SUMMARY

Session of March 7, 2004

Covering noon Satyrday, 16 Workmoon, through afternoon of Evensday, 20 Workmoon, CY 937

"The Gathering Thousand Furies"

Ah, what more could have been asked of ye gods, that this brave band of (reckless,
somewhat disorganized, sometimes utterly brilliant) adventurers might have lived
just seconds past what fate dealt them, to strike true one final time and thusly
finish this business!

Instead, we have some unfinished business...

It all began fairly innocently in the ancient underground Dwarven base in Overwood,
as once the big orange Orc-Ghost-Thing caused Tharamil and Tanestha fled in fear (at
last giving the party a moment's respite from the fey stylings of elfkind) the
remaining party (Charmed Thaed tumbling in tow) were able to dispatch the furious
Orc Specters around the Dwarven altar. But what had you learned of these new enemies --
and the Glyph burned into your foreheads? The journal of Glowdark Shortbeard provides
clues, but what specific powers and obligations the Glyph brings are not fully clear.

Additionally, you got back to your mules to find them slaughtered and looted, plainly
by a lot of Bugbears. This was Annoying.

Back to Innport with the four recovered artworks, plus an extra painting, all of
which your contacts Kyrim the Half-Elf and Lutini the Lug bought without question.
They treated you to a good dinner, plenty of wine, and left you alone for a while --
during which Thaed tumbled after them, hiding at all times, to return with news that
he'd seen them present the items to a red-robed man with a goatee (which, you in fact
much-goateed players noted, is surely a sign of evil). Red Robe slashed the paintings
(hearing of this destruction of masterwork art offended Thoor's sensibilities) and
removed from one of them an old piece of paper, which pleased him.

Kyrim and Lutini returned and informed you that they might have another mission for
you in the morning, and after a couple of toasts, left again.

Now, Footstool, pirate hat cocked cockily, strode covered in whiskey to a neighboring
table, where the Captain of the Merc Garrison, Marat, sang with a bunch of his men
boastful songs about kicking ass. Footstool listened to their bragging, and they
proceeded to badmouth the State Garrison as a useless drain on peoples' tax dollar.
Indeed, those couple dozen Orc heads on poles outside the Inn suggest the Mercs have
earned the right to sing their own drunken praise.

But the town was not entirely content. As Marat rose to leave, the crowd called on
him to kill these Fire Orcs (or whatever they are -- reports are sketchy and confused).
Marat said his men would take care of it as always, and the crowd mostly settled.

You all pooled 100 gold to get Footstool a subscription to the Jertias World Gazette,
and became exposed for the first time to its News from Around the World. News items
from Tessera, the Krykis Mountains, Feyl Sley, Chandani, and Nyzyriatis seemed to
interest you for various reasons -- with Aziz was interested in news from Uqbar, as
its new Zyiph (king) turns out to be his old nemesis, Malik Wahatbi...

Aziz also was accosted by a snivelly white-robed Suhndi wizard in the bar, who seemed
interested in finding out more about him. Only Tak's intimidating appearance caused
whitey to buzz off in a "you'll rue the day" sort of way. Naturally, Footstool then
attempted to get to know him better by posing as gay and hitting on him. The white
wizard mentioned he had a treasure map and said why don't you and me and your friend
the half-orc form a party? Shortly afterward, white slipped out of the Inn.

The next morning, Kyrim announced that some Spectral Orcs had made a military-style
assault on the town of Vantage not far off, and asked the party to join Merc Sergeant
Heygroff, to hunt down some Specters outside Innport. Aziz took the initiative and
asked Kyrim to find out anything she could about the white-robed Suhndi wizard.

The hunt with Heygroff turned up trouble pretty quick. A riverboat, Selena, was
found on shore, its crew dead of fright apparently, and within minutes, a coach came
barrelling down the road, pursued by 15 Spectral Orcs. You made pretty short work
of them, but noticed the nonmagical arrows of the Merc Garrison accomplished little,
and afterward Heygroff's spastic behavior made it seem he was perhaps in over his
head on this one.

The coach's passenger, a diplomat named Calach from Mortlaugh (capital of Feyl Sley,
the country that Innport is part of), described the situation in Feyl Sley as worrisome.
Spectrals had been sighted all over, sometimes alone or in pairs, but apparently
linking up with others to form units of 10, 12. You the party silently concluded
this meant the Orcs were being raised where they fell, 8000 years ago.

