[Session 1, 7 Apr '24]
Night 10/Day 11: Alusair escapes the royal palace at Suzail. She is joined by her companions: El Golas An Fildyr, Thessalia Quivaris, Moelyn Moikio, Jarnil Thundersword, Laritha Emmarask, and squire Hamfast. They ride hard through the King's Forest, past Waymoot and Dhedluk.
Day 12: The party arrive in Eveningstar and lodge at the Lonesome Tankard Inn, run by Dunman Kiriag. Alusair, going by Nacacia, joins the common room wearing her hood up; as locals begin to leave for the Low Lantern tavern, Thessalia performs an elven song about beginnings, spring, and plowing and planting, and draws a great crowd from all over the village, including the lady of the fief, Lady Tessaril. She summons up a small chorus line of burly warriors in horned helmets to back her up.
Speaking with locals, the party learn rumors about local hauntings, and once the inn has emptied out—at Alusair's eager insistence—they leave to explore Deltar's Mill. Inside, the ghost of a drowned lady appears to El Golas, and fails to embrace him; the party find the miller's hidden treasure but leave it alone, and wake up the miller to question him about the haunting, but learn nothing useful. They go on to explore the burnt ruin of the house of Old Meg, reputedly a witch; under a loose flagstone, they find a concealed spellbook.
Day 13: In the morning, Old Meg's spellbook is missing from Thessalia's room, and faint muddy tracks are found on the floor. Dunman Kiriag is shocked by the theft, and offers his help in finding the culprit, but the party have no real clues to follow. Returning to Old Meg's house, it is clear someone else has searched it after them. Deciding to put distance between themselves and this thief or spy, the party saddle their horses and ride east, past Arabel.
Day 14: The party take the Moonsea Ride past Castle Crag and into Gnoll Pass, camping near the fork in the road where a trail splits off towards Griffin Hill.
Day 15: The party reach Halfhap and rest in the village.
Day 16: The party leave the borders of Cormyr. On the road, they come across the remains of a caravan destroyed by border raiders. At Alusair's prompting, leave the roads to follow the raiders' tracks into the Stonelands.
Day 17: The tracks lead to a rocky hill with three cave openings. The party sneak up on the first one and take the goblin guards by surprise—El Golas strikes them down before they can raise an alarm. Inside, they fight orcs, goblins, an orc chief, an orc spellcaster, a goblin spellcaster, and two ogres. Moelyn uses surprise leaps and precise strikes to disarm the ogres. Squire Hamfast loses his pinky toe to an orc's falchion. The party rescue the raiders' prisoners and make a fighting retreat—Thessalia summons up quartet of scurvy pirates to slow pursuit, but when they are overcome, the party cut down the orcs and make good their escape.
Fleeing to a hidden camping-spot nearby, the party treat their injuries and resolve to go back for the raiders' plunder. The prisoners include Gallard Narbrace, an Arabellan merchant, and his daughter Jalyca; the mage Hlanrith Starmantle of Archendale; three caravan guards led by captain Taulus; and several others. The prisoners warn that a large raiding party, including goblin wolf-riders, had left the caves shortly before the rescue. Thessalia appaels to the guards' honor to convince them to join the second raid on the caves.
Day 18: The party assault the caves again, and find the remaining goblins, orcs, and ogres attempting to evacuate their loot through a secret tunnel. A song of sleep lays low most of them, and the ogres are cut down without casualties. The escape tunnel is obviously artificial, and seems to go a long way. The party elect to load the loot onto their horses and leave the caves behind. They return Hlanrith Starmantle's spellbook to him, and offer to escort the rescuees to Tilverton.
Butcher's bill: 13 goblins (including a spellcaster), 23 orcs (including a chief and a spellcaster), 5 ogres
Day 20: The party and the rescuees reach Tilverton. The party turn over all the goods from the lair to Gallard, to mititage his financial ruin, keeping for themselves the coins and trinkets—including a potion and a pair of elven boots. Hlanrith offers to teach the elves some of his spells in thanks.
[Session 2, 21 Apr '24]
Day 20: In Tilverton, the rescued merchant Gallard Narbrace leads Alusair and her companions to the Grimwald's Revenge inn, where they take four rooms. Asking after mages, the elves visit Gahlard Mossmere looking for spells; his prices are too high, and the wizard suggests exploring the ruin called Tilver's Palace inside the upper town walls. The elves consult a local sage, Filani of Tantras, and learn a little about the ruin: it was once the home of the sorceress Tilvara, and is considered haunted; the keep's garden—called Medusa's Garden—is supposedly guarded by living statues and haunted at night by witchlights.
