Rangiwhero Recon

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Summary

GM: Keith Smith
Level: Medium (high?)
Night: Mondays or Thursdays depending on circumstances

Players:

  • Flamis - Human female firemage played by Jacqui Smith - Scribe
  • Lizette - Human female namer/healer played by Dylan
  • Vanderhan - Human male warrior played by Scott
  • Veor - Human male icemage played by Bernard

Briefing:
A group from the local merfolk would like assistance from the Seagate Guild in scouting out the coast and near coast areas of Rangiwhero to look for any sahuagin threats. It is not intended that combat be initiated, but positions are to be scouted out and intelligence gathered so that strike forces can be sent in to take them out.

Scribe Notes

6 Seedtime

It was a month after the Guild Meeting, and I really wasn't expecting to find employers looking for adventurers at this late stage in the season, when I ran in to the Guild to see if there were any orders for me, and to catch up on the news. I headed along to Meeting Room One to see what was going on. Turned out to be a group of merfolk emissaries looking for some folk to scout out those Sahuagin scumbags that infest the South Seas around Rangiwhero. Sounded like fun for a Fire Mage with a trident so I settled in to listen.

Also present were:

  • Lizette: Human female namer, healer and class "A" ditz. Got to keep an eye on her, she's got a reputation for getting entire parties into deep manure.
  • Vanderhan: Human warrior, extra handy in a fight, and a good reliable man.
  • Veor: Human ice mage, can be a bit bossy.

The merfolk were offering good gold and pearls of water-breathing, and it sounded like fun, and a good opportunity to try out this trident thing, as well as practicing my swimming. They were talking about us scouting the island, looking for "back-doors" on the land, but I'm betting we'll get wet. Apparently the Sahuagin had been spreading south and poaching on the merfolk's seaweed, and they were planning on a massive assault to throw them back in their own patch of pond. Which, of course, meant a bit of work for adventurers, sniffing out the waters – though they had a team of merfolk adventurers for the actual wet work as it were. These Sahuagin were by all accounts a right bunch of nutters, believing themselves to be the only true sentient species, and there was no negotiating with them.

After explaining that, the merfolk left the room, and we sorted out that I would be military scientist (predictably Lizette, who prefers not to melee, knows nothing of military science). And scribe as well, since she apparently does prefers not to write either. As for party leader, I think we selected Vanderhan – or was it Veor? Anyhow, Veor wanted to ride down to Slippery Rock for some restoratives. I decided I'd better run and see Basalic at Bolton Bay, explain what had happened, and get some diamond weapon spells on my trident. I bought some of Grizelda's restoratives while I was there.

8 Seedtime

At dawn we presented ourselves at dockside. There was little to be seen of the merfolk's vessel, for like an iceberg it was mostly underwater, being a submersible. Veor rapped on the hatch and a bleary-looking mermaid came out. Apparently we were early. Still it wasn't long before we safely stowed amidships in an air-filled compartment. The merfolk introduced themselves and explained that the vessel was propelled by elemental power. Curious, I looked at the vessel's aura, which told me that it was a construct, had ship strength magic on it, and had been grown. Very interesting.

We were told our voyage would take a week. I could see that we'd be getting stir-crazy in this cramped space, but that's common enough in the adventurer's life. We talked about the up-coming adventure, and Veor had the bright idea that we should meet with the merfolk military scientists before heading in to scout the island. We discussed this with the employers, and they agreed to make the arrangements.

9-15 Seedtime – Travelling to Pasifika

It was, as I guessed, not an uncomfortable voyage, just boring and confined. We talked some more, and learned a lot more about the situation with the Merfolk and the Sahuagin. The more we found out, the more we realised that things were not looking good for the Merfolk. The Sahuagin already out-numbered them, and were breeding more warriors at a much faster rate than the Merfolk. They had entrenched themselves in at least one very defensible location to the south and were spreading from their established territory to the north. They were thought to be raiding the human population on Rangiwhero and the other Pasifikan islands, accounting for reports of missing persons at those locations.

