Droaam

In The News

Sharn Inquisitive: Sul 15 Rhann - Front Page
An Apology to the People of Sharn - The Sharn Inquisitive would like to apologize to the good people of Sharn. We especially regret the actions of rogue reporter Franz Hoofchild. As many of you know he has been relieved of his position here at the Inquisitive. His conduct was inexcusable. Please feel confident that had the Inquisitive known what he intended to pen, we would not have agreed to publish his counter pamphlet. Please note that the opinions expressed by Mr. Hoofchild are not those of the Inquisitive or her sponsors.

In the future the Inquisitive will take extra care to screen the quality of its reporters so this type of incident will not happen again. We humbly ask the people of Sharn for forgiveness.

Korranberg Chronicle: Wir 18 Rhann - Breland Page 2
Sharn Inquisitive Apologizes to its Readers - The Sharn Inquisitive, the paper published in the city of towers, has issued a formal apology to its readers. The paper came under fire recently after an employee published an anti-shifter pamphlet in the paper's name. The employee, an elf by the name of Franz Hoofchild, has been sacked. The Inquisitive promised stronger screening measures on its employees and begged for the forgiveness of its readership.

So far it seems that the plea has been working. Apparently over 40% of subscribers cancelled in the last few weeks, though now about 5% of those have resubscribed, with the Inquisitive expecting more. The general feeling on the street is that the Inquisitive itself is only at fault in that it wasn't more careful about what its employees were doing. Overall people still have faith in the paper and most believe they will learn from their mistakes and are willing to give them a second chance. That said, there is a significant minority who suggest that for filth of that magnitude to get published there must have been more than a few closed eyes, or similar opinions among the other Inquisitive employees.

Whatever the case, it appear the Sharn Inquisitive has managed to transform what could have been a catastrophe for the publication, into a minor disaster.

Sharn Inquisitive: Sul 1 Sypheros - National Page 1
Heavy Losses in Droaam - Brelish forces suffered severe casualties in the latest battle against the hordes of Droaam. Even so, they claimed an overall victory.

Last week the fighting on the Droaam front was fierce and brutal. The Brelish army desperately wants to keep the fighting inside the borders of Droaam and protect the farming lands which border it. Defending a ruined Droaamish fortress they took heavy losses at the hand of the Droaamish army, but they managed to hold their ground. Breland's floating fortress of Argonth is expected to reach the army’s position by the end of the week (it was delayed due to a malfunction in the drive system). The generals are hopeful that if they can hold out until then the battle will remain safely on the Droaam side of the border.

Apparently the victory was due, in part, to a smaller Droaamish force than was expected. For some inexplicable reason the monstrous army pulled a large portion of its troops to the western flank – almost as if they expected an attack from that direction.

It is also rumored that a counter attack from the rear of the enemy army by a clan of harpies who oppose the hags was instrumental to the Brelish victory, but this has not been confirmed at this time.

Chronicle

Dust hung in the still air. Overhead sunlight struggled through dark clouds. A constant roar flowed from the riotous crowd. The crowd was mostly monsters – minotaurs, goblins, gnolls, ogres – even the odd drow. They all cheered and looked on with wicked glee upon the plight of the victims in the arena below. The Graywall coliseum regularly pitted those guilty of minor offenses against horrific monsters. Survival was exceptionally rare – but it did grant freedom.

This was just the situation Cora and Thaspar found themselves in. Arrested for brawling in the streets they were thrown into the arena along with their companion Majeek, two of the assassins who had caused the arrest, and a number of other rough looking Graywall citizens.

As the condemned waited, the dull roar slowly faded to a heart-pounding silence.

Sadie watched apprehensively from the edge of seating. She was hatching a plan on how to rescue her comrades from the fighting pit below her.

The silence was suddenly broken by the sound of metal scraping against metal. Sand trickled between the bars and the iron grating in the center of the arena slid away. Then, with terrifying speed a huge, snakelike creature burst out from the opening. It resembled a gigantic armored snake with legs. At least a dozen fast moving legs scurried beneath it giving its movement an almost insect like quality. It face and gaping mouth were almost crocodilian, and it body was a striking shade of bright blue. Racing forward on its powerful legs it charged toward the cluster of the condemned.

