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...