11/13/14 Market Day

After being delayed and growing impatient, Leorio opened the door and Booyow followed. They finally met with the Bergermeister of Treefall, Humphrey Mortemer, in The Rat's Kellar.  It housed his office, the town hall and jail.  The town leader had been "busy" with a young lady that turned out to be Dolphin's sister! That was a matter best dealt with between the siblings.  Booyow was irritated with the lack of respect shown by the politician.  But he showed him the list with names of Treefall residents that they'd found on the lizard-like men. His assistant, Otto Symeonis, made a copy and told them that the creatures sounded like the troglodytes that he had encountered in the past.  He said they were very territorial, like the basilisks that sometimes accompanied them.  Humphrey said that he'd warn the villagers and Booyow let him know that they'd continue to defend the town by battling this latest threat.  Booyow also told him about Abe and asked for his help with a wagon and a strong horse to pull it to Waterdeep.  The bureaucrat agreed to help and wrote up the appropriate paperwork.  Booyow and Leorio thanked him and left.

Market Day brings merchants and mercenaries from near and far to Treefall. Caravans arrive with merriment and show of force. Over a dozen soldiers mounted on war horses dressed in plate barding escorted one such group. "For the finest arms and armor anywhere, come see the Briggspear brothers!", shouted a halfling as he tossed coins from a wagon to the delighted crowd below. Leopold DeClare rolled his eyes and continued toward the church.  His patience was understandably wearing thin.  Booyow had spoken to him twice before about repairs to his keep, but talk is cheap.  The dwarven carpenter needed payment for supplies and was ready to begin.

Booyow and Leorio led him to the church and showed him the statue of Abe.  After hearing of their predicament, the little man said that he might be able to help.  He told them of some magical chisels he'd lost that were able to remove stone from flesh.  If they could help him retrieve them, perhaps he could restore the cleric.  He felt certain he could find the tools, so they agreed to help him after market day.  After he left, Leopold DuVall the priest reassured them that he was trustworthy.  He then showed them where the citizens of Treefall had been donating money to place candles in honor of the now petrified Abe.  Booyow and Leorio bought another one to go along with the lonely half-dozen that were there.  It was touching and sad, but they had only recently returned.  Hopefully more support would come in time.

But the adventures couldn't wait for charity.  They were more accustomed to taking matters into their own hands. They headed to The Wavy Leaf, which was Treefall's tavern and inn. They needed to discuss the low morale that Humphrey had recently displayed.  They were greeted with free drinks and cheers when they entered.  "Hooray for Booyow!", shouted the crowd.  The wizard was honored and smiled.  He lifted his ale toward the crowd and then to his elven friend.  "And to Leorio!", he replied.  "Hooray for Leorio!" they responded and the elf smiled and drank in return.  Booyow could have sworn he heard "Who the Hell is Leorio?" somewhere in the crowd.

They spoke with Dolphin about their dilemma.  Humphrey's reluctance to continue on their latest adventure had contributed to Gervase and Abe both falling in battle.  They needed to know they could count on him regardless of the circumstances.  Dolphin understood and had already spoken to him.  He reassured them that it wouldn't happen again and pointed out the need for rest and relaxation from time to time.  They all agreed and then returned to their mead.  A dance contest began shortly thereafter, to which Booyow politely declined the invitation.  There wasn't enough ale in all of Treefall to get him out there.  But he enjoyed watching his elven friend.  Leorio was the fastest and most agile person he'd ever known, but who knew he could dance?  He mopped the  floor with Humphrey and their latest misfortunes were soon forgotten.

That night Leorio and Booyow shared a room at the inn with the Briggspear brothers.  Leorio even shared a bath.  The halflings told them about their shop in Waterdeep.  It was on Silver Street, down from Yawning Portal Inn.  They told Booyow about new clothing they were making that was laced with metal for more protection and of wanting to expand by opening a store in Treefall.  The wizard was definitely interested and listened politely as he copied another spell into his book, for hours.

The following day was hectic at the market and there was much to be done.  Leorio and Booyow were both very charming and able to sell all their wares.  Included in the mix was a magical short sword, The Melborne Hill Blade.  From their shares Leorio bought stealthier clothing and enchanted armor from the Briggspear brothers and Booyow purchased an Amulet of Health.  The amulet was discounted on the agreement that the brothers could use Booyow's good name as a valued customer with the citizens of Treefall.  Perhaps their proposed business arrangement might come to fruition after all.