Everyone scattered.

Before anyone could react Majeek was on his knee and immediately loosed two arrows into the Behir's soft underbelly. Roaring in agony the massive beast reared up on its hind legs. Its roar suddenly become more harsh and higher pitched. In a flash, a massive beam of lightning spewed forth from the creature's mouth. In an instant Majeek and two of the rabble were smoking piles on the sand floor of the coliseum. A cheer rose from the crowd.

By this time Cora had reached her goal. As the cluster scattered she pulled left to the wall of the arena. She had noticed that hanging from ropes around the arena at regular intervals were flasks. Assuming that they contained potions (or perhaps poisons) of some kind, she grabbed the one closest to her and drank it. With a 'wong' sound an almost imperceptible shield of scintillating colors formed around her.

Thaspar had run in the opposite direction - towards Sadie, who was waving from the crowd. He noticed what Cora was doing and saw a similar potion near the rope Sadie had lowered. Grabbing it and drinking it, he too was blessed with a potion of mage shield. He was about to climb the rope when he saw the smoldering form of Majeek lying in the sand. The Behir was nearby, but it was occupied with the two assassins.

As Thaspar ran back towards Majeek (and danger) he witnessed the Behir crane its snake-like neck. With the lightning speed of a cobra the toothy head closed over the nearest assassin with a gruesome crunching noise. With a jerk of its neck the beast threw the screaming man up into the air, caught him again in its jaws, and swallowed. The first assassin’s scream of terror ended in a loud gulp. Then the beast’s gaze fell hungrily upon the second assassin.

The second assassin stared, open mouthed, for a moment before bolting. The behir's toothy maw and deadly claws tore her two.

Meanwhile Thaspar wasted no time. While the Behir was distracted with the assassins he began dragging Majeek's dying form towards the rope Sadie had lowered. At the top of the rope, Sadie waited impatiently. She was yelling, "C'mon! Come to the rope! Escape!" The crowd was growing unhappy about her rescue attempt. The smokestick she had used to avoid being seen had dissipated, and people were getting rowdy.

A gnoll guard came up from the foyer into the arena.

"Hey! What’s going on."

Raising his bardiche he advanced menacingly towards Sadie. This looked like the end of her rescue attempt. Then, without warning, a blue-striped clawfoot jumped from the opening the Gnoll was leaving. Screaming, he was dragged back into the doorway.

As Thaspar pulled Majeek up to the rope Sadie tossed a potion down to him. The elf used the potion to revive Majeek. As the ranger stumbled to his feet Thaspar turned to climb the rope. He found a gnoll (one of the rabble) already half way up in and making his way to the top slowly. He decided to attack the Behir while he was waiting, sending a whirling shuriken into the beast (who was trying to eat a struggling gnoll).

While this was going on Cora had drunk another potion and come around the back of the beast to where Thaspar was. She also decided to attack the behir with a dart. The long shaft embedded itself in the creature’s tail. With a roar of pain it craned its neck back to look at the cluster of people beside the rope. Its eyes narrowed and a half-dead gnoll slipped from its jaws. It charged.

Tearing into the knot below Sadie the behir downed Majeek (for a second time) with a single bite. Thaspar struck out with his fists, and Cora circled behind to attack. Seeing that the gnoll had climbed the rope and escaped, Thaspar tried ascending the rope while lifting Majeek, but it was too difficult. The behir simply ripped him down to the ground again. Once again the massive blue beast reared up on hits hind legs, and tore at Thaspar with a terrifying flurry of rending claws. Six massive front legs swirled through the air. Remembering his most difficult training sessions Thaspar performed an unimaginable feat of acrobatic finesse. Twirling through the air and flipping off the arena wall he dodged one strike. Two. Three. Four. Wham! The brute's fifth leg caught the elf square in the stomach. Stunned he could not stop the final blow. Thaspar heard a terrible ripping sound as long claws shredded the tender flesh of his torso. He felt consciousness leaving him. But, closing his eyes he summoned all his physical reserves, and remained on his feet. Sadie rained three potions down on him from above.

