Ed's 5E Game - Post X-Mas Recap

“Another Beer?” Mik asked.


“Sure” said the Elven Ranger


“COME ONE COME ALL, SIT! Hear my story, for this installment in the tales of Waterdeep is one filled with intrigue and suspense. Nary should a word be missed!” boomed a theatrical voice from the side of the tavern as Mik started to raise a finger to signal the barkeep.


Looking over, Mik noticed what appeared to be a bard, standard height (for a human) with the squat face of a gnome beseeching the crowd for their attention. His clothes weren’t too gaudy for a bard, and his Lute seemed to be in good condition. Curiously the bard wore an odd finger shaped medallion on a leather thong around his neck that reminded him of something he couldn’t remember. The bard briefly caught his eye, winked, and then strummed his Lute a few times. Attention had thoroughly been established. The air in the tavern seemed to thicken slightly, adding a faint reverberation to the voice of the bard when finally he spoke again.


“When we last left our heroes the noble Dragonkin’s squire had been found in the prison, with only a single night left before his execution… The heroes endeavored to stop this by any means necessary, and while they aren’t the types to break the law, they certainly bent a few!” stated the bard, as he began his story.

********

Thava open her bruised and blackened eyes slightly. She could hear two people talking, a man and a woman. The scent of salt water was heavy in the air, yet the world around her was mostly dark and cool, like she was in a deep cave somewhere. Turning her head just slightly she was able to glimpse the form of the female, a Drow. Also, not a slave, servant or vagabond; this Drow was nobility, perhaps even a matron. “What the hell have I gotten myself into” wondered Thava as she flexed her arms, testing her bonds, and hearing the slight jangling of the chains on a set of manacles. “Shit” she thought as she returned her attention to the Drow woman and her unseen conversation partner.


“What if she resists working, or tries to escape?” asked the female Drow.


“We will deal with that then.” Responded the unseen male.


“Hrm… that seems like a liability, are you sure she’s related?” she asked.


“It is most likely, she and her party seemed quite interested in snooping about regarding the others.” Said the man.


“Ugh, so be it” Then with a sneer she replied “if she misbehaves can I give her to Gar-kooth?”


A chuckle emanates from the man, “That is a possibility, we shall see.”


“Well he would enjoy that, whether it be for thrall or meal.” Said the female with a flick of her wrist.


“She shouldn’t be killed, it’s too sloppy, and her compatriots surely would have a way to bring her back, hair, fingernail clippings… sheddings.” Replied the man.


“Fine” Said the female “we should have the next shipment within the week. Gar-kooth has been helpful in more ways than one, He’s been bringing Gith slaves for the digging also.” Said the female


“That is good, let’s speak more of this at the monthly review next week, it would be good to hear what resources can be pulled from the astral plane…” Said the man, a slight shuffling sound could be heard as if the man was gathering his belongings to leave “Oh, and Eldeth… “


“Yes?” asked the Drow.


“Try to reduce the number of Drow at the docks, it’s getting quite crowded up there and there’s been talk on the council to make the Drow leave.” Says the man.


“I think I can manage that, though Bregan won’t like that, they are so bothersome for males…” says the Drow with a hint of disgust.


There are sounds that seem to indicate that the unseen male has left, from the corner of her eye Thava sees the Drow turn towards her and gesture, saying “Take her down, let her starve for a few days before we press her into work, she’ll be so eager to eat she’ll do anything we ask”.


The air is knocked out of Thava as several large black chitinous claws grab her and Thava feels herself hoisted into the air bodily, catching a brief glimpse of her surroundings she sees that she’s in a large abandoned road near what appears to be a large warehouse, before once again losing consciousness.

********

Dorn sat, looking at his hand, missing a single finger. “Not a decision I would have made” he mumbled to himself, feeling slightly scorned that the drug they had been ambushed with seemed to have taken away all sense of autonomy they would have had. Looking up, he could see the smoking ruin of the mansion where the party had been hosted. “Nor that” he continued.


From where he sat he could see serval of his companions, the Cleric standing wearing an assortment of Thava’s cloths, trying to talk to a number of onlookers, the bard, chatting it up with the party coordinator, the Ranger and rogue, both looking at the wreckage and trying to stay out of sight.


“What the hell happened!” swore Dorn under his breath.


“Things got really out of hand, these social elitist need to be held accountable for their actions during their parties!” Shouts a nearby woman, who may or may not purposefully be attempting to rile up the crowd, faint murmurs of agreement come from throughout the crowd.


The other party members walk back to where Dorn, the Ranger, and the Rogue are, with naught but confused looks on their faces. When, the Dwarf who’s been quite until now, wearing what appears to be one of Thava’s shirts, turns to Dorn as if to say something.


“Sir?” Says the dwarf with a confused look on his face.


“Sir, may I take you staff?” He blurts out. Earning him a puzzled look from Dorn and the other party members.


“Sir?” Repeats the Dwarf.


“I’m sorry, but I cannot permit you to enter the party with any form of weapons, I assure you, your items will be kept safe, and only you will be able to retrieve them” Says the dwarf, his form wavers and resolves itself into that of the butler from the entrance to the Masquerade ball. He appears to be holding out a token of some sort and gesturing to Dorn’s staff and Ring of the Ram…


“uh…” Stammered Dorn as he looks around to see the familiar setting.


At that point Dorn and co. experience a slight offsetting feeling, like Déjà vu, only much more intense.


“Yes, I uh. Sorry.” Stumbles Dorn as he removes the ring, and hands both it and the staff to the butler, “Little bit of a headache.”


The Butler takes the items, hands Dorn the token, and a number of small silver rings, one for each party goer. “If you step into one of the unoccupied side rooms, you will be allotted the requisite 1 hour to bond with your rings, after which you will be free to experience the party!”

********

The Bard, who introduced himself to the tavern as Dunlap, teller of stories extraordinaire, pauses in his telling of the story.


“For those of you who perhaps aren’t yet familiar with this story.” He says as he glances toward Mik and the Ranger. “Our heroes had already entered the Ball and fallen under the influence of a highly potent drug, waking some time later in a state of distress, But LO! That was all but a premonition, for the wizard Dorn was a seer of the future, a diviner, magician of the fates!” The bard begins to snigger quite uncontrollably.

The Paladinson

Troulula Brisk

“The party was warned of the impending doom, and were thusly able to prepare and avoid the drug quite deftly!” Stated the bard with a flourish, as several in the crowd clapped, delighted. “At the Ball they encounter many people; the Dragonborn warrior was mistaken for a lost love, and was able to help direct the misguided fool to his true heart; the Ranger freed a Pegasus that was destined to become the main entrée of the Ball (as well as making a number of racist remarks to the Paladinson of Waterdeep!); the Cleric unknowingly courted and impressed the ever lovely Troulula Brisk, a Lady (Lord) of Waterdeep!; the Bard, a personal friend of mine, played some exceptional music with his merry band of Jims and their new gnomish instruments, as well as besting a Lord of Waterdeep in a magic dance-off; while the Rogue and the Wizard, Dorn, had a dreadful encounter with an ominous darkly dressed person, white of hair, wearing a magical mask of red Dragonkin scales, and a thick iron chain about his neck that had hanging from it a large red gem. I know what you are thinking! Yes I do! This, this malfeasance of a man, was indeed our hero’s adversary, Phineas Cairn head of the Cairn household, Lord of Waterdeep, and imprisoner of the Dragonkin Warrior’s very own Squire! Lo, when Dorn overheard this man speak, he did recognize his voice as the voice of the man from his vision of Thava’s imprisonment and submission to slavery!” Thundered the bard, Dunlap, as a gasp could be heard from the crowd.

Castielle Brownbottom 

“What did they do Mister?” asked a small child, whom Mik guessed to be only 6 years of age.


“What did they do? What do you think they did?” questioned the Bard.


Shouts rang out from the crowd in the tavern “Killed him”, “Boiled his bones”, “Made him dance a funny dance with magic”, “Turned him into a frog!”


With a chuckle, Dunlap sat back down “No. no, they are not as uncivilized as that. They needed evidence to bring against this man, they did the best thing they could. They stole his book!” the crowd sat in silence, slightly puzzled.

