Game Intro, Meet 1 - 10

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Game Intro, Meet 1 - 10

Postby Zanaikin » Sat Sep 02, 2006 3:45 pm

NEW GAME!!!

Game Introduction 1 Post-Reset:
POV: Airrel Ferrim

It’s been a while, but here goes…

The door opens, and in walks another officer of the Misalin Guard, like many more have done before him today. The officer is a man of about 5’9”, with messy black hair and a pair of dull brown eyes. He has a rather crooked nose and a large gash on his right cheek, neither of them looks natural. Wearing a chained shirt and self-camouflaging scout uniform, with a longbow on his back and a long-sword to his side, he strode to the center of the room and stood straight.

“Airrel Ferrim back and reporting for duty sir!”

The room is rather small and dark, lit by a single torch perched on the right wall. The air reeks of a foul smell all too familiar, the same physical manifestation to the sensory as the spell used to siege the Capital City. The place has been cleaned out recently so the odor isn’t nearly as strong as before, but such a desecration of land could not be purified in just a few short days. It will take weeks if not months before the land can fully heal.

“Welcome back, Captain. It’s been a while; I’m pleased to see you alive and well.”

Another man, blonde, blue eyes, with a rather long and stern face, clad in silver-white mithral breastplate armor, turned around from the other side of the room. His name is Lord Malayar Salim, the second in command of the Misalin Guard general ground forces, which is basically limited to infantry, archers, and a number of special operations units. A highly trained member of both the Paladin Order and the Order of the Arcane, Lord Salim was one of the original Knight of the Silver Shield before Lord Strusler renamed and reformed the Order. Although well known for his abilities in combat, it is said that Lord Salim’s brain isn’t nearly as insightful as his fingers, and because of that he is stuck on one of the lesser positions in the army for a lord paladin of his renown.

“I’ve managed to return alive, although I can’t say the same for most of my men.”

During the siege on the Capital City, my platoon was given a special task. Word has been received at command that the undead is using huge corpse collecting mobile graveyards to produce abomination type undead creatures, which are significantly stronger than most conventionally animated undead. I and several other captains were ordered to lead special detachments to break out of the siege, and to hunt down and destroy as many of these corpse collectors as possible. We spent weeks behind enemy lines, searching for and destroying Northend army “supply” units while evading enemy main forces sent to reinforce the front or scouring the countryside. Of the eight companies sent out, only mine survived, and of my original one-hundred and fifty men, only thirty-five were alive when we regrouped with the advancing army.

Ok, thirty-four plus one, I managed to dig out an old friend. One could call him a relic of a past war, but nevertheless with abundant experience, far more than myself I could say. When we went around the Northern Misalin Coast, heading east and hunting for corpse collectors, we eventually reached the Waferim Mountains. Before the war became, I was stationed here, looking out for the possible incursion of undead that never came. Despite its location, stuck between a swamp, the Winchester plains, and the ocean to the North, the Waferim Mountains were surprisingly steep and dangerous. Covered by a dense evergreen forest and packed with sudden altitude drops, it was no place suitable to march an army across. However, that made it the perfect place for a secluded man to make his home.

Alon was a soldier, one who was sent as part of the unofficial ‘combat observer’ unit to help Airindale twenty years ago during the third Airindale-Archeron war. Back then he was a naïve but eager Paladin looking forward to serve honor and justice, but the brutal war and the pointless bloodshed changed his mind forever. After the war, he quit the armed services and left society. From the knowledge gained by various border patrols and scouts, it says a druid of his description lives upon a ridge in the Waferim Mountains. I decided to take a detour from my mission and check it out for myself, and sure enough, it was him. Surprising, all it did to bring this druid recluse out of hiding was the need of his country for him. Not that I’m complaining. His insight, knowledge of the land, and powerful capabilities in combat has saved my troops on numerous occasions.

“I’m deeply saddened by our losses on the operation, but the success of you and your comrades in destroying numerous undead production points have saved our country from their final offensive and allowed us to turn the war around.”

I said nothing. To these commanders, war was about balancing the exchange between their troops’ lives and their objectives. They try to find the most effective method to spend their “resources”. The lives of soldiers are just a number in their calculation, a portion of the ratio used to determine the efficiency of any operational plan. But as bad as it sounds, we are soldiers, a simple unit of resource in the conflict between nations. In the situation of today we have no choice but to resort being used in such a manner, for otherwise there is no future for any of us.

“I know you and your men have just returned, but we are really shorthanded and have need for your expertise once again.”

“Another mission Sir?”

“Yes, although it won’t be nearly as dangerous as your last one. In a day the army is planning to leave Lyderim Keep and continue to press on towards Winchester. There we must set up our defenses against a Northend counterattack which is already heading our way. As you know, South Misalin has been utterly defenseless since Torrim Keep fell, and we have no secure way of knowing if there are any remnant forces left behind significant enough to pose a danger to the flank of the advancing army. While the Citidel of Stormguard keeps the western passage secure, the central passage is left wide open after the destruction of Ironpeak. The Misalin Guard and Fist of Misalin have sent a detachment off to Ironpeak to secure the passage, but their numbers are limited and can’t be used to scour the southern countryside for extended periods of time without leaving the passage undefended.”

“…And you want me to do that job for them?”

“Not completely, I just want you to lead a separate unit to scout the southern plains and locate possible enemies. If they’re light in numbers, eradicate them. If they’re numerous, call in the Ironpeak Sentry to deal with them.”

“Isn’t that a job done by the Intelligence unit? Why must the Army mobilize special units to accomplish such a task?”

“Because after all that’s happened, after the numerous mistakes they’ve made, we simply can’t put as much faith in the Intelligence as we use to. An error here may cost the Army the entire war, and isn’t something we can afford to fool around with.”

“Very well then, I shall depart tomorrow once my men make the proper preparations.”

“Good, and I’ve gotten permission from the Order of the Arcane for a team of warmages as additional fire support. They’ll be under your command for this mission. You’ll also be meeting up with Kati Gant from the Fist of Misalin at Ironpeak. Her unit is deployed there but she will personally assist you on this mission.”

“Yes sir!”

“Good luck, and may the grace of Pelor shine upon you.”

That’s the life of a soldier, take your orders and leave. I thought we’d be given at least a few days of rest after all that we’ve been through, but it looks like we’re back on the road again. I left Lord Salim’s temporary office and closed the door. Hopefully, the next time I’m receiving orders directly from a Lord Paladin, the war will be over.
If there is a next time…


GAME MEET #1 (W00t First Meet After Reset)

Airrel and his friend Alon left Lyderim Fortress and headed south, after a few days of scaling the mountains they come across the ruins of Ironpeak citadel. The battlefield still remains, the plateau littered with fallen towers, with remnants of the undead encampment noticeable in various spots. The citadel itself has been blown apart. One could see a huge gaping hole in the mountain that reveals the insides of the citadel, where many of the tall supporting structures have been torn apart and the stone walls are badly charred.