At length, we decided that it would be more efficient for the merfolk to go and fetch the maps and military scientist notes from their city while we began scouting Rangiwhero. They would drop us off at the north-eastern tip of the island where the Michaeline enclave was located, and we would meet them two days later at the southern point, at the Trading Post.

16 Seedtime - The Michaeline Outpost

We arrived at the northernmost point of Rangiwhero by mid-morning. The submersible dropped us off the coast around the headland from the Michaeline enclave, and we approached on foot. From a distance everything seemed normal. But as we walked closer it became evident that there was nobody tending to the orchards or vegetable gardens, and it seemed to me that they had been left untended for some time. When we came in sight of the enclosure we saw that the gates were broken, and there were signs that a battle had been fought here. Somebody had been very careful to clean up the evidence though, so as to make it seem that the site had simply been abandoned. There were no bodies, no bones, very little to be found, just a few shards of broken weapons and arrowheads.

What we did find told a disturbing story. There was a spearhead, made of whale bone, upon which a diamond-edged weapon spell had been cast, around six months ago. Veor examined it, and said that the carving was in the undersea style, and was likely to have been done by Sahuagin. When we entered the church we saw that there had been five altars here, one to each of the Powers of Light, even a tiny shrine to Sammael. The high altar, the biggest, was to Michael, and it was covered with what we realised was dried blood. Lizette divinated the church, and confirmed that it had been consecrated almost a decade ago, then had been desecrated some six months ago. Vanderhan went for a rummage in the vestry, and found the abbot's office. Hidden in a secret compartment under the desk he found the abbot's journal, along with a Michealine Holy Book and some coin. The journal spoke of disappearing people. The last entry made mention of bad weather, and "they are coming"...

I performed a flamesight ritual on a bloodied dagger we found, and saw a vision of the battle, of humans fighting these scaly shark men, the Sahuagin, It was obvious that the Sahuagin were not fighting as the usual bloodthirsty rabble, but in a coordinated fashion. Evidently, they have military scientists too, and this could not be a good thing.

On the beach we found fishing vessels and a larger ship, all of them holed. The wood had been warped by necromantic magic. Not a good thing. There was a really big shark tooth embedded in one boat, which had had animal growth cast on it. So they had Earth mages too. Which wasn't a good thing, either.

It was mid-afternoon by the time we were done examining the scene, and nobody wanted to spend the night there. This massacre had to be reported to the authorities at the Trading Post as soon as possible, so we decided we would run for it, and overnight there. Then we would make our way north by iceberg, surveying the coast as we went.

We arrived at the trading post at dusk, to find it rather more fortified that I remembered it, with a ditch and palisade under construction and guarded by what looked like mercenaries, some of them from Khoras. There was a large working party about to knock off for the night. We headed for the Inn, which was bigger than I recalled it. There were patrols in the streets, in threes. It was decided that I needed to learn the GTN for Sahuagin so as to set up wards against them in the village.

The Innkeeper was a friendly Pasifikan native, who explained that we were just in time for dinner, and that there were hot springs, so the lady, Lizette, could have her bath. The men stayed in the common room, while we enjoyed the hot water. Then we all shared in the roasted pig, fish, sweet potato and taro. Vanderhan was in a card game by the time we got back. Apparently a small party of locals were planning on taking out the Sahuagin raiders. There were caves about ten miles up the coast which were believed to be being occupied by the Sahuagin. We dissuade them from this, and talk for a while about how to make the trading post more defensible, and construct more weapons. Then we went back to our room and talked some more, before bed.

17 Seedtime – The Ruins of Amphipolis

In the morning we went to see the town council. They were basically a bunch of merchants, and they weren't initially happy with the advice we had for them. This started with raising the price on Sahuagin heads, from thirty silver to five hundred. They agreed to that, and to the production of spears from ship masts, with obsidian tips. As we left, we saw a bat flying in with a small person riding it, that Vanderhan identified as Sir Lucy Glitterwing, a courier from Garrison on Khoras.

