D&d | Polymath Programmer

Dramatising the Three Beacons of Twilight

September 17, 2009 By Vincent

In my ongoing quest to expand my repertoire of skills as a polymath, I have embarked on acting. Specifically, role playing. It takes a bucketload of courage to speak, for I am used to conveying words through my fingers to the screen, not from my mouth to my audience’s ears.

It’s even harder role playing a fictional character.

So I’ve resolved to include some roleplaying, some acting, some short speeches, that kind of stuff into my regular D&D gaming sessions. I want to see D&D as more than just dice rolls and statistics. The experience will also help, you know, in case I get invited on television or do videos *cough cough*.

There is this power that’s really awesome. It’s called “Three Beacons of Twilight”, a level 15 Invoker power. The flavour text reads, “In the darkest days of the war against the primordials, the gods used…” oh who cares about the flavour text? It does a fair amount of damage, and creates a zone that allows me to teleport people willy-nilly.

My invoker’s the nearest to the top. The little hand-thingy represents the origin square of my Three Beacons of Twilight. Just in case you’re wondering, that’s the bad-ass elder blue dragon we’re fighting. We’ve got props too. The silver ring means it’s cursed by the warlock. The gold ring means it’s marked by the paladin. And the red ring? Means it’s half way dead (thank goodness!).

I sort of imagined the three beacons as stars in the sky. So during this last encounter for the day, I decided it was an appropriate move, and I launched fully into my dramatic pose and dramatic voice.

I call upon the Three Beacons of Twilight, named Waffles, Tea, and Fudgecake. I invoke their power word pronounced “WUHTUHF”, which is an acronym formed from their initials. Or WTF for short. WTF!!

My DM nearly fell off his chair laughing. I got a few smiles from my comrades-at-arms too. Success!

Then I rolled my d20 to determine if I hit.

And I rolled a 1.

My DM laughed even harder.

After the dramatic performance I put up, I failed to hit abysmally. Like I said before, I can’t roll to save my own life…

Filed Under: Curiosita Tagged With: beacon, d&d, drama, roleplay, twilight

Carcerian Stones – Wands of chrome

September 14, 2009 By Vincent

We’re continuing the D&D adventure story. Previously, our adventurers defeated some giant ants, was nearly skewered by a javelin trap, and successfully retrieved an ancient tome. We have Ryan the human DM, Dan playing Toth the goliath warden, James playing Heoriss the eladrin invoker, Ian playing Iofae the eladrin sorcerer, and Klenn playing Phileas the half-elf bard. And now…

*****

Dan: “offer a drop of sacrifice”…
Ian: Does it mean blood?
James: Alright, use mine. All of you were injured badly. I barely got nicked.

Heoriss borrowed Phileas’ dagger and made a small cut on his palm. He returned the dagger and…

James: What do I do? Put my hand on the wall?

placed his bloody hand on the wall.

Ryan: Ok everyone, roll Perception for me.

“Something glowed in your hand.” said Iofae.
“What?” Heoriss held up his hands. And saw the crystal-clear compass now tinged with red.
“Does it hurt?”
“No.”

“Guys, something’s happening…” Phileas called out.

The wall started to slide to the left, revealing a long dark passageway, a torch burning warmly at the end. A faint outline of a black canine stood under the torch, and then loped to the left and disappeared.

“The shadow wolf!” cried Toth, and he gave chase.
“Wait!” Phileas called.

The rest of the party ran after Toth and the wall shut behind them. Iofae held out his still glowing sunrod and lit the passageway. It was narrow, barely able to fit 2 people standing shoulder to shoulder. And the air was musty.

Heoriss banged on the wall behind them, trying to find a way to open it. Phileas chased after Toth, reaching him just at the torch at the end of the passage. The walls were cold to the touch of Iofae’s hands as he examined the stone patterns under the light of the sunrod.

“Hey, there’s some writing here!” Phileas pointed to under the torch.

“If you want to go home, just strike a wand of chrome” it said. And on the right wall, there was an opening, with a stack of silvery sticks.

Dan: That sounds lame.
Ryan: I know. But do you want to go home or not? *grin*

“Let’s see what this does” said Phileas. And he struck a wand of chrome against the wall. And then he vanished.
“Where did he go?” Heoriss looked around.

