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| | [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?680676-IC-Keep-on-the-Borderlands 3rd In Character Thread] | | [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?680676-IC-Keep-on-the-Borderlands 3rd In Character Thread] |
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| − | The party finishes clearing the keep. Knuckles recruits the two surviving were-rats as henchmen. There is some tension over the number of non-human/demi-human members of the party. The Khazad troops begin reinforcing the keep to prepare to meet the goblin army. Knuckle's new henchmen provide an orderly way to move rats out of one tower and into the sewers as another line of defense. While the others work, the Order investigates a treasure map (#35). It leads them to a cave where nine goblin wolf-riders have holed up. Only the shorter members of the Order have been able to get inside the cave, leaving the taller members outside, so the battle is hard-fought until the humans can get through the tunnel. The fight is won -- and then twice as many goblins and wolves arrive from deeper into the cave. Sleep and Web spells manage to keep the party from being completely overwhelmed, but everyone is hurt before the goblins are invapacitated and the wolves flee. The rest of the cave holds no surprises, as small numbers of wolves are found and destroyed. A few wolves escape to the East, to bring warning to the goblins that something has happened. As the Order returns to the nameless keep, the begin to hear the sound of goblin drums (#100) echoing from all through the mountains; by the time they return, they can see the army moving in the mountains. | + | The party finishes clearing the keep. Knuckles recruits the two surviving were-rats as henchmen. There is some tension over the number of |
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| − | The Order realizes they do not have the manpower to defend most of the keep; the outer walls and towers are too damaged with age to be of any use. They have enough supplies to possibly hold the main building of the keep for several months in a seige... depending on the size of the oncoming army. The next day, the army arrives... and sends out a small detachment seeking to negotiate with someone none of the party has heard of: The Unseen Voice (#111). The goblins leave after a few minutes, and an hour later, King Garblag arrives with his retinue. Citing The Unseen Voice as the reason he does not simply destroy those within the keep, Garblag is intrigued by the possibility of working out a deal; however, it quickly becomes apparent that neither side is willing to give what the other side wants. At the same time, the Order beins to suspect that The Unseen Voice is Edward, and fears a betrayal.
| + | non-human/demi-human members of the party. The Khazad troops begin reinforcing the keep to prepare to meet the goblin army. Knuckle's new |
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| − | Meanwhile, Knuckles, Dayrell, and Muerte prepare the keep for defense, and Edward scouts out the goblin army, finding hundreds already there and more coming. Edward informs Red of this, managing to stay unseen by the goblins, and gives Red a codephrase to use if he wants a sneak attack... and Red uses the codephrase (#143). The king's magic sword is stolen from out of i's scabbard, and fire ignited behind his retinue, trapping them. The Order takes advantage of the surprise and destroy the King's retinue, with Muerte killing Garblag himself. A hundred goblin troops watch and see what has happened, and retreat back to the main army.
| + | henchmen provide an orderly way to move rats out of one tower and into the sewers as another line of defense. While the others work, the Order |
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| − | Taking advantage of the army's hesitation to rest and lick their wounds, the Order asks Edward about the Unseen Voice. He claims that he works for the Voice in an effort to keep the peace -- the Order accepts his eplaination for now, although some believe him more than others. As the army grows, the Order scouts and debates what to do. They finally decide to unleash the magic upon one of the scrolls they found, summoning a deadly cloud of gas and sending it down into the goblin camp from above (#208). The gathering army dies in droves, survivors cut down by the Order. It's not a battle; it's a slaughter, with a cloud of gas at one end of the valley and a wall of fire at the other. The Order has varying feeling about their victory, most settling on something along the lines of "We tried to give them a peaceful way out." It takes a week to clear to the field of boies and debris.
| + | investigates a treasure map (#35). It leads them to a cave where nine goblin wolf-riders have holed up. Only the shorter members of the Order |
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| − | In the month to follow, they meet Zarbek the Goat, a priest, and his two disciples, who joins the Order. They also begin repairs to the keep, now named Goblinfell, and plan for their next bojective: Dealing with the evil temple to the south (#234). The encounter orc patrols and interrogate the ones they take prisoner, learning about the area. They also learn that evil Babak-worshippinghumans are trying to unite the orc tribes into an army. The order decides to sneak around the orc territory and scale a cliff to enter the temple from behind, encountering gargoyles that nearly kill Edward while the others climb to his rescue.
