On the Road to Droaam
In The News
Sharn Inquisitive: Sul 1 Rhann - Front Page
Criminal Slanders the Inquisitive - Known criminal mastermind Sadie Wolfchild stooped to a new low last week. She financed the publishing and distribution of a defamatory and slanderous pamphlet which serves only to lash out at the Inquisitive - the bastion of journalism in our fair city. This is not just a slur on our newspaper, but on Sharn itself. We must not stand for this type of blatant attempt to shut the mouths of those who bring you the truth.
Unsurprisingly the shifter has left Sharn for Droaam. We say good riddance, and stay there. The Inquisitive suggests that those loyal to Sharn and what it stands for not even read the filthy pamphlet which has become a taint on our city.
Counter Pamphlet
Sadie Wolfchild - a vile and filthy denizen of the undercity - and of the foul race of shifters published a pamphlet in this great city recently. Do not trust her - she is a filthy half-breed and has a devious criminal mind.
She suggests that we need to protect our borders from Droaam. This is just to distract us from what must be done. Too long have shifters subverted our city from within. I suggest that instead of going off to protect Breland's borders we look out for number one - right here in our own city. I suggest we eliminate the threat here! What has the nation of Breland ever done for us? Rescued shifters and brought them here - that’s what. There are more of the filthy half-breeds in Sharn than in any other place in Khorvaire, save the Eldeen Reaches! Why should the people of our city die in the forsaken barrens of Droaam? Pull the troops back and let Sadie and the other fools who stay die at the hands of the slavering horde.
-Franz Hoofchild
Korranberg Chronicle: Wir 11 Rhann - Breland Page 2
Sharn Inquisitive Under Fire - Sharn's local newspaper "The Sharn Inquisitive" has been suffering under steep criticism in past days. Two weeks ago a Sharn shifter by the name of Sadie Wolfchild published a pamphlet calling the people of that city to arms against the recent monstrous incursions from Droaam. The pamphlet also made remarks about the untrustworthiness of the Sharn Inquisitive. Ignoring the primary message of the writing, the Inquisitive published a rebuttal on its front page, urging the citizens of Sharn to ignore the pamphlet. This got them into some trouble.
The first thing that demanding that no-one read the pamphlet did was increase its readership. In fact others began reprinting the missive until the total printed easily reached tenfold the original number. Everyone in Sharn read the pamphlet, and it made its way to other major cities of Breland such as Wroat and even Galethspyre.
In addition, the pamphlet’s call to arms was well met. Army recruitment in Sharn has risen over 63% in the last two weeks, according to General Petra Drake. While this may not help with the immediate border crisis the dwindling Brelish army is growing stronger again. Apparently news was brought to the front lines and the Brelish forces have met Droaam with renewed vigor.
The Inquisitive, however, coming under some light criticism, but still a beloved Sharn institution decided that they would publish their ill-fated counter pamphlet. Written by elven reporter Franz Hoofchild the pamphlet did more harm to the newspaper than the original it was refuting. After condemning the actions of Miss Wolfchild, the elf went on a rambling and hateful rant, which the editors of the Inquisitive are still cringing about. Quite oddly, he suggested that instead of focusing on Droaam, they should stamp out the shifter menace in the city. He came within inches of suggesting another crusade. This did not go over well in Sharn - a city which considers itself cosmopolitan and enlightened.
The pamphlet angered the general populace for several reasons. First the people of Sharn have begun to see Sadie as a bit of hero of the Brelish cause. In addition, suggesting another crusade met with harsh and disdainful words - even among the priests of the Silver Flame. The pamphlet was also seen as traitorous towards Breland - as it advocated not protecting its borders. Sharn may be autonomous at times, but they are nothing if not patriotic to their nation. The backlash against the Inquisitive was severe. The paper has now fired Hoofchild - who has since disappeared - but the public furor has not died away. Many citizens are boycotting the paper, while others are calling for new management and a formal public apology. Only time will tell the outcome. Due to the controversy the Inquisitive did not publish a paper this pas Sul for the first time in 47 years.