On the other side of the plateau is a palisade encampment, at where the road drops down towards the south. Airrel leads his men towards it, where they meet up with the Kati Gant, a captain of the Fist of Misalin. After going through the introductions, Lady Gant joins the group in the scout mission. They decided to take along 15 archers, 10 warmages, and 2 cavalry, leaving the other troops behind as garrison for the Ironpeak passage.

The unit continued south, down the mountain. In two days, they discovered a trail to the west into the woods, at about the same location as tales say of the Lyzington fortress. Going down the trail, we discovered an abandoned lumber camp, and the rubble of what appears to be a stronghold within the woods. There were also numerous corpses lying about outside around the rubble, as well as a number of wrecked siege equipment. Unlike in North Misalin, where almost every body was harvested, these corpses remain untouched.

The unit went back to the main road and headed further south. Within a day we came across a destroyed town, the buildings mostly burnt down and the ground littered with rotting corpses that have been there for quite some time. We continued south for a few days, where we came across traces of another group. Alon’s brown bear animal companion tracked the group down to a patrol of goblins setting up camp at the edge of the forest not too far off the main road.

The party raided the goblin encampment. Although the attempted surprise attack was discovered, we managed to still neutralize the enemy without any losses, killing 12 worg riding goblins & their mounts and knocking out two.

XP Each: 600 XP (Everyone at 36,600xp)

Damage Accumulated:
Kati: 44
Cavalry1*: 29
Cavalry2*: 6
*Each used a potion of Cure Serious Wounds.

After the battle, the two knocked out goblins were captured, while Kati went around through the bodies and used detect magic:

Loots (Disregarding gears too heavily damaged for use):
Small Throwing Axes x116
Small Masterwork Longbow
Small Rider’s Shield x11 (Magical)
Gloves x9 (Magical) – (1 Hexblade’s)
Ring (Magical)
Alchemist’s Fire x15
Tanglefoot Bag x11
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds x8
Potion of Cure Serious Wounds x2
391gps
2101sps

DM Notes:
The magical items will need identifying. I’d highly suggest giving the Cure Serious Wound potions to the cavalry.
The troops carry 15 days of rations, with 4 used since leaving Ironpeak. You might need to supply them with food afterwards, from either spells or a return trip to Ironpeak.
This wasn’t a particularly challenging enemy (thirteen ECL 4 and one ECL 7), but a rather well designed one. In a larger battle I would suggest try wide area buffs, because they’re especially useful. Also this is a preliminary to get you used to low level combat again.
Try to figure out what to do with the loot and the captured goblins before next session so we won’t spend valuable in-game time for it.


GAME MEET #2

After some failed efforts by Kati and Alon in attempting to interrogate the captured goblins, the unit leaders decided to haul them back to base camp where they could be handled by professionals. With that decision at hand, the unit began heading back up north toward the Ironpeak passage. During the second day, a brilliant flash could be seen in the horizon to the west towards the South Misalin woods. Several seconds later, a resounding BOOM sweeps in from the trees, and a large gray cloud could be seen rising towards the skies. It stopped at a certain height, and then started expanding horizontally. It would be about more than an hour before one could notice the massive cloud beginning to disperse. The troops were bewildered and astounded by the sight, while the commanders agreed that they must report to MG main command about this. On the third day, the unit fell under attack from the rear by about two dozen goblin riders. Our unit manages to completely obliterate the enemy forces (Alon even chased down the one trying to escape) but also took heavy losses during the battle.

XP Each: 1,760 XP (Everyone at 38,360xp)

Losses:
11 MG Longbows (Level 3)
2 FoM Cavalry (Level 6)
*2 Fireball expended from MG Warmages.
*A resist energy 20 potion and a cure serious wounds potion consumed by Kati.

After the battle, Kati went around to take anything that signals as magical while the unit made a funeral pyre for the deceased.

Loots (Disregarding gears too heavily damaged for use):
Small Masterwork Longbow
Small Rider’s Shield x18 (Magical)
Small Light Flail (Magical) – Drains energy upon touch
Gloves x16 (Magical) – (1 Hexblade’s)
Ring x2 (Magical)
Rod (Magical)
Silver Unholy Symbol of Hextor (Magical) x2
Alchemist’s Fire x35
Tanglefoot Bag x81
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds x10
Potion of Cure Serious Wounds x3
4060sps
254gps

For the next three days, the unit continued north without incident, until they reached their camp at Ironpeak passage. After entering the camp, they noticed several additional priests there, people who were not around when they departed the camp about nine days ago.

DM’s Notes: Btw, remember that the loot (including gold) aren’t split yet, in difference from before the reset when I usually have the gold split already.
I think I’ll stop keeping track of damage accumulated unless the meeting ended on the same day as the battle, since it seems as long as a night has passed, you can just discharge the rest of your spell slots to heal up.


GAME UPDATE [Post Meet 2]

Questioning the purpose of the newcomers in her camp, Kati accosts the nearest of these new priests. "Greetings honored priest, Captain Kati Orlov Gant at your service. May I inquire as to how go things on the main front?"

He was a man in his thirties, with a gaunt face and two eyes that reflected the horrors they have witnessed. Clothed in a long white robe adorned with gold stitching down the sides, he turned about and centered his sight on Kati before bowing, clearly showing the tall cap that identifies him as a High Priest of the Church of Misalin.

“Ahh, my Lady Gant, pardon me we were not expecting you to be back from your mission so soon. I wish the soldiers could have informed me of such an arrival.” The priest talked with absolute formality in a slow and slightly slurred fashion that accentuated his Northwestern Misalin dialect. “I assume you must be wondering who we are. I am Perian Sellis, the head priest of a city now lying in ruins. I was dispatched here from the main forces for a matter of dire importance, which, if you would please follow me, it would be my duty to inform and show you.”

The priest Sellis began walking towards the center of the encampment with Kati, Alon, and Airrel following closely behind. He continued to explain as he walked, occasionally looking back while making gestures to make sure he wasn’t going too fast. “I’m sure during your mission in the south you witnessed a certain event, an explosion of deific power from deep within the Whisperleaf Woods. Army command was swarmed with messages from various patrols and outlying units regarding the event. However, the most interesting was one from this encampment just one day later. It is because of that message that I and my subordinates were dispatched here.”

“Apparently, on the morning three days ago, one of the patrols from this unit found the body of a Silver Hand Knight just west of here. She was unconscious, barely alive, and suffered injuries so severe the paladins of this unit had to call for healers.” Perian explained just as we turned around the corners of another tent before going straight into it.