They heard some noises from the other side of the wall that trapped them.

“I’m outside!” they heard the muffled cry of Phileas. So all of them went to get a wand and teleport out to join their bard friend.

Klenn: So that’s how it works.
Ian: So do we want to continue? Or do we return the tome first?
James: Maybe we should return the tome, and get some rest. That passage doesn’t look very friendly to me.
Dan: Sounds good to me. Hey can we sell these wands?
Ryan: Oh, they’re gone. Once used, they disappear back into that wall crevice.
Dan: Darn…

The party returned to Havenswerd and gave the ancient tome to Arofell. The happy wizard ran his fingers over the old pages as he flipped gently.

“Uh, Mr Arofell?” Phileas asked.
“Hmm, yes?”
“About this dagger…” Phileas took out the murder weapon.
“Oh, I suppose I owe you some answers. Let me take a look at that.” He turned the dagger around, and stared at the strange rune on the hilt. “That’s the symbol of an artistic group called ‘Songs of Grace’. They’re quite popular in Havenswerd.”

“Wait. Are you telling me I’m framed by a bunch of musicians?”
“Perhaps your bardic performances were getting on their nerves…”
“But murder?!?”

“Ok, so can you tell us anything about the black wolf?” Toth ignored Phileas’ indignant cries.
“Oh, that. Vand told me about it. The history records only told of a foul wolf-like creature prowling some 2 decades ago. For a few years, strange stories of people mysteriously vanishing abound, and there were sightings of the beast at night, particularly during full moons. Then the beast simply disappeared.”

“About the Jorv babies?” Heoriss inquired.
“I only know the beast appeared at the same time as when a pair of twins were delivered to Jorv from the abbey.” The wizard’s eyes widened. “Are you…”

Heoriss and Iofae eyed each other. “Perhaps…”

“There was a secret tunnel in the room where we found your tome.” Phileas asked, having recovered from his anger. “Do you know anything about that?”
“No.” Arofell furrowed his eyebrows. “This tome was written in a set of 3. Perhaps the other 2 are also found in the cave. Can you venture further in, chart the dungeon, and search for the other 2 tomes?”

Dan: Alright, we’re going back in.
James: One more thing…

“Do you know what this is?” Heoriss showed the compass to Arofell.
“That allows the wielder to move freely around the battlefield. It actually relies on the wielder’s blood. The more the wielder is injured, the more times it can be used. That’s actually a lost artifact. You found it in the cave?”

A cry sounded from outside Arofell’s room. Phileas ran towards the door, opened it and looked out. He saw a flurry of wizard’s robes disappearing up the stairs.

Ian: Questin!
Klenn: He was eavesdropping!

to be continued…

*****

P.S. I created that compass as a custom magic item. I call it, the “Compass of Retributive Teleportation”. For every point of health lost by the wielder, the compass gains a point stored, up to a maximum of 100 points. The wielder can use the stored points, deducting points equal to his healing surge value, and he can teleport a number of squares equal to his speed as a minor action. Oh, and it serves as a compass. *smile*

It might take too long for me to explain those terms if you’re not a D&D player. Do some research if you’re curious. Perhaps I’ll find a way to explain them over the future story posts. And if you are a D&D player, you have my permission to use that in your game.

Filed Under: Curiosita Tagged With: adventure, carcerianstones, d&d, magicitem, story

Carcerian Stones – Retrieving an ancient tome

September 7, 2009 By Vincent

We’re continuing the D&D adventure story. Previously, we found our adventurers doing some crime scene investigation, were out of money, and located the wizard Arofell. We have Ryan the human DM, Dan playing Toth the goliath warden, James playing Heoriss the eladrin invoker, Ian playing Iofae the eladrin sorcerer, and Klenn playing Phileas the half-elf bard. And now…

*****

“Mr Arofell?” Phileas tried again, raising his voice a bit louder this time.
“Wha?” The man woke with a start. And a shrieking wail blasted from his hands.

Everyone covered their ears.

“Oh, you’re not Questin.” The ear-piercing shrieks stopped.
“Who’s Questin?” Toth asked.
“Oh, one of my colleagues who don’t really like me, and he’s been bothering me lately.” Arofell stammered. “Anyway, who are you?”