We set forth with our local guide to the caves. He described the cave system, as being a mostly underwater lava tube system with a number of entrances, the largest being the sea entrance, which would be a good ten feet across. There are nearby ruins, which may be the Sahuagin's target. We would go to the ruins and there perform my ritual of speaking to my other selves.

We knew we were getting close to the ruins, when we came around a ridge and saw a giant statue of a lion, perhaps a guardian, or a sentinel marking the edge of the city. The ruins themselves were just a short way further. They had the usual broken walls, shattered columns and ruined statuary I'd expected to see. Little wooden pegs and markers showed that the professional grave robbers they call archaeologists had been here. There was a central rectangular space surrounded by the stumps of columns that looked as if it might have been the city centre, and it was here that I made my fire and began my ritual. This time I got to have an actual conversation with my former self – a young female bard, with long strawberry blond hair, called Gabrielle, who had lived in this town, thousands of years ago.

Questions:

  • What was the name and role of this place in ancient Pasifika? - Amphipolis – trading port, trading in fish, grains, and pottery. Metal came in by ship from Thrace.
  • Where was this town run from, and by whom? - A council of elder statesman – in the building with the columns, which is the acropolis
  • Where did they store their weapons? - Most people kept their own weapons – swords staves etc – barracks near the walls – near the acropolis – and the necropolis underneath it
  • What significant underground structures were here and where were they? - The temple to Hades – in the necropolis – underground tombs – tomb of Xena will be here – also the temple to Ares
  • What significant artifacts were kept here and where? - Xena's chakram, sword and armour – probably in the necropolis.
  • In what way was this town connected with aquatic sentients? - Not much dealing with them – Poseidon preferred his children to keep away from the land – although the hero, Iolaus, met and fell in love with a mermaid. Never heard of Sahuagin.

Vanderhan found a plinth that looked as if it might move, and looking further, I found the lever to open it. Veor reasoned that we shouldn't use it, because that would make it more obvious. Then there was a slight tremor in the ground. I put my ear to the ground and heard some kind of sound. Strange, especially since the wind was from the west, and that made it unlikely that it was blowing through the tunnels. Our guide showed us to the entrance to the lava tubes. The entrance was a bit jagged and rough, and Veor suggested I use the gloves of shaping to make the entrance less jagged. I also took the precaution of wearing my heavy armour. There was another rumble in the ground, like a distant explosion. We went down into the lava tunnels. It was a bit tight for Vanderhan, and my helmet kept scraping the ceiling. Then, we came out into a wider tunnel where we found tracks – of booted feet, and clawed feet. Lizette said she could hear the faint sounds of digging – coming from the direction of the town. Then rumble, rumble down the tunnel came a pair of half-starved humans dressed in rags pulling a cart full of rocks, followed by a rather smallish sharkman. We retreated up the small tunnel, and prepared an ambush. It was all over very quickly. I softened up the sahuagin with a dose of dragonflames, and Vanderhan finished him off, while Veor blocked off the tunnel with ice.

The slaves proved to be from the trading post, and on learning there were more of them, being worked until they died, and then eaten, we decided without hesitation to go back and give those sahuagin a dose of their own medicine. Broiled shark, anyone?

We disguised ourselves, Vanderhan having a belt that gave him the illusory appearance of a sahuagin, and the rest of us in rags over light armour, or indeed, no armour. Vanderhan went first, then Veor and I followed, dragging and pushing the cart we'd acquired, between us. After a while we heard the sounds of digging, and then we were confronted by a big four-armed Sahuagin. He gurgled something at Vanderhan, who grunted in return. Obviously that wasn't enough, because the big guy came at Vanderhan, who dropped the illusion, and drew a big sword. The fight was on, and again it didn't last very long, as Vanderhan cut the Sahuagin apart, I tossed a dragonsmite at the sharkman, and Veor iced up and went in on the attack. The only real surprise was went the Sahuagin threw one of the charges they'd been using in their mining. And it went boom! Didn't hurt much more than your usual grenado though. We salvaged a couple of these, and used then and some ice to bring the tunnel down. After we'd brought out the slaves of course. Lizette was told in no uncertain times that she would heal the slaves when we go back to the trading post, and not before. Which was almost nightfall. There was just time to set some wards of Wall of Radiance against Sahuagin along the seafront. The night passed more or less uneventfully, save for a couple of sharks cruising in the lagoon.

