CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: STORMING GARGATH KEEP

When we last left the party, they were in search of a powerful magical item called a dragonlance.  Rumors were circulating that one could be found somewhere in Gargath Keep.  The party had fought their way to the entrance of the keep.

As they opened the doors, they found...

Who didn't see this coming?

Guards rushed to the attack.  Apparently, they didn't catch wind that the group of guards just outside the door had fled very quickly once they realized one of the members of the party could cast a mean Fireball spell.  But, it would be a lesson they would learn very quickly, as Janessa released one upon them and ended their attempt to stop the party pretty abruptly.

Realizing that the keep was several stories tall, the party started looking around for some clue as to where the dragonlance might be located.  And where the mysterious entity known as Myrtani could be located.  He seemed to be the one behind all the recent troubles, so the party was definitely interested in finding him.

During their search, the party came across a group of humans who were practicing their fighting skills against each other.

I don't think you'll find it as enjoyable as you think...but, go for it.

For some reason, the humans started laughing at the party and mocking them.

"I wouldn't be laughing too hard, with a face like that," Wil Dhargon  shouted at them.  "Besides, I've seen one-armed goblin children who had better fighting skills than you."

Angered by the kender's taunt, the humans rushed at the party.  The irritation from his words bothered them so much, they failed to notice the other members of the party surrounding them when they attempted to strangle the kender to death.  The fight was over in a heartbeat.

"They were awfully rude," Wil said, as the party left the room.

Minutes passed, as the party continued to try to find their way through the massive keep.  Eventually, they spotted a stairway going up and headed toward it.

As they reached it, they noticed a man huddled in the corner.  When they approached him, they noticed that he bore the symbols of Gargath upon his tattered clothing.  He claimed to be the Castellian of the keep.

"Thank Paladine you're here.  They've taken everything!  My poor family, my friends and retainers. Gone.  There's an Aurak who seems to be in charge.  They call him Myrtani.  He's had his minions scouring the keep.  He's looking for my dragonlance!"

So, Myrtani was an Aurak Draconian?  Perhaps the same one the party had encountered near Throtl, who disappeared in a flash of light?

Hearing this, the party directed the Castellian toward the exit, urging him to get to safety.  Once he headed down the hallway, they bounded up the stairs.

More eggs?

Up the stairs, the party found themselves in a large staging area where Baaz and Kapak Draconians were packing up Copper Dragon eggs into boxes and preparing them for transport.  Near the back of the room, an Aurak Draconian stood marveling at a large glowing lance.

The party had found Myrtani and the dragonlance!

Drawing weapons, the party headed in to attack.  But Myrtani spotted them.  He shouted at the other draconians to stop the party and headed up another flight of stairs.  The draconians turned and pushed aside the eggs to follow their leaders' order.

No one ever wants to discuss things peacefully.

A clash of steel rang through the keep as the party engaged the draconians in fierce combat.  And, even though the party was determined to get past them, the draconians were managing to do what their leader wanted: slow the party down to allow him time to escape.

The draconians fought with everything they had, but the party eventually came out victorious.  As the last of the Kapak Draconians melted into a pool of acid, Tamera Beldon shouted for everyone to give chase after Myrtani.

Making a note to return for the dragon eggs, the members of the party rushed up a spiraling stairwell, heading toward the roof of the keep.

Well....damn...

The party reached the top of the keep in time to see Myrtani lifting off and flying away on the back of a large red dragon.  His evil laugh filled the sky as he raised the dragonlance and shook it at the party.

The party didn't have time to feel sorry for themselves, though.  Myrtani had left them a gift...

I wish I had dragons following my orders.

As he flew away, he shouted into the air.  Large shadows fell over the party as three black dragons descended from the clouds and crashed down upon the roof of the keep.  With a roar, they spread their wings and charged the party.

Thaddeus Durin tried to meet the dragons during their charge, but one of the creatures stopped short and spit acid on him.  He moved aside as the acid started to eat through his armor and burn his skin.  The dragons rushed straight at the party.