Phineas Cairn

“A book filled with vile spells of corruption and evil, penned in the hand of Phineas Cairn, this book alone, would be enough evidence to get the man thrown out of the city and into Waterdeep prison!” Stated Dunlap “However, that wasn’t their only goal, they still needed evidence to exonerate their Squire, and this book alone wouldn’t do. They needed more TIME!” spoke Dunlap, his hand lightly resting on the long pendant resting around his neck.


“The party was able to beseech the Paladinson with logic, and obtained a grant of 2 weeks stay of execution, a great boon. With this new ‘lease on life’ the party retired from the Masquerade Ball, and used their magical resources to head to the once ruined Skullport, to search for additional evidence of the man Cairn’s wrongdoing.” The bard paused to take a sip from a wine flute sitting on a nearby table, forgotten by its owner during the telling.


“In Skullport the heroes emblazoned their skin with tattoos, markings of power to aid them in their quest, and gathered information, finding that there was a special shipment of slaves to be sold at a later time. Additionally, the Wizard Dorn was able to find the location of Thava’s kidnapping with visions of a future never to be fulfilled. Locating the exact street and warehouse he recognized from his vision. While not a guarantee that the meeting heard about in the vision would take place here, it would be a good start, perhaps they could stage an ambush of some sort, in addition to having someone follow the slaves that were being reserved by the slavers, as that was alluded to be the business that the Drow and Phineas had together.” Stated Dunlap ominously, as he stalked about the room.


“It was here that the heroes first sighted it… the broken run down shop adjacent to the warehouse, partially collapsed, with a sign hanging out front stating that the shop was ‘Professor Goosewaddles Magical Emporium’!” Exclaimed Dunlap with a flourish from his Lute.


“Tomorrow, tomorrow I shall proclaim the events that took place in the amazing place, and the events to follow. Stay tuned my friends!” and with that Dunlap sprang forth, disappearing in a poof of smoke leaving behind a lingering cloud of pale yellow and the slight smell of brimstone.


The Ranger and Mik stared at the stage for a moment before the Ranger turned towards the large armored man.


“Well that was odd…” said the Ranger and he looks into his glass “I need to stop drinking” he mumbled slightly to himself as the bell on the front door jangled. Looking over the Ranger saw a female Elf, dressed similarly to himself.


“Well it’s time for me to leave” he stated abruptly.


“Ah, as should I.” stated Mik.


The two gathered their belongings and left the Tavern. Outside the big man, Mik, stuck out his hand toward the Elven Ranger “You said your name was Altus?” asked the big man.


Looking at the hand with a slightly cocked head the Elf responded “Yeah” he took the hand and shook it firmly once “And this is my sister Mira” he stated with a nod to the side.


Mik nodded “Well I wish you luck on your quest to find your mage, may you bring her to swift justice” Mik let go of the Elf’s hand and swung a large cape up onto his broad muscled shoulders, the cape bore the emblem of the Paladins of Waterdeep. “Perhaps in another life we were friends” he stated simply, nodding “See you somewhere down the road” he said, turning and strolling away.


Faintly the Altus’ keen elven ears could make out Mik saying, in a sing song voice “See you somewhere down the road, on that cold, lonely night. I’m not afraid for I know it, Will be my last good fight!”


Altus looked at Mira “It’s been an interesting night” He stated.


“You have no idea” She replied, as she adjusted her should pack and the two turned, disappearing into the darkness of the street.

Tank Build

Concept-

·         Armor heavy Tank character with taunting abilities, but slow speed. Excels in large number of attacks, reach, and knockback.

·         Armor – Mechanus Gear Armor (High AC) Enchanted with Retaliation.

o   A suit of armor that has this property strikes back at foes who hit hard in melee. While wearing retaliation armor, each time you take 10 or more points of damage from a single melee attack, the armor deals 1d6 points of damage to the attacker. If a single melee attack drops your hit points below 0, the armor strikes the attacker for 3d6 points of damage.

o   Damage from retaliation armor is treated as magic for the purpose of over-coming damage reduction.

·         Primary weapon - Reach weapon that can be set against charges for extra damage that has the Shock enchantment. STATs- DMG: 2d6+1d6(Shock)+STR+3, CRIT:x3

o   Does double damage when set against a charge (free action that can be done once per round) DMG: 4d6+2d6(Shock)+STRx2+6, CRIT: x6

o   Attacks of opportunity against multiple targets (due to combat expertise) when targets enter threat area (normal movement). Or when they charge (Charge does not incur an AoO, but moving through a threatened area does, due to reach weapon any charge incurs an AoO)

o   Weapon can also be used to attempt to trip enemies

o   Weapon cannot be used against adjacent enemies

·         Secondary Weapon – Heavy Steel Spined Shield enchanted with Bashing and Shield Spikes enchanted with Brutal Surge. STATS- DMG: 2d6 (Physical, from shield spikes and the Bashing enchantment) +STR+3, CRIT: x2.

o   Does not take a penalty if it is the only weapon used in an attack (EX: With a +7/+2 you have two attacks, for the first one you hit with your primary weapon and no penalties are applied. For your second attack you hit with your shield, because this is the only weapon you are using with this attack no penalties are applied)

o   If you wield a second weapon in your off hand (Or shield in this case), you can get one extra attack per round with that weapon. You suffer a -4 penalty with your regular attack or attacks with your primary hand and a -8 penalty to the attack with your off hand when you fight this way. (Example: With a +7/+2 you would get you two normal attacks, but then also be able to hit with your shield in a third attack. You would use your highest BAB but apply the penalty (7-8= -1) and roll you attack roll with a -1 (+STR and +1 for the Magic bonus + any other bonus’ you may have).

o   You do not lose your Shield bonus to AC when you use it to attack, this is due to improved shield bash.

o   A Number of times per day equal to 1+CON modifier the wielder of this weapon is able to attempt a BULL RUSH against an enemy, this actions is a free action that takes place as a part of the wielders normal attack.

o   After a successful melee attack with a brutal surge weapon, you can command the weapon to initiate a bull rush attempt against the target of the attack in addition to dealing its normal damage. This attempt does not provoke attacks of opportunity and is resolved using your size, Strength, and other relevant characteristics. If you wield a brutal surge weapon in two hands, you gain a +2 bonus on the opposed Strength check. You and the defender make opposed Strength checks.

o   You each add a +4 bonus for each size category you are larger than Medium or a –4 penalty for each size category you are smaller than Medium. You get a +2 bonus if you are charging. The defender gets a +4 bonus if he has more than two legs or is otherwise exceptionally stable.

o   If successful, the bull rush pushes the affected creature back the greatest possible distance allowed by the result of the opposed check, but you do not move along with the target. Movement caused by this bull rush attempt provokes attacks of opportunity from other creatures normally, but you cannot make an attack of opportunity against the affected creature.

o   If you beat the defender’s Strength check result, you push him back a minimum of 5 feet, and back an additional 5 feet for each 5 points by which your check result is greater than the defender’s check result.

Primary Class (7 levels)

http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ex/20060501a&page=2

PrC (Take at 8^th)

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/dwarvenDefender.htm

Armor:

http://aaronwiki.us/index.php?title=Mechanus_gear

Mechanus gear [Heavy]

Maximum Dex Bonus:   +0

Armor Check Penalty:    –10

Arcane Spell Failure Chance:       50%

Hardness:            10

Size Medium, Cost 1750gp, Armor Bonus +10, Weight 75lbs, Hit Points 25, Speed -5ft

https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?cid=85BA446BEB872C92&resid=85BA446BEB872C92%212696&app=WordPdf

Armor Enchant - RETALIATION

Price: +2 bonus (4,000gp)

Property: Armor

Caster Level: 9th

Aura: Moderate; (DC 19) necromancy

Activation: —

The surface of this armor roils with pent-up energy.

A suit of armor that has this property strikes back at foes who hit hard in melee. While wearing retaliation armor, each time you take 10 or more points of damage from a single melee attack, the armor deals 1d6 points of damage to the attacker. If a single melee attack drops your hit points below 0, the armor strikes the attacker for 3d6 points of damage.