That night Booyow worked in the smithy's shop.  He was doing forging of a different kind though.  Since the shop was within the magical range of his mentor's statue and grave, the wizard felt more powerful here.  He had longed for a special companion, but the time had not been right until now.  For an hour he concentrated and summoned his familiar, but nothing appeared.  He felt its spirit telepathically and knew that somehow it was unable to come.  He would have to go to it and be patient a little longer.

The following morning the adventurers set off again, this time with the dwarf Leopold.  The journey there was uneventful and the following day they arrived.  The road led to a cave with chickens penned outside and a few statues.  The stoned figures brought unease to the party as their encounter with the basilisk was still fresh in their minds.  The elves Leorio and Gervase used their stealth to approach through the trees.  Leorio nailed it and didn't make a sound.  Gervase, not so much and a towering giant emerged from behind the pen and moved toward them!

11/06/14 Stoned

Fire raged from the trap filled with burning oil and decaying zombies. The creature focused its gaze upon the priest once more. He was unable to overcome it.



Turn To Stone by Electric Light Orchestra
The dying embers of the night,
a fire that slowly fades till dawn,
still glow upon the wall so bright :
BURNING, BURNING, BURNING!

The tired rats that hide away,
from here to everywhere they go,
roll past the door into the day in our blue world!

Abelorn Cole's final thoughts...

“I turn to stone when hope is gone, I turn to stone.

Turn to stone when am I comin' home, I can't go on.
I turn to stone when hope is gone, I turn to stone.”

And with that, he is petrified. The cleric that devoted his life to the domain that sustains life, vitality and health, has the life drained out of him. He stands motionless and is a stone statue. But how did this happen?      

 * * * * * *

Humphrey crawled out of the spider filled trap. He didn't look so good. Physically he said he wasn't hurt, but we insisted on checking him out, no bites. Mentally he was spent. He was an emotional wreck. Who could blame him? Knocked out by gargoyles; surrounded by an army of orcs; totally engulfed by the gelatinous cube and now falling into a pit full of spiders. He'd been through a lot, but then we all had. He wasn't taking it so well though. So we left the dark, dangerous dungeon to the relative "safety" of the cellar. It wasn't much, but he was content with the improvement. Leaving him to rest on his bedroll, we locked the dungeon grate behind us and returned to the trap.

Like shooting fish in a barrel, the spiders in the pit stood no chance against multiple Firebolt blasts from Booyow.  Leorio felt confident that he'd disabled the trap and hadn't found any on the door that it had guarded.  Opening the door we found stairs descending into the darkness below and heard moans and scuffling coming up.  We quickly closed the door, enabled the trap again and took up positions beyond it. Moments later scratching and thumping could be heard behind the door. Speculating that whatever was there could not open the door, and putting a lot of confidence in the set trap, the wizard cast a spell. He gestured and spoke "Give me a hand!" and the mage's spectral floating hand appeared in front of the door. He opened the door and walking dead emerged!

Decaying men, covered with giant rats, poured out the door. The rodents didn't trigger the trap, but the undead did. Like lemmings they followed each other into the pit! Leorio's tendency toward pyromania served us well as he poured a flask of oil into the pit. "Flame on!" moments later from Booyow set it ablaze with his Burning Hands spell and some rats and zombies were burnt as well. Abe, Dolphin and Gervase dealt with whatever rats or zombies got past the fiery blaze. "Fall back!", shouted the cleric as reanimated corpses continued to pour out the door. The pit was quickly filling. "Gunter, Glieben, Glauten, Globen! Its better to burn out than to fade away!", spoke the wizard and his Flaming Sphere appeared beyond the trap. What mindless dead did get past it and the pit didn't have much left. Leorio poured more oil into the inferno ensuring that the dead stopped walking for good. Gervase fell in the battle and Abe pulled him back and stabilized his wounds. Little did we know that the half-elf wouldn't get a chance to thank the holy man for quite some time. 

