Session logs

[sleepingdragon]

This thread is for the logs of the Andros campaign, which can also be found on my geocities site located here.

[sleepingdragon]

Sleeping Dragon: Four figures rode across Cetria like the wind.

They had come far. From Morrol the Black's lonely tower, on the marches of the ruined kingdoms of Deira and Berenicia, they had sped southeast through the little kingdoms of Aldiluvia, and on for over a week before they came to Andros' greatest city, Lugdun. They passed through its stout timbered walls and into the bustling city itself, where they hired passage on the longship of a trader from the First Cities, who eyed them slyly and seemed to mentally calculate how much money he could get from such an obviously wealthy group before naming a price. They sailed through the terrible Bite of the Ander, spending two miserable nights in the lashing wind and rain, among hardened sailors who trembled and muttered the names of the great seafaring Masters; Ithil, Estos, and Nautamer.

At length they escaped from the Bite and came into tamer waters, and then on to the northwestern coast of Cetria, where the merchant deposited them at a small Cetrian coastal town, Aixon. They stayed there only long enough to refresh their supplies and learn of heavy Ferrish raids on the kingdoms of the eastern coast before they set out again, for they still had a long way to go. For two weeks they pounded across Cetria, across rivers and fields and under the shadows of motte-and-bailey castles that the lords and knights of Cetria had constructed for defence against the Northmen and other, darker things.

As the sun fell that night, they were finally coming up to their destination, the village of Classon in the Cetrian kingdom of Boreleaux. It was summer and the nights came late, and it was only when the sun had truly dropped behind the clouds that they stopped, because Morrol the Black had laid a heavy charge on them.

"Find Glacier Keep!" he'd said to them by way of parting. "You're of differing peoples, it's true, but we must put such things behind us and unite, or we will all end up like Deira and Berenicia. The Crown is the only thing that can unite the island. Keep it safe, and keep it secret for now! Its magic has faded, but little princelings and thieves will still kill you in order to possess it. Keep it hidden, restore its magic, and bring it back to me, and then we will discover who is meant to wear it."
No Name (enter): 23:05
Eifion: Eifion is leanly muscular, with partially braided black hair to his shoulders and sharp gray eyes hidden in deep sockets. His thin black beard is well-cultivated, and his clothes are somewhat more decorative than is usual for the Old Folk, if still practical. He has two short spears and a crossbow strapped to his backpack.
Owain: Owain is a sturdy looking man with a pile of black hair on his head and a somewhat unruly beard. He leans on a fancy-looking glaive to help with his limp.
No Name (exit): 23:06
No Name (enter): 23:06
No Name (exit): 23:07
Khalisar: Khalisar was a tall, slender youth, with black hair which reached his shoulders, deep blue eyes set above gaunt cheeks, and a thick goatee. He was wearing a red and black tunic and, unlike the others, was only lightly armed, with a dagger at his belt.
Eifion: The eldest son of the last chief of his village, Eifion claims he easily could take the leadership from his younger brother, but he has "much more interesting things to do". As the group has traveled, he has spent most of his time whistling, complaining about the weather, or making sarcastic remarks about Morrol. "Morrol the Black, eh? Do you think he went through all the color choices? 'Yellow, no that's not dramatic or mysterious enough... Pink makes me seem girly...'"
No Name (enter): 23:08
Owain: "In Cetria already...We are making quite a good way so far"
Gytha: Gytha rode her horse in silence, thinking her own thoughts and occasionally looking around at the passing scene. At Eiffion's words she shook her head, making the dark red tangles of hair swirl around. "I think Morrol has more serious matters to worry about than his choice of apparel Eiffion!" she said, fixing the young man with amber eyes.
Eifion: Eifion smiled back. "And I find your wit sharp as a blade as well, my dear!" He nodded his head as if in approval of those interesting eyes of hers.
Gytha: "Wit is all very well, but you should take life more seriously. One day the gods will call you to account for your wasted time." Gytha said without a hint of sarcasm.
Owain: "There'll be plenty of time to take life seriously on this mission, sweetheart. Let him do what he wants with his spare time"
Khalisar: As the others talked, Khalisar had sat and taken the crown from his saddlebags and was trying to get a better look at it. He didn't say a word, but it was obvious he was quite taken by the artifact.
Eifion: Eifion pulled on the reins, and his horse halted quickly. He put a hand against his chest and his mouth dropped open. "W... wasted? Is that what my life has been? I suppose you're right. Traveling the world, righting wrongs, meeting beautiful women, learning ancient lore, that's wasted time! I should have been more serious and learned stonecutting or something." He chuckled and spurred his horse on once again, peering ahead at the town.
Gytha: "I know what he does with his spare time!" Gytha said to Owain , "I can hear him doing it every night. He'll go blind if he keeps that up."
Eifion: Eifion cackled loudly as if the joke had been at someone else's expense. "Saucy! I knew you had a sense of humor hidden somewhere."
Owain: "Help save the lad's eyes, then and stop complaining"
Owain: *, then ,
Gytha: "He can find some fool of a woman to do that for him no doubt," Gytha retorted. "Where's Kahalisar got to?" she added, looking round.
Khalisar: Khalisar had ridden in front of them as they were speaking earlier, and had sat down, thinking it was about time to set up camp. He still had the crown in his hand, and occasionally polished it with the sleeve of his tunic. When he saw the woman look around though, he began to put the crown back where it belonged, in the bags.
Gytha: "Don't you think it would be safer to keep that out of sight?" Gytha asked Khalisar, as she dismounted. "We don't want it on show."
Eifion: "Ah, good work, this seems a good place to stop," said Eifion as he reached Khalisar." He tied up his horse and started to make a fire.
Khalisar: "Of course, of course."said the man, scowling "I'm not a fool, I was just checking that the crown was alright. And I don't think there's anyone who might see us here, the town is quite far."
Owain: "Caution won't hurt. Just keep it in the saddlebags" - Said Owain as he rode up with the rest
Gytha: Gytha unrolled her bedding and sat down on it.
Khalisar: Khalisar removed the bags from the horse, and let it free to graze and rest. He began taking his bedroll and placing it on the ground to lay on it, and then just stood silent and pondering.
Gytha: "How do you reckon we should start searching for the Keep tomorrow?" she asked the others.
Eifion: "Well, I'd say the first step is to ask around for information rumors and such. That is my forte."
Owain: "Ask for directions in Classon" - Owain replied laconically
Gytha: "Yes, that should get everyone in town interested in our quest," Gytha snorted, rolling her eyes at Owain.
Khalisar: "Askin for directions to the keep?"said a grinning Khalis "Oh sure. The paesants there will point us to the keep, yes."he said with sarcasm "I don't think it will be that easy."
Eifion: "Now now," said Eifion to Khalisar. "Don't tease the poor lad."
Eifion: "Now now," said Eifion to Khalisar. "Don't tease the poor lad."
Owain: "I
Eifion: edit:ignore second
Owain: "I'm sure they will know the whereabouts of Merrekford - and that's all we really need"
Gytha: "Eiffion can go in and chat to people. He's good at that." Gytha said, ignoring his comments. "He has to be good at something."
Eifion: Disconnecting from server...
Eifion (exit): 23:33
Eifion (enter): 23:33
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (1235) Eifion...
Owain: *disregard last transmission
Eifion: "I thank you for your confidence, fair maiden!" said Eifion cheerily.
Owain: "There's bound to be something odd in the area that someone knows about. The worst that can happen is getting to go for a walk through the woods"
Gytha: "All kinds of things can be hanging around in woods." Gytha said darkly.
Khalisar: Khalis grinned, almost laughed, as he heard the last words of the woman about Efion. "Oh well. I won't worry too much. We'll se tomorrow."
Eifion: Eifion took out his before-bed pipe and lit a few aromatic leaves he'd brought with him. "Anyone care for a smoke?"
Gytha: Gytha shook her head. "Stunts your growth I've heard."
Eifion: "So that's what happened to me..." said Eifion, glancing down at his pants. He laughed uproariously.
Gytha: Gytha sighed. "Is that all you ever think about? Haven't you seen old men who've smoked all their lives? Coughing and hacking up phlegm and hardly able to walk upstairs? Do you want to end up like that?"
Eifion: Eifion shook his head, smiling, and ambled over to give Gytha a friendly pat on the back. "You really are something, Gytha." He took a long draw on the pipe and blew out a few rings.
Khalisar: A raven which had been flying around the group came to rest near the man's bedroll. "Come here, be a good raven"he said placing his hand on his head.
Gytha: Gytha scowled at Eifion, but smiled whent the raven came near.
** Owain volunteered to be the first on watch and limped around the small camp, peering into the night **
Khalisar: "A little friend of mine"said Khalis as he saw the woman smile at the raven. "He's no ordinary bird, and he'll keep good watch".
Gytha: Gytha nodded. "He's the kind of friend to have." she said. She rolled herself up in her blanket and lay looking up at the stars, her massive sword close at hand.
Eifion: "Fell sorcery most... fell, eh?" said Eifion. "As long as my soul remains intact and undevoured, so be it." He settled in for some rest near the fire.
Sleeping Dragon: the night wore on. Into the early hours of the morning they weren't disturbed, but on the final watch, Gytha heard several distant howls of wolves from the northwest. Then there was abrupt change in the air. The breeze, which had been very slight, quickened greatly, and suddenly a gust of frigid air swept down onto them. Frost bit through their blankets and clothes, and Gytha saw the leaves on the nearby trees visibly blackened and withered.
Owain: "What on earth is this!?" - Owain grabbed his weapon, shivering
Eifion: Eifion jerked up groggily, shivering. "I said I already did it, mother!" he mumbled. Then, realizing where he was, he staggered to his feet and picked up a spear. "This is... not good."
Gytha: Gytha wrapped the blanket over her clothes. "Do you think it's natural?"
Gytha: She looked at Khalisar queryingly.
Eifion: "After a great deal of consideration, I'd have to say no," whispered Eifion.
Khalisar: "It's most certainly not"said Khalisar, who looked a bit worried although the cold hadn't hurt him even a bit
Gytha: Gytha nodded, she hadn't believed it was either.
Sleeping Dragon: Gytha's horse, Roan, shivered and whinnied
Khalisar: Getting up, Khalisar went to check on his horse and raven. The former looked fine, while the latter looked like it had suffered from the cold, but it was nothing serious.
Gytha: "Damn." Gytha muttered, going over to check on Roan. She started to rub the horse down, talking softly to it all the time.
Owain: Owain threw some extra wood into the fire
Eifion: Eifion hunched down by the fire, still holding his spear and glancing around warily.
Gytha: Gytha filled a kettle with water and suspended it over the fire to brew some leaves. "I didn't expect us to need a hot drink in the middle of summer."
Sleeping Dragon: the sun was already beginning to climb into the sky when the strange frost struck, and soon it had risen fully
Khalisar: "This is most suspect, yes. It seems some kind of omen, and not a good one."
Eifion: Eifion nodded. "You know, leaves in a pipe and leaves in a pot are pretty much the same thing..." He sounded a bit halfhearted though, as he continued to shiver.
Gytha: Gytha shook her head but smiled as she gave Eifion a cup of the steaming brew. She went a little way apart from the rest and raised her arms to the sun, loudly prayiing to Vilya to watch over their endevours of the day.
Eifion: Eifion nodded his thanks and took a few sips. He watched her prayer with some interest.
Sleeping Dragon: when Gytha had finished her devotions, the party continued on. They made their way north towards Classon, passing over hills snaked through with little brooks. As they went, they saw that while most of the trees they encountered were fine, a few scattered copses had also been blasted by some unnatural cold, and in a few places they saw slow-melting frost on the ground or in blackened bushes
Gytha: "Do you think there's a connection between this and Glacier Keep," Gytha asked Khalisar, eyeing the frozen plantlife as they rode along
Owain: "Guess it will be more than just a walk through the woods. Hopefully Classon is not a frozen wasteland by now"
Khalisar: "I'd think so, yes. As we all have noticed, this cold is unnatural. Perhaps it's a clue that in the end will lead us to the objective or our quest? Or it might be the spell of someone who opposes us."he paused for a moment "I cannot tell, really"
Eifion: "Or maybe that girl I met in Dryth is here. We did call her an ice queen..."
Gytha: Gytha raised her eyebrows. "Did she decide not to sleep with you? A girl has the right to be choosy you know."
Khalisar: Khalisar ignored the joking Eifion "I hope it is not an evil spell set against us, because if so, it must have been weaved by an extremely powerful sorcerer"he added
Eifion: Eifion grinned. "Did it ever occur to you that I chose not to sleep with her, because of her attitude? No? Well, you're right, that would never happen."
Eifion: He looked over to Khalisar. "An extremely powerful one? As opposed to an only mildly powerful sorcerer? Is there such a thing?"
Khalisar: "And just in case there's anything dangerous, I'll send my feathered bird to scout ahead of us" he said after a moment of thinking. After that, the raven perched on his shoulder took to the air and began to fly in the distance, though it was still vaguely visible on the horizon.
Gytha: "Maybe Master Imbrund doesnt want us to get there." Gytha said.
Khalisar: Noticing Eifion's comment, he turned to adress him "A mildly powerful sorcerer? I don't happen to know any, but there might be. But just in case..."he said "Try not to anger any sorcerer, they can be pretty dangerous if provoked."
Eifion: "Don't worry, I'm always nice to you anyway."
Sleeping Dragon: soon they crested a hill and saw Classon before them. Farmhouses and barns lay scattered around fields, which, they saw as they came close, were also stricken with frost. To the east of the village they saw the wooden castle of the local lord. They noticed that no flag was flown from its walls, but they knew that many lords had gone off to fight the Northmen and took their banners with them
Gytha: Gytha reined in her horse. "Not looking very good is it."
Eifion: Eifion frowned. "No. Well, if the castle is the cause of this, perhaps we can help here even as we accomplish our goal." He kept his horse moving toward the town, though more slowly.
Owain: "Fel magic again" -Owain was not in the best mood
Khalisar: "Seems like the people are still alive, though. I'm sure we'll be able to find more about this in the future"
Gytha: "Quite likely." Gytha kicked Roan into a trot. "Let's get down there."
Khalisar: Khalis spurred his horse, and soon he was trotting behind the woman
Sleeping Dragon: they came down into the village, coming in from the east, and moved up towards one of the fields in which three serfs laboured, spreading hay. As the party rode forward, one of the serfs gave a cry of alarm and pointed into a small stand of trees on the southern edge of the field. The serfs took flight as a pack of gray-furred beasts burst from the trees. They were the size of men, with tusk like teeth and hooked black claws, and they bayed with the pleasure of the hunt.
Owain: Owain got off the horse, slapped it to make it move away and readied his weapon, sizing up the creatures
Khalisar: Khalisar urged his horse to advance a bit, and as it did so, concentrated himself to gather spiritual energies before invoking the spirits to send him a mighty ally
Khalisar: His raven could also be seeing slowly diving down to approach his master
Eifion: Eifion also hopped off his horse and spurred it away, readying his weapon and sneering at the creatures as if they were overly ferocious kittens.
Sleeping Dragon: the serfs ran towards the nearby barn, screaming for help
Gytha: Gytha tried to jump off her horse but Roan skittered about, scared by the beasts' appearance. She ran lightly over to cart and jumped onto it. "Come and die you fucking bastards!" she shouted at the creatures.
Sleeping Dragon: the beasts loped forward with tremendous speed. Two rushed at Gytha, slashing at her with their claws, and two others ran after the terrified serfs, menacing them as they tried to enter the barn
Owain: Owain climbed onto the cart as well. He swung his polearm and dealt a light wound to one of the creatures.
Khalisar: A massive snarling wolf appeared not too far from Khalis, and charged into the gray-furred beasts who were threatening the farmers, biting one and forcing to the ground
Eifion: Eifion ran up to aid his companions on the cart, seeing that Khalisar's magic seemed to be enough to defend the serfs. He stabbed one creature in the back with his spear, intimidating the creature by the tree with his show of force.
Khalisar: Khalis surveyed the battlefield, throwing an angry glance at one of the beasts and scaring it into submission. After that he closed his eyes, gathered his concentration and decided to summon another creature. Meanwhile, his raven flew down, towards the woman.
Gytha: As the beasts attacked, Gytha reached up and drew the great sword from behind her back, bringing it down in an arc onto the head of the creature and almost splitting it in two. Hot blood spurted over her and she laughed, turning to strike at the other creature but missing it by a mile.
Eifion: Eifion wiped a bit of blood off of himself, not laughing. "You do have an odd sense of humor, Gytha," he grunted.
Owain: Owain cleaved into a creature as it approached him, but was unable to stop it. The beast jumped on him, teeth bared, Owain's armor absorbing some of the damage from the ferocious attack.
Sleeping Dragon: the beasts turned from the serfs and attacked the summoned wolf, lancing into it with a claw. Near the cart, Gytha took a swipe from a claw and Eifion nimbly dodged several of the creatures' blows. Then two of the creatures flung themselves up onto the cart.
Sleeping Dragon: Owain took one blow, but Gytha evaded the other
Owain: Owain cleaved into the nearest creature, one of his offhand attacks missing.
Khalisar: The raven flew forward, perhaps trying to draw the attention of the beasts, but not managing to do so. Meanwhile, the first summoned wolf bit one of the beasts, while a newly-appeared one quickly darted forward to bite the krarkoth facing Gytha, the pain of the attack felling the beast to the ground
Khalisar: The horse taking a few steps forward, Khalis threw a fell gaze at one of the beasts, scaring it. Quickly fumbling for his crossbow, he managed to fire a bolt at another of the creatures, missing it
Eifion: Eifion sidestepped, trying to distract his foe before striking at a weak point, but he only managed to land a glancing blow.
Gytha: Gytha fixed the thing that had clawed her with a baleful eye, and landed a terrific blow to it. When it stayed upright she swore horribly and ground her teeth.
Sleeping Dragon: the creatures continued their onslaught. Owain cut one down as it tried to flee, but one of the wolves was badly hurt. Gytha, Owain, and Eifion all took blows, and then one of the big creatures climbed up a tree and flung itself at Gytha, striking her hard
Sleeping Dragon: edit: Gytha and Owain, not Eifion
Owain: Owain jumped down from the cart and sliced right through one of the gytharkoths, inflicting a serious wound
Khalisar: The raven dived at the one of th krarkoth facing the wolves, stricking it in the face with it's beak, dealing it a light wound
Khalisar: edit: The raven dived at the one of the krarkoth flanking one of the wolves...
Khalisar: Meanwhile, the wolves fought ferociously, one killed off the beast which had been wounded by the raven, while the one near the serfs savagely bit a krarkoth to death. As this happened, Khalisar quickly galloped near the beasts and, concentrating, cast a spell which fatigued one of the monsters
Eifion: Eifion grabbed an advantage and stabbed a wounded creature, which dropped to the ground in a heap.
Eifion: Disconnecting from server...
Eifion (exit): 02:29
Khalisar (enter): 02:30
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (1352) Khalisar...
Khalisar (exit): 02:34
Khalisar (enter): 02:34
Gytha: Eyes filled with a wild glee, Gytha slammed her sword into one creature which expired in a welter of blood, then swung around on another, destroying the already wounded beast.
Gytha: "To hell with you all!" she cried, as blood dripped from her sword.

[sleepingdragon]

