Journal Entry #8

Journal – Session 8

Having partially explored the ancient crypt of the dread necromancer Marzoth and his wife Lucritica, a party of six bold adventurers – Barrack, a plain-spoken dwarven Fighter, powerful wielder of the hammers favored by that strong and dour race; Marik, a reptilian dragonborn Warlock, heir to an ancient and proud lineage, but inescapably bound to a pact granting him supernatural powers; Jaeran, an elven Cleric upon whom the gods have granted a measure of divine power as a reward for his faith; Luke, a cloaked half-elf Wizard of mysterious origins and arcane might; Syxia, a tiefling Rogue, dark daughter of a cursed bloodline, her ancestors given to the infernal worship of fiends; and Ur-Kadar, dragonborn Paladin of Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon, a holy warrior dedicated to upholding the tenets of his faith and protecting the weak with his battle axe – rested after their difficult first attempt to penetrate the subterranean vaults; having recovered their strength, they set forth on the next stage of the quest.

Having set off several traps during their previous attempt on the crypt, the party cautiously ascended the stairs leading from the water-filled room to the locked door beyond. Syxia found no traps and picked the lock. The ancient door opened into a hallway, and revealed a long corridor. Syxia and Marik both checked the entire area for traps, and through their combined efforts were able to detect a pit trap in the middle of the hallway. After probing the other side, Syxia elegantly leapt across, and lightly landed on the far side of the dangerous and deadly obstacle. The rest of the party decided to jump the pit as well, after Luke used his Mage Hand to apply force to what the party believed to be a false section of the floor; no other trap or false floor was detected. Jaeran then attempted to hop across the pit, only to trip; the party was surprised when the Cleric did not fall into the pit, instead spraining his ankle and falling flat on his face (so much for elven grace, which in any event is as nothing compared to the grace of a buxom and beautiful tiefling damsel). Taking no chances, the others safely leapt across.

The party followed the corridor until the passageway turned to another door. Syxia found no traps and (shutting her eyes tightly and fearing the worst) opened the door. The party was on-guard, against both real traps as well as illusions. However, the 20’ x 40’ room beyond appeared to be empty. Free of furnishings or other clutter, the only decoration was an indention of a hand on the far wall with the word “Choose” inscribed above it. The group searched diligently for traps but found none. Luke inspected the room and found that it was awash in arcane energy. A dialogue began on the size of the hand, what the group must “choose” and what might happen when they did so. Luke again used his Mage Hand power to apply pressure to the hand-shaped indentation, but his efforts evoked no response. Barrack stepped forth and raised his hand, saying “Marzoth” and “Lucritica” to no avail. The party then discussed the riddle in the entrance to the tomb, along with the flaming eye that had been emblazoned on the floor of the entry chamber. Barrack tried again, saying “To Live”; again, nothing happened. At this point, the heroic dwarf Fighter advised that the entire group should be in the room to avoid being separated; all agreed and complied. Despite a sense of dread, he tried again and verbalized “Death.” With that, the indentation of the hand began to glow with a pale blue light; suddenly, the door slammed shut and the floor disappeared. The party fell 30’ feet to the hard stone floor below. Syxia managed to use her acrobatic prowess to avoid damage as well as stay on her feet, and through sheer dumb luck, a few other party members were able to land upright as well. The other party members found themselves strewn about the room and prone from the fall.

The room the companions found themselves in was similar to the room they had just fallen from, with the exception of six alcoves. Out from the alcoves emerged six skeletons wielding wicked scimitars. The religious studies of Jaeran and Ur-Kadar enabled them to recognize the undead monsters as boneshard skeletons, and the holy men knew them to be particularly dangerous foes because they explode, propelling slivers of sharp bone fragments in a wide area upon their destruction. The party suddenly found itself in a difficult tactical position (through no fault of Syxia, for once) as Barrack and Ur-Kadar engaged boneshard skeletons in one corner of the room while the other party members faced the remaining skeletons on their own. Her hot blood surging with battle-lust, Syxia reacted more quickly than the skeletons and unleashed a critical strike that crippled one of the skeletal fiends. With heroic flair, she followed up her strike with yet another damaging blow. The other party members struggled to their feet and braced themselves for combat. Luke moved to the center of the room in an effort to avoid melee combat and find an area from which he could cast spells, and Jaeran repositioned himself and prepared to channel radiant power. The skeletons hit back hard and landed significant blows to the sturdy dwarf and devout Cleric. Syxia relentlessly hammered the skeleton facing her with yet another critical strike; sensing her enemy’s demise at hand, she followed up with a quick flourish of strikes and destroyed the skeleton. The explosion wrought by the death throes of the skeleton damaged Syxia and Jaeran, as the skeletons remained very dangerous even as they were destroyed.