Meanwhile, a certain half-orc named Tak was busy quietly smashing the lock off the
boat's hold, and looting it. Acquiring money and masterwork arrows, he noted but
left behind jars of blue powder, and his venture raised the eyebrows of the Mercs,
which led Aziz to (here we go again) charm Sergeant Heygroff, who then accepted Tak's
cockamamy story that he'd somehow knocked the lock off while fighting a Spectral Orc
that no one else saw.

Back at Innport, which (after more boat-related hijinks) Footstool reached tied up
and eating a sock, you were all paid a paltry sum for the orc battle but didn't complain,
and the Red-Robed man himself (with goatee) received you in a hunting-lodge sort of
room at the Inn. He introduced himself as Malvolio, and sent Sergeant Heygroff from
the room, asking Aziz kindly not to try that again on his men. He also informed Aziz
that the white-robed wizard is named Saleh, hails from the city Peliotias, and is
apparently quite serious about his religion. Footstool then proceeded to answer one
of Malvolio's questions by leaping up onto the pool table and, casting all his cantrips
in the process, Laser Zeppelin style, told the tale of what you'd found in the ancient
Dwarven facility (cleverly omitting the bit where Spectrals are All Your Fault). And
then Malvolio asked you to perform an urgent task...

He said Seven had led an army North into the Midlands, ostensibly to fight Spectral
Orcs but quite possibly to surround Innport. Seven, a warlike man, might well be
poising for an unprovoked attack, to take Innport from Feyl Sley and add it to Delran --
aiming ultimately to control Delran directly from Feyl Donok when he becomes king.
Malvolio said living under Seven's tyranny would be very bad for business, and asked
you to head north, hook up with Seven's army, obey Seven's orders, raise no suspicions,
then return to report on Seven's intentions. Malvolio gave you horses as speed was of
the essence.

The next morning, you all handled a little last-minute business, which included
Footstool's swing-round to Oldimarra, where he suggested to the priest that he might
join the temple when he gets back; Aziz's failed attempt to see Malvolio to request
maybe kidnapping white Saleh; Tak's trip to the whorehouse Lionness/Loins and purchase
there, for keeps, of the half-elf/half-conscious skank Goldleaf Dewbud, who he then
threw over his shoulder, marching out with her mattress under his other arm; while
Thoor, obviously the most deranged member of this party, said a prayer at the temple
of Pelor in thanks for some healing potions.

Next the five of you (four plus, ahem, Dewbud) were again ferried across Lake Skaya
to Flashpike by Payter, and rode North, soon enough finding the Delran contingent --
about 50 soldiers, 6 casters, and 3 constructs. However, you were quickly introduced
to the army's commander and discovered it was not Seven, but King Curdan II himself.

"I'm pleased to meet you, my name is Curdan," were his first words, and you all fell
in love. He shared his belief that these Spectrals must have a source, as they seem
to be undead and are suddenly widespread -- therefore he supposes either a planar gate
has opened, or an evil priest is afoot. So his goal is to stop the priest or find and
close the gate.

You kept your lips buttoned, and Curdan asked you to attend his war council, and tell
his advisors how you faced the Spectrals. Which you were happy to do, except insofar
as the more you talk, the more likely you are to say something suspicious. As it
turns out, Curdan's advisor Fontine politely suggested perhaps Aziz was not telling
the whole truth about your exploits. Another advisor suggested Covarrubias (the long-
dead Pirate Wizard) was behind all these Spectrals, but this theory was discounted
with the note that Covarrubias is more myth than reality.

At sunrise, the camp buzzed with excitement. Curdan told the party his scouts had
reported two groups of Spectrals, a half-dozen to the east and a large column to the
north. He charged the party with pursuing the group to the east.

En route, you followed a brook which led you to the giant-treed western edge of
Overwood, and Footstool at last felt he could safely release Quothe the Raven toward
Garl's temple and Oldimarra's to report on events so far. Then, not very deep into
Overwood, you heard voices, and the hysteric laughter of a woman, possibly a demented
one. Tak ordered Dewbud to climb a tree. "Which one?" she asked. She was assigned
a tree, and Tak and Footstool crept forward for eavesdropping purposes.