Eifion: Eifion dropped his spear to the ground and quickly retrieved his crossbow. His shot was too hasty, though, and the bolt flew wide of one of the creatures.
Khalisar: Kandros spurred it's horse to get closer to the krarkoth which had destroyed his summoned beast and cast a spell of holding, which was barely resisted by the creature. Meanwhile the surviving wolf rushed to the other remaining krarkoth, biting it in the leg and dropping it to the ground .
Sleeping Dragon: edit in before Owain's post - one of the beasts felled Khalisar's summoned wolf, which vanished as it hit the ground. Confused by this, its partner fled from the field. The other remaining creatures decided this was a good idea - one took a last, desultory swing at Eifion, but its heart wasn't in it and it missed widely
Gytha: Gytha leaped from the wagon with a shout of fury and hurled herself towards the nearest brute.
Temoid: Outmatched, the last remaining creature tries to run away, but Owain cleaves in betweens its shoulderblades smartly, his glaive nearly coming out from the other end
Sleeping Dragon: the serfs that had run into the barn poked their heads out of the door. "A...are they all gone?" one of them asked in heavily accented Sea Speech
Temoid: "Yes they are. Never seen lively buggers like that before myself"
Gytha: Gytha stared at the serfs fiercely. Blood spattered her face like an extra layer of freckles.
Eifion: Eifion walked up, putting aside his weapons and looking friendly. "Disregard my friend here. She may look like she wants to bite someone's throat out, but it's just her way of being friendly. In any case, we're glad to have helped. Do you often have to deal with these things?"
Sleeping Dragon: the serfs warily stepped outside. "Gods, it's like the end of the world," the speaker moaned. "First the frost, and then these creatures coming down out of the hills, and that all on top of the Northmen...maybe the Masters are coming back." The serf shivered, while his companions gazed in fearful turns at the party and then the unnatural wolf which had appeared seemingly from the air.
Khalisar: Khalisar dismissed the remaining summoned wolf, which howled one last time before dissolving into thin air. The warlock looked somewhat tired and stressed, as the spell-casting had taken its toll on him. He approached the serfs as Eifion was speaking to them, to hear what they had to say on the attacking beasts.
Sleeping Dragon: one of the serfs screamed, recoiled, and fell over backwards at this casual use of magic, and the other two gaped at where the wolf had been
Gytha: Gytha prowled round the perimeter of the area while the others talked, in case any of the creatures was hiding.
Gytha: aw
Khalisar: The raven returned to its master, perching on his shoulder again.
Eifion: "Haha, don't mind him either. He may look like he's summoning unnatural beasts from the lands of chaos and magic, but really it's just a trick. His way of being friendly."
Sleeping Dragon: "Ah...ah, of course, naturally...brilliant trick." The serf sounded desperate to believe Eifion and quickly assured the other two serfs that Khalisar hadn't done anything unnatural
Khalisar: Hearing Eifion's words, Khalis' face started to turn red with anger for a few moments, and he looked like he was to open his mouth to say something, but he restrained himself. "Oh yes."he said, still looking a bit irritated "It's just tricks."
Sleeping Dragon: "Th...thank you strangers," the speaker stammered. "You've saved our lives."
Temoid: "You can thanks us by providing us with a meal. Fair, no?"
Eifion: "You're most welcome, my good man, most welcome," said Eifion in their language. It's what we do. In fact, we'd like to help you even more. We may know what's causing these problems. Vile sorcery and all that. Might any of you have
Gytha: Gytha returned, looking calm now. "These creatures aren't common here then? Did they appear with the frost?"
Eifion: edit: "It's what we do... Might any of you have heard of a certain castle of ice?"
Sleeping Dragon: "Uhh...of course, of course," said the speaker. He translated this request to the other two serfs and they ran off into the barnhouse.
Sleeping Dragon: edit: farmhouse
Sleeping Dragon: "Ice castle?" the serf looked blank. "Well, no, not really, I..." the serf trailed off and looked up beyond the barn. A half dozen men had gathered there, wielding pitchforks or crude clubs, and they eyed the party suspiciously and clutched their weapons, but didn't advance towards them as they were obviously outmatched. The serf they had just saved shouted to them in Diluvian
Owain: Owain listened to the serf's gabbering with suspicion
whispering to Eifion, Khalisar, "Don't worry, don't worry, they're friends!" the friendly serf shouted. "Go and get the Sheriff, if he's not already on his way, he'll want to see them!"
Khalisar: "Seems like the Sheriff want to see us."said Khalis in a hushed tone to the others, worried that some of them might not have understood
Gytha: Gytha frowned, trying to follow what was said.
Sleeping Dragon: the other serfs lowered their inadequate weapons and came down into the fields, and the serf they had saved turned back to them. "These beasts...they live in the hills and usually hunt deer or other animals. They don't come down towards the villages often, it's outside of their territory and they're afraid of our Lord and his knights."
Sleeping Dragon: he resumed speaking in Sea Speech
Gytha: "Where are the Lord and his knights now?"
Owain: "And where is my food?" - asked Owain angrily. "A man needs some fuel after all the swinging"
Gytha: Gytha snorted. "These folk have been terrified by foul creatures. Your stomach can wait!"
Sleeping Dragon: "They've gone off east I'm afraid, the King's called them away to fight the Northmen," said the serf. He flinced at Owain's tone. "I'm sorry, my lord," he said.
Sleeping Dragon: "Shall I..." the serf began, and then they heard the sound of fast approaching hoofbeats to the north.
Gytha: "No need to bow and scrape to him, he's no more a lord than I am.." Gytha said, then stared to the north.
Owain: Owain grumbled something about women and too much talking
Joe (enter): 21:12
Sleeping Dragon: They turned, and coming down the hill and into the field was the Sheriff of Classon. He rode a big farm horse and carried a nicked battle-axe, but any effect that might have had was spoiled by the flour stains on his clothes which revealed him to be a baker. "Hello there, outlanders!" he called, trotting up to them. "I'm Sheriff Chardis. Thank you for your help with these beasts."
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (3638) Joe...
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(3627) No Name' from room...
No Name (exit): 21:13
Khalisar: As the sound of the hooves approached, Khalisar sent the raven on his shoulder away, thinking perhaps it would be too noticeable
Gytha: Gytha nodded, but left it to the others to speak.
Eifion: Eifion bowed. "Greetings. It is of course no trouble - in times like these, men must band together against danger. Perhaps we could go somewhere to speak? We have some questions about this place, and are weary."
Eifion: He spoke in Diluvian.
Sleeping Dragon: "Of course, of course," the Sheriff said in Diluvian. He trotted away from the field and then on towards a nearby farm building. He dismounted and tugged at the door, which resisted his attempt to open it for a moment before opening. A few shards of frost fell away from the frame. "Gods, I'm weary, this has been a tiring day and there's hours yet to go. I'm afraid that this attack of the krarkoths is just a symptom of a larger problem, and I believe I'll need your help to solve it."
Eifion: "That's convenient. I suspect what we planned to discuss with you is the same issue." He switched to Sea Speech. "For the sake of my companions," he clarified, "Who don't all know the tongue. I am Eifion, a prince in Andros. This delicate and lovely girl here is Gytha. She and pleasant Owain here are our diplomats, as you can tell. And my friend Khalisar accomplishes quite a lot by looking mysterious."
Gytha: Gytha rolled her eyes at the comment. "We'll help you if we can, although we have a job of our own to accomplish."
Khalisar: Like Gytha, Khalisar tried to ignore Eifion's comments on his appearance. "Of course."he said, agreeing with the woman's words
Owain: "What's with this talk of more work at the end of the day, and no meal?" - Owain barked
Sleeping Dragon: the Sheriff bowed before Eifion. "I am in all of your debts, my lords," he said. He stepped into the building and took a seat at a poorly made table. "Please, take a seat," he said. "You have questions, you said, my lord?" he said to Eifion. Sheriff Chardis glanced over to Owain. "I'll ensure you are fed on the finest food Classon can offer, my lord," he said. "But first we must talk, cooking takes time."
Gytha: Gytha dug her elbow into Owain. "Will you stop that! I'm as hungry as you are. Think how much you'll enjoy the food when you finally get it."
Eifion: "Ah, yes. We have reason to believe that the troubles inflicting this land come from a place called Glacier Keep. Have you heard of it, or have you noticed any region where the evil seems to be coming from?"
Sleeping Dragon: "Glacier Keep?" Sheriff Chardis paused. "Now that you mention it...I remember the Count's sister once speaking of a fortress of ice that was near here during the Masters' War. I had forgotten it, that was years ago." Chardis rubbed his chin. "I have made a round of the fields today because of the unnatural frosts we've had since yesterday night. I believe that these frost blights originate from the northwest. The fields in that direction have seen the heaviest damage, and animals that live in that direction have been seen moving away from it and are moving near the village. I think the cold has driven them away from their usual hunting grounds, the krarkoths you fought among them."
Gytha: "Then that may be our destination." Gytha said, "If the Keep is the heart of the problem, we'll be able to help you at the same, hopefully."
Eifion: "Well said, fair lady. If you know anything else about the troubles, Sheriff, let us know. Any information can help. But I think the town will be safe soon, once we've dealt with the trouble."
Sleeping Dragon: The Sheriff bowed again. "You are most generous, my lords. I pray that you stay a little while, I'll make sure you are fed before you leave, though I'm afraid it may prove rather meagre fare...people are frightened and busy."
Khalisar: "These krakoths might come back with reinforcements, as two of them got out of here alive."said Khalisar idly looking around as the Sheriff spoke. "You'd better be ready against them, if they come again."
Sleeping Dragon: "I doubt it, they rarely have tribes of more than a dozen, but we'll be ready," said the Sheriff
Gytha: "The sooner we get going the quicker your problem should be solved." said Gytha, tapping her fingers impatiently on the table.
Eifion: "Unless we die from a lack of preparedness, my dear," pointed out Eifion.
Sleeping Dragon: Sheriff Chardis nodded and departed, and shortly stew, bread, cheese, and very watery ale was brought to them. The stew was thin and consisted primarily of turnips, and the cheese was not of high quality either. The bread was from the Sheriff's own bakery and was, to their surprise, very nice, thick brown peasant bread.
Owain: Owain cheered up and plowed through the food with gusto, all the anger and frustration gone
Gytha: Gytha ate without showing any sign of pleasure or the opposite, but as if it was fuel that needed to be consumed.
Eifion: Eifion ate slowly, lingering on each bite, rolling it around on his tongue like a wine expert drinking the finest vintage.
Khalisar: Khalisar did not complain of the food, and he ate to restore his mental - rather than physical - energies lost during the battle.
Sleeping Dragon: the people of Classon avoided the party - though grateful for their help, they were wary of heavily armed foreigners and the events of the day had them very tense
Gytha: Once Gytha had eaten her fill, she went out to check her equipment and sharpen up her sword.
Sleeping Dragon: once they finished eating, the party mounted up on their horses and set off to the northwest as the Sheriff had indicated to them. what they observed as they travelled suggested that the Sheriff was right. Near the village there were only a few scattered patches of frost, but by an hour into the journey, picking their way through a highland path, frost lay everywhere, and in places were drifts of snow reaching almost up to their knees
Owain: "Hopefully the snow isn't 2 metres deep right by the Keep or we're never getting close to it"
Khalisar: Khalis looked around as they rode. "We didn't travel that much, yet the climate has so changed so much... I would not be amazed if the cold at the keep was much more severe."he said. Meanwhile, his raven had returned, following them quite close rather than perching on the man shoulder it usually did
Gytha: Gytha looked at Khalis. "How powerful must this Master Imbrun be to produce such an effect by magic?"
Khalisar: "Extremely powerful, obviusly. Changing the climate of such a large area? I doubt any mortal magician could do that."
Khalisar: edit:obviously
Eifion: "Perhaps it's only his lingering power out of control. What use would a Master have for sending out this blight on the land?"
Gytha: "Who knows?" Gytha said with a shrug. "Maybe it's the Keep itself producing the effect, and the Master is no longer in residence there."
Khalisar: "We will see when we get there. I don't expect a warm welcome, though. The Keep has probably powerful guardians."
Sleeping Dragon: they travelled on through the hills, slowed by the snow. About two hours after leaving Classon, they crested a rise and saw it there - Glacier Keep, a massive castle made entirely of blue-white ice, dwarfing any other keep they had ever known, even great Caer Arrath in the north of Andros. The air rippled around the castle as a frost blight emanated from it like an exhalation.
Eifion: "Well that's... interesting. I suppose there's nothing for it but to go on. I hope everyone is wearing good winter underwear like their mother always told them to."
Gytha: "You would be thinking of underwear at a time like this." Gytha said with a snort. "Let's get down there and get on with it."
Khalisar: "We'll see. Come on, now is not the time for idle banter"said the warlock as he spurred his horse forward
Eifion: "Khal's right, Gytha, you need to pay more attention to the topic at hand!" said Eifion with mock sternness as he spurred his horse to follow.
Gytha: Gytha growled and spurred her horse after them.
** No match found
Sleeping Dragon: they continued on towards the Keep. as they approached they saw signs of a protracted siege. They crossed over trenches dug into the frozen earth, the broken remains of catapults and ballistae and other instruments of war littered the ground, and dozens of human bodies littered the field. Most were hirsute, stocky men with broad, flat-features, dressed in thick furs. As they came nearer the walls they also found several more badly damaged bodies, these of men with blue tinged tabards and white hair, though they were not old, wearing blue tabards with a crystalline emblem. The thirty-foot tall icy walls surrounding the Keep were mostly intact, save in one spot. At that point, the walls were crumbled and crushed, and atop the breach lay the carcass of the largest creature any of them had ever seen. It lay upon four great legs and four gray tentacles splayed out from its body. The span from its tail to the end of its serpentine neck was perhaps fifty feet, and its back was so broad and huge that it bore a miniature fort of bone, wood, and metal on its back, held in place by enormous straps that wound round the beast's middle, which leaned drunkenly to the left.
Gytha: "What the hell is that?" Gytha said, looking at the thing. "This is very strange."
Khalisar: "By the gods!"said Khalisar almost screaming "The keep has been sieged? And what is that beast over there?". He looked like he was to run forwards to check it, but then thought of being more careful and waited for the others
Eifion: "That's an understatement," said Eifion, gaping. "This can't have just happened, can it? We would have heard something about the battle. But they don't seem decomposed..."
Owain: Owain gripped his weapon tighter and looked around uneasily. "Whatever killed it may very well still be around"
Gytha: "It seems recent." Gytha said. "Although flesh keeps well in the cold, so maybe that's what happened here."
Khalisar: Kandros hand went to his dagger "It looks like the white-haired men were the defenders of the keep, and the fur-wearer the siegers. I wonder what's going on inside the keep though."
Khalisar: edit: Khalisar
Eifion: Eifion went over to look into the breach in the wall.
Gytha: Gytha dismounted and moved round the keep, looking at the bodies and weapons.
Owain: Owain went up the breach as well, trying to find out if its possible to get inside
Khalisar: Khalisar moved to the breach with Owain. Seeing how hard the walls would be to scale, he looked at his raven, and it began to fly up until it was circling above the keep
Sleeping Dragon: the raven returned shortly. It told Khalisar that beyond the great body lay a courtyard, within which lay many bodies. The Keep's great ice doors had been smashed in by a battering ram, and the raven had heard the distant clash of steel within the Keep
Eifion: "Then the battle is still going on? Things are getting stranger and stranger. Perhaps we should let them fight it out before we go in... but we don't want to lose our chance to revitalize the crown either."
Gytha: Gytha's eyes lit up at the mention of clashing steel. "Let's get in there."
Khalisar: "I wonder...Perhaps we should help the defenders of the Keep? I, for one, feel no sympathy for those savage barbarians who have invaded this castle. Let's go in there"
Eifion: Eifion sighed. "Well, we have no reason to believe the defenders aren't the ones causing all this trouble in the first place. We're likely to just get ourselves killed. But I have a feeling I'm going to lose this argument anyway, so fine, let's go in."
Gytha: "We can decide which side looks worth supporting once we're inside." Gytha said decisively, looping her horse's rein around a large lump of stone. She started towards the gap and the monster lying in it.
Khalisar: Bidding farewell to his horse and taking his backpack, Khalis get closed to monster and tried to get an idea of how easy it would be to climb over it.
Sleeping Dragon: they came towards the breach in the wall. as they approached, they saw the skin of the great beast ripple and convulse, as if it was about to rise. Instead, there was a shower of gore as a segmented, maggot-like thing burst out, reaching towards them with a circular mouth filled with gaping, cartilaginous teeth.
Sleeping Dragon: more of the hideous creatures burst out from within the great carcass, gobbets of flesh spraying out from their repulsive mouths
Eifion: As Gytha clambered onto the giant beasts tail, the segmented creature nearest to her was distracted, and Eifion took advantage of this to stab deep into its flesh.
Eifion: The creature fell limply.
Khalisar: Dropping his dagger on the ice to draw his crossbow, Khalisar fired a bolt at one of the horrible creatures, which hit it squarely, severly piercing its body
Khalisar: edit: severely
Sleeping Dragon: the huge maggots bared their horrible teeth and then gorged their way back down into the body of the great beast, burrowing beneath its flesh
Khalisar: Meanwhile the raven approached the corpse, flying higher
Owain: Owain moved closer to the body, his weapon ready if the worms were to strike again
Gytha: Gytha moved up the tail and stood listening and watching the holes, ready to kill anything that showed its head.
Eifion: Eifion followed suit.
Sleeping Dragon: suddenly, the flesh beneath Gytha's feet was eaten away, and she fell into a hole. She felt one of the horrible maggot creatures crawling about around her legs, and then three of the others burst up around her to strike as she was stuck in the hole
Sleeping Dragon: Gytha proved very lucky - her sudden fall threw the creatures' aim off, and all bit wide of her even though she could barely move
Gytha: Gytha struggled madly to get out of the hole, shouting and swearing as the horrible creatures surrounded her.
Owain: Owain moved closer and tried to reach one of the carrion worms with his glaive, missing widely
Gytha: Gytha struggled out of the hole, rising up covered in disgusting filth, and slashed wildly at one of the maggots, but missed by a mile.
Eifion: Hoping to help Gytha, Eifion began nimbly making his way along the beast's back. Behind him, though, another creature burst out of the flesh, and bit him painfully. He pulled away and got past the other creatures, trying to stab one but just missing.
Khalisar: Khalisar' crossbow shot was an amazing hit, the bolt hitting the wall instead.
Khalisar: edit: amazing miss
Khalisar: The raven tried circling in the air to attack one of the beasts, but the latter saw it and easily avoided
Sleeping Dragon: Owain felt the ground beneath his feet shift and leapt aside just in time as the earth fell away. Three more of the maggots leapt up out of the ground, biting at him. He dodged two, and the third's teeth closed harmlessly around his armour. He was vaguely aware of the fourth down in the hole, hissing
Sleeping Dragon: others burst up - one out of the ground by Khalisar, and another out of the creature near Eifion, but both were unable to bite the heroes. Four assailed Gytha - she evaded three, but a fourth clamped its jaws onto her arm painfully. She felt her skin burn but jerked her arm free
Owain: Owain moved away from the hole, striking one of the worms. His slash went wide, but he was able to smack it smartly with the handle
Gytha: White with fury, Gytha swept her sword down in a tremendous arc, mangling the maggot that had bitten her and driving forward into another that lay between her and Eiffion. Both lay motionless after her onslaught.
Eifion: Eifion danced across the tail, sidestepping the creatures and leaping over the head of Gytha and one of her foes before stabbing the monster in the back. Not Gytha, the other monster.
Khalisar: Seeing his master in danger, the raven turned back to dive at the monster threatening him. Khalisar managed to distract it to help the bird's attacks, however despite this, at the last moment it managed to avoid the diving bird
Sleeping Dragon: the creatures continued their onslaught - Gytha, Owain, and Khalisar were all wounded, though none seriously
Owain: Owain sliced through one of the worms, dropping it, and hammered another one with the end of a thick oak handle
Gytha: Gytha continued to slash at the creatures with ferocious strokes, slicing one to pieces and badly injuring another.
Eifion: Eifion once again tumbled between the combatants, stabbing into one of the creatures next to Gytha.
Khalisar: Khalisar tried to distract the maggot again, and this time his winged companion managed to land a solid peck in the flesh of the monster before flying away from it
Sleeping Dragon: as their numbers were depleting, several of the creatures fled, burrowing back down into the earth. Only those attacking Owain continued their assault, not seeing the flight of the other maggots, but Owain dodged their attacks
Owain: Owain stepped back and drove the shaft of his weapon through what could be ascertained as the "head" the closest worms. There was a crack and a splatter of slimy goo
Joe: Disconnecting from server...
Joe (exit): 01:35
Gytha: Seeing the monstrous maggots evading attack, Gytha launched herself from the dead monster's back, slamming into one of the maggots so hard that it exploded in a shower of gore and guts over a wide area, and then plunging forward to sink her sword into the last remaining creature visible. She grinned maniacally at Owain through a grisly mask of blood, maggot parts and slime from her sojourn inside the dead monster's flesh.

[sleepingdragon]

** (3005) Owain looked somewhat disgusted at all the meaty chanks that scattered the area **
(3015) Sleeping Dragon: having killed or driven off the maggots, the party cleaned themselves off and prepared to climb over the huge creature's corpse and up into the courtyard of the Keep. As they did so, Gytha glanced up and noticed a mounted and heavily armoured figure up on one of the hills behind them, having just crested the rise.
(3012) Gytha: "See up there!" Gytha said to the others, indicating the figure.
(2995) Khalisar: "What?"said Khalisar looking up the heard the woman call
(2995) Khalisar: *having heard
(3005) Owain: Owain looked around as well, surveying the stranger wearily
(3004) Lalia: Lalia spent some time watching the group before troting down the hill.
(3012) Gytha: Gytha stood with her sword ready, watching the horseman approach.
(2995) Khalisar: Khalis looked with suspicion at the approaching figure, trying to guess more about it
(3004) Lalia: Eyeing Gytha, wary of possible threat, the long bastard sword's hilt was covered by right gauntlet. Nevertheless, she took her helmet off, showing Lalia's pale face with dark blond straight hair.
(3012) Gytha: Gytha stared at the other woman. "Who are you?" she called. "And what are you doing here?"
(3005) Owain: "Please answer the question, missus"
(3004) Lalia: Lalia's sharp hazel eyes glanced at Gytha, after eyeing the group once more. "A Traveller", she replied, "I was on my way to Garydhsing when suddenly there is a cold snap ruining my night. So here I am. My name is Lalia"
(3005) Owain: "A cold snap, huh? Sounds a little too convenient for you to show up here like that, don't you think?"
(3012) Gytha: Gytha watched the woman sharply. "Do you know anything about this place? Or what is happening here?"
(3004) Lalia: Smiling slightly back at Owain as she shivered, replying "This cold snap is in violation of a natural law." Looking up at the castle, "No, only very little about this castle. From what I heard, this castle could be Glacier Keep. It certainly lived up to the name." Then her eyes went back fcousing on Gytha, "I can see that you fighting on the corpse of Colossus of Thard."
(3005) Owain: "Once again, why is a traveller here?" - asked Owain, still tense.
(3012) Gytha: Gytha looked down at the stinking remains she was standing on. "Fancy it having a name." Then she looked up at Lalia. "If you're hoping for action, there seems to be a fight going on inside. But one false move and you're a dead woman. Understood?"
(3004) Lalia: Dismissing Gytha's threat as she answered to Owain, "I could easily ask you the very same question. Why are you here? Surely you are travellers as well." With that question answered, "I do not have any desire for action. Merely answers to my questions. For example, I want to know what is going on here. Surely you and your group got same question as well?"
(3005) Owain: Owain gripped his weapon with both hands till his knuckles were white - "I will hear no more until you explain yourself, stranger" - he said angrily.
(2995) Khalisar: "Well, I do agree"said Khalisar " this isn't really a place you expect to see common travellers, unless they actually have...thingsto do. I and my companionions do have business we have come here for, though I think that is not something you're entitled to know. If you want to join us in our fight though, feel free to do so."
(2995) Khalisar: edit: space between things and "to do" and "companions"instead of companionions
(3012) Gytha: Gytha nodded in agreement. "We don't need to know your business and you don't need to know ours. Let's get into this place and deal with these monsters."
(3004) Lalia: Lalia for a moment considered the group's offer for a moment. She nodded curtly back, "Very well, I will fight along with you." Dismounting quickly and led the horse to favorable spot for the reins to be tied. Once that was settled, she took her backpack off the saddle and strolled back.
(3005) Owain: Owain muttered something about loutish wenches and turned away
(3012) Gytha: Gytha looked at Owain and then rolled her eyes at Lalia, before starting to clamber up the monstrous hide of the Collosus.
(2995) Khalisar: Kandros looked at the massive body of the colossus, sighed, and then struggled to try and get over it by climbing
(2995) Khalisar: Meanwhile, his raven could comfortable fly over it
(3004) Lalia: Sighing as she looked up at the corpse of the Colossus of Thard. Muttering few oaths in Garydh as she slowly stuggled up the smelly corpse.
(3015) Sleeping Dragon: they dismounted and climbed laboriously over the back of the Colossus. The smell of death hung in the frosty air, but it was not the rotten stench of bodies that had lain still for days. As they reached the top of the Colossus' enormous back they looked down into the courtyard to see a frozen landscape of churned up mud, blood, and corpses. As before, some of the slain wore blue tabards with blue tinged skin and white hair, while more were hirsute and clad in furs. At the far end of the courtyard, the massive doors into the Keep, two mammoth slabs of ice, had been smashed in by a great battering ram which lay discarded in the mud. Just beyond the breach was the debris of battle, a tangled mass of shattered weapons, severed limbs, shivered shields, loose intestines, shit, and viscera
(3012) Gytha: "It seems someone has done most of the work for us." Gytha said, looking at the mess dispassionately.
(3015) Sleeping Dragon: as if in answer to Gytha's remark, there was a loud clash of steel from within the Keep and a shouted battle cry
** (3005) Owain tensed up, agitated **
(2995) Khalisar: "A battle is going on. Let's not waste time and go and check there."suggested Khalis
(3012) Gytha: Gytha moved carefully foreward. "So which side are the monsters?" she asked the others, poking at one of the bodies with her foot.
(3012) Gytha: "Or shall we just kill all of them?"
(3004) Lalia: Lalia crouched down to rest as she glanced at the men wearing blue tabards and other wearing hirsute. She said, "It seems that blue are defenders and furs are attackers."
(2995) Khalisar: "But before we go, I'll send my servant to scout for us". Having said that, he sent raven flying inside the building to check what whas happening there
(3004) Lalia: Lalia frowned for a moment as Khalisar sent in a raven.
(3012) Gytha: "The defenders may be evil, despite that." Gytha said. "Just being hairy doesn't make their attackers godless."
(3015) Sleeping Dragon: a burst of frost swept over the raven as it flew in, but Khalisar's servant ignored the chill and flew into the Keep
(2995) Khalisar: "There is indeed a battle going inside..."said Khalis, looking as if he was concentrating on something
(2995) Khalisar: "Let us go at once."quickly said the warlock "The defenders are outnumbered, they will not last for much."
(3012) Gytha: Gytha didn't bother to comment but began running towards the broken doors.
(3004) Lalia: She muttered softly to herself as Lalia eyed these furs-clad dead. "Hmm, look like they are Northmen." At the noise of Gytha running, she looked up and saw Gytha running toward the door.
(2995) Khalisar: Khalis followed behind
(2995) Khalisar: edit: with his dagger in hand
(3004) Lalia: Uttering sighs, she drew her 90 cm long curved blade sword in one hand and followed them
(3004) Lalia: edit: three feet
Sleeping Dragon: they rushed through the broken doors, nearly sliding on blood and entrails, tearing through the Keep's icy passages. They came to a T-junction and pushed down the right hand path, sprinting another fifty feet or so before they came to a corner. Around the corner, six of the fur-clad men wielding scimitars, battleaxes, and shields battled in a doorway with two blue tabarded defenders who bore spear and shield. As the party approached, several of the attackers turned to face them
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion drew himself up and held his spear up defensively
Sleeping Dragon: [1d20] => [8] = (8)
Sleeping Dragon: the defenders stabbed out with their spears, shouting out in a strange language. One of the fur clad men was struck heavily, spear tearing into his hide armour
whispering to Lalia, "Help us!" the defenders were shouting, in of all things, Old Diluvian, the dead tongue of Diluvia before the Masters' War.
Lalia: Lalia moved quickly to beside Eifion as she readied her curved sword. Her personality strikes with the raw force of an avalanche with a single glance at these enemies. For a moment, her eyes widen in shock as she heard the language shouted so desperately. Lalia shouted back in same language as the defenders.
Lalia: (whispering): Lalia shouted back in same language, "Who are you?!"
Sleeping Dragon: three of the furclad men rushed Lalia and Eifion while the others pressed their attack at the doors, screaming curses. Eifion's spear stabbed out, but his assailaint pushed it away with his shield and brought his axe whistling around. Eifion quickly dodged. The other two went for Lalia, who evaded one blow. The second slipped under her defenses, but it clanged harmlessly off her heavy armour. At the door, they had no better luck - the defender at the door took only one light blow from an axe
Gytha: Dropping her javellin, Gytha stepped out of the shadows up behind one of the attackers. He slashed at her with his axe. Furious Gytha swung her great sword over her head in one fluid action, but somehow the hairy man avoided her stroke.
Owain: Owain stepped in and slashed one of the attackers from afar
Khalisar: Khalisar concentrated, but could not summon enough energies at the moment.
Khalisar: Disconnecting from server...
Khalisar (exit): 21:09
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion stabbed out again at his foe, taking advantage of his flanking position with Gytha to land a hard, precise strike
Sleeping Dragon: one of the fur-clad men at the door took another blow from a spear
Lalia: Lalia lifted her sword with her two hands and bought it down on the fur-wearing man with all her might. It hit with satisfying noise.
whispering to Lalia, Lalia heard the curses of the attackers as they swung their weapons. She could not work out exactly what they said, for the language was not known to her, but it sounded similar to the speech of the Ferrish raiders
Sleeping Dragon: the fur-clad men continued to attack, but had little success, scoring light blows on Eifion and one of the defenders at the door
Gytha: Gytha swung again, shouting about heathen swine, but again the hairy man ducked and weaved away from her blows.
Gytha: Khalisar reached out to the spirits and felt them respond, as energy filled him allowing him to cast a spell.
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion's spear stabbed out and struck his foe's shield
Sleeping Dragon: the defenders attacked again, gaining confidence as the party was assisting them, and one of their foes went down pierced with a spear
Lalia: Once again, she attacked the same man with her sword but it failed to make much damages
Sleeping Dragon: the fur-clad men attacked with renewed fury and intensity. At the door, one of the defenders took two heavy blows, but shrugged them off and continued grimly on. Lalia had a sword strike a gap in her armour and draw blood
Gytha: Grinding her treeth in fury Gytha drove her weapon deep into the hairy man, and as he went down in a welter of blood, she slashed the attacker behind him, driving him to the ground.
Owain: Owain kept moving forward slowly, slashing one of the few attackers left standing
Gytha: As Khalisar cast his spell, a whirling fiery shape appeared behind one of the attackers at the door and flame lashed out, hitting them.
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion rolled past the defences of one of the fur-clad men and stabbed his spear up, viciously hamstringing the barbarian, who fell howling
Sleeping Dragon: one of the defenders, badly hurt, simply concentrated on defense, while the other struck with his spear
Lalia: Lalia nodded at Gytha with thanks and walked toward the Attacker 3 and ready to defend herself. She then shouted in strange language.
Lalia: (whispering): Using her knowledge of Ferrish, she shouted "Surrender!!!"
Sleeping Dragon: the fur-clad men attacked desperately, trying to break into the room beyond, but they failed utterly
Gytha: Gytha ran past Lalia with a fierce smile on her face, rushed to the attackers and slashed at one, but he seemed to hear her coming and ducked aside.
Gytha: "Die Infidels!" she screamed.
Owain: Owain kept his weapon ready, but advanced no further.
Gytha: Again the elemental lashed out with its fiery arms, burning the attacker.
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion advanced, spear at the ready
Sleeping Dragon: a defender stabbed out with spear but it missed widely
Lalia: Lalia went on after not hearing any respond to her demand, and attacked barbarian on the left. But she missed heavily.
Sleeping Dragon: the fur-clad men lashed wildly and desperately with their weapons, failing to land a blow
Gytha: Again Gytha lashed out but the furry men had devil's luck and avoided her sword's edge.
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion glided into the fray and stabbed through fur and hide heavily with his spear, but his foe still stood
Sleeping Dragon: a defenders' spear stabbed out and bore one of the fur-clad men to the ground
Owain: Owain watched the rest of the party overwhelming the enemies
Lalia: Once again, she swung her sword against the fur-clad man and still it managed to avoid her sword!
Sleeping Dragon: the remaining attacker began to chant eerily as he lashed out with his axe, flailing far wide
whispering to Lalia, though unsure of the exact words, Lalia thought that the man was singing a funeral dirge
Owain: Owain got out a rag and started wiping down the blade of his weapon
Gytha: Gytha stepped over the recumbent figure and smashed her sword down onto the last remaining attacker. Flesh and bone gave way before the blade, and blood began to pump from the wound as the man sank to the ground.
Sleeping Dragon: stepping out of his defensive stance, the wounded man in the blue tabard drove his spear down into the fallen attacker in a spray of blood and spoke in a strange language
whispering to Lalia, "Thank you for coming to our aid, strangers, but who are you?"
Sleeping Dragon: the man spoke a few words and then put his hand over his heart and bowed while his companion went among the fur-clad attackers, driving his spear down into their throats, wrenching it out, and then moving on to the next
Gytha: Gytha narrowed her eyes and glared at the defenders suspiciously. "What bloody heathen ways are these?"
Sleeping Dragon: the man killing the fallen attackers paused, looked at Gytha, and continued his bloody work
Lalia: Lalia nodded back in return toward the man and glanced at Gytha, replying "Good question." She then asked the man in same language.
Gytha: The fiery figure vanished, and Khalisar slumped against the wall.
Lalia: (whispering): "My name is Princess Lalia. I am helping this group. They cannot understand your language. Who are you?"
** Owain finished wiping off the blood and started applying something greasy **
Sleeping Dragon: the man looked at Lalia in confusion, then spoke back
Gytha: "Do you notice these people are quite blasé about magic," Khalis said quietly to the others as Lalia conversed with the defenders.
whispering to Lalia, "Princess?" the word sounded strange on his tongue, as if it had an odd taste. "I am Sergeant Clovis. My companion and I were separated from the rest of our company when Peldan's men broke the wall and fought our way back here until we came face to face with his men here. Did the Master send you?" Clovis looked confused. "Do you know what that flash was?"
Gytha: Gytha frowned. "I'm more worried about what the strange woman is saying to them."
Owain: Done applying the greasy substance, Owain approached the Laila. "Ask them who the hell they are, please"
Lalia (enter): 23:16
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(5955) Lalia' from room...
Lalia (exit): 23:16
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (6059) Lalia...
Sleeping Dragon: Owain: Done applying the greasy substance, Owain approached the Laila. "Ask them who the hell they are, please"
Gytha: "And tell us what you're saying to them." Gytha added.
Lalia: Lalia looked troubled for a moment. It was clear to her that something is wrong. She replied to Gytha's question, "Well, it is most likely they are Old Diluvian. I know the language quite well and just asked them who are they."
Gytha: "Ask them about Master Imbrund." Gytha said.