Damage from retaliation armor is treated as magic for the purpose of over-coming damage reduction. Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, symbol of pain.

Cost to Create: Varies.

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Magic_Armor

Weapon and Shield:

NOTE: Although the Dwarven Warpike is an exotic weapon, dwarves have a racial ability called weapon familiarity. The Player’s handbook has this applying to the Dwarven Waraxes and the Dwarven Urgrosh. However Wizards of the Coast online errata has stated that it doesn’t have to be these specific weapons, Dwarves may choose two (2) specific Dwarven Weapons.

Warpike, Dwarven 45 gp 1d8 2d6 x3 -  15 lb. Piercing or Slashing Dragon #331 Two-handed weapon. This weapon has reach; you can use it to strike foes 10 feet away, but not adjacent foes. This weapon deals double damage when readied against a charge. You can use this weapon to make trip attacks. If you are tripped during the attempt, you may drop the weapon to avoid being tripped in return.

http://rodriguezvaughn.com/geekspeak/index.php?topic=133.0

Masterworked weapon (+300) - http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Masterwork_Weapons

Weapon Enchantment - Shock

Upon command, a shock weapon is sheathed in crackling electricity. The electricity does not harm the wielder. The effect remains until another command is given. A shock weapon deals an extra 1d6 points of electricity damage on a successful hit. Bows, crossbows, and slings so crafted bestow the electricity energy upon their ammunition.

Moderate evocation; CL 8th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, call lightning or lightning bolt; Price +1 bonus.

Weapon Enchant - MORPHING
This weapon’s shape constantly fl ows and reforms in slightly different compositions.
You can reshape a morphing weapon into any other melee or thrown weapon of the same size and type (light, one-handed, or two-handed). For instance, a morph-ing greatsword could become a spear, greataxe, or dire fl ail. If a single weapon created with the mor-phing property becomes a double weapon, only one end of the double weapon retains the weapon’s magical bonus, although the other end is masterwork. If a double weapon created with the morphing property becomes a single weapon, it can have the properties of either end of the original double weapon. The proper-
ties of the other end are dormant but not lost; they become active again when the morphing weapon once again becomes a double weapon.

Aura: Moderate; (DC 19) transmutation Activation: Standard; Caster Level: 9th; Property: Melee or thrown weapon; Price: +1 bonus; Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, fabricate.
Cost to Create: Varies.

Spined Shield

This +1 heavy steel shield is covered in spines. It acts as a normal spiked shield. On command up to three times per day, the shield’s wearer can fire one of the shield’s spines. A fired spine has a +1 enhancement bonus, a range increment of 120 feet, and deals 1d10 points of damage (19-20/×2). Fired spines regenerate each day.

Moderate evocation; CL 6th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, magic missile; Price 5,580 gp; Cost 2,740 gp + 223 XP.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/magicArmor.htm#lionsShield

Shield enchantment - Bashing: A shield with this special ability is designed to perform a shield bash. A bashing shield deals damage as if it were a weapon of two size categories larger (a Medium light shield thus deals 1d6 points of damage and a Medium heavy shield deals 1d8 points of damage). The shield acts as a +1 weapon when used to bash. (Only light and heavy shields can have this ability.)

Moderate transmutation; CL 8th; Craft Magic Arms and Armor, bull’s strength; Price +1 bonus.

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Bashing

Masterworked Shield Spikes - http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Heavy_Shield

Shield Spike Enchant - BRUTAL SURGE

Price: +1 bonus (2,000)

Property: Melee weapon

Caster Level: 11th

Aura: Moderate; (DC 20) evocation Activation: Swift (command)

This weapon is broader, thicker, and darker in color than a normal weapon of its type.

After a successful melee attack with a brutal surge weapon, you can command the weapon to initiate a bull rush attempt against the target of the attack in addition to dealing its normal damage. This attempt does not provoke attacks of opportunity and is resolved using your size, Strength, and other relevant characteristics. If you wield a brutal surge weapon in two hands, you gain a +2 bonus on the opposed Strength check.

If successful, the bull rush pushes the affected creature back the greatest possible distance allowed by the result of the opposed check, but you do not move along with the target. Movement caused by this bull rush attempt provokes attacks of opportunity from other creatures normally, but you cannot make an attack of opportunity against the affected creature.

The brutal surge property is usable a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Con bonus (if any). Once you activate this property, it can’t be activated by any other creature until the following day. Prerequisites: Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Bigby’s forceful hand. Cost to Create: Varies.

https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?cid=85BA446BEB872C92&resid=85BA446BEB872C92%212696&app=WordPdf

Feats:

Monkey Grip [fixed](Requires flaw #1)- http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=11896  

Improved Shield Bash (Level 6 Feat)- http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Improved_Shield_Bash

Combat reflexes (requires flaw #2)- http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Combat_Reflexes

Dodge (Level 3 Feat, needed for Dwarven Defender PrC)

Endurance (Knight lvl5 Bonus Feat, needed for Dwarven Defender PrC) - http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Endurance

Toughness (Level 1 Feat, needed for Dwarven Defender PrC) - http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Toughness

Total cost of equipment – 17,985 GP

Act1: Conclusion

     The Mage muttered quietly "forgive me... if I'm wrong...". Born on by the fury of the arcane magic around her she stretched her arm out just a little further and let the skull roll out of her hand and into the basin. The skull fell, almost in slow motion, as the group lept forward, weapons first, to attack the Mage.

     As they battled, sword against magic, the room shook, dust falling from the ceiling. Dark magics could be seen and felt pulsating from the basin at the top of the pedestal, distant tormented screams could be heard, carried upon the wind. A far off, persistent roar could be heard, slowly gaining in volume as the battle raged on.

     The group fought hard, buffeted by fire and spell, they nearly brought her down only for her to teleport away and revert herself to an unharmed state. Roaring with brutal savagery Roth charged the Mage, kicking away any debris that lay between the mage and himself. he brought his axe down twice hacking away at her like a slab of meat on the butchers block, there was a flurry of activity from the group following the charge, all of which was silenced by a single arrow loosed from Ranvier's bow.

     The Arrow pierced her heart, and a shriek echoed across the room. With the fatal blow stuck the Mage crumpled to the ground, her carefully maintained illusions falling to pieces and fading away, just as her life force faded. She fell, all lies, half truths, and magic striped away. The group stared in disbelief at the crumpled figure, slowly turning to look at the group mage, Leyla, who stood near the back.

     Slowly, with trepidation, Leyla stepped forward towards the body only to find herself staring at a near identical copy of herself, maybe a few years older than she is now. Slowly she knelt, reaching out hesitantly, she touched the body ever so gently. She pulled her hand back, noticing that the spot on her fingers where she had made contact with the body was slightly glowing, as if she had rubbed them into some slightly photofluorescent substance.

     As she knelt there she felt something rolling down her cheek and when she reached up, her hand came away wet with tears. A barely audible sob escaped her lips as she reached out and pulled the body of the mage towards herself, cradling the dead mage's head in her lap.

     With this contact there was a bright flash, the ground trembled slightly. There was a faint tearing sound to be heard as the edges of the Mages frame and Leyla's began to get slightly fuzzy, and there was a bright light spilling out from every spot the two bodies touched.

     Leyla gasped, "I see now, I understand... so much... so many terrible things... but i did what I had to do... yet still I fail" she sobbed out. "Look, look and see what I see" she said in a shout as she touched her eyes.

______________________________________

     The group was small, really just a handful of people. There was Mik, a rather aloof Bard, someone who seems to more have fallen into the position through lack of direction; Altus, a Ranger of no small skill, and his sister Mori, a Hunter with a tender personality - both hailing from one of the Elven communities near Kanaan; And finally Bartholomew, an aged Knight, and the solemn leader of the group.

     The group originally met up in Kanaan, where Altus and Mori had a small reputation for being local hunters of man and meat. Mik had been following an old Knight, hoping that one day it would lead him to an easy payday at the table of a lord. Until then, however, he followed the knight. Occasionally helping him, more often disappearing to get drunk on what meager earnings he got from his performances.