18 Seedtime – Voices in the Dark

The only thing that Lizette appeared to want to do in the morning was to go shopping. Not as if there was much to buy beyond a few parau and other souvenirs of the islands. We were told that the portal to Khoras was down, and they would be re-stocking when it opened. After that, we pulled out the maps and debated what to do next. We all agreed that it was likely that the Sahuagin were most probably trying to dig into graveyards for skeletons for their necromancer to animate, and that something needed to be done about this. The thought of the Sahuagin raising up ancient heroes to attack the merfolk was not a pleasant one, and something we really wanted to prevent.

We still needed to find their bases of operation, and decided to set up a base camp for ourselves somewhere in the north of the island, and somewhat inland. We picked a likely spot halfway between Mount Felicity and the coast, and checked it out with my crystal ball. A careful survey from above at a height showed some regularity, which might be ruins. A closer look proved that we were right.

We spent the next four hours running under wildfires, until we reached the target area. There was what looked like the ruins of some sort of circular keep atop a low hill, and here we built our camp, laying wards to protect it from both the Sahuagin and the undead. Veor reasoned that there had to be a village on the coast near here, for goods to be shipped to the larger habitations in the south. So we went to check it out. There was the ruins of a fishing village who had also had the caves where the dead were kept, raided. Steam could be seen rising from the shore to the south, which proved to be what happened when hot lava from Mount Felicity met the cold ocean, as we found when we got there. I went for a swim and had a word with a turtle, who told me that there was something weird going on in the big bay to the south, the one marked on our maps as Itimanuka Bay. However, it was getting late, so that would be tomorrow's expedition. We headed back to the hilltop ruins for the night. Of course, I got stuck on the midnight watch because I can see in the dark. I so hate that. First it was Vanderhan, then Lizette and I, then Veor.

It was near midnight when first I, then Lizette, heard a voice, calling out in common, crying for help, from the centre of the ruins. We prepared ourselves, and went to investigate. Shortly we came to a courtyard with a ancient well, and the ruins of a tower. The voice sounded as if it was coming from the well, so we looked down, and saw water some thirty feet down. I called out, and it transpired that it was indeed a ghost. She wanted us to free her, and it could be done by freeing her body, which was in a dungeon nearby. Apparently she was a slave girl, who had been wrongfully imprisoned for refusing to marry an oppressive overlord. We decided that exploring undead-infested dungeons in the middle of the night was a bad idea, and took our leave of her, with a promise to return.

19 Seedtime – Baddies in the Bay

After breakfast we used wildfires to get close to Itimanuka Bay. This was a wide bay around a calm lagoon with a reef out to sea, and the ruins of a large town, which had most likely been a port to the north. Coconut palms lined the beach, and this area seemed rather more fertile than most of Rangiwhero. Lizette spotted an albatross. I tried talking to the seagulls, but they were less than helpful. We watched the sea and soon noticed the triangular fins of a large school of shark.

We waited until near midday to break out the crystal balls. First with Vanderhan. I picked a spot in the deepest part, two-thirds of the way out. There were numerous coral heads, and the occasional shark, but not as many fish as I'd expect. Then more sharks, and a Sahuagin, using a trident to catch stuff. Then I used my crystal to look more to the centre of the lagoon. There was an expanse of stone perhaps ten feet down, perhaps the top of a dome. I moved my point of view about five hundred feet, and confirmed that it was a dome. I saw a patrol of half a dozen Sahuagin accompanied by as many sharks. Curiously, these guards were carrying silvery metal weapons. Other Sahuagin headed past, perhaps heading for an entrance. Then I moved my viewpoint inside the dome, and found a room which appeared to be a place of Sahuagin worship, with a statue of Furcalor and a group of priests. We estimated there would be at least a hundred Sahuagin and fifty sharks here.

