The D&D Adventures of Eremia

The river looked deeper and stronger than we thought and it didn’t appear to get any better up or down river so we crossed near where we camped.  Mel and I both lead 3 of the horses across while the others crossed on foot. Rhed slipped and almost went down river but caught his balance. Unfortunately, his backpack didn’t make it.

We arrived at the base of the cliff and prepared for our ascent.  Melisandra didn’t have any problem leaping to the top.  She took the end of the rope with her and tied us in making it much easier to climb.

Everything around us was dead.  Trees were standing but had no leaves.  Cobwebs covered the branches.  It was eerie.  We spotted some ruins up ahead and started walking towards them but before Melisandra proceeded, she looked behind us at the view of the forest and river we came from.  She spotted a campfire plume in the woods near where we had camped.  She spotted a dark figure but couldn’t make it out.  I ran over to check it out but I couldn’t make it out either.

We continued on to the ruins.  We were greated by several ghouls.  They looked anything but friendly.  I was first to make an attack and put an arrow into one of their shoulders.  There ended up being 4 of them in the ruins and they were harder than heck to attack. They were so fast and avoided most of our attacks.  One of the ghouls was a stench. It smelled worse than Rhed’s breath.  We were without Adarra during the fight because she was back with the horses.  So it was a little more challenging to fight these guys off.  Eventually, we came out ahead.  While searching the bodies, we found 80 gold pieces, a topaz gem, and a small potion of healing.

We walked around the ruins and discovered a hole in the ground in one corner.  Rhed lit up a torch threw it down the hole. Winston stuck his head down the hole and reported seeing a big room with a hallway on one end and a sarcophagus on the other.  It appeared this was the black tomb we had come for. 

After giving Moralius the letter we wrote for the Queen, we headed North East of town and into the Orc Forest.  We brought our horses along though it was slow going but still a bit faster than being on foot.   I was leading the group through the forest and came upon a clearing up ahead.  Instead of going through the clearing I decided to lead the group around it to stay in the cover of the trees in case there were orcs around.  I didn’t want them to have an easy shot at us.

There were some lights in the distance to the left of the direction we were going.  We were tempted to check it out but didn’t want to get too close.  We moved in a bit in the direction of the lights and I climbed up a tree to see if I could make anything out.  I spotted a small outpost and some campfires but that’s about it.  I got off my horse and slowly walked closer.  I could only hear some clanking of armor and unhuman voices.  I couldn’t make out what they were saying and figured they were probably heavily armed orcs.  I reported back to the group and we decided to keep moving.

We reached a small river with fast moving water that we would have to cross.  We made it looked like we crossed the river at that spot in case anyone was following us by walking further along the river while covering our tracks behind us.  It was getting late so we decided to stay on this side of the river for the night under the cover of the forest.  Beyond the river was a meadow and a cliff which we would need to climb.  I was rather surprised we hadn’t had any run ins with any orcs.  I figured we would have a few encounters but we had been lucky so far.

We set up camp and ate from Adarra’s food basket before turning in.

We headed to the Inn for the night, but instead of going straight to bed, we decided to have a few glasses of wine and told stories that stirred up a little drama and shall not be repeated, except it was pretty clear that everyone hates Rhed.

Moralius saw us talking and came over to tell us he’s heading back to Arathor tomorrow.  He told us about someone that was tracked down who used to be a member of the Divine Order who says he had witnessed a ritual to a god that was unknown to him 2 years ago.  At around the time he left the order, Krogar was heading on an expedition to the Black Tomb in the Badlands which lay on the other side of the orc forest.

Moralius offered to take a message back to the Queen for us if we’d like.  In case something bad happened to Moralius on his journey back, we thought we better make the letter protected so no one else would be able to read it.  The secret page ritual seemed to be the perfect answer. Unfortunately no one in the group knew that particular ritual so we would have to find a wizard who might be able to give it to us, but first we wanted to take care of business with Prince Enri and see if he could give us any details on the Black Tomb.