     As unlikely a grouping as it was they joined together to travel. The Knight had been in need of people whom he could hire to help him live off the land, and the Elven duo had run short of customers and money in the recent years. They had many adventures together, and had accumulated a wealth of money and gear, before winding up in the city of Sworn. They had heard stories on the road that a new Temple had risen up near sworn and it was effectively fighting against the established national Church That meant one thing, where there was dissent, there was money.

     They had taken a job with the Church to join in on an assault against this new Temple, once the fighting was done, anything that you could carry out you got to keep, it was a pretty sweet deal. The onslaught had been difficult and they had found that deep within the temple there was a complex larger than any of them had expected. It was filled with horrors incomprehensible to the common man, and yet the group pressed on. Even as their fellow mercenaries fell one by one, the group had pressed on. The job had become something new, it was no longer about money and wealth, but now it was for salvation. The evils hidden deep within the temple had changed them all.

     As they pushed deeper and deeper into the complex, things got harder and harder, the party grew ragged. Eventually they came across something unspeakable. They tried to fight it off, but failed. it pursued them doggedly through the complex, there had been no way to escape, they knew that this being would find them, kill them, and then escape. Once it had escaped it would have destroyed everything, it was the Unmaker of Worlds.

     Eventually the being caught up with them, with no more energy to run the group turned to face the Unmaker. Altus and Mori split up to attack the being from the sides, knowing full well their efforts were useless. Bartholomew charged the giant embodiment of pure evil, only to be picked up and ripped in half before being tossed to the side, like a piece of offal.

     Mori and Altus joined together on the far side of the being while Mik frantically searched through his gear while half-assing a song he had learned in his distant past. The creature lunged for Mori, but Altus threw himself in the way to protect his sister. Like a ragdoll the being grabbed ahold of Altus and slammed him repeatedly into the ground until he was naught more than Elven jelly.

     Mori hadn't run at the sight of her brother being killed before her eyes, she had just stood there screaming. She kept screaming and the being picked her up and shoved her whole into it's mouth. the muffled screams were replaced by the popping of bones and the beast chewed slowly.

     Mik, frantically trying to do something, pulled out a trinket the group had previously found, a mechanical finger. The detect magic spells Mik had cast on it previously had given off signs of intense power, but they had never been able to figure out how to use it. Now he brandished it like a sword and yelled, drawing the attention of the creature. The being turned towards him and let out a mind numbingly loud roar. Mik fell back, holding the finger out in front of him, and watched as the creature leapt straight for him. Just as the being was about to land on him, snuffing his life out eternally, Mik closed his eyes and started crying. Death never came. What did come was silence, followed shortly by a dull distant roar that got louder and louder until eventually it resolved itself into the sound of a large population of people walking by and talking. Mik opened his eyes and looked around. He was laying down on the side of the street, clutching the finger and whimpering, near him there were a few copper coins that someone had obviously thrown down for him, assuming he was a beggar.

     Not understanding what happened Mik wandered the city aimlessly, trying to find out information. Had the beast escaped and destroyed the world? obviously not. Was he now responsible for organizing a fighting force to combat against the forces of evil? what was he supposed to do?

______________________________________

     Time had gone by, a lot of time. Mik had found out that he was back in Alaspar. Not only had the finger teleported him back to Alaspar, but it had transported him through time. he was now living in a period of time where he would have originally been just 4 years old.

     Mik spent most of his time drinking and performing, performing and drinking. He had been tossed out of nearly every establishment for making up stories and terrorizing people. He had been questioned on multiple occasions by the Church because of the stories about this new Temple.

     Years went by and Mik had never been able to get anyone to listen to what he had to say, with anything approaching gravity. He was miserable, alone, broke, and drunk. But not so drunk that he didn't notice an old Knight amble into the one tavern Mik hadn't been kicked out of, one late lonely night.

     Mik made his way over to the Knight, ready to greet his old friend Bartholomew and tell him what happened, but he stopped short, realizing that nobody ever believed him. Why would this other Bart be any different? After careful deliberation Mik bought dinner and beer with the last of his money and went to sit next to his old Friend.

     Politely sitting down, Mik gave Bart the food and beer knowing the old Knight was probably just inside the tavern to keep out of the cold, because he never had money to spend on the food or bed and usually only ate the cheap supply store rations. Mik told the Knight that he looked well traveled and that he wanted to hear some old stories (Story-telling was one of Bart's favorite past-times) in exchange for the meal. Bart happily obliged. They spent most of the evening talking in that tavern. As twilight approached Mik finally broached the subject.

     Mik gave Bart the Mechanical finger, told him it was useful, though he couldn't tell him how it worked. Mik told Bart that a day would come when all hope may be lost, when that day came, this item would save the world. Bart gave Mik a slightly crazy look at first but his gazed softened as he saw the sincerity on Mik's face. Bart thanked him and put the item away in his pack, vowing to hold onto it until that day came.

     With the deed done, and the torch passed on Mik got up intending to leave, hit the road and never come back, but his steps faltered and he turned back to Bart.

     "Sir Knight, on the morrow's dawn I know you plan on leaving the city... when you get outside the city gates you will come upon a young lad, recently run away from home. Do me a favor, as I have done for you... take him with you, teach him, encourage him to be... more. I know he will never leave your side." said Mik. "Eventually your path will lead you to Kanaan, there you will find two Elves, brother and sister, they will join you also. But please don't be content with just them. You must listen to me when I say what lies in your future the four of you cannot defeat alone."

     Silently the Knight mulled over the words. "Mik, if the event's you describe play out the way you tell them, I promise you I will heed your words."

     With that Mik nodded his head and walked out of the tavern.

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     To Bart's surprise things played out more or less exactly as Mik had explained it. Bart did find the run-away boy, he brought him on as a Squire, training him in the ways of combat. Later in Kanaan the two of them crossed paths with Altus and Mori, heeding Mik's last request he brought the two of them into the group, paying them for their trapping and hunting abilities. While preparing to leave the group came across two young Roguelings, named Zahara and Aura, who were out to find adventure and brought them into the team as well.

     Time went by, the group had many adventures, and eventually made their way to Sworn hearing about a Temple that had be built, a religion or cult had been established, and the Church was actively looking to rid the lands of their evil presence. Where there was a conflict, there was money.

     They had taken a job with the Church to join in on an assault against this new Temple, once the fighting was done, anything that you could carry out you got to keep, it was a pretty sweet deal. The night before the offensive Bart took Mori aside and told her about his fateful meeting with Mik, and his suspicions about Mik's knowledge of events to come, and his warning. He told Mori that he felt that somehow their Mik, but from a different time, had used the device he had given Bart to travel back in time after they had failed before. He gave Mori the relic and told her, "Should we fail, I need you to come back and try again, Mik tried but he didn't have the discipline to act sooner. If we fail, you need to do better. I just... I don't have the strength to do so myself." with that She took the relic, even though neither knew how to operate it, and vowed to do what was needed if the time came.

     The onslaught had been difficult and they had found that deep within the temple there was a complex larger than any of them had expected. It was filled with horrors incomprehensible to the common man, but the group pressed on. Even as their fellow mercenaries fell one by one, the group had pressed on. The job had become something new, it was no longer about money and wealth, but now it was for salvation. The evils hidden deep within the temple had changed them all.

     As they pushed deeper and deeper into the complex, things got harder and harder, the party grew ragged. Eventually they came across something unspeakable. They tried to fight it off, but failed. it pursued them doggedly through the complex, there had been no way to escape, they knew that this being would find them, kill them, and then escape. Once it had escaped it would have destroyed everything, it was the Unmaker of Worlds.

     Eventually the beast caught up with them, with no more energy to run the group turned to face the Unmaker. One by one they fell, Bart backhanded into a wall cracking his skull. Zahara was snatched up and smashed into the ceiling. Arua took a face full of hell fire, her screams fading into a sizzle as her body was charred whole. Finally Altus circled around, trying to draw the attention away from Mori. He peppered the creature with arrows, hoping to give her a moment to get away

     "Mori, RUN!" altus shouted, just before the creature picked him up by one leg and gripping the other ripping him in half vertically.

