School and Other Interferences!

It's been about a month since my last post here.  I'm still here, but I have just been really busy with school.  It's my final semester in college, and I have five heavy workload classes that are keeping me jumping.

Eventually, I will finish Champions of Krynn (didn't think it would take this long, honestly).  Stay tuned.

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: WAREHOUSES

Note: I've been quite busy this Summer, so I apologize for the lack of updates to the page.  I'm still here, though, and the adventure will continue.  This particular entry will be a short one, though.

When we last left the party, they had discovered a group of evil warriors who had been meeting at the local inn.  They busted in, killed them all, and found a note that revealed they had been foolishly doing exactly what the enemy had wanted the whole time.

A quick decision was made to leave the inn.  The party headed out the front door, despite the confused looks of the innkeeper.  It would only be a matter of time before someone had found what had happened up in the inn, and the party had no desire to wait around for that to happen.

As the party approached the docks, they suddenly heard a woman scream!

That can't be a good thing.

Even in a hostile environment, the party could not ignore the call for help.  They bolted immediately toward the source of the sound.  Their feet beat hard upon the stone road as they hurried their pace.

Unfortunately, they turned a corner and ran straight into a patrol of Minotaurs...

There is no option to "Soil Pants," so I guess the party will "Parlay."

The Minotaurs shouted at the party to stop and demanded to know why they were out past the posted curfew.  Kavina Do'Arden pushed Lord Benjamin aside, knowing that if she let the Solamnic Knight do the talking, his pride might get the whole party killed.

Instead of confronting them, she spoke to them in soft apologetic tones, being careful to avoid gazing directly at the Minotaurs for fear they would attack her.  She claimed that the party had just left a tavern and had managed to get lost.

Feeling that the prey wasn't worth the effort, the Minotaurs screamed at them to get off the streets and pushed them aside.  They headed further into the city in search of someone who might oblige them with a fight.  The party let out a sigh of relief as Lord Benjamin said: "We should have dealt with them directly."  He clearly didn't like appearing meek in anyone's eyes. Kavina told him to put his pride aside.  Someone was in danger.

The party continued off in the direction that they had heard the scream.

Hmmm....what do you suppose they're up to?

Another scream brought them to the edge of the docks.  Warehouses overlooked the water, casting dark shadows across the road.  In the moonlight, the party made out the shape of a woman being dragged by a group of Minotaurs into one of the warehouses.

Drawing weapons, the party headed off after her.  Whatever was happening, the party was sure that the Minotaurs weren't the good guys in the situation.

The party slipped into the warehouse behind the group of Minotaurs.  Screams echoed from inside, coming from every direction.  The party attempted to proceed with stealth in order to keep from drawing attention from themselves...

Oops.

...but they failed miserably.

Minotaurs came out of the darkness with weapons slashing.  Lord Benjamin, glad to finally defend his honor, led the charge as the party engaged them.  The sound of clashing steel nearly became deafening.

It was over in a matter of moments.  The Minotaurs had underestimated their opponents.  In their overconfidence, they hadn't taken the party seriously, and only at the end did they realize how much danger they had truly discovered.  As the last of the Minotaurs fell, the party turned toward the woman who was standing in the shadows.

She gasped out a quick thanks, and then slipped a ring on her finger.  Right in front of the party, she disappeared from sight!

Is this normal?

As she brushed past them, they heard her say: "Meet me at the end of the South Pier!"  Her footsteps grew very faint as the party scratched their heads.

So far, they hadn't been very fond of this city...


NEXT TIME:  Will the party get ambushed on the South Pier?  Tune in and find out.

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: STREETS OF SANCTION

Still reeling from the death of their previous commander, Sir Karl Gaardsen, the party headed back to the Solamnic Knight outpost.  Even though they had done a good thing by helping Tanis free the prisoners being kept by the prison lord in Neraka, nothing could wipe away the pain of that loss.

When they returned to the outpost, they were told that they were just in time to attend the funeral services being held for Sir Karl.  During the service, each member of the party spoke kind words about the former commander, and how each of them would continue to carry on the fight against the evil forces that worked to enslave all of Krynn.

For a fleeting moment, Thaddeus Durin was sure he had seen Maya at the funeral, but when he went to look for her, she was gone.

The new commander of the outpost approached and told the party that the work they had started desperately needed to be finished.  Evil was moving across the land, and unless it met with resistance, it would spread its vile hand like a shadow and corrupt everything.

The ogre base still needed to be located, he told them.  It also seemed that a lot of clues had pointed to something going on in the city of Sanction.

Feeling that they hadn't had much luck locating the Ogre Base, the party decided to head out to the city of Sanction and investigate what was happening.  The trip took them more than a day, as they wound through treacherous mountain passages and eventually found the city at the base of several ominous volcanoes.

Upon entering the city, they noticed almost immediately that a large number of Minotaurs were roaming the docks.  Most of the townspeople kept their distance from the large creatures, and the party decided that it was probably wise if they also headed in another direction.

As they made their way through the city streets, Thaddeus Durin made a startling discovery...

You probably left it in your other pocket. 

A pouch of his steel pieces was missing.  He mentioned that he had counted them just prior to entering the city; because he was hoping to stop at a magical shop and browse their wares.  He suggested that the party turn around and see if they could locate where he dropped it.  Reluctant, the party agreed and helped him look for his lost pouch of coins.

While searching around town, Tamera Beldon suddenly felt a tug on one of her equipment bags.  She spun around quickly and caught the arm of a shady looking thief who had his hand firmly inside her bag.  She twisted his arm as the party gathered around him.

He begged to be let go.  He offered information in return for his release.  The party was skeptical.

Sorry, that's not the answer we were looking for.  The correct answer was "Cheeseburger."

He informed them that evil troops had a headquarters in the inn located in the southeast corner of the city.  The party pressed him for more information, but he broke free of Tamera's grasp and ran away, disappearing into the crowd.