On the other side of the room, Ur-Kadar infused his magical axe with radiant light, and his holy strikes inflicted additional damage on the skeletons. Barrack unleashed a crushing blow that cracked more than a few of the bones of his skeletal foe in retaliation for its attack. The battle raged on, with Jaeran channeling divine power and unleashing a flash of radiance that hurled two of the skeletons backwards while inflicting severe damage on another. Marik’s halberd arced through the room, landing heavy blows on the skeletons while his curses filled the air. Luke busied himself hurling fire balls into the midst of the enemy to damage several of them at one time. While Barrack had been hit several times, his dwarven resolve allowed him to continue on, unbowed. Jaeran and Syxia teamed up to unleash a vicious combination – uttering the prayer of abjuration against the undead, Jaeran Commanded one of the skeletons to lie down on the ground; Syxia followed up with a mighty blow from her enchanted sword that destroyed the skeleton, and it exploded harmlessly into the ground. Ur-Kadar put his remaining foe down, and made his way back to the middle of the room to help finish off the remaining skeletons. After weathering a few more exploding skeletons, the battle was won. The group took a few minutes to catch their breath and regrouped. They searched the area and found a lever in one of the alcoves. Using Mage Hand, Luke pulled the lever and returned the party back to the original room above using an elevator-type mechanism.

With mounting dread, the heroes suddenly realized that the riddle in the entry room was yet another trap. The solution appeared simple enough that it could be easily solved, but would probably not be thought of as a “trap” in the usual sense. A discussion ensued, and the group decided to try “Life.” The fearless and battle-hardened dwarf again walked up to the indention and spoke “Life” aloud. Like the time before, the hand projected a bright blue light around the dwarf’s rough and calloused hand, and the air crackled with arcane energy. This time, however, it wasn’t the floor that disappeared - it was Barrack! With a sense of urgency, Ur-Kadar quickly advanced and placed his huge, reptilian hand within the indentation and spoke the key phrase aloud; he too disappeared. Syxia followed, placing her small, soft hand into the indentation (being very careful not to break a nail). The Rogue was followed by Jaeran, Marik and finally Luke.

Barrack found himself alone in a 30’ x 40’ room that was well lit. Toward the middle of the room were two stone sarcophagi, and in each of the four corners of the room were raised dais, upon which stood one of four stone statues. A quick glance at the statues revealed that two were male, one was female and the last was a statue of a male with a missing forearm. The statues were labeled Marzoth, Lucritica, Ven-Ghol and Dzaram. While the heroes knew of the connection between the first three (dread necromancers all), the name Dzaram was new and could perhaps provide useful information later. Within seconds, however, the statues came to life and began to move stiffly toward Barrack. The dwarf wasted no time and delivered a crushing blow to the statue to his right. The statues retaliated and began to rain down blows on the stout Fighter. He was staggered by the attacks, but refused to be forced to the ground. He countered with another blow from his warhammer before another onslaught of stone fists arrived. Ur-Kadar then materialized and instantly engaged two of the statues in an effort to reduce the danger to the dwarf. Blows were exchanged, but despite the best efforts of the animated statues, the dwarf stubbornly refused to yield. Syxia materialized next and unleashed a Blinding Barrage of daggers that momentarily distracted several of the statues. The dwarf and dragonborn seized this opportunity and landed additional blows. Syxia also took advantage of the distraction and hit home with an attack to a vulnerable location of the statue nearest her. She attempted to move out and reposition herself, but was knocked down by the nearest statue just as Jaeran arrived. Leaping to her feet, Syxia was faced with a split-second, life-or-death choice – break a nail and/or risk damage to one of her stockings, or lose her grip on her sword hilt. She chose to drop her sword, and the enchanted blade clattered across the floor. Unfortunately, the statue struck her again, and she was knocked prone. Trying to scramble to her sword on her hands and knees, the beautiful devil-girl was knocked unconscious by a brutal blow from the statue. The combat continued to rage on, and the party finally began to gain the upper hand as more party members arrived. The stocky Fighter’s continued smashes eventually caused one of the statues to collapse and break apart into rubble, just as Ur-Kadar reduced another to dust. With that, the statues were seriously outnumbered and ultimately destroyed. After reviving the fallen Syxia, the party regrouped and exchanged a word of thanks that the dwarf and dragonborn were the first two into the room, as all realized that if they had entered this room in a different order, they might have lost a companion or two, if not their lives.