We finished off the remaining rats and undead. The fire on the door was extinguished, but the rage in the pit would have to burn out.  Booyow followed his sphere down the stairs far enough to see more rats scamper and that the stairs continued for quite a distance. He dismissed the sphere and closed the door back. We searched the corpses and then cremated them and the rats in the fire pit.

We were ready to head back, but realized the door leading to the cistern had been closed. When Abe tried to open it, it was spiked from the other side. Using his crowbar, the resourceful cleric was able to pry the door open. Beyond it we saw three lizard-like men, drinking from the cistern, and their large reptilian pet. A battle quickly ensued where two of the men were quickly vanquished. The Basilisk, as we would confirm later it was, proved more powerful. Booyow was the first to feel the power of its stare as he was able to avoid it. He warned the others "Watch its gaze!" Leorio tried to move in the room to get a better vantage point, but triggered another trap door. Although we'd been over the area before, this time the rogue fell in. "By the power of Pelor! Hammer Time!", shouted Abe and his trusted Spiritual Weapon appeared. As Dolphin and Booyow continued battle with the Basilisk and lone Lizardman, Abe moved in to help the elf.  Moments later the thief was out of the pit. Abe must have been turning around as he was unable to avoid the creature's gaze. We saw the life drain from the cleric devoted to life, as he turned to a stone statue before our very eyes! His spiritual hammer disappeared with him.

Dolphin was the only one left engaged with the huge reptilian beast now and he wasn't looking well.  He disengaged and started running for one of the doors behind us.  Leorio had barely avoided the power of the beast twice now and Gervase lie unconscious on the floor near it. Things were looking pretty grim.  Booyow was out of spells and barely had enough health to move himself.  He pulled out his scroll and read from the parchment, casting a fiery spell.  Seconds later, a huge Fireball exploded and engulfed the Basilisk and last Lizardman! They moved no more, just like our lifelong friend. Ironically the one that just moments before had urged us all to fall back had fallen himself in battle.  Although he would remain standing forever as a stone statue without powerful help.

We found a bag of treasure near the cistern and returned Gervase to the cellar. We awoke the sleeping Humphrey. Between Leorio, Dolphin, Booyow and Humphrey, we were able to move the heavy statue of Abelorn Cole to the base of the cellar stairs. Ascending the stairs and out of the keep would prove more difficult. We retrieved a pulley that was up in the tower.  As we were attaching it and rope to the cellar grates, we were approached by another rat man and his three rat companions! The Wearrat "Nigel", as we learned he was called, was thankfully wanting to engage in conversation and not melee.

It seems there is an ongoing battle between the Lizardmen and Wearrats and he was offering us a truce if we'd team with them. Putting forward his best bluff face, Booyow heard the rodent man out. Nigel would call off the rodents.  He also told us that the liquid in the cistern helped against the effects of the Basilisk. Furthermore, they would help us get the statue outside if we'd help them by eliminating a foul creature that was on the lower levels. If we were willing to do additional jobs, we might even be able to join their gang. This was an obvious win for our beaten down and dwindling party, so Booyow agreed to return after seeking help for our stoned companion. The unlikely allies did in fact stay true to their word. The three rats transformed into men and after the statue was outside, Leorio asked about a cart. The "men" said they could find one and departed. Shortly thereafter they returned and sure enough had a cart. Not really wanting to know the answer, we didn't ask where it came from. We carefully loaded Abe on the cart and thanked them again. We promised to return and left.

Not far from the keep we discovered how the cart was acquired. An older lady and younger boy both lied knocked out on the ground and vegetables were strewn everywhere. We revived them both and explained our predicament. After much rejection from the elderly woman, they came with us to Trefall. The cart made it much easier, but started failing outside of the Jenkins farm. Derris helped us on into town with a horse and wagon, where we went to the church. Leopold told us that his power wasn't great enough to restore Abe, that we'd have to return to Waterdeep. We safely placed Abe where he had always been most comfortable, in the house that he and so many others gathered to worship. Here he would rest until we could make our journey homeward.

Meet the Cast

Main Cast

Abelorn Cole (Level 3 Human Cleric)

Booyow Nasir (Level 3 Human Wizard)

Cruhorn (Level 3 Human Fighter)

Leoreo Nightshade (Level 3 Elven Rogue)

Abe, Booyow and Leoreo grew up in Waterdeep together. Abe and Cruhorn served together as soldiers.