Veor next suggested we checked out the town, and see if the necropolis had been stripped of skeletons. It was obvious that they had. Doors were torn open, and sarcophagi broken. There was a fair amount of jewelry and coin here, together with few magical items, included a magical belt which was trapped warded or curse, a ring and some amulets.

We ran for the trading post, and we could see that there were more guards, many of them dressed like church knights, but wearing the symbol of a silver hammer. They looked quite professional. We went to the bar and found that the merfolk had been and gone. We left a message for them, with maps and the like. Dinner was on the house, as were drinks – a lovely mixture of coconut cream, pineapple juice and rum. We went to bed... and were awoken by Lizette, crying that there were Sahuagin, and my fire walls had been triggered. I fire-arced us closer, twice, until we were eighty feet away. Out to sea there was what looked like the commanders, and here were a bunch of sharkmen and undead.

Vanderhan let loose with his big crossbow, while Veor laid walls of ice, and I placed a fully ranked wall of fire next to the other one. Then we saw the water elemental coming. I dropped a couple of fireballs among the second rank of Sahuagin, while Vanderhan went in hand to hand, Veor put down some slippery ice at their feet, so they'd slide into the fire walls, and Lizette readied a banishment to get rid of the elemental. Meanwhile we hatched a plan to get the leaders.

We fire-arced to the edge of the sea, and Veor prepared to drop an ice-floe in the lagoon for us to stand on, while I prepared another fire-arc. Vanderhand shot the big one in the chest, and he fell into the water. The others cast magic and one of them backfired, because I was actively resisting. Then we fire-arced onto the iceberg, and entered melee with them. They died of it fairly quickly. We made sure the big one was dead too, and then rode the iceberg onto the shore.

  Flamis: "I'm a fire mage, not an earth mage. There is a difference." 
  Veor: "I send my iceberg to go forth and multiply."
  Vanderhan: "Iceberg sex?"

In return for resurrecting some of the foreign knights, Lizette is given special potions for each of us.

  Lizette: "I'm qualified to do something stupid."

20 Seedtime – Exploring the Western Coast

Needless to say, we slept in after the fight, and had a late breakfast. Lizette had to be dissuaded from performing excess resurrections before the day's expeditions. We set forth southwest past the portal to Paleolithica where we observed that the Khoras people had constructed a small keep for its protection.

We headed up to a cape where there were blowholes indicating underwater caves... but there was no real way to enter from above so we decided simply to inform the merfolk. At the next cape we found a series of hexagonal rock formations that Veor described as a "stairway to Valhalla", and I thought was called a "giant's causeway". We will name these places when we have time. There was little sign of reef anywhere along this coast.

Heading north we saw more rocky beaches and cliffs until we finally came to a proper sandy beach – only the sand was black. The waves were impressive, as were the sand dunes – and then we saw on a cliff inland, six faces carved in stone, and knew we had come to the Cliff of Heroes. There was my own face, Silverfoam, Rowan, Arnaud, Braegon, Grendel, and, of course, Drum. There were caves here, but only shallow ones. No ruins though.

A little further north, we saw the plains spreading away from the beach. Here we stopped for lunch. We found a ruined settlement inland, and explored, finding a small necropolis. At Veor's suggestion I got out my cushion, made an instant bonfire, and did my ritual.

Questions:

  • What was the name and role of this place in ancient Pasifika? - Attica –where they made the finest honey on the island. Also good for herbs, spices and aromatics. The soil was unusually fertile.
  • Where was this town run from, and by whom? - Town council
  • Where did they store their weapons? - Town guard, or in the guardhouses
  • What significant underground structures were here and where were they? - Where they kept the honey and the cheeses. And mushrooms. Including truffles.
  • What significant artefacts were kept here and where? - The mighty hoe of the gods? The fast plough of excavation?
  • In what way was this town connected with aquatic sentients? - They worshipped Poseidon – the big statue with the trident. Praying to him to control storms.
  Lizette: "I'm not pleased with the powers right now."
  Flamis: "You're not pleased with Liessa?"
  Lizette: "Which one's Liessa?"
  Lizette: So we're looking for a hopefully empty necropolis?
  Veor: No, we're looking for a hopefully full necropolis?

