Deeper Deception

9/30

Jak and Squishy look over Midel’s research papers. The conjuration spells involved are ice darts (2^nd lvl), summon undead II (2^nd lvl), mage armor (1^st lvl), and true casting (divination, 1^st lvl). Jak offers the true casting spell to Erol for another spell called weapon shift. He copies the others into his spellbook. The thirst for arcane knowledge runs swiftly through the veins of true casters. Erol buys the originals for a small fortune.

Migi awakens in a soft bed. Aware that his surroundings have changed, he glances around for his gear. Solaera cheerfully enters and casts cure light wounds on him. Jak has retained Mary and Migi’s equipment for repairs...and anything of interest to him. 

After paying off the gold debt to the Temple of Moradin, Jak visits Migi at the apartments. Jak subtly tries to interrogate Migi before he returns his belongings. Jak knows Migi’s studded leather is of finer quality and wants to know more. He casts minor repairs to mend the damaged armor. At length, Jak says he wants information on the thieves’ guild in town. Naturally, Migi plays innocent. Jak insists that he’s only in this for the money. He tasks Migi to find information on the thieves’ guild for him. [Oh, the irony grows! Now Migi has an excuse to point the finger at a scapegoat somewhere. Who in town could he throw into the furnace of swift justice? He’ll hold on to this cards for a fix.] Jak believes the thieves’ guild will have a large treasure horde and is willing to split the profits.

Solaera still doesn’t trust Migi completely. She casts detect evil before meeting Migi in the hallway. Migi is a shady lad, but he’s not evil character. Her detection reveals nothing. She talks with him for a bit more. Then he asks her out to lunch for graciously healing him. She accepts, goes back in her room, and casts detect chaos. Suspicion always tends to linger with lawful good priestesses. [Migi can hear her casting and suspects something is up.] When questioned about it, she says Jak just told her to do something for him.

Mary has raise dead cast upon her body. After an unpleasant revival the clerics heal her the rest of the way up. Weapon shopping takes the next priority. With the newly acquired funds she buys a dwarven-crafted bastard sword, very fine quality.

Elf accompanies Squishy to the temple for continued research. Squishy crosses divine spells that may also be cast by the arcane. He manages to find magic weapon, endure elements, resist energy, and shatter. Each will take at least 1 week to fully research, the last taking two.

Migi reports in to the Raven Robbers Guild and buys more supplies for the next venture.

The Misadventures of Midel

The Keep lies on the Northwestern edge of the valley. Forge Valley became a centralized mining and smithy community along the trade route through the mountains.

9/25 - 9/30

Midel discovered the mines leading to his cottage long ago. He explored what he needed to find an adequate path. Knowing the draconic language of the kobolds yielded easy communication. Since the house is not that secure of a location, he takes his spellbook on ventures underground. Not only has Midel partially explored the mines, he’s used it to covertly travel south to the Ferral Woods, territory of several gnoll tribes. Trading with the gnolls isn’t forbidden, just dangerous. Why trade for items when you can pry them off dead bodies? Midel managed to barter a baby green dragon from one of the tribes by forging a dark alliance. Such a creature grants great prestige within the Green Dragon Guild once he trains it.

Controlling the beast was difficult from the start. Time constraints and research allowed the creature to grow wild and unruly. It ventures out looking for a bit of mutton to eat whenever the mood strikes it. Midel threw it a few coins whenever he returned to his small shack. It didn’t hurt to sleep with acid resistance cast on his bed, though.

The day of the duel, the enthusiastic conjurer travels into the mountains for final spell components. He returns to find the underground passage has collapsed. Matters deteriorate when orcs follow him into the mine, forcing their way into the upper levels. The orcs slaughter the kobolds. Half of the reptilians are wiped out. The other half escape to the lower levels. The kobolds plead for Midel to help and refuse to fight without him.

Weak and unprepared to ambush so many orcs, Midel declines. He aimlessly meanders through the chiseled passages. He wanders into the unexplored parts of the deeper mines. His careful plan crumbled with every step. To find a legal way to challenge Erol’s position took weeks. Frustration overwhelms him as his light spells go out one by one.

By the third day underground, his patience has worn thin. The kobolds no longer view him as a powerful magic user. He cannot convince them to help. He can’t be the only target on the elevator. There must be something else in the mine he can use. The cold darkness envelopes his hopes. The comfort of sleep eludes him on the dank stone. He wanders back and forth running his frail fingers along the walls. A few light sparks and a lantern would do wonders for his sanity. Every drop of moisture seems to echo for miles.

