Complexity Embedded in Simplicity

Vicky wakes up early, before the rest of the party, and heads back to the tower.  Just as she did the day before, she makes herself invisible, sneaks into the tower, and reports for duty in the kitchen.  Throughout the day she converses with her fellow servants and overhears head cook Sue say " Bellam Barhold is such a lush. He does enjoy his wine. He’s always complaining about how he can’t get any of the good stuff here in the borderlands. " Shivers, Lumond, and Harlocke wake for the day, eat their breakfast quietly at the Inn, then head to the farmland area of town so they can discuss their strategies out of earshot of other town folk.  Lumond hands Shivers a note Vicky left for him outlining some items she needs procured from the market while she is gone.  The meeting concludes with Shivers making his way to Master Caldwin’s Cauldron to purchase 2 doses of  Oil of Restfulness .  Harlocke bullies a local teen into giving him a crutch then proceeds to dis...

  Aldencross is a township of necessity. It exists only because Balentyne exists. First, there was the dwarven bridge that spanned the nearby River Tyburn. That bridge was built in a time when a great dwarven kingdom spanned the entire island both north and south. That bridge was a critical lifeline connecting the dwarven realms, north and south. In time, the dwarven realms faltered and disappeared but their sturdy bridge remained surviving through the centuries. When King Accarius IV called the Architect built the Watch Wall, this ancient bridge was an obvious place to build a fortress. The king considered destroying the bridge but decided against it. The bridge might be useful in the planned invasion of the Savage North (that invasion never materialized) and the mere existence of the bridge meant the bugbears had a known choke point they were likely to attack. And so the dwarven bridge became the death trap called Balentyne. Balentyne was not far from a crossroads where the north...

  The Laughing Storm In the dead of night as a cold snap hits, the temperature plummets well below freezing and ice rime begins to form on the rigging.  It begins to snow – intermittent flurries at first give way to fat flakes and biting winds.  The crew lights up a few torches to provide both light and warmth in the freezing darkness.  This proves a mistake as a nearby ice spirit named  Kiliketz  takes offense at the mortals’ interference. Kiliketz - Ice Mephit Kiliketz leads a small band of four ice elementals across the face of the barely liquid water towards the intruding ship.  The mephit stealthily flies to the top of the ship’s mast while the ice elementals wait in the water.  There, from his perch, he reveals his presence with an inhuman laugh. Even though Kiliketz casts  Chill Metal  on Vicky's armor, and repeatedly hits Harlocke with  Magic Missle , the party wastes no time in dispatching all 4 ice elementals and their lea...

Dark have been Nimbuses’ dreams of late.  A haunted triton oracle of Mitra, Nimbus has always been regarded as mad by his tribe.  He has foreseen that a great evil is coming and has become convinced that only he can stop it. That great evil is of course the PCs. Nimbus has gathered a small group of triton believers and their dolphin allies and now they move to intercept The Frosthamar. Nimbus and the four triton warriors wait until nightfall when the ship has stopped. Before the battle begins Nimbus casts magic weapon on each of the four triton’s crossbows.  The oracle then casts sanctuary on himself. Finally they are ready to strike! They begin the fight by summoning five small water elementals using their daily summon spell upon the deck of the ship.  The water elementals are commanded to push anyone they find on the boat into the water.  The tritons and the dolphins will deal with them there.  But lacking the proper advantage, the warriors...

Sir Balin of Karfeld waits in his cell. He is a captured knight of the Alerion order and is personally famous for hunting followers of Asmodeus.   Harlocke recognizes Sir Balin and knows Balin was instrumental in capturing one the PCs.  Harlocke also remembers Balin is a member of the same military force that captured each of them.   This knight of the Alerion Order is Cardinal Thorn’s gift of vengeance to his new knot. Sir Balin The knight woke up here with food, water, his arms and armor, two days ago. He was badly wounded in the battle to capture him, but his wounds were all magically healed when he awoke. He has tried to force the door many times but has failed utterly to break the iron bands that strengthen it. He wears around his neck a sunburst of silver and sapphire -- a holy symbol of Mitra. This is of course the pendant that our villains seek.  Sir Balin is an honorable man and takes seriously his oaths. He hates Asmodean devotees passionately and...

Moving on to the next obvious room east, our villains encounter a room with an inscription above it's door reading " The chosen are revealed by their might. The weak deserve no sympathy" . This chamber houses two mithral cobras commanded to attack all who enter. The cobras bite bears a paralytic poison but otherwise are quite lethal. With a few swift punches, and an ogre in tow, they make quick work of the threat and begin to assess their next move.   Timeon It doesn’t take long for the party to realize they’ve skipped a room so they backtrack to find a torture room.  The inscription above the door reading " Cruelty is a tool not a pastime. Be ruthless to thy enemy but reward those who serve thee well ".  Hiding within the room is a squire of Balentyne named Timeon.  Timeon recognizes the Asmodeus symbols and refuses to help our scoundrels until it is decided that he be racked.  Minimal persuasion causes the squire to break and he spills all his knowledge....

The moors of Talingarde are dark, brackish salt marshes teaming with mosquitos and other buzzing pests.  But this is of little consequence to our group of sinners as the map stolen, but an hour ago from the ill-fated Branderskar prison warden Mathias Richter, exposes routes to the Old Moor Road avoiding patrols.  Unfortunately the chosen route did not anticipate crossing the path of the Giant Toad Lashtongue who fancied a quick meal.  The old toad stood no chance; even though it managed to surprise our party, the adventurers made quick work of him. After escaping the prison, surviving the monstrous Lashtongue, and crossing the moors with guard patrols at their heels, finding the house on the Old Moor Road pales beside their other accomplishments.  As promised, a lonely lantern burns in the upper story. The place otherwise shows little sign of habitation. Old but well-appointed, the house is large, imposing and alone on its hill. Painted a dark green and surrounded by...

The alarm horn moans through the halls as it’s musician is slain and his comrades are pummeled by the resident ogre.  Our budding villains quickly take inventory of their new found armament as Shivers attempts a solo escape through the courtyard.  His plan is foiled by a small barrage of arrows causing him to retreat back to his party, to safety in numbers, to the tank Grumblejack.   Barring the door to the mess hall our intrepid adventurers await their fate; Vicky befriends the servant Sam and presses him for information about the prison.  The quiet calm is soon broken with a pound at the door followed by demands for surrender by an unknown speaker.  The criminals decide to hold their ground meanwhile Harlock notices movement from their rear, sending Sam reluctantly into the kitchen to investigate.  Sam’s kitchen incursion and followed confusion earns him an arrow to his head having tested Harlock’s patience.  Patience being a luxury our scoundre...

After being marked and condemned to death, a group of prisoners band together in an attempt to break out of the most secure prison in all of Talingarde.  Three humans, Harlocke, Shivers, Vicky, and a Half-Orc named Lumond are chained to a prison cell wall awaiting their sentencing to be carried out when Shivers receives word he has an unexpected visitor. Chaos ensues as the guards fumble around attempting to unshackle Shivers with the guards attacking each other, seemingly randomly, to the displeasure of Sargent Tomas Blackerly. Once Shivers is secured in the interrogation room, he receives a visit from a woman named Tiadora. " Oh, dearest, ” proclaims the unfamiliar woman. “ I’m so relieved you’re alive!” She quickly turns to Tomas. “ Could we please have a moment alone, good sir? For pity’s sake? ” Tomas goes blank for a bit and then quickly agrees. “ Of course, my lady. For you,’ tis no problem. ” As soon as the guards leave, Tiadora’s demeanor immediately changes. She drops a...