Even though it was getting late, we decided to go to the palace to speak with Enri.  We were received with a round of applause from the guards.  It seems everyone had seen or heard about our heroicism in saving the town.  We brought with us the head of Prince Guyarde and presented it to Prince Enri.  He seemed very pleased and ordered his man-servant to put the head on a stake to display.

We asked Enri about the black tomb.  He said he had sent a few expeditions there in the past but none of them ever returned.  The most recent one was sent with his last map so was unable to give us much advice on a good route to take.  He said the place is haunted with undead but full of treasure.  I could see  him drool as he talked of the treasures.  He was obviously not going to be of much assistance and didn’t have any more chores for us so we were released.

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Brats are probably my fav thing to grill on the BBQ.  They are oh so good.  DM Ras grilled us up a plate full and we stuffed them inside the best hot dog buns you’ll ever eat.  Macrina makes the best buns ever. They are similar to a croissant which I love so it doesn’t get any better than that.  Everyone was asked to bring 2 salad ingredients.  I brought some crumbled feta and red onion caramelized in garlic and balsamic vinegar.  I think what I brought went well with the other ingredients in the salad.  We also had some pre-dinner snacks of cheese/crackers, veggie plate, bowl of fruit, pita bread, and hummus.

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We awoke early and began our journey back to Espoir on horseback. We rode straight there without stopping to rest.  We saw fire and smoke coming from the other side of town as we approached. Marcus, the archer, split for the castle when we arrived saying it’s our job to protect the prince, not his.  We all gathered together to enter the city 2 by 2.  I was toward the back of the group and was having trouble seeing anything so decided to scale up to the roof of the building next to us to get a better view.  I saw 2 orcs with crossbows, 2 orcs with swords and 2 humans all waiting to attack.  I stayed up on the roof, firing arrows. I got a little too close to the edge of the roof and nearly fell off.  I stepped back a bit and continued shooting.  A crying little girl ran over to Melisandra and clung to her.  Adarra stepped over to the little girl and covered her with her cloak for protection.  Red’s dragonbreath got away from him and caught two of the buildings on fire.  We eventually take them all out saving the orcs with crossbows for last.  We got scolded by Adarra for not taking out the ranged orcs first.

We walked further into town and over to the market where we run into 7 humans.  Me and Draven take out 4 half naked club wielding ones with ease.  One of the mercs tries to shoot a bolt at me but his crossbow fell apart in his hands.  I laughed and then we killed him along with his other two buddies.  We found a nice Bastard Sword of Final Word which Winston became the proud owner of.

We proceeded to Main Street where we run into 5 orcs and 2 raiders.  I decided to try some more rooftop shooting and was able to take out a few of the orcs.   I saw Winston’s sword fly through the air out of the corner of my eye and land on the ground.

Once we took care of the orcs we moved on to the park where we found 6 minions, a nobleman wearing a rose outfit,  Prince Guyarde, 2 orc raiders, and an orc shaman.  I was just about to jump on top of a crate in front of me but an orc beat me to it.  I took out my dagger and the warhammer.  I tried to stab him but hit the crate instead, breaking off the handle.  I swung my warhammer at him and knocked him off the crate falling backwards into a pool of water where he dies.  One by One we take out the rest of the orcs and are able to take the little girl back home safely.

We appeared to successfully save the town from being completely ruined.

I awoke, startled and panicked, after a deep sleep.  I had some horrible nightmare about the forest changing.  I recognized it as training grounds.  All the trees in the forest turned black and grew thorns.  I told the others about my dream thinking one of them may be able to tell me what it might mean.  I’ve never had nightmares like this before and thought it must mean something.  Melisandra thought it might be a sign of something bad that has happened.  No one else seemed to have any ideas of what it could have meant.

Later that night, Melisandra was walking along the docks and a bird landed on her shoulder.  It carried a message from the prince. It said, “Take what you have and come back to Espoir before it falls”.  We immediately went to talk to Duke Brannoc to see if he would give us some horses to get us back to Espoir as quickly as possible.  He tried to talk us into staying longer but we refused. It was obvious we were needed in Espoir.  He finally agreed to give us a few horses.

It was getting late and it was a long ride back to Espoir so we decided to get a good night’s sleep at the Inn before heading out early in the morning.