“We’re actually looking for you. The head monk at the abbey told us about you.” Heoriss replied.
“That would be Vand. A bit stiff, but I like him.”
“Do you know anything about a pair of babies being brought to Jorv, and some planar convergence that happened at the abbey?”
“Do you know anything about a foul black wolf-like creature?” Toth added.
“Do you know anything about this gold dagger?” Phileas showed the dagger from his accused murder scene.
“Do you have any quests for us?” Iofae asked.

James: Oh right, we need experience and money badly.
Klenn: Nearly forgot about our cash situation.

“Woah, woah, woah! Hang on a second! You don’t barge into someone’s lab and start barraging him with questions! Why should I help you?”
“Well, are you in need of assistance? We could help you cross the road?” Iofae suggested.

Ryan: Huh?

“We could help you cross your lawn?” Iofae continued.

Ryan: What?!
Dan: *snickering*
James: Oh… *muffled laughter*

“We could… help you cross your door?” Iofae faltered.

Ryan: Alright, what’s going on?
Klenn: I believe those are lines from the movie “Up”. Or at least of similar sentence structure.
Ryan: Ian!
Ian: Well… do you have anything we can help with? Other than crossing stuff.

“Well, I do have one small task I need done. Some days ago, a group of adventurers returned from an underground cave a couple of miles to the north west. They were lamenting the lack of any treasure. But one thing caught my attention. A book was mentioned. It was an ancient tome, set in the centre of the inner-most room they ventured in. They didn’t take it, because they didn’t know its value. But I do!”

“I want you to help me retrieve it. If you do that, I might be willing to help you with answering those questions…”
“Do we get to keep any treasure if we find them? Not that there are any left, since the adventurers probably cleaned them out…” Heoriss asked.
“I only need the tome. You can keep everything else. Don’t lose hope. Those adventurers aren’t the brightest men I’ve seen… They might have overlooked places…”

James: Alright! Treasure!
Klenn: So we go to the underground cave?
Ian: We need his help. We need money. We need experience. That cave’s gonna give us all that. Yeah, I think our next course of action is decided.
Dan: So we just trudge towards the cave now? *narrowing his eyes at Ryan* Any more skill challenges?

Ryan: Nope. And at this point, I wanna tell you that I’m upgrading all of you to 2nd level.
Dan: Why?
Ryan: To make up for whatever disadvantages you had. Like lack of cash. Whatever storyline I had in mind is already introduced, so you should have more stuff to play with. Besides, I want to keep the story moving. I can’t throw interesting stuff at you if you keep plodding at low levels. And we’ll stop for the night. I’m tired…

The underground cave

Dan: Alright, the cave’s next.
Ian: Feels like the Cave of Wonders in Kingdom Hearts.
James: Yeah, like “I wonder why there’s no treasure in this cave.”
Ian and Klenn: *laugh*
Ryan: Ok, you’re all just outside the cave. What are you going to do?

The party moved into the cave. It was pitch black, so Iofae struck a sunrod against the wall, and it cast enough light to let them see where they were going. There were some scuttling sounds ahead of them, and they stopped. And a pale insect emerged from view. And it’s the size of a man.

[some time later...]

James: I hate giant ants!
Dan: Ok, there’s a treasure chest beside the exit. Let’s open that.
Ian: No, wait!
Ryan: Too late.

As Toth stepped onto the granite tile in front of the treasure chest, a click sounded from the far left. The huge goliath barely dodged the javelin as he jerked himself back.

Ian: That’s why there are skeletal remains on the right of the treasure chest. They were the adventurers who weren’t careful. The javelin’s probably poisoned. But I wonder how the trap resets itself?

As the party stood around Toth, relieved that he was fine, the javelin started moving back. There was a thin wire attached to the end of the javelin, and there was a mechanical sound at its opening.

Ian: Oh a self-reeling javelin. Klenn, can I borrow your sword?

Iofae moved swiftly before the javelin was fully recoiled back into the wall, and severed the wire with quick slashes from his dagger and Phileas’ longsword.

Ryan: Impressive. The trap’s disarmed for good.
Dan: Now can we open the stupid treasure chest?

[some time later...]

After the party dealt with a few goblins, a run-in with some skeletons and a nasty mummy, they reached an open room with a dais in the centre. A wooden stand was lying on its side and a book laid close by.