| + | have been able to get inside the cave, leaving the taller members outside, so the battle is hard-fought until the humans can get through the |
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| − | Reaching the temple, the Order decides to investiage a small tunnel that looks like it may provide a back way into the complex. Inside, they encounter fungus and oozes and mushrooms and giant locusts and spiders and stirges, and have no luck finding a way into the temple. They do encounter signs that denizens from the temple have been where they are, so they keep looking. They instead find a way even deeper into the caves, where otherworldy darkness awaits them (#494). They face spirits and loot some ancient rooms before returning to the previous level. They try another path, encounter some spiders, and then awake a horde of locusts that cause them to try to flee the cavern, causing Zarbek and Knuckles to get lungfulls of fungus from the first cave (#538). Their lives are saves with the use of a potion of gaseous form. More vermin are encountered, and finally the order finds a hidden doorway that leads them into the temple proper.
| + | tunnel. The fight is won -- and then twice as many goblins and wolves arrive from deeper into the cave. Sleep and Web spells manage to keep |
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| − | Edward and Red scout out ahead of the others, finding storerooms but nothing living. They've taken the temple completely by surprise, it seems. They find some cultists and dispatch them quickly and quietly (#595). Again, the Order uses the 'dress in their robes to buy us a few moments of confusion when we encounter more of them' tactic that worked for them in the other temple. A rock with a silence spell lets them ambush a large number of cultists. Suddenly, they're taken by surprise by higher-level clerics (#643) and several of them are taken out of the fight with hold spells. In the ensuing melee, the attackers split up, so Edward and Knuckles chase down some of them and encounter the head o the temple. They stall for time to allow the rest of the Order to reinforce them. During the battle, Athrella is slain by a powerful spell (#672) before they are able to defeat their opponents. Dayrell manages to stop the wounded priest from escaping with a lucky throw of his hand ax (#681).
| + | the party from being completely overwhelmed, but everyone is hurt before the goblins are invapacitated and the wolves flee. The rest of the |
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| − | As the Order prepares their fallen comrade for cremation, reinforcements arrive. Skeletons, zombies, orcs, backed up by an orc wizard. The battle is very one-sided, until the wizard unleashes a fireball into our heroes, inflicting devestating losses... until most of the party realizes it was simply an illusion. The party, fueled with anger at the possible loss of more of their own, launch into a furious counter-assault. Finally, a large orc warrior and his pet hellhounds arrives, but is too late; he falls to the very, very angry Order. | + | cave holds no surprises, as small numbers of wolves are found and destroyed. A few wolves escape to the East, to bring warning to the goblins |
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| | + | that something has happened. As the Order returns to the nameless keep, the begin to hear the sound of goblin drums (#100) echoing from all |
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| | + | through the mountains; by the time they return, they can see the army moving in the mountains. |
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| | + | The Order realizes they do not have the manpower to defend most of the keep; the outer walls and towers are too damaged with age to be of any |
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| | + | use. They have enough supplies to possibly hold the main building of the keep for several months in a seige... depending on the size of the |
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| | + | oncoming army. The next day, the army arrives... and sends out a small detachment seeking to negotiate with someone none of the party has |
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| − | Taking some time to recover, the Order scouts out more of the temple. They discover plenty of evil ceremonial devices and prepare them for destruction. They discover that the priests were in the process of summoning Babak to this world, but had not yet completed the needed rituals. The books are destroyed. They dispatch a room of undead, loot and scout, and discover a scroll containing the itual the clerics were looking for. The order debates on if the scroll should be burned now, or learned from. Red decides to keep the ritual. They encounter a room of bones (#854), which form into skeletons and then colapse again at Zarbek's holiness. The same thing happens with four ghosts, whom Zarbek is able to deal with.
| + | heard of: The Unseen Voice (#111). The goblins leave after a few minutes, and an hour later, King Garblag arrives with his retinue. Citing The |
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| − | Feeling they did enough to counter the threat of the temple, the party investigates the darkness in the caves below and gathers more loot. They encounter some trolls and a tribe of troglodytes, avoiding them and taking their stuff.
