The Torture Room and Cemetery

Adventure Log
To continue my chronicles of yesterday, we returned to the main entrance and now headed west. At one door, we heard some nondescript mumbling, but we moved on. The next doorway opened into a torture chamber.

There we fought a difficult battle against a hobgoblin torturer and several snipers. With the handy placement of an iron maiden, Kanaan and Morgan forced the hobgoblin to face his death at the end of several sharp spikes as Morthos and Sylvar kept the others at bay.

I struggled to keep Kanaan from slipping into the afterlife. I must find the time to study the arts of Pelor's healing longer so that I can learn stronger spells. The evils we face are great, and I will need to harness all of my devotion to Pelor to keep us alive and to prevent the world from slipping into darkness.

Around the corner of the torture chamber, two unhappy prisoners begged for their release. Delfina Moongem we happly set free, but we were a bit more skeptical about the goblin who claimed his "goodness." As far as I am concerned, he and his actions will be judged in the light of day by Pelor himself. He gave us information about the rest of the dungeon in return for his freedom.

Upon returning tired and weak to Winterhaven, the townsfolk told us that the cemetery was overrun with undead. We delayed for but a few hours to gather our strength and renew our holy devotions. Good thing, too, for the ambush awaiting us would have meant our death if we had not planned accordingly.

We flooded the unhallowed ground of the town cemetery with light and took caution to avoid the main path. From the darkness emerged a small skeletal army led by the despicable Neenar. Sylvar quickly took down several minions with one blow, while Kanaan went after Neenar. Two ferocious undead hounds attacked Morgan, but I called upon Pelor to smite them and he responded. After the mayhem had ended, we intercepted another letter from Kalarel, a servant of Orcus. The broken tombs also revealed the corpses of several villagers whose bodies had been misused in a demonic ritual to raise the undead. We brought their bodies back into town, notified the families, and gave them a proper blessing and burial so that their souls may rest in peace.

"Burn away the shadows; reveal the truth." -Illumination #1

Descent into darkness

Adventure Log
Few people slept well last night. With a little persuasion and some old-fashioned farmhand labor from Morgan, we learned about the disturbing vision: a dark passageway strewn with skulls and bones, and a door opening that left most people upset and fearful. That door was marked with the ghastly symbol of Orcus.

Clearly, we must act. We spoke briefly to the town's wizard and the baron before setting off to the ruins of Shadowfell. Descending below the surface of the earth, I was reluctant to leave the light of day but knew that Pelor's light would follow the path I tread.

We stumbled into a pit trap of rats but vanquished a few goblin foes without much harm. From there we proceeded east into an excavation site and several more goblins. Darting across the uneven floor and the makeshift scaffolding, our party put an end to the excavation. We collected a holy symbol of Bahamut that has since come in quite handy. Although the goblins had argued about whether or not more treasure was buried in this room, we knew that we must continue to clear out this cursed place.

"Pelor does not give that we see the sun, but gives the sun by which we can see." -Illumination #5

Victory among the kobolds

Adventure Log
Tonight I write in my journal hastily, for I'm anxious to return to the common room in Salvana's inn and celebrate with my friends.

Our reunion with Dougal was rewarding and proved to be the first of many great adventures in the lands around Winterhaven. As I mentioned yesterday, we had accepted a commission from the Baron Padraig and were eager to prove our honest reputation.

Kanaan was back in good health, and we certainly needed his support in this raid upon the kobold lair. Before we could pack our belongings and head out, we made the acquaintance of two we'd not care to meet again.

Delphina Moongem is an elven craftswoman in town for the local market night. She seemed friendly enough, but her spaciness and her habit of ending all statements in an airy sigh was enough to irritate Morthos to the point of fingering his dagger.

The other irritating elf we met is by far the more dangerous. Neenar (who is as ugly as his name) feigned interest in our trek towards the kobolds. He suggested that we attack them immediately and boasted of their small, weak numbers. When asked about his own penchant for battle, he claimed that he was a pacifist, belying the deep gashes on his face and his broad caloused hands that have obviously grasped more weapon handles than farming tools. We neither trusted him nor wanted him to know our business.

For that reason, we traveled down the road from Winterhaven again, but this time turning off the worn path into the underbrush alongside the hills. The others found a decent spot to camp, located on a high hill overlooking the valley and the lair of the kobolds. We waited until just before dawn, planning to besiege them as Pelor's light first breaks the darkness. Perhaps the plan would have been better if I were able to keep my tired eyes open so early in the morning. As it was, I stumbled much and defeated all attempts at stealth as Vanya and Morthos slipped through the woods ahead effortlessly.