The party decided to head to the southeast corner of town and check out the inn.  Maybe they could deal with the "evil troops" that were hiding there.  Thaddeus Durin agreed, deciding that looking for his coins was now a waste of time, given that the thieves seemed to be openly operating in Sanction.  The party secured all loose bags before continuing.

Quickly, the party made their way to the southeast corner of town.  On the way there, they came across a large bridge that stretched over a river of running lava.  Curious as to where it went, the party started to cross it...

Do you think the bridge over lava is made of wood?  Because, that would just be dumb.

Standing at the far end of the bridge, a group of Draconians stood guard.  The party stopped in their tracks and discussed their options.  They could attack the Draconians, or they could turn back.

Not knowing what was beyond the Draconians, the party decided to be wise and back away without drawing attention to themselves.  They made a mental note to return later once they had gotten more information.  Besides, they wanted to head toward the inn and deal with whatever was there first.

It didn't take them long to locate the inn.  They stepped in and were greeted by a balding man standing behind a counter.

Sure, if you want to make the clues easy...

They paid for the room, and the innkeeper told them that they could take any room they wanted, except for the one at the north end of the hall.  He told them to keep away from that one.

As the party headed up the stairs, they felt confident that the innkeeper had given them the clue that they needed to find the trouble in the inn.  Instead of going to their own room, they headed straight down to the north end of the hall.

Once there, they found the door locked.  Kavina Do'Arden suggested that they break it down.  When someone in the party pointed out that they'd be breaking the law, Kavina said: "We're either wrong or we're right, but we're not going to find out by waiting out here in the hallway."  

She gave the door a solid kick and the door splintered under her boot.

Pizza delivery!

A dark elf jumped up from his chair and drew a weapon.  Around him, a group of fighters got to their feet.  "What do you want?" the dark elf demanded.

The party told them to throw down their weapons and surrender.  There was no need for bloodshed.

The dark elf laughed and told them: "I've had about enough of you."  He snapped his fingers and ordered his men to attack.

Fully prepared for combat, the party met the fighters head on.  Swords swung wildly as spells began to erupt and light up the room.  It did not take the enemy forces long to realize that they were outmatched.  The dark elf and a few of his cohorts attempted to escape as the party pressed in on them, but they were quickly cut down before they could leave the room.

Janessa Waylan suggested that the party not stick around for long.  If anyone came looking for the fighters, they would not be happy to discover them all dead.

Tamera quickly searched the body of the fallen dark elf, and found a note.  She read it aloud:

"The plan has to be carried out in stages.  Stage One, which is already complete, was to threaten various small areas to the north and get the good armies to begin a consolidation of their forces.  We were fortunate to find a rather hapless party that we were able to use to pass the false information to their leaders.  It was pure chance that they were sent after Caramon when he was captured in Throtl.  We couldn't have planned better for our purposes.  We left clues behind to lead the group to Gargath, Jelek and Neraka.  This gave us time to complete our plans for the ambush at Sanction."

When Tamera finished reading the note, everyone was silent.  This whole time, they had been blindly following along to the enemy's plans.

Maybe it was time to upset those plans...


NEXT TIME:  The party continues through Sanction to uncover more of what is going on...

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: THE PRISON LORD

Note: If you read my previous entry, then you know that this one does not have the proper screenshots.  I have done what I can with other screenshots to fill in the space.  I promise to never lose the screenshots in the future if I can help it...because it sucks to work without them.


When we last left the party, they had stumbled upon a half-elf named Tanis who was busy freeing the slaves from the prison in Neraka.  He asked the party to help free the other slaves and to create a diversion while he got them all to safety.

Didn't he say this once before?  Oh right, I lost the screenshots...

With no time to lose, the party headed deeper into the prison to locate the rest of the prisoners.  It didn't take them long.  Voices cried out in the darkness, and the party happened upon a group of slaves being held in cells.  Working quickly, the party broke open the locks and set the prisoners free.

"Go quickly," Tamera Beldon told them.  "Meet the half-elf at the end of the hall.  He will get you to safety."

Heading deeper into the prison, the party found even more slaves.  Again, the locks were broken and the prisoners were set free.  They were sent on their way to meet up with Tanis.

Reusing pictures is fun!  Right?

Kavina Do'Arden noted that the party was lucky that the prison guards had already been dealt with in this area, otherwise the whole affair might have been messy.  Realizing that the cells were all empty, they headed back toward where Tanis had asked them to create a distraction.

Unfortunately, that hallway ended up being guarded...

Thanks to the Internet, I managed to find an appropriate screenshot.  Yay, me!

A trio of green dragons stood waiting for the party.  They growled loudly.

"You dare to come here and remove the slaves that belong to the Prison Lord?  You are foolish, indeed!" one of them said.  "This is where your meddling ends."

The dragons rushed at the party.  The party, caught by surprise, quickly found that the dragons were tougher than they appeared.  Thaddeus Durin and Wil Dhargon took the full force of a spray of acid coming from one of the dragon's mouths.  They fell under the burning acid, no longer moving.  Tamera Beldon rushed over to bandage them.

Lord Benjamin rushed at the other dragons, sword swinging wildly.  Behind him, Janessa Waylan prepared a spell.  She cast haste, and everyone left standing in the party found they could suddenly move faster and attack quicker.

The dragons weren't prepared for this turn of events.  Despite their earlier triumph over the party, they discovered that the remaining four members had turned the tide.  They went down before they could regain the advantage.

Tamera worked her healing magic and managed to get her fallen comrades back up.  A little weaker than before, they rejoined the party, a little wiser about the dangers of dragon breath.

Just as the party were back on their feet, a man rushed around the corner with a group of guards.

I had no picture of the Prison Lord, so I made one.  I'm pretty sure that isn't what he looked like.

The party stood before the dreaded Prison Lord.  He ordered his guards to attack as he shouted at the party in anger.