[sleepingdragon]

Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant looked at Lalia curiously but patiently, while his companion finished slaying the attackers and came to stand by the sergeant, wiping his spear clean of blood.
whispering to Lalia, "What are your companions saying?" the sergeant asked
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant asked Lalia a question
Gytha: Gytha watched the men with narrowed eyes, then looked at Lalia to see how she would react.
Khalisar: Khalisar looked around with suspicion in his eyes, obviously not happy at not knowing the defender's language
Owain: "Well?" - Owain snarled impatiently. "First a single stranger, now we have multiples - and oh so mysterious! Tell them to explain themselves or we will have to fall back onto some drastic measures"
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant looked at Owain and placed his spear down, then extended his hand towards him, palm outwards
Gytha: A smile quirked Gytha's lips at Owain's words. "Watch yourself Owain," she said quietly. "There's a master somewhere hereabouts, and he may not be so pacific as this man."
Owain: "How many more times do I have to demand a simple explanation, woman?"
Lalia: Lalia sighed with some irritation, she replied back to the sergeant in strange tongue. She then snapped back to Owain with exasperation, "Consider this. The language they are speaking is dead. Yet they speak it if they spoken all their life. I am sure you can work it out"
Lalia: (whispering): "They are asking about Master Imbrund. Do you know such name?" She asked the question
whispering to Lalia, "Why yes, of course, we are the servants of Master Imbrund and this is his castle," said the sergeant. "You didn't know this?"
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant replied quickly, a confused look on his face
Owain: "I don't care if they are speaking out of their arses or not. Ask them what's going on, or get out of my sight!" - Owain growled
Khalisar: "Be clear about it."said Khalisar, joining Owain and Gytha in asking the woman for less ambiguous answers
Lalia: Lalia looked surprised and told Gytha, "These men said they are servants of Master Imbrund and this is his castle. Who is Master Imbrund? I do not recalled such name"
Gytha: Gytha nodded. "We were told of Master Imbrund. Ask them where he is."
Khalisar: "Indeed. Tell them we would like to met him"added Khalisar
Owain: "There you go"- Owain replied mockingly. "And it naght but five angry requests"
Owain: *and it took naught but five angry requests
Lalia: Replying to Gytha, pointedly ignoring Owain's mockings "I see... Well then, you will have to explain about Master Imbrund soon." She asked the sergeant in his language.
Lalia: (whispering): Lalia shook her head as she replied, "No, but they do. They wishes to know where Master Imbrund is and wishes to meet him."
Gytha: "Will we indeed?" Gytha said. "Maybe we don't choose to tell you what you don't need to know."
whispering to Lalia, "I wish I knew where Master Imbrund was myself...Princess," said Sergeant Clovis. "Ever since Master Peldan's men breached the wall it's been chaos. This floor has been largely overrun. We've seen no sign of the Master since, there was a great flash a while ago and we feared Peldan had cast some great spell, but nothing seems to have come of it." The sergeant thought. "I would expect that if he was at all able to, the Master would retreat to the Heart Chamber."
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant replied to Lalia at length
Lalia: Smiling slightly as she found something amusing, "Can you speak their language? I wonder if Master Imbrund will be able to understand your speechs." Lalia looked thoughtfully for a moment, then said to them, "Basically what happen is Master Peldan's men attacked this castle and overran this floor. These servants claimed they have no idea where they are but did say two things, a great flash which I suspected made this castle moved in time which is one of very few logical reason why they are speaking this language as well that corpse you seen outside. Happily, if you do want to meet this Master, then, if he is still around here, he would retreated to Heart Chamber."
Khalisar: "He is still around here? That's good news." said Khalisar "As for the Heart Chamber they speak of, where would that be?"
Gytha: Gytha frowned. "The castle moved in time? Will they lead us to this chamber?"
Lalia: Lalia then turned to the Sergeant and spoken in his language.
Lalia: (whispering): She asked Sergeant Clovis, " Sergeant Clovis, they would like you to lead them to the Heart Chamber. Are you willing to lead them?"
whispering to Lalia, "I can lead you there," said Sergeant Clovis. "Though if the Heart Chamber has been attacked, then it is likely the defences have activated, and then it will prove difficult to reach."
Sleeping Dragon: the Sergeant replied and nodded to Lalia
Gytha: "What did he say?" Gytha asked impatiently.
Skyman (enter): 20:40
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (1800) Skyman...
Eifion: Disconnecting from server...
Eifion (exit): 20:41
Lalia: Lalia smiled back to the Sergeant in thanks and told Gytha, "They agreed to lead us but he warned me that if it is attacked, the defences will activated and that could cause make it much more complicated to reach."
Gytha: "Attacked from without?" Gytha asked.
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant spoke to his companion, then knelt and picked up his spear, wincing in pain as he did
Lalia: Lalia shook her head negatively, "No idea. Either way, we just have to hope."
Gytha: "That man is going to fall over before we get anywhere. Can't one of you see to him?"
Khalisar: Nodding, Khalisar checked the wounded man's wounds, seeing if there was anything that could be done for him
Eifion (enter): 21:00
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (1810) Eifion...
Sleeping Dragon: Khalisar's treatment closed up several of the sergeant's wounds. The sergeant extended his hand to Khalisar, then indicated for the party to follow him
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant led the party back down the corridor from which they had come, back to the T-junction and down the passage opposite. They went through several corridors, spiralling inwards towards the middle of the Keep. Here and there they found bodies strewn on the ground, but they came across no active fights. At length, the Sergeant brought them down a long passageway that ended in great, twelve foot high doors which appeared to be iron, save that they had a blue tinge just like the Sergeant and his companion. Upon the doors was engraved the symbol of a dragon in flight. The Sergeant knocked on the door, but receiving no response, pushed in.

Within was a large study with row upon row of scrolls, and books bound in unfamiliar material. On the far side of the room was a large, elegant desk with a great high-backed chair. The Sergeant looked around the room and cursed, then turned to Lalia.
whispering to Lalia, "The Heart Chamber must have been attacked, there ought to be a door from this room leading to it but it isn't there. The walls have shifted...I believe the Master has hidden a way in to the Heart Chamber from this room, but I don't know how you could get there."
Lalia: Lalia winced at the words of the Sergeant, she then told the group, "The Sergeant said there should be a door leading to the Heart Chamber but it seems that the way to the Heart Chamber is hidden. I supposed it is the defence."
Eifion: "Hrm. Well, then I suppose there's nothing for it but to look." Eifion began searching for hidden doors or switches.
Gytha: "Is there any clue to where it might be?" Gytha asked as she joined in the search.
Lalia: Lalia however looked at the shelf curiously and decided to put one up randomly.
whispering to Lalia, "The Master may have written down how to get there in his journal, I know he writes one," said the Sergeant. "I think he keeps it in the drawers of his desk."
Khalisar: "Umh..."said Khalisar looking around "Where might it be?"
Sleeping Dragon: Lalia picked up a scroll curiously and looked at it. The scroll was written in some strange red ink, and it was in Ancient Speech, but in code. To her surprise, after looking at the scroll for perhaps a minute, the letters suddenly shifted. Lalia realised that the ink was actually blood, and remembered something she had read once in an old scroll that said that some of the Masters had used the blood of creatures called piprisugs as ink. Piprisugs had the magical ability to cause confusion in their enemies, and when their blood was specially preserved and made into ink, it would shift upon the page, to make decoding the scrolls extremely difficult to any save the writer.
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant strode over to the desk and knelt by it, looking through the drawers
Gytha: Gytha sighed and sat down on the edge of the desk.
Khalisar: "What is this?" asked Khalisar as he approached Lalia, having seen her pick up the scroll
whispering to Gytha, looking down at what the sergeant was doing, Gytha noticed that the bottom drawer was locked. The lock was made of a strange black metal which seemed strangely familiar, and she thought for a moment about where she had seen it before...then she recalled the coins that Morrol had given them
Lalia: She looked up from the scroll and replied, "Just something in Ancient Speech but it is in code. Even worse, it is these piprisugs' blood. Which make reading these scrolls intensely difficult to read."
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant spoke to Lalia
whispering to Lalia, "This bottom drawer is locked," he called.
Lalia: Lalia put the scroll back with irritation as she cannot figure out the scroll. Then, she said, "The Sergeant think that Master Imbrund kept a journal in drawer but the botton one is locked"
Khalisar: "So...We can't decipher this scroll."said Khalisar "Perhaps we should ask Imbrum about it if we get to met him"
Eifion: Eifion saw that the others were having trouble with a drawer, and went over to help with his assortment of finely crafted lockpicks.
Khalisar: Having said that, he went to help the others with the searching
Gytha: Gytha swung round to look over the edge of the desk. "He may have locked those for a reason you know."
Lalia: She looked back at Khalisar, "I do not like a scroll I cannot read! I will read it!"
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion knelt by the sergeant and examined the lock. To his surprise, he found that the lock was made of a strange black metal which was nigglingly familiar. As he worked on the lock, he tried to recall where he had seen the odd metal before. He was unable to pick the fine lock, but suddenly he recalled the odd coins that Morrol had given him and his companions, which were also made of black metal
Lalia: With all the attentions on the drawer, she picked the scroll up and strolled over to the desk
Gytha: Gytha grinned at Lalia. "It has a temper then." she said.
Eifion: Eifion took out a coin and examined it more closely.
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant saw the coin and gave a shout of surprise, then turned to Lalia
whispering to Lalia, "Where did your companion get that coin?" he asked.
Eifion: Eifion raised his eyebrow at the sergeant. "What's this about, fair princess?"
Gytha: Gytha raised her eyebrows at that but said nothing.
Lalia: Lalia narrowed her eyes back at Gytha, "I am not used to be unable to read a scroll. It is not often I find written papers I cannot read!" Sighing as she listening to the Sergeant and nodded softly at him. Turning back to Eifion, "He want to know where did you get that coin."
Eifion: "I purchased a horse recently, and this was my change," he remarked wryly, as he continued to work on the lock.
Sleeping Dragon: at length, Eifion was able to open the lock. Within the chest were several items - a small, mostly empty jar of piprisug ink, a well made dagger, an odd blue crystal, and a large bound book
Eifion: Eifion picked up the dagger and examined it with a thoughtful eye, letting the others take a look at the rest of the items.
Lalia: Lalia nodded thoughtfully at the piprisugs inks. "I got a bad feeling that the book will be written in the same way." She then picked up the book
Sleeping Dragon: as Lalia feared, the book was written in the same manner as the scrolls
Lalia: Lalia then swore in several languages for half of the minutes or so.
Lalia: And then started working on the book
Sleeping Dragon: Lalia pored over the book for some time as her companions searched for the hidden door. The Master's journal rambled from subject to subject, revealing a mind that was desperate and angry. The Master complains often about his dwindling supplies, particularly the precious ink "without which I will be unable to protect my lore from my enemies and the inferior races, especially the inquisitive but feebleminded humans". He deeply distrusts his subordinates, thinking they might be spies for Master Peldan, who he rants about at length and vows to kill in torturous fashion.

Amongst these ramblings, Lalia discovers several interesting bits of information. He learns that Master Imbrund and Master Peldan were once friends, and together with their First they had worked on creating many wonders. They had begun to design a spell which would enable them to rip a location out of time itself, but they had feared it would kill the ones who cast it. Even if it did not, they had found only one way to escape from the spell themselves, once cast, and it was devastating and crippling, wreaking havoc with their magical abilities and leaving them weakened and aged. Before they could finish their research, they had fallen out and Master Imbrund had built Glacier Keep, binding an elemental creature called an Iceborn to the Keep via a ritual within a magic circle in the Heart Chamber at the centre of the Keep. Using a similar ritual, the Master and his most powerful First, Olorin, had bound another Iceborn into a powerful artefact, the Crown of Ice, to which the Master had bound five gems to give him mastery over cold and ice. By these means he had created the Keep and warded it with great enchantments, one of which was to shift the walls should the Heart Chamber ever fall under attack. The Master feared that if the Iceborn were to escape from the circle and the Heart Chamber, then the Keep would melt away and his power be destroyed. Therefore, his wards hid the way to the Chamber if it was attacked. He had lined the passage with traps and hidden its entrance behind the largest book case in his library, and even if it were found, the journal said that those without his favour 'will surely be destroyed.'
Sleeping Dragon: edit: she learns, not he learns
Lalia: Lalia rubbed her eyes as she finally finished figuring the damned book out. She told the Sergeant in his language. Finally, she settled the book down and then she presenting the information she managed to read in a condensed form.
Lalia: (whispering): "He got it in some change while buying a horse"
Eifion: "Fascinating. I'm sure we can have a very good metaphysical discussion about all this once we've finished with the fighting business." He began looking at the largest bookcase.
Khalisar: Khalisar listened with interest as he still kept searching for the hidden door
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant shook his head emphatically.
Gytha: Gytha moved to the bookcase and pulled out the black coin she had been given. Then she stepped forward and tried to move the bookcase.
whispering to Lalia, "That's not possible," said the sergeant. "The Master made a small number of those coins and gave them to his most trusted servants, they allow you to bypass some of the wards the Master has placed in the Keep."
Sleeping Dragon: with some difficulty, Gytha was able to shift the bookcase enough that one could walk behind it, though the wall all looked solid and normal
Lalia: Lalia frowned as she glanced around at these black coins. "Wait for a moment. Where did you get these black coins? The Sergeant said these are only given to most trusted servants of the Master Imbrund"
Gytha: Gytha tried banging on the wall with her hand.
Gytha: "That's us then." she called out in answer to Lalia's question.
Test1: Owain helped search the room for any possible entranes
Owain: Owain helped search the room for any possible entrances
Lalia: She directs a withering look at Gytha and told the Guard
Lalia: edit: told Sergeant
Sleeping Dragon: Gytha's hand rebounded off the icy wall. She went along the wall, tapping as she went. About halfway along the bookcase, her hand thrust through the wall and there was a thunderous clash and a great bolt of lightning shot from the ceiling to blast Gytha. The bolt should have killed her where she stood, but it was drawn to the coin in her hand and struck it. The coin crackled with energy and warmed up in her hand, but Gytha was entirely unhurt
Lalia: (whispering): "They refused to tell me. But I can say this, it seems this Keep been ripped out of time"
Eifion: Eifion gulped, taking a step back. "My my. The Master seems to be the cranky sort."
Gytha: Jumping back with shock, Gytha quickly controlled herself. She laughed, a bit wildly, and held up the coin to show the others. "See? Friends of Master Imbrun."
whispering to Lalia, "Ripped out of time?" Sergeant Clovis repeated, sounding dumbfounded.
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant spoke to Lalia, then whirled about at the sound of the lightning, looking frightened
Gytha: Gytha returned to the wall, feeling around where her hand had passed through it.
Khalisar: "That was amazing!"said Khalisar as he saw the bolt strike the coin
Sleeping Dragon: Gytha's arm stuck straight through the wall again. She discovered that the gap was about ten feet wide
Lalia: Lalia looked surprised at the Gytha's actions and spoken to the sergeants.
Lalia: (whispering): "I will explain later but we found the corrider to the Heart Chamber"
Gytha: "Come on, there's a gap here we can all get through." Gytha called, stepping into what appeared to be solid stone.
Gytha: edit* solid ice
Gytha: "Don't forget your coins." Gytha admonished, popping out again and then disappearing.
Khalisar: Taking his from his pocket to hold it in his hand, Khalisar followed behind
Eifion: Eifion closed his eyes, paused for a moment, then rushed through.
Owain: Owain followed the rest of the party
Lalia: She told the Sergeants and then followed the party
Lalia: (whispering): "I should be back soon"
Sleeping Dragon: as each person in the group pushed through the wall, a bolt of lightning shot down and struck their coin, but left them unhurt. To their surprise, Lalia followed them through it. The bolt of lightning struck something in her backpack, leaving both her and, miraculously, the pack, undamaged.

Beyond the illusory wall was a long, empty hallway that widened out after a few feet and then curved off to the right. The walls here, unlike the rest of the Keep, were stone and bare.

[sleepingdragon]

Gytha: Gytha looked around and walked forward down the hallway, taking a look around the corner and keeping her ears open.
Lalia: Lalia however looked at the walls
Sleeping Dragon: Owain and Gytha were the first to walk down the hall. As they passed through where the hall widened, the wall to their right glowed blue and great spears of ice flashed out to sear them with frigid energy
Khalisar: "That must have hurt."said Khalisar as he glanced at the two who walked in front of him
Gytha: "That's not very friendly." Gytha said, rubbing her arm.
Lalia: She looked up from her careful observation of the walls and nodded, "I agreed. That look painful!"
Owain: Owain was suddenly extremely careful about where he's going, almost tiptoeing down the corridor
Gytha: "How do we tell where these traps are?" Gytha asked. "Or can you do anything to protect us Khalis?"
Lalia: "We can always send someone ahead of us like an Element?"
Khalisar: "An elemental? Well, we could, but I'd prefer not to use a spell if I can, it's quite taxing"
Sleeping Dragon: Gytha reached the corner and looked around it, but saw only bare hallway ahead of her. Then the ground moved underneath her feet and she was sliding
Sleeping Dragon: [1d12] => [11] = (11)
Sleeping Dragon: the floor beneath Gytha's feet fell away and became a slope, and she was sliding down...towards jutting spikes. Gytha twisted frantically as she slid, but they still ripped hard into her flesh, and she lay at the bottom of a steep incline, unable to get up
Eifion: Eifion hurried over, pulling the silk rope from his back. "You alright, love?!" He tossed one end of the rope down.
Gytha: Gytha lay impaled at the bottom, unable to get away from the spikes. The others could hear her swearing horribly. "Can someone throw down a rope!" she called out
Owain: Owain inched up to the hole in the wall and extended his glaive with the handle towards gytha
Owain: *in the floor
Gytha: Gytha grabbed the rope and wound it round her arm, then clutched the end of the glaive in the other. "Alright!" she called up.
Sleeping Dragon: between them, Owain and Eifion were able to haul the wounded Gytha back up to even ground
Gytha: "That bastard Imbrun has a lot to answer for." Gytha said, as she looked down at her ripped clothes, blood seeping from many small wounds.
Lalia: Lalia walked toward Owain and Eifion carefully, wary of any more traps. Once she reached there, she looked at Gytha, trying to help with her wounds
Khalisar: Khalisar tried to aid Lalia in healing Gytha's grevious injuries
Lalia: Lalia bound Gytha’s wounds and provided her with herbs and elixirs that dull her pain, but her injuries remain.
Gytha: Gytha looked a bit more comfortable. "Thanks." she said to the smaller woman. "Now all we need is a way to avoid these damned traps."
Eifion: "Well, we can move slowly and search, but that'll take a while to get very far."
Gytha: Gytha looked doubtful. "See how it goes."
Khalisar: "Wait wait..I have an idea..."grinned Khalisar looking forward at the room
Khalisar: Having said that, he took his raven, which had been perched on his shoulder for a bit, and laid it on the ground
Khalisar: edit: as it touched the ground, it turned into a clearly innatural mouse, a form more suited to walking than a two-legged bird
Gytha: Gytha looked askance at the strange creature, but said nothing.
Lalia: She looked at the ex-Raven with surprise and suspicion.
Khalisar: The mouse scuttled around the pit, not triggering any trap, at least for now
Khalisar: "Good, good."muttered the warlock
Sleeping Dragon: the spirit reached the end of the corridor without setting any traps off
Khalisar: The mouse kept moving, until it was out of sight.
Lalia: Lalia carefully continued, following the path of the mouse.
Sleeping Dragon: the raven continued to walk, setting off no traps, and eventually it came around another corner and saw a great door leading out
Khalisar: "Think we can follow it's path, it has triggered no traps as of now."
Gytha: Gytha set off in front, edging around the pit and walking where the mouse had walked.
Khalisar: Khalisar carefully walked across the edge of the pitt, until he left it behind him.
Sleeping Dragon: Gytha walked along until the first corner, then suddenly the ground fell out from under her feet. Gytha leapt aside, grabbed at the edge, and NEARLY held on...then fell. She fell far, then struck heavily against a grating behind her. Her head was still reeling when the grating also slid out from under her and dropped her further down. The party got to the edge in time to see Gytha fall further down, and a thick metal grating slide back into place over her
Gytha: "You and your bloody mouse idea!" Gytha's voice floated up from below.
Eifion: "Damnit Gytha, you have to go first..." growled Eifion, though he sounded concerned. He examined the grating for any weaknesses.
Gytha: and then was cut off.
whispering to Gytha, Gytha found herself in some kind of small hollow or cave. She had fallen maybe another twenty feet, but it was pitch black and she could see nothing. It was very dark, and also freezing cold.
Khalisar: "Well, I thought those were magical traps, and so even a light creature would trigger them...."
Gytha: (whispering): Shaking herself like a dog, Gytha rummaged in her pack and drew out a lantern and flint. Lighting the lantern she peered around her.
Eifion: *edit: He handed one end of the rope to Owain. "Hold on to this. I'm going down to see if I can get the grating open."
Owain: Owain nodded
whispering to Gytha, Gytha found herself in a roughly fifteen by fifteen by twenty foot pit. Frost clung to the walls and icicles hung down from the ceiling roughly twenty feet above her. Both the ceiling and the grate straight above her bristled with sharp metal spikes
Eifion: Eifion rappelled down to the grating, looking for any weaknesses. "You alright down there?" he called.
Gytha: (whispering): Gytha walked round examining the walls for any sign of another way out.
whispering to Gytha, Gytha heard a noise on top of the grating, as if one of her companions had dropped down onto it
Gytha: (whispering): Gytha shouted as loud as she could.
Eifion: "Pull me back up a bit!" he called to his companions above. "I think I can open it, but you'll need to hold my weight, as difficult as I know that is."
Khalisar: The mouse came back, not bothering to turn around the hole, but hovering over it to reach his master again
Eifion: Soon Eifion had slid the grate aside, and signalled his companions to pull him back up so they could toss the rope to Gytha.
Sleeping Dragon: as the grate slid open, a blast of cold air came up from a large pit about fifteen by fifteen feet large and twenty deep. Steel spikes ran along the ceiling of the pit, and there was frost on the walls
Lalia: Lalia settled on the wall, watching the activity to get Gytha up.
Gytha: Gytha looked up from the bottom of the pit, illuminated by her lantern. She carefully turned it out before grabbing the rope and making her way up it. "I really must give up falling into pits, it's getting to be a habit." she said with a grin at Eiffion as she scrambled out. "Thanks."
Eifion: "No thanks necessary. It is the sacred duty of any man to help when women are in need. Particularly tough women who've probably saved their lives a few times." He winked.
Owain: "Lets move on, better not stay here longer than we need"
Khalisar: "Well, sorry for that again...I had not considered my servant being too light for the traps."said Khalisar trying to apologize
Lalia: Lalia rolled her eyes at that countless version of same sentence before.
Gytha: "It did its best." Gytha said with a shrug.
Sleeping Dragon: Owain, going off ahead, promptly fell into another pit himself, grate closing behind him
Gytha: Gytha hurried forward, muttering under her breath.
whispering to Owain, Owain found himself in the dark. It was very cold
Gytha: (whispering): Gytha was saying a quiet prayer to Tathius and Vilya
Eifion: Eifion sighed. "Somehow I think our cunning plan to make it through here needs some work."
Owain: Owain swore like a sailor after being trapped in the pit, almost to the point of yelling
Gytha: "No use shouting," Gytha said to the others, "you can't hear a thing down there. "I'll go down and try hauling the grate up."
Khalisar: Khalisar sighed
Owain: He also mentioned some interesting positions in which Master Imbrund's mother served customers.
Lalia: Lalia groaned in dissatisfaction
Gytha: Gytha tied the rope around herself and handed the other end to Eiffion and Lalia.
Lalia: Lalia took the end of the rope, holding on it with all her might
Eifion: "Uh, I'm not sure you'll be able to pull it up, as mighty as you are, my lady. It was locked."
Lalia: Lalia smiled slightly as she then said, "Well, we would not know for sure until she acutally try it!"
Gytha: "Blast it." Gytha said, "I could maybe smash it open, but you try unlocking it first. Knowing Owain it'll probably fall on him if I do it." she handed the rope to Eiffion.
Lalia: After nodding her head, she told Eifion, "Very well, time to repeat your feat!"
Eifion: Eifion yawned. "It's just too easy." He went down again to open the grate.
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion was able to open the solid grate, which led down into an identical hole to the one Gytha had just languished in
Eifion: He went back up and repeated the process of helping pull Owain up. "Alright, now why don't I go first and look for traps as I do?
Gytha: "Why didn't you suggest that at the beginning?"
Owain: "Sounds good to me" - Owain grumbled.
Lalia: Lalia laughed for a moment, "We been very luckly so far!"
Khalisar: "Perhaps it would be better if one of you had a rope in hand as he walked"suggested Khalisar
Gytha: Gytha stared at Lalia. "I'd hate to find out what your definition of bad luck was."
Eifion: "It was a bit difficult with everyone running off before I had a chance to say anything."
Eifion: He handed the rope to Gytha and continued along the passage carefully.
Lalia: Lalia looked gloomly for a moment, "Yes, trust me, you would not like to see it!"
Khalisar: Khalisar and his servant moved around, following behind the others
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion trotted down the hall, carefully inspecting the ground and walls. He advanced about twenty feet and stopped as he noticed several loose flag stones
Eifion: "Looky here. I think we'll all want to avoid this area." He gestured to the flagstones infront of him, and skirted around them.
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion continued on to the final corner before he found another trap, which he was certain was another pit trap as the ones Owain and Gytha had fallen into
Gytha: Gytha followed , stepping exactly where Eiffion had.
Eifion: "And yet another pit. The Master must have been very lonely, with all his visitors dying on the way in."
Gytha: "The Master must have been mad." Gytha said edging past the suspect flagstones. "This is overkill."
Lalia: Lalia also followed Eiffion and Gytha most carefully. She replied, "Well that book I read seems to indicate he is slightly mad"
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion continued on and up to the door. Just before he reached it, he heard a click from below, and there was a flash as a bolt of lightning lashed down the corridor. Eifion hurled himself to the side just in time, for the coin provided no protection from this bolt and he was slightly scorched by the blast
Gytha: Gytha stopped dead. "You alright Eiffion?" she called, unable to see him round the corner.
Eifion: Eifion coughed and slowly returned around the corner, fanning himself as some smoke drifted from his clothing. "I'm starting to worry about our choice to intrude here. The coin didn't protect me. Be careful."
Khalisar: "Well, we have almost reached the end, haven't we?"said an hopeful Khalisar
Gytha: "Do you know how you triggered that lightning?" Gytha asked
Eifion: "Well, it happened when I reached right about there," said Eifion, pointing. "So it could be that spot. Though it might also be that the whole section of passage triggers it. I think it's someone elses turn to try. Go by the left side."
Lalia: She strolled forward, smiling, "I think it is my turn this time"
Sleeping Dragon: picking her way around the pit trap Eifion had already found, Lalia was able to safely reach the large wooden doors
Gytha: Gytha came up too, looking up at the doors.
Eifion: Eifion followed along, looking wary.
Khalisar: Khalisar went behind them
Lalia: Lalia looked carefully at the door but cannot find any traps and proclaimed it so with note of warning that she is not that good at it
Eifion: "Alright, I don't think it's trapped then," said Eifion after taking a couple of minutes to carefully search.
Sleeping Dragon: they all carefully examined the doors, but found nothing there. They pushed the doors open.