Finally we came to the location of the lair, interrupting the grumbling cries of "More fish!" from a griping kobold leader who stomped his foot angrily inside a strange runic circle drawn on the banks of a stream. The first few were dealt with swiftly, but one escaped into the mouth of their den. Following the current to a small waterfall, Kanaan led the charge into the cave and the source of the evil. There we fought in a line, slaying the kobolds and bracing for the arrival of one they called Irontooth.

A feisty little guy in enormous chain boots, Irontooth raged like a rabid animal and exhausted us. Morthos pushed him back with awesome strength, and Kanaan knocked out more than one of Irontooth's yellowed teeth. Yet the animal continued to fight, tapping into an unknown reserve of strength rarely seen among kobolds. We were all more than a bit bloodied by the time the wicked creature finally toppled over with a great thump against the cave floor.

We took his head for proof, his boots as a souvenir, and a bit of treasure from a small lock box stored in the back of the den. Now that I am back in the safety of a city and the warmth of a hearth, the battle does not seem as grim as it did just hours before. Perhaps we too can tap into unknown reserves of strength just as Pelor's light finds its way into the smallest cracks of a fortress wall.

"Sol invictus!" -Illumination #3

Finding Dougal and nearly losing my life

Adventure Log
To our disappointment, Dougal did not meet us at the arranged time. As we waited, we got to know the people in Winterhaven. Sylvar spent some quality time getting to know Salvana and the folks who frequented the inn. This sketch was created by a kindly fellow named Amarynceus, who drew it here in return for a pitcher.

Morthos preferred to keep to himself while we waited. Vanya scouted out the city, and Kanaan slept away much of the day trying to get over a nasty cough he had picked up while traveling. I went in search of the local house of worship--or at least the one other than the bar.

The kindly Sister Linora runs the temple of Avandra within the keep. On my way back, I met a young guard named Thomas who told me of the baron's late father, "The Dragon." He apparently was quite a character and quite a fighter in his time, but he died peacefully in his sleep. So much for my theories that the burial site associated with dragons was a reference to him.

Meanwhile, Sylvar was making the rounds with several locals at the inn. Salvana, the owner, tipped him off to Dougal's abrupt departure immediately after he had spoken with Elian the Old. Fortune favored us because Elian happened to be sitting just a few tables away--or perhaps there isn't much going on in Winterhaven besides drinking Pelor's finest. Though he didn't care for being called "old," Elian certainly enjoyed putting away a few beers. The farmer's weathered appearance contrasted greatly with the soft, learned face of the man who accompanied him, Valthrun the Prescient. Valthrun was friendly enough and made polite conversation about Childwall and the art of wizardry. These pleasantries led us to exactly what we wanted to know: where was Dougal?

Elian sketched out a map for Sylvar, pointing out the burial site in which Dougal had taken such interest. It was an ancient site that dated back to before Nerath and was loosely associated witha dragon cult. Doubtlessly, the stories of this place must have excited our friend and scholar of history. When we regrouped that afternoon--dragging Morthos out of his private meditations but leaving Kanaan in a pleasant slumber--our party agreed to seek out the site and search for Dougal if he did not come looking for us first.

As we waited to the end of our appointed meeting, it became clear that the wait was worthwhile. Dougal did not appear, but the baron did. All business, Edmund Padraig quickly sized us up and offered a hundred gold to dispose of his town's kobold problem. "Something is getting them worked up. They haven't acted like this before," he warned. On a napkin nearby, he mapped out their den.

The details of this commission and the way we fulfilled it will be left for my next entry. While the act of helping a good community and ridding the world of evil pests is important, we were concerned foremost with locating our missing friend.

For this reason, when we set out along the well-traversed road from the gates of Winterhaven, we turned to the southwest--toward the burial grounds rather than the kobold lair. Taking no care to disguise our tracks or approach the site with secrecy, we were hailed loudly by the friendly call of a gnomish man who looked much too happy see us.

I was duped by the man's small stature and wide grin, but our ranger was not. Vanya, who often sees what I do not, hung back from the group as we were led up to their excavations. Two others were busily digging and taking care not to let their eyes meet us. That should have been enough to tip me off, but unfortunately it wasn't until a knife was thrust against the spine that I realized this gnome was not the amiable fellow he pretended to be. Though the tricky little man slipped in and out of my visibility, Vanya, Morthos, and Sylvar showed great strength and courage that would have made our sparring master at Childwall beam with pride.

With great effort and many prayers to Pelor, I kept my entrails from spilling to the ground. The foes were defeated and we happly discovered two things of great interest: a silver mirror with many ritualistic runes, and--stuffed inside an oddly-shaped cloth bag--our kidnapped friend Dougal.

"The suffering ends, and the sun rises again." -Illumination #4