| + | Unseen Voice as the reason he does not simply destroy those within the keep, Garblag is intrigued by the possibility of working out a deal; |
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| | + | however, it quickly becomes apparent that neither side is willing to give what the other side wants. At the same time, the Order beins to |
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| − | [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?690798-IC-Keep-on-the-Borderlands 4th In Character Thread]
| + | suspect that The Unseen Voice is Edward, and fears a betrayal. |
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| − | The Order holds Athrella's funeral in a balcony overlooking the cave they entered through, cremating her and dubbing the temple Athrella's Rest. They leave the temple, seeing signs that with the fall of the cult, the orc tribes may be back at each other's throats (#8). Kuckles decides to retire, helping Pearl run her inn. There is much celebration at the end of the evil threat. The Order makes plans for the winter; Edward and Muerte plan a return to Athrella's Rest to retrieve what look they were unable to carry before. Meanwhile, the Keep at Goblinfell Valley is repaired, and caravans have been attempting the route east; but not returning. Marvo learnst hat harpies have been luring teh caravans off cliffs and feasting on the wreckage. Edward and Muerte sneak back to the temple and retrieve all the loot they can carry; there are goings-on in the temple, but they do not investigate heavily.
| + | Meanwhile, Knuckles, Dayrell, and Muerte prepare the keep for defense, and Edward scouts out the goblin army, finding hundreds already there |
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| − | Dayrell spends his time researching a tome of dwarven lore found in Athrella's Rest; Marvo ends the Harpy threat, but it requires he give up the aid of his hench-harpy Mavis. Red and Ogoul, along wiht Dayrell's cousins Orrin and Dima, travel to the capital of Khazan. There they confer with the king's wizard advisor and interview mercenaries for possible postings at Goblinfell. They also make contact with an alchemist, and Ogoul takes on an aprentice.
| + | and more coming. Edward informs Red of this, managing to stay unseen by the goblins, and gives Red a codephrase to use if he wants a sneak |
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| − | Edward and Muerte make a second return trip to Athrella's Rest, beliving at least one more load of loot is left there. The temple is even more active now, causing them to investigate. A priest is using orcs and ogres to reinforce the temple. Edward leaves a flaming warning that the Order still watches the temple and leaves, hoping their reputation will cause the priest and orcs to leave. On their way out, they are spotted, causing a small running battle in which the orcs pose no threat at all; Muerte kills twenty-two of them before they give up and leave.
| + | attack... and Red uses the codephrase (#143). The king's magic sword is stolen from out of i's scabbard, and fire ignited behind his retinue, |
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| − | Caravans begin passing safely though the trade mountains, thanks to Marvo's handling of the harpies.
| + | trapping them. The Order takes advantage of the surprise and destroy the King's retinue, with Muerte killing Garblag himself. A hundred goblin |
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| − | Red and Ogoul wine and dine with the King of Khazan, and Dima and Orrin learn details and ancient dwarven artifacts. Sages are consulted about many things, and much is learned.
| + | troops watch and see what has happened, and retreat back to the main army. |
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| − | A treasure map, found in Athrella's Rest, is searched out; A giant rock blocks the opening, so the potion that saved Red from the medusa is used to change part of it to flesh, which is then cut away to allow access to the cache. The Oder is hauling gold out of the cache when they realize the stone-flesh is attracting vultures, which will surely signal their presence. They quickly finish hauling up the treasure and return home, in time for winter to begin to arrive, and the Order settles in with their plans (#127).
| + | Taking advantage of the army's hesitation to rest and lick their wounds, the Order asks Edward about the Unseen Voice. He claims that he works |
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| − | Zarbek discovers the truth behind the illusion of life, or something like that -- nobody is quite sure.