Day 21: The party enter Tilver's Palace, and are attacked through the murder-holes with flaming oil. Alusair leads the charge and they break through to the inside, where Hamfast is able to squeeze through a potrcullis and reach a winch to open it. Thessalia calms down some defensive giant ferrets, and the party ascend to the second floor. Armed brigands offer brief resistance, and a chase through the castle ensues: two brigands fall through a rotten floor into the lower hall, where a giant snake kills them; the brigands are ambushed by a giant spider, and the party catch and confront them, demanding their surrender.
Another combat breaks out; a sleep spell neutralizes most of the brigands, and the rest are defeated in combat, until their leader Kordane alone remains to surrender. Kordane eagerly shares what he knows about the ruin, which his band have been looting: he speaks of poison gas on the third floor outside the tower stair, and bloodsuckers on the fourth floor.
The party make the brigands carry their loot out to the local pawnshop, and then take their prisoners to the Burghers' Court, where guard lieutenant Undreth Raventree takes charge of them. He tells the companions they will need to attend court to give testimony in a few days' time.
Among the treasure claimed are Kordane's magical chainmail and shield, and a magical ring found in a silver wine carafe.
Day 22: The party return to Tilver's Palace and continue exploring it. On the second floor, they encounter illusory knights, dancers, and musicians, and one of Thessalia's summoned warriors is shut in a room with a strange pink mist, which he seems to disperse with his weapons.
On the third floor of the northern tower, the party encounter a great beast, like a cross between a wolf and a lion, which speaks to them in Thorass. It says its name os Gaelynder, and that it was trapped in this form by the sorceress Tilvara centuries ago. It suggests they climb the tower to find Tilvara's library, where they might find spells to release it from its curse.
The party ascend and encounter a ghost of a noble-looking woman. Thessalia seems to lay it to rest with an elven song of mourning. The party use axes to batter down doors and keep ascending the tower; in the bedroom, they fail to find a stair hidden by an illusory wall, until Hamfast climbs up a hole hacked into the ceiling and comes down the stairs. They search the bedroom and the library-workshop above it, and find plentiful treasure and magical items.
Descending, the party decide against meeting the beast Gaelynder again: instead, they plan to use ropes to lower the enchanted cabinet containing their treasures from the castle roof. Stepping outside, however, they spot gargoyles watching over the castle from the top of the north tower. They retreat back inside to consider their options.
[Session 3, 28 Apr '24]
The party, having considered their options, decice to brave another encounter with the beast Gaelynder. They claim not to have found the right spell to free him, but when they reveal they have a scroll of dispel magic, Gaelynder demands they try it: it works, turning him into human form. As a man, Gaelynder upholds his promise of a reward by leading the party through a room of confusion littered with human skeletons, and into the palace chapel, where a vampiric mist attacks them. With the treasure in hand, they carry the cabinet out and return to Grimwald's Revenge, where they help Gaelynder take up residence.
Day 23: The party brave the palace again, exploring the upper floors of the southern part. Hamfast's axe breaks their way through floors and ceilings to get around magical obstacles, and they plunder several rooms—finding, among other things, a magical sword and hauberk. In one room, behind an impenetrable magical screen, they find a warrior, life-like and statue-like, apparently frozen. Cutting through the floor, they drag him back to town. At the Temple of the Ten, the priests Gharri and Burlan are unable to remove whatever magic is upon the man; Gahlaerd Mossmere demands money and offers no promises of success. After the party drag the frozen warrior to Grimwald's Revenge, where Hasantasser puts it on display in the common room, Gaelynder agrees to take custody of it and seek to remoev whatever spell lies upon it.
The party return to the ruin, and Thessalia extemporizes a powerful spell of sleep upon the giant snake, which they carry to the temple. Gharri's spell undoes its transformation, turning it into a man: Edwyr Spurbright, a Cormyte knight generations out of time. He is left in the temple's care.
The party return once more to the palace, and explore the basement: they clear out rats, undead arms, and a wight locked in a cell, which drains Moelyn's life-force. The wight has a silver ring in its stomach, engraved with the names Islif and Deremoz. They leave one iron door locked, and turn back. El Golas commissions Gahlaerd Mossmere to write a scroll of knock for him.
Day 24: The party rest at the inn and the elves study their spells.
Day 25: A town guardsman delivers a summons: the party is to appear at the trial of the brigand leader, Kordane, and his men, at the Burgher's Court on the morrow.
Day 26: At the Burghers' Court, the party give their testimony of the events during their first foray into Tilver's Palace before the Council of Elders. Kordane and his men are found guilty and sentenced to torture and proscription, but Moelyn intercedes: she asks that they be sentenced to assist her in trying to clear out the magical statues of the Medusa's Garden around Tilver's Palace. By a 10–6 vote (opposed by Gharri, Burlan, Filani of Tantras, and a few others), the proposal is approved.
Days 27–29: The party continue to rest. Edwyr Spurbright visits them to give thanks for his rescue.