James: Probably knocked over by the previous adventurers. Let me go check it out.

While Toth went looking for hidden rooms, Phileas retrieved the ancient tome and examined the book together with Iofae. Heoriss noticed something glinting at the bottom of the wooden stand, and found a curious object.

It was small and cylindrical in shape, fitting snugly into the palm of his hands. It was made of a material that’s complete transparent, maybe from some precious stone, judging from its weight. A thin gold line extended from the centre of a circular face to its circumference. There was also a similar line, silver in colour. As Heoriss examined it, the silver line rotated this way and that.

“I think it’s a compass.” stated Iofae.

James: *rolls d20 against Arcana*

“And magical!” Heoriss hissed.
“You keep that then.”

“Hey guys, there’s some writing over here!” bellowed Toth.

On the wall in front of Toth, was a short sentence written in flowing script. “To enter, offer a drop of sacrifice.” it read.

to be continued…

*****
P.S. The wizard Arofell was using what’s known as “Ghost Sound”, a wizard cantrip in D&D.

Filed Under: Curiosita Tagged With: adventure, book, carcerianstones, d&d, story, tome

Carcerian Stones – Where is this Arofell fella?

August 31, 2009 By Vincent

We’re continuing the D&D adventure story. Previously, we found our adventurers at the gates of Havenswerd, and the bard declared he’s a criminal in the city. We have Ryan the human DM, Dan playing Toth the goliath warden, James playing Heoriss the eladrin invoker, Ian playing Iofae the eladrin sorcerer, and Klenn playing Phileas the half-elf bard. And now…

Wait, there’s also a puzzle hidden in the story. And now…

*****

Ryan: Havenswerd is a big city. You’ll need some know-how to navigate the streets.
Dan: You’re throwing a skill challenge at us?
Ryan: 3 separate ones, in fact. One for shopping, one for the tavern investigation, and one for our bard reaching his friend.
Dan: But it’s just shopping!
Ryan: *shrugs* It’s a street maze. You’ll have to find the shops first.

Ian: How good are we at Streetwise? I have a 4.
James: I’m at ground zero.
Dan: I’m below ground zero… Negative 1! Never thought Streetwise to be useful…

Ian: Alright, we’ll have to swap then. My brother will still go to the tavern. Dan, you go with him. He might need help. And I’ll go shopping. Do I need a list of what they’re buying first? *looking at Ryan*
Ryan: No. You just need to find a shop first. I’ll let you buy for them then, even if these guys aren’t around.

Dan: Wait a minute. So we’re split into 3 groups with individual skill challenges?
Ryan: That’s right.
Dan: That’s not the way to do it.
Ryan: Well, you’re the one who split the party. Besides, it’s different.
Klenn: I think it’s fun, and saves time. So how do we do this?

Phileas gave the party some directions on how to reach the tavern. Through his friend, he’ll contact the party once he’s safe.

Ryan: Hold on a second. Uh, Klenn, you mind telling me who this trusted friend of yours is?
Klenn: Oh, he’s a thief lord, of some sorts. His name is Logan.
James: *shocked* You’re consorting with scoundrels?
Klenn: Let’s just say my character has… flexible morals.
Dan: *pounding on table* AHAHAHA! That’s a good one!

It was late afternoon, and though there’s still light, Phileas didn’t want to wait outside Havenswerd for night to fall (what with the wolves and all). He moved briskly along the side of the walls and disappeared into the shadows of the residential houses. The rest of the party will be split in 2. Iofae will attempt to navigate the streets to find the shops for purchasing much needed equipment. Toth and Heoriss will go to the tavern, retrieve Phileas’ belongings if they’re still there, and gather clues about the murder.

Ryan: So, which group wants to start first?
Klenn: Me. What am I to do?
Ryan: You’re trying to sneak around to reach your friend, so roll for Stealth first, then for Streetwise.
Klenn: *rolls d20*

Phileas reached his thief lord friend.

Klenn: Yes!
Ian: My turn. Streetwise huh? *rolls d20*

Iofae got lost in the maze of identically-looking streets.

Ian: Sorry guys… Now what?
Ryan: Hmm… Roll for Perception.