They could not, however, understand the language. Footstool crept closer, but Tak
while withdrawing stepped on a twig. The voices cut off, now listening for you...
Cue: Dewbud. "I can't get up, the branches are too high!" Followed by the charge
of 6 Spectral Orcs.

The Spectrals you once again made fairly short work of, but the woman they'd been
consorting with was a different story. Clothed in blue and black and filth, carrying
a scythe, it was her face that was particularly striking, flayed open with scarification
and pierced, extremely, with gold jewelry. And her laugh -- at each hit you scored,
she only laughed with glee.

Footstool was ideally positioned, blasting her with magic missiles every time she
attempted to cast a spell, and Tak charged her. She was forced to flee, flying up
into the air. Then came her parting one-two punch, A) a black claw that appeared in
front of Tak and raked him very near to death (how lucky it wasn't worse), followed
by B) a large Earth Elemental that pretty much instantly smashed poor Footstool into
Footsmudge. I mean he was there one second, and the next he was... Footstool? Foot?
Where'd you go? C'mon, quit foolin...

By the time the Elemental was dispatched, once again by the most heroic of feats,
Thoor's now patented Miraculous Zero-Hit-Point Death Swing -- resulting in a fatal
blow to the monster at the cost of his own consciousness -- the deranged woman was
out of sight, 200 feet up in the trees somewhere.

It turns out you can't easily dissuade an angry half-orc from avenging the death of
his tiniest friend -- perhaps that's why no one actually tried. Thus Tak, undeterred
by his plan's several vague and discouraging aspects, proceeded to climb the tree
nearest Scarface's ascent. Approximately 200 ft up, he was attacked from behind by the
floating woman (very poor sportsmanship -- the move confirms she is not Lawful Good).
As now a few quick calculations ran through Tak's head (altitude, velocity, margin for
error), he started to climb down. The woman, however, further demonstrating poor
sportsmanship, elected to breathe fire. After a brief dalliance with the notion
of leaping to grapple her in midair, Tak opted instead to be blasted several times by
the fire, and as fate would have it (nobody likes fate), he was in fact killed
(well, -8) by the fire, which caused him to lose his grip, which caused him to fall,
which caused Thoor to very rapidly overrule his Lawful Good priestly instinct to try
to catch the hurtling half-orc, which caused Tak to be further killed, this time by
the planet.

Thus did Thoor, Aziz, and Dewbud find themselves standing in Overwood with a pair of
friendly corpses, each quite messed up. By a vote of 2-0 (Dewbud unaware of any vote
being taken), the party elected to abandon Overwood and meet Curdan II at the rally point.

Now, you'll have some decisions to make, and an appointment to keep with some no-good
thieving Bugbears, and I believe it was Aziz who wondered what this woman was doing
talking to the Spectrals. But in the meantime, for both valor in combat and perspicacity
in your various meetings with the various political and otherwise personalities around
the place, you deserve warmest congratulations (you accomplished a helluva lot this
session) and, better yet, you deserve some XP. As follows:

For combat and utterly exceptional role-playing prior to the last battle, Footstool,
Thoor, and Aziz are each awarded 1458 XP, and Tak is awarded 1704 XP. Thus,
entering the last battle, Thoor and Footstool stood at 8024 XP, Aziz at 9596, and
Tak at a raging 5532.

For the last battle, though it didn't go as well as might have been hoped, and though
the CR5 Elemental as a summoned monster should not really bring its own XP, and
though the woman wasn't killed -- despite all this -- tactically, it was arguably a MAJOR
PARTY VICTORY (go ahead, argue it), as she was forced to retreat and couldn't, uh,
kill the second half of you. Anyway the whole mess was much tougher than the XP for
those 6 Spectrals would suggest. So, hear ye hear ye, immediately after the battle
ends, survivors Thoor and Aziz are awarded an additional 1066 XP. And after they are
raised, Footstool will receive his 1066, and Tak will receive 1266 XP. Thus, when the
math dust settles, and assuming the dead arise, the final XP totals are:

Aziz: 10662
Footstool: 5566
Thoor: 9090
Tak: 3266

Doo da doo, a celebratory fanfare of horns (though only half as many as originally scheduled).