The Hunt for Kontalie

Scribe Notes

Summary

Adventure: The Hunt for Kontalie
GM: Phil
Season: Spring 797 WK

Party

• Saydar, Necromancer Orc Male (Mil Sci)
• Red Brian, Non-mage Dwarf Male (Leader)
• Liessa, Mind Human Female
• Adam-Jones, Earth Giant Male
• Flamis, Fire Human Female
• Basalic, Earth Human Male (Scribe)

Time on adventure

1st Thaw to 29th Thaw 797 WK

Employer

Marcus - from the InterBarony Bank

Mission

To find Kontalie and present him with a writ for monies owed to the Bank.

Plane

Andara/Drommick/Feret

Places visited

Andara

Tanth

Urjil's castle

Centrade in the Peric Plains

A fort to the east of the Peric Plains

Erint City

Fingerscop

Vinescop

Drommick

Hills with planer gates

Feret

Herif

Kontalie's cave

Major NPCs encountered

Urjil - a vampiric arms dealer

Captain Ferris - captain of the eastern fort

Rhy'el - Planer mage at Vinescop

Malloc - Devil and Guardian of the planer portal keys

John Little - sheriff of Herif

Kontalie - red dragon and Mind Mage.

Original Scribe Notes

Media:Snsp9702.zip

Scribe Notes

1 Thaw '97 The party employer for this mission was Marcus, an employee of the InterBarony Bank in the country of West Tantric on the Plane of Andara. A customer of theirs, one Kontalie, owed the bank over 1.6 million silver pennies (including penalties) and the loan had been outstanding for 99 years and 9 months. The Loans department wanted the matter cleared up before the 100 year mark, otherwise the Bank may be forced to write the money off. As Marcus explained, that would not be good for the bank's profits or their reputation. The debtor in question turned out to be a red dragon/shapeshifter/mind mage. He had often hired himself out during human conflicts and the last known job was the Erint/Peric Plains conflict. One of his known contacts was a vampire arms dealer known as Urjil. According to the bank records Kontalie had taken out a 100,000sp loan but had only paid back 50,000sp before disappearing, seventy years ago. An investigating party had gone to his cavern in Mt Aspiring, located in the Erint Mountains, but he wasn't there and there was no sign of a forwarding address. Twenty years later, a mercenary team went looking for him but were killed while checking out underground contacts in Orctown, part of the city of Tanth. The next, and final, mercenary team went searching thirty years ago. They had found out about the last job and the employer, Yettal Dirent, who they questioned. I thought it more than coincidental that his year of death was the same as the year that the mercenary team were talking to him. Was Kontalie trying to ensure that anyone who knew of his whereabouts was silenced - permanently. The last that the bank had heard of that team was that they were in Vinescop and that they were going off-plane to a plane called Drommick, to further their investigations. We would arrive on their plane somewhere outside the city of Tanth, where the bank's Head Office is located. Marcus also mentioned it was illegal to cast magic in town without a license. The penalty would forced labour on the mana pumps which supply mana to the city. Just about everyone is a mage and there is a very strong Mages Guild. Also a Planer Mage would be at our disposal. To get to the plane we would be Summoned with a fixed duration spell, something of the order of about three months according to Mike, after which we would automatically return to Alusia. Twelve charges of invested Planer Counterspells would be provided as well as a signalling device so we can be recalled. Marcus explained that we would be acting as freelance contractors to the bank which prompted Saydar to ask if we should do other debt collections as well. Our payment would be up to 15,000sp if we could recover the funds. The bank is prepared to wipe out the 5.3 thousand sp penalty. If we only locate him that would be 10,000sp. Once Marcus left, we introduced ourselves to each other. Saydar - a 5'6" tall orc with black plate armour. His left eye was jet-black obsidian with blood oozing from the sides. He carried a large staff which also had blood oozing from