Welcome to the Rendering

Pharast 18, 4712

Following their encounter with the greater fire elemental in the forge, the Coopers decide to head back to the reception room and continue their exploration there. Thorne opens the west door and enters what appears to be a kitchen. Exotic fish and plants fill in an aquaponics area, with mechanical devices that harvest, process and deliver fresh food to the reception area. Gerald admires the machinery while the steward explains how the system works. Each water tank has a summoning device that connects it to the plane of water and when fish deplete or die new fish are summoned to replace them.

The party explores the kitchen and Daryle notices a door behind a deep layer of barricade.Why would someone have barricaded the door on this side? As the Coopers ponder the answer to this question, Rowen searched the pantry and discovers an ancient Azlanti cutlery set for 12 made of platinum. Omok asks the steward what's behind the door. The steward tells the group about the Reclaimers, a swarm of small automatons who disassemble other automatons and reclaim their parts to build newer sets.

While the party remains in the kitchen to discuss what to do about the barricaded door, Thorne returns to the reception area and searches for a secret door, but he doesn't find one. He examines the painting of the Prince, which seems to simmer and switch to a different glorious pose every few minutes. He takes it off the wall before placing by the door so he doesn't forget to take it with him on his way out. Daryle, tired of the arguments in the kitchen, joins Thorne. They decide to proceed through the forge's secret path and explore the rest of the level.

At some point, Gerald decides to return to the reception area and notices that the painting has been moved. He notices that Thorne and Daryle are missing, so he searches for them.

Meanwhile, the remaining Coopers dismantle the barricade and reach the door. Omok seizes the initiative and kicks in the door. He is immediately set upon by a swarm of reclaimers. Roscoe comes to the rescue and enters the fray. Darelle and Rowen are soon involved in this battle. While fighting they come up with a clever plan. Rowen will draw the swarm away, while the others rush through the door. Then he will become invisible and the swarm will be left in this room. They quickly execute the plan. Roscoe, Omok and Darelle find themselves in a room with a small pool of liquid metal in the middle. Rowen, meanwhile, is left invisible in the kitchen.

Omok uses his trident and measures the depth of the pool. He discovers that it is about 2 feet deep. The trident is not affected by the liquid metal, but the Coopers are wary of what may dwell in there.

On the other side of the dungeon, Thorne and Daryle open their door. They are attacked by metallic tentacles that surround a large pool of acid, and they are also set upon by a swarm of reclaimers. Gerald joins the fray and uses fireball. Swarm attacks, but eventually the three siblings are triumphant.

With the swarm defeated, the Coopers are reunited. Gerald suggests a great plan. The Coopers will lead the remaining swarm up the tunnel to invade and clear off the upper levels. They discuss the pros and cons of Gerald's plan. After a short discussion, they agree that this is the best course of action. Thorne uses his scepter to command the swarm of reclaimers into one of the storage room. For now, the swam problem has been solved.

Entering the room next to the Rendering pool, they come upon the armory. Many automatons are lined against the walls. Six automatons activate and attack. The battle goes poorly at first, but then Omok uses his ring of ram and pushes the emerald guardian into the pool of acid. The automaton sinks and disappears from view. But the battle continues ...

The Book of the Craven - NOT DONE

Desnus 7, 4712

It is a dark and stormy night at Shadowborn Manor, and the Cooper sisters are busy renovating one of the rooms. As the maneuver a plank in place, Daryle trips on The Rules of Chaos. This is the third time today, and every time she placed it back in her safe. She's had enough, so she decides that it's time for them to deal with this curse that hangs over their head. Darelle and Daryle return to the library and begin once again to search for clues as to where the books might have been hidden. After a few hours of research, Darelle comes upon a strange mention in an old journal of Karolina Shadowborn. Karolina had traveled extensively around Golarion and left lengthy reports. But she took a short trip to the small village of Beloglav, in the county of Ulcazar in Ustalav at the foot of the Crow's Blood mountain, and aside from the description of the weather Karolina reported nothing of interest. This entry peeks the sisters' curiosity, and they decide to head there. By land it would take about two weeks of solid travel, but Darelle has her blue pegasus. They will fly there.

Daryle decides to find as much information as possible on their trip. She consults a book on Golarion compiled by a later Shadowborn ancestor and finds an entry on this village, which mentions that it is at the foot of Crow's Blood mountain, upon which sits a structure called the Monastery of the Veil. This monastery was once populated by monks who had taken a vow of silence. Further research reveals that about five hundred years ago it is reported that a monk discovered a strange book in the Monastery, and shortly after that all contact was lost with the Monastery of the Veil.

The Cooper sisters pack, and head out on the summoned blue pegasus, leaving behind the first sprouts of spring.


Desnus 12, 4712

After four days of hard travel, the blue pegasus drops the sisters at the foot of an outcrop near the village of Beloglav. About 120 people live here, and it is immediately clear that this is a very poor area. The houses are little more than shacks, and though spring has arrived in Fort Inevitable here a deep layer of snow remains on the ground. There isn't much smoke coming out from the local chimneys, and the few people in the only street look haggard and harried. They look suspiciously upon the new arrivals.

 Daryle recalls that the Monastery of the Veil was located at the top of Crow's Blood, and a treacherous path led from this village to the top. The monks who lived there were dedicated to the silent research of eternal life. From here, the top of the mountain looks very high and is shrouded in dark grey clouds.

Darelle walks in the one general store of the village. Greeted with hostility by the owner and the two customers in the store, she mentions she's interested in trekking to the old monastery. The folks are in disbelief that someone would try such a crazy and deadly enterprise. In the exchange that follows they warn Darelle that the mountain is possessed by a demonic spirit and that everyone who's attempted the trek up the mountain in the last several generations has never returned. Well, all but one. Jessup, in his youth, climbed higher than most and lived to return home. Darelle inquires where she could find Jessup, and the shopkeeper tells her that his shack is the last one on the edge of the village, and would she take some soup to the old man?

Old Father Jessup is the local historian and geezer, and it is evident that his cabin has not been maintained in decades. Daryle knocks on the door, but the door just swings open. By the fireplace they see a very old man sleeping in his rocking chair, covered in heavy blankets. Darelle nudges Jessup awake. She realizes that Jessup is not only old but also blind and almost deaf.

Through much difficulty, Darelle and Daryle finally get Jessup to tell the story of the monastery. He tells them about the monks that fled the monastery. four of them did not make it down the mountain and were presumed dead or killed on top, including the monk who discovered the book. It is believed that the book somehow released a demon which has been on the top of the mountain ever since.

Noticing the lack of food in Jessup's pantry, Daryle goes out hunting. She notices a very large raven observing her and following her as she moves through the woods. After field dressing the meal, she searches for roots and other edible food in the forest and returns with a plethora of comestible, enough to feed Old Jessup for a few days.

Using the ingredients Daryle brought back Darelle prepares a stew for Jessup. It should last him a few days. Meanwhile, Jessup talks about the strange tale of the captured raven that was taken away to the capital of Ustalav. That large raven was considered to be the village's spirit, but its capture by agents of the Prince and its subsequent transport to the capital left the village bereft. Rumor has it that the raven eventually escaped and pecked the eyes of every soldier it encountered. It was never caught.