Chronicle
The smoke of pipes, the scent of beer, and the warmth of fire swirled through the air of The Lizard’s Mantle despite the tempestuous racket of the storm that raged without. The weather had been growling steadily worse over the last few days, and finally the great city of Sharn was all but shut down by a terrific tropical storm which slammed into it from its depths to its spires.
Ironically, the typhoon which was rocking Sharn gave Cora, Thaspar, and Sadie a chance to rest and relax in the calm of the inn. It was still over three weeks until they expected to set of for Droaam – apparently to search for some kind of mining artifact. The wait was about to be shortened.
Bursting through the door, sending all of the inn’s candles into a guttering flicker, and filling the room with the storm for a brief moment, came a Dwarf. His entrance nearly identical to last time, the three immediately recognized the well dressed figure as Ulfgar d’Kundarak. This time, however, in tow with the opulent Dwarf was a wizened old elf – tall and gangly even for his kind – and especially so when compared with his stocky companion. The elf was also familiar to the trio – it was Elgor – the one financing their trip to Droaam.
The two rushed over to Cora, Thaspar, and Sadie who were relaxing in the inn.
"I'm glad I found you here," Elgor said in his slow rasping voice.
The story of the two unfolded. Apparently the two were old friends and had met recently. Ulfgar mentioned the trio's assistance with Aeren’s Tomb which led to the topic of the artifact Elgor wanted recovered, which led to an interesting development. Elgor had originally been approached to attain the artifact for House Cannith, but now House Kundarak wanted it as well, and was willing to finance a counter-expedition.
The original expedition - made up of simple House Cannith guards and warriors had a three week head start. However, Elgor and Ulfgar had put together a very fast route for the trio. If all went well they could possibly overtake the other group - who were in no particular hurry.
"So what exactly does this thing do..." asked Cora.
"Well..."
It came out that the artifact was some sort of rod (though Elgor did not know what it looked like). It was some kind of magical warding device - to do with making and breaking wards. The banking house of Kundarak was interested in it for obvious reasons - apparently it was quite powerful. It was also revealed that the rod lay in a complex built into a now dormant volcano. Recent intelligence showed, however, that the Daughters of Sora Kell (the three hags who ruled Droaam) were interested in the site as well and had built a modern settlement there to probe the ruins.
After spending some time looking over the map they agreed to the trip, received their advance fee, and tickets for the lightning rail to Galethspyre crossing for the next morning.
They were just discussing the significance of the situation, when they were approached by a gruff looking man.
"Hi, my names Majeek - and I am interested in accompanying you to Droaam."
This was more than a little suspicious, but after discussing with him at length and getting Merrin to cast Detect Evil they somewhat reluctantly agreed to receive Majeek as a partner on the expedition. Majeek was an expert tracker and woodsman from the Eldeen Reaches. He was also on a quest to find the same artifact. He was concerned that it could be used for great evil. If it turned out to be as he feared he would destroy the artifact and reimburse the trio - otherwise he would simply help them get it - at no fee. If nothing else the elf was an able fighter and master of the wilderness - so his presence wasn’t a total waste.
***
The lightning rail station was bustling with activity: men unloading and loading luggage, street performers looking for coin, happy reunions, and sad goodbyes - and in the middle of it all stood the magnificent Lightning Rail Coaches. A clearly arcane construction of stone, metal, and wood, the coaches formed a long line behind a large, aerodynamic, yet somehow ungainly contrivance. The whole assembly was hovering above two rows of blue crackling conductor stones.
A young lad led the group to a private coach, and stowed their baggage under one of the hammocks at the rear end. There were hammocks on each side and three metal chairs bolted to the floor facing east.
After a few minutes the mighty train of coaches began to pull out of the station with a loud crack. Then another. As the coach passed each set of stone it let out a loud lightning-like crack. These cracks got faster and faster until they formed a blur of sound to mix with the blur of color as the tropical King’s 
As the morning passed into afternoon the forest began to straggle out. The four occupants of the coach were discussing life outside the city of towers when there came a loud thump on the roof. Then, in the next instant everything was thrown upside down as four armed assailants hurled themselves into the cabin. Clad in dark robes with the faintest hint of shimmering violet and covered with strange symbols they attacked without reserve.