Upon a large table in the center of the tent lies a person, a female half-elf to be exact. She is still fully armed with swords on both sides of her belt as well as on her back, and clad in silvery breastplate armor engraved with a silver hand and shield. Her back is also slightly adrift on the table, as if floating in the air by mere inches. Her long golden hair spread across the extra space without an inch of movement. Her entire body is encased in a solid coffin-like forcecage. Upon close examination, it looks as if the exposed parts of her skin seem to have separated from the flesh and became a distinct layer of its own.

“Lady Cary Spekes, I presume you all know the name. She looks a lot better now than when we arrived last night and found the most peculiar burn all over her skin. However, while we were able to treat some of the external damage, her condition continues to deteriorate at a steady pace, and we were clueless on how to better apply our healing to stop it. Therefore we put her in temporal stasis inside a forcecage and sent a message to headquarters. They have responded this morning that they have dispatched someone to come retrieve and transport the body back to the main army, and should be arriving by tomorrow.”


GAME MEET #3

The party waited at the Ironpeak encampment for those dispatched from the main army. Around dusk during the next day, the guards report a group approaching from the North side of the plateau. The party obtained information that one of the approaching people is a Silver Hand Knight through the scrying spells of the priest Sellis and awaited his incoming. After a while, the knight introducing himself as Lord Kelstral, a colonel in charge of one of the remaining Fist of Misalin regiments, and eight accompanying cavaliers entered the camp.

Not knowing the exact details of his mission, Lord Kelstral was led by the party to the tent where Cary’s stasis body lay. The priest Sellis was brought around later to explain the details of the situation. The party also brought Lord Kelstral to see the two captured goblin prisoners. While he agreed to take both the prisoners back to the main army, he also suggested the party to come with him back to the main camp. According to the knowledge of the commanders, there weren’t supposed to have any remaining hostile forces in the south, although he does admit their information regarding the south is very limited.

Alon, Airrel, and Kati then followed Lord Kelstral and his cavaliers as they transported Cary in her force coffin and the two prisoners towards the main army, which is supposedly on its way towards Winchester. After over a day of eventless traveling, while passing by the former Misalin Guard command post at Lyderim Keep, our group found the location under attack and covered in smoke and smog. As we approached the keep further, our group discovered the presence of two mounted Liches within the smog. The enemy noticed our group quickly but Lord Kelstral led his cavaliers to intercept the attack while telling the rest of our party to take off with Cary.

Alon transformed into an ape to grab Cary’s force coffin and took off at full speed eastwards towards Winchester with Airrel and Kati. After several hours of running away, Kati sent a message to Lord Salim with news of Lyderim Keep and request for the main army’s location. We received a response that the situation is being analyzed and that the army is currently just fifty miles away from Winchester.

After several more hours of heading eastward at full speed, we were caught up to by a rider from the west. He was a humanoid armored in a silvery-white full plate with a helmet that covered his face and wielded a shield emblazoned with a golden cross. He was also riding a horse-shaped mount that seems to be made entirely from smog and shadows. It also ran as if it was floating just above the ground. As he pulled to a stop in front of the party he threw out a piece of metal engraved with a Silver Hand Knight symbol. Telling the party that the symbol was useless to him, he demanded for Kati’s insignia and everyone’s communication rings. The party handed it over without resistance, except for Alon who was in ape form. The rider then commented on the party’s ‘cooperation’ and that it saved him from having to kill another person today before taking off eastwards towards Winchester. After he disappeared from view, Kati used Alon’s ring to send a warning of the rider to Lord Salim.

The party continued to journey eastwards at full speed during the two following days, until they reached the outskirts of the Winchester city area. The city’s walls and some of the buildings in the center of city had been recently repaired but the rest of the city still lay in rubble. Also, a heavily fortified two story building had been erected outside the city of Winchester. After another message to Lord Salim, we discovered that this building it the Winchester ‘teleportation point’.

We entered the city of Winchester with only minor problems regarding Alon in his huge ape form. After that we headed directly for the current command center of the Misalin Guard. Once there, Alon turned back into his human form while Kati had her Pegasus drag in the two goblin prisoners and Cary’s force coffin and towards Lord Salim’s workplace. After meeting up with Lord Salim, the party made a full report of the events in the South Misalin mission and during the trip back towards Winchester. Salim called in clerics and people from the intelligence unit to take Cary’s force coffin and the two goblin prisoners. He also reveals to the party that the entire North Misalin has been placed in a dimensional lockdown by the High Archpriest Deoneir, making teleportation impossible, and while all patrols are reporting in, not a single one has discovered enemy forces entering the country. Because of this, he is puzzled by how the enemy could have attacked Lyderim Keep, a fortified based located in the middle of Misalin. He also suggest to the party to take a break during their time at Winchester, although the army is currently in a rather tense situation as Northend is gathering their Black Lore necromancer reserves just across the border.

XP Each for Mission Completion: 2,500 XP (Everyone at 40,860xp)

After the report, the party went to one Misalin Guard supply unit to identify and sell some of the loot. The party decided to sell everything except a few items that could be of use. The unholy flail identified was given to the clerics to be dealt with (as the suppliers won’t take them).

Total Gold Gained from Meet 1 to 3:
31,218gps
6,161sps

Loots Not Sold from Meet 1 to 3:
Lesser Metamagic Rod of Extend
Ring of Shield (as spell)

After selling the unneeded items, as the party wondered about the city, they noticed a familiar sight – A man with brown hair wearing a dark blue dueling cloak carrying a shield with an emblazoned gold cross on his back. Also, he is wearing Cary’s insignias and coming out of a pub while chattering with another person, a human clad in a black cloak. The party followed them at a distance and noticed that they are speaking in a language none of the two has ever heard of before. Alon ducked into an alley and wild shaped into a rabbit while Kati cast tongues on him. Alon then closed in on the two to listen to their conversion while the rest of party continued to follow the two people.

After a while, Alon returned to his human form. From what he overheard, the two seems to be from a mercenary group who has allied itself with the undead of Northend in order to obtain something. The one carrying a shield seems to express disgust at the whole procedure of working with undead but yields to his duties regardless. He is also telling the other one to get out of this city because their actions have made the paladins of Misalin an enemy.