Darelle charms the raven atop Old Jessup's house, then she casts speak with animals. She then has a conversation with the raven.

Chogan, battle raven.


Desnus 13, 4712

Return to Jessup's

Darelle grabs the chamber pot. She finds an old iron sword and an iron dagger.

Recalls the pegasus, they begin flying towards the summit of Crow's Blood Mountain.

Land on top of the roof, the pegasus flies off

They rappel down to the floor, appears to be a library.




Desnus 14, 4712

Get the book, return Jessup's and told him to keep it quiet but the evil is leaving the monastery.


Desnus 19, 4712

Return back to Fort Inevitable. Fashion special arrows that are made of iron.

Why having necromancers as roommates is never a good idea - NOT DONE

Desnus 1, 4712

With spring in the air, Thorne thinks about his mother. He decides to contact her. sends one of his spies to deliver to his mother to ask her to come to Fort Inevitable and live with him if she's already lost the farm.

Darelle pays off her debt to the caravan merchants.

People have gone missing

Two prisoners are in different cells. Wilfrid Brimley is interrogated first. Roscoe asks Thorne to join him.

Wilfrid tells them

Go to the barn

Darelle gets dragged in the barn, and the door closes.

Thorne sees the giant take Darelle to the back stall. He then lifts a secret floor, and heads down with his victim.

Thorne, Roscoe and Rowen come up with a clever plan. Roscoe will knock on the door again, while Thorne smuggles himself in the barn. When the giant is flanked, they will attack.

Three more criminals bring another old lady

Rowen brings her down the staircase.

Total of five prisoners, one of them is a boy, has been here the longest at five days.

Rowen discovers a secret passage that leads to the house

Necromancers

Omok comes down the stairs

Darelle sends a message to the Hellknights requesting that 20 soldiers report to the location.
Roscoe arrests Rowen.

Attacked by a blood golem.

Attaked by Lord Dargentu.

Find Gerald's skin attached to a peg on the wall. Omok finds the Horn of Ovtik. 

Will the Coopers become alcoholic?

Gozran 6, 4712

After freeing many orcs in the dungeon of the hill giants, the Coopers are ready to confront One Eye. Gerald's plan is to free as many orcs as possible and let them flood the dungeon. They might not have weapons, but they'll provide rear-guard action.

The Coopers head down deeper in the dungeon. They find an old section of mine, and the tunnel leads away from the compound. In the distance they hear the sounds of a forge. Nearing the space, Gerald attempts to sneak in the room, but in the process he knocks over a rack of helmets. A fire giant steps forward. Broad chested and wearing a dirty leather apron, the giant demands to know why Gerald is here. Gerald replies in elvish that he is here for an inspection. The giant, hearing the elvish, mistakes Gerald for an elf and immediately charges.

Using magic missile, Gerald successfully hits the fire giant, but the giant takes his revenge and swings his mighty hammer, hitting Gerald squarely in the face.The sisters engage as well from the corridor. Darelle fires her wand of magic missiles, while Daryle shoots arrows. Gerald summons an ice elemental, but the creature misses its attack. The fire giant doesn't however, and he slams into Gerald, sending him against the wall. Gerald collapses to the floor.

With Gerald down, the fire giant targets the sisters. He aims at Darelle and connects with his hammer. She retaliates by kicking some of the helmets laying on the ground, distracting the fire giant while Daryle attack. Darelle takes a moment to send a message with her tree token to the orcs, telling them of the cache of weapons and their need for help.

The fire giant, sensing the tide turning, backs up towards the forge while a second fire giant steps around the corner. This one took the time to put on his armor and presents a more formidable challenge to the Coopers. Fortunately, the first giant is slain by Daryle's lucky shot.

Darelle changes her target and pursues her attack against the second fire giant and lands a few blows but is then caught by the ankle and thrown against the wall. She falls on top of Gerald, and she acts dead. The fire giant turns away from her and heads towards Daryle. Darelle makes use of this occasion to use a few scrolls of healing on Gerald. The sorcerer revives and comes up with a better plan. He will summon a set of ice elmentals.

Meanwhile, Daryle soldiers on, but the fire giant's attacks are relentless and she sustains wound after wound before falling unconscious. Gerald and Darelle unleash their surprise attacks and triumph over the second fire giant. In the forge the Coopers find six dwarven slaves cowering in the corner. Gerald frees and heals the slaves. He tells them why they are here, and requests that they make weapons to arm themselves and the orcs. The dwarves agree to help out. Despite their hatred for the orcs, they're willing to put these issues aside for a way out of their predicament.

Before leaving the forge, the Coopers search the giants' possessions. Daryle finds a shield of arrow catching +1, while Darelle finds a headband of inspired wisdom.

The Coopers continue exploring the dungeon. They find the bugbears' barracks and distribute the weapons they find to their orc allies. They also locate the dining hall and the kitchen, and the orcs partake of the food in the pantries.

The party returns to the main room. They find another cell block, with a human in each cell and a third cell filled with skeletons. Gerald sets the hay in the skeletons' cell on fire. They find Elmer, an engineer used by the giants to expand the mines. The second human is so far gone in madness that he can't even communicate. Elmer tells the Coopers that he has been "working" for the giants for three years, digging a series of new tunnels in their silver mine. He knows the other man was a merchant, but he's been here more

In the next room Gerald discovers One Eye's treasure, including a magical earthernware jug. Continuing their exploration, they discover the wine cellar. There are several barrels and half-barrels, along with five gallon canisters. All of them are sealed with a black wax and a death head stamped in the seal. Gerald recognizes the wine and the winery as the Angel of Death, an alcohol so toxic there is a 75% chance that a human would become immediately inibriated. Giants have a 25% chance. Once inibriated, the individual drinking is unable to stop until they pass out. The wine itself is black, has a slightly earthy smell, and tastes like no other such drink. Gerald values the wine at 200 to 800 crowns per quart. Gerald sets up several wizard locks to keep the door locked to protect the wine. If they're able to retrieve it and bring it back to Fort Inevitable, they will be rich!

It's not only porridge boiling over in the giants' lair

Gozran 1, 4712

Five days after their return to Fort Inevitable from the mountains where Byrsag dwells, the Coopers decide it's time to head back to the giants' lair to investigate whether Greenhide managed to secure an alliance with them. Since it's the three months mark, and the merchant caravan, accompanied by hundreds of Hellknights heading to the Mendev Crusades, has stopped by Fort Inevitable, the Coopers go shopping to acquire much needed supplies. The merchants also brought several wagons of foodstuff which they sell at exorbitant prices, along with building materials.