Grabbing the first one he drank - even as the behir delivered a horrible ripping gash down his back. He struggled to remain conscious and won. The potion tricked down his throat and he felt life returning. He also quickly provided a revival for Majeek. Sadie fired an arrow into the creatures open mouth.

Suddenly Thaspar perceived, by the subtle motions of the creature, that it was going to try to eat him. He propelled himself away from his current spot. As he did so he saw the behir’s teeth and slavering tongue, dripping hot saliva descending upon him. Grasping its teeth he leveraged his body and pushed away to safety - the beast's head smashing against the sand floor.

The huge creature was intent on feasting on the elf's flesh. It lunged forward for the kill. Then, from behind, Cora's dart suddenly erupted from the creatures cranium. It gave a funny little look of surprise, and then slumped to the ground, convulsing like a snake in its death throws.

The unruly crowd began a chorus of boos. The owner of the arena came charging out into the pit.

"This is an outrage! You are going to pay for the death of this animal! I demand that they pay for this!"

A gnoll guard, however, simply pushed him aside, saying, "You know the law, you knew the risks involved to your creatures." The gnoll grabbed the remaining prisoners roughly, "You are free to go - you are banned from the city of Graywall for one week." He escorted them to the north gate and deposited them outside. Sadie followed shortly after.

There was some contention about what to do next. Sadie wanted to head west. Cora wanted to head north (to where the Brelish troops were supposedly stationed). In the end they struck off northwest. The idea was to try stealing mounts from a Droaamish patrol (since they had made little headway of the first party sent for the rod, and going by foot was probably not the best way to remedy this).

The land around Graywall was hilly, and as they came up over a ridge they caught site of a vast army centered around some broken battlements in the valley below. The great bear of Breland flapped on their standards. Around them to the north and west, however, were the hordes of Droaam. They did not seem to be in battle at the moment, but it seemed imminent.

Everyone decided that Breland looked like they might be in trouble, and so the four went down to check things out. Since Majeek was of the Eldeen Reaches, he was not a huge fan of the Brelish army, but he would rather see them win than Droaam. They explained that they wanted to help out to one of the rear guards of the army. He wasn't sure if they were legitimate or spies, but either way they needed to talk to the commander, so he took them to the command tent.

In the tent they met the leader of the Brelish army in Droaam Tukid ir’Camyra. He was particularly interested in meeting Sadie, and seemed to know something about her. Apparently readership of her pamphlet had drastically increased army enlistment in Sharn. He also knew that they were going deep into Droaam to fight for the Brelish cause. Ir’Camyra gave the party some advice one how to travel through Droaam and where to get some mounts. He also gave them a scroll of Break Enchantment (in case they ran into trouble with one of the many medusas, basilisks, cockatrice, or gorgons around Chazhaak Draal. Finally he asked them to do two things. First, he wanted them to meet with the harpy known as Callain in the Byeshk Mountains. She was not loyal to the hags and Breland wondered if she would be willing to attack Droaam from behind. Second, he gave them a copy of the spades in the "Black Deck."

Droaam was by a nature a chaotic realm of uncoordinated monsters. Only by the rule of the hags had it gained enough organization to pose a real threat to Breland. The idea of the Black Deck was that if enough of the lynch-pins organizing the army were eliminated, Droaam would collapse back into chaos. Thus, the black deck was created to single out Breland’s primary targets inside Droaam. Each enemy was denoted by a suit and a rank. Only the spades were used in the first printing, signifying Breland’s enemies in Droaam alone. Each card the name of the target, a brief description, and their last known location. In addition each had a crude image of the intended target. Finally, each card was marked with a bounty.

The party wasn't particularly interested in bounties, but they did provide an extra bonus for helping the Brelish cause. Cora, Thaspar, and especially Sadie, wanted to do anything they could to cripple the Droaamish offensive, so they happily agreed to seek out anyone they could from the Black Deck. Flipping through Sadie even found the card for Grumut Firebrand, the minotaur who had been responsible for much of the offensive against the Brelish settlers as they fled Droaam in 986 YK. Finally she had a name to put to the one who had killed, or at least ordered the killing of her family.