| + | for the Voice in an effort to keep the peace -- the Order accepts his eplaination for now, although some believe him more than others. As the |
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| − | As spring returns to the land, dwarven mercenaries begin to arrive, as Dayrell's plans to retake the city of Arduum from goblins has become somewhat well-known. The Order's second year begins, not as a small handful of adventurers investigating caves, but at the head of a small army of Dwarves. Goblinfell Valley still has no vegitation; the spell that klled the goblins has killed the grass, the trees, everything. The Order circles around Arduum to a little-used eastern gate; the small guard force is dispatched easily (#139). Some manticores posed them no problem. After scouting the city and estimating how many goblins are within, the Order comes up with a plan; Edward creates chaos by assassinating the goblin chief and his bodyguards, while Red and Zarbek use magic to clear a side tunnel, allowing Dayrell to lead his forces into the city. Edward taunts the elite goblin guards into chasing him, and leads them into a core of dwarven soldiers who had been trapped inside Arduum's 'Old City'. Dayrell's Dwarves are reinforced by Red and Zarbek's magic, while the goblins recieve Bugbear reinforcements. The two forces combined easily finish off the goblins, and teh city is liberated (#170).
| + | army grows, the Order scouts and debates what to do. They finally decide to unleash the magic upon one of the scrolls they found, summoning a |
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| − | The Order takes a few days to relax and reflect on their good fortune before deciding to seek out the wizard they had heard rumors of, to the North. Along the way, they encounter some giants (#183); They chalenge the group to a fight, and Dayrell declares it should be a single combat; the giants accept, and Dayrell wins and spares the life of his foe. The giants allow the group to go free, never to be challenged again, and with the possibility of one day working for the dwarves.
| + | deadly cloud of gas and sending it down into the goblin camp from above (#208). The gathering army dies in droves, survivors cut down by the |
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| − | The party moves on, and finds the ruins of an ancient building; a castle or temple or the like. They believe it is the residence of the wizard they seek. A deep fog surrounds them, and they find themselves with no option but to explore the ruins; inside, the ruins are anything but, and are a nicely-maintained castle. They encounter some undead servants, and debate the nature of the place they are in. They also encounter a charmed, insane, cross-dressing ogre and realize something is very wrong with this castle. Zarbek continues to protect the group from ghosts and spirits. They stumble across a phantom feast with places set for all of them; Some of them eat and some do not. Edward is nearly killed by poisoned mushrooms, but Dima is able to heal him. Many of them are almost transfrmed into phantoms themselves, but they resist; only Vinnie, one of the henchmen, fails to resist and fades away with the rest of the feast.
| + | Order. It's not a battle; it's a slaughter, with a cloud of gas at one end of the valley and a wall of fire at the other. The Order has |
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| − | Exploring more, they encounter the Rakasta, cat-men who have taken up residence in the castle, and their leader, a man with the head of a line who calls himself Richard Coeur de Leon. Richard tells them the secret to escape is to gether three keys, and challenges them to a fight to get one; the Order tries to find a peaceful solution, but, well, insane people in an insane place. Richard is killed, and and remaining cat-men declare themselves free; the Order allows them to follow along as porters.
| + | varying feeling about their victory, most settling on something along the lines of "We tried to give them a peaceful way out." It takes a week |
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| − | Next, they encounter Jean-Louis Amber, a madman who runs a boxing ring (#405) and his magical boxing construct, whom Dayrell is able to defeat bare-handed. The victory gives them the location of another of the three keys, and they take soem time to explore and loot a few rooms that htey had previously avoided. They find their way outside, and are attacked by animated trees. They also encounter a young woman and her unicorn. She also claims to be an Amber, and Dayrel is quite taken with the unicorn. Next, they encounter a troll, whom they deal with by, well, fire, and obtain the second key from a well-guarded chest simply by performing a tightrope trick. Edward dubs their Rakasta companions the Cleansing Pride and tasks them with carrying loot.
| + | to clear to the field of boies and debris. |
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| − | Next, they finish travelling through the forest and enter a strange temple. There, they are attacked by animated statues. The statues, however, seem to magically aid them, and the Order begins to realize just how maddening this place is. There is debate on if this place is as evil, or more evil, than the temple of Babak worshippers. A fou-armed skeleon falls to the group, allowing them to claim the third key (#545). More encounters with members of the Amber family leave the party quite confused, but with hints about the next step in their journey. They will need to find a sword, ring, mirror, and potion to travel to Stephen Amber's tomb.