it. He's a Necromancer, Military Scientist, Healer and Ranger. Red Brian - a dwarf with red hair and red plate mail. He told us he was a member of the College of War, which only had one spell. His main weapon was the Great Axe and he was also a Military Scientist, Healer, and Ranger. Liessa - Tall human female with red hair and blue eyes. She is a Mind Mage, mainly a troubadour, some Healer skills and is pacted to an extra-planer entity. Adam-Jones - 12'4" giant. His cloak and tabard is coloured purple. He was also wearing thick armour. Vines were growing on the armour and on him. He told us not to look him in the eye for too long as Death stares out of his eyes. Main weapons is a giant spear and shield. He's an Earth Mage with high ranks in Strength of Stone and Armour of Earth. Flamis - Medium height, short blond hair, and wearing her favorite one-piece orange/red skirted outfit which served as magical armour. She's a fire mage, my wife, and the present incarnation of the Eternal Consort. Basalic - That's me. Tall, reasonably muscular, and wearing leather armour. I'm an Earth Mage as well as a caverns ranger and amateur philosopher in rocks. Recently I've been learning about different sorts of weapons and military tactics. After some discussion, Red Brian became the party leader, Saydar the Military Scientist, and I was the scribe. It was decided that we weren't leaving until the 4th as there were some things that we wanted to try here. Red Brian tried out Starflower's Lost and Found service, but drew a blank, which according to her suggested that either our information was inaccurate, or Kontalie was not to be found on the map we had been provided with. Meanwhile I purchased three 20pt Healing potions. That night some of us went down to Newhaven to the Skull Tavern which Saydar owns, presumably for a strategy discussion over a few beers. It was felt like a pleasant place and the beer was good so I was loathe to leave. I soon found out that playing drinking games with a dwarf is not a good idea. 2 Thaw Went back to the farm for last minute arrangements before returning to the Guild. .2. Later on I found out that both Saydar and Flamis had obtained astrology readings. They turned out to be the following: What is Drommick like? No feet or hooves inhabit this plain, No one 'twas here does now remain, They've all gone to a better place, They've all gone with unseemly haste, The eyes that watch, the eyes that see, The eyes may put an end to thee, A traveller's rest this plain is not, A path to truth, a realm forgot. What dangers await in our quest for Kontalie? Dragon's Eyes, Dragon's Friends, Dragon's Breath, Dragon Cunning, Dragon's Lair, Dragon's Circle. Who would know where the dragon Kontalie is? She is as omniscient as your prey itself. She is as thicker than life itself. She is as one with the air itself. She is as loyal as death itself. Where shall we go to find the dragon Kontalie? You seek him there you seek him here He hides with excessive care The stars above and spirits below Will not reveal him to his foe Over clever he may be But then again we'll wait and see. What is the plane of Drommick like? A blasted place where death awaits To tarry long may be your doom. Where shall we go to get to the plane of Drommick What grasps the Cup? One is the leader of four. What's in the Cup? One to lay down many. Where is the One? Ones in the Cup. Ones in the Pig. The Cup and the Pig are in the One Who is the planer mage who knows of Drommick? Hole Crossed, Star Crossed, Bloods Red, Minds Red, Age Great, Power Great, He's One, Only One. Urji the Vampire, how is he involved? Dwarfs delight is his desire Profiting from each sides fire, Caring not whom gets what, Only interested in his pot, Dealing wheeling, men beware, Who pays the most he does not care. 4 Thaw It was time to go. That morning we met with our employer. He wanted to know how long we wanted the duration of the Summoning to be. We finally decided on a three month duration before we were yanked back to Alusia. So we wandered down the road, out of Seagate, for about five minutes, where a peasant farmer was