Day 30: Moelyn has not yet recovered her strength, but decides to delay no longer. The rest of the party and Edwyr Spurbright join her to venture into the Medusa's Garden. Kordane and his 10 men are equipped with mauls to smash the statues, and the town guards keep watch from outside the ruined palace grounds.
Smashing the shifting statues seems to have no permanent effect on them, and does not reduce their number. Soon, the work crew is attacked by gargoyles winging down from the parapets: all of Kordane's men are badly injured, but the party defeat the gargoyles: Thessalia wields fire spells to great effect, and Moelyn leaps up onto a gargoyle to bring it down to earth.
[Session 4, 19 May '24]
Day 1: The party recuperate. El Golas and Thessalia finish studying knock and ogre power.
Day 2: Prelate Gharri summons the party to the Temple of the Ten to meet private, and shows them a proclamation delivered by a messenger of King Azoun IV of Cormyr, offering a reward for the return of Princess Alusair. He says that the Council of Elders has declined to post it, at his insistence, but word is sure to spread.
BY ORDER OF HIS MAJESTY, AZOUN OBARSKYR IV,
KING OF CORMYR, LORD OF SUZAIL,
Be it known that His Majesty offers, for the SAFE RETURN of
PRINCESS ALUSAIR OBARSKYR, the sum of 12,000 LIONS
and a KNIGHTHOOD with attendant lands fee simple.
But should anyone harm a hair on Princess Alusair's head,
they will face the swift and terrible justice of the Crown.
The party make plans to leave Tilverton by Tilver's Gap, swing south through Sessrendale to Highmoon, and then go visit the elves.
Moelyn shows Gaelynder the ring from the wight's stomach; Gaelynder recognizes the name Deremoz as a companion who helped him face Tilvara, and Moelyn gives him the ring.
The party make a final foray into Tilver's Palace, and El Golas uses his new magic to unlock the locked door, entering an armory. They find a secret treasure chamber within, and carry out many locked chests of coin. They take these to the workshop of Dundar the swordsmith, and borrow tools to break them open.
Moelyn invites Edwyr Spurbright, the Cormyte knight rescued from snake-form, to join the party as they journey into the Dalelands; he accepts, and Alusair, El Golas, Thessalia and Moelyn pool some coin to buy horse and equipment for Edwyr, and equip him with a suit of serviceable plate armor from the armory of Tilver's Palace.
Day 3: In the morning, the party discover Alusair and Laritha have disappeared but left behind their possessions, the window of their room at inn hanging open. They follow tracks through back alleys and yards to a sewer entrance in the lower town. They regroup, fetching armor and gear and lanterns, and visit Patriarch Gharri at the temple.
Hearing "Nacacia" has apparently been abducted, Gharri fetches his arms and armor to join the party in rescuing her. He mentions his suspicions that the town's criminal underworld has a hideout in the sewers, and that recent events indicate some sort of fighting among them. On the way out, El Golas is pulled aside by a young novice: she tells him that the Rogues of Tilverton, apparently the local thieves' guild, are not behind Nacacia's disappearance. She says the culprits are outlanders from the Dragon Reach. She shows El Golas a hand-sign to greet the Rogues with.
With Edwyr and Gharri, the party enter the sewers and search for Alusair or her kidnappers. They witness some sort of large monster in the sewer channels, and encounter five murderous strangers wielding knives with flame-shaped blades and wearing silver medallions shaped the same, and fight them: they take two alive, but are unable to make them speak. They locate a trap-filled hideout with fake treasure, which leads them up into a basement inhabited by Rogues—they recognize the hand sign. Their leader, Taltar, takes custody of the two prisoners, and suggests their hideout is in the eastern parts of the sewer. The party head that way. They encounter a zombie and locate a secret door; making their way through darkness spells and glyphs of warding, they find themselves face-to-face with a large team of knife-wielding killers and zombies, led by red- and black-robed spellcasters. A fierce fight ensues: Hamfast, Jarnil, and the majority of the enemies are taken out by sleep spells and Edwyr is overcome in the melee, but in the end, only two enemy spellcasters flee the melee. They use an illusion to hide under the beds in their bunkroom, with Alusair and Laritha as hostages: when discovered, but Thessalia's magical onyx dog discovers them. The black-robed priest of the Lord of Bones holds a knife to Alusair's throat, but Gharri strikes him dead wiht holy power. Papers are found that indicate these murderers were targeting Gharri and the Rogues of Tilverton.
The party return with 16 prisoners who Gharri turns over to the town guards. At Moelyn's request, partly because the party believe the Rogue hideout they located lies under Grimwald's Revenge, he also quarters the party in the safety of the Temple.
Day 4: The party make another quick trip into the sewers, where El Golas uses magic to open a secret door of elven construction they had noticed: within is a small shrine decorated with frecoes, and pressing certain parts of it opens a secret niche that contains a silk purse with two magical feathers and an elixir.