Ivan Kerel was the leader of the party of six. He joined us from the center of the graveyard where mysteriously only he and Joseph could enter.

Men-at-arms : “Joseph and the Greenhorns”

Joseph de Hampole first joined our party strictly to care for the horses.

Dolphin Du Guaur has a thin mustache and plans to marry Constance. Wears a chain shirt.

Gervase De Montfort wears leather.

Humphrey Neckam wears leather.

Dolphin, Gervase and Humphrey are all younger and from The City State of the Invincible Overlord. We met them at Blain Bridge and wrote up a contract for their services.

Supporting Cast

Basil Gladsheath is an adventurer that went to the boneyard.

Bethany is a old lady that hangs out near the local village well. She loves to gossip and knows a lot that goes on in town and its history.

“Blood Drop Gang” : Members of the local Thieves Guild that have been harassing Treefall for two years. Their members have tattoos of skulls with blood drops. Their leader is a Necromancer that may be undead. This is a rival gang to Leoreo's family.

Derris Jenkins has a farm just outside of Treefall. His son is Cole Jenkins. When we first met Derris, he was very unfriendly. Booyow cast a Charm spell to change his demeanor and gain more information. Arawn Murdoch was apprenticed to Derris.

General “Stonewall” Firth used to live in Treefall. He died and is buried at the local cemetery by the church. He has a huge abandoned house in the outskirts of town where giant mushrooms grow.

“Geoff” Geoffry DeBeauchamp is a local mushroom farmer. We saved him along with Joseph Murdoch at the keep. He was one of the three Mathorns that attacked us. He repaid us each with a poultice that will neutralize poison.

Humphrey Mortemer is the burgermeister of Treefall.

Jean de Hampole is the local Smithy. His younger sixteen year old son is Joseph. He was quite intrigued with Leoreo's rapier when we first met him.

Jerimond the wizard was Booyow's mentor. There is a statue in the center of Treefall built in his memory and honor. When we first came there, the statue held a glass orb and Mathorns and other misfortune plagued the town. It now holds the magical orb that protects the town and brings it luck as well as good harvests. There is a plaque beneath the statue that reads “Jerimond the Mage, friend to all and patron of Treefall. Orb of light, orb of peace and plenty – Jerimond's last gift to his friends – Rest here with his ashes, he will be sorely missed.”

Joseph Murdoch and his wife Valerie run the local inn in Treefall. We saved Joseph at the keep after he attacked us as a Mathorn. Their son Arawn was the first Mathorn that we encountered. We later killed Arawn when he attacked us, in human form, along with three other bandits. Leoreo threw his body off a cliff.

Leopold De Clare is a local carpenter that has agreed to fix the damage to the keep.

Leopold Du Vall is a Cleric at the church in Treefall. He provided us shelter when we first came to town.

Booyow gave him the hazelnut and he made a mixture which cured his poison from a Mathorn bite.

Major Geoffrey Le Dun is the head of Fort de Lacy. He loaned us four riding horses, which were later returned, to get to Treefall and return his daughter Petra safely. We first met her and her pet donkey when we were looking for horses in Fort de Lacy.

Mathew Briggspear is a local merchant. Booyow bought a light crossbow and bolts from him in Treefall.

Oakley Perkins runs the Treefall general store along with his wife Karen. Their daughter Sally was killed by a Mathorn. Karen had another daughter, Petra, with Major Geoffrey Le Dun. Booyow bought a red robe from Oakley and had two big pockets sewn into it. We bought other general supplies from him as well, including a shovel.

Petra Flambard is the daughter of Major Geoffrey Le Dun and Karen Perkins. She is the girlfriend of Cole Jenkins and they now plan to marry.

Simond Heyward is a stone mason in Treefall.

Theragrim Greenbow sells mushrooms, spices and herbs. We met him on the road on the way to Treefall, along with a group of traveling merchants. He gave Booyow hazelnut.