| + | In the month to follow, they meet Zarbek the Goat, a priest, and his two disciples, who joins the Order. They also begin repairs to the keep, |
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| − | A battle with the cleric Simon Amber leads to more loot, including a magical carpet. They return to the woods, following a hunch, and fall under the spell of some sleeping flowers, which they hack and burn (#623). This gets the attention of the Wild Hunt, a number of animal-people and their mounts, lead by another Amber. They fare no better than the others who challenged the Order, even with a number of the Order asleep. They continue on their way, entering another castle-like building. Within, they are attacked by a spirit that wishes to possess them; Ogoul is able to resist it, but it's next victim is not -- Drazheng. This causes a combination of rage and laughter from Ogoul; rage at his companion being possessed, but laughter at the idea of a wizard possessing a mute man and unable to cast spells.
| + | now named Goblinfell, and plan for their next bojective: Dealing with the evil temple to the south (#234). The encounter orc patrols and |
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| − | More exploration, and the party encounters Clause D'Amberville (#659) who gives them some background on the Amber family. An encounter with an enchanted fortune-teller's deck of cards yields some magical items, and cause one of Red's henchelves to attack him. Meanwhile, Edward steals a bag of ever-full food from another room and returns. With knowledge gained from Claude, the party avoids several traps but falls into a major one (#739). They desperately try to find a way out, but succumb to a strange dust that puts them to sleep and forces their souls into strange adventures. All but Zarbek and Drazheng return, as the Order realizes they have taken more losses on this adventure than on any other. Finally, they discover the gateway to the other world where they need to find the four magical items (#783).
| + | interrogate the ones they take prisoner, learning about the area. They also learn that evil Babak-worshippinghumans are trying to unite the |
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| − | Once in the other world, the Order finds Zarbek and Drakzheng asleep under a tree, and the Order rejoices (althogh Drakzeng is still possessed). They find an inn to stay at, and learn that this world is mainly populated by humans with no magic. They meet a travelling minstrel, who accompanies them and provides information on the area. Edward sneaks into a cathedral to optain the Potion of Time and Travel (#835). The Order combines their strength to fight the Beast of Averoigne (#848) and the ring they need. In Cordeliers (#862) Red and Ogoul use their magic to defeat a colossal abomination of magic and win the Mirror. Finally, they do battle with an evil wizard-werewolf, gainint the final item they need but lozing Zarbek to the charms of a powerful sorceress.
| + | orc tribes into an army. The order decides to sneak around the orc territory and scale a cliff to enter the temple from behind, encountering |
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| − | After a day of rest, the Order performs the ritual to summon the tomb of Stephen Amber (#895). They awaken on another plane of existence, with the tomb before them. They fight a dragon, wyverns, a stone giant, a giant manticore, and a hydra. Growing tired, the Order begins to wonder i what's inside the tomb will be worse than the guardians. They reach the final room (#971) and revive Stephen Amber, who returns them all home and grants them each a boon. He removes Drazheng's possession, returns Vinnie to them in good health, and grants them all fine jewelry. To Edard, he gives Dust of Dissapearance and the Chime of Opening; to Red, the Obsidian Steed; to Ogoul, an amber lion; and to Dayrell, horn that would summon barbarians to his aid. He then uses his magis to send them almost the entire journey back to Goblinfell, where they discovered they were gone for quite a while -- winter is returning again, earlier than last year, but still (#992).
| + | gargoyles that nearly kill Edward while the others climb to his rescue. |
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| − | Ogoul spends the winter researching new magics learned at the Castle Amber. Red studies as well. Dayrell returns to Arduum, wanting to be with his kin before the winter snows close the passage to the city for the season. Edward becomes bored, and goes and does something secretive. Red finishes his studies and, with the aid of his new steed, travels to the lands of elves. And there, the Order awaits for the snows to fade and Spring to return again.