After resting, they inspected the room and found another hand indention on the far wall. There was also an inscription above it, which read:

By escaping the bonds of death, we no longer suffer the ravages of time.
Choose:

The party was instantly concerned that the only way out may be to return Marzoth and Lucritica to the realm of the living. They searched for secret doors to without success. Again, the dwarf put his hand in the indentation and said “Marzoth lives”; nothing happened. He tried several different combinations using both Marzoth and Lucritica’s names, but things remained the same. The party thought for a while (with the understanding that thinking makes Syxia’s pretty little head hurt) when Ur-Kadar identified Marzoth’s sarcophagus. The party braced for combat as he pushed off the lid. However, the tomb was empty, with the exception of a powerful magic rod and a sack of six large coins. The party next toppled the lid from Lucritica’s tomb and found an enchanted mace and a powerful amulet inside. With the room secure, and their fears allayed, they began inspecting the items they had found. With the combined arcane knowledge of Luke, Jaeran and Marik, they identified a Rod of Malign Conveyance +2, 6 creature coins, an Amulet of Health +1 and a Magic Mace +1. The rod was claimed by Marik, the amulet was given to Luke, the Mace went to Jaeran and the creature coins were shared equally. With the division of treasure complete, they turned their attention to getting out of the room. The party tried several combinations, and when “Marzoth life” was mentioned, they noticed that the indentation lit up briefly when the word “life” was verbalized. They then tried “Lucritica life” and the phenomenon repeated. They tried “Marzoth death,” and again the light returned at the mention of “death.” Several other combinations were attempted, all referring to the afterlife, life eternal or the undead. Noting that the light appeared at the words “life” and “death,” they stumbled onto the solution of “Life after death” (the fact that the party indeed used the words “life” after “death” to gain entrance to this very room was lost on them, but they eventually succeeded in exiting the chamber). With that, they were magically teleported back into the small mausoleum where the adventure began.

Upon arriving back in the mausoleum, a disembodied voice boomed out threats of dire vengeance on those who had violated the tomb (i.e., the party). There was very little time to consider the source or meaning of the murderous threat, as the party heard a loud thunderclap and Luke had a message whispered to him: the familiar voice of the Wizard Neltharian warned that “Her guests are on their way.” While the sudden interruption was unsettling, the heroes were pleased to discover that the mausoleum door remained locked, and the room appeared otherwise undisturbed. Syxia quickly checked the door, but she did not hear any noise coming from outside. Given their ordeal, and the relatively safety of their surroundings, the group determined that they could use an extended rest to heal and regroup. The group rested peacefully and awoke rejuvenated, their powers recharged. They knew now to expect an ambush on their long trip back to Folkestone. With each member of the party ready, Barrack opened the door to the outside, flooding the chamber with sunlight.

To their surprise, the party saw the Bard Pendingle standing roughly 50’ away; he was accompanied by a tiefling male – judging by his battle-scarred leather armor and the way he carried himself, the party easily determined that he was an experienced adventurer. Pendingle gave the party a wave and said that he had someone there who would like to speak to them, and that this stranger had an offer for the party. The tiefling, with no weapon visible and with his open hands in front of him, began by introducing himself. He said that his name was Forras Nooramor, and that he had an offer for the party: he had come seeking the maiden Drusanasyxia, and he offered to make the party an exchange for her. He reiterated that he had not come seeking violence, only that he needed to take the girl back to House De’Nethryn to collect on the contract that had been placed with the House for her capture. Curious, Barrack asked Forras how much he was offering (ignoring Syxia’s horrified gasps, pleas, head-shaking and tears). Forras replied with a total of 1,000 gold pieces, pointing out that such an amount would be enough to last most simple men their entire life. Barrack barked back that they weren’t interested, and that they would not hand over the girl. Forras increased his offer to 2,500 gold coins in an effort to conclude the negotiations. Forras warned them that he would take her by force, and that they should accept his generous offer. At that point, Pendingle began to look confused, and started stepping back and away from the tiefling. Two human crossbowmen and several bandits then appeared from their hiding places in the brush and trees in front of the mausoleum. It was now a foregone conclusion that battle would ensue and so Pendingle stepped back even further.