The two on the far ends of the coach begin dark incantations. Cora and Thaspar were overcome with a sense of impending doom - but Cora managed to shake it off. The other two dove into combat, whirling the blue shimmering blades which had appeared in their hands. Cora and Sadie engaged the assassin on the right side of the coach. By flanking him, they made sure that he fell quickly. Thaspar and Majeek each fell into combat with one of the attackers. Thaspar did not have much trouble with his foe, but Majeek faired less well - citing that he was really much better at long range combat.
As Thaspar's opponent fell he moved on to the engage the assassin, who was still casting spells near the front of the compartment. Unexpectedly the enemy grabbed Thaspar and began grappling him to the ground. As they locked into a battle of strength the assassin pulled Thaspar out the door into the connecting platform between coaches. Then, he forced him inexorably down, off the platform and towards the loudly cracking conductor stones. While the initial attack had caught the elf off guard, Thaspar was clearly the better man at hand-to-hand combat. He could not be pushed off, but he gained no advantage either.
Inside the cabin the assassins were falling. Cora and Sadie's foe had gone down - falling out the window in the process. Majeek had run to the corner and brought out his bow, showing his true skill. The second assassin was pinned, dead, to the far wall. The final assassin (in the coach) seeing that the fight was lost, pulled a flask from his robes and hurled it towards the luggage. Time stopped for a sickening moment as the flask of alchemist’s fire burst upon the trio's belongings, sending them all into flame. Horrified, Sadie dashed towards the fire to put it out. Meanwhile the assassin simply sneered and said:
"You haven't seen the last of us!"
She jumped from the train coach. There was a sickening crunch as her body met with a passing tree.
Cora and Sadie rushed to assist Thaspar. Before they could reach him, however, the final assassin saw that his life was lost anyways and threw himself from the train - taking Thaspar with him. With a mad grab the elf caught ahold of the bottom of the train. Hanging on for dear life as blasts of lightning crashed all around him Thaspar could feel the assassin still holding onto his leg. With a fierce kick Thaspar bashed the assassin’s head against the bottom of the coach. The assassin slipped from Thaspar’s legs and crashed to the ground where he was fried between two conductor stones.
With extreme care, and a great deal of help from Sadie, Thaspar climbed his way back into the coach to safety.
The coach guard was very apologetic about the incident, but not particularly helpful. Sadie had managed to save most of the party's equipment with here dash to put the fire out. Only a few, easily replaceable items were lost. The rest of the day was uneventful, and in time the railcoach reached the Galethspyre Crossing station.
As they trio stepped off the coach onto the platform they were struck by the mildly hilled land which seemed to stretch on interminably in all directions. After living in the packed quarters of Sharn this place had a distinctly sparse lonely feel to it. They were met by a stable boy who led them to the inn - the only building over one story in the entire village - another disturbing thought.
In the morning they mounted their magnificent Valenar horses (which had been provided at great expense for the utmost speed) and set out. After crossing the ferry to the town of
After six days of travel of the grand horses they arrived at the tiny town of
***
Thaspar was shaken from his nightly meditation by a sudden commotion. The inn was on fire. Not just on fire - but ablaze. Jumping to his feet he roused Majeek, who was in the same room. As he moved towards the door it was flung open - and they were attacked by an assassin with a shimmering blue blade.
Meanwhile Cora and Sadie slept in the room they were sharing. Another assassin crept in amidst the curling smoke. Raising his glowing blade of force above the slumbering form of the shifter he plunged the blade down into her neck. Here eyes shot open for a brief moment - she gurgled blood - and her eyes closed.
Roused, Cora jumped to life. Hurtling a potion down here friend’s throat he screamed at the attacker. Whether it was some heroic quality of Sadie's character, or the quick actions of Cora the shifter was revived from the very brink of death. With renewed vigour she attacked the assassin. Cora grabbed her pack and also entered the fray.