[sleepingdragon]

Sleeping Dragon: the doors swung open into an ice chamber with opulently carved walls depicting the magnificence of the Masters. Opposite the party was a pair of 20 ft high double doors. Sprawled against a wall next to the doors is a fur-clad human, his legs blackened and withered like a massive case of frostbite. He was surrounded on either side by wooden barrels which gave off an oily smell. He gave a groan and stirred weakly as they entered the room.
Khalisar: "What have we here?"said Khalisar as he eyed the dying man "Seems like one of the invaders managed to get there"
Gytha: Gytha frowned. "What do you think is in the barrels? Could be another trap - oil that'll explode if we go over there."
Lalia: Lalia nodded in disbelief, "Impressive really, considering how luckly we got back there"
Sleeping Dragon: the attacker groaned and said something
Gytha: "Will you stop saying that!" Gytha growled at Lalia. "I don't want any more luck of that kind."
whispering to Lalia, the attacker spoke a language similar to that of the Ferrish marauders. The tongues were not quite the same, but Lalia could at least understand his first words. "Uhh...help...please..."
Lalia: Lalia smiled back at Gytha as she replied, "I could stop saying how luckly we are so far for moment" Turning serious as she continued, "But this man is asking for help in language similar to Ferrish northmen."
Gytha: Gytha eyed the man's withered legs. "Might be the only kind of help you can give him is a quick death."
Khalisar: "I doubt we would be able to get any useful information out of him. Perhaps we might take him as a prisoner and bring him to Master Imbrum? He might interrogate him"suggested Khalisar
Lalia: Nodding back, "Maybe and maybe not. But I am wary of approaching him."
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion carefully began to check the barrels and the area around the man for traps
Sleeping Dragon: the attacker looked sharply at Khalisar and spoke again
Gytha: "This smells of a trap to me." Gytha said. "Eiffion, if you have any doubts get away from him."
** Khalisar found the F1 macro key **
whispering to Lalia, "Imbrund? The Master went with his First to kill him. Ahh..."
Lalia: Lalia widen her eyes in shock
whispering to Lalia, "I...I think they're both dead, or one of them would have come here by now...aaahhh...my legs..."
Lalia: She said, "He know the name of Imbrum. Also, he said that his Master went with his First to kill him! That could mean that Master Peldan is here" Then she frowned, "But then, he also mentioned that they could be dead, otherwise, they will be here"
Gytha: "If they are, would they be ahead of us?" Gytha asked. "Ask him that. And what happened to his legs."
Lalia: Lalia sighed for a moment as she said something to fur-clad man
Lalia: (whispering): "Are they ahead and what happened to your legs!?"
whispering to Lalia, "I don't know where they'd be...arggh..." the man paused and grimaced. "The creature there...in the Heart Chamber," he pointed to the great double doors, "its breath was like ice, it burned the skin and froze my companions solid...only I survived."
Lalia: Lalia winced for a moment as she looked at the door with concern, "He said that he is sole survivor of the group that went into the Heart Chamber, it seems an Iceborn killed them"
Sleeping Dragon: finding no traps so far, Eifion carefully pried the barrel open and peered in. "Some sort of oil or other," he said
Sleeping Dragon: the man spoke to Lalia and pointed to the double doors
Eifion (enter): 19:57
Khalisar: "Are you sure?" said Khalisar as he went to check the barrels, after Eifion had checked that there were no traps
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (4252) Eifion...
Lalia: She spoken more to the sole survivor
Lalia: (whispering): "Then I am sorry to hear that. Where did you come from?"
Khalisar: Khalisar smiled after looking at the stuff for a few seconds "Interesting. This is alchemical oil which can be used as a weapon...."
Owain (enter): 20:03
Gytha: Gytha came over then and looked into the barrel. "Fire? That would be useful against ice."
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (4255) Owain...
Khalisar: "The problem would be handling this without having it explode on us"
Gytha: Gytha took a step back. "It explodes without a flame?"
whispering to Lalia, "The Master Peldan summoned us here from our lands to the north a few months ago, we've been besieging this Keep for a month but we broke through today...aggh..." the man clutched at the ruins of his legs. "Master Peldan had some sort of spy near to Master Imbrund, I don't know who...he went off to kill Master Imbrund while we were sent to attack the creature in that room, the Heart Chamber. The thing is called an Iceborn and it..." the man grimaced and bit his lip. "It's bound into that chamber in a magic circle, we were sent to attack it with the fire that's in those barrels," he pointed," but it froze as soon as we entered the Heart Chamber. We were trying to kill the creature but we ended up breaking its circle by accident. It killed us all but me, I managed to push my way out and closed the door. I don't know why it hasn't come out to kill me, it was hours ago. A few minutes later there was some sort of black flash, I don't know what it was...maybe that was because of the battle between the Masters, I don't know..."
Owain: Owain seemed troubled as well. "?We'll kill ourselves firs with this"
Khalisar: "Usually, it explodes when exposed to air, so it's really dangerous stuff."
Lalia: Lalia went forward toward the fur-clad man and tend to his wounds and as she did so, she relayed what the man said
Khalisar: "I wonder if the invaders brought this as a weapon, or if it's Master Imbrund's property..."
Sleeping Dragon: edit: he barrel wasn't opened and the oil was recognised by scent
Sleeping Dragon: edit of the edit: THE barrel...
whispering to Lalia, "The walls are different as well...the door we entered to attack the Chamber from was there," the man added, pointing to the wall to his left
Gytha: Gytha looked thoughtfully at the barrels. "If we could take this into the Heart Chamber with us, and somehow break one of the barrels open, the result could take care of the Iceborn maybe."
Sleeping Dragon: the man spoke to Lalia, fighting through pain and clutching at his ruined legs, pointing to the barrels
Lalia: "He said that they came here from northern lands where they besieged this keep. They finally broke into this keep today. Master Peldan's spy to kill Master Imbrund while they attack an Iceborn in the Heart Chamber. These barrels was to kill an Iceborn but instead, they broke the circle by accident so it is loose from the circle. He also mentioned that the wall is different. The door they entered was on the left. It seems to me that doors got habits of moving around."
Gytha: "Why doesn't that surprise me?" Gytha sighed. "What circle?"
Eifion: "Adventuring is so much less simple than princing," muttered Eifion.
Owain: "We use someone for a decoy, and push the barrel onto the iceborn and hit it from afar"
Khalisar: "Maybe the iceborn will not attack us if it understand we have not come to kill Imbrund"
Owain: "Why don't you test that out yourself"
Gytha: "Maybe pigs might fly!" snorted Gytha. "It's an elemental guardian roaming loose in there."
Eifion: Eifion perked up. "A decoy! Well, I'm sure that's exactly what I'm suited for. Let me just work up a sign saying 'Here, horrible ice creature from the nether realms, over here!'"
Lalia: Lalia stood up from her attention to the man "By the way, the oil in the barrel got frozen when it went in. So it is likely to be totally useless as well. Magic Circle was used to bind Iceborn as I recalled"
Gytha: Gytha gave a slight grin. "I doubt it can read."
Lalia: She smiled warily at that joke, "I am likely to though"
Eifion: "Can't Khalisar use some magical trick to heat up the oil when it gets in there?"
Khalisar: "I might summon another spirit of fire, like I did during the fight against the invaders before. That should probably make the barrel explode when it's near the iceborn"
Gytha: "That sounds like a plan." Gytha said, brightening. "We can roll the barrels into the room quickly."
Lalia: She shrugged to the conversation, "it is good as any!"
Gytha: "The dangerous bit is going to be opening the door. This iceborn may be just behind it."
Lalia: Lalia nodded in respond, "That is the risk we have to take. Better to do something rather than doing nothing"
Gytha: Gytha grinned. "There is that!"
Owain: "We will open the doors and give the barrel a might push at the same time. I''ll push"
Gytha: "And I." Gytha said.
Lalia: After paying short attention to the fur-cald man, she drew her curved sword and stood ready.
Eifion: "Do you two think you can manage the barrel? If so I'll ready my weapon just in case."
Lalia: (whispering): "It seems your legs are beyond healing. Do you want to die or live?"
Sleeping Dragon: the man paused for a long time, then spoke slowly
Gytha: "I can manage one!" Gytha said with a snort, lifting it up. "How many should we throw in there? These attackers seemed to think it took a few."
Owain: "We won
Owain: "We won't be able to handle too many.. Just get one for each one of us"
whispering to Lalia, "I...I cannot live like this. My clan are all dead, enemies are all around. Please...give me a weapon...my sword was broken and Thunnar will not let me into the Warrior's Hall unless I die as a warrior."
Lalia: She nodded and gave the man her well made sword.
Lalia: (whispering): "Then you can use mine"
Sleeping Dragon: the man took the sword and clenched it to his chest
Gytha: "Khalis, if the iceborn can kill a party of warriors and freeze a man's legs off, do you think two barrels of fire-oil will be enough to destroy it?"
Khalisar: "The oil is extremely destructive, but perhaps it would be better to use more than two of them"
Eifion: "Even if it doesn't destroy it, it can't hurt. Unless of course it fails and gives it the chance to destroy us. Then it will hurt."
whispering to Lalia, "Alright, I'm ready," the man said. He began to chant the same dirge as the last of the clansmen they had slain earlier
Sleeping Dragon: the man spoke to Lalia again, then began to chant a dirge
Gytha: "Get the rest of the barrels then." Gytha said. "Let's not spoil the ship for a hap'orth of tar."
Eifion: Eifion went over to bring another barrel to the doors.
Owain: Owain shrugged
Lalia: Lalia sighed sadly for a moment as she said, "Well, this man is very useful. Can someone kill him now?"
Gytha: Gytha looked over at the man. "He has a sword, he can kill himself."
Gytha: Gytha fetched another barrel and lay it on its side in front of the doors.
Gytha: "How long will it take you to call up your fire spirit?" she asked Khalisar.
Owain: OWain helped Gytha prop the barrels to the door
Khalisar: "I think...a few seconds if everything goes well"
Lalia: She narrowed her eyes, "Suicide? I would not wish on that anyone. You know that suicide are frowned upon. Is there is no one in this chamber who is willing to give man who may save our lives a honourable death?"
Gytha: "So we open the doors, roll or throw the barrels in, and slam them shut. Will the spirit do its job with the doors closed?"
Eifion: Eifion sighed. "Alright. But it's not my usual job." He walked over to the poor man, and bowed. Then he drew his dagger and knelt beside him. He placed the blade against his heart, and pressed quickly.
Khalisar: Khalisar did not answer, for he was busy gathering all of his energies, mentally making pacts with the spirits. His teeth were clenched and he looked like he was sweating from the effort
Sleeping Dragon: the fur-clad man gasped as the dagger went in and his dirge turned to a gurgle as blood poured from his mouth. He clutched Lalia's sword fervently and then his head bowed and he was still
Gytha: Gytha nodded to Eifion. "A good clean death. This thing should be destroyed for leaving a man wasted like that."
Khalisar: Suddendly, he took his knife and cut deep into his wrist, the blood spilling on the ground. His eyes were now fixed, looking almost like those of a corpse, and he was shivering as he walked
Eifion: Eifion nodded silently, and closed the man's eyes. Then he went back over to the door, missing what Khalisar did as he looked to his barrel.
Lalia: Lalia nodded in approval, "Thank you. It is death suitable for him indeed. To be only survivor is something I known long time ago." She waited for a few moment after man is truely gone and Eifion walked back and picked her sword up.
Khalisar: Shivering, and looking almost like he was possessed, Khalisar walked behind the others until he was in front of the door
Eifion: "You'll have to tell me about that sometime," said Eifion. "Assuming we can talk after this is through. Hopefully one of us won't be an 'only survivor'."
Lalia: She laughed for a moment, "Maybe I will one day." Lalia then walked over to the barrels
Gytha: Gytha took up her barrel, and rested her foot on another. "Get ready to open the doors." she said to Lalia.
Lalia: Lalia nodded quickly as she replied, "Alright!" She went to the door, preparing to open the door
Khalisar: "NOW!"suddendly screamt Khalisar with all his strength
Lalia: She opened the door quickly as possible with all her strength
Eifion: Eifion tensed, ready for whatever lurked beyond.
Gytha: Gytha kicked one barrel foreward with her foot and threw the other overhead.
Owain: Owain sent the remaining barrels rolling towards the center of the room
Eifion: As soon as the door was open, Eifion pushed his barrel forward.
Khalisar (enter): 21:32
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (4296) Khalisar...
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(4235) Khalisar' from room...
Khalisar (exit): 21:33

[sleepingdragon]

Sleeping Dragon: Lalia flung the doors open and leapt aside. The chamber beyond was vast, with a ceiling that arched high overhead supported by four huge pillars of ice. A number of frozen corpses and barrels were dotted around the room.

At the centre of the room was a circular pattern of glowing markings. Tendrils of black energy arced back and forth along the circle, except in one spot where the runes had gone dark.

As they hurled the barrels into the room they had time to register the enormous creature within. It was shrouded in fog-like mist, but through the vapours they could see glimpses of pallid, bloated flesh like that of a drowning victim, and jagged icicles of blue-gray teeth. They also saw where it was perched - upside down on the ceiling. The barrels were flung into the room and Khalisar's elemental appeared atop them. There was a explosion and a flash of light as they all flung themselves backwards. When they opened their eyes again, they saw the Iceborn begin to move towards them - and the corpses dotting the room rising to their feet.
Sleeping Dragon: the zombies stormed towards the elemental, lashing out with battleaxes, and it was struck heavily once
Sleeping Dragon: ignore the heavily bit
Sleeping Dragon: from within the swirling cloud they saw the ice-teeth open and a blast of frost burst through the doors, catching Owain, Gytha, Lalia, and Khalisar's elemental. The cold was numbing, and though they were only slightly wounded Gytha and Lalia found their limbs felt heavy and weak
Lalia: Lalia was enraged about these corpses as she adopted a menacing demeanor.
Owain: Owain grabbed the edge of his glaive's handle and slapped the barrel awkwardly with it, rolling it closer to the fray
Gytha: Gytha held herself back, grinding her teeth in fury, waiting for the enemy to come to her.
whispering to Khalisar, as Khalisar looked into the room and saw the circle, he felt a pulse from the Crown and an image flashed into his head. He saw two men standing around the circle. One was small, pale-skinned and with jet black hair. The other was tall, blue-skinned, and white haired, and upon his brow was the Crown. An Iceborn writhed within the Circle, flailing about, blasting them with its frozen breath, but they stood unaffected. The man with the Crown - Master Imbrund, Khalisar knew - raised his hand and spoke a word of imperious command, and the smaller man raised his hand and fired a bolt of lightning towards the Iceborn. The Iceborn fell dying to the ground, and Master Imbrund took the Crown in both hands and walked into the circle, holding it above the Iceborn. There was a hideous shriek and the creature dissipated, mist swirling, flying up and into the Crown, vanishing
Khalisar: The fire elemental jumped on the barrel, swinging it's fiery fists at one of the dead monstruosities, and making the barrel explode, causing the death of both the zombies near him.
Khalisar: "We must force him into the circle!"screamed Khalisar as he gathered his energies. Meanwhile, his servant, now having returned to it's avian form, flew forward, diving at one of the zombies, cutting a small hole in the dead flesh with it's beak
Eifion: Eifion pushed back his fear and rushed into the room, stabbing at the zombie that the raven was already battling.
Sleeping Dragon: the zombies pressed on, slashing at the elemental and at Eifion with their axes. The elemental took two hard hits, nearly dropping it, and Eifion was also hit with a solid blow.
Sleeping Dragon: the Iceborn opened its mouth again and breathed, and they were struck by another icy blast. This one was of greater intensity, destroying the fire elemental and searing the party's flesh with cold
Lalia: Lalia went for one of the walking corpse near Eifion and attacked it with her sword, it lands heavily at the corpse.
Owain: Owain charged the frozen beast, his spear going wide
Owain: *glaive
Gytha: Gytha ran forward as fast as she could, although numbed with cold, and whipping out the great sword from behind her, slashed down at one of the zombies.
Khalisar: The raven having been severely hurt by the cone of cold slowly turned back and retreated, while its master - which was too severely injured - could slowly manage to gather the strength to stand up to the iceborn and threaten it "Go back to where you should be, creature!"he shouted pointing his hand at the circle behind the creature
Eifion: Eifion tried to slide around one of the zombies using the ice, but couldn't get through the crush of combatants. Off balance, he still managed to strike one of them, but only lightly.
Sleeping Dragon: the zombies lashed out with their axes, striking light blows on Gytha and Lalia
Sleeping Dragon: sensing the arcane power suffusing Khalisar, the iceborn hissed and rushed along the ceiling and into the circle
Lalia: Lalia once again attacked the corpse in front of her but corpse managed to avoid the sharp blow.
Owain: Owain slashed one of the zombies deeply and then shattered its skull with the glaive's handle.
Khalisar: As he slowly walked forward, Khalisar grabbed the ice crown from his backpack, and held it in one hand
Khalisar: edit: replace "and held it in one hand" with "dropped his knife to the ground, and held the ice crown high above his head so that the iceborn could see it"
Eifion: Eifion stabbed the zombie once more and moved closer to the circle. "Can you seal it, Khalisar?" he called.
Khalisar: "I can, but I need to be quick"replied the warlock
Sleeping Dragon: the zombies pressed their attack, oblivious to the Crown, landing one weak blow on Gytha, while the Iceborn shrieked and wailed like an arctic wind
Owain: Owain struck one of the zombies twice, missing widely both times. He cursed, spittle flying everywhere as he berated the zombies mother.
Gytha: Gytha, having warmed to her work, slaughtered one of the wretched undead things, then slashed another deeply. She stepped forward into the fray.
Khalisar: "Stay where you are! You shall soon return here!" shouted Khalisar to the iceborn as he held the crown up high and took another step forward
Khalisar: edit: replace took another step forward with "and walked towards the circle"
Khalisar: edit: replace return here with "return to the crown"
Eifion: Eifion moved near the circle with Khalisar, to defend him against the zombies as well as to help advise his ritual.
Sleeping Dragon: the ever-dwindling zombies pressed their repetitive attack, landing a blow on Lalia
Sleeping Dragon: the Iceborn shrieked and raged in the circle, eyeing the Crown with terror
Lalia: Annoyed with corpse kept avoiding her attacks, she finally made one last attack and finally it hit! The sword slashed through the neck
Owain: Owain made a great slash, separating the remaining zombie in two at the shoulders.
Gytha: Seeing the last of the zombies had collapsed, Gytha hurried up beside Eifion. "What do you want us to do?" she asked.
Khalisar: "Come and help me! Push the barrels in the circle!"said Khalisar as he ran forward to the circle and, crouching andl gripping the crown in one hand, started the ritual to repair it and keep the iceborn imprisoned there
Eifion: Eifion nodded and moved to push the barrel into the circle. His features were strangely calm and solemn.
Owain: Owain helped push the barrels around
Gytha: Gytha helped with the barrels, moving them easily.
Lalia: Lalia then went toward one of the barrel and pushed it
Owain: Owain pushed the remaining barrel up to the pentagram
Gytha: Gytha pushed another barrel into the circle
Sleeping Dragon: Khalisar completed the ritual, and there was a great flash of acrid smoke and the runes began to glow again. The Iceborn gave a maddened cry
whispering to Khalisar, As the circle closed, Khalisar felt a resonance from the Crown. He was deeply attuned to feeling the unseen spirits and souls that swirled through the world, unnoticed by those without the arcane arts, and he realised that the Crown did not have just the one spirit of the Iceborn within it - there were two other spirits as well. He sensed their power, and he knew them for Masters. An image flashed into his mind - Imbrund, blue-skinned and white-haired, tall and broad, wearing the Crown, facing Peldan, dark, handsome, with hair the colour of flame and eyes like burning coals, magic flashing in their hands. They rose into the air, blasting each other with arcana almost beyond Khalisar's imagining, flashing arcs of blue and red and green and black, spell and counterspell, rending the air. Their magic dwindled and faltered as they battered each other, growing exhausted, and then there was a blast of lightning from below and the image dissipated.
Khalisar: Khalisar took a few steps back and watched at what he had done with pride
Sleeping Dragon: with a roar of rage and desperation the Iceborn flung itself down from the ceiling and at Gytha, nearest of the party. She flung herself aside, but its icy teeth still closed and ripped a chunk from her arm
Lalia: Lalia pushed the barrel to the edge of the magical circle, lifted it and placed it within the circle,
Owain: Owain ran up to the pentagram and slashed it from afar, scoring a serious hit
Owain: *and slashed the beast from afar
Gytha: Seeing that the Iceborn was no longer fearful, Gytha moved back. She glared at the thing, fury filling her eyes.
Khalisar: Khalisar concentrated and, gathering his mental strength, invoked the spirits, asking them to protect him from flames and explosions
Sleeping Dragon: the Iceborn lashed out with its vicious teeth, scoring Lalia and Owain. Owain nearly had his throat torn out, but just managed to duck down behind a barrel in time
Lalia: She grunted as Iceborn managed to slashed her, she then managed to get back toward the wall and settled against it
Owain: Owain moved back from the creatures reach and attempted to hit it from afar. The distance was too great and the glaive almost went blade-first into a barrel instead
Gytha: Gytha stayed back as Khalisar wanted, and threw a javelin at the Iceborn, but it never even noticed it. She swore in frustration at not being able to fight it properly.
Khalisar: Khalisar kept invoking the spirits for help, and took a step back, warily eyeing the monster
Sleeping Dragon: the Iceborn picked up a barrel and flung it at Owain, who ducked and took a glancing blow to the shoulder
Khalisar: Finally having gathered enough strength, Khalisar summoned another spirit of fire, this one smaller than the ones he had conjured before, and had it appear over the barrel.
Sleeping Dragon: there was a tremendous explosion and a shriek of tremendous pain as the barrels exploded around the Iceborn. When the smoke cleared, the Iceborn stood still in the middle of the circle, scorched and drained, barely alive
Owain: Owain swung his halberd around his head several times, barely holding onto the end of the handle. He then sent it crashing down like some sort of a lumberjack, the weapon going through the ice creature from the shoulder all the way into the midsection. The beast uttered an ear-piercing roar and promptly shattered as the severed parts hit the ground.
Khalisar: Knowing what to do, Khalisar rushed forward in the circle, holding the crown forward in his hands
Sleeping Dragon: Khalisar held the crown high, and they watched as the shattered fragments of the Iceborn dissolved into frigid mist and rose up in great tendrils towards the Crown. The Crown shone blue-white, as if winter's frozen heart was trapped within it. The Iceborn flowed into it, and there was a flash and a sound like the rumbling of an inexorable glacier. The tendrils flowed into the Crown and something else was forced out. They saw two insubstantial figures form in the air above the circle, one tall, broad shouldered, blue skinned and white haired, the other short and dark, flame haired and coal-eyed. They hung there for a moment and then dissipated, leaving behind a single word screamed in terrible unison.