Having taken careful aim at the tiefling for several minutes as the negotiations had taken place, Jaeran could wait no longer; with a barbaric shriek and a mumbled half-curse/half-prayer, he loosed a black-feathered arrow that streaked across the yard stretching before the tomb. Only at the last second did the Rogue move aside; even so, the elf’s arrow had found its mark, as the shaft caught the tiefling on the side of his face as he attempted to move aside, leaving a bloody gash (and likely a permanent scar). Realizing that battle was upon them, Barrack jumped out of the doorway and made straight for the lone tiefling, whom the dwarf recognized was a dangerous foe. Ur-Kadar decided to leave caution to the wind, and sprinted forward, Syxia-like, in an attempt to engage the leader before the bandits had a chance to close ranks. As the other members of the party emerged, several amateur soldiers appeared from either side to impede their progress. Ur-Kadar swung mightily, but the quick Rogue managed to duck the blow, much to the surprise of the hulking dragonborn. Just as quickly, Forras used the Paladin’s own weight against him, throwing him far ahead. The armed bandits quickly surrounded Ur-Kadar as Forras made his way back to engage the Paladin. The remaining bandits and warriors managed to cut off the other party members, and it soon became clear that Forras was going to try to subdue Ur-Kadar and then use him to bargain for Syxia. The party counter-attacked and began to carve their way through the rabble. To Jaeran’s surprise, he began to feel a strange compulsion to use his new magical mace in combat, but with great effort, he was able to resist its magical pull and use the weapon of his choice. Barrack continued smashing his way through the crowd, occasionally being hit by the bandits who seemed to focus on backstabbing him.

Forras stealthily applied a contact poison to his blade and struck Ur-Kadar, poisoning the stalwart Paladin. As had happened so often in the past, Ur-Kadar had a difficult time resisting the poison, as it raced through his bloodstream, quickly sapping his life force. Ur-Kadar suddenly found himself in real trouble as he was poisoned, surrounded by the Rogue Forras and four bandits and taking fire from the crossbowmen. He blasted forth his fiery dragon breath, which engulfed several bandits. Just as things looked the most bleak, out of nowhere Pendingle resurfaced and stabbed one of the crossbowmen in the backside. Ur-Kadar valiantly lashed out despite being heavily out-numbered, and began to take down the bandits, even as he slumped to his knees with his head swimming, almost fatally weakened by the noxious toxin flowing through his veins. Forras proved to be a dangerous adversary indeed, but his effectiveness was markedly reduced as he lost allies and the ability to pick and choose where he would strike. With all the lesser soldiers slain or retreating, Barrack and the others were able to make their way to the main battle. Marik unleashed his acidic breath weapon, damaging several more bandits. With mounting fury, Forras realized that the tide had turned, but spying a clear path to Syxia (who happened to be well away from the main area of battle), he broke for her and using the same trick as landed the Paladin in trouble, managed to throw the lovely and leggy Rogue a good distance further from the battle. At this point, good fortune intervened on the side of the heroes, as the remaining bandits realized that the battle was lost; they cut and ran, saving their own flea-bitten hides. That allowed the rest of the party to turn and rush to Syxia’s aid. As Forras turned to flee, Barrack caught and marked him, allowing the rest of the party to surround him. Realizing his fate, Forras admitted defeat and surrendered.

Forras quickly explained that he didn’t want it to come to this, and that it wasn’t personal (“Easy for him to say!” fumed Syxia). He just needed to abduct and transport Syxia in order to fulfill the contract – business is business. After Syxia angrily confronted the tiefling, Barrack ordered her carried away, recognizing that beating him would not yield any useful information (although everyone let her get in a few “Who sent you?” slap! “Who sent you?” slap! before she was taken away). After that, Forras yielded to the party’s interrogation. He told them that he was probably among only a handful of individuals that would try to collect on this contract, given its size. Forras confirmed that the mercenary soldiers were hired in Dunwin from House Marek, and that the bandits were thugs hired from House De’Nethryn. He admitted that he would have earned 10,000 gold pieces for capturing Syxia and bringing her back alive and unharmed, but he had no knowledge of who actually wants her or for what reason or purpose. He told them that his contact was a man named Gweth, whom the party knew found out about Syxia from Cadrick, the Rogue who fled Folkestone under Barrack’s death threat. Forras bartered for his life, and the party consulted Syxia about what she wanted done with him. She said let him go, and the party agreed. In exchange for his life and freedom, he was forced to part with his +1 magical dagger, an emerald, two sapphires and a diamond. The party agreed to free him, but he was forced to swear that he would tell the House that the contract cannot be collected on because Syxia was killed in battle. Forras was allowed to loot a few bodies for supplies before he fled into the wilderness. Mutual respect was formed between Forras and the party during this meeting, and Forras knows that he owes the party a debt – they had every right to kill him for a thug and an assassin, but they let him go. Syxia reminded him of that as he left, but it is unlikely that he will forget. And if he ever does, Barrack left him with his usual parting shot: “If I ever see you again, I will kill you.”

