in exchange for information on someone we seek but how this will end we are unsure.

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Between push-ups I look around our campsite, Ember plays with Garnet. They have earned a more relaxed night than this. Garnet fought bravely and Ember's powerful magic may have saved us all from a Giant King, but not any Giant King - the one that our dear fallen comrade, Jorg, was killed for. Tonight we hope Jorg rests in peace and bestows on us a similar peaceful night sleep. Pearl rests on a bed of leaves and nurses her wounds. During the battle she fought mightily but for a moment allowed herself to get too close to one giant. She was thrown into ember, nearly killing both. Her powerful magic was able to stop multiple giants in their tracks. Without her Cassio may have been killed. He fought bravely, I must tip my Soulmate to him on that. He fights as though someone is watching him - or like many people are watching him. Amon is already asleep. He appears taxed after his first battle with his new fighting style. Cleric works for him but he appeared at times lost on the battlefield. His natural instincts gone, his movements were slightly off-step. As if he was reciting a spell but for the first time. I cannot hold that against him for he fought bravely and he has earned his sleep. Finally there is Ci, scribbling feverishly, as if this is his last testament. Though he is a man that seeks inner peace and tranquility it is clear to even a barbarian his mind is never at rest. He fought with honor for his order and should be proud.
We all fought with honor for our Order, the Eternal Order. But our fight is not yet done. As I turn to towards the hole beside us I wonder if we will finally be able to track down the wizard Imphraezl. This time we may have the drop on him, I just hope it is enough.
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Day 2

We awaken from our night resting. Our wounds healed, spells restored, and Cassio's Ego emboldened after another adventure. "Up, Up my comrades! Today is another day to battle in the presence of the great Cassio!" He yells as he shakes our tents and bedrolls. Even Garget is annoyed, and I'm fairly certain it doesn't speak common. We slowly rise from our beds and prepare ourselves for the coming day; Pearl and Ember begin preparing their spells by burning incense, reciting druidic tomes, and pulling small items from their satchels. Cassio polishes his weapon and breastplate till he can see himself in it, which I believe was his goal all along. Amon reads through his cleric scriptures with a puzzled look as if he is learning a new language; alas, his struggles continue in his new role. In a moment of peace Ci is see off away from us all meditating quietly. I roll over onto my stomach and do ten push ups.

After we are done preparing we make our way over to the edge of the hole that Velah blew her fire into the night before. As we approach we soon realize she did not burn a hole into the ground, but rather the hole was always there. As we approach the edge the heat is intense and never ending. It dawns on me, this isn't a fire, it is a forge. A forge that is fed by the intense heat of an elder dragon's fire breath. I tell our compatriots that "there is no way we can go down that way, we will need to find another way below." We look around the barren landscape for anything that could be seen as entrance to the forge below us when Ember's (perception check:18) eyes begin to focus on a crevasse not to far from us. She points in it's direction and says "That my be our way in." We all nod and make our way over to find a small crevasse that appears to be 100 feet deep, Ci volunteers to scout it out "I have trained in the..." I stop him right there, "Yeah, we know Ci. You're trained in everything. Tell us what you find."

Ci returns after a few minutes and tells us there are two doors and a path between them that has been walked by several creatures in single file into a crack in the rocks. "I think it is our way in" he tells us. We agree and as quietly as possible make our way into the crevasse. We arrive at the bottom and are faced with the two doors and the path between them. Cassio says what was on all of our minds "I don't feel too good about those doors." We nod and go to inspect the path, however Amon didn't seem to get the message. Before we can say no he opens the door on the right, three arrows fly past him and a forth digs into his shoulder. I run over and yank him from the doorway. Ci quickly runs over and tries to play peacemaker. "We mean you no harm!" he shouts from beyond the doorframe, "lay down you arms and we can talk." His words are met by another arrow narrowly missing his head. I yell in dwarvish "We mean you no harm!" a pause in the barrage of arrows and murmurs are heard. Then a loud "State you business!" Is heard from the room.
"I have killed two giant kings and I have their hearts." I hold one out in the doorway.
"So?" I hear back.
"I have two giant king hearts. Let us forge one into a giant belt of strength and I'll give you the other."
Two gray dwarves appear next to Cassio from thin air. They tell us to put down our weapons. We are possibly surrounded. I respond to them in dwarvish "We have not drawn our weapons, we have no quarrel with you. We worked with Velah to relight the forge." A long pause fills the room. Slowly the dwarves lower their weapons and walk into the room, sit down and begin to drink an ale as they motion for me to join them. I nod to the group that we should follow.
"What is the price for the heart?" One of the gray dwarves asks me.
"We came here to meet Imphrazel, we seek an audience with him." I respond. The dwarf I spoke to leaves as the others proceed to get drunk. We slowly sip on our ales. The dwarf returns commanding us to follow him. We are led down a series of hallways that are lined with statues and guards. This fortress is vast, complex, and well guarded. Though I typically prefer brute force, even I realize that discretion is the better part of valor now.