The party wasted no time.  Compared to fighting the dragons, the Prison Lord and his guards were an easy match.  Wil Dhargon shouted out a few insults while Lord Benjamin charged.  Caught flat-footed against the oncoming rush, the Prison Lord and his guards went down quickly.

With the battle over, the party searched through the Prison Lord's belongings, and found a note in his pocket, which read:

"It has come to my attention that the bodies we received here in Sanction from your prisons are in highly deteriorated condition.  We realize that information must be gained by torture and that it is a useful way to relax, but I would prefer it if a majority of the bones remained uncrushed.  I will not repeat this request."

It was signed by Sir Lebaum.

The party realized it was the second time they had come across the name.  But, they would need to ponder the ramifications of it later.  For now, they needed to escape and insure that the prisoners made it out safely.

The party headed toward the exit.  On the way, they located a small stash of Copper Dragon eggs that had been left behind.  Not wanting them to fall into the hands of their enemies, the party took them, being careful to not damage them.

As the party left the prison, they saw Tanis in the distance.  He waved to them as he lead the prisoners through the gates of Neraka and off to freedom.  The party knew that they had defeated the evil in Neraka, but it had cost them greatly...for Sir Karl had been lost.

NEXT TIME:  The party continues the adventure...with proper screenshots and everything...

Loss of Screenshots

I will be posting an update to "Champions of Krynn" later this week.  However, the events will not include screenshots.  This is because of an issue I had with Windows that required me to reinstall my operating system.  I forgot to move the screenshots off the main drive, and they are now history.

I didn't lose my save game or anything, so I can still continue to blog about the game, so that's a blessing.  I just wanted everyone to be prepared that the next installment would not include the right graphics (though I may use stand-in images).

Thanks for sticking with the blog.

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: MAYA'S SECRET

In the last installment, the party had returned to the outpost to discover that the annoying draconian named Myrtani had come and kidnapped Sir Karl.  His lover, Maya, had left in a rage, vowing to kill Myrtani and all his followers.  The party, feeling some manner of loyalty to the man, vowed that they would do what they could to rescue him.

But first, they had to get permission from the new outpost commander.

Wait...if Myrtani kidnapped Sir Karl, wouldn't it be wise to search for him since it would lead to Myrtani?  I'm confused.

Sir Mathias made it clear to the party that they could help search for Sir Karl, but only if it did not interfere with their mission to uncover what Myrtani was up to.  Overall, the party was not happy with what Sir Mathias had told them, but they agreed it was wise not to abandon the whole mission.

As they left the office, though, Maya returned...

Of course we know what happened.  You told us!

Maya informed the party that Myrtani had taken Sir Karl to Neraka.  How she had come about the information was anyone's guess.  She suggested that with the party's help, they could penetrate the enemy headquarters in Neraka and free him.  Without a moment of hesitation, the party pledged to help Maya.

She was grateful, and lead them out the gate.  She told the party to follow her and she would show them the way to Neraka.

The party wisely avoids the road.

Though the journey took nearly a day, the party pushed themselves toward Neraka.  For Maya's part, she barely spoke during the trip.  Any attempts to engage her in conversation ended quickly, as she informed any who asked that she did not want to be bothered and instead wanted to focus on the task ahead of her.

Wil Dhargon attempted to cheer her up by showing her a magic trick, but somehow the kender only managed to set fire to to his own cloak, which slowed everyone down while they stopped to put him out. 

Eventually, the party arrived at the gates to Neraka.  As they approached, they quickly discovered that the place had not been left unguarded.

What a surprise!

Shouting in glee, Draconians descended upon the party as they approached the gate.  Lord Benjamin ordered everyone into formation and lead the group into the attack.  But, something happened that he did not expect.

A loud roar sounded from behind.  As the party whipped around, they saw Maya changing shape.  Her body twisted and grew until she took on the form of a large silver dragon!  She howled loudly as ice flew from between her lips and struck at the Draconians.

Love the new look, Maya.

The Draconians were no match for the might of an angry dragon.  With the party's help, the Draconians were quickly defeated, as Maya used her incredible strength to knock aside the gate.  Once the battle was finished, she transformed back into her human form and approached the party.

Why would he be embarrassed?  It's obviously awesome!

She said: "Well now you know, I am a silver dragon who loves a mortal man.  I dislike keeping secrets, but I knew Sir Karl would be embarrassed if my identity were well known.  I hope you will understand."

The party agreed that her secret was her own business.  They told her that, for now, the top priority would be rescuing Sir Karl.  She agreed.

"He will be in the main headquarters.  We should head there."

Finding the headquarters turned out to be easier than the party thought.  Once there, Maya once again transformed into a dragon and defeated the few guards who stood in the way.  The party opened the door and headed inside.

As soon as they entered, they were met with a terrible sight.

Well, this rescue isn't going as planned, is it?

Sir Karl staggered up the stairway ahead of them, covered in blood.  He collapsed at the top of the stairs as the party rushed over to him.  "The slaves...they must be freed from below...help them..."

Tamera tried to aid him with divine healing, but it didn't seem to do any good.  He kept speaking:  "They tortured me to get information, but I gave them nothing.  Killed my guards when they came for me again.  Afraid I didn't quite make it all the way out...."

"Maya, I love you," he whispered.  His eyes suddenly glazed over and his breathing stopped.  With those final words, Sir Karl Gaardsen was dead.

She is understandably upset.

Maya broke down and started crying.  Then, her face contorted angrily.  She shouted loudly that she would kill Myrtani and the other Draconians. 

With a scream of anguish, she transformed into her dragon form while the party watched.  She reached out and picked up Sir Karl's body, cradling it between her claws.  Her wings shot out, and she kicked off the ground, flying back out the front door and into the sky.

With that, Maya and Sir Karl were gone.

Stunned, the party quickly regained their composure.  If nothing else, Sir Karl would want them to rescue the prisoners.  It had been his dying wish.  The party pulled themselves together and headed down the stairs.