Five days pass. He crawls back to find the elevator shaft empty. The elevator has been secured to one of the upper floors after the party's ascent. He can’t get up. Somehow he finds his way back to the earthy tunnels of the ankheg. His tattered hands guide him with a last hope of digging his way up to the surface. The pile of rubble previously blocking his way home has been moved. Hungry, tired, and exhausted the wizard makes his way down the winding passage.

His abode lay in shambles. Smashed glass and burnt paper litter the floor. The dragon must have done most of it. Where is the dragon? “BLASTED! My notes? Where is all of my RESEARCH!? Where IS everything!!? The door is busted in. Erol! That fink! Curses upon that piss pot glamour-artist. This will not go…without vindication. He didn’t even leave me my hat. I’ll kill that illusory thief!”

The Mines under the Mountains

9/29

Jak leaves the tower at 6 the next morning only to find Migi waiting for him in the courtyard. Jak states he’s going to the guild to check the job board. The job board mentions more scouting parties are needed at the keep. Large amounts of tracks have been found crossing the northern pass. The watch suspect a growing number of orcs in the area.

The party takes Migi down to the river to meet Squishy. Squishy feels like tormenting the gnome a bit. He tries to convince Migi that he is not really a gnome. Squishy keeps insisting that he is a fish. Migi insists that he is NOT a fish. Then Squishy insinuates that he will feed Migi to a green dragon. Migi confuses this with the Green Dragon guild, until he sees the dragon.

Mary eventually tires of Squishy’s rude behavior. She gets upset and claws Squishy for taunting Migi. They discuss terms for Migi’s entering the company. Migi agrees that he must earn his worth in the party. He won’t be getting paid up front like the other group of sell-swords.

The guards request that the party travel back to Midel’s house. Elf still thinks it was wolves since he didn’t see the carnage. The party buys a few torches and sets out. They go underneath the house again to explore the labyrinth of tunnels to the North, which go nowhere. The passage to the South runs into a rock face with a small crawl space. An old mine lies on the other side. The party ventures down the right passage. The passage gradually slopes up. After a few hundred feet or so, they spot the elevator.

Grasping the ropes, Jak pulls the platform into a dark ascent. Squishy picks up the dragon and levitates. They reach the 1^st floor. Above they can hear draconic voices whispering “they’re coming up.” Squishy casts inertial armor on himself. They slowly pull up to the 2^nd floor to see 8 kobolds waiting for them. Squishy uses his mind blast. Migi manages to safely tumble all the way to the other side. He turns to see Jak cleaving through the majority of the kobolds.
The party explores the rest of the level plowing through another 6 kobolds. Migi stands by feeling rather out-matched by the party. Clutching the wall, Migi spots a hole in the roof leading to the next level. [This hole is how the kobolds managed to escape the orcs from the level above. The orcs sometimes just piss down the hole to upset them. The act sometimes results in painful injury from awaiting snipers below.] The hole is only large enough for Small characters to fit through.

Mary and Migi volunteer to climb up through the hole. The rest of the party uses the elevator to get to the next floor.

Jak, Squishy, Solaera, Elf, and the dragon go up the elevator to the 3^rd floor and see 4 orcs, 2 with bows drawn. That’s right. The four guards did notice the elevator slowly rising the last two times the party used it. Squishy causes 1 orc to cower in fear. One of the orcs runs away, terrified. After the archers are dealt with, Jak frantically tries to kill the cowering orc. However, Jack is accustomed to swinging his huge sword in the open and keeps striking the surrounding walls. The rest of the group pursues the fleeing orc down the tunnel.

Meanwhile, Mary & Migi scout around to see a group of 5 orcs in the main chamber. They quickly duck away before they are discovered. An orc comes running around the corner (from the elevator battle) and Mary charges at him. Orcs in the room hear the commotion. She waits by the door to spring at the others as they emerge. The 5 orcs come out of the room and attack Mary. Migi trips trying to attack one from behind, but nobody notices. Mary is killed outright by the onslaught. It’s not long before Migi is also spotted and taken down.

The rest of the party comes across the four remaining orcs looting their comrades’ bodies. Squishy telepathically calls for Jak. Jak bolts down the hallway. He charges in slaying the orcs. Solaera & Elf rush after to treat Mary & Migi. (Migi is at -8 hit points. What would happen if one of the guild’s top spies didn’t return on his first venture on a new assignment? I didn’t have to worry about that. J)

Jak, Squishy, and the dragon explore the rest of the level. They see daylight, and 4 orcs in a nearby chamber.  Jak brashly charges in, missteps, and sprains his ankle. The dragon follows in viciously clawing and biting. It growls as it rends the last orc to the ground.