Not willing to succumb to their fear, the party stood their ground and met the dragons in combat.  Perhaps it was determination or just sheer luck, but the party took two of the dragons down almost immediately.  The third stopped his charge, trying not to overestimate the party's power.

Thaddeus, who had moved during the dragon's charge, came up behind the creature and stuck a sword in it's neck.  The creature roared once, tried to shake Thaddeus off, and fell over dead.

Despite the victory, the party knew that ultimately they had lost the true battle.  Myrtani had escaped, taking the dragonlance with him.  They needed to let Sir Karl know as soon as possible.

The party headed out of the keep, grabbing the dragon eggs the draconians had left behind.  They headed south toward the outpost.

Once there, they found Sir Karl awaiting them with even more bad news...

Just once, I would like Sir Karl to greet us, tell us everything is fine, and invite us to tea.

Sir Karl told the party that the tomb of Sir Dargaard has been discovered by evil forces.  He recounted a tale about Sir Dargaard being a noble Knight of Solamnia, who had possessed an item of great power.  He used this device to defeat evil at every turn until he was betrayed and murdered.  The device was buried with him, and now it seemed as though the draconians had found out about it.

Sir Karl gave the party instructions on how to reach the tomb and urged them to go and check it out.  The party, still licking their wounds over the defeat handed to them by Myrtani, said they would do their best.

Sir Karl responded by telling them: "You will be happy to know that Caramon has contacted our elite units in Solamnia.  The Council of Knights themselves will lead them into the coming battles.  I will be certain to mention your impressive record to them when they arrive."

The party felt a little better, knowing that Sir Karl had faith in them, at least...

UP NEXT: The party travels to the tomb of Sir Dargaard.

LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK

Just a quick question:

Most of the CRPG blogs out there write about their adventures from the perspective of the player, talk about the mechanics of the game, etc.  In order to try to be different, I approached Champions of Krynn through the eyes of the adventuring party.  But, I'm not sure if it's working out.

What do you prefer?  Do you prefer straight reviews or do you enjoy reading the story as seen through the eyes of the characters in the game?

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: GARGATH AWAITS

After having successfully returned from Throtl with the liberated dragon eggs, Sir Karl Gaardsen ordered the party to head out toward another outpost near the area of Gargath.  Packing up what they could carry, the party headed across treacherous mountains.

It took several days of travel, but the party eventually arrived at the second outpost.  Once they did, they heard from the guards that Sir Karl was awaiting them in his office.  Wasting no time, they headed in to see him, curious as to how he could have beaten them to the outpost.  Wil Dhargon suggested that maybe Sir Karl was a multi-planar creature who could teleport at will, but the rest of the party told him to be quiet.

The trip was fine...thanks for asking...

Sir Karl told the party that while he had been awaiting them, he had uncovered information about a Dragonlance being hidden somewhere in Gargath.  The party had heard of such legendary weapons before, but never dreamed they would have the opportunity to actually find one, let alone use one.

The party stayed in the outpost long enough to memorize important spells and rest themselves.  By the next morning, they headed north, toward Gargath.  Once they reached the main gates, the discovered that they were guarded by human soldiers.  Seedy ones.

My business is none of your business, so mind your own business or I'll give you the business...

The guards demanded to know what the party was doing in Gargath.  Thinking quickly, Thaddeus Durin claimed that the party was merely a group of tradesmen.  But, the guards seemed really itchy and wanted to know what kind of tradesmen they were.  Lord Benjamin started to go for his weapon, but Wil Dhargon politely told the guards that the party were stone workers and general laborers before he could finish drawing it.

To everyone's surprise, this seemed to satisfy the guards, who opened the gate and allowed the party inside.  Wil Dhargon whistled a jaunty tune as he lead the rest of the party toward the streets of Gargath.  Even still, it was obvious that the guards were suspicious.

Once they were out of sight of the guards, a man slipped up to the party.  "Finally, you're here!  I got word that Sir Karl was going to send someone to check this place out.  I've been waiting for you for days.  Come with me."  The man headed away.  When the party hesitated, the man suggested it might be safer if they followed him rather than wander around the streets.  Reluctantly, the party followed him into an abandoned building.