As soon as they hit the bottom of the stairs, they heard the sounds of battle from somewhere nearby.  Weapons ready, they rushed down a dark hallway.

At the end of the hallway, they found a single half-elf wiping out a group of Draconians. He had a couple of prisoners in tow behind him.  He was surprised to find the party behind him, but recognized that Lord Benjamin was a Knight of Solamnia by his markings.

"I don't know who you are," the half-elf said, "but if you are champions of good, then you are friends of mine.  As for myself, I am called Tanis."

Sounds like a plan!  Who are you again?

He told the party: "I had heard of slaves being taken in the area, so I disguised myself and arranged to be captured.  I have just managed to free the slaves here, but more are held to the south.  I will organize the slaves here while you free the others.  Then we will arrange a diversion to allow the slaves a chance to escape."

The party agreed, remembering that they were doing this in memory of Sir Karl.  They vowed to Tanis that they would return soon with the rest of the slaves.

NEXT TIME:  The party helps Tanis free the slaves...

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: THE GRAVEYARD

Aided by the mysterious thief named Mysellia, the party has uncovered that things in Jelek aren't quite what they seem.  An annoying man named Skyla, who the party suspected might be part elf and part kender, led the party straight into an ambush.  Barely surviving, the party has thrown in with Mysellia to uncover information about someone named Sir LeBaum, who apparently has an office in the town graveyard.

Making haste across town, the party found the main gates of the graveyard and stepped through.

Wouldn't that mean that they were dug out and not dug up?

The graveyard was quiet, but the party noticed immediately that something suspicious was going on.  The majority of the graves had been unearthed, from the inside.  Tamera brought out her holy symbol of Mishakal and warned everyone to be on the lookout for undead.

Mysellia steered the party between the graves, following the path toward Sir LeBaum's office.  There were signs of heavy feet dragging along the mud, and as the party got deeper into the graveyard, the stench of death became quite apparent.

A grating sound of claws raking stone sounded just ahead of the party.  They stopped dead in their tracks as foul undead crawled up from the holes in the ground, snarling and hissing.

There's something seriously wrong with this guy's legs.

The ghouls leaped toward the party, intent on feeding their insatiable hunger for flesh.  But, Tamera was prepared.  Her holy symbol shot into the air.  "By the power of Mishakal, I banish you foul beasts back to the realm of death!"  A light of holy radiance emitted from her hand and the creatures howled in torment.

Within a few seconds, it was over.  The creatures, which might have been a problem for the townsfolk, had been turned to piles of dust.  Tamera lowered her holy symbol, as Wil Dhargon danced up and down and begged her to do it again.  A sharp look from her quieted the kender, and he stopped his bouncing.

Eventually, the party made it to Sir LeBaum's office.  Mysellia opened the door.

The office appeared as though it had been abandoned hastily.  Drawers had been left open and papers were scattered everywhere.  Among the papers, the party found a note that had been left behind:

"Myrtani is gathering forces in secret areas around Sanction.  We won't be ready for a few weeks yet.  My minions have started gathering materials for my use.  Several graveyards have been looted already.  Many of them have left the open grave sites unfilled.  I suppose it can't be helped.  Stupidity has always been our most dangerous enemy."

"Myrtani has found a Dragonlance!  I urged him to give it to his strongest warrior, but I'm afraid that the draconian doesn't trust anyone who could hold that much power.  Foolish.  He's going to hide it away somewhere in Sanction."

At last, the party had some information on where the Dragonlance had been taken.  This information would be incredibly useful to Sir Karl.

Mysellia told them that there was another large building in the graveyard, and that they might find more information there.  The party agreed that it was wise to explore all the options, and asked her to lead the way.

I guess I don't get the choice whether I want to pick it or not.

It didn't take long for the party to make their way to the other building, a small crypt.  Outside the crypt, they spied a silver rose bush.  A single bloom grew from the center, shining brightly in the sunlight.  Sir Karl had asked the party to recover such a flower as a personal favor.  What he wanted it for was something only he would know.

Kavina Do'Arden reached out and plucked the rose from the bush.  As she did, the rest of the bush began to wither and die.  Somehow, this one flower had been the most important part of the whole plant, and without it, the rest of the organism could not survive.

A dark shadow seemed to cover the bush and block out the sun, drenching it in sadness.  Or...was the shadow something else?

This is why having a choice would have been a good idea.

As the shadows grew in size, the party looked upward and realized that three large shapes were descending upon them.  Dragons, black as the night sky, swirled down and surrounded the party.  They roared loudly as their wings kicked up dirt and grass.  Acid spewed from between their lips.

The battle happened quickly.  Despite how fierce the creatures were, the party used tactics to confuse them.  Weaving in and out and ducking between the dragons, Lord Benjamin and Thaddeus Durin cut the beasts with their swords.  Janessa threw spells, while Kavina Do'Arden circled around to get an advantageous position behind them.  

While this was happening. Wil Dhargon taunted the dragons loudly, drawing their attention away from the rest of the party.  "I bet you think you're pretty scary, huh?  The only thing scary about you is that terrible smelling breath!  You'd think a mouth full of acid could wash away that stench, but boy, would you be wrong!  What happened, did your mother have relations with a giant dung heap?"

Distracted, the dragons fell one by one as the party cut them down with swords and burned them with spells.  The party gave a collective sigh of relief when the last one fell.

The party checked the inside of the building.  A few undead hid inside, and were quickly dispatched by Tamera's holy symbol.  The small crypt revealed no information that the party found useful. 

Knowing that the information they had gained was important, the party figured it was time for them to leave Jelek and head back to the outpost.  They wished Mysellia well and thanked her for her help.  They found a way out of the town and headed south back toward where they hoped Sir Karl would be waiting for them.

Instead, they found that things had gone terribly wrong in their absence.

Well...crap...

Smoke poured from the buildings and soldiers ran around tossing water onto small fires.  There was chaos everywhere.