Darelle buys the belt of the fair lady, and after some arduous negotiating she brings the price down to 10,000 crowns. But since she doesn't have enough money on hand, the merchant agrees to a price of 12,000. Darelle pays 5,000 now, and will pay the other 7,000 in three months when the merchant returns. She also buys the corset of the fair lady for another 10,000 crowns. She puts down 4,000 crowns as well as various magical items she no longer needs and will owe 5,800 in three months. She overhears a rumor that a caravan led by devils from Cheliax was ambushed a month ago a day after entering the River Kindgoms.

Daryle, meanwhile, purchases a plain old bow +2 for 6,500 crowns with half deferred in three months. And despite several tempting offers, she refuses to purchase a dress, remembering what happened the last time she purchased such a garment in the caravan. She overhears the rumor that Duke Mosley led an assault upon a demon fortress in the Worldwound and he suffered a grievous injury.

Gerald takes more time to purchase various items throughout the merchants on the greens outside of the town. He buys parts to make scale mail, a plain earring, an ear cuff, a few plain gold and copper rings, and two short bows. He plans on using these various purchases to create new magical items he can use. Gerald decides he will craft magical bows for his sisters. He overhears a rumor that the former Lady Commander, Audara Drovust, appeared at the Thrice Damned Court of the House of Thrune and was granted the title of Marquess of a minor domain in the Menador Mountains.

Because it is tax day, the Coopers report to the Chancellery and settle their tax bills. Darelle in particular feels bittersweet about her tax bill. On the one hand it is lower, but that's because her house burned down in the great Fort Inevitable fire. She still plans on rebuilding her house when building materials become available.


Gozran 5, 4712

Sixteen days after encountering the giants' lair, the Coopers trek return to the scene. The last snow fall occurred two days ago, and the tracks outside the giants' stronghold indicate that many people have walked around the compound. Daryle suggests that they wait. Around dusk they notice the stone giant from the previous time, accompanied by his orc slave, come out and fill water buckets in the frigid water before returning inside and closing the doors behind them.

They sneak to the outside door. Darelle falls into the door, but Gerald manages to catch her before she falls to the ground. The barn is almost empty, with only a few horses and three wagons. It is clear that the party has been over for some time. Daryle takes a peek up the tower, but she cannot see anyone up there. The Coopers decide to risk entering the giants' lair.

Inside they find that the giants are feasting, and in the room the Coopers spot a barrel of Zelnaux wine. Gerald drinks a potion of invisibility, and after Daryle opens one of the side door he steps through it. The hallway is empty, so Gerald heads to the end, and he leans on the door to listen. He can hear the lively conversations of the various cooks working in the kitchen. He returns to his sisters and he reports what he overheard. Daryle comes up with a clever plan. Let's put horse manure in the food, which should make the giants sick. Gerald heads back to the stables, and he harvests some before returning to his sister without spilling any on himself.

Daryle quietly opens the door, Gerald enters the kitchen. A giantess is currently belittling five orc cooks and two servants, so she doesn't notice the open door. Gerald goes to the first roaring fire and does his deed before leaving the kitchen. Hopefully this pot will be served tonight. With this accomplished, the Coopers decide to retreat to one of the empty rooms and wait for the giants to pass out or be poisoned.

Four hours go by, and eventually the party wraps up. A few hours later, when all is quiet, the Coopers emerge from the armory and begin exploring. They encounter a few rooms with slumbering giants. Then, they come across another giant's room, but this one is richly adorned. As they caucus and discuss what to do, an orc carrying linen walks in the room from a hallway. For a second the orc is paralyzed with fear, and Gerald uses this opportunity to try to keep the orc quiet by making hand gestures. The orc signals back that they are standing in front of the chief's room, and it is not safe to be here. Eventually the Coopers agree to follow the orc, but they suspect a trap.

Fortunately, the orc takes them to the kitchen, where the giantesses have retired for the night. Only orcs are present. The orc introduces himself as Gord, and he explains to the Coopers that his bretheren are prisoners in the basement, but some of them have freed themselves and are waging a rebellion against the giants. They have no weapons and they are guarded by bugbears. The Coopers agree that freeing the orcs would cause pandemonium among the giants, so they agree to help Gord and his troops. Gord shares the password the orcs below use below, "Ugly Eyes," with the Coopers. Daryle tells the orc Gord to wedge the door shut behind them, so no bugbears escape.

Darelle is first down, and she throws a few copper coins down to see if it attracts the attention of any of the guards. No one appears at the foot of the stairs, so the party heads down. They come upon a series of cells containing orc prisoners, as well as a hallways that has been closed by debris. Two bugbears are shouting arrows through slits into the hallway beyond the debris. The Coopers engage and the bugbears are quickly eliminated.

They continue their exploration, and they come upon a small room with two orc prisoners chained to the wall being tortured by four bugbears and one ugly ogre. Itching for a fight, the Coopers engage and are quickly triumphant. Gerald frees the prisoners, but they are too far gone to be of any use. In the next room down a short hallway they come upon another series of cells, with more bugbear guards. The combat is brutal but quick, and the bugbears do not manage to raise the alarm.

Gerald finds more orcs in cells. He tells them the passphrase. These orcs are ready to fight back even if they don't have any weapons. They are willing to join with the Coopers. The orc chieftain tells them about One Eye, a giant who wanders the corridors with his two carnivorous apes. Daryle tells the orcs to stay behind. The Coopers will clear the rooms heading back to the stairs, and the orcs will then be able to escape. Darelle sends her tree bird with a message to the rebels to let them know help is on the way and to assist in any way they could. The Coopers are now ready to move on and confront One Eye.

Finally, a relaxing level!

Pharast 17, 4712

Abernard returns home to find his house destroyed. He immediately rebuilds the house, and for most passerbys it is as if the house had never exploded. The Coopers know better, however. Gerald brings the jar that contains a live remnant of the critter that Rowen took out of him, and he fills him in about the destruction that happened to Fort Inevitable during his absence and the discovery of the massive Azlantian star gazer machine. Abernard takes furious notes. Cassandra comes to the house and invites Gerald for dinner. Gerald skillfully dodges the invitation.

Roscoe receives the bad news from the Hellknights' Exchequer that the treasury is empty. There is just enough money to either meet quarterly payroll or the Hellknight tithing share to be sent with the quarterly convoy, but not both. Roscoe summons Thorne, and the thief justifies his actions to support the town's food acquisition since the fire, but says they can borrow easily, he just need to get a few signatures. Perhaps they should also not collect taxes this month. Roscoe approves both measures. Roscoe also receives reports that food shortages are afflicting the town, and there is increasing resentment that the Hellknights are not sharing food.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Volunteer Society, a Daggermark outfit closely linked with the Assassins' Guild, approach Thorne to offer "protection" against perceived enemies in the Poisoners' Guild. After a heated conversation, Thorne agrees to pay them 1,000 crowns a month for protection.

There has been several infections afflicting the town, including influenza and typhus. The worse, though is a devil's chill, which is spreading quickly through town. Dr. Mordel is very concerned that the overcrowding in the shelters and the arrival of foreign construction crews is fueling this disease. Darelle wants to institute quarantine measures. She brings this issue to Roscoe, who in turns instructs Gerald to cast detect magic. The necromantic disease has been brought in magically but has now transformed into a regular illness and is spreading rapidly. There are 7 to 12 individuals being infected a day. Roscoe agrees to the quarantine. Darelle seeks High Mother Sarise Dremagne of the Temple of the Golden Key and she agrees to help.