"TRAITOR!"

[sleepingdragon]

whispering to Gavin, the north was stirring. Refugees and survivors streamed south, seeking shelter, and giants and man-eaters roamed the hills freely. Gavin saw signs of their passing everywhere - half-eaten bodies discarded near rocks, scraps of the wolf and bear furs the giants wore, and footprints, the giants' huge and round, the man-eaters thin, long, and three-pointed. Distantly he even heard them, for the giants were not subtle and could be heard from a ways off. Gavin avoided them and pressed on, camping in hidden places and keeping his fires smothered.

As he drew near the tower, however, these signs faded and then vanished altogether. The giants had despoiled the kingdoms of the north, but they feared the name of Morrol the Black and no one dared to trespass in his domain. So when Gavin came up to the tower, the sorcerer himself came out to greet him, a wizened, bent old man, with tangled hair that remained jet black. He walked towards Gavin, leaning on a staff.
Eifion (enter): 19:45
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (6964) Eifion...
Gavin: (whispering): Gavin dismounted and gave a short bow to the older man. "Morrol, I take it?"
Sleeping Dragon: as the shout faded, they felt the walls shudder. Eifion felt a drip of water on his shoulder and looked up to see that the water was running from the icy ceiling. The temperature began to warm noticeably
Eifion: "Hmm. I think... we should get out of here," said Eifion, backing up.
Khalisar: "Indeed! The keep seems to be melting!"said a worried Khalisar
Lalia: Lalia looked at the crown with surprise and shock.
Lalia: Shaking her head in surprise with the crown of ice as she agreed with Eifion and Khalisar, "Then, we better leave quickly as possible!"
Owain: Owain was already running for the exit
Khalisar: With the crown held tight in his hand, Khalisar and his spirit servant followed him, not wishing to drown in a lake of freezing water
Eifion: Eifion, who was faster than the others, waited for the others to file out so he could guard the rear.
Lalia: Lalia also ran for it, following Owain and Khalisar, clanging her way out.
Gytha: Gytha ran forward, watching out for any of the guards
Sleeping Dragon: the party belted out of the Heart Chamber and towards the exit, rushing past the fallen Ferran raider and on through the trap-filled hallway, carefully avoiding the pits. They burst through back into the library.

The roof of the library had already largely caved in. Huge chunks of ice had fallen, crushing many of the shelves lined with Master Imbrund's ancient scrolls. One of the defenders they had left in the library was dead, crushed by a falling block of ice, and the sergeant lay with his leg pinned beneath another. He was groaning with pain and called out to the party as they entered
whispering to Gavin, "I am," said the sorcerer. "I have need of you, Master Gavin. I am told you are one of the best trackers and outdoorsmen of the Old Folk."
Gytha: Gytha ran over and started to haul on the block of ice.
Gytha: "Help me someone!" she grunted.
Khalisar: "What a shame..."said Khalisar stopping for a moment to look at the crushed scrolls and manuscripts "So much knowledge lost..."
Lalia: Lalia looked saddened for a moment, and replied to Khalisar, "Truly! I wonder if we can find some!" She starts looking for them
Gavin: (whispering): "So I've heard." Gavin scratched his head. "But I don't believe it. Still, I think I'm pretty good."
Khalisar: His hunger(or rather, greed)for knowledge overwhelming his prudence, Khalisar spent some time searching for some scrolls or books which looked most important and worthy taking back with him
Eifion: Eifion hurried over and added his strength to pushing the block. After a few moments they finally felt it start to budge...
whispering to Gavin, "If you were not one of the best, I would not have called for you," said Morrol. "I have sent a group of four people to Cetria on an urgent mission. They should have arrived by now and be on their way north, and I need you to find them and guide them here. I would trust them to find their own way, but the giants have infested the countryside."
Sleeping Dragon: they were able to push the block off of the wounded sergeant, whose leg was badly twisted and he was unable to rise. He spoke in his language
whispering to Lalia, "What's happening?" he demanded
Lalia: Lalia glanced up from her searching and replied back in the language of the sergeant
Sleeping Dragon: Lalia and Khalisar quick search of the shelves was largely fruitless. Most of the documents were ruined beyond compare. However, they were able to find one small book that had been knocked from its shelf by a falling block, and it had slid underneath the shelf, so it had remained sheltered from the wet and was undamaged
Owain: "Lets hurry
Owain: "Lets hurry!" - shouted Owain "Do you want to be buried with these books here?"
Khalisar: Khalisar grinned as quickly grabbed the book and placed it in his backpack
Gytha: Gytha hauled the sergeant unceremoniously off the floor and slung him over her shoulder.
Lalia: (whispering): She replied, "We managed to reach the Heart Chamber but it was empty apart from an Iceborn which got released from the Magical Circle when your enemies attacked it but they all got killed. When we arrived, we found Iceborn and it starts trying to kill us. We very barely managed to defeat it and then all this happening!"
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant replied back, sounding horrified
Gytha: "Get a move on!" she called to the others, moving off slowly in the direction of the entrance.
whispering to Lalia, "You killed the Iceborn! We must get out of here, now! This Keep is going to collapse!"
Lalia: Narrowing her eyes and snapped back at the sergeant, she then followed them
Lalia: (whispering): "We noticed that already!"
Gytha: "How about making yourself useful, girl." Gytha said to Lalia. "Grab this man's legs and let's go."
whispering to Gavin, edit: 'they should have arrived back in Andros by now...'
Gavin: (whispering): "Four people. Any defining characteristics of them?"
Eifion: Seeing Lalia distracted by the falling blocks, Eigion grabbed the fellow's legs and called, "Let's not dally, we'll have time for tea later on!"
Eifion: *edit: Eifion
Lalia: Lalia was hit by one of these falling Ice block from the ceiling but her armour sneered at it and only inflicted much smaller wounds on her as she grunted in hurt.
Khalisar: Khalisar managed to avoid a small block of ice falling squrely on him, resulting in only a bruise
Sleeping Dragon: hauling the wounded sergeant along with them, they hastily made for the exit. As they went, blocks of ice fell around them. Khalisar and Lalia were hit by large falling chunks, but Khalisar was able to leap aside while Lalia's armour shielded her. They sped on. The floor was a mass of water and ice beneath their feet, and they slipped and slid towards the exit. As they came near to the mass of bodies at the main doors, Gytha and Owain slipped and fell, sending the sergeant tumbling to the ground as well. Eifion kept his feet as Khalisar and Lalia went rushing by. The sergeant gave a groan and then a block of ice broke off of the ceiling above.
Eifion: Eifion staggered, but regained his balance. He only heard the creak as the ice above began to break, and immediately he leapt forward and grabbed the sergeant by the collar, pulling him out of the way just as the huge block smashed to the floor where he had been. "Get up! Let's go!" he called to the others, picking up the sergeant.
Gytha: Gytha picked herself off the floor and scuttled forward, grabbing hold of the sergeant's clothing as she went. "Damn this place!" she scowled.
Lalia: Lalia also went forward to carry one of the sergeant's leg.
whispering to Gavin, "Their names are Gytha, Owain, Eifion, and Khalisar. Gytha is a tall woman of the New Folk, red-haired and carries a two-handed blade. Owain is a very tall, sturdy man of Daragwr, who carries a glaive and has black hair and beard. He walks with a limp. Eifion is lean, muscular, with black braids and grey eyes, and fine clothing. Khalisar is a slender Cetrian and his eyes are blue and sharp, and somewhat unnerving. They will be riding, Khalisar on one of the warhorses they train in Cetrian, lean, bold, and fast.
Sleeping Dragon: they picked up the sergeant and rushed out into the courtyard. From the outside, they were able to look up and see Glacier Keep melting in the sun, as the enchantments that had sustained its unnatural climate failed. The snow and ice that lay on the spring grass had begun to melt too, and they noticed that their breaths no longer steamed
Gytha: Gytha laid the sergeant down and watched the spectacle. "Well, that was interesting."
Gavin: (whispering): Gavin thought for a moment. "I'll return with them then." Gavin walked back to his mount.
Lalia: Lalia grinned in relief at their survival, "And very luckly as well, Gytha"
Gytha: Gytha rolled her eyes. "So let's find our horses and get moving. Tell this man we're going to take him somewhere safe."
Eifion: Eifion bent down and did his best to tend the sergeant's injuries quickly.
Lalia: Lalia nodded in respond and told the Guards
Lalia: *Sergeant
Lalia: (whispering): "You are safe. I suppose we will go where we will be safe"
whispering to Lalia, "Thank you."
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant replied, sounding relieved
Khalisar: Khalisar took the crown in his hand for the others to see "Now, think we should bring this back to Morrol, shouldn't we?"
Owain: Owain inquired about what happened to the crown and whether the party still has it.
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant's jaw dropped and he gave a shout of alarm
Eifion: Eifion nodded. "I'm glad we survived that. Not that I wasn't confident, but horrible demons from beyond are not my usual foe. Is the sergeant going to come with us across the water?"
whispering to Lalia, "How...assassins! Servants of Peldan!"
Gytha: "What's the matter with him?" Gytha asked Lalia.
Khalisar: "He's probably shocked at seeing the crown. Are you?"he said waving the crown for the wounded man to see
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant was plainly looking at the Crown, and gave a wordless shout of anger
Lalia: Looked surprised for a moment as she answered Gytha's question, "He thinks we are assassins for Master Peldan. Considering that the Crown of Ice was created by Master Imbrund, it is no surprise that he think we are likely to kill his Master"
Gytha: "Tell him we're nothing to do with Peldan." Gytha insisted.
Khalisar: "Think we should probably tell him what really happened, shouldn't we?"said Khalisar "Not like he can do anything about it anyway"
whispering to Gavin, "Wait! Take this," Morrol walked over to Gavin and pulled out a scroll, which he unrolled, showing a map of the surrounding region. "The hills to the southeast are plagued with giants, but there is a way to avoid them. There is a hidden pass here that I discovered some years ago," he pointed to the mountains south of his tower. "It leads through a very narrow, shallow ravine. Even if the giants have found it, they are too large to enter the ravine. Take that route, then make your way south. Return via that road and you will be safe."
Owain: "Give me the man some food and directions and lets get going already"
Lalia: She replied, "Oh really? you people mysteriously arrived at this Keep, carrying the Crown of Ice and it seems you got what you want. Who is Morrol anyway?"
Eifion: "Somehow, I think with a broken leg directions aren't all he needs."
Gavin: (whispering): "I'll make use of it, thank you." Gavin nodded and mounted.
Lalia: She replied, "Oh really? you people mysteriously arrived at this Keep, carrying the Crown of Ice and it seems you got what you want. I suppose you serve Morrol the Black?"*
Owain: "We are not his servants." - Owain grumbled. "Why are we being questioned by an indignant cripple again?"
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant backed away from the party as best as he could on his shattered leg, grabbing at his spear
Lalia: Lalia looked annoyingly at Owain, mumbling few words of choice when then she shouted at the sergeant
Eifion: "Tell him that we weren't to kill his Master, because his Master's long gone. He's going to find out eventually."
Lalia: (whispering): "Listen. I will try explain this: Your Master is dead. There is no more Master on this world. They either died out or disappered in Master's Wars about a hundred years ago. That flash you encouraged was mighty spell crafted by your Master to rip the castle out of time and forward. That why you cannot understand the people beside me. I am speaking a dead language which you can understand. Estos, Ithil, and Nautamer are now worshipped as gods of Seas while Vilya and Tathiu are sun and moon gods of Serists. Even some worship Mythal, Ectus, and Karakos as war gods. Your world been living in are all gone. Now calm down!"
whispering to Lalia, "No, no! You are lying, I know it! The Masters cannot disappear. They made us!"
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant replied disbelievingly and pulled himself along the ground away from the party
Gytha: Gytha shook her head. "He's determined not to believe us. Is there anything we can do to convince him?"
Owain: "Move on. That'll convince him"
Lalia: (whispering): "I am not lying. The Masters did disappered. They changed very face of the world. There are lands that nothing grows anymore across the world. I do not think the towns and cities you knew exist anymore."
Eifion: Eifion sighed. "We could knock him unconscious. We don't want to leave him here, with his injuries."
Sleeping Dragon: the sergeant looked long at Lalia and spoke again
whispering to Lalia, "I...I don't know if you speak the truth, or if you've been deceived, but...perhaps you aren't lying, deliberately anyway. I suppose though that you saved me when you could have left me to die."
Owain: "Too much effin trouble. Either he agrees to something and we go, or we leave him here. I do not want to be ambushed by giants, especially after we got out of that icicle alive."
Lalia: Lalia nodded back as she responded
Khalisar: Khalisar called out to his horse by whistling
Gytha: Gytha shook her head. "We've taken him out. He's our responsibility. I shall pray for Vilya and Tathius to speak to his heart and give him faith." She walked off a little way and stood gazing up at the sky, her lips moving silently.
Lalia: (whispering): "Your life is saved after all. If you come with us, you can see the truth. There is nothing left for you since the Keep is all melted. But I swear, you will be taken care of in this world"
whispering to Lalia, "Alright, I'll come with you."
Lalia: She smiled slightly at the sergeant as she replied back in the same language.
Lalia: (whispering): "Thank you, Clovis"
Owain: "Well? Does he still think we are assasins?"
Lalia: Sighing as she glared at the group, "I managed to convince him that he is no longer the world he used to live in but instead he is in the future. I also told him he can come with us and he agreed. Will you mind if I join you? I am on my way back to Garydhsing after all."
Gytha: Gytha frowned but nodded. "You'd better come along, if only to talk to the man."
Lalia: Lalia nodded in respond, "Agreed. We do need to have someone's horse to carry him though. By the way, his name is Clovis"
Khalisar: As his warhorse arrived, responding to the whistle, Khalisar said "My horse is strong enough to carry us both, he could ride with me."
Gytha: Gytha reached her horse and swung herself into the saddle.
Lalia: Lalia went for her horse and put her backpack back onto the horse and with one move, went into the saddle and moved the horse nearer to Khalisar

[sleepingdragon]

Sleeping Dragon: they mounted up and set off. Sergeant Clovis mounted up awkwardly behind Khalisar and they rode across Cetria. The strange weather vanished with the destruction of Glacier Keep and it returned to typical warm spring weather.

They made their way west. The first day after their victory in the Heart Chamber, Eifion woke in the night, shaking and burning with fever, and when they looked they saw that one of his bites from the maggot-creatures they had battled had festered.
Gytha: "Can't you do anything?" Gytha asked Khalis worriedly as she laid a wet cloth on Eifion's head.
Eifion: "I'm awake, mother, I'm awake!" moaned Eifion, covering his eyes.
Khalisar: "I'm not really an healer, but I'll see what I can do."he replied
Gytha: "He's delirious!" Gytha said. "Shouldn't we cut his leg off to stop the poison?"
Eifion: "Yes, cut the bastard's leg off!" Eifion replied, grinning, as he stared dreamily into the air.
Lalia: Lalia looked at Eifion, "I would not do that if I was you. No one like to be a cripple. Let see what else I can do." She moved closer to Eifion, looking at the wounds.
Gytha: Gytha stared coldly at Lalia. "Don't presume to know what Eifion likes. You've only just met him."
Khalisar: Khalisar too tried to help the delirating man with his ilness
Lalia: Lalia shrugged in respond as she continued
Lalia: *to heal
Sleeping Dragon: they were able to bind Eifion up and restore him to lucidity enough that they could continue their journey. Eifion was unwell for the next several days, but with care from Lalia and Khalisar, he recuperated
Eifion: "If I said anything offensive, it was only the fever talking," said Eifion as they rode, looking a bit nervous.
Gytha: "Nothing offensive." Gytha said. "But your mother came into it."
Owain: "She was quite a woman in her time, yessir" - Owain laughed
Gytha: Gytha gave Owain a hard look. "You were talking to her, that's all." she reassured Eifion.
Lalia: Lalila rode closer to Khalisar and asked how the deciphering the book coming on.
Khalisar: A bit angry at not knowing well the language of the book, Khalisar spent his energies studying the crown
Eifion: Eifion flushed a little. "Well, her scolding was about all that kept a fever from taking me when I was six. She told me that if I died, she'd give me a whipping until I couldn't even crawl to hell."
Gytha: Gytha gave him a sudden fleeting smile. "Mothers are good at that kind of thing," she said, a little sadly.
Eifion: Eifion smiled slightly, sensing her sadness. "Even when they
Eifion: 're gone, their words stay with you, I find."
Gytha: Gytha nodded, suddenly finding herself unable to speak.
Khalisar: Khalisar, not being able to understand the book, let Lalia have it for the moment
Eifion: Eifion raised one hand, as if about to pat her on the shoulder, but paused and lowered his hand as they rode on.
Lalia: Lalia smiled as she once again trying to crack the informations
Gytha: After a bit Gytha raised her head and looked at Eifion, her emotions again under control. "You've never said where you lived, before you took up the wandering life."
Eifion: Eifion shrugged. "A little village in the northwest of Andros. My family fancies itself princes, and I suppose that can be said to be true if a hundred people and a few acres of barren land make up a principality." There was a slight bitterness in his voice. "We had more once." He looked at her. "And you? You haven't talked much about your origins."
Gytha: Gytha looked away, but answered. "The same as a good many people in this land. My father was a craftsman, a good one, and we lived a comfortable life. Then one day the prince of some other little patch of land decided he wanted ours and sent his army over the border. Not much of an army, but against unarmed and unprepared people....I learned to fight then and I learned to hate." Her face was hard and her hands flexed, then she shook herself. "It was another life back then, and it's gone."
Lalia: Lalia was listening to Eifion & Gytha's discussion and it made her curious, and asked him, "Really? which one?"
Eifion: Eifion looked sympathetically at Gytha, but wasn't sure what else to say. He was glad at Lalia's distraction. "Machynlleth. You'll forget it as soon as you hear it, I imagine. My brother Glethin rules there, now. I prefer the road. How about you, Lalia? Can you tell us anything about where you're from?"
Owain: Owain listened to the stories with a sour look on his face
Khalisar: Khalisar didn't say much as they travelled, looking like he was more concerned with the crown than with socializing
Sleeping Dragon: they made their way back across Cetria, riding hard for Aixon, from which they had taken ship before. They saw few travellers on the way.

The Ferran pirates were busily attacking the kingdoms of Cetria, and the signs were frequent. They passed many burned out farms, but when they searched them they found no survivors or valuables, only the butchered corpses of the inhabitants who had fought or simply failed to run away. They noticed that the bodies were disproportionately male. Very few women under forty had been slain.
Sleeping Dragon: edit: ignore
Owain: Owain looked rather grim after witnessing all the carnage and didn't say anything.
Lalia: Lalia looked thoughtfully a moment but couldn't recall the name of the towns. She then mentioned about her "My full name is Lalia, Princess of Garydhsing and Duchess of Garydafydd. I was born in Garydhsing to Royal Family of that land. Been travelling the world for about twelve long years with my parents and servants. But three years ago, my mother and father died terrible death when we stayed far too long on that island when that magical created plague almost wiped out entire town's population.” She looked saddened as memory of screams haunted her for a moment. “But, I am still alive and got my father's sword, ring and few other possessions with me. Anyway, as I mentioned before, I am on my way to my homeland which I have not been there for five years. I just hope my uncle and cousins are still at home.” She looked gloomily at that phase.
Eifion: "Well, we're a bunch of happy, perky ones aren't we," muttered Eifion. He looked to Owain and Khalisar. "I don't imagine you want to tell your stories?
Owain: "Stories? Owain Gwynnbed at your service. Anything you want, just no tragedies - we seem to have exceeded that quota for today"
Owain: *Gwynnbled
Gytha: "A person's life is the way it is Owain, there is little we can do to change the past. Only the future." Gytha said.
Khalisar: "Well, well..."said Khalisar scratching his chin "Curious, are we? But it's a short story, so I might as well tell it....I come from a family of petty nobles, never really got along with them. They didn't really like what I decided to learn...especially, the books I liked to read, and I'm not talking about fairy tales. Let's just say I got disowned and decided to travel in a quest for knowledge."
Sleeping Dragon: they made their way back across Cetria, riding hard for Aixon, from which they had taken ship before. They saw few travellers on the way.

The Ferran pirates were busily attacking the kingdoms of Cetria, and the signs were frequent. They passed many burned out farms, but when they searched them they found no survivors or valuables, only the butchered corpses of the inhabitants who had fought or simply failed to run away. They noticed that the bodies were disproportionately male. Very few women under forty had been slain.
Eifion: Disconnecting from server...
Eifion (exit): 23:30
Gytha: Gwytha became more silent as they discovered more massacred villagers, but it was plain anger was building within her with each ghastly scene of death.
Lalia: She glanced at these villagers and became more wary.There are always a chance that pirates are still around.
Sleeping Dragon: as they passed into the western part of Cetria they saw fewer signs of pillaging, and they eventually came to Aixon. they stopped to disguise Clovis, whose blue skin would draw suspicion, and entered into the town. They were shortly able to find a trading ship going to Lugdun - though giants were ravaging the north of Andros, the flow of trade into Lugdun had barely lessened. they took ship and left the continent, sailing northwest on for Lugdun, the greatest of the cities of Andros. they spent several days passing through the terrible Bite of the Ander, the horrid, reef-filled strait separating Andros from the Diluvian mainland. They passed cramped, uncomfortable days in the belly of the ship, hearing the waves pelting the sides of the vessel like angry fists, the winds whirling and screaming about them like the voices of the dead.

at length they came to Andros again, and sailed into the bustling harbour of Lugdun. It was no metropolis to match the great cities of the south, Zenos, Malador, Salavoi, Illius, and Espartes, but nonetheless it teemed with life. Leaving the ship and heading out of the harbour, they saw men moving everywhere. Near the busy marketplace, several preachers in brown homespun stood on wooden boxes, haranguing passersby. They bore signs with the symbol of the eclipse, symbol of the Serist faith, and cried out that the doom of Andros was at hand unless its inhabitants were to adopt the true religion. Many stood to watch them. Some were contemptuous and angry, others filled with zealous hope, but they all mentioned one interesting fact - in an unprecedented move, all the kings of the land, Old Folk and New alike, had been invited to a Council at the mighty fortress of the north, Caer Arrath.
Khalisar: "This is madness..."muttered Khalisar as he saw the crowd looking up to the preachers "It will take far more than a few prayers to save them from the giants."
whispering to Gavin, Gavin set out south from Morrol's tower. He skirted the edge of the northern mountains, seeking the ravine Morrol had told him about. About two days south of the tower he found it. The entrance to the ravine was so small and sheltered that he nearly missed it. He made his way down the steep, stony defile and into the cramped ravine, which ran like a thin scar through the mountains, hidden from view. He made his way along, passing cliffs and the waterfalls that were the source of the greatest river in Andros, which the Old Folk named the Athwyn but the New Folk called the Stoke. For two days he made his way through the mountains, seeing no signs of humanoid life, until he eventually found the way out, in the hills north of the fortress of Caer Arrath. From a distance he could see the signs of many travellers making for the mighty fort, built upon the northernmost ford across the river to protect the lands of the Old Folk from the depradations of the kings of the New.
Gavin: [1d8] => [5] = (5)
Gytha: Gytha looked accross at them. "Faith is a powerful weapon Khalisar. It binds us together. Villya and Tathius will listen to our prayers."
Owain: Owain made a sound not unlike a horse upon hearing Gytha's words
Lalia: Lalia smiled slightly as the languages she have not heard for a while spoken once more. She then said, "I would say it is Fear that is most powerful."
Gavin: (whispering): "A Council hmmm? Might want to keep appraised of that, but there are other matters." Gavin talked out loud to himself and made his way down the hills, carefully leading his horse. Once on the road again, he bypassed the fort making his way to Lugdun, but keeping an eye on the travelers for those he was looking for.
Gytha: This time Gytha laughed shortly. "Fear makes men fools."
Lalia: She replied cheerfully, "Indeed! So what are we going to do next then?"
Sleeping Dragon: they left Lugdun and made their way north, pounding across the plains of Aldiluvia. They passed through several small kingdoms, seeing signs of activity as the peasants were out in the fields, busily preparing for the upcoming harvests. Many local fyrds were training, preparing their men for battle, but most of the kingdoms of the New Folk were wary of sending men to Caer Arrath, for it was a stronghold of the Old Folk.

After about a week they came to the great river of the north, which the Old Folk named the Athwyn, but the New Folk called the Stoke. They came to the town of Gathburg, the capital of the strongest kingdom of the New Folk, a mining town built in the foothills of the Gath mountains of the northeast. The King of Gathburg, Aelle, was a First, and renowned as the greatest warrior in Andros. In the city they learned cheering news - King Aelle had answered the call and marched with his large, highly trained army to Caer Arrath, intending to join with his long-time enemies to fight the menace of the giants. When they came near the city they saw that ten giants had been decapitated and their huge, rotting heads were stuck on pikes upon the walls
Owain: "I see that there's some progress" - Owain said cheerfully
Khalisar: "What a sight."smiled Khalisar as he looked up at the rotting heads "Seems like those giants aren't as though as they say, after all."
Gytha: "At least for now princes have learned who their true enemies are." Gytha said, looking less grim than she had for a long time.
Lalia: Lalia smiled with delight, "Well, maybe there will be peace for little longer after all."
whispering to Gavin, Gavin continued south towards Gathburg and Lugdun, entering the hills around the Gath mountains. A wide, rocky path wound up through cliffs and ledges, and he trotted his horse along. Then he heard a wild and plainly fake bird cry up ahead and the sound of crossbows being fired
Sleeping Dragon: they passed through Gathburg and up into the foothills, skirting the Gath mountains. They were now passing quite close to Caer Arrath, and from a distance they could see the great dust kicked up by the armies of the north marching there. The hills around the Gath mountains were sharp and hard, filled with cliffs, and they found themselves marching on a rocky path up between many ledges.

they wound along under the ledges. By one, Lalia looked up, puzzled, thinking she had seen something, and then there was a shrill bird cry and they heard the unmistakeable click of crossbows.