Maya, the mysterious lady friend of Sir Karl found the party and approached them.  "Myrtani came while you were gone and led an attack on the base. He kidnapped Sir Karl!"  A tear rolled down her cheek and she turned away from the party so that they would not see her despair.

Her voice suddenly grew angry.  "I will find him, wherever they have taken him!  And, I will wrest the life from Myrtani myself!"  She pushed away from the party and ran out the gate of the outpost.  "Do not follow me!"


NEXT TIME:  The party heads out to rescue Sir Karl...

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: SKYLA

After the last adventure, the party made its way back to the outpost to report to Sir Karl.  To their dismay, they discovered that he had left to investigate some problems to the west.  But, he left them a note with the following instructions:

"My friends, I'm afraid I will be away for a few days.  In the meantime, continue searching for the Ogre base, as it is vital that we uncover what is happening there.  Also, there are rumors of trouble down south in the town of Jelek, but nothing we can confirm.  You should also investigate what is happening there.  I will see you again in a few days."

Taking a few minutes to stop into the outpost's tavern, the party discussed what their next move should be.  It occurred to them that despite their intentions to go and find the Ogre base, they actually had no idea where to start or where it might be located.  So, after a few quick drinks, they headed out to the town of Jalek, deciding that they would definitely look into the Ogres as soon as they got back.

At the town gates of Jelek, though, they were stopped by guardsmen.  They demanded to know what the party wanted, and told them:

"We've had a lot of unsavory characters passing through town lately.  The good armies have left us in the lurch and we are forced to take the law into our own hands in order to protect the citizens of the town.  All persons entering Jelek that are unknown to the guards shall be assigned an escort for the duration of their stay.  They will be restricted to the public parts of town.  The burial grounds are strictly forbidden to all strangers."

At that point, they called over the man who would be assigned to accompany the party in Jelek.

Is it my imagination, or is that Jeff Goldblum in drag?

The man introduced himself as Skyla.  He gave the party a goofy grin.  His entire aspect seemed dignified enough, until he began to talk.  At that point, the party began to question his ancestry and wondered if maybe he hadn't suffered a terrible fall on his head as a child.

He babbled on about the party going to visit a friend of his who could offer a great deal of information and items to the party.  "My friend has many objects of value for sale.  And you should see his frog collection.  It's amazing!  He even has a sword that seems to be magical.  Or, at least undead creatures seem to run in terror from it.  He also has a lot of potions for sale.  He might even have information about some things involving recent activities in the area.  Oh yeah, and his daughter is really beautiful.  C'mon!"

Skyla grabbed Janessa Waylan by the hand and began to pull her through the streets on his quest to locate the house where his friend lived.  The rest of the party quickly followed.  It was then that Tamera noticed something.

What crowd?

A shadowy figure seemed to be watching the party from the recesses of an alleyway.  The figure slipped into the crowd and disappeared before Tamera could get a bearing on where they went.

Toward the front of the party, Janessa spotted a shop dealing in magical items and pulled Skyla to a stop.  She told him that she wanted to go into the magical shop and see what they had for sale.  Skyla did not seem happy with the detour, but relented, as the rest of the party steered their way into the shop.

Is this a magical shop or the local Hooters?

Skyla waited impatiently while the party browsed the wares and bought a few scrolls.  He tried to talk the party out of the purchase, exclaiming loudly that his friend had much better scrolls at half the cost.  If only the party would follow him there, they would see that this whole shop was a waste of money.

Janessa bought the scrolls anyway, but promised that if Skyla's friend had any items of real value, she still had plenty of gold left to purchase a few things.

Eventually, the party finished shopping and headed back out into the street.  Skyla seemed distracted, looking back toward the main gates.  He shook his head and said he thought he saw something, but that it must be his imagination.  He then urged the party onward toward his friend's house, recounting what a great guy he was and how many things the party would find that they would like.

A sudden noise behind the party brought everyone to a stop.  Behind them, a large food cart had been overturned and several merchants were squabbling.  A shadowy figure darted from near the food cart and headed into the alleyway.

Skyla suddenly became very serious.  "I'll return in a few minutes.  Please continue down this road until it ends and turn left.  I'll catch up to you in a minute." With that Skyla headed back toward the direction of the food carts and disappeared into the crowd. 

The party headed down the road, following the instructions they had been given.  Sure enough, withing a few minutes, Skyla returned, giving the party a big smile.

Hard to find?  The party followed his instructions to the letter...

He apologized for having to leave so abruptly, complained about how hard the party was to find, and then urged them to continue their trip to his friend's house.  The party headed down about a block, when Skyla held up his hand and stopped them again.

He apologized again, but told the party that he had to leave again.  He promised it would be the last time and darted down a side street, leaving the party standing in the middle of the road.

The party started to question whether Skyla was all there.  It was highly possible that he was not mentally well.  He seemed to sometimes be pleasant and coherent, and other times to be completely insane.

As the party discussed this, they were suddenly surrounded by rough looking characters.  Without warning, these shady people drew weapons and charged the party.

Okay, maybe they weren't "surrounded."

Even though the party had been caught unaware, they still managed to hold off the group and defeat them rather quickly, especially given that Janessa used a Fireball spell to thin their numbers.  The crowd that had been in the streets had suddenly disappeared.

Skyla returned very quickly afterward.  He noticed the dead bodies on the ground.  "What happened here?  Well, no matter.  We are overdue to meet with my friend.  Come, let's leave the streets before someone thinks you're responsible for this mess."

He pushed the party onward around several corners until they approached a large building.  He opened the door and stepped inside, gesturing for the party to enter.  After they stepped through the door, he slammed it and locked it behind them.

Skyla turned and laughed.

Why, Jeff Goldblum, why?!!

"We have known about you group of troublemakers for quite some time.  Myrtani is not pleased with how you have been disrupting his plans.  I must leave now and tell Myrtani of our success.  My friends will deal with you."

He waved his hands.  Armed warriors, armored clerics and dark-garbed mages came out of the shadows.  As he slipped away, they fell upon the party.