Once there, the man told the party more about what had happened.  "Gargath was overrun about a week ago.  There were only a few of us here at the time trying to rebuild after the War of the Lance.  Draconians and evil forces snuck in at night and captured the Keep.  Since then they have been bringing in prisoners and putting them to work.  They make us wear these hoods to keep track of us."

I want to say no, but my heart says yes...

The man shoved red hoods toward the party and told them to put them on.  Figuring it was best to fit in, the party agreed and put the red hoods on.  Then, the man wished the party luck, told them where the local inn was, and slipped back out onto the streets.

A few minutes later, the party headed back out into the streets.  It didn't take long for them to notice something unusual.

A group of Draconians, different than the ones the party encountered in Throtl, headed toward a large wooden structure built in front of the keep.  They disappeared through what appeared to be a solid wall.  "Must be a secret door there," Janessa Waylan suggested.  The party headed in that direction.

So many choices...so little time...

As the party got near, a group of Kapak Draconians gathered around the wall.  Several of them were licking their swords with long forked tongues. They demanded to know what the party was doing near the wooden structure.  Using his full kender charm, Wil Dhargon attempted to bluff the draconians into believing that the party was there to do some manual labor.  He also mentioned that they might cut their tongues badly if they kept licking their swords like they were some kind of metal ice cream cone.

Unfortunately, the draconians weren't in the mood for foolishness.  They hissed loudly, spread their wings wide and leaped at the party.

The draconians attacked with a fury.  It soon became obvious why they had been licking their blades...to cover them with the natural venom in their mouths!  Lord Benjamin felt the sting of a blade touch his arm.  The poison overtook him and paralyzed him, allowing the Kapaks time to incapacitate him!

Thaddeus rallied the rest of the party together and helped to turn the tide.  His blade struck true, and a Kapak fell to the ground.  But, to the horror of the party members, the draconian quickly dissolved into a pool of acid!  Thaddeus jumped back to avoid being burned.

Thaddeus...almost tripping on acid...

The draconians won another victory when Kavina was hit by their paralyzing poisons.  Like Lord Benjamin, she was incapacitated.  A third of the party was down!  The rest of the party considered retreat...but instead pressed forward.

Determination and luck ruled, and the party managed to bring the rest of the draconians down.  Out of breath, the party gathered together the wounded party members.  They hadn't been expecting such a powerful enemy and they needed to head back to the outpost to rethink their strategy.

"Hey! There is a secret door here!" Wil Dhargon proclaimed proudly, showing the party where the wooden wall swung open.  "Wait!  Where are you going?  We can catch them by surprise!  Come back!"

The party left Gargath in a hurry, making great haste back to the outpost.  Once there, Lord Benjamin and Kavina Do'Arden were healed and brought back to their previous good health.  Janessa Waylan stopped in to see if she could learn a new spell, and was happy that she managed to master the Fireball spell while there.  Certainly, a powerful spell like that would be handy against dangerous foes like the Kapak Draconians.

The party stopped in to see Sir Karl.  He urged them to head back to Gargath and continue the mission.  He also asked them for a favor.

You're welcome.

He asked them if they could retrieve a flower from a silver rose bush in Jelek as a personal favor, so that he could give it as a gift.  The party agreed, but said they had much more important things to do at the moment.  Sir Karl said it should not interfere with their main mission anyway.

Renewed, the party headed out to Gargath again.  This time, the guards at the gate were gone and they had no problems getting in.  They made a quick path back to the wooden structure in front of the keep.  Slipping inside, they headed toward the main doors of the keep, hoping to catch their enemies by surprise.

As luck would have it, a group of people bearing the symbols of the evil goddess Takhisis came through the main doors.  "Myrtani awaits our return.  We should hurry."

There was the name 'Myrtani' again.  The party had heard it before, of course.  But, now, it was obvious that Myrtani was here in Gargath.  But, they didn't have time to ponder this information; because the followers of Takhisis drew their weapons and engaged them.