Daryle visits with Karlyle the Butcher, and he reports that none of his hunters have seen or captured goblins in the last month. Karlyle the Butcher is concerned that they are plotting something. He also reports that a far ranging hunter has spotted a pair of hill giants on the edge of the Emerald Wood. Daryle reports this conversation to Roscoe. After much back and forth he decides to send a few scouts out, but does not plan on immediately dealing with this situation.

A small group of necromancers approach Rowen, and inform him they would like to worship him. They have heard of his exploit with Gerald, and they want the opportunity to learn from him. Rowen agrees to let them live in his farm.
 
Omok has been arm wrestling 37 times at the Juliver Arms. He has a match coming up with Bolgur in a few days. Thorne and him plan on rigging the match by using a ring of reflection. While there, Omok hears a rumor from one of travellers from the north who is rooming at the inn for the night: Duke Mosley was badly hurt in an battle against a demon army.

After dealing with their various issues, the Coopers gather at Gerald's house and head out to the Emerald Spire. They are ready to begin the exploration of the 12th level. After a morning trek they enter the underground tunnel and transport to the Yarrix level. They then descend the stairs. After a hundred feet they reach a large hole with a ladder going down. Thorne begins the climb down, followed by the others. The thief reaches a point where the ladder has rusted away, but it seems to pick up again about nine feet below. As everyone hangs on the ladder, a long discussion ensues among the Coopers to decide how to proceed. Gerald passes a torch down, and eventually it gets to Thorne, who drops it down on the ground. It fizzles and extinguishes. Darelle throws a coin down, and it does not hit the ground.

Thorne ties himself, then is lowered down by Roscoe. The thief stops at the ceiling of the room, and waits there. Omok throws himself off the ladder and lands in the room. He immediately notices a gelatinous cube hanging from the ceiling. The cube oozes down, and combat ensues, as more Coopers drop from the hole. Eventually they manage to destroy it. Within the remains of the cube Darelle discovers a wax statue that strangely resembles herself. Omok, for his part, finds a small golden imp. Gerald casts detect magic and discovers that neither of these objects are magical.

While the Coopers argue about their next move, Thorne takes the initiative and moves down the corridor. He finds a room that features a small but now empty pool. He moves around the room, and the bronze double doors in the southern wall open up automatically. The room beyond is cozy and warm. Thorne is greeted by the head butler, an automaton's head that sits on a table. The headwelcomes him to the tea room. The thief makes himself at home, and soon a servant automaton brings him a tea cup and come cookies.

The Coopers settle their disagreement and meander down the hall. They too arrive at the tea room, and soon the entire party is enjoying warm food and tasty drinks. Rowen switches personalities and is now lawful good. Roscoe asks the head butler if he can get a map, and the servant automaton returns with a map of four rooms. The servants don't venture outside these four rooms. They were assigned by the Patron to remain here and assist any who call, but the visitors have been few and far between over the last 10,000 years.

The Coopers tour the oasis. The rooms are dedicated to relaxation, and soon all of the Coopers are enjoying the services the automatons offer. Omok and Rowen get antsy, however, and they decide to explore some more. They enter the old alchemy kitchen, and they begin poking around. It appears something exploded in here a long time ago. They do not notice the crystal creatures hiding in one of the corners, and they are ambushed. The battle is joined and soon both Omok and Rowen are in real trouble. Roscoe, hyper vigilant as always, notices that they are missing, so he steps in the room weapons drawn. Soon all Coopers are participating in the fighting, but it takes effort on everyone's part to finally defeat them.

Noticing a crack in the kitchen's wall, Darelle discover a greater fire elemental in the other room. The elemental has been enslaved to fire the forge. Various molten metal parts are being crafted here. The Coopers bargain with the elemental that if they free him, he will help them. The elemental agrees, and as soon as it is free it returns to its plane. It considers leaving the forge helping the Coopers. With that potential enemy gone, the Coopers are ready to pursue their exploration.

If you ain't got your health ...

Pharast 4, 4712

Following their fight with Yarrix, the Coopers and their henchmen spent the night waiting for Rowen, as he surely will come out of the temporal trap. Eventually, in the early hours of what they think is the morning, Rowen returns, exhausted from all the running.

Roscoe advises the rest of the party that he will remain behind with Omok and Iomane to consecrate this space. They will remain in this room while the Coopers continue exploring. 

Entering in the next room, Thorne opens the door and discovers that the whole room itself is a giant trap designed to drop oil and ignite the room, and its occupants, when the far door is opened. Clearly it was thought that attackers would come from the east. Gerald suggests they open the door to set off the trap by hooking a rope to the door and then pulling it open. Thorne retorts it would be better to cast knock. Gerald says he has both knock and open, so he will cast a spell. Unfortunately for him, he steps back in Yarrix's sarcophagus room to protect himself and casts open, forgetting that any spell cast in the room also takes place there. The door opens, the trap triggers and the oil catches on fire. Unfortunately, Gerald is flattened not by the explosion in the next room, but by the sarcophagus' lid, which opens up and smashes him.

After the Coopers dig Gerald from under the ruined stone pieces, Darelle, Gerald and Rowen decide to go through the exploded room and check out the door they just opened. Daryle and Thorne, for their part, head back into the main room with the fountain and begin looking for secret doors, suspecting that this room should connect with the area currently being explored by the other members of the party.

Gerald discovers that the next room is a large circular hole, with hand and feet holes strategically placed around the curving wall to allow a person to carefully climb across. The sorcerer begins to move on the northern wall, but then he stirs up some type of cave birds. Gerald backs up and lets a fireball loose in the room. Stepping back into the room, they see that the birds have been vaporized. Gerald begins crossing the room again. In one of the hand holes he discovers a pair of gauntlets. As he reached to grab them, a large bebilith, unnoticed by the party, slitters from higher in the room and silently drops on the sorcerer. Her sting immediately paralyses him and he is unable to scream and let his sister and Rowen know he's being attacked. Darelle, for her part, is looking at the pit and wondering how deep it goes, while Rowen is busy examining the mechanism that triggered the trap in the other room.

While this is happening, Thorne and Daryle check for secrets doors, and the rogue finds one. Entering the room, they discover there are two mummies and an emerald automaton who engage. Upon departing the room, however, they all stop fighting and return to their positions. The Coopers devise a clever strategy to start a series of fire and are eventually able to destroy the creatures and disable the automaton.

Back in the room with the hole, the spider continues to attack Gerald who, even in his misfortune manages to hang on to the wall and the gloves as he passes out, surely due to being fully rigid. Rowen notices Gerald and the large spider munching on him, and he immediately attacks. Darelle follow Rowen and begins to help her brother. The fighting is hard, but eventually the Coopers triumph over the spider. Its corpse drops down in the pit, then drops again from the ceiling. As it continues to drop, it becomes progressively more crushed. If Gerald had fallen, he would have died. Rowen casts fly, and he gently retrieves Gerald's unconscious body from the hand holds. He sees the sorcerer clutching the gauntlets, so he retrieves them and places them in his own bag.