We continue down the hallway when one of the dwarves stops us, holds up a hand and says "wait here" as he opens a door and disappears behind it, but not before a seering heat blows from behind the door. The forge is likely behind there. We pause as I tell the group "we are to wait here." As I say so Amon flashes me a look, he sees something that I cannot. Before I know what has happened Garnet burns three dwarves alive, Ci kills one, and Cassio kills the other. I have no idea what just happened.

The door opens where I see a black elf open the door and throws a golden rod towards us. Ci's heart drops as he sees it, time begins to move slowly around me. The rod, still in the air comes into focus in my eyes. It's pure gold with exquisitely detailed engraving. As it flies towards we I am overcome with it's beauty and I freeze as it as it hovers in the air momentarily. The embroidery glistens in the light of a bolt of energy developing from the figure behind it. The elf who threw it comes into focus. He is a black elf with piercing eyes, a smile that seeks pain and misfortune of others, and the aura of a wizard. It is Imphrazel himself, though "I thought he was taller?" I think to myself as the bolt of energy fires into the direction of the rod. I see Ci close his eyes as he makes peace with his world, Ember stands between the staff and Garnet as if she is protecting it. My fate suddenly dawns on me: Imphrazel is targeting the staff flying towards me to use it as a weapon where it would likely kill us all (Plot Coin: Crit Fail). *Thunk* The staff hits me in the face causing the bolt to miss. It falls to my feet, undamaged. I turn back up but Imphrazel is gone.

"Protect the staff!" Ci yells "He'll use it to kill us all, get rid of it!" As he take off down the hallway.
"Where?!?" I fire back in the anarchy? But he was too far to respond. I grab the staff, charge into the room of the forge, open the door and throw the staff into the forge. The eyes of the durgerge standing near the forge immediately let me know what hell is about to be unleashed. They dive into the forge after it to try and save those around them. I close the door and frantically shove Pearl away with me to safety as behind us is an explosion of epic proportions. The forge is vaporized into nothingness. for a 30-foot sphere where nothing is left but a void. "You broke it." Pearl says to me, I try to defend myself but she has already turned around and left.

I walk around what is left of the forge when I am attack by several gray dwarves. They are dispatched quickly and we are soon left alone in the fortress. The rest of the team joins me in what is left of the forge. "Where is Imphrazel?" I ask.
"He fled as soon as I was near, he knew the mighty Cassio would be too much for him." Cassio boasts as eight collective eyes roll.
"He said that the chaos curse has been released. We have to alert the others." Ci says to the group. He is right however I am searching whatever is left of the forge for something of value. What it could be I have no idea but a forge that is powered by the breath of an elder dragon is surely making something powerful.

At the edge of the room I find metal disks that have crystal shards imbedded in them "I don't know what these are, be they were making them so they must have some purpose." I grab as many as my dwarven hands can hold and stuff them into my bag. I continue down a hallway that has a series of metal golems lying on beds. I touch one but nothing. I cannot find a way to open or activate it but I know just the person who might. I grab it by the feet and drag it around with me through the fortress.

We find two additional levels in the fortress, in the first level down we find a golden vault that is protected by a magical seal. It is engraved with a language similar to dwarvish but I cannot read it. I scribble what I can to take back to be translated. In the level below we find a submarine shaped like a crab. Pearl takes the control, tells us "Get in." We jump in and begin a long treck back to Solace by boat. When we arrive our rings begin to flash a golden hue. We have been summoned to the Magistery.

Recollections by Pearl

Pearl pulls from her clothes what appears to be a knot of roots and branches. She opens it to reveal a journal that she keeps on her, or as part of her, at all times. She begins to write before settling in for the night.

Our adventure seems to grow more dangerous every day. From a wizard and druid summoning creatures, to sailors with ghost cargo, to pirates kidnapping fellow sailors, to a cult that raises the very bottom of the ocean – but now giant kings, giants, and dragons. This battle may have been my toughest yet. I learned many lessons today – the importance of preparing for a battle, never get too close to giants, and the strength of a team comes from all of its parts. Like the world around us, nature is best when it is in balance. I fear that the plots that we are uncovering may lead to an imbalance in the world around us. I simply hope that we can be the proper counterweight.

-Pearl, 11/27/346