If the majority of adventures begin in taverns then the law of averages dictates that a significant proportion must therefore also begin in jails, and this is the case for today's little story. Fortunately for our heroes they are merely guests of this secure establishment, for we find ourselves in Grimshackle Jail at the bidding of Glevith the recently ousted Lord Regent of Phlan. Our band of warriors sit in the corner of one of the disused jail cells and are going over their plan of attack one final time. Sigrid suggests that she will send an animal messenger to the remainder of the party when she has details of the number of enemies that head out in search of the mysterious object whilst she follows them and tries to eavesdrop on any conversations to find out any details of the treasure they seek. With the plan well and truly discussed it is time for them all to get some rest, it promises to be a long day ahead and the stakes are high.
The light from the rising sun is barely kissing the tree tops when the party finish their breakfast and head out of Grimshackle Jail. With a farewell nod to the rest of the party, Sigrid shifts her form into that of a raven and together with Oscar the eagle, the two of them take flight and head in the direction of Phlan. Farraine, Garrick, Lucian and Finn head west, following the path to the area where it is known the search party will be later that day, read for an ambush or to pick up the trail and follow them to their destination.
Sigrid and Oscar soar through the sky nearing the city of Phlan when she notices the city gates open and a group of darkened shapes emerge and begin walking down the well-trodden path as the avian pair swoop closer the shadows become clearer. An Elven female leads with 2 Half Dragons and 2 half drakes following closely behind, circling the group, low in the sky flies a wyvern, eyes scanning the horizon for trouble. Sigrid swoops down to the ground a small distance behind the party and changes back into her human form. She raises her hood of Elven-kind and blends almost seamlessly into the landscape as Oscar glides down beside her. Sigrid whispers in the eagle's ear (wherever they are) and the bird takes flight once more, heading back to our heroes with the latest intelligence on the search party. Resuming raven form Sigrid beats her black wings and takes to the skies, carefully following the search party as they head ever closer to our now hidden heroes.
In an attempt to gain more of an idea of their quarry and destination Sigrid edges closer and closer to the enemy scouts. Suddenly one of the half dragons turns around and looks up into the sky and spies the Raven Sigrid. He taps the other half dragon on the shoulder and points at the bird. Sigrid's heart freezes in her tiny chest as the half dragon turns it's eyes in her direction. Time seems to slow down, thoughts race through her brain, has all of their intricate planning been compromised already? The half dragon pauses, squinting in the dawn sunlight as the raven starts to turn back towards Phlan, he laughs and mutters something to his compatriot and they both turn away and continue walking down the well trodden path towards the waiting Garrick, Farraine, Lucian and Finn. Spooked by the close encounter Sigrid decides to head back to the rest of our heroes before the plan is foiled before it even begins. Circling around and far away from the enemy she beats her wings and flies off as fast as she can.
Lucian, Farraine, Finn and Garrick are squatting low in the tall grass, the winding path a small distance away. Oscar circles the sky above having delivered Sigrid's message, a small black shape appears on the horizon and the group sink lower into the grass. They have used their time effectively and have managed to disguise themselves rather well, lying on their stomachs with grass piled on top of them they are practically invisible. as the black shape gets larger, Oscar flies towards it and escorts the Raven Sigrid to her friends. Landing on a path of grass that turns out to be a rather startled Wizard she hops onto the ground and resumes her human form. The rest of the party rush over to her and she tells them that she was nearly spotted and had to come back before she was able to gain any more useful information. It appears that the option of an ambush has been moved off the table for now until they can find out where they are going and what it is that they seek. Finn agrees to take up the role of closely following the enemy scouts just as they hear the familiar sound of leathery wings beating in the distance. Quickly they hide themselves once more. The scouting party approach steadily, the wyvern circling ahead on the lookout for any potential ambushes. With each step the group get closer and closer to our heroes until the path starts to bend away from their hiding spot. Slowly Finn gets to his feet, lifts his hood over his head and promptly casts an invisibility spell on himself and trots off in pursuit of the enemy
A few moments later with the enemy out of sight, Lucian, Garrick, Farraine and Sigrid emerge from hiding and start to walk down the path, following the trail of footsteps and the occasional ball bearing discarded by the invisible rogue ahead. Up ahead Finn manages to overhear some of the conversations between the enemy and he hastily scribbles a note to the others explaining that it seems thee final destination is another days and a half away at some kind of crater. Crouching down he quickly stuffs the note under a stone at the side of the path along with another ball bearing before continuing to follow the scouting party.
Our trailing warriors find the note and Sigrid closes her eyes and concentrates on a scrying spell. She successfully manages to discover that the scouting party are heading to the abandoned watch tower she had noticed the day before and will be resting there for the night before heading off in search of the crater the following morning. Continuing to follow the trail for now our heroes press onward until all of a sudden Lucian is startled by something grabbing him around his waist from behind. As he yelps in surprise he shows surprising athleticism as he leaps into the air, turning mid flight to see what or who had touched him. A familiar giggle and Finn pops into sight, a wide grin spread across his young face. The party gather together to discuss their next move. Do they scout ahead and try to find the crater before the enemy? Perhaps they should attack them whilst they are resting in the tower, or should they simply continue to follow them in the morning?