Thorne and Daryle follow the path and enter the pit room from the other side. They carefully cross over the pit. Daryle heals Gerald. Coming back to life, the sorcerer notices that his gauntlets are missing. Rowen and Gerald almost come to blows, but eventually Gerald recuperates the gauntlets.

Exploring the holes, Darelle finds 150 crowns as well as two emerald teeth of fine craftmanship. These teeth appear to be Azlanti in origin.

The party returns to see Roscoe. Gerald announces he's got a great plan. Having suffered a catastrophic drop in Constitution, he will kill himself and Roscoe can use the wand of resurrection to bring him back to life. Roscoe says no, he can't abide such a decision. Gerald will have to find a different solution to his problem.

The Coopers decide to return to Fort Inevitable to help Gerald recuperate. Having defeated Yarrix, the seals to the outside doors have been broken, and they are able to leave. Gerald gives Darelle the wand of shield (22 charges), and the party treks back to Fort Inevitable.


Pharast 5, 4712

After a good night's rest, the Coopers go about their various activities. Gerald meets Cassandra on the road to town and she pointedly ignores him.Thorne was successful in acquiring the devil's caravan, and he puts out the word among the upper echelons of the Hellknights that the Mistress of Thorns have failed to provide the food she promised. He also spreads the rumor that the Hellknights have failed to provide the food but he will. The plan is to borrow more money and increase taxes at tax time but food will be on the table tomorrow.

Rowen meets Dr. Mordel and discusses his current phobia.The good doctor tells him that there isn't much he can do for him, as the wizard would be better off with a mental health specialist. He will need to learn how to deal with his own issues. Darelle visit Falandra Nolm and gets news from Abernard. The old man sent her a letter recently stating he had found the rare flower he was seeking in Belfroy and he was on his way back. She also consults the book seller on the emerald teeth. Falandra tells Darelle that these are genuine, and worth much to the right collector.

Seeking a solution to his problems, Gerald visits the temple, where he is not so kindly turned away. He also visits Falandra and offers her mummy wrapping for spell components. He then hobbles to Dr. Mordel, hoping the good doctor will be able to help him. Unfortunately, Mordel also tells him he wants nothing to do with this activity. But assuming that he would participate, Mordel outlines how he would go about removing the aberration in Gerald's chest.

Armed with this knowledge, Gerald gets the wand of resurrection back and makes a deal with Rowen to meet him at the wizard's cottage where Rowen will operate on him. On his way there, Gerald runs into Cassandra again, but this time she seems happy to see him. She asks him if she can come with him, but he declines.

Gerald heads with Rowen to the latter's cottage and they go in the basement. In a very gruesome procedure, Rowen cuts a strange slimy green creature from Gerald's chest while he's still alive, then he kills him. For a few moments Rowen toys with the idea of not bringing Gerald back, but in the end he uses the wand and brings Gerald back. Now healthy again, Gerald brings the aberration to Dr. Mordel. Over the next few weeks Gerald plans on studying this creature with the good doctor.


Pharast 6, 4712

A caravan of four wagons arrive in Fort Inevitable. The simple food stuff is distributed to the starving people, but all of the best food is visibly delivered to the Citadel, per Thorne's orders. The people grumble.

Gerald presents himself at the Temple of the Golden Key to conduct a banishment ritual. He lays down on comfortable bed and for twelve hours the priestess and her disciples sing a lyrical prayer. Upon the conclusion of the ritual, Gerald's creature is banished.


Pharast 9, 4712

Daryle and Darelle get their seeds ready for the garden at Shadowborn Manor. Spring is coming any day now.

I want my mummy!

Pharast 3, 4712

Having spent the night resting in a dimensional space, the party emerges from the fortress. Gerald was unable to rest, however, so he looks haggard and was unable to recuperate his spells. Fortunately for him, there were no random encounters. With two unopened doors, the Coopers decide to head north. Daryle opens the bronze door. A blast of cold air rushes past.

The room features five sets of bunk beds, upon which are the bodies of seventeen priests wearing various religious garments. Each priest worshiped a different deity, and each one had their throat slit. Though clearly Azlanti, the priests appear as if they had just been killed. A layer of ice covers everything. Nothing that he is still without pants, Omok looks for a body with pants. He discovers that this particular priest worshiped his own deity. He takes the body into the magical room, casts a small spell and is attacked by a small fireball, which de-ices the pants.

The Coopers take a look around. Roscoe surmises that the priests in this room were executed to conduct a sordid ritual. Rowen suggests that Roscoe could use the wand of resurrection to bring back one of the good-aligned priest. Roscoe agrees that this is not a bad idea. Returning to the room now wearing pants, Omox takes another look and he discovers an amulet of spell storing on one of the dead bodies. Roscoe asks the hobgoblin to find a good-aligned priest. Omok examines each person's religious symbol carefully and he is able to identify five good deities, two neutral deities, and two evil deities. While no one is looking, he takes one of the evil priests' amulet of Nurgal. Rowen, spotting Omox, does the same thing and he grabs the amulet of Achaekek.

Using the wand of resurrection, Roscoe resurrects a female priest of Shelyn. Once she recuperates from the shock of her death and her return to life thousands of years later, she begins to speak Azlanti. Gerald understands about a third of the conversation, while Omok casts comprehend languages on himself and acts as a translater for the rest of the group. Inexplicably, Rowen also speaks a fluent, if garbled dialect of Azlanti. It's almost as if he had been taught the language by a zombie...

The priestess introduces herself as Iaome and she explains to the party that she had been kidnapped by cultists of the Shadowed Fire, and had been brought to this distant continent and to this Spire to be sacrificed so that Yarrix could be restored to her full power and break the ward that keeps her in this tomb. Clearly, the ritual had failed.

When she concludes her tale, She is healed by Omox, Gerald and Roscoe. Roscoe asks her if she would like to join them in their quest, and she replies in the positive, since the world she came from is gone and she'd rather not remain here in this tomb.

While the party remains in the cold room discussing their current predicament, Daryle moves across the main room and heads to the southern door. She listens to the door but she hears nothing. She opens the door and is greeted by a blast of fresh air. The room is a vision of hell. A sarcophagus stands in the middle of a swirling cloud of greenish gas. Gargoyles are in the wall spewing the gas, while purplish flames lick the walls and the floors. Darelle comes up behind her and slowly the rest of the party meanders over to observe this room.

After some discussion, it is agreed that Gerald should deal with this situation. The sorcerer decides that a fireball will burn the fog and deal with any presence in the room. The fog is indeed burned off, but unfortunately, the plan goes awry as the fireball enters the room. It returns to the sender, hitting him and two others behind him. Smoke arises as charred clothes falls off Gerald.