The party continued to tail the two westwards through the city, until nearing the west side gates when the party decided to split up and try to corner the two. While Alon disappears into an alleyway to change into huge ape form, Kati puts on a hat of disguise while overhearing the two seeking a way to exit the city without drawing attention. The two turns into a deserted street where they come across Alon in ape form who was trying to get around them using back alleyways. Kati also notices that someone else follows them onto the street behind them, a blonde long-haired woman wearing normal clothing and a long blue cloak. Kati then draws attention away from the two by illusion ‘streaking’ across the streets while the Alon-ape made a surprise attack and knocks out the shield carrying one with his club. However, his friend quickly draws his blade and slashes Alon while shouting out “who the hell are you!” Facing him directly, you notice that the man is wearing a neat black uniform with blue lines, with brown hair, deep blue eyes that seems slightly bloodshot, and a facial appearance that seems slightly foreign in feature proportions.


GAME MEET #4

After several rounds of fighting between the party and the two strangers, the party realizes that they lack the ability to defeat the enemy and thus calls off the entire thing as a misunderstanding and case of mistaken identity. The stranger accepts the cease fire, wakes up his friend with a long black rod, and has a light exchange of words with the party before the party left to retrieve Kati’s sword, which was sent soaring out of her hands during combat. By the time they returned, the two have already disappeared from sight.

XP Each: 1,300 XP (Everyone at 42,160xp)

The party returned to the command center and reported the entire incident to Lord Salim, who is just as confused by the entire occurrence as the party themselves. Salim also can’t think of any known religion that uses a golden cross as a symbol, although he does admit that he has never went out of the country and thus doesn’t know that much regarding foreign places.

Before the party leaves, Lord Salim informs Kati that High Command believes the takeover of Lyderim Keep is but a staging point for a Northend attack on the Capital City. Because of this, Misalin Guard is preparing to launch a special operation to reclaim Lyderim Keep and reinforce the Capital as soon as possible. The mission begins tomorrow morning, and it is Lord Strusler’s wish that all Aerial Fist of Misalin members join and support this mission. Kati agrees to join in the mission before the party takes their leave.

For the rest of the day, the party went shopping about the city. They agreed to split the gold from loot three-ways between Airrel, Alon, and Kati. During the night, the three took shelter in the army barracks.

During morning the second day, the party entered the City Square to find a large group of people gathered about, including about two dozen fully armored Fist of Misalin Cavaliers standing next to their Pegasus mounts. One of them stands out in particular, clad in a suit of full plate that is emitting a golden glow, with his mount’s barding shedding off a similar color. Infantry, clerics, and archers of various units are also mixed amongst the group. Kati approaches the golden cavalier in the center, who is none less than Lord Strusler himself, and reports in for the mission. Strusler tells her they’re about to depart and that she should make her final preparations before returning to his conversation with the High Priest Deoneir.

Several hours later, the assembled troops, including the party, began to move out. Led by Lord Strusler, the troops marched through the western gates of the city to the circular building outside Winchester. Known as the Winchester teleportation point, the building is heavily fortified and offers one of the few locations within Northern Misalin where teleportation is still possible. Within the building there is a center courtyard surrounded by interlocking layers of force walls. After leading the troops in, Lord Strusler opens a gate embedded within the force walls. He then marches in with four other Silver Hand Knights and instructs the rest of the troops to follow within ten minutes before casting several teleportation circles and leaving.

After ten minutes, the rest of the troops, including our party, march through the teleportation point. Coming out from the other end, the party find themselves emerging within the center of a structure similar to the Winchester teleportation point, except the force walls protecting the courtyard are nowhere in sight. The walls and supports of the structure are all heavily scorched and damaged from recent battles, while the ground is scattered with debris and the bodies of dead Misalin Guard soldiers.

Exiting from the teleportation point, the party find themselves in the middle of Lyderim Keep. However, evidence of heavy recent fighting can be found everywhere within the Keep. The stone walls and towers are all heavily scorched, while an entire portion of the northern wall has been destroyed. Within the Keep’s courtyard, more bodies, stone debris, and fragments of skeletal constructs can be found, including what seems like the remains of a dracolich and a lich general mounted upon it, a heavy lance stabbed through both of them. Also, the metal of the weapons and armor of many deceased Misalin guard soldiers seems twisted and distorted, while parts of their bodies are scarred with burn marks that went through the skin and cooked the flesh underneath.

Mounted atop his Pegasus, Lord Strusler returns from outside the gates, and signals for the Aerial Fist of Misalin members. Kati and two dozen other cavaliers gather around him.

“Well, it seems we had everyone else come for nothing. It would seem that they have already left for the Capital City. We’ll have to hurry and head for the Capital City at full speed.”


GAME MEET #5

After retaking Lyderim Keep, our party took off into the air and headed towards the Capital City at full speed. Alon hang onto Kati’s drogue wing and glided behind Kati’s Pegasus with an attached rope. The group of more than two dozen cavaliers flew without rest for about two days, sustained and kept refreshed by healing magic. After flying over the ruins of Highrez, the river Simming, and Haizerim Keep, the buildings of the Capital City have finally appeared on the horizon. However, our unit was assaulted by a meteor storm strategic spell shortly thereafter, which heavily damaged our group despite the utilization of high level defensive spells. Several members of the mission group, including Airrel, were killed by the spell’s devastating effects. Kati also lost her Pegasus to the explosive meteors and was caught by Alon as he wild shaped into a giant eagle.

Although heavily injured, our party manages to survive the strategic spell and landed on the ground, where we discover a Northend necromancer regiment and five lich generals waiting for us in formation. Charging out of the smoke, Lord Strusler led the surviving cavaliers into battle against the enemy. Our party on the ground tries to help with the battle by drawing the attention of several behemoth constructs and engaging them. After a bitter battle where both Alon and Kati was knocked out several times and revitalized with healing magic, the mission group manages to cripple the enemy regiments and forces them to retreat. However, our group also took heavy casualties from the battle, reduced from over two dozen in numbers to merely nine. Strusler also mentions that the Lich he fought during the latest battle, who countered his most powerful attack spell, was significantly stronger than any lich of Northend he has ever came across before.

XP Each: 14,600 XP (Everyone at 56,760xp) – Level Up to Lvl 11

After the surviving members of the mission team regrouped, our group continued the flight towards the Capital City. Because Kati’s Pegasus was lost during the battle, our party had to split up and ride along with several other cavaliers. After about fifteen minutes of flight, we finally reached the Capital City of Misalin, which was engulfed by the sounds of battle. In the skies above the city, two ships could be seen trading fire with one another. One of them is a navy blue metallic hexacylindrical ship, while the other a brownish yellow Sky Galleon with purple stripes.

The mission team landed upon the city walls and split into two separate groups. Lord Strusler asked three cavaliers, Kati, and Alon to come with him while the others rode off into the aerial battle. Our party then followed Strusler through the streets of Capital City, filled with scattered skirmishes between soldiers of the Misalin Guard, undead constructs and necromancers of Northend, and foreign troops wearing navy blue uniforms whom we have never seen before. Charging in the front and cleaving through enemies along the way, Strusler led us towards the castle in the center of the city, where a tower of marble reaches for a thousand feet into the skies.