waiting. Marcus handed him some money and he left. Marcus explained that he was marking the transfer spot before extracting a small wand and twisting the top off it. A few minutes later we found ourselves elsewhere, in farmlands near a walled city. Standing nearby was a guy dressed in black robes and reminded us of a wraith. Marcus told us that was the planer mage. After Brian received the recall device, another of those wands, we headed towards the town. We had to pass through an arch in the gateway which had lights flashing on it as we went under it. A man sat there making notes in a big ledger book. Must have been some sort of detect aura device. Tanth proved to be a very large city. Saydar was of the opinion that the Planer Mage we were looking for had a heraldic symbol that had the standard stars and hole of the College but also contained a cross and had red in the symbol - a nonstandard colour. So we stopped off at a heraldic shop to make enquiries. The old guy there hadn't heard of such a symbol but promised to make enquiries and do research. While we waited, we went to a nearby pub called the 'Happy Landings'. The ales served there were quite nice, and so was the food they served up. Flamis decided to try this drink that was served inside a large, hollowed out, yellow fruit. I remembered Aqualina showing us one of these, she called it a 'pineapple'. Flamis said it was rather sweet and very delicious. I suspected it was also rather potent. When I asked, the innkeeper told me it was a 'pina-colada'. After a while, the herald himself found us. No he hadn't found anything definite but our description had been rather vague to begin with. Certainly there was nothing matching it in the immediate vicinity. However there was a possibility that it may be in the Eastern regions. After he left, we discussed the possibilities. Had the planar mage been disbarred from the Guild and created his own crest? Marcus told us that there were dragons in the eastern areas, mostly in the Vale. Instead of being solitary like Alusian dragons, they were organised into groups called 'flights'. Maybe one of them would know. The dragons in the Vale also co-existed with the elves there. Saydar believed that contacting the vampire Urjil may shed some light on the whereabouts of Kontalie. The other possibility was to retrace the other mercenary groups steps and try to obtain the same information that they did. Red Brian pointed out that Urjil's castle was on the way to Centrade so it finally decided to do both. So we headed out of town and prepared to fly. Two fireflight hops later we could see the castle ahead so we landed on a nearby riverbank and proceeded on foot. We had to hack our way through bush from the river for a while until we reached a path. The path led us to a small hill. On top of the hill was the castle. Around the bottom of the hill was a fence. Between the fence and the castle was a grassed area, providing no cover whatsoever. A gate allowed access up the path. As we progressed, both Adam and I could tell that the grassed area was completely covered in rather lethal wards. Only the path was safe and we could see watchers in the castle above. As we got further up the path, two people came out and approached us, one elf, the other human. Adam soon determined that the elf was a mind mage and the human was a namer. When they wanted to know what we wanted, Saydar told them we had stuff to sell and that we needed to speak to Urjil. Finally we were conducted inside and told to wait. After a while it got dark. A short while later, Urjil and another person that Brian identified as an Air mage arrived in. Saydar told him that we were looking for Kontalie in order to employ him. Finally, after some negotiation, Urjil agreed to use his resources to investigate the possibility of finding the missing dragon. During those negotiations we discovered that Urjil was attempting to duplicate Guild healing potions. We talked a bit more about the possibility of obtaining various weapons such as lightweight glaives for a short time later before leaving. We ended up making a camp down by the river.