Iolas

The leaves of the forest were turning brilliant shades of yellow and orange, though they still clung valiantly to the branches. Iolas had never liked this time of year. His mother found the turning of the seasons beautiful, and had many long poems to recite on the subject, but they didn't sit well with him. It was his father's blood, she would say, poisoning his heart with thoughts of death while her own Fey blood sang only of life. Perhaps she was right. Iolas was no Elf, not completely, and his poisoned heart yearned for other things. The sound of rustling brush came to his ears from some way off. It was no woodland creature, of that he was certain; too loud, and too reckless. Iolas crept through the trees toward the sound, and soon caught sight of Men. These were no hunters, for he had seen enough of those in the wood to recognize them. A man, dressed in fine black wool that had no business in the wilderness and wearing a blade never intended to strike the flesh of beasts, led a group of two dozen or more men, women, and children.

Iolas wondered for a heartbeat why they were coming into the wood this way, but their faces told the tale to anyone who had eyes: they were not going toward something, they were running away. "Hold!" cried Iolas, drawing himself up before the black-clad man. "What business do you have in this place?" Though he had a guess as to their motives, he had always been taught not to trust folk not born of the woods. "Ah!" said the man, as he came shuffling to a halt. The others behind him stopped as well. The man was stocky, with a greying beard and a red-splotched face dripping with sweat despite the Autumn coolness. "We have come to find the Mistress of the Wood, and beg her for sanctuary."

"And so you have found her." Iolas had his mouth half-open to speak, but found himself turning along with all the others to gape at the majestic Elf who had seemed to materialize out of the trees themselves. Iolas would never have the woodcraft of a true Elf, and this reminder of that fact was as galling as ever. "I am Lindiria, guardian of this place. You have come here uninvited." She cast a cool eye over the assembled Men. 

 The man removed his hat and clutched it in his hands as he bowed low. "Oh Mistress, please forgive us for our intrusion. Our small village at the edge of the wood was set upon by bandits and outlaws, and we are the only ones who have survived." "This is not my concern," said Lindiria, her voice still even, betraying no emotion. "You have your own kings and princes of Men whose duty it is to protect you. Go to them."  The man's face twisted with anxiety at these words. "We would, indeed, but the brigands chased us into the wood, and pursue us still. If you could but show us some secret way, some place to hide until they have given up the hunt, we will leave as soon as we may and trouble you no more."

"Show you my secrets?" There was emotion in those words, but it was not pleasant. "Never has the wise path involved the telling of Elvish secrets to Men." She shook her head ever so slightly, but with finality. "Your fate is your own, and I leave you to it." With that, she turned and retreated swiftly between the trees. The man turned to Iolas, his eyes full of fear, but still with a tiny spark of hope. Iolas could not bear that gaze, and turned to look into the wood where his mother had gone. "I will speak with her," he said, and followed after her. * * * "Mother!" Iolas shouted, though he knew she could have heard him at a much lower volume. Indeed, she was there beside him, almost as though she had never been anywhere else. She regarded him with her inscrutable gaze but said nothing. "How can you leave those people to such a fate?" Iolas felt his hands balling into fists, though he tried to maintain the same implacable demeanor as his mother. "And what would you have me do? Allow them safe haven, show them the secret ways of my home, so that when the danger has passed they can return and do what they will here? They nibble enough at the edges of the wood, year upon year; I will not let those teeth into its very heart." "Have you no compassion? Do you really have such contempt for their kind? What if it were I seeking refuge?" She quirked an eyebrow. "If you had run afoul of the perils of life among Men, then I would say you earned whatever fate befell you." Iolas never knew if his mother's coldness was for him alone, or if he only stood in for the father he had never met. He had never seen it so much on display before. "I will help them," he said, surprising even himself with the words. Feeling as though he were leaning over a precipice, he continued, "I do not know all of your secret ways, but I know enough to bring them to safety. If you will not show kindness or pity, then it must fall to me." Something flashed behind Lindiria's eyes, but Iolas could never read her subtle expressions. "Go then, if that is your choice," she said, her voice as even as ever, "but know that you will never be welcome here again, and never shall you see me until your dying day." She paused but a moment, and then she was gone once more. * * * Iolas cursed himself as he paced back and forth beneath the trees. Had he not the courage of his convictions? Why did he hesitate? The love of one so ready to cast him aside was hardly worth clinging to, and yet...

The swirling thoughts that held him paralyzed were shattered by the harsh cry of a raven. It stood on a branch between brightly colored leaves, sleek and glossy from beak to talon to tail. It cocked its head and peered at him, then flew off into the wood. Finally broken from his own thoughts, Iolas ran after it, in that moment leaving all he had ever known behind.