Our group went through the gates of the White Keep of Misalin, past the entrance hall, and down a long set of spiral stairs. While going down, Strusler explained that these are the chambers for which the holy artifact sword of Misalin, Erylon, is kept, the very same that Northend seeks to claim through this invasion. Over the course of the last century, only two individuals have entered the chambers for which the sword is housed – himself and the High Priest Deoneir.

Upon reaching the bottom of the Keep, our group came across the shattered remains of a five foot thick adamantine gate. According to Strusler, the gate guarding the Sacred Chambers within was protected by some of the most powerful defensive spells. Inside the thirty feet doorway where the gate once stood lays a dimly lit chamber longer than the eye can see. Parallel walkways made of marble are raised above a lake of what appears to be holy water. The walls are covered by a layer of aurorum metal that gives off an aura of dim illumination that fills the room.

As our group marched down the center walkway, we were blocked by a Lich clad in black spiked full plate armor, the same one who led the Northend forces in the battle less than an hour ago. Raising his own greatsword, Lord Strusler ordered us to secure the sword while he charged towards the Lich. Our party then turned left and went down a parallel walkway while the other three cavaliers took off towards the right. However after just a few seconds, we were stopped by a group of seven Northend necromancers who appeared out of thin air in front of us. In the battle that ensued Kati was knocked unconscious but survives, while Alon died after the blood in his body burst and he bled to death after losing consciousness.

XP Each: 3,300 XP (Kati at 60,060xp)

Several hours later, Kati woke up to find the place in ruins. The walkways were destroyed and large blocks of marble now lay in the shallow water. In the far corner of the chamber, bright sunlight floods in through a large hole that seems to reach directly towards the surface. While walking around, Kati found the bodies of a number of Northend necromancers, as well as those of three Misalin cavaliers. Upon checking, she discovers two of them still alive and rejuvenates them with healing magic. Kati also finds the pedestal where Erylon, the artifact sword of Misalin, seems to be once placed.

Loots (Due to the general situation of event just after Kati woke up, your character definitely aren’t taking their time to fully loot the place, especially given the location. However, you do find a bunch of items by numerous necromancer bodies that registers strongly on detect magic):
Amulets x2 (Magical)
Rods x8 (Magical)

After the Misalin cavaliers recover, they began speaking of an explosion that blew a hole in the room and humanoid beings with angelic wings that descended into the chambers. However, unlike true celestials, these beings did not seem to use their wings for flight. These beings then proceeded to devastate the entire room with fireballs and other energy attacks, and they were knocked unconscious by successive explosions near their position.

Kati helped the two cavaliers heal themselves back together before the three set off again, heading back towards the stairway that leads to the surface. Besides the collapsed walkway nearing the gates, the group found a set of black spiked full plate in the lake of holy water, the same that once armored the lich guarding the entrance. Just outside the gates of the Sacred Chambers, the group found Lord Strusler collapsed in a corner, smoke emitting from his armor. Strusler told the group that when fighting with the winged beings that entered the Sacred Chambers, he was hit by some strange energy ray that penetrated his armor and left a scorching fire effect that he couldn’t remove. Unlatching his armor plates, he showed the group a sparkling red patch of ‘fire’ that slowly burns away at the nearby flesh. Strusler then charged up another spell in his hand and touched the wound, healing the skin and flesh but the fire continued to burn.

Strusler got up with great difficulty and began the walk back up towards the surface with the group. The group moved back up the stairs, through the entrance hall and out the gates of the White Keep. The skirmishes that once spread throughout the Capital City has stopped, leaving a city devastated and smoldering from the battle. The ships that once fought in the skies were no longer there, but a section of the outer castle wall has collapsed and a heavily damaged purple striped yellow Sky Galleon lay in its location. On the ground, the galleon seems to have broken apart into two adjacent but separate halves, with a large gaping hole in its center.

Strusler led us towards the Sky Galleon, the location swarming with injured Misalin civilians, troops, and priests in what seems to have become a makeshift field hospital. Two dozen black metallic humanoid-looking constructs stood guard around the ship, where several team of gnomes in purple striped yellow uniforms busied themselves working on repairing the vessel. Upon a closer look, a large Naralan crest could be seen on the front of the ship – a purple bordered and striped yellow pentagon decorated with various craft tools. The ship itself seems to be made of a combination of wood and composite metal, with the hull molten near the large hole blasted through the skyship.

Kati and the two remaining cavaliers went to the field hospital to receive healing, stock potions, and help the priests tend to the wounded. Meanwhile, Strusler could be seen going about the ship talking to various gnomes. A while passed before he turned towards the ramp leading into the interior of the ship and walked in. After noticing Strusler entering the Naralan ship, Kati ran over and quickly caught up to him. Following Strusler’s lead in the narrow low wooden corridors of the skyship, Kati soon found herself entering the bridge. There, five gnomish commanders sat around a round table with a glowing communication orb. After initial greetings and thanking them for the requesting reinforcements, Lord Strusler began to converse with the gnomes regarding the battle.

According to the gnomes, during the height of combat between the two ships, a long sleek white ship with backward bent wings made of a thick layer of metallic feathers descended from the skies and opened fire on both ships with its nose-mounted cannon. The angelic ship fired off two separate blasts, each emitting a beam of vermillion light that penetrated the hull of each ship with ease. Within seconds, both the Naralan Sky Galleon and the navy blue skyship suffered crippling damage and fell from the skies. Afterwards, the angelic ship pointed itself downwards toward the keep and let off another beam of energy, blasting a hole deep into the underground caverns of the keep. The angelic ship left about ten minutes later, flying back above the clouds. During this time several troop units around the city reported sighting of winged humanoid beings entering and then leaving the opening blasted into the ground.

After the intrusion and departure of the angelic ship, hostile forces from around the city began to disengage from combat. The unknown forces in navy blue began withdrawing towards the crash site of their skyship, while units of Northend necromancers and undead simply vanished from the city altogether.

For a while, Strusler continued to converse with the gnomish commanders and through the orb with Naralan high command regarding current war situations and alliance matters. Apparently the gnomish lines have recently fallen under attack on all fronts by purple colored hovering constructs, capable of moving across rough terrain swiftly and unleashing deadly bursts of firepower.

Half an hour of discussion passed before Strusler left the Naralan Sky Galleon and returned to the field hospital outside to speak with officers and priests left in command of the Capital’s defenses…


GAME MEET #6

After briefing the local officials in charge of the Capital City, Lord Strusler called Kati and went back to the bridge of the Naralan Sky Galleon. Upon further discussion, Strusler and Naralan High Command decided upon their first course of action and Kati’s next mission. When the angelic ship descended, the navy blue ship was the first to open fire upon them, confirming open hostilities between these two factions. The leadership of both countries wishes to send emissary to the blue forces to negotiate a cease fire action and possibly temporary cooperation against this new threat that surpass the capabilities of both sides. Furthermore, they wish to gather information from them regarding this new enemy.

