... this town ain't big enough ...
Our cast of characters...
Lucian (NPC) human initiate and junior Knight of Pelor;
Dracon, human beastmaster of the Wegwier;
Ivan, Suloise follower of Norebo, psionicist, and appraiser of quality
goods (Duchy of Urnst);
Kalik, halfling initiate-in-training of Avoreen (Duchy of Urnst);
Milik, halfling sorcerer
Kaganost, wemic apprentice shaman, originally from Hepmonaland; <absent
this week>
Flavius, half-elven (oerid/high) warrior (Rel Mord)
Kendradell, female half-elf (suloise/high) bard & initiate of Lydia
(Keoland)
Murray, nalshavel orc, wizard.
[1st of Planting, 576]
This week began with the questioning of the two prisoners they'd taken at the foot of the stairs. One was 'made an example of' and the other, even after seeing this, declared that he feared the necromancer (a she, they learned) in charge of the cavern more than he did the party - so the bound and gagged him and left him under a pile of corpses in one of the rooms.
They took the right hand hall at the end of the hallway they'd just fought in, and discovered that it turned after several paces, eventually ending in a large iron-barred door, that looked like it might be a prison area. While the invisible members of the party scouted the other doors in the hall, Ivan and Kenradell remained at the turn and watched their backs. While Flavius and Kalik tried picking the lock to the prison, Ivan felt a tapping on his shoulder, and turned to see the soldiers they'd recently killed (now zombies) standing right behind him.
Ivan proceeded to run down the hallway screaming, and ran into one of
the side doors (which happened to be the messhall for the soldiers stationed
there). Soon the party found itself trapped at the end of the hall, facing
a almost a half-dozen zombies, a dozen soldiers, and a figure that they
had every reason to believe was the lady necromancer. Meanwhile, Flavius
managed to free the hostages and the two <missing> party members they
sought.
Facing overwhelming odds, Kendradell elected to call upon her goddess, Lydia, for salvation (divine intervention). After a few moments, a sweet, high pitched song escaped her lips, and the movements of the enemy slowed until they stopped altogether. Taking their cue, the rest of the party evacuated the premises, (Kalik taking a moment to fire several arrows point blank at the necromancer, hoping that when time resumed for her they would strike true and slay her).
The party then rode quickly to Hardby, where they contacted Lord Henway's merchant house and delivered his son & d-i-l to safety. Lucien, his current mission complete, buid the party farewell, as they were planning to make their way north again to Greyhawk.
Murray, who had lost all of his disguise paraphanelia while captured, was forced to remain outside the city, hiding in the hills. After a few days he began noticing the soldiers they had fled from combing the area looking for traces of him, but he managed to elude them and eventually slip between two patrols to make his way back to the edge of the city. Once reunited, the party elected to take a barge upriver to Greyhawk rather than chance meeting the soldiers along the roads.
Once in Greyhawk again, Ivan chose to seek sanctuary in the Temple of Norebo there, as he did not wish to chance another meeting with the assassin, Rufus. Kalik attempted to track either Rufus or Melisande to their domicile, but could only find Melisande's apartments. One night, about three days after returning to the city, Rufus and several toughs fought their way into the Temple and shot Ivan with a poisoned crossbow bolt, after Ivan agreed to come out of his chambers and 'fight a fair fight' with his assailant. This time, without ready aid, Ivan subcummed to the poison and died lying across his bed.
Later that evening, Kalik tried getting information out of Melisande concerning Rufus' whereabouts, but she hit him with a frying pan, claiming that she was no longer "in the business, and even when I was, I didn't do midgets!". After Kalik was knocked off the stairs by the ex-doxy, Murray, who had accompanyed him, tried impersonating an Officer of the Watch, but she was not fooled - she called for the Watch herself, and they quickly arrived. Murray talked his way out of gaol, and made a hasty retreat back to the Green Dragon.
The latter half of the evening involved the group training and contemplating revenge against Rufus, finally decided to return to the site of the hole Ivan had fallen into earlier in their journies,as well as following the map Flavius and Kenradell's group had been in possession of.
[25th of Planting, 576]
And thus ends another chapter in our saga...