He had not been following the raven, but they had both arrived at the same destination. One just in time, the other far too late. The bodies of the refugees lay strewn about the forest floor, their wounds still shining with bright red blood. The raven flew to the man in the black suit, who lay on his back, staring wide-eyed into the leafy canopy. Iolas stood over him, seeing the very image of death that haunted his heart.
The raven looked up at him from its perch on the dead man's chest. Iolas imagined for a moment that the look was accusatory, blaming him for the inaction that lead to this tragedy. But it was not accusation in those shining black eyes, but a question. "What will you do?" they asked. "Do these lives mean less to you now that they are over? Does the brevity of life rob it of meaning?"

 
Iolas' eyes went from the raven to the sword at the man's hip. A pretty blade, made to spill the blood of Men, face to face, without all the trappings and justifications of warfare. He bent down and unbuckled the sword belt, sliding it out from beneath the corpse and fastening it around his own waist. The weight was strange and unbalancing, pulling on his body like the deaths around him pulled at his heart. He did not resist that pull, but rather followed it toward a new path, away from his home and into the world.

09/06/14 Boars!

With the burgermeister's approval, and guards helping us, we moved the statue of Jerimond to look under it for the notes Leopold had told us about. We found a sarcophagus that when Leoreo and Booyow opened it, a damaging ward of protection was set off with a loud boom!  With their pride and bodies damaged, Abe healed them both. Inside we found Jerimond's body, but it was missing a head and hand. Booyow also found a scroll case, but nothing else.  With Abe presiding over the ceremony, we then reburied the body with the townsfolk watching.  Booyow later opened the scroll case to find 3 1st, 2 2nd and 1 3rd level Wizard spell. 

The night before, Booyow met an elf at the inn that told him he was part of a party of six that planned to follow a map they had. He showed the map and it was the same one we found in the keep's laboratory.  When asked, he said their party needed no help.  Booyow acted like he'd never seen the map, so as to not alert them that we too knew about it.  Booyow tried to introduce Leoreo to the elf, but he left before he could.  They then looked for him and ran into Joseph, the smithy's son.  He described the party to us, which included the elf, a bigger burly man, one clad in leather armor and three wearing robes.  

Joseph was eager to join us. We told him that if he had his Father's approval, we could use his help to tend to the horses only.  The next morning he met us at the inn and had the horses combed, teeth brushed and was anxious to begin. Abe found out from Leopold, while staying at the church and cleaning up gargoyle dung, that a gang of assassins had been staying around the bone yard area.  This is the same area that he believes the gargoyles that are destroying the church are coming from.

We saw the same party of men in the crowd that watched the reburial.  Leoreo put on a disguise that morning out of concern for the rival gang that had been asking about him.  He spoke to the men and the one in leather recognized that he was in a disguise.  He still told him that their elven companion had been killed in his sleep the night before and they'd found a dagger with a wavy blade and 3 blood drops on it. Also a note was left that said "Two now vanquished, one remains." He also said they planned to be in town for the two or three days taking care of their friend.

Leoreo shared this with Abe and Booyow and we discussed our options.  Not knowing this new party and not being able to trust them, we didn't feel it would be safe to set out with them.  Not wanting them to follow the same map we had and get to the "gold beyond measure" before us, we decided to head there first and take advantage of the fact they might be delayed. The keep and the dungeons below would have to wait for now.

We had Joseph take the horses out of town to the west. Then we met him there and left to the west, northwest just in case we were watched. We then circled to the northeast and starting following a tributary river toward the main river shown on the map.  We encountered some snakes along the way that we avoided.  That night while resting, we were attacked by a pack of wild boars.  They stormed the camp, we believe, because they were being chased by a green dragon.  At least that is what Booyow believed it to be when it swooped down and picked two of them up.  There were several injuries and dead boars in the process, but everyone survived and all the horses.  Joseph also made his first kill, which he kept talking about all of the next day.  After crossing through a swamp filled with dead corpses, we made it to the site of the battle that Cruhorn and Abe remembered and that is where we set camp for the next night. 