5 Thaw

We flew to Centrade in the Peric Plains. It turned out to be another large city and it contained five thick concentric walls. Just after we landed some people came out to meet us. So we went inside and spoke to some guards. After working our way up the chain of command we spoke to a lieutenant who conducted us to the Military Intelligence HQ. This turned out to be a plain, un-marked, building somewhere between the third and fourth ring. Once there we spoke to a wizened old guy behind a desk (aura read Mind Mage - not surprising really). Saydar told him that we were here to kill Kontalie and was there any information that they could give us about him. So he sent off an assistant to fetch the file. While we waited we asked for a clearer map. So he opened a drawer and pulled out a large, detailed one and we studied it in an attempt to memorise the landscape. There were griffons and a large roc, 200ft wingspan, in the mountains. In comparison, Kontalie's wingspan is only 50ft. The roc had been terrorising the eastern area, killing horses so there was a 100,000sp bounty on it. Some of the party were greatly interested in this and started asking questions but were told that Captain Ferris, at the eastern fort, would be able to tell us more. Just then the Kontalie file was produced, We gleaned from that that he came from a small family of three, the other two being an uncle and a sister. They're in Oasis Vale in the Spine mountains and I suspect they'd probably be rather annoyed if Kontalie was killed. When asked about vulnerable spots, we were told that under the right foreleg could be a possibility. His usual tactic was to fly over the battlefield (100ft high and 30mph) and use TK Rage on the armies below. He also had a tendency to be innovative and over-confident - a 'flair for the dramatic' we were told. He also has a tendency to be independent. At one point he attacked a calvary unit that was riding under a draconic banner but that distraction allowed the opposition army to win. It may be possible to approach him from below and behind while he was flying. Other things we were told was that he bears grudges and is keen to sign on for cash. That lead to the question, just what does he do with all his money. It raised the possibility he could be bribed. We stopped off at the 'Horse and Cat' inn for lunch. By now the talk of our quest was going around. Personally I'm not sure that this is good as some of them may be spies and pass on the news to Kontalie. I'd rather not face an enraged dragon. Anyway some of the guards, and the innkeeper, wanted dragon parts for mementos. Scales, claws and teeth mostly. Flamis and I were considering going shopping while the others got down to some serious drinking. However, we soon discovered that this town is more of a rather large military outpost. Most of the inhabitants of this region are nomads, much like the tribesmen in the Sea of Grass. This, plus a few forts along the borders, are the only permanent structures. After leaving a message at the local branch of the bank, we left the city and flew towards the eastern border. Once the fort was spotted, we landed nearby and were met by horsemen. Saydar introduced us as roc-killing specialists. So we were taken into the fort and conducted to the Captain. Finally a plan was hatched. Saydar asked for a bunch of horses to be gathered at a point north of the fort in order to attract the roc. Any other horses in the vicinity were to stay well clear. Flamis tried using her Crystal of Vision in order to locate the roc's lair but did not have any success. Meanwhile Saydar had produced several crystals and was using each one to determine when the attack would occur and what the result would be. He was able to pin it down to between one and two hours after dawn. In the last one he could see several battlescars on the ground but there was no sign of a dead roc. Fortunately no dead adventurers either. Saydar proclaimed that we'd won. Personally I think he's optimistic, but looks like we will survive. If this works I bet this will really get Kontalie's attention. 6 Thaw So, at dawn, we headed to the intercept point. The troops gathering the horses had marked their location with a column of smoke so we homed in on it. Once we landed they left - in rather a hurry. After setting up a bunker with one of Adam's Wall of Stones we settled down to wait. There was still no sign of the roc by the time the Wall of Stone was due to wear off, so I prepared to cast another one on top as an overlay. Suddenly I was surrounded by a Ring of Stone. Bugger! So I climbed out of that and recast. Much more successful. Curious though, the ring wouldn't counterspell. While this was going on Saydar had used a Bone Construction to make some sort of hide near the horses and was sitting in it. The rest of us were either Indetectable or in the bunker. About a quarter of an hour