Continuing on to the abandoned watchtower our party decide that it would be best to find out some more information before a final decision on the best course of action is made. Their shadows are getting longer as they get nearer to the abandoned watchtower and the sun now hangs low on the horizon. The party move off the trail and head into the woods to make camp for the night. Finn agrees to head over to the tower to try to find out some more information on where this crater may be. Stealth is once more the order of the day. Together with his Familiar Imp, Binky the two of them disappear into the darkness. As Finn nears the watchtower he once gain casts an invisibility spell on himself and his Imp familiar follows suit. They edge closer and closer to the base of the tower hoping to pick up on any further conversations from the enemy within. A low fire is burning in the doorway, the Wyvern sits about 20ft away, its steady breath rumbling as it sleeps soundly. Finn and Binky sit against the outside of the tower wall low voices can be heard coming from within. The half-elf woman is explaining that the crater lies a further 2 days from here and they will be travelling a further day North followed by the second day to the West. Soon, conversation turns to that which the scouting party have been charged with recovering Finn manages to make out the name of Kranun and hears mention of a Pool of Radiance. Finn and Binky sit silently waiting to hear more but all that escapes the open doorway is the voice of the elf telling the rest of their enemies to cease their gossiping and get some rest.
Intelligence gathering mission complete Finn and Binky return to the woods and the rest of the party. The circumstances around the gathering of the important information is somewhat more flamboyant when Finn comes to retell it and is met by a number of doubtful expressions amongst his friends. Before they head off to bed the party discuss their next course of action. Rather than rushing into another battle they decide that it would be more prudent to continue to following the scouting party to the crater and then simply prevent their return to Phlan once they have retrieved the object they seek. As the sun rises, Sigrid sends Oscar back to Glevith with the details of what they have uncovered so far and that they intend to stop the enemy from completing their mission. They pack up their things and head off in pursuit of the scouting party.
That evening the party receive word from Glevith, asking them to intercept the enemy and prevent them from returning to Phlan at all costs. Once more our heroes make camp and rest for the night before heading out in the early hours hot on the trail of the enemy. A long day of travelling passes uneventfully until on the horizon they see a line of rocks as the party get closer they notice Kranun's Crater beyond. The dead bodies of 2 Orcs lie on the ground and nearby there is a 5ft stone door with a series of runes carved around the frame. Our resident Wizard steps forward and translates the runes to mean "We are born of Stone we shall return to stone". Running his hand over the door and concentrating with all his might, Lucian concludes that the door is indeed magical in nature.
The party are reluctant to just step through a random magical door, not knowing where it might lead or what might be on the other side, so instead decide to head to the edge of the crater itself to see if they can see the scouting party. Before heading over to the others, Finn, quickly lays a trap in front of the doorway. Their heads peep slowly over the rocky edge and they see below in the centre of the crater a large stone Giant talking to the female Elf. The guard drakes and a number of orcs lie slain around them as they continue to converse, Garrick listens carefully and manages to catch the name of Tyranthraxus and something about a sample for Vorgansharax. Suddenly the stone giant collapses to the floor and a thin mist escapes the stone body and glides into the pool of radiance at the base of the crater. A large Orc walks up to the Elf, a large demonic looking cat follows it. The Elf moves to the pool of radiance and bends down. Taking a vile from her pocket she fills it from the pool and tucks it carefully back in her clothing. With the sample secured the Elf, Orc and weird cat thing head through tunnel and disappear from sight. As soon as the enemy are gone, our heroes emerge from their vantage point. Looking down the craggy edges of the crater Lucian hesitates and suggests that he cast a feather fall spell on the party to aid their descent. But the others simply jump and slide to the base of the crater before he even gets a chance to cast it. With varying degrees of elegance our party manage to reach the base of the crater. Sigrid takes a vile of her own and walks slowly over to the pool of radiance. Carefully she dips it into the pool, corks it and stows it carefully in her backpack. Not wanting to waste any more time the party quickly head off in the same direction as the Elf and enter the cavernous tunnel. There is no sign of the Elf put they follow the passageway quickly as they round a corner the sound of devilish hounds can be heard further ahead, the smell of blood is in the air. They proceed more cautiously, sending Oscar and Binky off ahead where possible to seek out any potential enemies. The sounds of the hounds increases and the rattle of thick, heavy chains can be heard. The tunnel opens up into a larger room with a large ornate chair, sat in the chair, the bloodied body of a large Orc. A fowl, rotting smell drifts down from a passage on their right but they continue, undeterred. With each step the sound of the vicious hounds echoes through the stone tunnel. Suddenly as the party round a corner they can see the skeleton of a former orc and a number of massive, fearsome hounds, teeth bared, saliva dripping from their jowls. The party pause, their passage appears to be blocked.
The party quickly discuss potential ways to deal with this latest development, they don't wish to cause too much noise in case they alert the enemy ahead of them. Instead they decide that the chains appear strong enough for now and quickly make their way across the room, stepping carefully between the snapping jaws to the other side. Garrick takes the lead once more and heads down a narrow passage, as he walks further into the darkness he notices a hole in the roof and hears the ominous sound of slithering...
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