At least to the outside world, Syxia is dead. She decided to travel under the new name of Darenzia and will use it wherever necessary. The party knew that if the infamous assassin The Devil’s Canvas shows up in Folkestone, he’ll eventually figure out where they have gone, but the events at the crypt will, at the very least, buy them time. The focus then turned to Pendingle. The question is how did Pendingle know where they were, and why did he lead Syxia’s kidnappers there? The minstrel blurted out the answer innocently enough, oblivious to the fact that the party would even be upset: “Why, Neltharian told me where you were, and he also told me to take all of these men to you. He said that you wouldn’t want to have your discussion in town and that I should help them out by taking them to you. I didn’t really know it would lead to a fight. Although, I was sure you would win if one broke out. You are the mightiest of heroes, are you not? I can’t wait to include this in the ballad!” Barrack grabbed Pendingle by the scruff of his neck and gruffly explained in no uncertain terms that Syxia was dead. He was directed to help them and write a song about the battle, and her death, and tell everyone who asks that she died here this day, and that he was a witness. Pendingle agreed. Barrack, in a bad mood and/or on a bad day, has that effect on people.

The party had an uneventful trip back to Folkestone, and they returned to The Crested Cock, the inn and tavern that serves as their base of operations, with Pendingle in tow. Syxia entered the gates alone, and a good deal behind the party. Wrapped in a borrowed cloak with the hood pulled very low and wearing long leggings and gloves, she completely concealed her features, and even wrapped her tail around her slender waist. The party entered the inn and informed Meldrick the innkeeper of Syxia’s passing (and gave him a wink and a nudge). The jovial innkeeper and his wife Ethyr understood what was expected of them, and so they acted a bit upset, and made sure that they were overheard discussing Syxia’s death by the tavern patrons. Syxia slipped into the inn unnoticed, and took her old room under the name of Darenzia, a tiefling Fighter from parts unknown.

The next morning Barrack, Jaeran and Luke went to Neltharian’s shop. The Wizard said that he had indeed sent the Bard to lead Syxia’s pursuers to you, as a fight in town would have been regrettable. The party would have definitely been in trouble with Lord Jessup had a town brawl taken place. Neltharian identified the Cleric’s new mace as being under a dark and cursed dweomer, and determined that the weapon would attack Jaeran occasionally, as well as compel him to use only it in combat. He did not know the Remove Affliction ritual, but suspected that Father Corus could remove the curse. Syxia traded her old +1 Dagger for an Elixir of Speed (and, making other inquiries, she traded Forras’ dagger and a large sum of gold for a + 1 Magic Silver Dagger). The party also bought several potions that Neltharian had available. Neltharian then asked the party for a favor, telling them that a friend was investigating something for him and had not been heard from in a while. Neltharian would like the party to go and check on this individual, and rescue him if necessary (and/or possible). Neltharian told them that the person was investigating Skylde Gate Keep for him. The Skylde Pass lies between Folkestone and Inequity. Barrack guessed that Neltharian’s friend was none other than The Fish, and the Wizard confirmed this. He told the party to see him before they set off for the mountain pass, as he had a few items available that may help them. The party then left the shop.

In the meantime, Marik and Ur-Kadar had paid a visit to Drachen Sylvanni, leading merchant of Folkestone, where they attempted to sell the gems that they acquired from Forras. Drachen initially offered them much less than face value, but when they threatened to go to House Golhyrr and the local moneychanger, he offered more. They sold the emerald for 250 g.p., the two sapphires for 400 g.p. and the diamond for 650 g.p. They also looked over the items he had for sale that were reserved only for his best customers. While they saw some interesting items, including an Elven Cloak, a Bashing Shield and a Bag of Holding, the prices were just a bit too expensive.