later we saw the roc coming in. It was BIG and very fast, about 60mph - nearly fireflight speed. It swooped down, casting a large shadow over everything. Just as it approached, Flamis triggered her shock-bolt rings. The roc shuddered, overshot the horses, and plowed into the ground leaving a rather large furrow behind it. On the way it managed to ensnare part of Saydar's bone hut around one leg. We rushed towards it as it staggered to it's feet but were unable to prevent it taking off again. So Saydar scrounged a Fireflight off Flamis and took off after it. A dogfight in the sky resulted for a short time until Saydar was caught by the roc. Things looked bad for a while but he was able to extricate himself but was not successful in bringing it down. Last we saw of it, it was heading back towards the mountains - empty clawed. .4. Saydar was much the worse for wear with quite a few lacerations and both arms were mangled. While Liessa did what she could I collected up some of the feathers that the roc had left behind, mostly down feathers. Many of the horses were too badly wounded to be saved so I put them out of their misery. Analysis of the aura of the feathers told us that the roc had an MR and WP of 18. Liessa and Saydar flew back to the fort while we brought back the remaining horses. After all I suspect they're rather valuable out here. No saddles were available so we had to ride bareback. As a consequence we were rather sore when we got back. As I said to Flamis later, I don't know how Aqualina can stand riding bareback or even why she prefers it. It was mid afternoon by the time we rode in. Flamis spent the rest of the day doing Flamesight rituals on the roc down. One vision was of the roc flying down a canyon and receiving a flood of arrows from both sides. The archers were wearing the colours of the Empire. Another was the roc flying towards a tall peak, taller than the ones around it. The next was it waking up after sleeping in a hole in the snow. Surprisingly no nest. The last one was it flying towards the same tall peak with a horse in each claw. 7 Thaw Minus Saydar as he was still being healed up, we went back to where we had ambushed the roc in order to figure out where the peak was. Figuring the direction where the roc went Flamis used her crystal to find the peak. Finally she believed she found it about eighty odd miles away although most of it was obscured by cloud. So we headed back to the fort. That afternoon it rained. 8 Thaw Rained all day. Saydar was finally released from the healers. 9 Thaw The weather had cleared up so we flew off towards the peak. After a while we could see it ahead, but the top was still obscured. We saw several griffons flying about. Finally we landed on a nearby rock ledge. Just then Liessa detected an air elemental. This inferred that there was an Airmage about and that led to the speculation that the roc was a pet. So it was decided to use one of Adam's Earth elementals to build a roc trap. This basically was a large cavern with an entrance just wide enough to take the roc with it's wings furled. A smaller side entrance was also cut to allow us to get out of the way. Meanwhile I was trying to cast Strength of Stones but wasn't having much success. Top of the list to practice when I get back. Two hours later, the earth elemental had completed the cavern. At that point Liessa detected another earth elemental, just watching. Our elemental went to talk to it and discovered that it was keeping an eye on things for its master. So that made at least an Earth Mage and an Air Mage up on the mountain. Someone theorised they were building a castle. Saydar went to the end of the cavern and used something to summon the roc. Soon the roc arrived, closely followed by the air elemental. The air elemental's thoughts were 'Protect roc'. We noticed that the roc's foot was bandaged. A mind was detected 300ft up. Flamis zapped the air elemental with a dragonflames and the elemental responded with a rather vicious windstorm, knocking most of us over. The earth elemental was thinking it needed to help protect the boss's pet, but not having any specific orders, it was a bit confused. Adam charged out of the side entrance, pushing Flamis and Red Brian with him. He then went for the air elemental and managed to knock it out of existence. Just then, an invisible air mage shot a lightning bolt down the corridor, where I still was, and floated away to the side. All I could do after that was to drink a 20pt Healing potion and crawl out of the wind. Meanwhile the roc had entered the cavern. Liessa managed to get a mind control on it. Several Dragonflames and Mental Attacks later, the roc slumped to the ground. Since the roc was no more the earth elemental was even more confused. We decided to take off with the head of the roc, as proof, before the two mages turned up and headed straight back to the fort. There