The party pulls out with their booty. They journey back to Forge Valley above ground to raise Mary. Solaera casts cure light wounds on Migi, but he remains unconscious. Migi is put in Elf’s room until he can be healed again. Jak sells the equipment and goes with Squishy to barter a true resurrection for Mary. He decides that this will cost too much and settles for a raise dead spell. They still don’t have the funds for the spell. They manage to barter the cleric down to 4500 gold. Solaera gives her word as a cleric that they will pay back the remaining 1100 gp within one year.

Unseen and in Plain Sight

9/28

Jak reports the incident at Midel’s house to the guards and returns the armor. He says it appeared to have been an animal attack of some sort.

Mary guides 4 guards back to the hamlet to remove the bodies. Three of the guards get sick at the sight of the acid-melted bodies. One of the guards starts looking around the mess as the remains are gathered. Mary suggests that they leave immediately. The snoopy guard agrees and walks out. Hours later, they arrive back at Forge Valley.

Jak barters the ankheg shell for a dwarvencraft greatsword and a dwarvencraft set of scale mail from 2 dwarven smithies (cousins). [The smiths agree to share any profits made from selling the ankeg armor. The shell is worth at least 12,000 gp if they can sell it.] The requested masterwork armor will take about 3 weeks to complete. Jak then goes to find Erol. Erol is oddly absent from his tower. Jak suspects Erol went south to look through Midel’s house. [Jak is right, but it’s hard to find an invisible, disguised illusionist. Erol left as soon as he heard his adversary went missing. He doesn’t find anything of importance at the house. The party has already taken most of the valuable things left by the challenging wizard.]

Elf has gone missing. He can’t be found anywhere. Jak & Mary later find him bound & gagged, locked in his room. He says he was abducted last night by someone. [Elf is the strongest party member the Raven Robbers know about. The Raven Robbers interrogated him to find out as much as they could. They are primarily concerned about who the party might be working for. Satisfied that they have kept their ruthless appearance, they bound him up and put him back in his room.] Elf says they knew a lot about him and the rest of the party. Elf decides he needs another room with bigger locks.

Jak later goes to the Silver Sword Guild to ask about membership. They welcome his entry as a person of some renown that would bring credit to the guild. Jak pays for a one year membership. He learns about the barrister, Frank, who represented Bachas and the other bandits. Jak goes back to the hamlet to look for Erol. He passes some peasants along the way, but none of them look familiar. Erol disguised himself preventing Jak from recognize him.

Mary goes out hunting again with no success. When she gets back into town she runs into a plucky gnome named Migi (NPC). He’s very excited to go with the party, wherever they’re headed. [Migi works for the Raven Robbers Guild. He will do just about anything to gain their confidence. His job is to learn what the party knows and see if they are truly allies or enemies of the guild, or their enemies.] Migi also meets Jak at the tower. Jak agrees to meet with him tomorrow morning sometime. Migi works under the guise that his sole interest is in the money, which isn't totally untrue. The four mercenaries made out with a small fortune in exchange for a little boot leather.

Missing Midel the Magician

9/27

Yesterday, Midel failed to show up for the wizard's duel with Erol. A dispatch of guards were sent to fetch him, but have not returned. The guards are looking for Jak & his party to go to Midel’s house. The party accepts and travels south to the small hamlet where the wizard has been living.

The community two hours south is nearly deserted. A peasant directs them to Midel’s house. He acts overly cautious. Squishy charms him to calm him down a bit. He says the mage wanted to be left alone. The guards went into the house and didn’t come back out.

Midel owns a small 15’ x 15’ shack with obvious signs of being broken into. Inside a few papers relating to property rights litter a desk. Squishy gathers them up along with a cloak hanging by the doorway. Downstairs lay a conglomerate of research papers on conjuring. The remains of 3 guards in breastplate lie within the narrow hallway to the backroom. A small hissing green dragon ducks behind the corner. Squishy extends out his powers and charms it. The party enters, searching around the smashed laboratory. Spotting a glint of something between the two plants in the corner, our Badger takes to digging. [This angers the dragon. That’s its hoard of treasure he’s been collecting.] As she delves deeper, Badger notices a tunnel behind the dragon’s corner. She explores it a ways back until it dead ends at a recent cave in. Badger digs through the collapsed rubble to a larger tunnel heading north and south.

Jak casts light. The party journeys down the tunnel to the north for about an hour. The tunnel rumbles. Something big is coming. An ankheg hurdles towards them.  A violent flare of magic missiles, mind thrusts, and healing spells ensues. In the midst of confusion the dragon, seeing the opportunity, catches both Mary and the ankheg with its breath weapon. 'steal MY treasure will you?' When it's all over, Jak has an ankheg to shell. They decide to head back to town. They strip the guards of the remaining gear to return to the authorities.

The dragon doesn’t want to go. It sits on its hoard adamantly staying with its treasure. After Squishy digs up the coins it decides to follow him.