Watch where you swing that sword, elf!

Draconians rushed through the door to join them.  In seconds, what had originally been a small force grew to a large one.  The battle wasn't going to be easy.

Or, was it?  Janessa told everyone to stand back.  Calling upon the forces of magic, she allowed a flame to come to her fingertips and sent it flying toward the enemy.  Fire erupted all around them.  They screamed in agony as the fire ended their lives.

Fire!  Fire!

Seeing that their comrades had fallen to the powerful Fireball spell, the remaining draconians and followers of Takhisis turned and fled, heading back into the keep.  The party headed in after them...

UP NEXT: The party explores Gargath Keep in search of a legendary dragonlance!

CHAMPIONS OF KRYNN: IN PURSUIT OF DRAGON EGGS

Personal Note:
I would like to thank those of you who inspired me to keep going on this blog.  For a while, I was so buried under work, I didn't think I'd ever see the other side of the tunnel.  I think I learned an important lesson about not giving myself a deadline.  Or something.  Either way, it helped.

When we last left the party, they were hot on the trail of a group Baaz Draconians and Hobgoblins that had fled into the catacombs of Throtl.  The party, intent on stopping the forces of evil from escaping with the collection of bronze dragon eggs, had uncovered information about a mysterious entity called Myrtani.

The party continued through the crumbling catacombs, despite Wil Dhargon's insistence that he was hungry and should stop to eat.  The other members of the party told the kender that some things were more important than eating.  Begrudgingly, the kender agreed, but not without making a few comments about starving to death and withering away into dust.

As the pursuit continued, the party entered a room and were surprised to find a column of swirling multicolored lights!  Never in their lives had they seen something so beautiful.  The way the lights danced kept their attention drawn to it.

Perhaps it was the hunger tearing at his stomach, but Wil Dhargon began to realize that something wasn't quite right.  Using his hoopak, he poked at the column of lights, but found that his weapon passed right through.  "It's an illusion!" he shouted.  He jumped up and down, waving his hands in front of the faces of the party members, hoping they might snap out of their state of enthrallment.

Annoyed at first, the party began to come back to their senses.  Something was definitely off.  It felt like...a trap...

It's always a trap.

Enemy forces jumped to the attack as the lights disappeared. The party only barely had time to ready their weapons, as draconians fell upon them, hissing in rage. The enemy fought with ferocity, dealing damage to a few members of the party.  Thaddeus Durin was incapacitated.  He laid, bleeding on the floor until Tamera Beldon used her clerical abilities to seal his wounds.

The party, knowing that they could not continue without some quick resting, stopped long enough to patch themselves up.  Wil Dhargon took those few minutes to munch on some carrots he had stored in his backpack, offering them to anyone who would take them.

Once the party was in slightly better shape, they continued onward.  Eventually, they went down a flight of stairs and found a cave opening.  From within the cave opening, they could hear Hobgoblins talking.

One of them mentioned that a group of adventurers had infiltrated the catacombs and were after the eggs.  Another one confidently suggested that the party would be stopped by dragons.  He also mentioned that these same dragons made him uncomfortable because they were upset to be trapped in the heat.  After that, the voices faded into the distance.

The party entered the cave behind the voices...

Cheering...that can't be good.  Can it?

The sound of running footsteps in the distance caught the party's attention.  This was followed almost immediately by the sound of something roaring.  The party stopped in their tracks.  So, the Hobgoblins weren't boasting about the dragons, then?  This might not be an easy task after all.

The party knew they had to press onward.  Heroes weren't born of inaction.

As they headed toward the sound of the footsteps, a room full of brass dragon eggshells came into view.  Janessa Waylan hurried ahead, fearing that the draconians might have destroyed the dragon eggs.  But, as it turned out, these eggs were far older.  And, perhaps, the draconians the party chased at this very moment might have been originally created from them.  It was as much a relief as it was disturbing.

"We need to keep moving," someone said, pulling Janessa away from the eggs.

The party rounded the corner...and found something they didn't expect...