We went to go check out the necropolis, and it was immediately obvious that the Sahuagin had been here, by the tracks. They had also defaced the plinth of Poseidon's statue with the symbol of Furcalor. That didn't survive a close encounter with my magic gloves. In a nearby cave we found rows and rows of clay jars. These were full of long musty grain. There were some long gone cheeses as well.

After sharing a hot lunch, we headed along the shore again, and found a series of cliffs. After the cliffs were another bunch of ruins. We judged we were now due west of Mount Felicity. There seemed to be a number of significant structures here, including a courtyard, statues, and a large necropolis. There was an aura over the area, which appeared to be designed to prevent the dead from being raised.

  Lizette: "Apollo? He was the god of space launches, wasn't he?"

Questions:

  • What was the name and role of this place in ancient Pasifika? - Epidaurus – a hospital and school of medicine were here – dedicated to Asklepios.
  • What abilities were associated with the powers here – Apollo, Asklepios? - Apollo was a sun god, a god of music and healing and prophecy. Hence there was an amphitheatre here. Asklepios was his son, and a god of healers.
  • What significant people were buried here? - Hippocrates – the one who formulated the healer's oath.
  • What significant underground structures were here and where were they? - The catacombs of the dead – the medical school under the hospital, and the cellars. Storage under the amphitheatre.
  • What significant artefacts were kept here and where? - Healing artefacts mostly. Look under the hospital – which was right where I was sitting. Eversharp knives, and devices to aid healing.
  • In what way was this town connected with aquatic sentients? - Perhaps some treaties with the local merfolk.

We checked the necropolis, and found that everything was more or less intact. On learning that the aura was not actually a ward, I prepared some of my own anti-undead wards over it – which appeared to reinforce it. After Lizette divinated the consecrated area, she told us that one had the effect of inspiration, and the other of invigoration – and that's where we decided to sleep.

21 Seedtime

In the morning we decided to see if we could find a way into the basement of the medical school. After some poking around we found a symbol on a wall that looked like a six-pointed star with a staff with a snake wrapped around it in the middle. Only it wasn't a wall, it was a secret door. Vanderhan got it open, and in we went. There was a spiral staircase leading downwards. We went down around thirty feet and came to a landing and another one of those symbols and concealed entrance. This had magic on it – a magical trap ward or curse, whose intended target was undead. As we approached closer we could see that it was glowing softly, and made of glowing crystals. It wasn't trapped, but it there was no obvious way to open it. I tried poking the symbol, and it glowed some more – and when we got Lizette to poke it, it glowed more, and opened. Beyond was a corridor, with three doors on either side, and a door at the end. Each side room had a crystal in the ceiling which glowed as we opened the door, a bed, and some stuff... a chamberpot and such like. The beds, the crystals and the chamberpots were all magical.

The end chamber was warded against undead, necromancers, and people pacted to powers of death. In the middle of room was a shadowy figure, which addressed us in some kind of ancient language saying: "Who seeks the Staff of Asklepios?". Lizette stepped up to answer, figuring it was a healing thing, an she wanted it. It wanted to know if she was pacted, and stated that it didn't know if this was possible to pact to Asklepios any more. So Lizette got to pick up the staff.

  Flamis: "You should have DAed it before you picked it up, Lizette. It is usual."

We headed north – the coastline was pretty much the same, until we reached the forest. Now, that really shouldn't be there. Lizette reported traces of earth magic.... And I could see movement – small invisible things. We guessed they were fae of some sort. Veor called out, and one of them came to talk to us. Apparently this part of the island once belonged to them, and they were claiming it back. We offered to convey their claim to the humans in the south, and requested their help for the merfolk in their conflict with the Sahuagin. He also explained that the Sahuagin had been sighted in the far north, near the human city called Calydon.

We followed the coast, avoiding the forest. They came from the north, moons ago, a large school, stayed here a while, and headed south. The ruins here were apparently partly submerged.