     Mori stood there with tears streaming down her face at the death of her brother and drew the relic holding it aloft. She screamed at the beast, damning it to hell. Mori kept her eyes open, staring the beast in the face as it came for her. They both gave a mighty roar as the they came together, there was a intensely bright flash of light, after which Mori never saw again. The intense light of the Temporal Prime, the plane of existence in which Time exists is blinding to untrained mortal eyes.

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     Mori spent a good deal of time adapting to her new disability and preparing for the inevitable future. She told everyone the truth, starting with her younger self, and brother. She recruited a young mage named Leyla, two rogues named Zahara and Aura, though they ended up leaving the group and reunited with their parents in Hawksburg. She eventually picked up an old Knight name Bartholomew and a young Bard named Mik. She recruited every person who would listen, any warrior, and man or woman, even boys who were not quite adults. She told them all from the beginning about the great evil, and about the relic, which she kept upon herself, intent on using it again if need be. Soon they had a small army of people, and made their way straight to Sworn, where she knew the threat would be.

     They didn't wait for the church, they didn't wait for the contract, they drove forward like a spear straight towards the heart of the complex. At great cost they finally came upon the being, most of her party had died on the way, for these people had neither training nor experience. In her Rush, and due to her nature, she wasn't able to give them the time to suffer, grow and learn, and in doing so she had condemned all of her followers to death. One after another they fell, killed, maimed, slaughtered. They were no challenge for this god like being.

     There were only a few of them left, Mori and Leyla were hanging near the back. Mori turned to Leyla, "It is time, I have failed." she said as she drew forth the relic. Leyla nodded and watched as Mori stepped forward holding aloft the relic. Mori screamed in rage at the beast, behind her a slight chanting could be heard, suddenly Mori's scream of rage turned into a blood curdling scream of pain and anguish.

     Mori fell to the ground, back scorched from the fire magics wielded by Leyla. She lay on the ground still holding the relic, twitching. Leyla stepped forward, and knelt next to Mori.

     "You were too soft, too weak, too inexperienced. You didn't have the guts to do what needed to be done to ensure that we were victorious. You failed, why would you think that you get another chance at this?"" Leyla said as she gently took the relic from her. Mori watched, trembling, unable to move, except for her eye darting about, as Leyla stood and walked forward, activating the relic and disappearing from sight.

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     Leyla, being magically inclined, was able to understand the relic, and she used it to dart about the timeline, changing what she believed needed to be changed in order to succeed. He methods were deliberate and impartial, at times her heart suffered greatly from the things she forced herself to do, but what are the lives of a few worth when compared to those of the entire world?

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     Leyla stayed a distance outside of the village waiting for Altus and Mori to leave with their Grandfather. She watched them depart, so carefree and innocent, there was a twinge of regret about what she was going to do. But she needed to get these two to start training faster and sooner, there was a lot of work to do.

     The mage walked into the village, hardly anybody paid attention to the cloaked figure until she set to work. she quickly walked up to Altu's and Mori's home and with a short word and gesture - magical fire sprung forth from her hands, immediately consuming the Elves home. The screams of The Elven Duo's parents filled the air, but were soon silenced by the intensity of the flames.

     Upon making the change she watched, with her mind's eye, as the timeline altered slightly, and she saw that it would not be enough. Reaching out through the Temporal Prime she plucked up a new critical moment in their timeline, hoping it would be enough, she pulled, and disappeared from the Elven village.

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     Leyla walked into the guild commons, her magical illusion disguising her as a well off Elven lady. She glanced around until she caught the eye of the Guild leader. Sauntering over she dropped a small bag of coins on the table. An action that was met by a raised eyebrow from the guild leader.

     "Five years ago a Black Robed Mage attacked my village and killed some of the townsfolk there, she was just sighted leaving Alaspar and heading back to that village." She said "I believe you employ two young hunters who are from that village as well, I believe that they would willingly take this contract. The money in the pouch is yours if you give them the contract".

     The guild leader casually looked into the open bag of coins, noticed the dark silvery color of the platinum coins and nodded. "Who should I tell them calls?" he asked as she turned to leave.

     She looked at him over her shoulder, "An anonymous benefactor will be sufficient." she stated flatly before leaving the guild house, there was no need to spend more time there than necessary.

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     The Mage arrived at the village to find it in ruin, as she had foreseen. Only a few hours prior a wandering horde of the undead had made it's way through the village, nearly every member of the village had perished in the chaos. Leyla set about setting the scene, she needed Altus' judgement clouded and his rage ignited like the flames of her spells in order for this to work. Soon she had the entire village in flames and all of the bodies strewn about crackling with fire their flesh popping and crisping in the heat. At the sound of the approaching hoofbeats she turned towards the forest and walked away, knowing that the hunters would see her and give pursuit.

     Leyla had just enough time to prepare for the meeting. A Suspended Silence spell was needed to silence Mori's call to attack and a Crystal of Arrow Deflection activated and flying around to deflect Mori's arrow. She had just finished casting her prepared Baleful Transportation Spell when she heard the little blue sapphire dart out and knock Mori's arrow just enough out of the way so that it embedded itself into the tree behind her rather then her chest. The timing was critical, in order for this change to have the effect needed it had to be done in just the right way, because from this point there were so many possible futures. She made eye contact with Mori, finishing the spell, black smoke seemed to pour from all around the mage as the Astral plane opened to engulf her. From the corner of her eye she could see Altus' look over toward Mori, startled by the lack of signal, she watched as his fingers loosened on the arrow notched on his drawstring and the arrow jumped forward, racking itself across the bow and Altus' hand as it sped forth to meet the bright flash of purple light that engulfed the mage.

     "Altus, Stop!" Shouted the voice, but it was too late. The spell had completed, Leyla was now standing several meters off to the side. She turned to see Mori fall to her knees, just as Altus came bounding over the last few feet between them. He caught her before she fell to the ground.

     Leyla engaged the relic, and once again turned her Mind's eye to the Temporal Prime. She could see the new timeline falling into place, and while she could not see the ultimate outcome, as her vision was cut off at the Temple, she could see that the death of his sister had made Altus stronger. She had taken from him the softness of her love, but given to him the hard determination of his rage. While it is unfortunate that they won't have Mori, the overall gain is greater this way, Leyla can alway replace Mori with someone stronger. This may well just work.

     The Mage once again reached into the Temporal Prime, this time finding Mik's timeline. She took hold of the line... and pulled, leaving the two elves huddled together on the forest floor.

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     Leyla walked through the city of Alaspar, making her way towards the cordoned off Human Complex that was built into a corner of the city's residential districts. She didn't bother with a disguise, as she was a full blooded human she would not have an issue with gaining admittance into the complex.

     As she approached the house she took note of Mik's absence, the boy should be what? 7 now? about the time he started slacking off and pursuing that long road toward being the Vagabond Bard he was. Leyla strode up to Mik's house, she could see his Mother and Father standing out front they were having a discussion, talking adamantly outside of the house.

     Looking into the Temporal Prime, Leyla saw what she intended to do, she saw briefly the man it would turn Mik into. "Perfect" she said to herself, under her breath, as she reached forward flames licking at her fingers.

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     The city was screaming, people running, people pointing, non of it mattered as Leyla peered inward, viewing the timeline. She watched as Mik grew older, joined the Church, she saw him training, becoming strong, she saw him leave the church because of his differences. She saw him take up the herald of Knighthood, there was one problem, the changes she had made ensured that he would never meet up with Altus and the rest of the party members. She would have to figure out how to fix this, but first, she had some other issues to attend to.

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     Leya found the poverty stricken village easily enough, though it was hard to remember that far back. It look familiar to her as she walked through the small roads, familiar yet unfamiliar, until she came to the hut she was looking for. She ducked inside the doorway and was met with a heart wrenching sight. in the corner of the hut was a hobbled together crib, with a howling infant in it, the poor thing was half starved. In a bed on the other side lay a passed out woman and man. The mother, a whore, and the man, a customer were naked and strung out on some of the more serious drugs available in the region.