Jaeran proceeded to meet with Father Corus, and the good Cleric agreed to perform the ritual that would free the elf from the cursed mace. Additionally, he had a powerful Symbol of Hope that he gave to Jaeran in exchange for a sizeable donation and a promise to spend more time in the House of Pelor.

Meanwhile, Syxia had been busy ridding herself of any of the trappings that would allow someone to recognize her. While it crushed her spirit to do so (she cried herself to sleep that night, after a nice, long, hot bubble bath), she gathered up all of her exquisite dresses (although she kept all of her expensive lingerie, since she had encountered some difficulty in always keeping track of her panties, she realized that she would no longer be able to wear her delicate underthings as outer garments any longer, at least not anytime soon; but at least she could still wear something expensive, pretty and nice, even if no one else could see it – unless she wanted them to). Since she was leaving the comforts of civilization for a while, also tossed (and it killed her to do it – “Maybe it would be better if Forras had just kidnapped me!”) were her collection of stiletto heels (even the killer 4” black patent ones – more tears). She may never forgive the party for doing this to her. The exquisite custom corsets she had ordered (for 30 g.p. each!) were never picked up – it would make the “Syxia is dead” story more believable, since anyone who ever knew Syxia would know that there is nothing short of being dead that would have stopped her from picking up the hot lingerie she had custom-ordered (and paid half down on – even more tears). Although she is svelte, and Meldrick’s wife Ethyr is several times that, Syxia gave most of her clothes to the woman – perhaps she could let them out or something (or maybe give them to a pretty niece or something). Syxia also asked Ethyr to buy more down-to-earth clothes for her (“cute, but not too cute”) for her new identity, so Syxia herself would not be seen in the marketplace; given the circumstances, the less she was seen, the better. So with her new – and not-as-totally-cute – wardrobe, the new and improved Syxia (oops, “Darenzia”) was ready for action.

As the party got back together, one of the town guards spotted them and beckoned them over. He stated that he had been looking for the party and that Lord Jessup would appreciate an audience as soon as possible. The party agreed, and the soldier led them to the keep. They walked into the lord’s chamber and met with Lord Jessup and Greven the Magistrate. Jessup greeted them warmly, which set the group a little on edge, for Jessup was usually arrogant and forceful in his dealings with them, but this was a welcome change. After a short round of small talk, he explained that he needed a favor. He explained that King Danold Galifor would be coming to Folkestone to meet with the Lords of Folkestone, Carrowheel and Inequity. The king was only coming for a short visit, but made it clear that he wanted to inspect the progress Lord Jessup was making with the growth of Folkestone, while discussing the growth of southeastern Ithacar generally. The king’s visit will occur in approximately 6 weeks. The problem, as Jessup explained, is that he must deliver the message to Lord Braccus Von Jallach at Inequity. Given the recent lack of commerce or travelers from Inequity, he was fearful that any messenger he sent would be intercepted, and the invitation fail to reach Lord Braccus. Greven mentioned with some concern that he had not yet heard back from two scouts that he sent to investigate the road to Inequity. Jessup explained that the first priority is to get the message to Braccus, but if the party happened to find and eliminate any impediment(s) on the road, such actions would be looked on favorably. He could not offer a monetary reward, but he explained that he would consider this undertaking a personal favor. He also mentioned that the party might be hired by Braccus as security for his journey to Folkestone. He offered horses from his stables, as well as any supplies the party needed, and asked that the heroes set out soon, in order to give Braccus as much time as possible. The party agreed, knowing that they were already heading in that direction for Neltharian. Jessup thanked them and wished them good luck. They took what supplies they needed, and left the keep.

The party then retired to The Crested Cock for food and ale, and a last evening in civilized surroundings for a while. Syxia went to her private room early to wash her long, silky hair and take her last bubble bath for a while. Other party members remained in the tavern until well into the night, drinking and/or wenching, while others sought to prepare themselves and their equipment for the adventure ahead. They awoke the next morning, rested and refreshed after a few nights in comfortable beds (needless to say, Syxia would have begged them to stay in town, but knowing that her pleas would fall on deaf ears, she resigned herself to go with her friends). After breakfast, they said their goodbyes to Meldrick and Ethyr, and then made ready for their dangerous journey. On the way out of town, they stopped by Neltharian’s shop, where the old Wizard gave them two Potions of Invisibility as aids in their quest to locate The Fish. With that, the heroes headed out of town and made for Skylde Pass.