| + | Reaching the temple, the Order decides to investiage a small tunnel that looks like it may provide a back way into the complex. Inside, they |
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| | + | encounter fungus and oozes and mushrooms and giant locusts and spiders and stirges, and have no luck finding a way into the temple. They do |
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| − | [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?704369-IC-Keep-on-the-Borderlands 5th In Character Thread]
| + | encounter signs that denizens from the temple have been where they are, so they keep looking. They instead find a way even deeper into the |
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| − | Before Spring, Dayrell requests the aid of those lesser members of the Order, refered to as the Sparks of the Cleansing Flame. After a welcoming feast, he reveals his reason: The need to secure Arduum from within, for there is activity in the eastern tunnels. While Dayrell, Red, Ogoul, and Edward will not be there, but under the leadership of Muerte the others should be more than able to complete this mission. Hobgoblins with spears try to prevent their incurrsion, but the Order, even the underlings of it, are more than a match for their ambushes and bugbear reinforcements. The Eastern Gate is secure. After a couple weeks (#48) they move out again, further into the tunnel complex. There they encounter a city of trogoldytes. An attempt to negotiate with their king fails in a spectacular manner, which leads to a pitched battle against the entire tribe. Although injured, the Cleansing Flame prevails, only be ambushed by trolls as they began to recuperate. The series of battles begins to wear on the group, but they persevere, eventually defeating a total of six trolls before deciding to return with news of the troglodytes' defeat.
| + | caves, where otherworldy darkness awaits them (#494). They face spirits and loot some ancient rooms before returning to the previous level. |
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| − | Meanwhile (#89), Red is joined in the elven homelands by Isabeau Amber and her unicorn Alumere, freed from the Castle Amber. They stay with him as he announces to his kinfolk that he wants to establish an elven town in the land near Goblinfell and Arduum.
| + | They try another path, encounter some spiders, and then awake a horde of locusts that cause them to try to flee the cavern, causing Zarbek and |
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| − | Unknown to the group exploring Arduum at the time, Edard had been scouting these same tunnels, and had retrieved a scroll from a building near the troll camp. He had also been keeping an eye on them, ready to intervene if needed... but decided they had been doing well enough on their own. He brought the scroll to Dayrell (#91), and revealed what it was and why he had taken it: The King of Khazan wanted them retrieved before the Dwarves could find them. They detailed old dealings between human and goblin that could very well lead to war. Dayrell and Edward find themselves involved in a new and dangerous sort of adventure: One of politics and intrigue. As part of this, the pair travelled to the Dwarven lands of Majyr in the Ironback Mountains to meet with the Dwarven King. Dayrell was named the rightful Lord of Arduum, and Edward learned never to get into a drinking contest with a dwarf. They also recruit the aid of the giants Dayrell has bested on the way to Castle Amber, as their strength will be a boon for clearing debris and constructing defenses.
| + | Knuckles to get lungfulls of fungus from the first cave (#538). Their lives are saves with the use of a potion of gaseous form. More vermin are encountered, and finally the order finds a hidden doorway that leads them into the temple proper. |
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| − | Red returned to Arduum, and as Spring came set out with the Sparks to explore the territory he believed would make for an Elven town. They encountered fae creatures that, though mischevous, were friendly. They also meet the human warrior Zhald, who is exploring the same area looking for a place to settle a human stronghold. With him are Pharis, Seb, and Joe. Despite having the same goals, Red and Zhald work together to find a way for both strongholds to co-exist. The two join forces to clear the area of hostiles, although a passage by the dragon Rayna leave many feeling uneasy, despite his distance. Another hydra is found and dealt with, as are more trolls. The discovery of jewelry hidden by the trolls leads to the name of Trowjem for the area. Land is selected for an Elven holt and for Zhald to build his keep. However, a scouting party also discovers a small band of giants that are dealt qith quickly, but folloing their tracks leads to a surprise -- a wooden keep of orcs and giants (#180). At that discovery, Red returns to Arduum, knowing the full power of the Order will be needed for this threat. | + | Edward and Red scout out ahead of the others, finding storerooms but nothing living. They've taken the temple completely by surprise, it seems. They find some cultists and dispatch them quickly and quietly (#595). Again, the Order uses the 'dress in their robes to buy us a few moments of confusion when we encounter more of them' tactic that worked for them in the other temple. A rock with a silence spell lets them ambush a large number of cultists. Suddenly, they're taken by surprise by higher-level clerics (#643) and several of them are taken out of the fight with hold spells. In the ensuing melee, the attackers split up, so Edward and Knuckles chase down some of them and encounter the head o the temple. They stall for time to allow the rest of the Order to reinforce them. During the battle, Athrella is slain by a powerful spell (#672) before they are able to defeat their opponents. |
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| − | Dayrell receives a diplomatic enjoy from the King of Khazan (#191), and hammers out a treaty. While Goblinfell remains Khazan's, Khazan gives up their claim to the lands Red has selected in exchange for Edward signing over his right to his family's duchy. However, the treaty also states that something must be done about Rayna the Red, to provide security to the caravans travelling the trade road -- and as Arduum is there, it must be their responsibility.
