March 27, 998 PY
I have had the opportunity to meet with our adventurers and learn something of their histories. Nathan the Wizard, is of the school of the blue. His occupation is Gong-jack. Age 18, height 5’ 11”. Nathan dresses well, fixing his robe with a leather belt, buckled with a jewel encrusted clasp. He has shaggy brown hair, a neatly trimmed goatee, and a narrow brimmed hat.
Athena should not be judged by her diminutive size. While a mere 3’ tall, Athena is an accomplished wizard, as the tale I am soon to tell will relate. Athena has a broad brimmed hat, with its peaked crown drapping over the brim, covering Athena’s left eye. Her hat is decorated with a small sapphire, that hangs from a thin silver chain of the hat’s brim. Athena is also of the school of the blue. She has an owl for a companion.
About Bob the Recker, also known as “The Dude of Death,” I now know quite a bit. He is 6’ 2”, a hulky build with a massive helmet formed of a creature’s skull. The skull bears a crack, which for Bob is a reminder of the war he fought with Orc Hands and the betrayal he met with on the battlefield. Bob, despite his fierce appearance, loves cats. He has a cat named Berry the Robber. Bob wears a cape emblazoned with a raging fire from which emerges a figure, sword raised, taunting would-be foes.
4 years ago, during the season of war, Bob was battling alongside Orc Hands when he stepped on a land mine. Orc Hands, assuming his friend dead abandoned him. Bob has only faint memories of this betrayal. After the war Bob was interned at a mental hospital. The explosion from the mine had disfigured Bob’s face, giving him the look of one possessed. Bob, tormented by rage nearly went mad. He has since taken to wearing a helmet that hides his face.
The helmet is made of the skull of a beast he had hunted with Orc Hands before the war. Bob remembers little of this. Bob remembers little of anything. Even Bob’s real name is uncertain, although he suspects it is Harold Humperwart, a man from Glendale. Bob dimly remembers his time in Glendale. After having left the mental hospital he returned home, but was harassed by a local priest who accussed him of being possessed by evil spirits. Without memories or friends, Bob felt little attachment to Glendale and so left for Cragstone, where he had went to school and met Orc Hands. Bob is the last person of his clan.
Returning to the present day. Bob, Orc Hands, and Athena have returned to the crypt of Thorsten, this time accompanied by Nathan and Nathan’s porter, Little John. Orc Hands hired a link boy, 7-year-old Little Liam.
There was an ill omen on the eve of their return to the crypt. A fierce hailstorm raged, and in March no less. Upon entering the tomb, the spell trap was once again sprung although most of the party, save Orc Hands and the hirelings, were able to avoid it.
Bob took the lead and urged the party on a new path, this time straight. The door was stuck, but Bob kicked it open. Ever alert, Bob spied a secret door in the next room. A panel in that room was loose and was able to slide sideways. The next room was quite expansive, a long hall way with stairs descending down to an open area flanked by two large frescoes-one of a wizard and the other of a knight. Further down was another flight of stairs leading back up. Athena studied the painting of the knight, who looked to be laying in a tomb. She could find no secret doors or switches on the painting, nor any secret meaning or message in the painting itself. They proceeded further and discovered a chest at the top of the stairs. They did not have time to open the chest though, for as soon as they discovered it they heard commotion from their companions, Nathan and Orc Hands, who had stayed behind.
Nathan and Orc Hands did not follow their companions into the secret passage, but instead ventured into an adjacent room, which opened out into a large, high-ceilinged, room filled with frescoes. Pillars filed down the center of the room in two columns, extending beyond eye sight. About 35 feet ahead could be made out a hulking form, an ogre. Feeling outmatched and unprepared Nathan and Orc Hands flee. They rush out of the room and press shut the door behind them. In their haste they realize they had forgot little Liam. A scream followed by a crunching of bones is heard behind them.
Bob and Athena hear the scream and rush to their companions’ aid. Orc Hands and Nathan are able to run into the secret passage before being attacked by the Ogre. Bob sees that Orc Hands is now face to face with the ogre. Orc Hands swings his sword and misses. Bob fires a shot with his crossbow that strikes the target. Athena and Nathan both effectively cast a spell. Athena casts beguilement and Nathan casts nimbus, rendering the ogre charmed and blind.
Athena approaches the ogre, discovering it is a female named Grim. Athena, while disturbed at the death of Little Liam at Grim’s hands is overjoyed to have such a large and powerful new companion. Grim asks to be cured of her blindness and says that she is willing to part with two gold nuggets if the wizards can return her sight. The party agrees and informs Grim that she will have her sight restored within an hour.
Athena and Bob return to the long hallway and open the chest they had left earlier, discovering a coat of Mithral chain mail armor as well as a mirror that looks to be magical. The adventurers agree that Bob will have the chain mail, Athena will take the magic mirror, and Nathan and Orc Hands will each take a gold nugget.
The adventurers, mourning the loss of Little Liam, return to Cragstone. Exhausted, they forgo investigating their treasure. A funeral for Little Liam will need to be arranged. Athena’s mirror also needs to be investigated. Orc Hands met with the librarian, Minthada, to learn more about Orcishness, an affliction he has long been curious about. Orc Hands discovers there is a settlement of the afflicted in Rithwic. As he is leaving the library he is given a slip of paper with a cryptic message, “A Focusing Stone is about the size of a fiun skull. I wonder if there is a connection?” Orc Hands is resolved to look into the matter, believing that if he discovers a connection he may receive a reward from the librarian.
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