[sleepingdragon]

Lalia: Lalia looked nervous as she prepared herself for any possible arrows or bolts that might kill her.
Sleeping Dragon: "Now, come on!" a man's voice bellowed
Sleeping Dragon: the sound of iron shod feet came from up the road
Gavin: (whispering): Worried about the sounds ahead, Gavin rode forward and began to dismount his horse.
Sleeping Dragon: up ahead on the road, Owain could see men in metal armour advancing towards them. From the cliffs on either side of them, they saw men in grey cloaks stand up from behind the rocks and fire crossbows. Khalisar was hit hard, and another shot at Gytha's horse, wounding the animal
Sleeping Dragon: they heard more heavy tramping ahead of them. Just around the corner Owain saw a small force of men marching rapidly to cut the party off. They wore scale mail with full helms, and carried large shields of iron and oak and spears with hafts of ash wood
Sleeping Dragon: edit: a small force of men marching to join those he had already seen
Lalia: Lalia dismounted quickly and fast and as she adopt a menacing demeanor toward these men, she tries to dismiss her mount safely away from possible combats
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion dismounted, nearly tangling his foot in the stirrup, and drew a spear
Sleeping Dragon: several men fired crossbows towards Owain and his mount, but their aim was poor and Owain was only grazed lightly
Gavin: (whispering): Gavin dismounted and moved towards the sounds ahead, trying to stay out of sight.
Khalisar: Khalisar, grimacing at the bolt which had struck him, tried to concentrate as much as possible, but the results were less than excellent. He glanced at the captain of the opposing group, perhaps opping to intimidate him, but the latter didn't look impressed at all.
Khalisar: The raven slowly flew towards the assailants, making a slight turn to the right
Sleeping Dragon: Sergeant Clovis dismounted and drew his spear
Khalisar: edit: change opping to hoping
Owain: "Climb up and dispatch the crossbowmen" - Owain screamed wildly as he tried to get off the horse, feet going everywhere. He managed to get on solid ground eventually, red and huffy.
Owain: He then started climbing up to the ledge where the crossbowmen were positioned
Sleeping Dragon: the archers on the ledge fired again without even pausing to reload, and they realised the men in grey had repeating crossbows. Two flew wide of Khalisar, but Owain was hit heavily as he climbed up, and Gytha's horse was struck and fell to the ground with a shriek
Gytha: Unable to get out of the saddle in time, Gytha fell heavily, but the next moment she leaped up and rushed for the cliff, screaming an inarticulate war-cry. Propelled by her fury she scrambled up the cliff like a spider and sprang onto the edge, her eyes fixed on the unfortunate bowman.
Sleeping Dragon: ahead of them, the spearmen marched into position as their captain shouted orders. Their boots slammed in heavy unision as they advanced, spears and shields at the ready, forming a double line. The men in the second rank were taller than their comrades, and they aimed their spears over the heads of their compatriots, forming a solid shieldwall. The Captain threw Khalisar a vicious glare. "Remember, we need one of them alive lads!"
Lalia: Lalia judged her opinon carefully, knowing she cannot climb that well, she strolled over some distance toward these men, without a weapon in her hand. She then stood still, prepared for any possible attacks
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion gave the Captain a stare and then darted to one of the ledges and scampered up with great speed
Sleeping Dragon: the three armoured crossbowmen moved up behind the spearwall, rapidly reloading and firing, one striking Gytha
Gavin: (whispering): Gavin watched the captain's movments carefully, noting his fighting style.
Khalisar: Khalisar looked worried and beaten from the captain's hard stare and couldn't muster the willpower to do anything. His avian servant however, managed to reach Gytha as she prepared to attack the marksmen
Sleeping Dragon: Sergeant Clovis shouted a battle-cry and moved up beside Lalia, drawing his shield
Owain: Owain gave himself a great heave and swung himself onto the natural parapet. When he straightened up, the crossbowmen found themselves staring at the business end of his polearm.
Sleeping Dragon: not eager to face any of the group in hand to hand combat, the crossbowmen began to climb up towards the tops of the cliffs. The two Gytha faced were able to get up, but those confronted by Owain's glaive had less luck, having to roll and weave to avoid his weapon. One slipped as he began to climb, and the other was only able to get halfway up
Gytha: Seeing her enemy escaping, Gytha made a mighty leap and slashed her sword out at him, but the blow went wide. "Fight like a man you fucking horse-murdering bastard!" she screamed.
Sleeping Dragon: with a great cry, the spearmen surged forward as one mass. The men locked their shields, pounding forward and jabbing their spears out, and the men in the back rank held theirs high and jabbed over the shoulders of their comrades in the front rank. Sergeant Clovis was dashed to the ground, wounded by many spears, but Lalia concentrated entirely on defending herself and remained unhurt, though she faced a great horde
Lalia: Enraged by Clovis's fall, she immediately drew her three feet long curved sword and slash her way onto spearman in front of her but his armour managed to protect majority of the blow.
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion rolled forward and stabbed his spear into one of the fleeing archers, driving it in hard
Sleeping Dragon: the crossbowmen advanced, firing at Khalisar on the back of his horse, but he took only one slight wound
Gavin: (whispering): Gavin climbed up the embankment, though he had a hard time concealing himself, he did stay silent.
Khalisar: As Khalisar retreated on his horse, failing to gather significant energies, his raven dived at the crossbowman near Gytha, widely missing him
Owain: Owain slashed the crossbowman trying to get up a cliff, dropping him instantly. The other slash cleaved the remaining enemy's skull in half.
Sleeping Dragon: Gytha took a shot from a crossbow, and then one of the sharpshooter walked around behind a pile of rocks and pushed. A cascade of stones came falling down on her, and she came up hurt in a cloud of dust
Gytha: Gytha rose spitting with fury but the men had vanished. The sound of battle behind her made her turn, and seeing her companions under massed attack, she dashed to the edge of the cliff, flinging herself through the air and landing heavily in front of one of the spearmen. Her massive sword drove down with great force, splitting the man almost in half. With a frightful cry she wrenched her sword from his vitals and slashed out at the man behind, wounding him heavily.
Sleeping Dragon: the spearmen churned forward, stabbing at Lalia and Gytha. The man wounded by Gytha ground his teeth, wiping blood from his face, and snarled at her, seeming to shrug off the effects of the blow
Sleeping Dragon: "You bitch!" the Captain screamed, advancing and pointing his spear menacingly at Gytha.
Lalia: Lalia neatly avoided attacks from surrounding spearmen with another blow bounced off her armour. She then once again slashed at the heavily hurt spearman but his armour managed to protect him from the worst force.
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion leapt acrobatically down from the cliff, glaring menacingly at the sharpshooters on the cliffs opposite. He flanked a spearman with Lalia and stabbed him, but did only a little damage.
Sleeping Dragon: the crossbowmen continued to fire at Khalisar, striking him solidly twice
Khalisar: Spurring his horse to turn around, Khalisar charged to the rescue, casting a spell which caused flames to burst among the enemy ranks, severely scorching three of the spearmen. He then cast a terrible gaze at the soldier in front of him, which was threatened both by Lalia and by the hooves of his horse and was hence paralyzed with fear.
Sleeping Dragon: one of the sharpshooters grimaced and spread his hands, and then the two began to lope off into the cliffs
Owain: Owain moved forward slightly, bent down somewhat and swung his glaive in a shining arc. The head of one of the spearmen, already burned, was parted with the body before the man realized what happened. Blood gushed out of the neck in a fountain, spraying everyone that was close up.
Gytha: At the Captain's look Gytha felt a sudden fear run through her, causing her to falter.
Sleeping Dragon: "I'll have your head on that glaive, maggot!" the Captain shouted at Owain
Sleeping Dragon: the spearmen continued their attack, but ineffectually - only Eifion took a light blow
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion rolled nimbly around to strike at a spearman's back, but struck the man's shield
Lalia: She managed to avoid these attacks by remarkable swordplay and slash directly into spearman in front of her. It caused great deal of pain in him.
Sleeping Dragon: The Captain pointed his spear imperiously at Khalisar, and the archers fired. Three bolts thudded into the sorcerer, hurling him bleeding and unconscious to the stony track
Gavin: An older man in weather beaten armor stepped out from behind the rock at the top of the path. "Hold there!" He shouted, aiming a worn, but sturdy bow at the captain of the large force. "I lead a patrol from Caer Arrath to make sure nothing like this happens during the Council, my men are hidden in the hills, at my single they will fire." The man grins confidently. "What would Captain Gwydion think if he knew men from Gathberg were harrying his messengers?"
Sleeping Dragon: "Shit on Captain Gwydion!"
Gavin: The man shrugged, and let loose his shot, impacting the captain's shield. "If that's how you want it." He said softly, ducking back behind the rocks.
Khalisar: Seeing his master on the ground, covered in blood and unconscious, Khalisar's horse desperately tried to defend his body by kicking and biting, though it only managed to land a weak kick on one of the spearmen
Khalisar: The raven too dived savagely at the soldier, but missed
Gytha: Shaking off the Captain's effect on her, Gytha began to sing as she stepped back into the fray and launched an attack on one of the spearmen, given strength by her faith and fury from the blow he had landed on her previously. The man reeled under her onslaught, but managed to stay on his feet.
Sleeping Dragon: "Run off back to Caer Arrath then - as if anyone there knows you, liar!" the Captain shouted, stepping back from Gytha and holding his shield up protectively
Lalia: Lalia rushed between spearmen but while she done it, she took a nasty hit, but she managed to reach Captain and slashed at him but missed with a quick defensive move
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion rolled around and tried to tend to the fallen Khalisar's wounds, but blood continued to pump from the stricken sorcerer
Khalisar: The horse keep fighting, striking the spearman with a powerful kick
Khalisar: The raven clawed at the man ankles with unnatural strength, obviously unlike any common bird
Gytha: Gytha swung a great stroke at the wretched spearman, dropping him to the ground, then struck out at another but the lucky man dodged aside at the last minute. She continued singing as the hot blood spurted over her.
Sleeping Dragon: the Captain took a swing at Lalia, but she dodged and he stepped back
Lalia: Lalia followed the Captain and attacked him once more and finally scored a light blow on him
Sleeping Dragon: seeing Khalisar's breathing normalise and the bleeding cease somewhat, Eifion rolled forward, driving a spear up into one man's chest and dropping him to the earth
Sleeping Dragon: "Shoot her down!" the Captain pointed at Gytha, and the crossbowmen unloaded on her. She took one well aimed bolt but kept going
Gavin: The archer stepped forward, firing a shot at the captain. His arrow flew true, but was unable to penetrate the man's armor.
Khalisar: The beasts keep attacking the nearby soldiers, although their hooves and claws couldn't do much against the soldier's armor
Khalisar: edit: keep = kept
Owain: Owain finally regained his composure, surveyed the situation momentarily, and sprinted to the edge of the parapet. Before landing painfull on his feet, he brought his glaive down like an axe on one of the spearmen, delivering a heavy slash to the mans back.
Owain: *painfully
Gytha: Her song rising, Gytha ignored the spearmen around her and rushed at the Captain, hitting him hard. "Now let's see you try your mind tricks you heathen swine!" she spat at him.
Sleeping Dragon: beset by two enemies and seeing Owain enter the fight, the Captain stepped back and lowered his spear. "This is no good, lads. We surrender."
Sleeping Dragon: at their Captain's word, the men lowered their weapons and gave in

[sleepingdragon]

Sleeping Dragon: at their Captain's word, the men lowered their weapons, though they did not let them drop altogether, worried that their surrender would not be accepted
Temoid: Owain stepped forward and motioned at the Captain: "He stays here. Rest of you scram before I change my mind"
Gytha: Gytha held her sword above her head ready to swing down on the Captain, but she lowered it slowly, keeping it ready and waiting to see what the others would do.
Gytha: She nodded at Owain's words.
Khalisar: Khalisar was lying on the ground, unconscious but stable
Gavin: The man with the bow stayed near the rocks, but lowered his bow and replaced the arrow he had strung in his quiver as he watched the group below.
Sleeping Dragon: "Alright lads, drop your weapons and move off then," the Captain said, keeping exemplary composure. Eifion meanwhile moved to heal the fallen Sergeant Clovis, who was bleeding badly but not dead
Temoid (enter): 19:07
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (879) Temoid...
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(876) Temoid' from room...
Temoid (exit): 19:07
Sleeping Dragon: the soldiers dropped their spears and shields in a pile and marched away, saluting their Captain sharply as they went
Gytha: "Someone tie this man up!" Gytha called, staring hard at the Captain.
Lalia (enter): 19:11
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (881) Lalia...
Lalia (enter): 19:12
Lalia (exit): 19:12
Temoid: "No need for rope" - Owain responded. "Now listen" - he turned to te captain. "You try to run away, I'll slice your back open. Meanwhile, lets hear what you know and better make it interesting."
Sleeping Dragon: "I understand what it is to surrender," the Captain said testily. He dropped his own weapons. "My name is Captain Ecberhdt, I serve Aelle the Great, King of Gathburg. My lord commanded me to attack your party and take at least one of you to him."
Gytha: "Why?" Gytha asked.
Sleeping Dragon: "When my king gives me commands, I don't ask for his rationale, I obey him."
Lalia: Lalia went over to Khalisar and tend at his wounds
Gytha: Gytha frowned. "You must have heard something. How did you know who we were? And where we would be?"
Sleeping Dragon: "The great King has many eyes and ears, they have watched you," said the Captain. "My king told me of several of you - I believe you two are Gytha and Owain?" the Captain asked in a tone of voice that suggested he already knew the answer. "I know your companions, Prince Eifion and Khalisar as well. My king ordered me to take the former captive and slay the latter, as sorcerers are too dangerous to take as prisoners."
Temoid: "The more interesting information given, the less pain inflicted." - Owain smiled grimly. "Keep going."
Gytha: Gytha smiled grimly. "Be thankful you did not succeed in killing Khalis, or we would have had to revenge him. It would have been very painful indeed for you."
Lalia: Lalia stood up, annoyed that her tending to Khalisar did not seems to have much effects, she strolled back to the group and captain who having enlightened discussion.
Sleeping Dragon: "Such are the fortunes of war. We knew of your route because you passed through our city several days ago, and though my King and I were at Caer Arrath we were informed by messengers of your coming and we guessed you would take this route. Unfortunately for us we knew little about your other two companions," he indicated Lalia and the Sergeant, "and nothing at all about...you," he glanced at the bowman among the rocks.
Gavin: The archer shrugged, but stayed silent, watching.
Gytha: "Why are we important to your king?" Gytha asked. "And don't play ignorant. You must have some idea."
Lalia: Lalia smiled slightly, "Well, I have not been to Andros for years on end." She glanced at the Captain to see his answer to Gytha's question
Sleeping Dragon: Captain Ecberhdt shrugged. "I would assume it has something to do with your connection to Morrol the Black - I believe you are going to see him now, aren't you? My King is no friend of his. It must be something important, to risk sending us out even as he is at the Council, surrounded by our enemies," Captain Ecberhdt spat, "but I honestly do not know what he wants of you."
Temoid: "Lie again and I'll bleed you like a stuck pig" - Owain snarled
Gytha: Gytha glared at the Captain, wondering whether he was telling the truth, although he sounded like it to her.
Sleeping Dragon: "I've yet to lie to you. My King ordered me to tell you what I knew if I was captured, and I've done so."
Lalia: Lalia narrowed her eyes at this and asked "If you came from Caer Arrath, then can you say which kings, rulers and envoys from states for this Council arrives at Caer Arrath?"
Temoid (enter): 19:50
Gavin (enter): 19:50
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (893) Gavin...
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (892) Temoid...
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(869) Gavin' from room...
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(879) Temoid' from room...
Gavin (exit): 19:50
Temoid (exit): 19:50
Sleeping Dragon: Captain Ecberhdt looked for a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know all their names. Apart from my lord there is only one other king of the New Folk, Edwyn of Alluvin. There are a number of lords of the Old Folk, but only Captain Gwydion is important. The others are clan kings - Gruffydd of Blwych, Owain of Arynys, and Rhys of Rheged are the ones whose names I know. There are several coming - your brother, Prince Eifion, I believe is amongst them - but the only one of note is King Trystane of Daragwr."
Gytha: Gytha raised her eyebrows with a sideways glance at Eifion.
Owain: "What's the matter with King Trystane?"
Sleeping Dragon: "There's nothing the matter with your king," said Ecberhdt. "Your land is simply quite far away from Caer Arrath so he is still en route. He should arrive in the next week sometime."
Sleeping Dragon: edit: sometime in the next week
Lalia: She nodded in respond. "Good to know that"
Sleeping Dragon: "What do you intend to do with me then?"
Gytha: "We should let him go." Gytha said to the others. "He was just doing him duty."
Owain: "Let him go? First, lets see those spoils of war. Start turning out your pockets, good sir" - he spoke to the Captain.
Sleeping Dragon: the Captain handed over twenty-eight gold pieces and began to remove his chain mail. "I have a horse back there as well," he said, pointing up along the road
Lalia: Lalia smiled, "Agreed. If there is someone we should be concerned with, that would be King Aelle. At least he can tell his King what happened with his mission. King Aelle would then decide what to do with him, I guess"
Owain: "King Aelle my arse."
Sleeping Dragon: "I will tell him what has happened...and of your insolence," he added to Owain
Gytha: "Hardly insolence." Gytha said. "He's not our king."
Owain: "Make sure to make him send twice the troops next time" - Owain chuckled. "And tell him he's as royal as a rotten mule's arse"
Sleeping Dragon: Ecberhdt began to walk away, saying nothing.
Lalia: Lalia rolled her eyes at commoner's rant at the Captain
Owain: Owain slipped out of his armor and tried Ecberhdt's chain mail on, moving around to see if it fits.
Sleeping Dragon: Ecberhdt's chain mail was fairly well made, though nothing spectacular, and fit Owain easiliy
Gavin: The archer waiting untill Ecberhdt was away before carefully sliding down to the road. "Bravado does nothing if you're dead." He admonished Owain before looking the group over. "My name is Gavin, I was sent by Morrol to guide you back to his tower." He bowed respectfully. Gavin was an older man, nearing his middle years, his face clearly showed the ravages of time and weather, as well as combat, several scars running along his face. His black hair was streaked with grey and was starting to thin. However his eyes were bright blue, still sparkling with vitality. "We should wait untill your friend is awake before moving, we might need his help." Gavin shouldered his bow alongside a worn claymore on his back and sat down on a rock, looking around the area.
Owain: "Nothing wrong with some bravado. Besides, whoever calles that sonuvabitch a dog wouldn't be far from truth anyway"
Gavin: "Perhaps, but it won't save you when an army is chasing you down."
Lalia: Lalia lifted her helm off, showing her face clearly and smiled at someone she finally knew in ages, “Gavin!”
Owain: "Let them come to Daragwr then. If they can before getting chopped down"
Gavin: "Princess?" Gavin stood up, a look of suprise on his face. "It has been a while." He laughed. "Such a suprise to see you here. We'll have to catch up on the road though." He then turned to Owain. "We arn't going to Daragwr, at least not yet."
Owain: "I meant it figuratively" - Owain proceeded to dig into the pile of abandoned weapons, fishing out a heavy crossbow and ammunition for it
Owain: He tried loading one and aimed at the nearest tree. The bolt went wide and he threw the weapon at the ground in disgust.
Lalia: Lalia laughed as she replied, "Same here! Seeing you here is very low on my list on whom I am most likely to see today. Let me get my horse" She went off to get her mount.
Khalisar: Grimacing and muttering, Khalisar slowly opened his eyes and rose to his feet, warily looking around
Gytha: Gytha joined him in looking through the weapons, picking out another of the exotic crossbows. "How hard can it be to fire one of those?"
Gytha: She wound it back and let fly at a tree, hitting it. "Might come in useful. If only to club them to death." she grinned.
Gytha: edit* let fly at a rock
Lalia: Lalia's horse meekly followed her back. Lalia nodded at Khalisar, "Are we luckly again!"
Khalisar: Giving a sigh of relief as he saw they had not been captured and that the enemies were no longer there, he walked to the others, asking them about what had happened
Sleeping Dragon: Sergeant Clovis also tottered to his feet, unsteady
Gytha: Gytha ensured that the armour and weapons were picked up and loaded onto the remaining horses, and that the confiscated gold was evenly divided between them, including the strange bowman and Clovis. Then she checked on her own horse. "We should be on our way. Is there anything we can do to get Roan on his feet?"
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion went to work on Roan. "Can I get some help?"
Khalisar: Staggering, Khalisar tried to do what he could for the poor horse
Gavin: Gavin declined any gold. "Thanks is enough for me."
Gytha: Gytha nodded and distributed the gold among the rest.
Sleeping Dragon: they were able to get Roan back up, and though the poor animal was battered and bruised, nothing had been broken in its fall and it was able to continue walking
Gytha: Gytha thanked Khalisar for his help and led Roan up the road.
Gavin: "Good, we can be off." Gavin brought his own horse from down the path.
Lalia: Lalia then swung herself onto her horse and picked up the reins. She nodded at Gavin, "Thank you, Gavin. Your timing was most luckly"
Gavin: "That it was. Now, which way were you going to take to get to Morrol's tower? Around the mountains to the north?"
Gytha: (whispering): "I don't know how lucky it was to meet him. How does he come to be an old friend of Lalia's. He bears watching." Gytha spoke softly to the others.
Gytha: "We should get off this road if we can, as our route is known." Gytha said. "Before Aelle sends another party of troops after us."
Khalisar: (whispering): "Indeed."replied back Khalisar with some effort, still in pain for the wounds suffered "It was really too weird a coincidence to have him be here just now."
Gytha: Gytha and Khalisar spoke softly together. She nodded as he answered her.
Owain: "He'd have to get them back from herding sheep first"
Gytha: "Don't underestimate them." Gytha shook her head. " We can't afford to be delayed while dealing with these wretches. The...thing...needs to be delivered as soon as possible."
Khalisar: Khalisar nodded as he heard the woman's words "No need to risk another attack."
Gytha: Gytha fixed Gavin with a cold eye. "You said you were sent to guide us, yet you asked which route we would take? Why?"
Gavin: "Because, if you plan on skirting the mountains, you should know that the hills around Morrol's tower have been overrun with giants. There's a ravine that passes through the mountain to Morrol's tower and is much safer, I took that route on my way here."
Gytha: Gytha looked at her companions, her expression doubtful. "I would have said go through the mountains." she said, her tone suggesting she was now reconsidering that plan.
Lalia: Lalia considered Gavin's words and said, "Then we might as well take your route back"
Gytha: (whispering): "Well, she would say that wouldn't she?" Gytha muttered to the others. "Do we go along with it?"
Khalisar: (whispering): "We might as well, but we're keeping an eye - or two - on them"he replied softly
Gytha: Gytha nodded again. "Right, the mountain pass it is."
Gavin: "Right then, follow me." Gavin led the way towards the ravine, keeping an eye out for more ambushes.
Lalia: Lalia then followed Gavin, ever wary of possible attacks.
Khalisar: Getting on his horse, Khalisar followed behind the group
Gytha: Gytha rode at the back, watching out for anyone following, and keeping an eye on those in front.
Sleeping Dragon: Gavin led the party on towards the ravine. About a half day's ride from where Aelle's men had ambushed them they came to the entrance to the ravine, hidden amongst the rocks so that it was almost invisible. They wound their way up into the mountains. The ravine was narrow, like a scar through the stones, and rocky and difficult. The route took them by the source of Andros' greatest river, which the Old Folk called the Anwyn, but the New Folk named the Stoke, which ran all the way down through Caer Arrath and Gathburg before spilling into the sea in the east of Andros.

The first day through the mountains went well, but on the second it began to rain, forcing their horses to step very carefully to avoid sliding down off the path. It took another day and a half before they emerged out of the mountains a little more than a day south of Morrol's tower.

As they travelled, Lalia had been translating the book they had salvaged from Glacier Keep, which had turned out to be another journal. Written with the magical shifting piprisug ink, it proved extremely difficult to translate, and much of it was completely beyond Lalia. It was very strangely organised, flitting from one subject to another seemingly at random, as if the writer were mad - or perhaps the mind of a Master did not need organisation and division to aid their understanding. She was able to learn a few pieces of information, however. She learned that Master Imbrund had created many First, of whom the greatest were called Metesses and Olorin. Metesses had been a great negotiator and governor, and Master Imbrund had entrusted him with diplomatic missions and the day to day running of the Keep and his other lands, while Olorin was Master Imbrund's research assistant. When war had broken out between Imbrund and Peldan, they had journeyed to the lands of another Master, Mythal, whose name Lalia recognised as a commonly worshipped war god, and asked for assistance, but Mythal had refused unless Imbrund was willing to become his subject, which he refused to do. Afterwards, they had prepared for battle, with Olorin travelling out into Master Peldan's lands in the guise of a soothsayer, planting 'prophecies' predicting Peldan's defeat.
Sleeping Dragon: edit: which the Old Folk called the Athwyn, wrong name
Lalia: Lalia explained these translation to the group.
Gytha: Gytha shook her head at the story. "All the masters were mad. Apart from the lovers."
Owain: "So this Imbrund tried to make a deal with a god?"
Sleeping Dragon: Sergeant Clovis scratched his chin and spoke to Lalia
whispering to Lalia, "Curious, I don't recall the Master trying to make terms with Master Mythal. Perhaps that was before I was created."
Lalia: Lalia smiled slightly as Owain's suggestion, "Not exactly, no. Most Gods and Goddess worshipped by common people around the world are Masters that once ruled over them. But since all Masters have gone. Well, who know if they are Gods or not. As far I am concerned, I still belive in my people's gods which are no Masters. Masters and their old wars!"
Lalia: Lalia nodded back at Clovis and responded
Gytha: "Did your gods help you during the Master's war? Give their very lives for the good of their people?" Gytha asked coldly of Lalia.
Lalia: (whispering): "I see. Maybe my translation is bad. It is very tough after all. What about other Firsts? Metesses and Olorin"
Khalisar: "It would be foolish to think that the Masters are truly gone"said Khalisar as he heard Lalia's words "They are powerful indeed, and they probably still watch over us"
whispering to Lalia, "They were servants of my Master, yes. I knew Metesses well, but rarely saw Olorin, he was usually with the Master. They...did not get along well, Olorin and Metesses. I don't know why."
Lalia: Lalia looked at Khalisar, "Maybe, but what if they actually return. Will the belief of the people will acutally confirm with true harsh reality of these Masters? Beside, our Gods and Goddesses did save us. The lands of Andros suffer very little damages from Master's Wars."
Lalia: (whispering): "Really? did you know what happened to them when you fought in the keep?"
Gytha: "The land of Andros is not all filled with pagans." Gytha growled.
whispering to Lalia, "Metesses was assassinated several years ago..." Clovis paused. "Several years before the siege. Olorin was still alive at the time of the battle, I don't know what happened to him."
Sleeping Dragon: Clovis continued to speak to Lalia
Lalia: (whispering): "There is a chance that he may still live. What he look like?"
Lalia: Lalia smiled softly as she replied. "Indeed so!"
Khalisar: "There are indeed mighty spirits in this land, but they are wild and fickle forces, powerful and sometimes helpful if one can control them, but not worthy of worship."said Khalisar "But speaking of more urgent matters, what is he telling you?"he asked Lalia about her talk with Clovis
whispering to Lalia, Clovis scratched his chin. "He was small and quite pale, with dark hair and eyes. I don't recall much else beyond that - as I said, I didn't see him often."
whispering to Lalia, "His skin was not same colour as mine, if that is what you were wondering."
Lalia: Lalia nodded at Clovis and told Khalisar, "Just talking about Metesses and Olorin. Metesses died long time ago but he have no idea what happened to Olorin. There is very silm chance he may live. After all, there are still some that still living after Masters' War. Someone have to know about the defences and the Keep."
Khalisar: "It might be of great help to us if we could find Olorin, yes"
Sleeping Dragon: they continued on out of the mountains and towards the tower. On the way they saw troubling signs - more than once they came across the footprints of what were obviously giants, for the prints were far larger than any human foot. At one point they came across what remained of the carcass of a cow, largely eaten and then abandoned. Several of its bones lay beside it, picked clean of meat.