Omok uses a spell to protect himself, then he enters the room. He circles around the sarcophagus, then takes a closer look at it. Without knowing, he is transported to an alternate dimensional space. Two demons step out of the shadows and attack him. Outside the room, Darelle notices that something is wrong with Omok and he does not appear to be moving anymore. She also enters the room, but as she nears the sarcophagus she too becomes trapped in this space, and she must engage the demons.

Daryle realizes something is wrong. She tells Roscoe, but the Hellknight hesitates to enter the room as more fog has started pouring from the gargoyles' mouths again. His sister convinces him to go, so he enters the room with weapons drawn, but when he takes a look at the other two members of the party he also sees the symbol on top of the sarcophagus' lid and he is also transported to an alternate reality.

Now three of the party members appear paralyzed in front of the sarcophagus. Meanwhile, Gerald, having recovered from his own attack, uses open to throw the sarcophagus lid off. Again, however, the spell backfires when the lid flies out of the room above Omok, Roscoe and Darelle's heads and lands squarely on Gerald. With the lid open, a mummy arises from the sarcophagus. The great Yarrix joins the fight. Suddenly there are two combat situations going, with Omox, Roscoe and Darelle fighting two demons, and Daryle, Gerald, Thorne and Rowen fighting Yarrix. Upon seeing Yarrix, Rowen takes off and runs away from the room. He enters the temporal trap, and keeps on running.

For a time the demons appear to be winning, as they land successful blows while the party is unable to strike them. But the tide turns when Roscoe lands a critical hit and slays one of the demons. Helped by Omok's summoned creatures, the three of them are able to triumph over the demons and they are immediately ejected from the alternate dimensional space, only to land in a battle with the mummy.

The rest of the party have been pummeling Yarrix with attack after attack, but the mummy seems hardly damaged. Roscoe jumps on top of the sarcophagus and lands a great blow on Yarrix. Having crawled from under the sarcophagus, Gerald, still not having learned from his previous mistakes, casts close on the lid. It goes flying back to the sarcophagus. Yarrix is able to avoid it, but Roscoe gets hit and falls in just before it closes. Now Roscoe is inside!

The fight continues with each member of the party successfully attacking the mummy, but she in returns strikes several times. Eventually, a combination of blows manage to destroy the mummy. Omok rescues Roscoe from the sarcophagus. Being bloodied, the party decide to retreat back to their dimensional space, but they realize that Rowen ran away with the staff. So, they camp in the room with the statues.

Omok asks the the orb of command. his daily question: "How do I read the book without going insane." The orb tells him that he must use goggles of truth seeing.

Roscoe gives the Sword of Savith to Darelle. She now has a better weapon. Eventually, Rowen makes his way back to the party. Unfortunately, unlike the rest of them, he is not rested.

When the giants have a party

Pharast 20, 4712

Daryle is summoned by Maralictor Wirt to the Juliver Gate, and she is to bring her gear. Wirt has a mission for her. She reports to the gate with her sister Darelle and she is not surprised to see Gerald there as well. Their assignment is to find Byrsag, the hill giant near Dimsdale and collect the back taxes he owes. Wirt believes that the Coopers are the best people for this task since they have already had some dealing with him. They are to make contact with the giant and "convince" him to turn over the two barrels of honey he must pay every quarter. This honey is especially needed now with the rationing and the lack of food. They can use physical force but they are not to kill him, however, as he fulfills a needed economic role in the area. The Coopers are provided with two riding horses, and a sleigh with a team of two horses. Daryle and Darelle will ride the horses, while Gerald will drive the sleigh.

While they are readying their equipment and animals at the Juliver Gate, Cassandra walks in from the refuge camp. She talks to Gerald and attempts to convince him to help her and Nissa by allowing them to stay in his house. Gerald mentions that there are already two families staying there, and that there is no room available. He tells her she should seek shelter in the Hellknights barracks as other civilians are also housed there. Cassandra walks away angry at Gerald. The Coopers shrug, then head out.

The ride to Dimsdale is cold and uneventful. They notice logging activities along the way, with several logging camps set up and hundreds of Hellknights cutting away a large number of trees. Darelle is concerned that these logging operations may not be sustainable. When they arrive in Dimsdale, they notice that the population of has doubled overnight with refugees. Mayor Dunleaf Appletop is happy to see the Coopers again, and greets Gerald enthusiastically. He shares with them some of the hardships the village has been living through since the destruction of part of Fort Inevitable. He also gives them the village's last apple pie.

The Coopers head up the valley, following the pastures that border the river. Slowy they ascend until they reach an altitude of 2,000 feet. Here they find Byrsag's home, a rough one room cabin built of hewed timber. There are several large bee hives as well as a stable. Right away Daryle notices that there is no smoke coming from the cabin's chimney and that all of the shutters are closed. She also sees several large tracks, which indicate that a sleigh pulled by two large draft horses accompanied by the giant left here since the last snow fall and headed north east higher in the mountains. Nevertheless, they decide to check the cabin just in case.

The door is locked from the outside, and there is only one window but it is shuttered. Daryle opens the door and steps inside the cabin. Byrsag appears to have left everything but his winter gear here, indicating that he plans on returning. Gerald looks at the thatching job and sees that it's decent work. But the spigot appears to be broken, so Gerald casts mend. He also uses flaming sphere to start the fire while the rangers place the horses in the barn for the night. They spend the night in the giant's home. The cabin eventually becomes nice and warm. Gerald casts clean to provide himself with a space to place his bedroll, and also wizard lock to close the door, but makes a slight change to allow Byrsag to come in. Fortunately for the girls' sanity, he does not share this information with them.

Pharast 23, 4712

Waking up refreshed after an uneventful night, the Coopers set out with their animals and arrive after two days to find a large stone fort at the bottom of a valley nestled between two high peaks. The fort sits at the base of a large frozen waterfall. This waterfall, when running, falls on the roof of the hall then wraps around on either side and the water forms a natural island. A stone bridge leads from the hall across the river. The tracks on the outside of the fort indicate that a large amount of traffic has circulated through here in the last three days.

As they observe from a distance, Daryle notices two orcs coming out of the only set of doors visible, carrying a large chamber pot on a wooden pole. They carefully make their way on the ice, then dump the waste in the river. Marks on the orcs and the poor quality of their clothing indicate that they are slaves. The Coopers can also hear faint merry singing, even with the distance that separates them. Thinking that the level of intoxication must be high, they decide to enter the giants' fort and explore.

The first room they enter after cracking open one of the giant double doors is the barn. A large numbers of wagons, sleighs, and animals are housed here. A tower in the southwest corner contains hay bales and lead to an observation post above the roof line that is currently not manned. Two well crafted doors stand over twenty feet tall and ten feet wide. They work together and manage to prop one of them open. Inside they see a large corridor leading to a great hall. Though only a portion of the hall is visible, they can see that many giants are gathered here, enjoying food, drinks, and songs. Daryle sees at least three kinds of giants: hill giants, stone giants, and even a frost giant. The sound is deafening. There are smaller doors on either side. As they debate what to do, an unseen giant orders the crowd in the great hall to settle down and let their guest speak. An unseen Greenhide then takes the floor and begins to discuss the possibility of an alliance between the goblins and the giants to attack the Hellknights while they are weak.