[Session 5, 2 Jun '24]
Day 5: Before leaving town, El Golas and Thessalia look for rumors—learning that orc and goblin attacks on the Moonsea Ride are up in the last year—and spread their own about Princess Alusair being seen leaving town on the North Ride. They take the Moonsea Ride through Tilver's Gap and turn southeast off the road.
Day 6: The party ride through the foothills of the Thunder Peaks.
Day 7: The party enter ruined Sessrendale, and encounter a dozen ghouls digging in an old battlefield. After a hard battle and a narrow victory, Edwyr's warhorse is dead; Thessalia was overcome by the power she attempted to channel into spellsong, and knocked out. That night in camp, on Edwyr's watch, two wights attack the camp; they drain his energy, but Laritha turns them and they are cut down as they try to flee.
Day 8: The party avoid a group of shuffling zombies in rusty armor, ford the Semberflow, and enter ruined Sessrendale where they camp in the ruined temple. At night, a horde of undead approach them: while some lead the horses out through the back, Thessalia summons a band of otherworldly warriors and the party make ready for a fight. A zombie with glowing eyes addresses the party: it claims to be the Dusk Lord, ruler of the ruined dale, and relates the fate that befell it: destruction at the hands of Archendale a century ago. It tasks the party with entering a wizard's tower outside of town and bringing it any magic within, to be split. The party make excuses, saying they need to resupply in Highmoon, but agree to return to perform the task. The undead withdraw.
Day 9: The party reach the East Way and head towards Highmoon.
Day 10: The party reach Highmoon in Deepingdale, and get rooms at the Rising Moon Inn. Edwyr purchases the only available horse at the local tables. Moelyn, El Golas, and Thessalia consult both the innkeeper, Gorstag, and the Sage of Deepingdale, Rhauntides, about the history of Sessrendale and its war with Archendale: a century ago, the two dales competed over trade on the East Way, and Archendale accused the Dusk Lord of being a necromancer. The destruction of an Archendale caravan precipitated a savage war that ended in the razing of Sessrendale and the salting of its earth by Arkhen forces. El Golas approaches Theremen Ulath, Lord of Highmoon, at the Tower of the Rising oon: he seeks an audience with the elven councilors of the dale council to seek permission to enter the elven woods, and is informed that they will likely return for council business on the last week of the month.
Day 11: The party rest and resupply to return to Sessrendale.
Day 12: The party return west on the East Way; on the road, they avoid a riding hunt in the distance.
[Tower of the Stargazer]
Day 13: The party avoid the ruins of Sessrenglade and find the wizard's tower. They enter and explore it, dealing with traps using warriors summoned by Thessalia. They find the journal of one Argyle Timmons, servant and apprentice of the wizard Calcidius, written before the war with Archendale: he recounts the wizard growing increasing paranoid and dangerous. Next, they find the wizard himself, trapped in a circle of salt. As they delay freeing him, the wizard grows unhinged and enraged. They leave him be, and explore the tower by means of a magical elevator: in the library level, Moelyn wins a game of dice against a ghost for access to a secret library, but when they leave it to fetch their magical cabinet from outside, the doorway closes again. At the top floor, Moelyn's experimentation detsroys the a huge, complicated telescope. In the cellar, she is attacked by the undead organs of a corpse, and then is trapped in a magical mirror, barely surviving when one of the summoned soldiers used to test the other mirrors shatters it.
[Session 6, 9 Jun '24]
The party slay the ghosts of dead prisoners, and then retreat to rest overnight in the servants' quarters. Before sleep, El Golas unsuccessfully tries to charm the wizard Calcidius, and Thessalia discovers that objects can be thrown inside the circle of salt.
Day 14: In the morning, the party discuss killing Calcidius. The winning argument, for slaying him, is twofold: leaving him imprisoned for all eternity is cruel, and leaving him alive, insane, and vengeful is dangerous. Edwyr, Jarnil, and Hamfast shoot at Calcidius, but the impact knocks him out of the circle of salt, freeing him. A battle ensues: the mad wizard makes himself invincible to weapons, but Moelyn wrestles him to stop him casting spells, and Hamfast lands the killing blow with his magical axe. The party continue to plunder the tower, slaying a giant spider in the basement, and solving a puzzle of levers and destructive, magical force fields to reach the wizard's treasure. Summoned warriors are used to regain entry into the secret library (one of them loses the game and its soul replaces the ghost doorkeeper). Afterwards, the party agree that returning to the Dusk Lord is a bad idea, and that their promise was extracted under threat.
Day 15: The party return to the East Way to head to Highmoon.
Day 16: Back in Highmoon, the party sell their plunder, and make a deal with the local temple to deposit the ten dozen books from Calcidius' library with them, with the understanding they may return to buy them back. Rhauntides rejects the books, claiming the ones dealing with arcane matters are nonsense.