The party backed against the wall and prepared to defend themselves.  Suddenly, a woman shot out of the shadows and took out one of the mages.  She came up next to the party and attacked one of the warriors.  The party didn't waste time and capitalized on the stunned reactions of the enemy.

The battle went by swiftly.  And though a few of the party members had been lightly hurt, they had come out victorious. Only Janessa Waylan had been seriously hurt and knocked unconscious, but Tamera was certain she would survive with some magical healing.

The shadowy figure has a real figure.

The woman introduced herself as Mysellia, and began to explain why she had been following the party.

"Listen, I've been following you for some time now.  That Skyla character is the leader of a faction of guards that has taken over the city.  He looks stupid, but don't let that fool you.  He knows exactly what he looks like, and he knows how to use it to his advantage."


"He takes his orders from Sir Lebaum.  Lebaum took over about a week ago.  It was slow and insidious how he did it.  No word got out at all and, initially, there was lots of business for our shops.  Everyone was happy.  Except that now he's cut off all contact with the outside.  Anyone that comes in here either joins the guards or is killed, as you almost were."


"There's another disturbing thing.  I've done some digging around and nobody has even seen this Sir Lebaum character.  Most people have never even heard of him.  There was a Knight of Solamnia of that name that was corrupted by Takhisis many, many years ago, but legend has it that he died---horribly, they say."


"I'd like to get into the graveyard and examine his office.  Are you willing to go with me?"

The party took a minute to take all this in.  After a few minutes, they decided that they would accompany Mysellia on her mission and get to the bottom of the trouble in Jelek.



NEXT TIME:  The party heads to the graveyard...

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: THE MISSING MESSENGER

After having received word that a group of ogres were causing trouble in the area, the party agreed to look into the problem.  First, though, they spent a night at the outpost resting and reclaiming their precious spells.  As the sun broke over the horizon, they gathered their gear and prepared to head out to find out what was going on with the ogres.

But, before the party could depart, Sir Karl approached them with an urgent matter.

Good morning, Sir Karl.  Thanks for getting straight to the point.

Sir Karl told them that a messenger that was supposed to return from an outpost to the south hadn't checked in and no one knew where he was.  Because the information being sent was important, he asked the party to delay what they were doing and head down to the outpost and report the information to the Commandant of the Southern Outpost in person.  This, he figured, would be for the best because the party had first hand knowledge of everything that was going on.

The party agreed to deal with the situation and put exploring the ogre situation on hold.  They headed out and turned southward.

A day later, they arrived at the gates of the Southern Outpost.  The guards seemed unusually edgy and demanded to know what they wanted.  The party informed them that they had been sent by Sir Karl to report on the situations up north and they relaxed a bit.  "You can never be too careful," one of them said.  "Follow me, I'll take you to see the Commandant.  He'll want to meet with you."

The party followed the guard and eventually were lead into the office of the Commandant.  He greeted them pleasantly and listened intently to what they had to say.  The conversation turned to the subject of the messenger that had gone missing.

The Commandant assured the party that it was not anything to be concerned about.  "He has been seriously ill.  The clerics are doing what they can.  No one should disturb him at this time, though.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get back to more pressing matters."

The Commandant curtly lead them out of the office and shut the door.  Thaddeus Durin expressed that he felt the Commandant seemed a little bit nervous when they asked about the messenger.

The party is famous.

At this point, the party began to notice that everyone on the street was paying attention to them and watching their every move.  Something odd was going on.

"I'm feeling thirsty," Tamera said.  "Perhaps we should check out the outpost tavern and see if the locals know anything."  The party agreed.  After all, taverns were a good place to hear the local rumors.  Maybe they could find out something more about the messenger's illness there.

But, as the party moved down the street, they were stopped by guardsmen.  When Lord Benjamin asked them what the problem was, the guards demanded that they leave the area, as it was off limits to outsiders.  The party quickly retreated, not wanting to start any issues.

"I've never seen an outpost locked down like this," Kavina Do'Arden pointed out.  "I mean, there aren't even any children playing in the street.  That's unusual, don't you think?"

The party agreed that it was.  They noticed a large group of guards moving toward them from the main entrance.  Lord Benjamin guided the party around the Commandant's office to the alley in the back.  They hid there until the guards passed by.

While hiding out in the alley, Wil Dhargon noticed something and called the party's attention to the wall.  A secret door had been concealed in the back of the Commandant's office building.  He suggested that the party sneak in and get some information about these weird happenings.  And possibly rummage through the valuables inside.

Better than prisoners filled with cells, I guess.

Slipping inside, the party discovered a small jail.  Hands reached through the bars of the cells inside, calling for the party's attention.  Stepping toward the bars, the party discovered that the outpost's guardsmen were inside the cells!

One of the guards recognized the party and told them the story of what had happened.

"We were captured by draconians disguised as the merchant band that comes through here every month.  When we were sleeping, they killed the guards at the gate and captured us before we had a chance to even fight.  They took our leaders to the barracks and interrogated them.  They've all got to be dead now.  Be careful!  I saw one of the draconians kill the Commandant.  As the Commandant died the draconian's shape changed and then he looked and sounded just like the Commandant."

"The draconians have captured our children and are holding them hostage.  We dare not move against them so long as they have them.  If you can kill the draconian leaders, perhaps we would have a chance."

Angrily, Lord Benjamin pulled his sword and swore that the draconians would pay for the atrocities committed with in the outpost.  He called for the rest of the party to follow him to the Commandant's office.

Whose enemy?  Yours or ours?

The party opened the door and overheard the 'Commandant' addressing some of the soldiers gathered in his office.  He mentioned something about enemies moving on the city of Sanction before realizing that the party had entered.   The fake Commandant shouted in alarm as the party rushed in to engage those inside.

As they did, the Commandant laughed.  His face twisted and the shape of his body began to change...

That's no way to hold a sword.