     The sight made Leyla choke, half a scream upon her throat, but she didn't. She walked over to the infant, cast a sleep spell on the child and wrapped it in the cleanest blanket she could find. Upon walking out of the hut the Mage turned, tears streaming down her face. She cast a spell and the hut went up in flames, the occupants inside were so drugged up they never even noticed.

     Soon the fire was out of control, people were running from their ramshackle huts,trying to escape the flames. Leyla pushed forward clutching the sleeping baby to her chest, the town had become a nightmare of fire and flame. Her robes got scorched, her belt got ripped, and her magical bag of holding, lost somewhere in the ashes of the village.

     Eventually she made her way out, collapsing in a cave not too far away from the village.

     "I think, young one... I think we shall stay here for awhile" she said softly to the baby girl, who was just starting to stir....

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     As the child grew Leyla taught her the arts of her craft, all while telling her a fabricated story about how she found her after her village had been destroyed. The child called her Estarra and grew to love her like a mother, She called the child Leyla.

     Leyla had heard many times how she had been rescued from the burning village that was her place of birth. Estarra had taken her into her care, introducing her to the life of the wandering sorceress and teaching her how to control her magic so that the world could never discover what she truly was. Leyla was frustrated, though. She had heard the tale of her rescue since as far back as she can remember, but there were always holes in the tale. What was Estarra doing there to begin with? How was it that no one else survived the fire? What started the fire in the first place? Whenever she would ask her guardian these questions, Estarra would always find a way to either change the subject or dismiss the questions.

     As Leyla grew, so too did her power. She could control it completely now and had several simple spells in her repertoire. Living in a system of caves just outside the city of Alspar, she frequently encountered undead that had risen from the corpse of fallen travelers. She honed her ability to inflict damage to these creatures from a distance, rending their flesh and destroying the magical energies that kept them bound together and animated. She also learned to copy one of her mentor’s favorite spells, mastering her ability to call forth a cone of fire from the palms of her hands.

     Finally, when Leyla reached adulthood, her mentor started to let her explore and travel on her own, often sending her to the city for certain needed supplies. She was admonished to always keep her magic hidden and never let others know what she was capable of. She was told that revealing such a secret would result in her death. As she was traveling back from a supply run to Alspar, she came across the beginning of a small back that had started to be reclaimed by the wilderness around her. Her curiosity fought with her caution, and eventually won out.

     The journey down the path was slow and tedious. Frequently, she had to stop to clear the path before she could proceed. It was clear this path had not been used in years, perhaps decades. Finally, as she rounded one last bend, she came upon what appeared to be a wilderness ruin. The forest had started to reclaim this clearing, but the debris and remains from what looked like several dozen small huts could clearly be seen among the trees.

     Leyla’s exploration of the village revealed a small satchel that looked as though it had just been placed there yesterday. She could sense right away that there was magic to this bag and picked it up to examine it closer. As she turned it over in her hands, she saw something she recognized. The rune on the bag – a hand surrounded by fire with an eye in the palm – was the same rune that was used to mark the possessions of Estarra, her mentor. Understanding hit her, then. This was the village she was born in!

     She kept on exploring the village, using her magic as she’d been taught to try and gain a sense of what life was like in the village. As soon as she let her magic free, she felt the overwhelming power of another mage. She could feel, even after all these years, the clear traces of magical fire. This fire wasn’t caused by a storm as she’d always been taught. Magic had set this village ablaze! Why didn’t Estarra tell her this? How could she keep such a thing secret from her?

     Questions raced fiercely through Leyla’s mind. Her mentor had lied to her all these years. Magical fire had destroyed her childhood home. As she dwelt longer on the possibilities, a theory formed in her mind, one that filled her with rage. Estarra’s preferred magic was fire. She frequently used spells that called upon the destructive forces of fire for both defense and mundane tasks. Her mentor had clearly been here when the village was destroyed, had she done it on purpose?

     She could no longer think straight as the rage filled her mind and body. She found herself departing the burned village and racing straight to the caves where her mentor would be waiting for her. She didn’t know how, but she knew Estarra was responsible for this disaster. She would kill her and have her revenge.

     Estarra smiled as she saw Leyla making her way up the path to the cave. The smile, though, faded quickly as she saw a beam of energy fly from Leyla’s finger’s in her direction. She dodged easily enough, but stood confused. “Leyla, what are you doing?” The young sorceress didn’t respond, but instead started summoning yet another spell. Her fingers glowed with the familiar light of fire forming at the tips.

     “You did it! You killed my family!” Fire shot from her fingers as she continued her advance on Estarra. The older mage once again ducked out of the way, but felt the fire catch her on the side of the face, scalding her.

     “Leyla, stop this! You will regret this if you continue.” She slowly started working a spell of her own as she stepped backwards away from the advancing Leyla. Another blast of energy from Leyla’s fingers flew past her head, just missing her. “I will hurt you, Leyla.” Her spell had nearly completed.

     Leyla could hear Estarra’s cries of protest, but the words didn’t register in her mind. She was filled with rage and the only clear path ahead was the death of her mentor. She screamed as she prepared to once again summon a cone of fire. She knew she had her mentor trapped and she smiled as the spell neared completion.

     A ball of fire ignited from Estarra’s hands and she sent it flying towards Leyla. The spell landed squarely in the younger woman’s chest, igniting with explosive force that sent her flying backwards. Estarra’s eyes were wet with tears as she approached the burning body of the woman she had raised as her own. Then her expression hardened. She knew the young child would eventually lead to trouble. She headed deeper into the system of caves, leaving the smoking body there at the cave’s opening.

     Leyla, Estarra now, consulted the relic, on the timeline of her younger self. The magic the elder mage had used did not kill the younger mage, if she left now, the younger Leyla would recover on her own, and travel to Alaspar. There her timeline split in many different ways, it was now up to Estarra to  bring them all together.

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     Estarra consulted the timelines, she watched them intently from the temporal prime. How long had she been here? Minutes, Hours, Years? The power of the relic prevented her from aging a single day beyond the day she took it.

     She scanned the timelines, with all of the changes they were chaotic, like tossing a medicine ball into a field of marbles, it was hard to predict where everything would end up. Though... there did appear to be one point in common. A man... named Tyson, Tyson Harcord. Only one thing was needed for that piece to fall into place.

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     Estarra was waiting for them in the sewer, casually leaning up against the wall as Garron, Arredondo, Desina, and Gwyneth came around the corner, approaching the tunnel that led to a Gelatinous Cube and an old crypt further in that was inhabited by some Troglodytes.

     The Mage stepped forward, blocking the path "You don't want to go down there" she said flatly.

     "Get out of the way whore!" cursed Garron as he stepped forward, hand's on the daggers in his sheaths.

     "Wait, Garron! Why? Why don't we want to go down there?" asked Desina.

     "Because I'm going to pay you not too, in fact i'm going to pay you to stop working for Tyson, and work for me instead." said the Mage.

     "Yer full of shit... How much are you going to 'pay' us" asked Garron, throwing up some quotation marks.

     Estarra took several bags out of her pouch, tossing one to each of them. Garron opened his bag which appeared to contain about 500 platinum pieces. "Ma'am, for this amount I'd help you hunt down and skin my own mother!"

     "Good to know, that's not out of the realm of possibility." said the mage with a smirk.

     From the entrance of the tunnel there was the heavy sound of a bag of coins crashing to the ground. Standing there with her back to the tunnel was one very miffed looking Paladin. "Have you all forgotten that we have a contract with Tyson? have you forgotten your honor? and YOU Garron, You're a felon on Work Release, You can't quit, otherwise they're going to ship you off to the mines for the rest of your life!" exclaimed Gwyneth as she threw down her backpack.

     "Oh fuck that, lady, did you even see how much she's giving us? besides, who's going to know we didn't die in this fucking sewer!?" shouted Garron.

     "I don't care how much it is Garron, and they'll know because I'll tell them!" Gwyneth shouted back.

     Garrion squinted at her, squinted through her, something in the tunnel behind her catching his eye. turning to the Mage he asked "If I kill her can I have her share?"

     "Sure" stated Estarra.