Day 17–22: The party lodge at the Rising Moon Inn while the elves study their spells. Edwyr travels to Archenbridge to buy a new warhorse.
Day 23: Maerona Starym, the elven councilor for Bristar, arrives in Deepingdale, and the party meet with her. She grants them permission to travel to Bristar, so that El Golas may meet with their local Secret Keeper and return some elven items he has collceted. That day, the party set out into the Elven Woods, and reach Bristar.
Erendriel, the Secret Keeper of Bristar, accepts El Golas' elven boots, elven elixir, and feather tokens. He has a request for El Golas: the long-abandoned elven palace of Túr Eridenal in the Semberholme woods has recently been discovered by humans, and now a party of adventurers have been seen in the woods, probably seeking it. Erendriel asks El Golas to protect the ruin, recover any elven artifacts, and perhaps solve whatever curse or disaster befell the palace. The party stay the night as guests of Erendriel and his friends.
Day 24: The party leave Bristar to seek Túr Eridenal in the forest.
Day 25: The party reach the abandoned palace of Túr Eridenal. They enter it through the stables under it, and encounter a group of elves who turn out to be undead monsters, which they slay. They surprise a party of human adventurers: a mage, a fighter, a cleric of the Lord of Bones, and a scout. The mage and fighter are put to sleep; the anti-cleric, offered a chance to heal the scout, uses a spell to kill him. Alusair executes the anti-cleric personally. The survivors, Bogumil and Boltar, claim they were sent by the Archendale Merchants' Guild to rid the ruins of a demon that has attacked caravans headed for Three Rivers' Land. The party leave the two tied up in the stables.
[Session 7, 30 Jun '24]
The party discover that closed eyes carved to the floor mark secret illusory walls, which can be walked through by closing one's eyes. They slay ghouls in the dining hall and huge spiders in the main hall, and explore the baths. In a secret room, they discover a harp-playing satyr skeleton, which begins to follow them. They lead it into the ballroom, where the elves, Moelyn, and even Alusair dance to its tune. The skeleton collapses into a heap of bones, leaving behind its harp.
The party rush outside at the sound of their horses stampeding out of the stables, and catch them; in the stable, Moelyn sees something dragging Bogumil into the equipment room, where he is found dead. Boltar is likewise dead in the horse pen. Both were bitten and died of poisoning. The party enter the tunnels from the crack in the equipment room, and explore the caves. They find signs of recent combat, destroy a demonic summoning circle or altar, and destroy a nest of large spiders, finding their withered victims—a cleric recently dead, and the older corpses of two burghers or merchants. They are attacked by a large spider-fiend: Moelyn grapples with it, and it is badly injured, but when it breaks free and Moelyn jumps over it to stop its escape, it bites and poisons her; El Golas stabs it dead. A potion from the dead cleric cures Moelyn and saves her life.
Inside the mouth of a strange petrified monster, El Golas finds gauntlets that grant Moelyn great strength. In a cave blocked off by a rockfall, the party discover a wounded elven adventuress, Myrtle. She led a party into the ruins to seek a monster, and they were attacked and scattered by the spider-fiend. She identifies the dead cleric as Claudius and the dead barbarian in the ballroom as Gart, both her companions. She begs for help finding the others: the thief Adira, the easterner Akimbo, and the dwarf Metron.
The party withdraws to make camp in the forest away from the ruins of Túr Eridenal.
Day 26: Returning to the caves under the ruin, the party find a room with stairs up and three doors with elven carvings: one with an elven woman's face, crossed roses below, and a comet above; one with an elven man's face, crossed arrows below, and a flame above; and a hooded face, crossed bows below, and deer antlers above. In the floor, elven runes spell out: "If you are a guest here, you should choose your host wisely." They take the stairs up, entering the temple-like northern building, where they find the wounded Adira. There is a great statue of an elven lady with a cold blue flame above its open hands, and a pool of crystal-clear water containing a staff with a glowing gemstone. Behind a secret door, they find an elven maiden in a glass coffin. After some attempts—including Moelyn almost losing her hand when the pool freezes at her touch, and El Golas getting bitten viciously by fire ants when he picks a rare blue rose in the rose garden—the party fetch an iron rose from a statue on the eastern balcony, and place it on the statue's hands: the flame turns warm and red, and the pool does not freeze when they fish out the staff, which is given to Laritha's safe-keeping.
The party pass through the overgrown outer garden, and are attacked by two satyr gargoyles. They explore the boathouse, and feed the swans in the pond. A black swan encourages them to get into one of the leaky boats and row across the pond, where it shows them a willow grove containing a single apple tree. It gets Thessalia to eat an apple, and she is changed into a swan. The party is unable to get anything out of the black swan, so they tie both swans in bags. They head to explore the final unexplored part of the palace, the southern terrace, and there are attacked by a killer vine, which chokes out Laritha (she recovers fine) and crushes Jarnil's leg; El Golas, Moelyn, Myrtle, and Adira are the only ones not caught up in it, and hack it up until Moelyn pulls it out by the roots..