we told them about the two mages. .5. The fort's inhabitants were more than a little impressed with the fact we had done over the roc. After a celebration we fireflighted back to Centrade to collect the bounty and arrived there mid afternoon. We were met by some guards and conducted to the Intelligence building. There was a slight problem getting to see the boss but, after Liessa threatened the person behind the front desk with having to hear Flamis's lisp for a while, we were admitted. Once we showed him the head of the roc, and had it authenticated, we were paid - in gold bars. The next thing that Saydar wanted was someone to preserve the head and stuff it. The officer said that he'd find out, but it could take a while. We left the head there for safekeeping and went to wait at the Horse and Cat. The innkeeper was rather impressed with the pinion feather we brought in and immediately cleared the top shelf of bottles and offered them to us. He then, with Flamis's help, affixed the feather to the wall. He then announced he was changing the name of the inn to the 'Tar and Feather'. It wasn't long before the new sign was up. Saydar started working his way through the bottles from the top shelf. Meanwhile Red Brian and I sampled the dwarven spirits while Flamis tried the elven ones. Some bottles found their way into their packs. Saydar was also collecting samples of all sorts to add to the collection at his pub. Meanwhile Liessa started composing the story of the slaying of the roc. A short while later a messenger arrived and told Liessa that the curator of the local natural history museum was keen to do the job. It would take three days. Liessa gave the go-ahead. While the artist was doing the new sign, Saydar asked for a roc to be drawn on the sleeve of his armour. This was done. Later on in the day we noticed that a lot of men also had rocs on their sleeves. Rooms were arranged for the night and after a delicious meal we decided to use them. 12 Thaw After a couple of days hanging around the tavern, and impressing the locals, the message arrived that the head was ready. So a big party was organised that night to show it off. The place was completely packed and the innkeeper was doing a roaring trade. I was a bit concerned that fights could break out but everyone was very jovial. There was one minor skirmish, but it was quickly quashed. Liessa was kept busy singing the ballad of our exploits. 13 Thaw Sometime that morning the lieutenant arrived and informed us that they had lost contact with the eastern fort. So Saydar took a look with his crystal of vision. At first we couldn't see it at its known location but, as we looked closer it became apparent that the entire fort had been completely removed at ground level. There were no sign of debris, fire, or bodies. The lieutenant told us that they were sending out a large investigating force. I suspected that it had something to do with those two mages, which we discovered that their Intelligence people already knew about, so I suggested that they divinate the entire area. Meanwhile we went south towards Erint City. Partway there we spotted four people on shadow wings flying to intercept us. We figured they were border guards so we landed. After receiving border passes we took off again. By mid afternoon we spotted a city at the edge of a lake. We could see that landing areas were nearby so that was where we landed. A group of guards were there and, after paying a landing fee, we told them we were seeking information on Kontalie. They recommended we go to the Sages Guild. On the way in to the city, we passed a cemetery so Saydar and I went to check it out. The nearby church was decorated with symbols of an agricultural deity and I went there to find out where Yentl Dirent's grave was located. The inscription on the headstone was 'Beloved father of Karis. Died accidentally at 89'. No clues there. Later on we found the Sages Guild building. Outside the main door was a couple of guards with poleaxes that definitely weren't there for show. They wouldn't let us in until Saydar slipped them some coins. Once inside we found the indexer. After explaining our problem he told us that the best person to help us was a Mr McTonth but he wouldn't be available till tomorrow. After arranging a message to be left we headed to the town hall in order to find living descendants of Dirent. Nearby was the local branch of the Interbarony Bank so, while the others checked out a few things there Flamis and I tried to trace the descendants. Unfortunately we drew a blank so, after we reported back, Liessa went to try. She had better luck returning with the address of a great granddaughter. Meanwhile I spoke to the branch manager. He had never heard of a Yentl Dirent. We headed off to the address that Liessa had obtained. It was getting late by the time we got nearby so we found rooms at a nearby inn.