     With that Garron lifted his heavily booted foot and heel kicked the Paladin into the tunnel. The kick was strong enough that it sent her flying backward right into the gentle grasp of the Gelatinous Cube, which happily engulfed the poor Paladin whole.

     Garron stooped down and picked up the Paladins bag of Platinum coins with a smile. "I have a request, since I'm not working for that rat bastard Tyson anymore, can I kill him?"

     "I'm sure we can work something out" stated the Mage as she cast a spell opening a portal, she gestured for the others to step through.

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     Estarra had been working with these people for a bit, taking them here and there to do things she felt needed to be done. Eventually Garron wanted her to make good on his request. Garron had it out for Tyson, he hated the Dwarf. He hated how the dwarf lorded about, he hated how he took nearly half of their income and didn't do anything to earn it. Garron wanted Tyson dead, and he had so for some time now, it was time for the Dwarf to feel Garron's reckoning.

     Consulting the Relic Estarra saw the events as they unfolded, knowing what would happen she agreed to let him take his revenge.

     After the fight took place Desina and Arredondo were not very please. They didn't like Garron but he was a member of their party, and what the mage had done was... disturbing.

     Leyla knew that Garron would fail, but she had hoped to at least be able to resurrect the fallen Garron as enthralled undead being, thus being able to continue to utilize his skills without having to deal with his chaotic anger all of the time. She had misjudge how crazy that rogue was, because even as an enthralled undead he resisted her will and attacked the party once more. after he went down again the group tried to regroup and pull back, before ultimately fleeing. The hit to moral was significant, perhaps Estarra had been mistaken to acquiesce to the foolhardy rogue's demands.

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     The Mage stepped out of the Temporal Prime and into the streets of Hawksburg. She looked around, the night was young and it didn't take long for her to find the house. Estarra waited outside, sitting with her back against a nearby house, posing as a beggar. Eventually the sounds from inside the house died down, the door opened and out stepped three figures, two girls and a man.

     "Thank you for having us Dad, we had fun tonight" said one of the girls.

     "Anytime honey, anytime" said the man.

     "We'll see you tomorrow Zef... er... Dad" said the other girl. They all hugged and then the two girls turned and walked down the alley, passing within feet of Leyla. The man stood outside and watched until the girls were out of sight. He turned as if to go back into his house, but stopped, and glanced over his shoulder back down the alley. Had there been someone sitter against that wall? He asked himself. Whatever it was, it wasn't there anymore. Shaking off the cold, Zef went back into the house, only to see a cloaked mage sitting at his table.

     "What the hell!?" Exclaimed Zef.

     Outside the house several neighbors awoke to the sounds of yelling and screaming, and by the time anyone got a chance to look Zef's house was a raging inferno...

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     With the Rouglings taken care of, their new timelines showing them leaving Hawksburg and going back to join their team in Alaspar. The mage had one more thing to do.

     She needed to retrieve the Darkening Skull before the Cult of Tharizdun got to it. They were surely operating inside the City of Alaspar now, as they were attempting to charge the Skull by placing it in the warehouse district community homes.

     She pulled out the relic, and reached into it, looking for the place she needed so she could retrieve the skull. She saw the point, reached in, grabbed it and pulled.

     Suddenly she was standing in a room, not the room she had wanted to go. Confusion took hold as she studied her surroundings... cotton wheels, weaving looms, all running unattended... no... not unattended, there were women at the looms, but they were hazy, she couldn't focus on them. Suddenly there was a point of focus, standing next to one of the looms was a small old lady.

     "That's enough mucking about young lady! do you know the trouble you've been causing?" Said the old lady.

     "I know what i've been doing, I'm trying to save the world, not that it's any of your business. How did you interfere, where am I!" stated Estarra sharply.

     "You are where I want you to be." stated the old lady simply.

     "You know not with what you meddle old hag" stated Estarra with a hiss "I'm leaving now" she said as she held out the Relic.

     "Ah, that's how you are doing what you are doing, it's unfortunate, because although I'm aware of your goals, you are going about it the wrong way, you cannot cheat your way through life young lady. Now in order for you to use the power of that Relic your timeline has to be connected here" said the old lady as she pointed to the loom "on the tapestry. I see that you are connected via your alternative self miss Estarra. unfortunately for you..." she reached out and with a snip of her nails cut a thread feeding the Loom that was building the Tapestry. "I've just terminated her fate."

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     Estarra woke up in her bed at one of the Inns they had been staying at, she felt odd, disconnected, like she was a square block being jammed into a star shaped hole. Shaking her head she pulled out the Relic, concentrating on it to glimpse at the timelines. Nothing happened. She shook her head and tried again... nothing. She cast a detect magic spell on the Relic, and it was just as powerful as ever, but for some reason she couldn't get it to work for her anymore.

     With a curse on her lips she put away the relic, I guess it's time to do things the old fashioned way she thought as she sought out Desina and Arredondo.

     She later found Arredondo alone in a tavern, spending his money on drink and game. The Tinker Gnome told her that Desina had left last night, something about not trusting the mage, and not willing to work for her anymore. Arredondo had stayed, but only because he didn't have anything better to do.

     She sent Arredondo out to retrieve the Darkskull for her, but endeavored to get rid of the Tinker Gnome because at this point he would be more of a liability.

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     It had taken her some time, but eventually, through the use of a lot of money to hire airships, wagons, horse etc, she had managed to get to the Temple. Upon arriving she found a large number of goblins and Hobgoblin corpses strewn about the front of the temple.

     Upon entering she found a man, performing some sort of ritual on another man who was laying down on an alter. She recognized the ritual as a sacrifice type, but it appeared that the man performing the ritual was having difficulty due to some magical augmentations the man on the table had.

     Edging closer she must have made a noise, because the man turned towards her, and attempted to cast a spell at her. Though she was prepared, she quickly released one of the Dispelling Knots on her Greater Rope of Dispelling, thwarting the other casters spell, while reaching forward channeling a Lightning bolt directly into the chest of the attacker.

     The spell was more then the attacker could withstand and he collapsed onto the altar dead. the mage went to the alter to check the attacker, but found nothing of interest on him, the other man was a curiosity though. She cast the Rope Trick Spell and shoved the body of the augmented man into the portal it created next to the alter, his modifications may come in handy later.

     The Mage, Estarra, Leyla, Time traveler, and meddler of fates, walked up the steps to the back of the temple. there waiting for her was an ancient altar, that if the proper ritual was performed, would summon the Temple of all consumption into the physical plane. She knew that if she made some specific adjustments to the summoning ritual, and performed it earlier then the Cult had originally planned, it may put them at just enough of a disadvantage. There was no reason to let the enemy get to their full power if she could do something about it.

     She looked out at the old desolate temple one more time before shutting the double doors to at the top of the stairs and beginning the ritual.

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     Leya's eyes, which had been brightly burning with the bright white light grew brighter. She looked up, a single tear rolled down her cheek as her body and that of Estarra were consumed by the blinding white light.

     Slowly the white light faded, laying on the ground was a small collection of clothes and items that had belonged to the two mages, yet there bodies were gone, even memories of them were fading, like a candle light dissipating into oblivion.

Day 35 - Deaths Final Embrace.

Day 35 - Deaths Final Embrace.

Journal Entry of Tyson Harcord.
Corensday, Mycius 16th - Year 867;

     We spent the night gathering information about the surrounding area and the goings on in Sworn. We were here to do a job after all.

     Sworn was significantly smaller than Alaspar, hardly larger then the numerous smaller villages we could have stopped at on the way here. The only difference with Sworn was probably the Warriors Guild, which at the moment stood empty near the large keep in the city.

     While the group was out finding information from the locals I went to the city guard, a man named Elmo - such a peculiar name, almost as if it should have been the name of a children's puppet instead. Elmo was able to furnish me with a key to the Warriors guild after I let him verify my copy of the Warriors guild contract, which I had conveniently concealed between my buttocks during the Court/Jail/Flying Ship situation.

     I bid Elmo adeu and made my way over to the Warriors guild and searched it for clue or treasure, both equally valuable. I found neither. The place had been left as if everyone had simply walked out one day and never came back. There were clothes in the drawer, food in the cupboards, and supplies readily available. In fact Elmo had stated that HE was the one who had locked up the guild when it had been found empty. With all of this confusion I decided to go seek out the group and find out what they had found out.