But he did notice a man slinking suspiciously into an alley. Iofae, lacking any other direction, decided to follow him. At the end of the alley, there was a door. But the man had disappeared.

Ian: I open the door.
Ryan: It’s locked.
Ian: I’m so glad I took this. I have Thievery. I try to pick the lock.
Ryan: Go ahead.

The locked door opened with a soft click. It was dark inside. Iofae moved in further and was stopped by the feeling of a sharp point propped against his neck. “Move any closer, and I’ll slit you.”

Torches lit up, and Iofae saw the man he was following holding a dagger to his neck. There was a group of men further in. He also saw Phileas among them.

Klenn: I am?
Ryan: Ian unwittingly stumbled into your friend’s hideout.
Ian: Oh cool!
Ryan: And you can get help with the shopping from these new friends. And now we turn to our CSI team here…

Medieval alley
[image by jewhyte]

Toth and Heoriss reached the tavern. They decided to go around to the back, where Phileas jumped off, instead of asking the good lady tavern keeper.

Dan: 2nd floor, right? Ok, I’ll heft you up.
James: I’ve got a better idea.

Heoriss blurred, and reappeared at the 2nd floor.

Dan: Bloody eladrins and their teleportations. *smile* Ok, I’ll climb up.
Ryan: Roll for Athletics.
Dan: *rolls d20* Yes!
Ryan: Now roll for Stealth.
Dan: What? Why?
Ryan: Because you’re trying to be quiet.

Toth managed to climb quietly up to the 2nd floor of the tavern, and entered what used to be Phileas’ room through the open window. The dead body was already removed, and there were signs of cleaning up, though there’s still a reddish stain on the floor.

Ian: Blood is notoriously hard to remove…
James: Ok, we search the room for Phileas’ belongings and any clues to the murder.
Ryan: Perception check.
James: *rolls d20* Alright, 20! That’s 29 total.

Heoriss finds a pouch with some money, a flute, and a long sword with some runes on it, hidden away in a corner behind a small cupboard. He also noticed a golden dagger jutting from the ceiling, stuck in a wooden beam.

James: Ok, you’re up.
Dan: Alright. Can I reach the ceiling, or do I have to jump?
Ryan: The ceiling’s low enough for you to reach with a small jump. To simplify things, I’ll just let you pass with the jump.

Toth looked at the golden dagger in his hands. A strange symbol is engraved at the hilt, but both of them didn’t recognise it. They heard someone coming up the stairs, and the voice of a woman saying, “I’ll be right back!”. They decided they’ve gotten what they could find, and left the room in the same manner they came in.

When they were on ground level again, they heard a psst. A shabbily dressed man, a beggar most probably, was looking at them. “Hey. You Toth and Hayoris? Pheeleeus sent me.” They followed the beggar, and reached the thief lord, Logan’s hideout. And the party was reunited.

It’s night time, but somehow, Logan managed to get their stuff bought.

James: We suck. We seriously need some cash. And quick.
Dan: Hear hear.
Ian: There’s not a lot we can buy. Hey, what about this Arofell wizard? We need quests. He seems like the kind of person who gives quests.
Klenn: Yeah. He’s at the Wizards Guild, right? Can we go to this Wizards Guild?
Ryan: So it’s decided? You’re going to Wizards Guild to look for Arofell?
Dan: Yup.
Ryan: You wanna do it at night?
Dan: Oh…

The Wizards Guild

The next morning, the party left to look for the Wizards Guild. Logan got Phileas a disguise, so the half-elf could move around the city.

Dan: Do we need a Streetwise check?
Ryan: *smile* Nope.

Logan also sent one of his underlings to guide the party to the Wizards Guild. It was mid morning by the time they reached the guild. The small guild “office” had a clerk, and the party asked him where could they find Arofell.

“Oh it’s my first day here. Perhaps you could ask the wizards back there. There’s a building behind this one that acts as their labs.”

They went around to the back and saw a 3-storey high building. They counted 1, 2, … 7 doors on each storey. A wizard or two hung around in the courtyard, and apprentices scurried back and forth.

“That nincompoop! I would sooner burn myself to death than to share the same floor as that useless excuse of a wizard!”
“Oh don’t mind him. He doesn’t like Arofell very much, so he moved to the top floor.”