Having heard enough, the Coopers decide to open the western door. A corridor leads the length of the fort and sports several doors on either side. This hallway smells of good food and fresh bread, indicating that the kitchen is nearby. The Coopers walk to the end of the hall, and open the furthest door. This appears to be a guest room, richly adorned. Evidence indicates that four giants currently reside here. Gerald proposes to steal some of the giants' possessions and place them in Greenhide's room to mark him as a thief and lose credibility with the giants. Darelle and Daryle agree but decide they should find his room first before encumbering themselves with the giants' stuff.

Other rooms along this corridor include the weapons room and the armory, as well as two other common guest rooms. So far the Coopers have seen that there are at least twenty-two giants in the fort. Not wanting to explore the kitchen while it is being used, the Coopers cross the large hallway leading to the great hall again, and enter the east wing. The first room they enter has a giantess sleeping in the bed, and several gleeming objects on the shelf about ten feet off the ground. They then enter a room where four beds are tightly placed next to each other. On two of these beds two hill giants are passed out drunk. Darelle notices that one of the giants has a bulging purse. After a whispered conference with her siblings, she decides to steal the purse. In it she finds 110 platinum pieces from Galt.

They move on to another room. This room is richly decorated and appears to be unoccupied. Daryle spots a chest, and struggles to open it. Inside she finds female clothes. Meanwhile, Gerald is grabbed from behind and thrown on the ground before being dragged under the bed, where he is attacked by a bear. Darelle manages to charm it. She eventually gets it to climb on the bed, and once he is settled Gerald casts deep slumber and the bear goes down. In the mattress Daryle discovers a large leather backpack with 28 gems of various value, for a nominal value of 5,890 crowns, as well as roughly 5,000 crowns in coinage.

The Coopers then converse with each other. Should they remain here and continue their attempt to set up Greenhide or should they head back to Fort Inevitable with the wealth they found in the mattress? Surely, they surmise, the value of the coins will more than offset the missing honey.

They head back, encountering nothing in the corridor, but when they crack the door to the barn open they see a stone giant accompanied by an ogre. The giant is feeding the animals while the ogre is sweeping the waste away. Darelle and Daryle successfully sneak under the wagons and head towards their own sleigh. Gerald is not so lucky, however, and the money he is carrying jingles, attracting the stone giant's attention. He lumbers over to the first wagon, where Gerald is hiding, and bends down. The stone giant confronts Gerald, mistaking him for an orc and orders him to get back to work. Gerald replies that he's been ordered to lubricate the axle. The stone giant grumbles but heads back to feeding his animals. A few minutes later, both giant and ogre step back into the fort.

The Coopers quickly hitch their animals and ride out of the giants' steadfast.

Pharast 26, 4712

The party returns to Byrsag's house and they check the barn to ensure that there were no honey barrels left, which is indeed the case. They arrives in Dimsdale early in the morning, and provide Mayor Appletop with some of the game they found along the way. The mayor is thankful.

They head back to Fort Inevitable and report what they discovered to Maralictor Wirt. She collects the animals. Darelle turns in 100 of the Galt platinum pieces, while Daryle turns in 2,600 crowns to the Hellknights. Wirt tells them she wants them to go back and find out whether the giants were convinced by Greenhide and, if so, what their plans are. In the meantime she will notify Roscoe and take appropriate defensive measures.

Gerald returns home with flees from Byrsag's home. He finds that Cassandra and Nissa have convinced Roscoe to issue an order relocating them to his bedroom. Gerald heads to the Citadel. He explains to Roscoe what has transpired in the last week and attempts to talk Roscoe into nominating Cassandra as ambassador to the giants. Roscoe replies that he will think about it.

The purple worm who thought Gerald was delicious

Pharast 2, 4712

The Coopers and Omok rest following their difficult battle with the fire elementals. They are surprised with the double doors open, and in stroll Rowen, Gerald and Thorne. When Rowen and Thorne returned to Fort Inevitable yesterday to return the bolts of dragon slaying +10, they ran into Gerald, who had returned to the Fort after a few days pouting in the woods. He's now ready to return to the Spire, so they trek back in the cold snow to the Spire and arrive on the 11th level in time to reconnect with their siblings.

First, they quickly realize that the 10th level is empty. They discover the dragons' hoard, but all that is left are copper pieces and the odd semi-precious gem. They thus proceed down the steps, and emerge by the Spire on the 11th level. Rowen spots something odd by the foot of the Spire. A large steel chest appears to have been discarded right against the emerald pillar. Thorne attempts to open it, but is unable. Gerald examines the double doors. He discovers a small piece of fabric which belongs to his sister's pants, wedged under the left door. Clearly his sister and the rest of the party came through here recently. Rowen opens the doors, and they step in.

Meanwhile, the Coopers hear the sound of the doors open in the distance, and they ready for battle.  Gerald trips and falls in the hallway, cursing his bad luck. Daryle hears him, and rushes to open their door. but before she is able the main doors close. Roscoe, Darelle, Daryle, Gerald, Thorne, Rowen, and Omok are now together and stuck inside Yarrix until they defeat the denizens of this level.

After a heartfelt reunion, the members of the party argue about what to do next. Roscoe takes the initiative. Without waiting for his siblings, he opens the door and casts detect evil. He detects strong current of evil in the room, but the swirling blue mist partially obscures his view. He thinks he can see three foggy figures near the back of the room, but these figures stir and attack. Roscoe manages to alert the rest of the group, but he is tripped to the ground. Gerald rushes in, stands in the door frame, and uses his amazing new magical bow to launch arrows and magic missiles at the targets. Omok rushes in and pushes Gerald into the maws of one of the monsters, which look like giant worms with tiny arms. The worms are holding wands. As Gerald begins to be devoured by the purple worm, Daryle and Thorne launch arrows from the other room, while Darelle and Rowen step in and join the combat. Along with Roscoe, the Coopers and Company fight hard.

Gerald fails to protect himself, becomes unconscious and is eventually swallowed whole by the monster. The Coopers take severe injuries but eventually triumph over these abominations. Darelle cuts Gerald out of the worm, and several rounds of healing bring him back to life. In the meantime, however, Thorne steals Gerald's transport token and Daryle takes his new magical bow.

After a rest, the party decides to head in the opposite direction. They enter a room filled with eight statues. Each of the statues hold a different object, and two of them seem to have had their heads chopped off by another statue, holding a sword in a striking position.

Omok comprehend languages, and discern that this room somehow dealt with the Shadowed Fires. The Coopers are concerned that the statues are alive, and they take precautionary actions. They spread out and get ready to strike. Gerald casts magic missile at one of the statue, and he destroys its face. Suddenly their prediction comes true, and two of the statues animate and attack. The combat is brutal but brief, and the Coopers and their allies come out ahead. They loot the magical objects.