     Upon finding the group at "The Welcome Wench" the better of the few Bar/Inns in town I learned that they had went out to the Millhouse by the river, apparently Owla's family owned the Mill and she wanted to visit. Unfortunately they found the place vacant, without sign of her family, though they did find evidence of squatters, and from the look of their belongings they may have been a part of this "Cult" we are supposed to be looking out for. Owla was visibly shaken, and the clues didn't look promising if we are to believe the rumors we've heard about town. After some time we decided to call it a night, and resume our endeavors in the morning. I went back to the Warriors guild and spent the night in the Chapter Leader's room (He had an exquisite taste in Telmarine Wine). I believe the group paid for and stayed at the Inn, or slept on Captain Dash's Ship.

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     The morning rose and the group came together in the Inn of the Welcome Wench. Our questions from the previous night had peaked the interest of one of the tavern inhabitants, A certain Male Human individual named Chatrilon. The man was gruff, and he had an uneasy sense about him, perhaps it was the faint scent of filth that came from him as I'm sure he did not bath often, or perhaps it was something more sinister. My group however did not seem the slightest bit bothered by the man as he immediately offered to show us the way to the Moathouse in person. In fact they were so at ease with him that they accepted without so much of a question to his intentions or motivations. With the group so accepting, who am I to question or complain, I'm sure everything will be alright.

     We gather our equipment, our guide, and our wits, and proceeded to the Royal Pardon, Captain Dash's airship. We boarded the ship and stowed our gear. Zahara, Aura, and Owla went about the basic ship duties Dash had shown them while Balarion, Gwenyth, and Layla went below decks to begin studying and memorizing the magic spells they would require for the upcoming events. Roth pretty much immediately set about the larders looking for food and drink, Dwenicko set to grooming his giant bat mount (Who had taken a liking to perching on the rigging, hanging there like a great black flag.), Toh Yah sat himself on the foredeck to meditate, whilst Ranvier tended to cleaning his weaponry while being subjected to the constant chatter of Arredondo, the Tinker Gnome. I went and sat with Dash at the Helm as he went through his pre-flight checklist and reviewed navigation with Chatrilon, however my attention was not on the events at hand, but more so on Altus -that Lost Ranger- as he appeared to be having an argument with his Bow. He had leaned it against the mast at the center of the ship and was having a very animated discussion with it, sometimes verging on yelling and crying at the bow... I'm going to have to keep an eye on that one, I think the responsibilities he's taken upon himself may be wearing him thin.

     After Chatrilon and Dash had worked out Navigation we cleared launch with the Dry dock and made our way to the Moathouse, Dash making minor course adjustments at Chatrilon's guidance. After some time in the air we could see the Moathouse in the distance. I gave a call to the ship for the group to come above deck and to ready themselves, as we were unaware of what we would be getting ourselves into.

     Dash landed the ship a short distance away from the Moathouse and the group readied themselves to scout out the Moathouse, noticing that Roth and Leyla weren't amongst the group I went below deck to find Roth passed out in one of the bunks, it appeared he had eaten his share of the larders and drunk more then his share of the beer. Layla was there kicking at the big sleeping half orc yelling, cursing and crying. From what she was saying it appears he ate the contents of her spell component pouch along with a few more valuable components she was going to need for the events. 

     Trying to make as little noise as possible I crept back up the stairs, not wanting to evoke the wrath of the neutered sorceress. I got to the top and informed the group that they would need to leave the Barbarian and the Sorceress behind dues to complications. Trying to make the best of the situation Dash volunteered to accompany the group while Arredondo and I stayed back with Chatrilon to guard the ship.

     The party departed, and I watched as they made their way across a grass field and road, weapons drawn and vigilant. I lost sight of them as they crossed what appeared to be a repaired drawbridge. Though mere moments passed before I heard a terrifying Roar, and witnessed a young, yet still massive blue dragon rise from behind the walls of the Moathouse.

     "That's Utreshimon" said Arredondo, point at the dragon with his dagger.

     "You know that dragon!?" I responded, incredulously.

     "No, his name is branded onto his side in Draconic... it's a common enough practice with farm raised dragons, though this one looks like he has escaped." said Arredondo.

     I just stared at him for a bit, the things bards know... Turning my head back to the Moathouse I saw what appeared to be tendrils of stone reach up and pull the dragon down behind the wall again. Watching and listening I heard yells and screams, I saw an Owl flit about above the wall briefly and then viewed Gwenyth rise up, born aloft by her wings.

     After a brief period of time the clamor of battle was over, unsure of the outcome I almost left the Airship to check on the group, the only thing that stopped me was seeing Leyla come above deck, she had the tattered remains of her spell component pouch clutched to her chest.

     "I'm going to gather my components.... I don't know when I'll be back." She said in a huffy tone, with just the slightest sniffle, and turned around and walked away, off the ship and into the surrounding forest.

     "Do you want to bet on whether she comes back or not?" said Arredondo.

     "No, I'm sure she will, there's something more to that mage then she lets on." I replied.

     Hearing a grunt I turned back to the stairwell that led below decks and saw Roth bleary eyed coming out. 

     "Roth, go help." I said pointing at the Moathouse. Roth nodded, pulled out his Axe and ran off towards the Moathouse. In the process passing the limping figure of Dash as he returned to the ship.

     "Fucking Dragon!" Exclaimed Dash as he approached.

     "Do you need me to get the Med Kits?" I said to him as I helped him onboard.

     "No, I'll heal on my own without issue, just get me to my bed" said Dash softly and I guided him to his room. Upon laying him down he was out like a light. I tucked him in, put away his boots and weapons, and then left the room, closing the door quietly.

     I came out on deck just in time to witness Chatrilon slice open Arredondo's neck and dump his convulsing bleeding body over the edge of the ship.

     "What the Hell!, you bloody traitor.!" I shouted as I ran at him with my fists raised.

     "What, me a traitor?" He said with a smirk "And how would you know who's side I'm on little Dwarf?" he said as he grabbed me by my neck and lifted me off the deck by my throat with an unhuman like strength. 

     "Why?" I gasped out, as my vision faded away.

     "Because the Dark Lord, Tharizdun, moves in mysterious ways foolish Dwarf." he said as I felt his grip tighten around my neck.

     I could feel my self fading away, my world fading into darkness. With no other choice, I closed my eyes and went limp. Shortly, barely hanging onto life I felt myself thrown from the ship. My body hit the ground and crumpled up. Opening my eyes I watched as the Royal Pardon with Chatrilon at the helm took off, flying away.

     I'm was not sure how long I would live, my throat had been crushed and I was pretty sure my wrist and leg were broken from the fall. I looked over to Arredondo, and could barely make out his hand bloody, reaching upwards, as if to catch hold of the fleeing Airship.

     Mustering what strength I could I started crawling my way over to Arredondo, each movement inciting excruciating pain, almost too terrible to withstand. I'm not sure how, but eventually I made it over to him. I checked his lifeless body for a pulse, but found none. his skin was white from the lack of blood, as it had escaped from the large gash in his neck and had pooled around his body in the dirt and grass. 

     Unsure of what to do next I started to shout for help, but stopped shortly after hearing odd moans and rustling coming from the woods nearby. The air was starting to grow cold, and the grass nearby almost appeared to wilt. I'm sure it's my imagination, but it almost seems as if even the color has been leached out of the world around me, as if even the light is dying.

     ...In case I die I'm writing this down, my group needs to know what happened in their absence, they need to be made aware so that when they come out they can hunt that fucker down...

     ...I can hear noises from the forest, it appears something is drawing them out. The air is really cold now, I can see my breath. I can't move, my leg has locked up, it's going to be tough to get out of here...

     ...I can't move, they are here, if I move they will find me...

     ...Trying to figure out something to do I started checking Arredondo's corpse... He isn't Heartsmithed...

     ...Was his eyes open before...?

     ...was he looking at me before...?

     *There is some blood splattered here, mixed in with the ink, it is illegible*