As the fight raged the fire began to fill the room. The smoke and heat were unbearable now. Then it happened. With a sudden groan the entire roof of Cora and Sadie's room collapsed. The halfling and shifter dived for cover but the assassin only had a moment to look up before he was crushed under the flaming timber. The weight burst the floor too and the entire mass crashed down to the lower level in a pile of shattered wood and flames. Sadie realized with horror that all of here belongings were now at the bottom of that pile... including her clothing - she usually slept in the nude.
Cora and Thaspar burst into the hallway at about the same time. Thaspar was dragging Majeek who was on the verge of passing out from the smoke. The heat and smoke were making it difficult to see or do anything now. Thaspar and Majeek jumped down the lower level through the hole in the floor. Sadie and Cora were about to do the same when they hear someone cry:
"Help! Help me!"
It was coming from the upper floor, in the far corner. Coughing and hacking they made their way through the thick smoke to the source of the sound. Everything was on fire now. The entire building looked ready to collapse and flames licked at them from all sides. Smashing through the flaming door they saw a halfling mother clasping her child. The child didn't seem to be moving.
"Come with me!" Cora shouted.
Grabbing the baby she smashed through the window. As she plunged to the ground she prayed that the baby would be safe. She came tumbling to a halt and was soon followed by Sadie and the woman herself. The baby was unhurt, and Cora was just reviving it when an arrow came whistling out of the night towards them.
It was another assassin!
This was getting mighty infuriating. All three laid into the assassin with fury and he fell quickly.
In due time Majeek was revived, the baby was saved and the mother was very appreciative. Sadie was able to get some clothing from a bystander. Almost all of here possessions were destroyed. Her clothing and the magical armor she had bought before the journey being no exception. He bow and the pack of holding did survive - to the great relief of the group.
No humanoid lives were lost, but their magnificent Valenar horses perished in the blaze, as well as several other animals. This was a sore blow, as the horses had been good companions on the journey - well behaved, intelligent animals with clear personality. Not to mention the years of extensive training it had taken to make them the great beasts that they were - and the sheer amount of gold spent on their purchase. The assassins would pay!
Ardev was too small to have enough horses for sale, so the group four had no recourse but to set of for Graywall on foot. This, in itself, was painful, because they knew that with each passing day the House Cannith expedition got further and further away - if they were still alive. Luckily, however, the group was soon overtaken by a House Orien caravan and was able to hitch a ride at a reasonable fee. It wasn't as fast as traveling with their Valenar steeds, but it was at least twice as fast as walking!
After eight days the caravan reached the Brelish roadblock. Breland did not want any supplies reaching the enemy city of
On foot once again, it wasn't until the following evening that they reached the mighty and terrible gates of Graywall. The road up to Graywall was filled with outposts and soldiers of every monstrous variety. Never before had any of them seen so many twisted forms together. Regiments of Gnolls commanded squadrons of goblins, while minotaur and ogre captains oversaw the whole business. Graywall had girded itself for war, but it still relied on trade from the outside. As such the party was subject to numerous unpleasant checkpoints which left them several gold pieces poorer, but otherwise unscathed.
Beyond the gate stood a dark and sinister looking city. Oppressive, hard stone architecture formed the base of the city, with disturbingly twisted spires rising up here and there, as if a foul cyst in the city had burst forth. In the center of the city was the tallest of these towers, crowned at its peak with a mass of stone tentacles that you could almost swear were moving.
Four large gnolls stood at the open gate. One pair was checking those leaving the city, and the other those entering. They seemed to be examining the passerby’s packs (and keeping whatever they liked from them) before sending them on their way.
Cora and Thaspar's passage through the gate could not have gone much worse. Majeek got through with no trouble, but Cora tried to bluff her way in, and came off as suspicious. The gnolls confiscated her entire pack. She asked Thaspar to create a diversion while she snuck over and retrieve it. His diversion turned out to a full scale battle with the gate guards! After felling the two immediately next to him, he and Cora ran into the city. They still had all of their stuff - but now they were wanted criminals.
Sadie, on the other hand decided to sneak in, over the walls, at night. She also had a bad time of it. She was spotted by two guards on her ascent. She was a bit luckier, however, and was able to jump up over the top of the wall and bound onto the rooftops below before they could catch her. Of course, she too was now wanted.