After receiving healing from the Brelish medics they made their way up through the rugged foothills of the Byeshk mountains. Threading their way through boulders and craggy cliffs they slowly circled around the back of the Droaamish horde. Suddenly Sadie noticed a bugbear with a spyglass, about 60 feet ahead of them, take off down the hill. A scout!


The extreme slope of the hill made running difficult - but the same applied to the scout, who hurried down the hill as fast as he could. While Majeek fired arrows, Sadie, Cora, and Thaspar ran after the bugbear. He tried hiding behind a rock, but soon Thaspar was upon him from his flank and Sadie from above - on the rock. He tried to run again, but lost his footing on the steep terrain and tumbled down the hill - coming to a crunching stop against a large boulder. Thaspar quickly grabbed him and held him down. He struggled fiercely, but soon Sadie arrived with rope, and he was quickly tied up.

The bugbear tried a mixture of threats, disdain, begging, and bluffing to win his freedom. The random intermixing did not gain him much (except a few smacks from Sadie).

"You scum! I eat halfling babies for breakfast!" *smack*
"Wait! If you release me, I give you, like, a million riches!"
"Actually, I think you should just leave me tied up here. I certainly can't escape."
"If I ever get free I'll kill and eat your families! And your children!" *smack*
"No, the riches are real! I swear!"

In the end they came up with a cunning plan. First Cora, Thaspar, and Sadie had a very loud "hushed" conversation about the (utterly fictional) army of gryphons coming in from the west. Then they decided to let the scout go and continue on their way. In reality, however, they hid near the base of the hill to wait for a patrol to return.

They were not disappointed. About an hour later a patrol came to check out the scout’s report. It consisted of three gnolls riding horrid horses, and three goblins riding black wolves.

"That damned Brekber! Why do we always have to go on his fools errands!" said the first gnoll.
"I know! And did you hear him going on about gryphons!" said the second.
"What an idiot," said a goblin.
"Shut up Akbug! No one asked your filthy goblin opinion!" retorted the first gnoll.
All three gnolls burst into their annoying hyena laughter.

The patrol dismounted almost immediately in front of the boulder which Thaspar was concealed behind. Walking right past the elf they continued up the hill, muttering under their breath about bugbears. The last goblin, however, looked back queerly - right at Thaspar.

"I think there is something over here,” he said.

The rest turned. "I don't see nothin'"

"I'm going to check it out," the goblin said.

"Whatever." The rest of the patrol continued up the hill.

The goblin walked right up to the grass Thaspar was hidden in. Pushing it aside he said "H-" That was all he had time for before Thaspar's powerful fists silenced him forever.

"Did you say somethin' Akbug," the gnoll commander said.
"He probably takin' a whiz," said the second gnoll.

Suddenly Akbug's voice piped up (from where Cora was hiding), "Yeah, I'm takin' a whiz you idiot!"

"Why you goblin scum!" said the second gnoll, heading toward the voice.

The gnoll began searching fro Akbug in vain, until the commander said, "C'mon Barkop lets go."

Barkop's voice was heard saying, "Make me you useless jerk."

"Get back here you worthless scum – or I’ll have you on a pike!"

This time Barkop really said, "You can’t talk to me like that!"

Axes were drawn. Barkop charged the rest of the patrol. Following their commander the patrol mates turned on Barkop. It was a hopeless battle - one gnoll against two (and two goblins). Suddenly arrows from further up the hill evened the odds. Majeek and Sadie’s shafts flew true towards the gnoll commander. Under the barrage the patrol fell, though not before striking down the rogue gnoll. All that remained was a single dumbfounded goblin, who bolted down the hill, fell head over heals and cracked his head on a rock.

Cora was quite pleased that her little trick had worked so well, and she made her way down to the mounts with the rest of the group. Majeek attempted to work his wild empathy on the first horrid horse - since he was the expert. He accidentally smacked it on the bottom and it bolted, leaving the other mounts spooked. Eventually Majeek, with a little help from Sadie's new wilderness skills got the mounts under control. They had two horrid horses among the three full sized riders and Cora rode on a black wolf.

The horrid horses were covered in hard chitonous armor and poisonous breath seeped out beneath their red eyes. They were not evil - simple ill tempered. It was a trial at first to keep them under control, but eventually they accepted their new masters. Cora had much less trouble with her black wolf.