Ummm....have the tables turned?

A large group of humans and hobgoblins stood in the corridor, weapons ready.  They laughed at the party, as draconians moved behind them and headed away with the stolen dragon eggs.

The enemy had decided to make a stand.  The party, aware that this was likely a ploy by the enemy to slow them down, charged straight into combat.

They brought out the big guns for this fight.

The enemy had come prepared.  The party found that breaking their ranks wasn't as easy as they hoped.  Toward the back, evil wizards threw spells.  In the front, Hobgoblin leaders rushed forward in a line, backed by human soldiers.

Janessa Waylan suddenly remembered a wand she had found in Throtl.  She pulled it out and looked at the inscription on the side, carved in the language of the elves.  She spoke the words aloud.

Chaos ensued, as the Hobgoblins and warriors were pelted by shards of sharp ice and rock.  They fell quickly as the sharp pieces ripped them to shreds.  Janessa stood in stunned silence.  Only once before had she seen this spell used, and she remembered that the elder mages called it Ice Storm.  An appropriate name.

The party cut quickly through the ranks of the enemy after that.  The survivors began to flee as the party moved in on them, fleeing around a corner.  The party gave chase and rounded the corner...

Oops!

The enemy had lead the party straight into the mouth of danger!  Two dragons, covered in scales of snowy white, rushed toward the party.  Each was larger than a full-size wagon!

One of the dragon's opened his mouth and spewed forth breath made of snow and ice.  Lord Benjamin felt the cold hit him and grunted in pain.  A second later, the dragons fell upon the party.

The dragons were hard to hit.  Their large claws and teeth raked at the party with accuracy as they easily sidestepped the novice swings of the inexperienced party.  But, somehow, luck prevailed.  By surrounding the dragons, the party was able to eventually wear them down.  Lord Benjamin, still reeling from the terrible freezing breath, struck with a definite blow and brought the first dragon down.  The other quickly fell to the Wil Dhargon's hoopak.

The kender was beside himself with joy.  "I've never killed a dragon before!  This will make quite the story back home!  Yessir!  Killed a dragon by myself.  Two dragons really.  I mean, I weakened that other one, of course.  So, thanks for finishing it up when it was on its last leg, so that I could deal with the stronger one."

With the dragons dead, the Baaz Draconians and Hobgoblins had nowhere left to flee.  The party approached them with their weapons drawn, still stained in dragon blood.  The enemy quickly surrendered to the party, and handed over the bronze dragon eggs.

If they had done this to start with, this would have gone a lot easier.

At last!  The eggs were safely in the hands of the forces of good.

The party made haste back to the outpost to see Sir Karl Gaardsen, and report what had happened.  He told them to go and rest, and he would see them in the morning.

The party spent a little time in the local training halls and found that much of what they had experienced had made them better adventurers.  Several new spells were learned and the warriors felt as though they understood their weapons a little more intimately than before.

In the morning, Sir Karl told the party that he was happy with their work.

Dark plots, indeed.

He ordered the party to head to another outpost between Gargath and Jalek.  He told them, once he met them there, he would have them investigate the Tower of Gargath.

Gargath.  The place where the mysterious Myrtani was supposed to be.  The party knew, at that moment, that the adventure had only just begun...

UP NEXT: The party heads toward Gargath.

I'LL BE BACK

I received some kind words from folks and it really makes me want to continue my journey.  I didn't really want to give it up to begin with, but time just got so crunched that I just couldn't see beyond what was going on in that moment.

So, my travels into Champions of Krynn will continue.  I can't say when for sure.  In fact, tying myself to a schedule was probably the biggest mistake I made.  So, I'll post what I can, when I can.

In the meantime, I hope you'll all be patient until I can get back to it.

CALLING IT A DAY...

At this point, there's no denying it.  I'm far too busy to keep up with a blog.  As much as I would love to chronicle my adventures here, I just don't have the time for it.

I suppose I'm just one of a million blogs that start off strong and die a quick death.  So be it.

Thanks for those who actually took time to read it.