Strusler selected Kati as the emissary for this mission, while Pallvara, a gnomish weapons officer aboard the Naralan Sky Galleon was chosen to provide escort with a squad of “warforged”. These warforged are humanoid sentient living constructs made of adamantine, recently developed by Naralan craftsman for all purpose combat use.

The group left from the Naralan Sky Galleon and headed straight across the city towards the crash site of the navy blue skyship. Because of skirmishes that continue to break out around the crash site with sentries and patrols from the blue forces, the diplomatic party remained on maximum alert under the sign of a white flag. During their approach, they were briefly fired upon by blue forces, whose soldiers were apparently human and carrying long black metallic weapons with a blue immaterial energy spearheads that fires energy bolts of similar color. After showing a lack of hostilities, soldiers dressed in navy blue uniforms approached the group and spoke in a foreign tongue not similar to any known language. With the help of Kati’s tongues spell, the group managed to negotiate with them to meet their commanding officer.

The blue soldiers took the group to the base of their crashed ship, where several huge blue metallic constructs were busy repairing the hull of the ship by spraying some kind of green particle on. Several dozen troops also surrounded the area, scurrying about in their business. After a while, one of the captains brought back their commanding officer, who is exactly the same person as the one the Kati met back in Winchester. The only difference being his full black uniform being replaced by a navy blue one of the same type.

During the negotiations their commanding officer declined the offer of Misalin and Naralan. One of his reasons is that they also seek the artifact sword and as long as Misalin continue to desire it, truce is impossible between the two groups. He reveals that the angelic ship comes from the “Sacred Kingdom” and confirms that his forces are at open hostilities with them. He also asks Kati to bring a word of advice to Lord Strusler – that it would not be in the best interests of Misalin to keep the artifact sword. He says that news of it has spread out into the “galaxy” and too many factions now seek its power, forces that Misalin cannot even hope to contend with in terms of military strength. While the cooperation proposal was rejected, the blue forces’ commanding officers accepted a temporary cease-fire by means of allowing Misalin clerics to begin retrieving the injured from within their domain.

Kati and the group soon left the blue ship and returned to report the results to Strusler and the Naralan officers. Strusler commented that it is impossible for Misalin to simply relinquish Erylon. He mentions that the sword has a certain effect on the nation and without it, the country will deteriorate. After the report was finished, Strusler told Kati to take a break and get some rest, for she hasn’t really slept for more than three days now.


GAME MEET #7

After sleeping in for several hours, Kati awoke in the temporary barracks near the field hospital early next morning. She wanders about the nearby streets for over an hour, its remaining inhabitants still asleep. Slowly, people began returning to the streets, continuing their routine from yesterday, and Kati sees Lord Strusler walking towards the Naralan ship. She quickly catches up to him and began following him to the bridge.

In the bridge of the Naralan ship, Strusler explains to Kati and the various gnomish officers that apparently Deoneir has managed to locate the sword Erylon through divination magic. The “Sacred Kingdom” ship that was responsible for taking the sword seems to have crash landed in a northern mountain region of the Fens. However, Deoneir was unable to pinpoint its exact location, and to prevent divination from the other sides he screened the area with abjuration spells as fast as possible. Deoneir also reports that the Northend Black Lore Necromancers and their undead legions across the border seems to have withdrew overnight. However, a small faction of them seems to have gone through the passage of Durum Keep into South Misalin instead of retreating back into the Fens.

After consulting with Kati, it was decided that she should head back to Winchester as soon as possible to prepare for an expedition to recover the sword. Due to a shortage of available personnel, Strusler requested for assistance from the gnomes, who agreed to send along Pallvara and a squadron of warforged to support the expedition and for ‘field testing’ purposes.

Kati, Pallvara, and the warforged were quickly ‘loaded’ into two gnomish flying transports, which then flew about fifty miles out into the sea to leave the effective area of the Northern Misalin dimensional lock. The two transports then teleported to Lyderim Keep and finally back to Winchester teleportation point.

The party left the teleportation point and went directly to the command center to look for Lord Deoneir, all the while attracting much attention from troops within the city due to the exotic looking warforged. After some searching, Kati and Pallvara finds him in a laboratory room treating a barely dressed and dazed-looking Cary. It seems that she has physically recovered from whatever happened in the Whisperleaf forest, but has yet to fully recover on the mental stage.

Lord Deoneir then proceeded to brief the party regarding the recovery of Erylon. He explains that a number of expeditions will be dispatched in the next few days to the region where Erylon is suppose be, with the earliest being tomorrow morning. The party decided to leave along with the first team tomorrow morning. Deoneir also agreed to have the creationists take a look at the warforged and possibly enhance them to be more effective at eluding detection. After dealing with most of the details, Deoneir led Kati to another room, where she was handed a new custom forged sword, a holy avenger that was presented to all high ranking paladins within the Misalin Guard. Deoneir also informed Kati that she was promoted to the rank of Major for her efforts contributed in the Capital City battle.

Sword: +5 Holy Mct [+1] Cold Iron Huge Katana (SR equal to 5 + paladin level, Greater Dispel Magic [area dispel only] at CL equal to paladin level, Light [command word])

Kati and Pallvara then left the command center after the briefing. First they identified the items Kati found after the capital battle.

Loot from Meet #5:
Amulet of Charisma +2, x2
Lesser Metamagic Rod of Extend x6
Lesser Metamagic Rod of Quicken x2

Afterwards, Kati and Pallvara went into the local tavern to gather information. It was one of the buildings recently reconstructed for the use of the Misalin Guard troops in Winchester. After much nonchalant chatting and drinking with several troops in here, Kati manages to overhear a few rumors being gossiped around in the tavern:
• Of all the elite Aerial Fist of Misalin cavalier commanders that left for the Capital City, only three seems to have returned. Their losses were devastating to the Fist of Misalin units, which are left with serious gaps in their command structure.
• Since the armies of Northend wiped out most of the country, the remaining non-militarized citizens of Misalin took residence within the fortified Capital City. News has it that the recent battle devastated the Capital City, and the troops were worried about the well beings of what few relatives and friends they had left.
• An expeditionary force is schedule to depart tomorrow on a mission of unknown detail near Northend. The group is heard to be comprised of veteran members from the Eyes of Misalin Intelligence Unit. Rumor also has it that due to all the failures the EoM has made since the start of the war, this is their last chance before Lord Deoneir disbands the unit.
• It’s heard that the Misalin Guard forces stationed in Winchester will be divided into three groups: one group marching south to begin clearing out South Misalin, one group remaining at Winchester, and the third group will be leaving Misalin territory and entering the Fens. While the legions of Northend have withdrawn for now, the troops believe that the MG is in no condition to start a counteroffensive of any kind, and thus they are confused by what the higher-ups are thinking.
• During the last battle in the City of Highrez against the Durum Defender, it is heard that the person responsible for destroying the Durum Defender, who wiped out entire regiments in mere seconds, was a black colored man from the Misalin Guard Elite. However since then all traces regarding this man has disappeared. The shroud of mystery surrounding this particular detail seems to draw the interest of many troops within MG.