As they drew near to the spire, however, these signs vanished, for the giants knew of the reputation of Morrol the Black and avoided his domain. As they rode up to the simple stone tower, two of Morrol's servants, tall, lanky Old Folk, came out to greet them. "You're back! Excellent! Arthur, go and speak to Culhwych at once, he'll need to prepare rooms for the guests. I believe that Lord Morrol is in his workshop, Arthur here can show you the way," said one of the two. "Go on in at once, I'll take your horses to the stables there."
Gytha: Gytha followed the servant, watching out for any odd behaviour.
Gavin: Gavin followed as well, looking more relaxed than he had on their trip.
Lalia: Lalia followed the servant as well but still wary
Sleeping Dragon: Arthur led the party into the tower, seeming very excited. "We're saved! Soon we'll have the Crown and we can send these giants back where they came from!" he said with glee. They passed through the greeting room and up onto the first floor of the tower, where Arthur produced a key and pointed to a locked stone door on the right-hand side of the floor. "Go through that door and down the stairs, and knock three times when you come to the double doors," he said.
Gytha: "Are you not coming with us?" Gytha asked suspiciously.
Sleeping Dragon: Arthur seemed taken aback. "I was going to speak to Culhwych about your rooms, but I can come if you wish..." Arthur unlocked the door and went through it
Lalia: Lalia looked curiously around her. So this is the tower of famous Morrol
Khalisar: Khalisar looked pretty impatient at having to met Morrol again, and had taken the crown out of his bags to look at it
Owain: "Our job is done here, then?"

[sleepingdragon]

Sleeping Dragon: through the locked door was a long stone staircase which spiralled down deep below the earth before eventually coming to a set of great, plain double doors. Arthur rapped gently three times, and they scraped and slid open to reveal Morrol's workshop. A corridor led down to a great circular space in the centre of which was Morrol's workbench. Small hallways lined with various tools and supplies stretched out to the left and right of the circular space, and directly across from where they had entered was another door leading into Morrol's forge. The door there was open and they could see the anvil through it.

Morrol himself, a wizened, stooped man with jet black hair, leaned over a very curious object. It was a great receptacle of glass and twisted iron set into the ground. Within it was a basin and from in there they could see a shining blue glow. In his hands Morrol held a similar object, a sphere of glass and iron, hinged so that it could be opened and an object placed inside, then locked. Upon his stone workbench was one of the sapphires meant to be affixed to the Crown, and as they approached they saw the other four had been placed within similiar spheres and then left within the glowing basin. Morrol looked around as the doors opened. "Ah. Well done, Master Gavin, for finding them. Have you succeeded at your task?"
Gavin: Gavin bowed in recognition and looked at the others.
Khalisar: "We have!"said Khalisar as he proudly walked towards Morrol with the crown in hand, offering it to him
Khalisar: edit: said Khalisar produly as he walked
Lalia: She looked curiously at Khalisar and the Crown.
Sleeping Dragon: "Superb!" Morrol took the Crown from Khalisar. Morrol waved to dismiss Arthur, who exited the room. "As you can see here, I have been rejuvenating these sapphires by infusing them with the energy of ice, which I have siphoned off of creatures I have summoned from this circle here." Morrol stepped to the side, and they saw that a pentagram was painted into the ground. Morrol picked up the sapphire from the table and then placed it within the sphere, then reached down to the receptacle. Its 'lid' opened with a hiss, and Morrol quickly placed the sphere within it, then closed the lid. "We will let that bathe for a few moments, and then you and I can begin to realign the aethyric matrices between the Crown and the sapphires," he said to Khalisar. "Then we will be able to bind the sapphires to the Crown and it will be restored to its true power."
Gytha: At the words "Aethyric matrices" Gytha took a few steps back, looking warily at the crown.
Sleeping Dragon: Morrol barked a laugh. "What, did you think there was no magic involved in this?"
Khalisar: Khalisar's eyes almost glowed with excitement as he heard the man's words. "Wonderful"he just said.
Gytha: "I prefer to leave magic to those who are skilled in its use." Gytha said, rather shamefaced. "Give me a sword in my hand."
Sleeping Dragon: "Please, not in my workshop," said Morrol. "Shall we begin, Khalisar? No time like the present."
Gavin: Gavin stood back and watched, scratching his chin idly.
Khalisar: Khalisar nodded "Indeed. The sooner we restore the crown's powers, the better."
Lalia: Lalia settled as she watched them doing magical stuffs.
Sleeping Dragon: Morrol and Khalisar began their work. Urging the party to step back, Morrol reached into the receptacle, pulling out one sphere at a time, and then placed it on the workbench whereupon he placed his hand on the Crown and asked Khalisar to place his on the sapphire. For a few moments, nothing seemed to happen as the two sorcerers strained to connect the items. Then they saw blue and white light, faint at first, then glowing brighter and brighter, shining like the rays of some icy sun, crackling and sparking between a socket of the Crown and the sphere. This continued for many minutes, the sorcerers standing rooted in place, gleaming with elemental energy, so bright that the others found they had to shield their eyes. After about fifteen minutes, there was a sound like an iceberg breaking apart and the sphere was torn from Khalisar's hand and hurtled towards the Crown. Glass and iron twisted and fell away like dross, and the sapphire came out as if emerging from a cocoon. It flew to the Crown and into the socket, melding to the Crown with a flash of blue energy, so violent that it nearly threw Morrol to the ground. When the light cleared, Morrol held the Crown in his hand with one sapphire affixed in place, frost forming around it. "Excellent. Now we just need to do that four more times." He grinned wildly at Khalisar
Gytha: Gytha stood rooted to the spot, eyes wide and knuckles white as she clasped her hands together to stop herself drawing her sword.
Lalia: Lalia agreed with Gytha's words. "I think I will move away a little" She took few steps back
Sleeping Dragon: Morrol gave Gytha a cheeky grin and reached in for another sphere.

They continued on, repeating the experience with each gem. As they progressed, the air in the room grew noticeably colder, the sorcerer's breaths steaming as they laboured, Morrol's hands going blue as he gripped the Crown. The sapphires shone with perfect radiance within the Crown, a layer of ice forming around them as each was joined to the circlet. They came to the final sphere, the strange light shining between sphere and Crown with eerie beauty. Despite the cold, sweat poured down from the sorcerers' brows. The minutes passed and the light brightened as the ritual neared its end. Then suddenly the beam shimmered and fluctuated and Morrol gave a scream as his concentration slipped for an instant. It seemed as if the beam would fail, but Khalisar put forth his power, the beam straightened again, and then the sphere flew towards the Crown. There was a wild discharge of icy energy as the sapphire bound itself to the Crown, lancing across the room, flinging Morrol and Khalisar back and down to the ground. The others felt their skin raked by frost and shivered, and then looked to see Morrol rising unsteadily to his feet, holding the Crown, with all five sapphires fixed to it.
Gytha: Gytha suddenly relaxed. She gazed up at the Crown in awe, and then her face broke into a wide smile. "We did it." she breathed. "You did it."
Sleeping Dragon: Morrol gave a cackle of glee. "Yes, yes, it worked!" he held the Crown up and looked at it. "Indeed, yes, it worked. Thank you."
Khalisar: "That was quite an experience!"said Khalisar, almost laughing
Sleeping Dragon: "It was indeed!" said Morrol, putting the Crown on.
Sleeping Dragon: as he did, they felt a pulse of energy and there was a loud scraping noise as two doors opened out from the walls in the short spaces to either side of the workbench. "Thank you very much indeed." The outline of Morrol's body began to shimmer. He pulsed blue, and then became insubstantial just as they heard horrible shrieks of rage coming from beyond the doors that had just opened

[sleepingdragon]

Sleeping Dragon: Morrol's body became insubstantial, shimmering, an outline of frost and snow appearing around him, as terrible forms burst into the laboratory from either side. They were hideous, twisted beings. Once, they knew immediately, they must have been man-eaters, with their glistening black skin, thin, almost emaciated builds, slitted yellow eyes, long, delicate hands and fingers, and enormous teeth, but they had been...changed. Two extra legs each were stitched grotesquely to their bodies, and their heads were covered with hideous, livid red scars like fissures running through them.
Sleeping Dragon: they tore into the room, advancing at huge speeds with their four legs, emitting deranged screams. Two reached Gytha and bit at her, but their dagger-like black teeth snapped wide. Another however leapt at Khalisar, tearing a chunk out of the sorcerer
Sleeping Dragon: Morrol's body finished its transformation, so they could barely see the sorcerer at all, only an outline of snow and frost. There came a freezing wind, and even that vanished, whisked away out through one of the newly opened doors with huge speed
Owain: Seeing how the sorcerer was getting viciously mauled, Owain gave a great roar and charged one of the mutants. Right before stopping a short distance away from the monster, he slashed with his glaive, using the momentum from the sprint.
Sleeping Dragon: Owain's glaive bit into the creature, though its unnaturally tough skin absorbed some of the blow. Sickly green-yellow blood spurted from the wound, though man-eaters were normally black-blooded
Gavin: Gavin moved from where he was standing, watching one of the creatures carefully while drawing his bow. "Khalisar, this room is filled with sorcerous energies, see if you can't tap into it."
Sleeping Dragon: Eifion drew his spear with a cry and gave one of the creatures a fierce glare, but the crazed mutants paid him no mind
Lalia: Lalia drew her curved sword into her two hands and prepared for combat in her banded mail armour.
Gytha: "Morrol you're a dead man!" Gytha screamed as she whipped the huge sword from her back and down. It bit into the monster next to her, but could not pentrate far into the thick skin.
Khalisar: Bleeding and looking like he was in a dire situation, Khalisar found the presence of mind to concentrate on defending himself by avoiding blows as he took a few steps back towards the circle. Meanwhile the raven uselessly tried to distract the two mutants
Sleeping Dragon: Sergeant Clovis drew his spear and shield and moved towards one of the twisted man-eaters, shouting a battle cry
whispering to Lalia, "For the Keep!" shouted Clovis
Sleeping Dragon: the mutants chittered and shrieked, mouthss opening and closing with monstrous speed, jaws expanding sickeningly to accomodate the enormous teeth. Gytha was struck with numerous blows while Clovis dodged one and knocked the other away with his shield. One of the creatures continued to attack Khalisar, scraping the sorcerer with his teeth
Owain: Owain stepped forward and unleashed a flurry of blows - scoring a hit, missing one widely and one with the weapon's handle at the end of the pirouette. It looked like the forceful blow would crush the mutants skull, but it merely bounced off.
Eifion (enter): 20:23
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (3412) Eifion...
Gavin: Gavin fired a shot at one of the mutants, his arrow striking the creature in the neck. He continued to offer verbal assistance to Khalisar with his spellcasting, then switched to Owain. "The creature attacking Khalisar is watching the raven more than you, it presents an opening."
Skyman (enter): 20:27
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(3412) Eifion' from room...
Eifion (exit): 20:28
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (3414) Skyman...
Skyman: Eifion hopped over to stab into the side of the mutant which was focused on Gytha's back while she had to fight two others in front of her.
Lalia: Lalia ran toward to mutant that was attacking Khalisar, knowing that Khalisar need to live just yet. But failed to jump over the table but merely banged her leg against the workbench. She felt foolish for a moment at this riskly move.
Gytha: Gytha swung round, catching the monstrosity between herself and Eifion a solid blow. "We must send these creatures of evil back to the underworld!" she cried.
Khalisar: As one of the monstruosities was distracted by the threat of Owain's glaive, the raven quickly dived at it in a flurry of claws and beaks, but they clumsy attack didn't have any chance of hurting the mutant
Khalisar: Taking another step back towards the circle, Khalisar gathered all of his energies, gritting his teeth and shivering as he cast a spell which had no immediate effect.
Sleeping Dragon: Sergeant Clovis sprang forward, leaping up and stabbing out at the creature that was attacking Khalisar, driving his spear into it for a small wound
Sleeping Dragon: the mutants continued their assault. Gytha took several bites, one deep and nasty, while Eifion, all his attention focussed on the one foe in his reach, barely dodged. Sergeant Clovis was encircled by two mutants and was attacked on both sides, taking a bite from each of the creatures.
Owain: Distracted by the raven, one of the mutants didn't see Owain's glaive coming. He managed to score two hits through the creature's tough side.
Gavin: Gavin fired another arrow at the creature, striking it, as he shouted advise to Gytha and Eifion.
Skyman: Eifion continued to stab into the mutant before him; he was doing little damage to the creature, but at least he was managing to distract it from Gytha, who had two more to worry about.
Lalia: Lalia charged toward a mutant behind Gytha and launched an attack on it, taking care of her defence. Only to deal small blows against it
Gytha: Gytha snarled in fury as she dealt a ferocious blow to the bleeding monster between her and Eifion, yet still it refused to die.
Khalisar: On the other side of the summoning circle, a massive black wolf appeared, snarling and foaming at the mouth. It threw itself at two mutants fighting Gytha, it's powerful jaws tearing part of one of the monster's legs and throwing it to the ground. Laughing at this, Khalisar faced the mutant closest to him and, pointing his finger, made a large flame appear close to it - unfortunately his opponent managed to avoid most of it, only inflicting light burns.
Sleeping Dragon: Clovis tried to unbalance the mutant, slamming his shield forward as he also stabbed out with his spear. The mutant avoided the shield, but this placed it right in the path of Clovis' spear, which drove powerfully into the man-eater.
Khalisar: The raven meanwhile jumped at one of other mutants, it's beak and claws tearing the horror's throat and killing it.
Sleeping Dragon: the mutants continued their relentless attack. One, caught in between Eifion and Gytha, was bleeding profusely, bones showing through huge gashes in its hide, yet it still bit at Gytha. Lalia, Clovis, and the summoned wolf all also took blows from the dogged creatures
Skyman: ah
Skyman: edit: No, no one said "ah"
Owain: Owain delivered more blows to the mutant as it struggled to not fall over. One swing went wide and the other dig deep into the creature's back, sending it reeling but unable to knock it down.
Gavin: Gavin fired at the creature near Khalisar, the arrow bouncing harmlessly off of the creature's hide as he shouted advice to Gytha.
Gytha (enter): 21:55
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (3444) Gytha...
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(3365) Gytha' from room...
Gytha (exit): 21:56
Gytha: With a final enormous swing Gytha mowed down the wretched mutant, then swiftly turned with a wide smile to slice into the mutant behind her.
Khalisar: Chanting maniacally at the mutant, Khalisar waved his hand, causing scorching flames to envelop the monstruosity, which screamt horribly as it was reduces to ashes. Meanwhile the snarling wolf fought furiously, tearing away another piece of the mutant's legs and felling it to the ground.
Khalisar: edit: "was reduced"
Sleeping Dragon: Sergeant Clovis leapt over Morrol's bench and moved up beside Gytha, stabbing the fallen mutant, though it was only lightly damage
Sleeping Dragon: undaunted, the two remaining mutants continued their attacks, the wolf taking a pair of blows
Owain: Owain moved forward to the remaining mutants. Seeing how the party was obviously winning, he made a single swipe at the nearest mutant lazily - scoring a deep gash on the creature's abdomen nonetheless.
Gavin: Gavin watched the battle with a critical eye, giving advice for Gytha and Owain to coordinate their strikes.
Eifion: Eifion charged through the massed bodies of the combatants, ignoring his safety, and struck a mutant heavily on the back.
Lalia: Lalia once again launched an attack but failed to strike a blow
Gytha: With a blood-curdling shriek Gytha sliced her opponent nearly in two. She laughed wildly as she hammered the sword into the other mutant in front of her. "See what happens to the spawn of evil!"
Khalisar: Smiling to himself, Khalisar advanced towards the last remaining mutant and conjured flames it's body. The beast managed to avoid some of the spell effects, but was still badly burnt.
Khalisar: The wolf attack was too savage, and missed completely its target.
Sleeping Dragon: Sergeant Clovis stepped up, again slamming out with his shield as he stabbed his spear. Clovis' spear slammed viciously through the mutant's throat, slaying it in an instant
Gytha: "Yes!" Gytha shouted, grinning at Clovis over the dead mutant. "Now where's that bastard Morrol? He's due a reckoning."
Khalisar: Battered and clawed, but triumphant by the power of his spells, Khalisar spat at the scorched, devastated body of the fallen mutant.
Eifion: "Yes. I'd like a few explanations. Or, alternately, the chance to put a spear in some area of his body which, hopefully, would cause some discomfort."
Lalia: Lalia sighed as she left her sword in one hand and looked at these mutants, "It seems that Morrol is not what we thought he is"
Gavin: "There's a door in the back there." Gavin pointed to the right as he checked his quiver. "The wind seemed to blow that way as well." Gavin remained calm despite all that had happened.
Gytha: Gytha looked round at the tattered crew. "We need to find him fast. Bind wounds and lets get going."
Khalisar: "I'd like to have the crown back, now that I know its real powers..."muttered Khalisar "Oh well, indeed. Morrol wasn't the nice guy we made him out to be. I say we hunt him down!"he proclaimed
Lalia: She nodded at Gavin, "Well, shall we go into that door?"
Sleeping Dragon: Sergeant Clovis wiped his spear clean of blood and nodded.
Owain: "What kind of powers would this warlock have now, exactly? I don't want to be frozen into an icicle"
Khalisar: Khalisar pondered for a moment before speaking "He could be almost anywhere, having dissappeared thanks to the most impressive of the crown powers..."
Gytha: Gytha marched across to the door Gavin had spoken of. "Are we going to take this bastard down or not?"
Khalisar: "However, the crown is very taxing to use, eventually he will get exhausted and will have to rest. We should use that to kill him!"he said as he followed the others going for the door
Sleeping Dragon: the party moved through one of the doors the mutants had come through. To either side of them were small, drab cells with opened doors. Through the doors they could see little straw matresses and smell the stench of shit. Straight ahead was another door which led to a short hallway and then a sturdy ladder leading up
Owain: "Why not leave him alone? He could do something with the giants now that he has the crown, can he not?"
Gytha: "The man's a torturer and a madman." Gytha said angrily. "Did you see what he had done to those man-eaters? It's not natural."
Gavin: "All of the major leaders of Andros are gathered in one location." Gavin said, almost as if he were talking to himself. "Morrol might use the crown's power to take control of the island."
Gytha: "Hardly the kind of man you want running Andros." Gytha said coldly, looking at Owain.
Lalia: She replied "Then he is cunning beyond blief. To maintain a curtain of good and peace, he got heart of evil within him. No doubt some of Andros will listen to him out of respect."
Gavin: "And those who don't he can distroy. Actually it's a wonder he's waited until now to act. What's so special about that crown?" He looked to Khalisar.
Owain: "I've seen people do worse things to each other" - Owain nodded at the slain mutants. "We should see if he's willing to do something about the giants first. If not, we take the crown."
whispering to Lalia, Khalisar, Gavin, faintly, there came a heard a sudden shout from above. "FIRE!"
Khalisar: "It's got powers far beyond your understanding."replied back Khalisar "However..I can tell you, it can harden it's wearer with the power frost, protecting him from physical blows and mental influences, and allows him to hurt others by enchanting his breath and his weapon with cold. The greatest power of the crown, you have witnessed personally - it can turn the wearer into a frozen spirit, able to move around the world at great speed"
whispering to Khalisar, Lalia, Gavin, there came a sudden shout
Khalisar: As he had finished his explanation, Khalisar eyes widened and he glanced at the ceiling above for a moment "There's a fire going on!"
Gytha: "All that, and a man who would set his monstrous creations on us rather for bringing it to him. He cannot be allowed to carry on."
Lalia: Lalia also heard that shout and replied, "Yes, look like this tower might get burnt down. Maybe we should destory the Crown after the gaints are dealt with. It seems to be too dangerous"
Khalisar: Khalisar eyes widened and he looked nervous when he heard the word "destroy", but he didn't say anything
Gytha: "A fire? Above us? We must find out what's going on up there."
Gavin: Gavin looked upwards as well. "We can deal with what we do to the crown after we deal with Morrol."
Gytha: "Damn this debating." Gytha climbed up the ladder and thrust aside the trapdoor.
Lalia: Lalia also followed Gytha, climbing the ladder
Gavin: Gavin climbed up afterwards, keeping his bow readied.
Sleeping Dragon: Gytha pushed open the trap door and found herself in the field between Morrol's tower and his stable. The servant, Arthur, was running to the tower screaming "FIRE!", and indeed, they saw, the stable had been set ablaze
Gytha: "Fuck it, the bastard's trying to burn our horses!" Gytha shouted running to the stable.
whispering to Khalisar, Lalia, Gavin, towards the rear of the stable they saw a man in black dart out from the back door
Lalia: "Damn it. There is a man in black coming out of the back door! Let chase him!" Lalia was annoyed by the blaze
Khalisar: "GET HIM!"shouted Khalisar, pointed as he followed behind Gytha "There's a man out there!"
Gavin: Gavin didn't say anything, instead firing at the fleeing figure, though his shot went wide and he continued after the others.
Owain: Owain said nothing as he raced towards the fleeing man
Sleeping Dragon: Gytha reached the door. From within the stables their horses were whinnying with terror, hooves slamming against walls and stalls as they struggled to escape
Lalia: Lalia weary of her armour decided to go to stable, to help Gytha with the horse
Lalia: horses*
Gytha: Gytha threw herself into the stable. The panicked horses would be hard to get out before the whole thing went up. She made a sudden decision and drove herself against the wooden wall, trying to break through it.
Eifion: Eifion also followed after the man, knowing that his swiftness could be necessary.
Khalisar: The raven, which had returned to Khalisar shoulders after the slaughter of the mutants, quickly jumped off the warlock shoulders, flying as fast as it could to reach the fleeing suspect man
Gavin: "Khalisar!" Gavin tossed his bow and quiver to the sorcerer. "After him, Gytha and I will get the horses."
Gavin: "Khalisar!" Gavin tossed his bow and quiver to the sorcerer. "After him, Gytha and I will get the horses." Gavin then rushed into the stable, trying to lead some of the horses out.
Khalisar: Khalisar's steed didn't need much urging to get out of the stable, being a particularly smart and trained beast. Not having to worry about his horse, Khalisar helped the others
Gytha: Drawing her sword at the last moment Gytha smashed it against the wall.
Gavin: Gavin was able to lead his horse out of the stable, then went back for another.
Gytha: Seeing the others run in to deal with the horses, Gytha pushed through the hole and looked around for the man.
Lalia: Lalia rushed into the stable and got burnt a little as she led her mount out carefully but painfully
Khalisar: Muttering, Khalisar cast a spell of protection on himself and rushed into the stable, the flames not scorching him. He was able to lead one of the horses out.
Gavin: Getting his bow back from Khalisar, Gavin mounted his horse and chased after the black man.
Gytha: Gytha mounted up and raced after the man in black.
Sleeping Dragon: several of the party dashed into the stable, managing to safely get their horses out, though they were singed and frightened, save Khalisar's mount, which quickly recovered. Meanwhile, Eifion and Owain dashed after the man. Eifion with his great speed was able to catch up to him first, though the man desperately tried to outrun the Prince of Machynlleth. He looked over his shoulder in fright and Eifion recognised him from his first visit to the tower - Culhwych, Morrol's steward. As Culhywch looked back, he fell over a root and thudded into the ground, screaming in fright
Sleeping Dragon: behind them they saw Arthur and several other servants run out with buckets of water, flinging them onto the burning stable.
Eifion: Eifion skidded to a halt and pointed his spear at Culhywch. "What's going on? Did you light the stable?"
Gavin: Disconnecting from server...
Gavin (exit): 23:33
Owain: Owain ran up to the man and hit him in the gut with the glaive's handle.
Sleeping Dragon: Culhwych held his hands up in terror. "Please, don't hurt me! Master Morrol told me to!" Owain's glaive handle then struck him in the stomach and he doubled over in pain
Gytha: Gytha dismounted and strode up. "Where is Morrol now!"
Eifion: "Do you know where Morrol's gone?" asked Eifion. "Tell me truly, or I'll let Owain here deal with you, and he's not as civilized in conversation as I am!"
Owain: Owain lifted him by the collar and stood Culhwych up, still yelping from pain.
Owain: "You don't tell us the truth and quickly, I'll use use as extra tinder for that barn!"
Owain: *I'll use you as extra
Lalia: Lalia led her horse to the gathering and glanced at Culhwych with anger. It is her horse and if anyone burn her horse, it will be her
Sleeping Dragon: "He..." Culhwych stood up shakily and looked at the party in terror. "He's going to Caer Arrath! He's going to put on the Crown in front of the lords so they'll make him their leader!" Culhwych swallowed. "He told me you'd probably be dead, but if you weren't that I should burn the stable so you'd have to follow on foot."
Sleeping Dragon: edit: rather, 'in case you weren't'
Eifion: Eifion glared. "Alright, go help put out the fire. And don't try anything - we'll be looking back with bows ready, and we all have good aim."
Khalisar: Khalisar watched as the man was shaken and intimidated into talking "He's considered that the mutants might have not killed us, the bastard..."he muttered
Gytha: "Well then, we're going to surprise him." Gytha said with a grim smile at the man. She strode to her horse and mounted up, impatient to be off.
Lalia: Lalia looked throughfully, "At least we know where he is going! We better go to Caer Arrath I guess!"
Owain: Owain dropped Culhwych to the ground in a heap. "You might want to consider finding a new master to serve for"
Sleeping Dragon: Culhwych fell and held his hands up. "I...I will, I will!"
Lalia: Lalia swung herself into her saddle, and ready to ride off into long joureny once more
Sleeping Dragon: "Wait...are you going to just leave us here? The giants will kill us!" Culhwych howled
Owain: Owain turned into Khalisar "Is there a faster way of travel than horseback? Perhaps something magical we can use as well?"
Owain: *turned to
Eifion: "If you can suggest a way we can get to Morrol as quickly as possible, and protect you from the giants, I'm listening."
Lalia: Lalia looked thoughtfully and glanced at Culhwych, "Did you really tell us everything!"
Gytha: "Then it's a pity your master lied about defeating them. " Gytha said coldly. "Lock yourselves in the tower."
Khalisar: "Something magical, you ask?"said the warlock "We could search the tower, but I doubt he'd leave anything that we could use...he's too cunning"
Sleeping Dragon: Culhwych gulped. "I...I think...I'm not sure, but..." he trailed off, then started again. "A few months ago, before the North fell...I was having trouble sleeping one night so I went out for a walk around the grounds. While I was out I saw Morrol speaking to someone...I don't know who he was, he was cloaked...but he was tall. Very tall." Culhwych swallowed. "Around eight feet tall. Morrol gave him something and then the man went off north." Culhwych stopped for a few moments, shaking. "Morrol keeps his magical items in his laboratory, there are some there...I don't know if they let you move faster though."
Sleeping Dragon: "I doubt it," he added. "Morrol was careful enough to ask me to kill your horses, he'd not leave anything like that just sitting around."
Eifion: Eifion sighed. "Well, I suppose we should look. It'll take days anyway, I doubt an hour will be the difference."
Owain: "I agree" Owain nodded. "Might as well"
Khalisar: "The laboratory might be worth checking then. He might have forgotten about it...After all, he wasn't careful enough to kill us directly rather than just leave us to the mutans!"he smiled
Khalisar: edit: mutans = mutants
Lalia: Lalia considered this very carefully, "Well, either we have a look in the laboratory and see what it might be or we could ride. Frankly, I got a feeling that cloaked one is a small gaint"
Gytha: Gytha stayed on her horse when the others were going to enter the tower. "I think maybe one of us should stay with the horses. I wouldn't know what I was looking for anyway." she said to Khalisar with a small smile.
Khalisar: Khalisar nodded as he returned to the tower to search for anything that could be of help
Lalia: Lalia followed Khalisar but very wary about the possible dangers and traps
Sleeping Dragon: they quickly went down into the laboratory and searched. In addition to a number of mundane crafting materials, they discovered several odd objects hidden in the small store rooms. There were three small golden crystals which shimmered to look upon, and when they were picked up, they felt small shocks pulse into their hands. In a crate they found a golden ring set with a topaz stone, inscribed with runes in First Speech, identifying it as the ring of shocking shield. The largest of the items they discovered was a tall, elegant, metal shod staff
Eifion: "All interesting, but nothing to help us reach him more quickly. Let's go."
Khalisar: "These are dangerous objects, I hope we can find an use for them"said Khalisar as he went with the others outside
Lalia: She sighed with annoyance, "Indeed. Too dangerous. Let go!"
Khalisar: As they walked, Khalisar looked thoughtful, as if something was on his mind.
Khalisar: "All of these items harvest the elemental power of lightning, this is interesting..."he muttered loud enough that the others could hear
Sleeping Dragon: Sergeant Clovis suddenly stopped riding as Lalia translated this comment for him, then let out what was plainly a curse.
whispering to Lalia, "It's him!" he said to Lalia excitedly. "The Master had a First who often used lightning during the war, and in their experiments. Olorin!"
Khalisar: Khalisar glanced at the swearing man "Why is he like that?"he asked the woman
Lalia: Lalia looked surprised as she listened to Clovis and told the group, "Well, Clovis said that Master Imbrund's First, Olorin used the power of lightening. It seems to me that Morrol is in fact Olorin."
Khalisar: "I remember..my vision...this makes sense..."muttered the sorcerer
Eifion: "Ha. An ungrateful fellow, isn't he? Didn't seem to concerned about trampling on his Master's dignity."