After a days ride the group found themselves in harpy country. Every now and then they would see a harpy flying high over head. The creatures seemed to be ignoring them - at least for now. They were wondering if they were going to be able to get in contact with this Callain when the most beautiful melody drifted to their ears. Except for Cora who was able to shake off the song’s effect with her strong force of personality, the party felt inexorably drawn towards the source of the music. Spurring their horses up the rocky hillside they followed the tune (with Cora following at the rear, warning them to be careful). Finally they came around the edge of a large rocky outcropping, and behind the large stones was a cluster of harpies.

Resembling horrendously ugly, naked, old women with bat wings and fierce claws a dozen harpies formed a semi-circle around a larger creature in the center. They cackled and squawked like horrific birds.

"Welcome friends," the large harpy said in a tone that did not convey friendship, “I am Callain of the Bloody Word! How can I help you." Again, her tone did not convey any helpfulness whatsoever.

"Uh hello," Cora said - she was the best negotiator, "we have a proposal from the Brelish army."
"What!?"
"Here, its in this envelope," she said handing the monstrous creature the envelope that Tukid ir’Camyra had given them, "Breland wants you to attack the hags' army from the rear."
"I can read! Do you take me for a fool!" she said, flying into a rage.
"Uh no, no," Cora mumbled.

The harpy flew off to convene with here sisters. When she returned she said, "I will accept the offer! Are you passing through our mountains?"
"Yes"
"We will not attack you as you pass through our lands - for the moment."
"Thank you."

With a shriek Callain and her sisters departed into the skies leaving the four adventurers suddenly alone.

With their task for the Brelish army behind them, the party set out for Suthar Draal once again. It was a draining journey. Picking their way through the barren foothills of the Byeshk Mountains while avoiding the occasional small monstrous village was an unpleasant exercise, even while mounted. Camping out in the rain, and heading north as the fall days slipped away made the cool temperatures seem all the colder to the adventurers from sub-tropical Sharn. The bleak and desolate plains of Droaam stretched off to the west and they met no one on the way. It was a depressing and disheartening journey.

After 10 days they could finally see the ruins which had been refounded as a city - Chazhaak Draal. That meant that they were getting fairly close to their destination - Suthar Draal. Giving the city of stone a wide berth they passed in by in the neighbouring hills. Chazhaak Draal was just fading into the distance behind them when it happened.

The lizard was almost the same color as the rock which it stood in front of - gray with a sort of charred texture. It was perfectly motionless, and was obviously hiding. This did it no good since everyone immediately spotted the creature. In an instant, however, they wished that they had not. In the same second as she had perceived it, Sadie was turned to stone. Struggling under the weight of a stone statue, her mount reared back. Sadie's statue was thrown to the ground, along with Majeek (who was turned to stone as he got back up). Thaspar also found that his mount had become a statue, and Cora discovered the same thing. They also caught the eyes of the beast - clearly one of the basilisks known to roam this area, but had the inner fortitude to remain flesh - for the time being. Thinking quickly Thaspar shielded his eyes and ran for cover behind a large rock. Cora also dismounted and advanced on the creature with her eyes completely shut. 'At least we have that scroll of break enchantment,' she though, then she realized to her horror, 'and I'm the only one who can use it!' She decided it would be unwise to open her eyes even once - she didn't think she had the constitution to handle a second look in those eyes.

Shielding his face Thaspar moved quickly around the back of the lizard, by keeping behind boulders. He then attacked with his sword, trying to avoid looking too closely at his target. Meanwhile Cora slowly shuffled up to the creature and struck at it with her eyes completely shut. Without being able to see her opponent her aim was less than perfect, but she did score a few blows. Thaspar, meanwhile, delivered several nasty wounds to the basilisk. He also caught its eye a few times. Twice he was nearly turned to stone. He felt his limbs stiffening, the creature’s eyes - those dark umber pools were slowing him, solidifying him... but summoning all of his inner ki, his mind overcame matter, and he burst forward to continued his onslaught. Eventually the creature was slain through the efforts of the elf and halfling.

They returned to their three stone mounts and two stone companions. Cora decided there to name her wolf Granite. After a few attempts she figured out how to cast the break enchantment scroll and her companions were returned to flesh - though a little confused.