09/18/14 The Mighty Oak

That night a thick, eerie mist set in. Crossbow bolts fired into it, illuminated by Light spells, mysteriously extinguised. Many frogs began croaking loudly and pouring out of the swamp toward camp. They were followed slowly by 5 zombies. Booyow alerted the others and they all joined the fight. Joseph was frozen with fear at first, but eventually pulled himself together and also attacked. Leoreo hit the first one with a crossbow bolt and Booyow finished it off with a Firebolt. Abe wounded another one and then Booyow cast Burning Hands. It incinerated two of them and hurt the 5^th one. Abe then turned the two remaining undead beast away. We quickly gathered the horses and moved camp to the top of the bluff before they returned. The rest of the night was uneventful.

As the mist cleared the next morning, we set out for the stone bridge that we could see in the distance. As we approached, we saw that it was covered in crows and one solitary gargoyle. Abe timed it so that he could approach just after Booyow cast his Firebolt spell. The spell hit and it errupted in flames. Abe then struck it solidly, only to find that it was a statue after all. Abe and Booyow painfully searched the bridge for any signs of a chain or chest as our map indicated, but had no luck. We then decided to head toward The House of Firth.

Our map indicated that there would be a “Tree of Dead Man's Hand” southeast of the bridge. We headed in that direction and soon found it. The old, dead tree in fact did resemble a dead man's hand. Leoreo was so griefstricken for those that had fallen in battle here that he insisted upon planting an oak tree as a memorial to them. We had never seen him act this way before. Joseph was so moved that he too was eager to help. Not just any tree would do, as the mulberry tree that he returned with first would not satisfy the determined elf. Abe watched over them with concern. While the two persisted, Booyow scouted ahead to Lookout Hill where Trebuchet Rock set atop. He found two large, sealed, clay pitch pots and could see the House of Firth in the distance. He could also make out 6 horses and people exiting the house. They appeared to look at a map and then head off toward the bridge. Booyow quickly returned to the tree to warn the others. 


Leoreo had not planted the tree yet and refused to leave before doing so. Seeing no alternative, Booyow cast a Sleep spell on the elf.  He should have known that his lifelong friend was immune.  Joseph however was not and dropped fast asleep!  Hoping he'd follow, Booyow mounted his horse "Duke".  Abe threw Joseph over his horse and they all rode to take cover behind a nearby bluff. Leoreo however did not follow, but stayed behind and soon the party rode up. It was the same party we'd met at Treefall, minus their elven companion. 

Fortunately they remained friendly and remembered Leoreo from Treefall. They even offered to let him join their party for a quarter share. Concerned for their friend, Abe and Booyow woke Joseph up and the three of them returned.  The party quickly rode off as we approached.  Leoreo finally finished planting his oak tree and we were ready to try and follow.  However we were attacked by three gargoyles before we could depart.  They dropped stones, clawed and bit but ultimately were defeated.  We then returned to the stone bridge, which was the direction the other party was headed.

We found an open chest attached to a chain at the bridge, but the other party was already gone. One of their riding horses was left behind, but badly injured. Abe healed it and each of us now had our own mount. He would later name it "Mule".  Leoreo searched the chest and found a hidden compartment wherein was a ceremonial dagger! We surmised that the other party headed northeast toward the graveyard.  So we headed to the northwest, toward Holdout Hill and dismounted on the west side of the hill out of view.

Leoreo then sneaked up the hill. He found a large statue of a horse and rider. The rider had his arm raised, but his hand was empty, and he faced the graveyard. Booyow joined Leoreo and they scouted the graveyard in the distance. They watched  the other party digging at various graves and fighting gargoyles. One of their party members appeared to cast spells as well. They eventually rode off to the east of the graveyard. A large party of what appeared to be orcs dressed in orange tunics came out of one of the mausoleums as well.

We decided to seek shelter to the north in the ruins of Fort Murning because we believed it would be safer than staying outside near the swamp.  We were wrong.  As we approached, a ferocious dog started growling and more orcs emerged from the ruins.  We quickly retreated to the west and then back to Holdout Hill.  We would wait for the cover of darkness and then head toward the graveyard.  Our plan was to have Booyow cast Invisibility on Leoreo.  The elven rogue would then use his powers of stealth and darkvision to gather as much intelligence as he could on the other party and the graveyard.