Questions:

  • What was the name and role of this place in ancient Pasifika? - Calydon – a port city surrounded by swamp, and dedicated to Apollo.
  • What was the name and role of the neighbouring submerged city? - Atlantis
  • What significant people were buried here? - Unknown
  • What significant underground structures were here and where were they? - Also unknown
  • What significant artefacts were kept here and where? - Again unknown
  • In what way was this town connected with aquatic sentients? - No idea

After that we having completed our scouting mission, headed south. We camped for the night.

22 Seedtime

Mid-morning we approached Amphipolis, and there was movement among the ruins. With a scrying glass, we learned that it was a bunch of undead being commanded by some Sahuagin to dig in the ruins. Using the crystal ball to keep watch on them in the meanwhile, Veor and I prepared to summon our elementals. Then we made final preparations – casting weapons of radiance and fire armours, all around, and immolation for us.

As we approached we ran into their wards. This was a pest, since one of them was a fear ward, which set our fire elemental running. Then, there was a forbiddance, which told us there was a namer in there somewhere. The ice elemental led us in, followed by Veor and Vanderhan. I cast firearc on myself and Lizette, and landed us on a fallen pillar, giving the party a two-pronged attack. This also allowed Lizette to shut down their namer with an area counterspell. Then she had to do it again because he moved. Veor cast ice projectiles, which had the effect of putting most of the bad guys off their spells.

Lizette had the clever idea of putting a necromantic counterspell under us, which would have the additional effect of preventing them putting a fire counterspell under us. I hosed two of the sahuagin mages with dragonflames, which had the effect of putting them off casting. The undead tried attacking us, which didn't do much good. The ice elemental pinned down the necromancer in close combat. Two of the other Sahuagin attempted to help him out, somewhat ineffectively. Then two sahuagin tried attacking me and Lizette. I conked mine on the head with my staff and stunned it – then whacked it in the chest, crushing its ribs and sending it flying. The one attacking Lizette was having rather more success as she attempted to evade with a dagger. Finally the elementals (my fire elemental had come back) finished off the necromancer between them. Except the necromancer kept bleeding. Turned out he had a trollskin item on him. We looted the bodies and then burned them.

 Vanderhan: That's not an animate is it?
 Flamis: No, but it'll hopefully be inanimate by the time you've finished with it. 
 Lizette: I don't think we should encourage namers being eaten by elementals.

We began by looking into the hole that we'd investigated before. It led to a tunnel, which we followed to a door. This had the symbol of a trident on it. Nobody could figure out how to open it until I placed my trident in the impression. Inside was a room with a bunch of tridents on the wall. This time Lizette did remember to detect the aura on the floor – it was warded against sentients not associated with Poseidon. Veor solved that by putting a sheet of ice on the floor. We got to examine the six tridents and took them with us – but did not open his sarcophagus.

Then we continued exploring the tomb complex. I started getting this odd feeling of being watched. We came to a door with an "X" on it. This was also warded, against creatures not born here. We got past that and Vanderhan opened the door. Inside there were two sarcophagi, a whole bunch of frescos, and a chakram hanging on the wall. Turned out the watcher was in fact Xena, who'd been alerted from the Elysian Fields. She suggested that we give the things we had found here to the merfolk, and move the sarcophagi to a more inland site.

We returned to Amphipolis and informed the personnel of the trading post, and the merfolk as to what we found. They had a present for Lizette – a lovely seashell bikini, which she refused to try on. So I did. I think Basalic will love it. We partied at the tavern, and slept the night.

23 Seedtime

We went back to Amphipolis and checked out the tunnels. The Sahuagin had abandoned the area, and were all gone, the merfolk having pushed through almost as far as the eastern cape where the Powers of Light outpost had been. Then we ran north to the ruins where we entered the abandoned keep, after summoning a pair of elementals. We went down the stairs and found a guardian skeleton, which didn't survive long, and found the imprisoned girl. She appeared to be a ghost around a skeleton. Veor found the keys attached to the guards belt, and eventually got the manacles off. This released her, and she faded away, offering us her three dinars in thanks and recompense. That was fine. So we went back to the town, and that was basically that.