“Who? Arofell? My master sent me to deliver a message to him once. I think his door was odd-numbered.”
“So what’s his floor?” Toth asked. But the apprentice had scurried away.

“Pardon me? You’ll have to speak louder, young man. I can’t hear you.” A wizened face was straining his eyes to look at the party.
“DO YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND AROFELL?” Heoriss shouted.
“I’ve been on the ground floor for many years, and I’ve never known this Arofell wizard.”

“I only know all the wizards take larger numbers as their door numbers. Well, except for the one at the top floor, who took number 1. He always insult me whenever I pass a message to him, that arrogant, self-important piece of … Uh, you wouldn’t tell anyone about what I just said, would you?”

“Well, I do know the corner rooms of the 2nd floor aren’t taken.”
“How do you know that?” Iofae asked.
“Because, I uhm…” The young man was blushing furiously.
“Ahh, a tryst?” Phileas offered.
The young man blushed even more.
“If I work hard for a few years, I’ll be able to marry her, and get ourselves a house.”

James: Any more clues?
Ryan: That’s it.
Dan: Alright, math genius, this is your kind of thing.
Ian: Hmm… it’s elementary, my dear Watson.

The party deduced the correct room of Arofell, and entered the room. In it, they found piles and piles of paper and books. The candle on the desk had long ceased burning. A large book lay open on the desk, and a man, perhaps in his mid-forties, was snoring on top of it.

“Mr Arofell?” Phileas asked.

to be continued…

*****
P.S. Skill challenges are non-combat encounters. There’s a difficulty class (DC) for the appropriate skill and situation. For example, to pass a DC 16 for Athletics, you need to roll a d20. If the result plus your Athletics score (plus any other modifiers) is equal to or greater than 16, then you pass.

Update: I changed the sword of Phileas in the tavern from a magical short sword to a magical long sword. Yes, I know it sounds like innuendo. I just need him to deal a bit more damage, even if it’s all in my mind. … Alright, stop leering. You’re creeping me out…

Filed Under: Curiosita Tagged With: adventure, carcerianstones, d&d, logic, puzzle, story

Carcerian Stones – The Surprise Slip

August 24, 2009 By Vincent

We’re continuing the D&D adventure story. Previously, our adventurers evaded a large pack of wolves, rested at an abbey, and all had the same dream. We have Ryan the human DM, Dan playing Toth the goliath warden, James playing Heoriss the eladrin invoker, Ian playing Iofae the eladrin sorcerer, and Klenn playing Phileas the half-elf bard. And now…

*****

Ryan: All of you wake up in the morning, all having had the same dream. A monk led each of you to a small dining room to break fast.
Ian: So we know that we all had the same dream?
Ryan: Well, the dream is a strange one. Wouldn’t one of you be likely to talk about it?
James: So who do you think the man in blue robes is?
Ryan: *cough*
James: Oh. Right.

“So who do you think the man in blue robes is?” asked Heoriss.
“Who cares! My master was killed. I have to go back to the cottage.” grunted Toth.
“And we should tell our father about what happened.” said Iofae.

James: Wait, we have a father!?
Ian: Didn’t you read the background story Ryan gave us?
James: Sorry…

“I shall accompany you. We can proceed to Havenswerd after all the necessary affairs had been taken care off.” said Phileas with a musical lilt.

Dan: I can practically hear the thee’s and thou’s spilling out of your mouth…
Klenn: *smile*
Ryan: It is at this point that I have to give you these. *hands out a slip of paper to each of them* Note that you can tell the others as much, or as little about the information as you want.
Dan: *reading his slip* Now you tell me there’s cool stuff at the cottage…
James and Ian: We’re the babies in the dream?!?!
Klenn: Aw man, this is tough… you’re giving me a hard part to play…

Dan: Ok, it’s decided. We’ll go back to the cottage, then to the village to say good bye to the twin’s father. Then we proceed to that big town.
Ian: It’s Havenswerd.
Dan: Whatever. Do we get any treasures yet? I wanna buy stuff. Wait, will there be battles back to the cottage and the village?
Ryan: *shrugs* Who knows? It’s broad daylight though. You might wanna hurry before night falls…

The party bids farewell to the monks. That is, Phileas bids farewell on behalf of the party. Then all of them left for Mathea’s cottage. Travelling on the road made the journey easier and faster. When they arrived at the wrecked cottage, they found…

Dan: Cool! A magic axe! Anything else?
Ryan: I’m trying to pace the adventure… Aren’t you supposed to be crying over the loss of your master or something?