As the party engaged the others, he transformed fully into a draconian.  He shouted at a wizard to warn someone named Jadefang while he held the party off.  With that, the battle was engaged.

Fueled by the anger of what they had heard, the party fought hard and quickly brought the Commandant down.  He died with a gleam of hatred in his eyes as he melted into a pool of acid.  His guards fell down around him.

Janessa Waylan mentioned that the wizard had fled out the door to the east.  The party knew that the fight was just starting.  They headed off after him.

Not just evil.  Immense evil.

Once the party reached the door, however, they were overcome with a feeling of fear and dread.  Only Wil Dhargon, the kender, seemed immune to the effects.  He rushed forward and opened the door.

A blast of warm wind hit the party as they stepped outside.  A large shadow fell over them.

Why is the dragon in the barracks?

A large green dragon dropped down in front of them.  It sneered and spoke to them in a deep voice that rattled the windows.

"Welcome.  I am Jadefang.  I have been assigned to capture this hole and convince you humans that you still own it.  We did this so we could gather information and keep the southern road open.  Since you have given us a lot of useful information, I thank you."

"However, you have also discovered our secret.  That means that I have no choice but to kill you.  Alas, your meddling has brought you to this bloody end."

The large creature spread its wings and flew into the air.  As it did, guards rushed from the nearby barracks to help attack the party.

Weapons ready, the party met the attack head on.  The dragon dropped low, spewing burning acid from between his lips and burning Thaddeus Durin.  Janessa spoke loud incantations and hit the encroaching guards with a fireball.  Chaos erupted as the party was surrounded.

The battle went on for many minutes.  In the end, three members of the party managed to finish off the guards.  Kavina Do'Arden, Thaddeus Durin and Wil Dhargon had all been badly wounded and were slowly bleeding to death. 

Lord Benjamin hit the dragon with the killing blow.  As it died, it roared in defiance.  Its large frame fell to the ground with a thud.  In the distance, draconians and fake guards began to abandon the outpost.  With their strongest ally defeated, the enemy's morale had dropped.

The party had freed the Southern Outpost.  The guardsmen were freed and reunited with their children.  A few hours later, the newly elected Commandant offered the party healing and a place to rest, which they gladly accepted.

The new commandant looks like the old commandant.  What's up with that?

The Commandant thanked them for coming to the outpost's aid when they needed it.

Tamera Beldon replied:  "If Sir Karl hadn't caught us when we were leaving, we would have been somewhere else, investigating some ogres.  Come to think of it...we should probably get back to doing that..."

NEXT TIME:  The party starts looking into the ogres...maybe...

School's Out!

Whew!  School is finally done for the semester.  It was rough.  Really, really rough!  The final for Financial Accounting was so rough that I think I got bruising.  I feel like a truck ran me over.

But, now I have some free time and I will have time to resume blogging my way through Champions of Krynn (and I look forward to it).  In the meantime, if you have any interest in the CRPG that I'm programming in my free time, feel free to check out my other blog: Lands of Adventure

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: TESTS OF THE TOMB

Having received word from Sir Karl about magical items that might be hidden in a tomb of a fallen Solamnic Knight named Sir Dargaard, the party traveled north from the outpost in search of the tomb's hidden location.  After much searching, they were finally rewarded when they discovered the entrance to tomb.

Should I click "no?"

The party pulled the door open and headed into the tomb.  Statues of Solamnic Knights stood in the main hall.  The eyes of the statues seemed to follow the party as they entered.  A strange mist flowed across the floor and covered the ground.

Taking the lead, the Solamnic Knight in the party, Lord Benjamin, headed toward one of the hallways.  Before he could reached the hallway, however, the mist at his feet collected in front of him.  The mist formed into a spectral shape of a man with a sword.

"Know this, knight...you will face many tests in these tombs!" the spectral knight told Lord Benjamin.  "Only those true of heart will pass the tests."

No.  My life is my life.  My honor is my honor.

"You have begun the test of honor.  Remember the oath.  My honor is my life."

Lord Benjamin reached out to the knight, but the vision faded as the mists fell back to the ground.  The rest of the party came up behind him, vowing that they would accompany him on the tests.  Nodding, Lord Benjamin lead them deeper into the tomb.

Whispering voices followed the party as they headed further into the tomb.  A chill flowed in the air.  It seemed to the party almost as though the stones themselves were alive.

The mist ahead formed into the shape of a face.  A man stared out from the mist and regarded the party with judgmental eyes.  "What would you sacrifice to help those in need, knight?" the booming voice asked.  "Your money?  Your possessions?  Or your very life?  Choose now!"

Without hesitation, Lord Benjamin spoke:  "All three."

A hearty laugh filled the tomb as the spectral face grew larger.  "Brave knight, I will spare you the loss of your life and take only some of your money and possessions."  A flash of light surrounded the party as the face disappeared.

The kender, Wil Dhargon, suddenly realized that a few of his precious maps were gone.  He uttered a few words about how if knights were really honorable, they wouldn't take away his hard-earned maps.  Tamera Beldon quieted him down.

As the party continued forward, they were once again approached by a spectral figure.  Behind him, two swords hung on the wall.

If I take both, can I go backward?

The spectral figure told Lord Benjamin that he could take only one sword, and that it should be the one on the right.  Again, without hesitation, Lord Benjamin did as he was told and took the sword on the right.

The sword, as it turned out, glowed with magical power.  Indeed, the party had never seen a sword so powerful or well-designed.  It was marked by glowing runes and seemed to be constructed of the strongest metal they had ever encountered.  Was this the treasure of the tomb that the party had been sent to recover?

A vision suddenly appeared in the mists.  A man was surrounded by a pack of wild wolves.  He had nothing to defend himself with.  The wolves were about to tear him to shreds.  The spectral knight appeared again.

Once again, I am tempted to pick "no" and run.

"This man will die without a weapon.  He may die even with one.  Will you give him the sword that we gave you?" the spectral knight asked Lord Benjamin.