[sleepingdragon]

Sleeping Dragon: in great haste, they set out from Morrol's tower, pushing their weary horses hard as they sped towards the hidden ravine that cut through the mountains. After about two hours, it began to rain. The rain was light at first, but grew stronger, lashing them heavily so their clothes clung to their skin like webbing. The wind came up as well, driving the rain into their faces, screaming like a cornered beast.
Eifion: "Ah, wonderful. Just what we need. The gods are surely protecting us and aiding our journey!" exclaimed Eifion bitterly, trying to cover his face with his hood.
Khalisar: "It's not as bad as the cold we met when going to the keep, at least."said Khalisar
Gytha: "They might aid it better if the wind blew from behind," Gytha muttered, hunching over her horse's neck.
fgudtsgvfg (enter): 19:29
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (6139) Owain...
Sleeping Dragon: they pushed on. The terrible weather continued as they pushed into the ravine and on. The rain drenched them to the bone, but the mountains shielded them slightly from the wind. As they went on they had to make sure their horses stepped very carefully, lest they slip and fall off the path to certain death. Here and there Gavin dismounted and carefully examined the terrain and shouted advice, so they were able to progress in safety. They rode hard, but the weather worked against them, and they made up little ground over the first three days.

Through the third night, however, the rain ceased, and they woke on the fourth, final day in the ravine to find themselves dry for the first time since leaving the tower. Gavin estimated that they could reach Caer Arrath that day if they pushed hard.
Eifion: "No, I say we meander a little bit, stop for lunch somewhere. We're in no rush. Or, on second thoughts, yes, let's push hard."
Gytha: Gytha gave a strange snort that could have been a laugh of sorts.
Owain: Owain just kept his head down
Khalisar: "You sure know what you want!"replied Khalisar almost laughing "Morrol is doing the gods what now, it's not like we have any time to waste"he then added more seriously
Khalisar: edit: "the gods KNOW what", sorry
Sleeping Dragon: they rode on hard, urging their mounts to greater speed. The sun rose into the sky and they felt warmth again. They pounded along, sending rocks to skitter down the slope and vanish with a splash into the Athwyn.
whispering to Gytha, Khalisar, about two hours into the day there was a sudden, high-pitched noise, just at the edge of hearing, like the whine of insects. As they rode on it grew closer
Khalisar: "I hear buzzing!"said a concerned Khalisar
Gytha: "I can hear it too!" Gytha said, rather surprised, "sounds like insects."
Eifion: "We should find some mystic to give us some repellent herb! Ah, wait, that mystic was Morrol..."
Sleeping Dragon: just as Khalisar spoke, something flew out from the rocks ahead of them. It shot towards them, and they realised it was an arrow at just the moment where it caught fire in the air. It sailed towards Khalisar and struck him straight in the eye.
whispering to Khalisar, Pain shot through Khalisar and he felt light burning his eyes. Then he heard a deep man's voice speaking, booming in his head. "Morrol has put on the Crown. Many lords support him, but not all of them. We can stop him. Meet with me quickly. There is a farm three miles northeast of Caer Arrath owned by a man called Caradoc. One of my men is there."
Gytha: Gytha spurred her horse towards the rocks.
Sleeping Dragon: as Gytha rode forward, the arrow began to dissolve into nothing
Khalisar: Khalisar was stunned by the sudden event, but miraculously unhurt. He barely managed to avoid falling from his horse, and just stood gazing into emptiness for a few moments.
Khalisar: "I...."he muttered slowly "Someone sends us a message. Morrol has crowned himself, and has many lords on his side."he paused for a moment "This someone wants us to met one of his men in a farm near Caer Arrath, says he wants to help us..."he trailed off
Eifion: Eifion nodded, but hurried after Gytha to make sure there was no one still in the rocks.
Sleeping Dragon: Gytha rode forward and looked in amongst the rocks, but could see no one that might have fired the arrow
Owain: "What's with that arrow?' - Owain asked, clearly disturbed
Khalisar: "We might as well trust this mysterious helper, we don't have much of a choice. Unless it's actually Morrol playing with us..."
Gytha: "Helper?" Gytha exclaimed. "They just fired a fiery arrow at you!"
Gytha: "I hate to think what form his help is going to take." she added grimly.
Khalisar: Khalisar showed his face to Gytha, bringing his finger to one of his eyes, the one which had been stuck by the arrows "I'm unhurt, see? If it was Morrol, he might as well have made that arrow much more lethal..."
Gytha: Gytha shook her head and rode off ahead. "Bloody magic." she muttered to herself. "Crazy fucking sorcerors."
Lalia: Lalia nodded at Khalisar's speech, "I thought that might happened. I knew that we would not get there in time. Nevertheless, we do need information and this man might be able to answer our questions."
Sleeping Dragon: they rode on through the day, emerging into the hills in the afternoon, then pushing westwards. As night came on, they saw the great fortress of Caer Arrath rise up ahead of them. Its sheer stone walls stretched across the whole ford over the Athwyn, the only one within many miles. Banners displayed its sigil of its Captain, Gwydion the Brave, a red dragon on a field of black. On the far side of the river they could see the market town which had sprung up around the fort, but very few people chose to reside on the eastern side of the river, where the armies of the Old Folk had clashed again and again with those of the New, especially those of Gathburg. Caradoc the farmer, however, was one of these. In the dark they rode up to his sizeable farm, which was encircled by a large wooden fence. As they rode up to the gate, a surly, sour looking man with a dirty face and unkempt black hair came out and looked at them silently.
Eifion: "His cheerfullness is infective..." muttered Eifion.
Gytha: Gytha said nothing but stared coldly at the man.
Lalia: Nodding in respond as she said, "Indeed. Either we are all in big troubles or we are going to be luckly"
Khalisar: "I think it's both, we're in big troubles but we had some luck at least. There are some lords which didn't support Morrol - or Olorin, whatever you want to call him, that's something"
Sleeping Dragon: "What're ye doing on my land?" said the man, coming up to the gate, which he didn't open
Khalisar: "We come in friendship!"said Khalisar riding forward as he raised his hand "Someone sent us a message and told you might help us. Do you understand?"he asked
Eifion: *edit: infectious
Sleeping Dragon: Caradoc grunted and opened the gate. "He's in there," he said, pointing to the nearby barn.
Eifion: "A tip of my hat to you, good sir," said Eifion, as he carefully approached the gate.
Owain: Owain made sure his weapon is freely accessible, still deeply suspicious.
Khalisar: "Let's go, but keep an eye open for an ambush."said Khalisar as he gestured for the others to go to the barn
Lalia: >a.ka
Lalia: Lalia looked warily around her, trying to see any dangers
Gytha: Gytha grunted in agreement and followed Khalisar.
Sleeping Dragon: "What hat?" Caradoc muttered as he returned to the farmhouse. They rode over to the thatched barn and entered through the large doors. As they came in they heard cows lowing in their stalls. They walked along among the stalls and then saw one ahead of them open and a very large man strode out. He was a few inches over six feet, but very broad-shouldered. He had a head of thick brown hair and bushy beard and eyebrows and penetrating grey eyes. The hilt of a huge sword poked over his shoulder and he wore leather armour set with metal studs. Two other big, armoured men stepped out of the stall and strode along behind him.

"You move quickly," the big man said, moving towards them. "Forgive me for contacting you in such a bizarre manner, but this news needed to travel faster than messengers and birds. I am Aelle, King of Gathburg."
Gytha: Gytha stared at the man in amazement.
Eifion: Eifion's eyebrows rose up to heights that seemed physically impossible. "I'm glad to hear we're not the only ones worried about the utter destruction of all that is good and holy."
Owain: Owain remained positively suspicious
Lalia: Lalia looked surprised as she glanced at Aelle.
Khalisar: Khalisar didn't say anything immediately, but after a few seconds he exclaimed "Well, that's....quite a surprise."
Gytha: "Indeed it is." Gytha growled. "Considering your men attacked us on the road north. Now you want to help us."
Eifion: "So, you have some explanations, I imagine?"
Sleeping Dragon: Aelle shrugged. "I wanted to know what Morrol was doing - it was nothing personal. In hindsight I imagine you were bringing him the Crown. If I'd realised that you had it with you I'd have come to take it myself, but that bird has flown. I'm pleased to see that you aren't off on a dangerous errand in the North as Morrol claims you are."
Gytha: Gytha gave a barking laugh. "If he had had his way we would have been dead in the north!"
Sleeping Dragon: "As for explanations, well. In brief, Morrol arrived in Caer Arrath several days ago, then went off again. Yesterday, shortly after King Trystane of Daragwr's party arrived, Morrol came back and put on the Crown in front of the lords. I expect he was waiting for King Trystane to arrive as he's the most powerful King in the land apart from myself. I suppose that Morrol believed that he would be instantly acclaimed as the saviour of Andros, but he always has assumed that thrallborn humans are stupider than they are. Your brother, Prince Eifion, was highly unimpressed and demanded to know where you were, and he didn't find Morrol's answer acceptable. King Glethin seems to think something terrible's been done to you and was adamant that a sorcerer cannot be the one the prophecy refers to. Rhys of Rheged and Gruffydd of Blwych are in agreement with him, Prince Gwydion and King Trystane are unsure, and Glenwyn of Deira and a few minor Old Folk kings are backing Morrol. Though Morrol's most vocal supporter is someone else entirely."
Gytha: "Who would that be?" Gytha asked.
Sleeping Dragon: "Why, me, of course," Aelle laughed. "I could think of no surer way to inflame the Old Folk against Morrol than by standing up and pledging my allegiance to him."
Owain: Owain laughed quietly - "So that's what the help was supposed to be"
Lalia (enter): 21:17
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (6223) Lalia...
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(6115) Lalia' from room...
Lalia (exit): 21:18
Eifion: "You're a sly bastard, and I like it!" said Eifion. "And who'd think I'd be proud of my brother's kingship? He's wiser than I thought." He smiled.
Sleeping Dragon: "Well, that's the beginning of the help. Now we need to find a way to separate the Crown from Morrol, and Morrol from his head."
Khalisar: "Well, the latter would make the former much easier!"joked Khalisar, but then he became serious "With the crown, I know that his powers are too great. I also doubt we would able to just go there and steal it from his brow..."
Lalia: Lalia considered King and others' words carefully, "Maybe he can be killed in the dark, dagger in the back? posion?"
Sleeping Dragon: "That would be difficult. Morrol is staying in the quarters of Glenwyn of Deira and his men, and there are a number of soldiers who are watching over him constantly in case someone tries to slay their saviour." Aelle snorted. "This whole business of a prophecy is complete rot, you realise. Morrol is actually a First like me, and he planted the prophecy himself years ago after he stole the Crown from his Master. It was a ploy he was fond of."
Eifion: "Well it might not be wise to just barge in, either. We'd certainly turn plenty of lords against us if we did that. We need to convince at least some of them of his falsehood before we attack."
Khalisar: "We did suspect he was actually Olorin, yes."commented Khalisar "
Lalia: She frowned at Aelle, "Would that suggest that Morrol have planned invasion of gaints?"
Sleeping Dragon: "Good. He is." Aelle paused. "I usually have no objections to shedding vast quantities of blood, but you are right, Prince Eifion. The three most powerful men in Caer Arrath apart from myself are Captain Gwydion, King Trystane, and Owain of Arynys. They have a lot of influence and if they all turn on Morrol, his support will evaporate and we'll probably have enough soldiers to take him down, Crown or no Crown." Aelle looked at Lalia. "Planned the invasion? Well it's not beyond him..."
Gytha: "If there was a way to prove that to the other leaders, it would change their minds about him wouldn't it?" Gytha said, frowning.
Sleeping Dragon: "I would certainly think so. Even that Deiran fool would be taken aback by that. Is there any proof of that, or should we start inventing some?"
Gytha: Gytha shrugged. "His servant saw Morrol, or Olorin or whatever his name really is, meeting what probably was a giant before the fall of the North."
Sleeping Dragon: "Really? What did he say about this giant?"
Gytha: "He was awake in the night and saw Morrol talking to a cloaked person who was about eight feet tall." Gytha said. "Morrol gave the person something and then they went off towards the north. "
Sleeping Dragon: Aelle grinned. "Several of the reports we've received from the North say that the giants are being led by a half-breed called Gorroth. His father presumably took a liking to some human slave woman. Maybe this was Gorroth that Morrol was meeting with."
Gytha: "It's a pity we can't get this Gorroth to address the leaders." Gytha said with a half-smile. "They might take notice of him."
Eifion: "Sounds likely. And if it's not true, it's useful."
Lalia: "Well, we can always spread rumours that leader of Gorroth was working with Morrol. Few coins for street boys who will tell everyone could do it" Lalia smiled.
Lalia: edit: Gorroth, leader of Gaints
Gytha: "I don't think they would be convinced by rumours only." Gytha said thoughtfully.
Sleeping Dragon: "No. Frankly, simply seeing you there will cause the lords to take notice," said Aelle. "Remember, Morrol's said he's sent you on a dangerous mission to the North."
Eifion: "Yes. Perhaps we should just arrange a meeting, have us dramatically enter, that sort of thing. They'll be in a state to believe what we say after that."
Gytha: "We can tell them of the disgusting things Morrol has been creating in his tower." Gytha said. "And how he set them on us."
Khalisar: "But then Morrol would probably make up some lie about us plotting against him and we'd have to deal with the lords. I doubt a direct approach would work..."
Sleeping Dragon: "I could try to arrange such a meeting, though I don't know if you want to be associated with me until afterwards. The Old Folk kings all hate me, as you'd expect from such a lot of useless dogs," said Aelle. "You need to speak to the lords without Morrol knowing about it, and you need to do it fast."
Sleeping Dragon: "Alternately, you could make a dramatic entrance at the meeting of the Lords tomorrow...but Morrol will be there."
Gytha: Gytha looked at Khalis. "Do you think we can handle Morrol?"
Eifion: "Why don't you say that you've been secretly contacted by someone, you're not sure who, who has some information about Morrol? They'll be curious, just as we were to see who you were."
Sleeping Dragon: Aelle rubbed his chin. "That's possible. The more lords and kings we invited, however, the more likely it would be that Morrol would hear of it."
Eifion: "Well, if we can get just the important ones, they may be able to sway the others."
Sleeping Dragon: "Yes. Shall I arrange a meeting then?"
Khalisar: "Might as well."
Gytha: "If the rest agree." Gytha answered looking around at the others.
Lalia: [1d8] => [7] = (7)
Lalia: Lalia told them "No problem with it. I will look forward to this"
Sleeping Dragon: "I'll go to arrange that now and I'll send a man to fetch you very shortly. I will invite King Trystane, King Owain, Captain Gwydion, and maybe a few other Old Folk kings."
Sleeping Dragon: Aelle gave them a nod. "Goodbye for now then."
Sleeping Dragon: Aelle departed with his bodyguards, leaving the party behind in the barn. A few hours passed as they sat and caught their breaths. Then the door opened again and Captain Ecberhdt entered the barn with six armoured men behind him. "I am pleased to see you again under more amicable circumstances," he greeted the party
Gytha: Gytha got her feet and nodded a greeting.
Lalia: Lalia smiled at him, "I knew we will see you again eventually"
Owain: Owain didn't respond
Khalisar: Khalisar was almost startled to see the captain's face, but quickly calmed down
Sleeping Dragon: the soldiers of Gathburg entered and began to take off their armour. "Put this armour on and take these weapons," said Ecberhdt. "We can sneak you into Caer Arrath disguised as soldiers without anyone noticing...though you two might a bit more work," he said, pointing to Gytha and Lalia.
Sleeping Dragon: *might need
Gytha: Gytha glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Sleeping Dragon: "You're women, we don't have any women in our army like the Old Folk," said Ecberhdt.
Khalisar: Khalisar giggled to himself as he heard the woman's question
Gytha: "Perhaps you should change your rules then. Seeing as two women beat your sorry arses last time." Gytha said coldly. She eyed the armour with distaste.
Lalia: Lalia sighed as she considered Ecberhdt's words, "I was so luckly when I went against the entire company of pikes. Anyway, how about I get changed into something befitting my title"
Eifion: "Think of it this way, Gytha. It's all the more impressive to 'beat someone's sorry arse' when they don't expect you to be able to do it. Fairness is all well and good, but right now the captain is worried about our ability to blend in."
Sleeping Dragon: "I doubt we'll be able to change our rules fast enough to convince the guards of Caer Arrath that you're our soldiers."
Sleeping Dragon: "I'm afraid you'll have to leave your own weapons and armour here, but these men here will come and bring it shortly," Ecberhdt added. "Hopefully by then you'll have convinced Prince Gwydion that Morrol needs to be defeated and blending in won't matter."
Gytha: "Damn your title Lalia. What about trying to look like a man?" Gytha said irritably. "We can bind up our hair for a start."
Owain: Owain dropped his chainmail to the ground and put the shiny scalemail on. "Would the beard be a giveaway?" - he spoke.
Sleeping Dragon: several of Ecberhdt's men were bearded
Khalisar: Khalisar had to remove the padded armour to wear the new armour. He didn't look too comfortable in it
Gytha: Gytha put on the armour, twisting her shoulders this way and that. "How can you fight in this stuff?" she asked Ecberhdt.
Sleeping Dragon: "Not well enough to beat a few women," Ecberhdt replied.
Gytha: Gytha grinned at him. "Maybe we should have a rematch some time."
Lalia: Lalia nodded throughfully. "Yes, that would work I suppose. As much I hate leaving my weapon and armour behind though." She then put on the scale armour. "Not bad. If you are used to wearing heavy armour for long time, it is easier, wearing much lighter armour." She moved around, getting used to it easily
Gytha: "Owain, that beard is just too long." Gytha said, looking round at the soldiers. "You're going to need to trim it."
Gytha: She advanced on Owain with her dagger. "Sit still while I do it."
Owain: "That's what I just asked and...wait!"
Gytha: "Come on, I've shaved a man before." Gytha said, with a glint in her eye.
Owain: Owain surrendered himself finally, hands on the side
Eifion: Eifion sat back, grinning.
Gytha: Gytha trimmed the hair to a surprisingly neat beard. "I wasn't really going to shave it all off."
Lalia: Lalia muttered something quietly about that
Owain: Owain thanked Gytha and tried handling one of the spears, his face going sour.
Khalisar: Khalisar stumbled around, not really used to wearing heavier armours like this "Ugh. I doubt I'll be convincing as a soldier"
Sleeping Dragon: "You only need to be convincing for a few moments," said Ecberhdt. "It's late anyway, I doubt the guards will be paying very close attention." Ecberhdt looked the party up and down. "Alright, let's march."
Lalia: Lalia barely kept her laughter back as she watched Khalisar trying to walk around
Gytha: Gytha picked up a shield and held it awkwardly, but she twirled the spear round and thrust it forward easily. "Not bad if I wasn't burdened with all this wood and metal."
Owain: "I doubt I'll be half as useful without my weapon, but can still fight. The shield would prove useful, too"
Lalia: "Well, at least I am capable of fighting in this armour and with these weapons despite I disliked them"
Gytha: "We'd be mad to get into a fight in this state." Gytha said, looking round at the others. "See you don't."
Sleeping Dragon: Ecberhdt nodded and spoke quietly to his men, then turned to the party. "Let's move then! Form up, two columns behind me."
Eifion (enter): 23:14
Owain: Owain followed the order smartly
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (6304) Eifion...
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(6129) Eifion' from room...
Eifion (exit): 23:14
Lalia: Lalia sighed as she also lined up
Khalisar: Khalisar clumsily got into line with the others
Gytha: Gytha got into line, glaring at the soldiers as she did so. "Keep that sword safe for me." she said firmly. "I went through a lot to get it."
Sleeping Dragon: they marched through the night behind Ecberhdt, leaving Sergeant Clovis and the soldiers of Gathburg behind at the barn. They passed by a few farms and soon were beneath the shadow of Caer Arrath's formidable walls. They were twenty-five feet tall and about eight feet thick, constructed of solid stone from the nearby mines. To enter the fortress they were forced to pass through a series of strong gatehouses and then cross a bridge over the Athwyn into the main courtyard. The guards were tired and surly and they recognised Ecberhdt, and so they were sent through with little fuss.

Within the main courtyard were several buildings - a stable, a temple to the gods of the Old Folk, and the main keep. Ecberhdt led them into the keep and then up a staircase with high, narrow steps which curled up to the left. At length they reached the top floor, where the lords were staying.
Eifion (enter): 23:37
Attempting to assign the role of PLAYER to (6328) Eifion...
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(6304) Eifion' from room...
Eifion (exit): 23:37
Sleeping Dragon: Booting '(6328) Eifion' from room...
Eifion (exit): 23:40
Sleeping Dragon: "The King is meeting with several of the lords in his quarters," said Ecberhdt quietly, leading them through the halls. There were very few people about at this late hour, only a servant or two, and they paid them no mind. King Aelle had been given a sizeable section of the fortress, though most of his soldiers were lodged in another building. Ecberhdt led the party along to a large room with a thick wooden door. "They should be here already," he said, knocking.