| + | As the Order prepares their fallen comrade for cremation, reinforcements arrive. Skeletons, zombies, orcs, backed up by an orc wizard. The battle is very one-sided, until the wizard unleashes a fireball into our heroes, inflicting devestating losses... until most of the party realizes it was simply an illusion. The party, fueled with anger at the possible loss of more of their own, launch into a furious counter-assault. Finally, a large orc warrior and his pet hellhounds arrives, but is too late; he falls to the very, very angry Order. |
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| − | Afterwards, Edward enters the depts of Adruum, seeking what he can in the hopes of uncovering the fabled Axe of Dwarven Rule (#194). Instead, he encounters Babak himself, somehow summoned through to the mortal world beneath Arduum. Edward runs in fear, and does not stop until he is on the surface, safe. He's certain that this marks the end of the world. Priests are summoned as the Order reforms to plan their next moves.
| + | Taking some time to recover, the Order scouts out more of the temple. They discover plenty of evil ceremonial devices and prepare them for destruction. They discover that the priests were in the process of summoning Babak to this world, but had not yet completed the needed rituals. The books are destroyed. They dispatch a room of undead, loot and scout, and discover a scroll containing the itual the clerics were looking for. The order debates on if the scroll should be burned now, or learned from. Red decides to keep the ritual. They encounter a room of bones (#854), which form into skeletons and then colapse again at Zarbek's holiness. The same thing happens with four ghosts, whom Zarbek is able to deal with. |
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| − | Edward is sent to scout the route to Rayna's lair. The Order decides to try to negoiate with him for the safety of the caravans. Not content with his first trip, Edward makes a second, with Dima along with him (#215). He speaks with Rayna and learns much, including that negotiation may just be possible after all... but also that he fits the prophecy of the one who would break the seal under Arduum and release Babak. The Order clears out a small wyvern infestation in the mountains, then travels to meet Rayna. Negotiations begin, but draw to a halt due to the presence of Red's enchanted dragon-slaying sword and Rayna not bothering to remember part of his conversation with Edward, leading to a battle. Four men against a great dragon. The magic of Red and Ogoul's spells shatter Rayna's defenses, and Dayrell sacrifices his life to protect his companions as Edward lands the killing blow.
| + | Feeling they did enough to counter the threat of the temple, the party investigates the darkness in the caves below and gathers more loot. They enounter some trolls and a tribe of troglodytes, avoiding them and taking their stuff. |
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| − | Refusing to accept the loss, the remaining three members search through Rayna's trasure horde, finding a ring that may be able to help. Edward uses it to bring Dayrell back to life. The dragon dead, the four return to an epic celebration as a caravan is arranged to begin bringing the dragon's horde back to Arduum. Among the horde is a treasure map, and the Sparks set out retrieve the treasure, returning with some odd magical items while Red goes to check on the progress of his new holt. The Sparks also make contact with Lesserpotamia, which sends a delegation to Arduum and Khazan.
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| − | With the death of Rayna, both Khazan and Lesserpotamia have begun to realize that Arduum is no mere rest-step on the trade road. A human settlement has begun to form outside the tunnels to the Dwarven city, to facilitate tade, and leaders of both countries have begun to worry about the balance of power in the region.
| + | [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?690798-IC-Keep-on-the-Borderlands 4th In Character Thread] |
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| − | Red finds his holt devestated; soldiers killed, work ruined, and signs of giants being the culprits (#304). He returns to Arduum, and the Order sets out to deal with the giant menace... this time, knowing that negotiation is not an option.
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| − | (NOTE: Last update is IC Thread 5, #332)
| + | [http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?704369-IC-Keep-on-the-Borderlands 5th In Character Thread] |
