12/09/03 (Real world)

<Note: All text hereafter, except the heading, is written in a coded form of
Draconic>

IF THIS JOURNAL IS FOUND, THERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL REWARD FOR ITS RETURN TO HANREL TANNISON, IN THE CITY OF ERDAENOS

To: Hanrel Tannison
Order of the Erdaenos Collectors
Library of Erdaenos
City of Erdaenos

From: Dain Lonair
Lake of Lost Voices
2 Days Walk South of Gahanis

Re: Mission Report 9

Date: 20 Fifthmonth 1757

After a brief rest in the card-player's room, we moved on towards the remaining unexplored rooms of the temple.

We traveled down a long corridor that ran parallel to the one we had previously used to get to the card-player's room, but it proved to be empty, and did not reveal its purpose even after an extensive search for secret doors. We left that section of the temple, and on towards some rooms in the other direction.

Several of the rooms proved empty. However, the third room we entered was occupied by a man seated behind a desk, who had been reading as we entered.

He reacted violently to our presence, however, grabbing a nearby spear and stabbing at Sniktari. Without a chance to use diplomacy over the din of battle, I decided to grab my last remaining alchemical weapon - a vial of alchemist's frost which I had brewed myself prior to meeting my new companions. The vial sailed towards the bandit, but missed, splashing him with the frozen concoction but doing little damage.

The bandit's aim was more accurate, as he skewered Gür with his spear so deep that he left it behind in Gür's torso.

Roksha reacted quickly, letting fly one of his new masterwork arrows, and hitting the bandit in the leg. Meanwhile, Gür, angered by the spear attack, let loose a massive blow to the bandit, leaving a massive gash in his side.

Iyri was not so lucky, as she cast two mudballs in a row, both missing her target by a wide margin and smashing mud against the back wall of the room.

The bandit, spearless now, drew forth his sword, and took a swing at us. However, he must have been put off balance from dodging Iyri's mudballs, as he managed to lose his grip on the newly withdrawn sword, which clattered to the ground and out of sight.

Deciding it was time to get tactical with this ornery fellow, I moved to a flanking position, and struck him hard with my magical scimitar. That was enough - the bandit fell to the ground, heavily wounded.

Sniktari didn't need advice from me on the matter, and immediately pinned the unmoving form of the bandit and laid on some healing, pouring some of his essence into the man to revive him for questioning.

Snik and I played our usual good-guard / bad-guard act, and after some lengthy negotiations, the bandit offered to reveal all he knew in exchange for his own life, as long as that bargain was backed by the word of Gür, on his name as a Giant. Gür agreed, reluctantly.

Despite the desk and obvious literacy, the bandit was not a leader of the group. He did know a great deal about the location of the other bandits in the complex, however. Aside from those we had already slain or incapacitated, there was only one other "bandit" left on this level of the building - a dim fellow in the stables, across from the great hall. He pleaded with us to not harm the man, as he really was rather witless and did not know much about banditry.

In addition to the dim fellow, there were several other bandits on the upper level, which could be reached by a series of stairs and hallways which were nearby. Guarding the stairs and hallways were three competent crossbowman. Usually upstairs we would also find "the witch", but she was not present at the moment. We speculated that "the witch" was likely the woman we had encountered near the barrow-like hill on our way to the lake.

Finally, upstairs was Odthow, bandit leader. Apparently Odthow was a Litorian, fairly tough, and wielded a greatsword and bow.

There was treasure upstairs as well, and no traps that he knew of. The orb was also there, a spooky device that the bandits had found here in the temple. He did not know anything more about the orb, as he had never seen it.

I inquired about the book, and the bandit said he knew there were many books upstairs, but did not know their specific names or purposes.

I inquired regarding the Blue Knight, and the bandit seemed a bit shaken by this question. He said the Blue Knight was rumored to be a ghost or spirit, that it was quite deadly, and that it left a blue dagger in the back of its victims. I showed him the blue dagger we had found after the bear fight, and he confirmed that it looked like a dagger of the Blue Knight. He did not know where the Blue Knight was, nor had he seen the Knight in the complex. The Knight was a thing to be feared.

I inquired about Nefenr, but he didn't know anything about the memory artist, even after hearing my description of the man.

In addition to the spear and short sword, we located on the bandit a key, a novel, 24 gold pieces, a large crossbow, 10 bolts, and a breastplate. Only the spear looked to be of particularly fine construction. In the chest we found an additional 250 gold pieces, a large diamond ring (P), a silver bookmark which I estimated to be valued at 12 gold pieces, and a piece of paper with three names on it.