[Session 8, 7 Jul '24]
The party recover the corpse of Metron the dwarf from dangerous wasps, and bury the remains of Claudius, Gart, and Metron in the statue garden. They investigate the under-chambers with the three doors, but the appearance of an elven ghost convinces them to kill the black swan, which turns into an elven man in death. The grateful ghost indicates the correct door (the others turn out to be trapped), but the room beyond—containing only four water basins in the corners, and an illusory wall hiding a golem—does not reveal its secrets. Exploring the wine cellar, they find a secret door and enter a strange trap.
The party find themselves in a strange, wintry version of the palace, filled with strange masked elves celebrating. Moelyn takes down an undead dryad that blinds El Golas, who is healed by a paralyzed unicorn; they free bound centaurs from the stables; the party is attacked by a shadowy wraith in the cellars, and on pursuing and destroying it, find themselves back in the room they had stepped into before being transported.
A secret passage leads back into the basin room. Instead, the party return to the elven maiden in the glass coffin and awaken her. They learn that she is Atramirella, mistress of Túr Eridenal, who was entrapped by Xinamon—the elf who was the black swan. The lady receives back her signet ring—used to control two guardian statues—and makes an inspection of the palace, finding it cleansed of evil. In reward, she gifts the party her staff—the Lady's Tear—and leads them to the secret treasury off the basin room, and turns over all of the treasure.
Day 27: The party capture the remaining six swans, then leave to return to Bristar, escorting Atramirella. They become lost in the forest, slay a giant stag beetle, and finally find Hunter's Down.
Day 28: Encountering a party of elves Hunter's Down, the party receive an escort back to Bristar. There it is agreed that Atramirella and the elven escort will follow the party to Highmoon, where they will seek the temple's help in lifting the curse presumed to lie upon the swans. El golas turns over an elven cloak and riding boots and a magical elven saber, apparently named Solace, to Erendriel the Secret Keeper.
Day 29: The elves escort the party back to Highmoon, where Thessalia's curse is lifted, and she returns to her own form.
Flamerule 30 through Eleasias 4: The swans are transformed back, freeing Myrtle's companion Akimbo and several elves, identified as Xinamon's associates by Atramirella. They confess to participating in Xinamon's plot: he wished to use Túr Eridenal as a base of operations against the humans encroaching upon Cormanthor, and used a magical scroll to trap Atramirella, then performed a ritual alone under the palace, bringing evil upon it. Lord Theremen agrees that the elves of Bristar should deal with these evildoers, and Atramirella and the elves return them there. Meanwhile, El Golas finds another elf, one Eladarros, who is willing to join the party; he was originally an emissary of the Elven Retreat from Evereska, but has decided to stay and help those elves who have elected nto to abandon Cormanthor.
Jarnil's crushed leg cannot be treated at the Highmoon Temple, and Myrtle's party was promised a reward by Master Agamon of the Archenbridge merchants' guild, so the party decide to travel to Archenbridge, where they also hope to reconnect with the thaumaturge Hlanrith Starmantle.
Day 5–6: The party travel through White Ford and Nairning in Archendale.
Day 7: In Archenbridge, Master Agamon rewards the party for slaying the spider-fiend at Túr Eridenal, as well as for rescuing Myrtle and two of her companions, who are known in Archenbridge. Thessalia writes a letter to travel with a caravan to her dwarven friends in Cormyr, asking after Metron's clan—part of the Tethyamar diaspora. The party lodge at the Old Stonebows Inn, and the elves seek out Hlanrith Starmantle, who shares use of his library with them (for which they will recompense him 20gp for a month).
[Session 9, 14 Jul '24]
Day 8–21: El Golas researchers his new spell, El Golas' elven squadron, and Thessalia makes a study of the magical fan. Moelyn begins consulting local bards about the ivory harp of the skeletal satyr. Alusair, Myrtle, and Adira buy horses, while Akimbo and Elad are left with outstanding orders at Stersen's Paddock.
Day 14: Moelyn finds a bard, Bastain, who happens to find notes from elven songs that trigger two effects when played upon the harp (hold person and confusion); they must flee a couple of bar-fights caused by the harp's magic.
Day 16: Moelyn visits the Archenbridge temple and, with the help of priestess Alguna, learns that some of the incense from Túr Eridenal seems to return magical powers to spellcasters.
Day 21: El Golas' spell research succeeds, and Thessalia learns the secrets of the wind fan. While celebrating at the Old Stonebows, the party witness news delivered of woodcutters missing in the Arch Wood. The locals blame Deepingfolk and elves, and a local merchant—Seveldur—agitates them, pointing at the party's elves. Moelyn uses the harp to turn the mob into a brawl, and the party make their exit, trailing the fleeing Seveldur to his shop and home on Deepwell Court, where they break in and knock him out. Seveldur has obviously sent a messenger bird just before their arrival. The party confiscate some poison they find in his room, douse him in alcohol, and leave. Alusair suggests they look into the missing foresters.