Before long, Kati began showing signs of drunkenness. However shortly afterwards she and Pallvara left back to the barracks to rest up for tomorrow’s mission.


GAME MEET #8

Early next morning, Kati and Pallvara woke up and were called to the command center by a Misalin cleric. There they found Lord Deoneir finishing a conversation with members of the other expedition team that were scheduled to depart that morning. The person leading the group was none other than the commanding officer of the Eyes of Misalin, Kilar Setari. After their leave, Deoneir invited the party to have some breakfast, a specially conjured heroes’ feast [double empower extend], while he left to have the creationists bring down the warforged troops they were working on overnight.

After eating, the group was invited back into the entry halls of the command center, where several Misalin creationists were making final examinations on thirteen warforged soldiers. One of the creationists handed Kati a rod and told her that they’ve enhanced the warforged with Iron Silence and active Camouflage. The Iron Silence should allow the warforged to move without clanking excessively, while the active Camouflage allows them to blend in with the local terrain. However, the effect must be reset whenever they change locations to function properly, and the rod is required for that purpose. The rod also functions as a communication rod with three setting – message (at will, no line-of-sight required), sending (at will), and sending [rapid] (1/day). The group also decides to further muffle the sound of their movement by wrapping cloth around the metallic feet of the warforged.

Kati, Pallvara, and the warforged then proceeded out of the command center and out to the town square, where Deoneir and his clerics have finished preparing the teleportation circle that will bring them to the search area. With both Kati’s and Kilar’s group gathered around the teleportation circle, Deoneir explains that the target search area is a 20-miles radius region around the target location of the teleportation circle. He instructs that any group should contact headquarters as soon as they pinpoint Erylon’s exact location, as Lord Strusler plan to head in personally to retrieve it. He also hands both Kilar and Kati each a small metallic box before bidding them good luck on their task ahead. As Kilar’s team begins entering the teleportation circle, he tells Kati that they’ll begin search in the western half of the region.

The group follows into the teleportation circle after Kilar’s group. However, by the time they come out of the other end, all they heard were several teleportation effects as Kilar’s men were nowhere in sight. Since Kilar’s team was heading west, Kati and Pallvara decide to start their search towards the east. They also opened the box given to them by Lord Deoneir to find some presents from the Misalin creationists:
Vial of Delayed Blast Fireball (CL 20, DC 20) x10
‘Bank’ notes with Explosive Runes written upon them x25

The group began heading west for just a short while before they caught sight of three frost giants pulling a large wagon full of logs, whom Pallvara prompts decided to ambush and kill. The battle went successfully as the frost giants were slain by the party with little difficulty, although one of the warforged was cleaved to pieces by a frost giant.

XP Each: 825 XP (Kati at 60,885xp, Pallvara & XAT at 55,825xp)

After the encounter, the group continued to head eastwards. Over the course of several hours, the terrain became rougher as the sloping hills gradually grew into mountains. The attitude climbed higher and the climate became colder, while snow began falling from the skies. Before long the party was forced to transverse the steep mountainsides in a foot deep of snow in the middle of a thick blizzard, barely able to see anything.

However when the party scaled over the top of another mountain, they managed to see a living creature moving towards them in the distance. As they drew closer, they noticed it was a humanoid riding a woolly mammoth, with a Chilblain hovering directly over them like an umbrella. The humanoid had every inch of his skin, including his face, covered with winter gear. Upon approaching the party, he took off some of his facial gear, showing orcish features underneath. After preliminary greetings, he revealed that he was a member of a clan that controls these regions, and that he was in the mountains to capture the Chilblain monster currently hovering above him. He also comments that there is a tribe of frost giants within these mountains who refuses to join the alliance formed between all the other clans in the area. He then asks the party for their purpose here in the mountains. At first the party refuses to answer him, but after he repeats his question several times, Pallvara suddenly starts to reveal every detail he knows regarding the mission on retrieving Erylon. After receiving the information, the orc teleports off with his wooly mammoth, while his Chilblain lands and begins attacking the party.

In the resulting battle, the mission group manages to defeat the Chilblain at the cost of taking heavy casualties themselves. Every warforged except for the group leader was destroyed during the fight by the Chilblain’s icy breath, claws, and tail mace.

XP Each: 13,200 XP (Kati at 74,085xp, Pallvara & XAT at 69,025xp)


GAME MEET #9

The mission team, now reduced to only three people and a mount, continues journeying eastwards in the blizzard, despite the heavy snowfall that reduces visibility to less than zero. After more than a dozen hours of treading through the endless snow, we step into the domain of a large glacier. Not long after that, the group notices an interesting sight in the distance: a black tower several miles to the north, its sight piercing the thick blizzard and its structure without an inch of snow accumulation.

The group turned northbound towards the tower and after much walking, they finally arrive at its base. The cylindrical tower is completely black and has a diameter of about 120ft. It has no visible openings on its side and is tall enough to literally touch the sky. The ground around the tower seems like it was dug out and modified for defensive purposes, although the heavy snow cover made it impossible to determine the exact details. A single double door gate about 10ft wide and tall stand in the front of the tower, marked with intimidating patterns, writings in inferno, and six runes. An analysis of the runes shows that they are un-triggered defensive glyphs of unknown type.

While the group pondered about their options on how to open the gate, an extremely high pitched screech could be heard coming in from miles away to the southeast. The screech seems to have emanated from multiple sources in the same area at same time. Several minutes afterwards, the mission team discovered three frost giants moving towards their location. The group tried to conceal their presence, but as XAT attempts to hide within a ditch he triggers off a fire trap that alerted the enemies.

A vicious battle ensued afterwards that resulted in the death of one frost giant and the other two running away. After the battle, Kati looted the corpse of the fallen frost giant and identified the items.