14 Thaw

That morning we managed to see the descendant. She told us that Dirent had worked as an adjutant to Army Services and that he had died by falling down the stairs. As far as she knew it was an accident. .6. After thanking her, we headed back to the sages' library and arrived just as it was opening for the day. Saydar banged on the door, and we were let in and shown to a waiting room. When our guide told us to take a seat, Saydar tried to shove one in his sack. Somehow I don't think that was what he meant. After a short wait we were conducted into the sage's office. He told us that he didn't know where Kontalie was now but he used to hang around this region a lot. He had a standard contract with the army for general fire support but left two months short of the expiry date. His home seemed to be abandoned and the humans who were living there with him (who are now deceased) had no idea why. Apparently he sent them on an errand and when they got back he was gone. It looked like he had packed up and fled. Unlike most dragons he was friendly towards the humans, even allowing some heros to ride into battle on him. Kontalie had a mother and a sister. His mother was assassinated by dwarves and bits of her were still being worn around the dwarven stronghold. His sister, known as Contessa, lived near the top of the vale and during one visit had tagged along with Kontalie on a job, but wasn't interested in being employed. Kontalie had no major enemies and had been paid in advance for the latest contract. Which led to the biggest mystery surrounding him: just what does he do with all that money? Had he struck up business relationships with other immortals, such as elves? Usually he was paid mostly in gold and gems as well as gaining other items in salvage. We then showed him some of the astrology readings. One of them could have been referring to his sister, and that she could know where he was. Another indicated that the planer mage that we were looking for could be somewhere in the Fingers. Finally the sage went to see if they had any records on a plane called Drommick but, after a while, returned with the news that they had no information. We left Erint and headed east, parallel to the mountain range, intending to go around it before going north to the Fingers. As we flew along we could see more fortified buildings. As Red Brian put it 'they're more interested in de-wall than de-fence'. It took us several fire-flight hops to get there and at each hop, I attempted to put a Trollskin spell in one of the runes on Red Brian's armour. It took four gos but finally the spell 'took'. That evening we arrived at a town near the border between South Fingers and North Fingers. A small army was camped outside. Once we landed we were approached by some big guys in furs and rather chunky armour who wanted to know what we wanted. Once we assured him we weren't Northern spies we went in the town called Fingerscop. From what I could ascertain the country had been split in half and they were fighting each other. Probably for similar insane reasons as what triggered the Western Kingdoms conflict. The inn we reached was called the Horses Arse and was run by another beefy looking fellow. We managed to get four rooms for 25sp as well as dinner which turned out to be gruel and mushed veges. The beer wasn't very good either. That's the trouble with war. It plays havoc with farming and food supplies. Besides the landlord's attitude and the state of the place would not want me to stay here again. I was considering an early night, but Flamis invited Red Brian up to our room and spent a while discussing and trying out cooking techniques. At least they served up something edible. 15 Thaw We flew off. A short while later we could see the signs that a big battle had been fought below us. The area was extremely messy. Finally we reached Vinescop. It was raining rather heavily so I put up two Walls of Stone to provide some shelter. We had landed a bit short but it wasn't worth flying again so we waited a bit before hitching a lift on a passing turnip cart. After arriving I gave him a couple of coins for his trouble. He told us that the war between the North and the South was going well. Apparently the North had a big victory recently. It was still raining rather heavily and we were completely soaked by the time we reached the town. The guard there suggested that we see the local elves about the planar mage we were looking for. Another person that might know was Brian the Firemage, although he was reputed to have a rather short temper and fry people on the spot. He then recommended the Boar and Cup Inn. Flamis looked very interested in that name, and explained to us as we walked there that it fitted the astrology reading exactly. This place was a lot better than the last one, being warm and dry. The entranceway was lined with oilskins hanging on pegs. I later found out we had arrived during the middle of the rainy season. The first thing we did was to hire some rooms where we could change and dry off before proceeding down to the bar for food and drinks. Saydar started asking the barkeeper, rather loudly, if he knew of any planer mages about, especially one with red in his symbol. At the same time Liessa reached out with her mind, just as the place went very quiet. Liessa picked up the thought 'They're looking for the elf' before the place was vacated rather quickly. All that was left was us, the barkeep, and an elf in dark robes, sitting silently at a table in the far corner. Saydar strode up to the elf. At the same time the barkeep reached for something underneath the bar. I noticed that the elf was also keeping his hands under the table, probably ready to trigger something. Liessa and I had the same idea and we commenced to ply the elf with his