Day 22: The party ride to Nairning on the edge of Arch Wood, learning that the camp has been found empty.
Day 23: The party enter Arch Wood and find the empty camp, and slay an owlbear rummaging through it. They find a few elven arrows sticking to wood posts and walls. Following tracks, they locate a barrow-tomb in a nearby duskwood grove the foresters were cutting. One of the foresters leads the human party members within—having asked the elves to wait outside—and his companions seal the tomb. Phantoms attack the party, but Moelyn knocks out the ghost-possessed man and forces open the tomb's opening. The party enter deeper into tomb and defeat the elfshade in its heart. They recover eight dead woodcutters, and find the others freed from the elfshade's power.
Returning to the camp, the party follow other tracks, and find a camp of armed brigands or mercenaries. Moelyn enters the camp and speaks with their leaders—Farn, Helgi, and the wizard Matavir—who claim to come from Sembia, where Farn apparently killed a wealthy merchant in a quarrel. Moelyn offers to lead some of the men to the dead owlbear, but once away from the camp, turns on them, striking dead four and knocking out three, while the party's spell put the other three to sleep. They question the leader of this group, but learn nothing new, so they mount up and ride hard for Nairning, where they report the armed group to the locals.
Day 24: The party return to Archenbridge, and report the events at the foresters' camp and the brigands to Ride captain Mattis.
Day 25: Moelyn takes Hamfast and Jarnil to check upon Seveldur, but they learn he has left town "on business"—although no one seems to know where.
Eleasias 25 through Eleint 22: El Golas hunts for a treasure map, Thessalia researchers the grotesque idol in a glass jar from the tower of Calcidius, and Moelyn studies the strange books from Calcidius' tower. Adira looks for information about Seveldur.
Day 12: El Golas gets his hands on a treasure map. Adira has learned a little about Seveldur: he was an outsider, had few friends or firm connections, and did business in Cormyr, Sembia, and Moonsea using local caravans—but avoiding the Darkwater Brand's caravans.
Day 22: Thessalia learns that the idol is cursed: if the glass jar is broken, it will grow larger and slay indiscriminately, then create a new jar for itself.
Day 23: Having heard rumors about the Heart of the Mine, an old mine at the sources of River Arkhen turned into a dragon's lair—but seemingly abandoned for a generation or more—the party leave to follow the river into the mountains. They ride through Lady's Belt and overnight at Arch Pool.
Day 25: Up in the foothills of the Thunder Peaks, the party is attacked by five wyverns, who kill five of their horses—Moelyn's, Akimbo's, Hamfast's (which is carried away), and both of El Golas'. The wyverns are slain without injuries, and the party pursue the last one to find their roosts. Adira sneaks up into the feasting wyvern's roost under an invisibility spell, and uses a coil of magical rope to tie it up so it cannot escape. Plentiful treasure is found in the roost, including a treasure map.
Day 26: The party continue to seek the river's source.
[Session 10, 28 Jul '24]
Day 26: At Arkhen Falls, the source of the Arkhen River up in the Thunder Peaks, the party find the Heart of the Mine. Adira's magical rope lets them scale the mountain. Exploring the abandoned mine, the party find the bones of a dead dragon in the first great chamber, and are attacked by a black dragon from the water. Edwyr survives its acid breath, and a fireball and bold attacks drive off the dragon. The party fight through wights and spectral hands that appear from the walls of the mine, and find the dragon's lair—where a second, camouflaged dragon joins the battle. Summoned warriors lead the attack, and spells and swords bring down the dragons. The only casualty is suffered afterwards: a cursed golden scarab in the treasure-hoard burrows into Akimbo's flesh when he touches it, and eats his heart.
The party encounters oddly-behaving, filthy dwarves from deeper in the mines. They put a charm on one, and learn they dwell deeper in—but the other dwarves jump upon the "blabbermouth" and carry them away. The party find the way deeper down, and in a great cavern they encounter a bizarre monster—resembling a stone pillar with a single eye, a mouth, and tentacles. They slay it and take its treasure, then withdraw from the mine. Thessalia looks at a scroll from one of the treasure-hoards, and it lays a curse upon her.
Day 27–30: The party trek back down the Arkhen Vale towards Archenbridge.
Day 1–2: The party continue their journey back.
Day 3: The party reaches Archenbridge. At the temple, Thessalia's curse is lifted, but the priestess' prayers fail to return life to Akimbo. Myrtle and Adira mourn their friend.