XP Each: 1,500 XP (Kati at 75,585xp, Pallvara & XAT at 70,525xp)

Loot:
Belt of Strength +4 & One Mighty Blow
Dueling Cloak of Resistance +2 & Elemental Protection (Resistance 10, Immediate Action Activate)

The team then proceeding back to figuring out a method to open the gate. Pallvara attempted to disable the six defensive glyphs and ends up triggering three but manages to escape with only light injuries. XAT tries once to knock down the gate but fails to budge it in the slightest degree. Kati then used comprehend languages to read the Inferno writing on the gate. The three lines includes one in large print on the upper half of the gate and two in small scribbles near the runes. The writing translates to:

"Keep of Channeling Supremacy, Tower of Shadows"
"Fortress Base of the Great War"
"Corshek, Elinyreth, Sammael, Areth"

Pallvara recognized the name Corshek as being a Northend mage who dueled and defeated the famous Naralan arithmancer Sahir Turco, and Elinyreth, meaning “azure arcane diamond” in elven, is the name of a famous noble house in Airindale. While discussing the names, Kati suddenly remembered some information she learned during her days at the Paladin Academy:

Those four words are the names of the four Northend arithmancers who started the Great Alliance War.
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"Hurrah, Warsaw's ours!" / "Hurrah, Field Marshal!" - Battle report & promotion notice between Alexander Suvorov & Catherine the Great

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Postby Zanaikin » Sat Sep 02, 2006 4:28 pm

GAME MEET #10

After disabling the glyphs and deciphering the writings on the gate, the mission group returned to the task of attempting to open it. Kati sent a few sonic attacks towards it, only to make some minor cracks, dents, and craters. XAT then proceeded to punch it at maximum strength with his adamantine fists while Pallvara put the area under a silence spell. After around ten minutes of bashing, they manage to make a hole in the gate and widen it enough to allow Kati’s Pegasus to squeeze through.

The team entered and found themselves inside a hollow tower, lit by twenty four torches spread out along the circular walls. On each side there is a ladder that leads up to a room that hangs to the side of the walls, separated from the floor by a height of ten feet. Two doors connect each room to the ladders and two other door opens towards the center where nothing but a ten feet drop down to the first floor awaits. In the middle of the room there is a cylindrical stone pedestal with a crimson gem. Upon looking upwards, one also sees the hollow space within the tower continues upwards as far as the eye can see without any sign of a ceiling. It also seems only the first floor of the tower is lit.

After the team’s entry, they were immediately covered by a nauseating cloud of vapors which caused Kati to start vomiting. Also Kati and Pallvara suddenly felt the urge to leave the inside of the tower as fast as possible. The two quickly scrambled outside, leaving Kati’s Pegasus and XAT within the tower. Pallvara soon manages to return to his senses and ignore the ominous feeling of forbiddance as he reenters the tower. Within a minute, the feeling of nausea passes by Kati but she still fails to summon the will to reenter. Meanwhile, Pallvara could hear the sound of voices from the two rooms just before the doors burst open to reveal twelve Northend soldiers. These troops were wearing black cloaks and wielding rods but their uniform and gear seems slightly different than those of the necromancers the team saw in the Capital City.

Another battle ensued as the three person team proceeded to slash, stab, and flame strike the Northend troopers before them. However, after engaging with them in battle, our team members notice that their bodies were slightly wispy and shadowy, as though made of a material not fully physical. When they were injured, shadowy smoke would be released from their ‘wounds’, or they simply burst into a haze of smog while falling from consciousness. Within a minute, our three team members eliminated all signs of the enemy, as their bodies vaporized without a trace.

XP: 2,200 (Kati at 77,785xp, Pallvara & XAT at 72,725xp)

Following the battle, the team members looked around the place a bit. They manage to discover two strangely looking rocks, one located within each room, to be the source of the quasi-real illusions they just fought. The same two rocks, when inserted into the pedestal in the center of the Keep, also serve as a key that brings down a lift made of pure invisible force and conjures the rod that control the lift.

Bonus XP to Pallvara: 200 (Kati at 77,785xp, Pallvara at 72,925xp, XAT at 72,725xp)

The team then situated themselves on the force platform as Pallvara flipped the rod upside down, causing the lift to thrust itself upwards into the darkness of the hollow tower at breakneck speed. After over a minute of speeding upwards, the three noticed what seems to be a ceiling opening itself to the world outside. As the lift cleared the fully retracted roof of the tower, it stopped instantly as the roof closed back together below them.

The group members found themselves at the top of the tower thousands of feet off the ground. The sky has already fallen dark. The blizzard outside continued around them but any snow that drifted down towards the tower seems to melt and vanish within ten foot of the surface. There was not a breeze of wind at the roof and despite the darkness and heavy snowfall, the group could also see into the distance as though neither did anything to impede vision. Also, right below their feet, they found themselves looking at a magic circle spanning the entire surface area of the roof (120ft diameter) and filled with runic writings.

Kati quickly manages to determine that the circle was a magic focusing array of sorts, except it was considerably larger and more complicated than any she has seen or heard of. The runes covering the circle were mostly symbolic writing in ancient Draconic, Abyssal, or Inferno of words relating to magic. However, one particularity caught her notice: there were four runic words written in Inferno spread in four opposite directions on the circle, 20ft away from the outermost edge. Each word surrounded by a smaller circle inscribed within the larger one. The runes nearing each of these words also revolve around them in addition to the center of the main array. These four words were the same ones inscribed on the gate of the Keep:

"Corshek, Elinyreth, Sammael, Areth"

Attempting to figure out the purpose of the huge mage circle, Kati tries standing on one of the four runes and speaking its word in Inferno. Immediately the smaller circle around the rune activates, shedding off a crimson glow. A surge of arcane energy burst forth from the circle and poured into Kati, bathing her body in a crimson glow as Pallvara and XAT watched in confusion. However, within seconds the arcane energy stopped flowing into Kati and began retracting from her, withdrawing back to the magic array as it slowly dimmed and returned to its form before Kati’s activation.

The surprising event occurred within seconds and went beyond all comprehension of the team members. However, it left Kati slightly drained, pale, and feeling different. She could not tell what exactly it was except that something about her body and flesh was simply… slightly different from before. With an ominous feeling, Kati tried using detect evil, and found herself emitting a faint evil aura.

While Kati was distracted by her findings, Pallvara and XAT notice something several miles away to the north. A partial explosion of fire in the sky, covered in one end by a screen of multi-colored light which flashed suddenly and then vanished. A minute later, a similar effect went off in the same area. Several minutes later, a third partial explosion and its corresponding flashing screen of multi-colored light could be seen, which also revealed the figure of a sleek, long, and purple object floating in the sky for a mere second, before both the object and the light screen vanishes from sight.
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"Hurrah, Warsaw's ours!" / "Hurrah, Field Marshal!" - Battle report & promotion notice between Alexander Suvorov & Catherine the Great


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