With a deep sigh, Lord Benjamin tossed the sword into the mists at the man who was surrounded by the wolves.  Spotting the sword, the man picked it up and went back to engage the wolves.  As he did, the mists fell apart and the vision faded.

The party were shocked.  They demanded to know what happened.

"What happened does not matter.  Whether the man lives or dies does not matter.  What matters is that you have successfully proven your honor and passed the first test.  The test of battle begins now."  With that the spectral knight disappeared.

The party pressed forward.  Thaddeus Durin suggested that they prepare their weapons.  After all, a test of battle probably involved some fighting.  There was no sense in being unprepared.

The party entered a room full of treasure.  Wil Dhargon's eyes lit up immediately.  Voices in the mists warned the party that they should touch nothing and take nothing.  Wil Dhargon pointed out that his precious maps were stolen from him, so it was fair that he take something.

I won't take nothing.  I'll take everything.

The party expressed quite forcefully how much they would appreciate it if the kender didn't touch anything at all.  And that he should keep his hands to himself at all times.  Possibly in his pockets.  Or behind his back.

As the party soon discovered, others had tried to take the treasures in the room.  A group of Draconians had been turned to stone, their faces twisted in horror as they grabbed at the treasures in the room.  From the items that the Draconians had dropped on the floor, it was obvious that they had not not been in the room for long.

Sir Karl had been right.  The Draconians knew about the tomb.

Moving quickly through the treasure rooms and keeping the kender in check, the party discovered something else...

These are some smart skeletons.

Armored skeletal knights awaited them.  One of them raised his hand, and on cue to his signal, stone rained down on the party from above.  The party was nearly buried under large stones.  Janessa Waylan was hurt badly enough that she could barely defend herself as the skeletal knights rushed forward.

The party, still reeling from the trap, managed to pull themselves together and face the skeletons head on.  Tamera attempted to repel them with the power of Mishakal, goddess of healing and restoration.  But the skeletal knights ignored the attempts of the party priestess to destroy them.

Swords and arrows did little damage to the creatures.  The magical flail that Tamera had seemed to do the best damage against them as it crushed into their brittle bones.  The battle was hard, but eventually the party prevailed.

Badly wounded, the party attempted to rest and gather their strength.  But the mists formed into horrible visions and the party were assailed by noise.  They would find no rest within the tomb it seemed.

Perhaps, if they were lucky, that was all there was to the test of battle and they would not face any additional foes.  Perhaps they had already passed the test.  Just to be safe, Tamera prayed to Mishakal for the power to heal some of the wounds in the party.  She managed to get Janessa completely healed.

Flee!  Flee!

It proved to be a good thing that she had taken the time to do so.  Because very soon thereafter, a pack of undead dragons appeared from the mists.  Lord Benjamin, knowing that in order to pass this test the party would need to fight instead of flee, rushed at them, hoping it was the right choice.

Not shown:  Another dragon!  There were four of them!

Janessa decided to immediately put her magical prowess to work by casting multiple Fireball spells.  The rest of the party fought with everything that they had.  As it happened, the dragons were not nearly as hardy as their living counterparts.  Their bones rattled to the ground quickly as the party damaged them.

A spectral knight appeared as the dragon bones faded into the mists.  "You have passed the test of battle.  Remember, a Solamnic Knight never flees and never refuses to battle evil.  You will now face the test of fear."

As the spectral knight disappeared, large rings of fire appeared in the doorway ahead.  Voices in the mists shouted at the party to flee for their lives before they were consumed by fire.  The mist even retreated from the fire.

"I am not afraid," Lord Benjamin said.  As the party watched, unsure of what to think, Lord Benjamin walked straight through the rings of fire.  The fire burned his skin and he howled in pain, but he pressed forward.  Nearly dead, he stumbled through the fire to the other side and fell to the ground.  Had he made a mistake?

These guys all look the same.

A spectral knight appeared suddenly.  He reached out with his hands and dismissed the fire.  Then, he touched Lord Benjamin on the head and healed him.  With another pass of his hands, the rest of the party was healed as well.

"I am the spirit of Sir Dargaard.  Finally, a knight of virtue has reached me.  Now receive our charge that I might rest in peace."

A magical suit of Solamnic Plate Mail armor appeared along with a glowing sword.  Lord Benjamin reached out and took them.  They seemed almost built to fit him.

"Go now, knight.  Use these items in your fight against evil.  It begins sooner than you think," Sir Dargaard's spirit said before fading back into the mists.

A sudden noise sounded behind the party.  They swirled around to find...

Oh, really?  Is that what you think is going to happen?

Kapak Draconians rushed into the room, flanked by two strange Draconians that the party had never seen.  They demanded the items from Lord Benjamin as they rushed to attack.

The party brought their weapons down upon the Draconians, reducing the Kapaks to pools of acid.  But, the remaining Draconians (which the party later learned were called Bozak) had quite a nasty surprise up their sleeves.

Winged Draconians everywhere!

Not only did the Bozaks fight harder and nastier than their Kapak cousins, their very bones exploded when they were killed.  As Thaddeus stuck his sword in one, he was suddenly enveloped in shards of flying bone fragments.  Wil Dhargon was gravely wounded by another, as he hit it with his hoopak.  Even in death, the Bozaks were dangerous!

One the Draconians were dealt with, the party quickly left the tomb and headed back to the outpost to report to Sir Karl.

Just once, I want this guy to greet the party with a "hello" instead of getting straight to business.

Sir Karl was glad to hear that the party had defeated the Draconians and recovered the items from the tomb.  He then showed them a message that was intercepted by the forces of good.  It read:  "We have contacted a traitor at the renegade ogres' base.  We can slip in unobserved and slay the renegade leaders.  If we are not successful, beware.  Our spy tells us that the renegades might try to ally with the forces of good.  Their knowledge of Kernen makes them dangerous."

Sir Karl told the party that they would need to investigate this matter.


UP NEXT:  The party follows the trail of the message