I asked the bandit about the paper with the names, and he said they were informants, somewhat similar to spies, which the bandits sometimes used. He did not know their current locations.

We decided to bind and gag this bandit in the room for now, and told him we would return after we had dealt with Odthow and fulfill our end of the bargain to release him then. However, if he managed to escape on his own, he was not to take anything with him, and was not to speak to anyone. If he did either, we would hunt him down later and kill him. Otherwise, he would be free to go.

The bandit was none to happy about this part of the arrangement, as he felt it violated the spirit of the agreement, but Gür seemed to feel it was acceptable, provided we did in fact return later to release the man.

We moved on, and found several storerooms on this level, containing items such as lanterns, oil barrels, fishing poles, woodcraft tools, quivers, arrows, and many other supplies. We agreed to leave this all behind for now, and collect it later. Perhaps this complex would make a good base of operations for us later.

I walked in to the stables alone, hoping to discuss peacefully with the stableman rather than turning to violence. The stableman's name was Febb, and he did seem quite challenged in the mental arena. I asked Febb to not leave the stables for several hours, as we were doing something very private outside in the great hall. He gladly agreed, and offered to get us horses if we needed them.

This level being fully explored, we decided to cautiously approach the stairs to the upper portions of the complex.

Sniktari went first, deciding to rush the long, 200' hallway that led from the first set of stairs, while the rest of us hurriedly followed. A bullseye lantern was strategically placed within the corridor, allowing a shooter at the end of the hallway to safely target someone without himself being in visible light to approaching intruders. This tactic proved useful for the bandits, as crossbow bolts began to sail towards us.

We raced down the corridor, encountering another set of stairs as we did. The bandits withdrew, still shooting at us, and we began to feel the strain and stings of the bolts as we chased on.

Finally, around a third bend, we caught up to the bandits. There, around a corner, they made their stand. There were four of them - three with crossbows, and one Litorian with a bow. It was Odthow for sure.

As we entered melee range, we could see that our wounds were putting our group at a disadvantage. We should have sought healing before charging up the stairs, and it was costing us now. Blow after blow fell on our group, with Gür and Snik taking serious damage in the process, and all of us being a bit woozy on our feet.

Finally, the tide of the battle turned, and none too soon for us. I managed to sever the arm of one of the cross-bow wielding bandits with a shattering blow of my sword, and threw a javelin at the leader that struck home with a sickening thud. Sniktari slew another, as Gür hit the leader again, followed closely by Roksha's arrow, finally felling the man. Sniktari took care of the remaining bandit with a lucky slice of his claws, and the battle was finally over.

Bloody and tired, we ourselves collapsed in exhaustion from this final battle. I stabilized those of the bandits that I could, including Odthow, and we assessed what lay ahead.

On Odthow we found 15 arrows, a Greatsword which I sensed was magical in nature, a well-crafted Chain Shirt, a Mighty composite Shortbow (str +1), and 60 gold pieces. On the other three bandits I found 15 well-crafted bolts, 3 light crossbows, 3 rapiers, 3 studded leather jacks, and a total of 15 gold pieces.

Moving down the hallway, we encountered several rooms containing valuables. By my count, the "treasure room" contained Numerous bolts of silk (120 gp total), 20 jars of rare spices (50 gp total), various bits of jewelry and trinkets (500 gp total), a dagger which I sensed was magic, 12 pairs of fine leather shoes (10 gp total), and a total of 300 gp in coinage.

In what seemed to be Odthow's room, I found a chest with 360 gp, an ornate but empty picture frame (12 gp), a bone comb (1 gp), a silver tankard (3gp), and a child sized ring (1gp).

Finally, I found a book room. A quick search of the place revealed a collection of books worth a sizable sum (Q), including such notable titles as Celestial Navigation of the Ancients, Runes of Power, Dictionary, and Hulaleha's Guide to Magical Stones.

There is still one hallway we have not explored on this upper level. That sense I occassionaly get when powerful magic is nearby is clanging like a bell. Whatever is down there is as powerful as anything I have ever sensed. I feel we should regroup before we stir up something that is better tackled when we are fresh.

In the name, the word, and the symbol of the Order of the Erdaenos Collectors,

Dain Lonair, apprentice.

<510 experience each>
<150 experience for Dain for Role Playing vote>
<150 experience for Snik for bravery in the face over overwhelming terror>
(cleaning up after a 3 year old's brithday party)