Melisandra went to the harbor to hang out and was approached by a wizard coming off of a ship.  He said he had heard of her and had a message for her.  He pulled out some skins from his bags and handed them to her.  He said they were recovered from the bodies of Vilius and Harcus.  They were both tattooed with some jumbled up letters that no one could decypher.

While Melisandra was hanging out at the harbor I did a little armor shopping.  I decided to trade up to some better armor and now have me a set of hide armor.  Not a huge increase in protection but it is a little better than the armor I had before and every little big helps.

Draven was wandering around town to see if anyone had any info on the legendary blacksword.  He talked to someone that said there was a tiefling wizard in Espoir that may have some info.

We met back up at the Inn where Melisandra shared with us the cryptic messages tattooed on the skins she received.  We studied the skins for quite some time but were unable to decypher them.  We decided to sleep on it and maybe after a good night’s rest we would be able to figure it out.

The two messages read:
Vilius’s skin – B Zmo Sizuysx Cuqq Kiqq
Harcus – BUU Kwyr zmo Jotzmx Mo Xmiqq Woxo

We planned a little surprise bday party for our DM. It was actually a couple of days before his actual bday. We took a game break and we went to our cars to gather the party supplies and came back in wearing bday hats, blowing horns, carrying gifts and singing happy birthday. It sure caught him by surprise.

We ordered out for thai food at Tom Yum Koong in West Seattle. Everyone raves about their Palace Chicken. I was nearing the end of my no meat week so was unable to try out this famous chicken. Instead, I ordered the Phad Kee Mao with Tofu. It was good but that palace chicken everyone was eating was looking real good. Will definitely have to go back and order that some time so I can see if it’s really as good as everyone says it is.

We had a few desserts to choose from, cupcakes from Lee and a birthday cake. I had the red velvet cupcake earlier in the evening and later on a piece of the 4 layer chocolate bday cake.

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We arrive in Brannoc in the afternoon. The city is surrounded by a wall and the entrance guarded. The castle is located in the center of the town with a moat and two towers. Duke Brannoc turns out to be a real dog. 60 years old and fat. I wonder if the princess has ever seen the guy before. The princess thanks Draven endlessly for keeping her safe and pulls a foo-yin hair tie from her hair and gives it to him so he will remember her. Draven looked like he wanted to toss it but we found that it was magic and would surely be useful.

We were asked to return with troops provided by Duke Brannoc but it appears his troops are too busy and he can’t spare any but one archer who he claims to be his best man. Certainly not what the prince was expecting. Melisandra was able to send a message back to the prince via pigeon to tell the prince troops were not being provided and to respond back to us within 24 hours with direction.

We did not believe that this archer was that good so we requested to speak to him. Brannoc invited us to a feast and introduced us to Marcus, the archer. Draven wanted to see proof of how good he really was and challenged Marcus and I to an archery contest. We climbed up to one of the towers and took turns hitting a bell from a long distance. After 13 hits, I was the first to miss. This Marcus guy was pretty impressive and we approve of his skills but we will continue to wait for a response from the prince on whether to return with this archer or if he has other plans for us.

We set off again to continue our journey to Brannoc. We come to a sharp bend in the road and a bit further up we see a tree over the roadway. I leave the group and get a closer look at the obstacle and look around for any sign of danger but I got a bug in my eye and couldn’t really see anything. Red comes over to help. Just when we are about to move the tree we hear a commotion behind us and turn around to see the group being attacked from all sides by 5 orcs, 2 berserkers, 2 raiders and a shaman. I’m doing great with my new bow. I got the last hits on a berserker, raider, and the shaman. However I also hit Draven with one of my arrows that really freaked out the princess. When she saw Draven go down she jumped out of the carriage to see if he was ok. She didn’t bother to wait till we were done fighting. The shaman saw her and immediately went after her and she was knocked to the ground. Melisandra makes a ghost noise in hopes of scaring the princess back into the carriage and it worked! We finished off the rest of the orcs and found 110 gp which we split up between everyone.

We moved the tree out of the way and continued a bit further before stopping for one more night.