[Session 11, 8 Sep '24]
Day 4: Priestess Rassauvia at the Archenbridge Temple is asked to inspect the party's treasure for curses, and discovers a single cursed potion. El Golas takes for himself the sword Trollclaw; Eladarros is given a skull-pommeled magical two-handed sword from the dragon hoard; and Adira is given a lesser magical sword. The party debate the merits of returning to Sessrendale, perhaps to confront the Dusk Lord. They decide to return to Highmoon first, and begin construction of a house to serve as their base of operations. Myrtle and Adira excuse themselves from joining them, staying back to mourn their dead friend.
Day 5–6: The party travel back to Highmoon.
Day 7–14: In Highmoon, the party obtain permission from Lord Theremen Ulath to build a townhouse—along with a palisade wall and a stable—just outside the town's eastern gates, at the intersection between the Silver Shields Inn and Darian Stables. Construction will take 30 days. The elves spend time studying spells, the party obtains new horses, and plans are laid to pursue one of El Golas' treasure maps, pointing to a location south of Arkhen Vale.
Day 15: The party ride out of Highmoon towards Archendale, but find themselves pursued by another party of adventurers: when evasion fails, they use illusions and summoned elven warriors to lay an ambush. After a brief, sharp confrontation, they have the party—Cormyte knights and their companions—at a disadvantage. No one is killed, and Alusair swears the pursuers to return to her father and deliver her refusal to return.
Day 16: The party cross the Arkhen Vale and follow the treasure map into the foothills of the Thunder Peaks. They encounter and slay man-eating ogres, and are challenged by stone giants demanding horses for a toll: they attack their cave with a host of summoned warriors, and slay the giants and their cave bears.
The party find the mountain glade indicated by the map. There stands a hollow stone dome, the Bell of Auros, which contains a grave: they dig it up, and discover a treasure that includes a scroll with a poetic riddle. While they consider their next actions, a tremendous explosion is seen and heard to the northwest, in the direction of Sessrendale.
[Session 12, 6 Oct '24]
Day 17: The party enter the Arkhen Vale and the village of White Ford. The locals confirm an explosion and a flash from the direction of Sessrendale.
Day 18: The party continues to Highmoon. Outside of town, they encounter 5 giant boars: Thessalia approaches and pacifies them, and gets 4 of them to follow her. She names the largest Griselda, and has it accompany her; the rest are left in Highmoon.
Day 19–Uktar 3: Back in Highmoon, the elves make an agreement with Rhauntides: he lends them the use of part of his library for research, and in exchange, they will tell him what happened in Sessrendale once they learn it. While the elves and Laritha perform research, Moelyn finds an elven bard and learns that the poetic riddle from the Bell of Auros describes a journey, and might be a sort of map. She also finds that some of the elf's notes produce a suggestion effect on her magic harp.
Uktar 3: The party leave Highmoon for Sessrendale, to check on Calcidius' tower and perhaps confront the Dusk Lord. They travel through the elven woods.
Uktar 4: The party stop over at Bristar, where El Golas and Thessalia make inquiries about small dragons: they learn that pseudodragons dwell in hollows and caves, while faerie dragons live among faeries in forests. As they continue through the woods, they encounter invisible faeries: they trade a song (helped by Moelyn's harp's suggestion) for rough directions to some "little dragons."
Uktar 5: The party reach the banks of the upper Semberflow and turn to follow it to seek out the little dragons: instead, four hunting green dragons come upon them. The party slay the dragons (one is polymorphed)—Edwyr appears to receive a mortal wound, but was just dazed.
Uktar 6: The party try to track the dragons back to their lair.
Uktar 7: The party get lost in the woods, and are chanced upon by pseudodragons. They attempt to steal Thessalia's diadem, but are caught with the help of glitterdust and sleep. El Golas feeds the pseudodragons and manages to get one of them to come along with him, sitting upon his shoulders. He begins to form a familiar connection with it, naming it Mister Nastysting. The pseudodragon is able to direct them to a gully that the green dragons had used as a nest, but it contains no treasure.
Uktar 8: The party turn west, following the upper Semberflow to the border of the forest and Sessrendale.
Uktar 9: Entering Sessrendale, the party skirt around the ruins of Sessrenglade and reach the site of Calcidius' tower: now it is only a blackened, blasted hole. They make camp some distance away.
Uktar 10: Before dawn, the party are wakened to find themselves surrounded by more than a hundred skeletons and zombies. The Dusk Lord, speaking through a skeleton, demands all of their magic items. Thessalia summons a ward against undead to shield the party, and calls her onyx dog to find the Dusk Lord. They follow the hound to a ruined tower; Jarnil takes the party's horses and leads them away, avoiding the undead, while the rest of the party enter the tower. They fight the Dusk Lord's wights, and slay the Dusk Lord himself—a cone of cold freezes him dead. They take his head with them.
[Session 13, 20 Oct '24]
[Session 14, 27 Oct '24]