favorite drink. Soon we had his co-operation. He had dealt with Kontalie about eighty odd years ago and had taken him to Drommick twice. It looked like Kontalie was checking the place over. On the second trip he had transported a Namer as well. Last time he had seen Drommick it was a huge wideopen plain of fertile farmlands. Finally Saydar negotiated transport over there with a month bounce-back for 1000sp to commence tomorrow morning. Flamis and I went off to do a bit of shopping as well as leaving a message at the local branch of the Interbarony Bank. The first thing we brought was an oilskin and a couple of large hats to keep us dry (Flamis's fancy armour already did a good enough job of keeping rain out). I ensured they were sealskin as I figured Aqualina would be livid if she caught us wearing dolphinskin. That cost us 12sp. 16 Thaw That morning the planer mage transported us to Drommick. When we arrived we noticed that the place was very desolate. I checked the aura of nearest piece of vegetation and ascertained that we were where we wanted to be. However, the soil didn't seem very fertile, instead it felt too dry. Some small ruins were in the direction where the elf said a farmhouse had been so we headed off down there to investigate. Upon arrival I scanned the area for magic but didn't find a thing. Meanwhile Saydar had discovered something had died here and found a leg bone. I determined it had been dead for eighty years and was human. Marks on it indicated it had been gnawed at by something like a small child. Saydar questioned the spirit and discovered that it had been killed by a large grey creature, some kind of goblinoid. There were more than a hundred of them ravishing the land and they appeared to be the minions of a red dragon. The dragon had come from the north and so had the creatures, killing all the farmers and destroying the buildings. The soil had been infected with a strange substance. Their ruler lived to the north. While I took a soil sample, Adam summoned an Earth Elemental which told us that most of the devastation was to the north and the humanoids were to the east. The elemental believed they were humans. This plane was finite and flat, about 10,000 miles on a side and we were almost exactly in the centre. Dotted along near the edges of the plane were dragons, mostly isolated from each other. The nearest one was to the southeast. And we had no idea which one was Kontalie. .7. Giants also inhabit this plane. A group of three are to the northwest. The elemental stated there were 50 odd in total, none closer than 1000 miles. The next closest was about 11,000 miles. The earth elemental had earlier said that the plane was 10 miles thick so I asked about what was on the other side. More people and more dragons. Adam dismissed the elemental while Flamis began a flamesight ritual. She saw grey creatures with batwings attacking. From her description it seemed to be a gargoyle. From what we were told, the devastated area was roughly circular, about 220 miles in radius centered roughly to the north. So it was decided to check out the central region to see if there was anything unusual there. As we took off we could see grasslands about 10 miles to the south. When we reached the area we saw a ruined village with a keep nearby. So we landed in the village square. Nearby was a dry well. Liessa couldn't detect any minds in the area. So we headed for the keep. The gates were wide open and, after a short while, we came to the conclusion that the inhabitants had packed everything up and left. The entire keep was bare, even down to the wine cellar. Saydar found a couple of skeletons on top of the keep. While Saydar and Red Brian went on a recon flight, Flamis did another fire reading and saw a battle, humans try to fight off the gargoyles. When the other two arrived back they reported that they saw a discoloured area to the north-northwest. By now it was getting late so we found a defensible area and made a camp. Saydar questioned the skeletons and discovered that twenty guards had been left to look after the keep while everyone else packed up and left. This was before the attack occurred and the attackers had been sent by a red dragon. The dragon was somewhere to the north. The lord had left on a visit and was intending to return. There is something important to the NNW. It was a forest inhabited by fey folk, and was important because of a geological feature. Flamis had a look at the area with her crystal and it seemed to be the remains of a dead forest - possibly petrified. On my urging she sent the point of view straight up as far as it would so. We could just about see the whole plane. There were no signs of oceans. We settled down for the night. During the first watch we were attacked by a horde of winged goblins which poured through the balcony and the side window. We could also hear them scratching at the door. Red Brian was trying to ward them off with his axe and made some good hits. Meanwhile, Saydar blocked off the balcony with a bone construction. More burst through the window. I was attacked by one and scored a good hit on it. Just then another one leapt on the one that was attacking. Turned out Liessa had mind-controlled it. Flamis was busy blasting them with Dragonflames. Adam was getting bowled over. I decided to change my opponents, hit one, then saw it die from necrosis, much to my annoyance. By now, a gargoyle had got in close with Liessa and it was looking rather bad, until Flamis blasted it with dragonflames. Finally we managed to fight them off. What was left fled to the north. I DAed one of the attackers and confirmed that they were gargoyles. I couldn't find any magical influence on them. So we healed each other up and settled back down for the night. No other attacks occurred.