They decided to press on and leave the area of Chazhaak Draal as quickly as possible - there were more deadly things than basilisks rumored to live there.

After a few more days riding through he desolate Byeshk foothills they finally reached their destination. In the distance, about a days ride away, stood the dormant volcano Dezik Buruun and built into it the ruins of Suthar Draal. Built onto the side of the smoking volcano was a small settlement, which appeared to be some sort of simple mining community. The valley at the base of the volcano was covered in huge, white, dead patches which looked unnatural.

Sadie, Thaspar, and Cora decided to press ahead to scout the town. Majeek, who couldn't hide from a brick, was left behind to look after the mounts.

The three moved cautiously through the valley. Sadie was making use of her newfound natural knowledge, which she had picked up from Majeek, and her roguish ability to pass unseen when disaster struck.

As all three were walking across the dry grass, giving the dead patches a wide berth, Sadie, who was in the lead, suddenly vanished. Where she had been walking the grass seemed to have torn and she had fallen through. Cora and Thaspar assumed it was perhaps a hidden tunnel, or maybe a trap - but it was neither. Sadie had fallen into an underground hotspring. A boiling hotspring! The halfling and elf slapped the sides of their faces in surprise with one hand and pointed in amazement with the other. Sadie was just barely visible beneath the churning surface.

The agony of being immersed in boiling water was unbearable. The sudden shock over, Sadie knew that she had to get out of there fast, or she would never escape. Ignoring the searing pain which consumed her entire body she kicked and struggled her way to the surface. Just as she though she wouldn't make it, Thaspar's hand plunged into the boiling pool and pulled her out. She lay steaming on the grass. Her skin was the color of beets and within a few hours she had more blisters than she cared to count. Thaspar's hand fared about as well, but he was more concerned with Sadie's welfare.

For the rest of the journey to the town sticks were employed to reveal future hidden pools - and it was a good thing. It turned out that the dead patches, and to a lesser degree, the whole valley was a flurry of geothermal activity. Boiling pools, massive cones of white rock, geysers, and whole flats of boiling mud filled the area. They carefully wound their way through the spewing water, sulphurous gas, and poison fumes until they came to the gates of the village.

Now they just had to find a way to get into the ruins and get that artifact.

Timeline

• Far 20 Rhann - Battle with the behir
• Sar 21 Rhann - Met with Brelish army commander
• Sul 22 Rhann - Encounter with Droaamish patrol
• Mol 23 Rhann - Met with Callain of the harpies
• Zor 5 Sypheros - Basilisk encounter
• Sul 8 Sypheros - Arrive at Suthar Draal

People

Tukid ir’Camyra
Commander of the Brelish army in Droaam. He is a very intense and serious man.

Heroic Actions

• Sadie rescued a defenseless gnoll from a Behir
• Cora instigated a fight among the members of a Droaamish patrol, which allowed them to take their mounts
• Thaspar avoided being turned to stone by sheer force of will
• Sadie survived a plunge into a boiling hotspring

Heroic Quotes

• "The Brelish always think they know best." - Majeek
• (In a whisper to Cora) "They do" - Sadie
• A heroic quote that was lost to the ages thanks to my illegible writing :(
  

Adventure Names

• Robert - Fun with Ambushing
• Robyn -If You Can't See It, It Can't Stone You
• Bryan - Sadie Learns to Smoke and Gets Stoned

Legends & Lore

Very few have seen the dusk hag Sora Teraza (the Queen of Spades). As reclusive as she is ugly, the hag almost never leaves the palace of Great Crag (at least not publicly). She is said to have great powers of divination and sees many things before they come to pass. Though she rarely takes part in combat or battles, her seeings add unimaginable strength to the power of the Daughters. Forming battle plans, finding spies, predicting attacks, and exacting revenge fall to this dangerous creature. Those who seek to oppose the hags should not underestimate her abilities.

Statistics

Date Played: February 27, 2006
Session Length: 6 hours
Experience Gained: 1920/character
Foes Vanquished: Behir, Goblin Scout, Droaam Patrol (3 Gnolls + 3 Goblins), Basilisk