At the village, the twins found their father and told him about the night’s adventure. For some reason, the old eladrin wasn’t surprised. He told them of the strange evening some 20 years ago when 2 monks appeared with both of them at his door. The eladrin went to his room and gave them…

James: Money! We’ll split between the 2 of us *gesturing to Ian*
Dan: Hey no fair!
Ian: You got a magic item. Besides, I think Ryan has more planned for all of us. We just have to fight a bunch more wolves and skeletons to get them. You’re awfully quiet. *looking at Klenn*
Klenn: This *waving his slip* is giving me problems.
Ian: What does it say?
Klenn: You’ll find out soon. I’m preparing the backstory for it now.
Ian: Secrets? Well, I’ve got something from the slip that’s secret too.
James: Mine says that blue dude is Corellon. And that’s where my powers come from.
Ryan: Aaannnd it’s about late afternoon. What do you want to do now?

The party ran like heck (their words) towards the abbey. They asked for the hospitality of the monks again. Iofae asked the head monk if they knew of the babies sent to the village Jorv. The head monk nodded, “That’s all I know. My god tells me just what I needed. You’ll have to find out more yourself.”.

“My condolences to you for the loss of Mathea. He was a good man.” said the head monk.
“Do you know anything about the creature that attacked him?” asked Toth.
“From your description, I can only say it’s a foul beast, probably from another realm. I’ve never known anything like it. Perhaps Arofell can tell you more.”
“Where can I find this Arofell fella?”
“Havenswerd, at the Wizards Guild.”

Dan: Alright, people, we’re going to Havenswerd.
James: First thing in the morning. I’m not going out there with wolves prowling in the night.

The next morning, the party left for Havenswerd. This time, all of them thanked the monks for their hospitality. The skies were blue, the air was fresh, and no hint of danger exists. Soon, they arrived at the gates of Havenswerd.

Klenn: Uh, guys…

“I have something I need to tell you.” said Phileas. “I’m sort of a criminal in Havenswerd.”

James: What?!?
Dan: Seriously?

“It’s a bit of a misunderstanding, of course. I was performing at a tavern, and after my performance, I went back to my room, and lo and behold, there was a dead man on the floor!”

“It was also most unfortunate that the tavern keeper came up to ask if I needed anything. And she saw the unmoving person lying down, a bloody patch on the white of his shirt.”

“It was also most unfortunate that the dead man was the son of a wealthy merchant prince in the city.”

Ian: Your slip of paper has so many details?
Klenn: I made them up. I was only told I was accused of something, and I’m free to decide whether I was rightfully or wrongfully accused. I’m innocent of course *smile*. I was also told I’m free to come up with whatever accusations and circumstances that led to the situation.
Ryan: That was beyond whatever I could imagine. I was thinking maybe some minor theft or something.

“Now what do we do? Do you know the murderer?” asked Toth.

“No. And I intend to find out. I fled the scene, after the good lady screamed bloody ‘Murderer! Murderer!’ all the way down to the tavern common place. I heard shouting from below, and knew I didn’t have much time. I leapt out of the window, jumped down onto the pavement, and ran. I heard footsteps behind me and increased my pace.”

“Just when I was running out of alleys to duck into, a tall man dressed in blue robes, beckoned me in his direction. He didn’t have any weapons on him, and seemed harmless. He pointed behind him and just said, ‘That way! There’s a rope ladder and you can climb it to get over the wall and out of the city. Quick!’”

“I gave my pursuers the slip and escaped. And I decided to find some place quiet. And journeyed to Jorv. And now, I’m back.”

Dan: Stop grinning, Ryan.
Ian: That was amazing.
James: Now what?

“I never found out who that man in blue robes was. But from our dreams, I’m guessing they’re the same person. That happened a few nights ago. I’d like to ask you to help me get my belongings back from the tavern, and perhaps gain some clues to the mystery. I have a friend in Havenswerd that I trust. I will stay at his place.”