They all met up at the Red Sign Inn (which they had planned on the outside). All three were disturbed by the city. Just walking the twisted an unnatural streets put a shiver down ones spine. Cora very much wanted to leave Graywall immediately. However, Sadie and Thaspar pointed out that they were here to find information about troop movements so they could better plan their route. In the end Cora's voice was heard and they left the inn.
As they began slipping away into the night they heard a voice say, "Hey! There they are their leaving now! Attack! Attack!"
Suddenly they were set upon by another group of assassins. As before the battle was going in favor of the good guys, when...
Suddenly a beautiful woman appeared out of nowhere in front of Sadie. Immodestly clad, her waist-length white hair spun in the night as she tore into the shifter with her
The group was saved from almost certain death when they were surrounded by at least a dozen gnolls.
"Fighting in the streets. You'll see the arena for this."
The two women and Sadie fled, catlike, up the sides of the nearby building to safety. Cora, Thaspar, Majeek and two assassins, however, were captured and taken to the cells beneath Graywall arena.
Having no luck tracking the two girls, Sadie followed the gnolls to the arena and tried various means of rescuing her three trapped comrades. She tried distraction. She tried throwing lockpicks. She even released a cage of clawfoots into the arena. But she had no luck. In the end she decided to attempt a rescue from the actual arena match that the law-breakers faced in the morning.
The next morning the prisoners - Thaspar, Cora, Majeek, two assassins, and five random miscreants were herded from their cells. They were allowed to regain their weapons before heading into the ring. As they emerged into the dusty daylight the condemned became aware of hundreds of voices – most of them not human - screaming and jeering all around them. The large arena was ringed with stone seats, filled with primarily humanoid creatures of every imaginable sort. The combatants were scattered out into the ring as the gnoll guards hastily slammed the door behind them.
Sadie waited nervously in the crowed, at the edge of the seating. She was planning an escape for her friends before they met their end.
A dusty grate in the center of the arena rumbled aside. Nothing happened for a moment. There was dead silence in the crowd. Then, with sudden and terrifying speed a huge serpentine form skittered out from the pit on dozens of meaty legs. Cocking its head it made a deep squawking sound before charging.
Timeline
- Wir 25 Barrakas - Elgor and Ulfgar return to commission the party
- Zor 26 Barrakas - Leave by Lightning Rail and battle on the railcoach
- Far 27 Barrakas - Journey by Horse begins
- Far 6 Rhann - Attack at the inn - mounts killed - Sadie's belonging destroyed
- Mol 9 Rhann - Meet up with Orien Caravan
- Zol 17 Rhann - Reach Graywall roadblock
- Zor 19 Rhann - Enter Graywall, fight assassins, get arrested
- Far 20 Rhann - Thrown to the Behir
Heroic Actions
- Thaspar fell off a train with an assassin but managed to grab ahold of the bottom of the train
- Cora rescued a baby from a burning building and jumped headlong through a window
- Sadie defeated 2 assassins in the nude
- Sadie let three clawfoots loose in the Graywall arena
Adventure Names
- Robert - I hate Gnolls
- Robyn - How much for fire-retardant armor?
Legends & Lore
Graywall is a small city which stands between the humanoid lands of Breland and the monstrous wastes of Droaam. Graywall was originally built during the great hobgoblin empire, and many of its building show the signs of rough hewn stone and simple goblinoid architecture. The city was marginally controlled by Breland for several hundred years, wherein some signs of typical Brelish building entered the city, but when Breland was forced to pull out, much of that was removed. When the Daughters of Sora Kell took over the city the aberrations started flooding in, and soon the city took on a darker more twisted look. Warped towers jut out from ancient foundations and unnatural angles. Now even walking the streets is enough to bring a shiver to the spine of most travelers. It is the closest thing to Khyber you will find above ground - except perhaps the monstrous capital of Great Crag.
Statistics
Date Played: February 4, 2006
Session Length: 9 hours
Experience Gained: ?/character
Foes Vanquished: 9 assassins
Foes Escaped: 2 ninja chicks
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