Omok gets the orb of command. Gerald acquires a wand of resurrection with four charges. Thorne grabs the scepter of merciful reprieve. Rowen takes the staff of life, which fully heals everyone in a room 60 minutes after being activated, and can destroy a significant number of undead in one combat per day. Daryle obtains the amulet of natural armor +4, while Darelle seizes the Scroll of spells. She also gets Gerald to identify her tree token identified. Roscoe takes the Sword of Savith.

After all this excitement, Rowen uses the scepter to create an extra-dimensional fortress, and the party retires there to rest. Gerald realizes that he does not have his bow, so he leaves the fortress and returns to the room of the worms. He searches for a time, but does not find his bow. Saddened, he returns to the room, but can't regain entry into the fortress. He is left alone, in the room ...

We're stuck, and this time it wasn't Gerald's fault!

Pharast 1, 4712

Following the confrontation with the magma dragons, the party is winded but excited. They managed to slaughter two dragons! After taking a breather, they decide to continue exploring this level of the Emerald Spire. After all, there shouldn't be much left to chart. Thorne and Rowen are exhausted after this battle and managed to recuperate two of the bolts of dragon slaying +10. They decide it would be wiser for them to return to Fort Inevitable and place the bolts in a safe place. They use the rope back to the Spire, and, using the token, transport away from this level.

Roscoe, Darelle, and Daryle decide to remain and continue their exploration. They struggle to string a rope between the Spire and the edge of the cave on the other side of the Spire, but eventually they succeed. Roscoe is the first one across, followed closely by his sisters. This large cave slopes down and eventually leads to the staircase to the eleventh level, but what immediately attracts the Coopers' attention is the presence of a hobgoblin chained to the wall. Wearing only a loin cloth and worn leather boots, he seems dehydrated but still aware. His gear and backpack are piled nearby. He appears to be a sacrifice delivered to the dragons. Darelle notices that though he is worse for wear for having been here, he has not been affected by the extreme heat.

Roscoe examines the creature, and discovers that the symbol that was present on the mechanical dogs that attacked Fort Inevitable a while back are also present on the manacles. Could it be that whomever delivered the hobgoblin to the dragon is connected to the maker of the dogs? Daryle notes that this symbol is similar in many ways to the one Klarklosh used on his machines. The hobgolbin, who identifies himself as Omok, states that he saw a bunch of angry goblins who ambushed him. He was hunting them down when he came upon these goblins. He was taking advantage of the town's disarray to plunder the Emerald Spire. His story seems confused, and Daryle gets in his face trying to assert the truth. Omok is all over the place, but she's eventually convince that he tells a version of the truth, though she plans on keeping a close eye on him.

After much questioning, Roscoe unchains the hobgoblin and agrees to let him accompany them on their quest. Darelle heals him and helps him with water and food. Omok dresses himself and is finally ready. The party moves down the cave and comes upon what looks like a large aquarium window. On the other side is a pool of water that reaches up to eye level at the window. Beyond that is a small ledge that connects to a tunnel, and on that ledge is the dragons' hoard. But how do they get there? They search for a secret passage in their current cave, but they cannot find one. Reluctantly they decide to backtrack to the main cave and look there. Eventually, they discover a secret tunnel which leads to a small river of lava.

Omok is the first one to cross, after stripping down. Unfortunately for him, his pants, which he had placed on his head, fall in the lava and burn to ashes. Roscoe follows. The sisters look at each other. There is no way Daryle will remove her pants, and Daryle is wearing a dress. They decide to string another rope across the river, and successfully cross it.

In the dragons' hoard, aside from the usual coinage and gems, they discover five strange items. The biggest of them, which immediately attracts Omok's attention, is a large steel case featuring skulls and various evil looking runes around it. Roscoe casts detect evil and is almost blinded. Clearly, whatever this is should not be left behind. Meanwhile, Darelle and Daryle find a miniature wooden sculpture of a tree, a large leather belt with golden runes, a long sword that faintly shimmers, and a potion. The twins pick up the items while Roscoe and Omok argue about what to do with the case. Omok attempts to open it, but it is locked. They eventually decide they will carry it with them. Unfortunately, it is too big for one, so both of them must take it along.

Returning to the staircase after struggling to get the case over the lava, the Coopers decide to head down to the 11th level. Roscoe and Omok are carrying the steel case between themselves, with Darelle up front and Daryle closing the march. They descend about 150 feet when they finally emerge from the magma formed tunnels into a large made area. The floors are made of flagstones, while small continual lights give off a faint light. The Spire is in this room, and Daryle locates the level's name, Yarrik. Across from the Spire is a set of bronze double doors that are covered with seals made of cloth that is now threadbare it is so old, as well as runes inscribed around the door frame. The doors push inside the room. Clearly, someone a long time ago wanted to keep something locked behind these doors. But the seals show that they have not been disturbed in eons.

Darelle knocks on the door. No one answers, and no sound can be heard from the other side. After much debate, Roscoe and Omok leave the chest by the Spire. Daryle spends time examining the runes, and discovers a few words she's familiar with. She picks up the words beware, Yarrik, and curse. Omok attempts to open the door, but it is locked, and the seal remains intact. Roscoe and Omok decide to use the magical steel chest to batter the door down. Their swing is so powerful that the double doors swing open. The steel case pops open as well, and a large book falls out. Made of humanoid skin and covered in lettering written in blood, the book oozes evil. Omok looks at the name, and he immediately recognizes that the party is in possession of a chapter from the Book of the Damned. No one touches the book, and Roscoe carefully wraps it back up into the steel case. Omok and the Hellknight return the chest to the Spire.

A large hallway heads to another set of bronze doors. Side passages leave on either side. Two automatons stand guard, and as the Coopers come closer they activate and begin to fight. Darelle attempts to retrieve the chest but she's not strong enough to move it. Omok uses his ring of the Ram to push backward one of the automatons. Roscoe, and Daryle batter the creatures, while Darelle uses the sword she found and discovers its true nature. The Coopers emerge triumphant after a few minutes of intense combat. But with the combat concluded, the doors to this level close, and the Coopers are locked in!

Before opening the door, Roscoe decides to head into one of the side corridors. He can see a door, but for every step he takes the door seems to get further and further. After struggling for what feels like an hour, he reaches the door, but it turns out to be a fake. He backtracks to a perpendicular corridor and discovers another hallway. The same thing happens. He attempts to walk backwards, forward, and by marking the wall but every time it takes roughly an hour to cross what looks like a 40 feet corridor.

Meanwhile, Darelle wanders in after her brother, but then loses sight of her. She experiences the same feeling as Roscoe did. Eventually she reaches the first fake door. She decide to tie a rope on the handle to help her, and she strings it along behind her. She eventually reaches the perpendicular hallway as well, and hears Roscoe's faint yells.

Daryle and Omok were still in the main corridor when Darelle and Roscoe vanished, and they follow along. Daryle quickly figures out something is not right, and she begins to draw in chalk on the wall. She runs out of chalk before she runs out of wall, but eventually they reach the fake door. They decide to head back to the main corridor, and they emerge from the side hallway roughly eight hours later, exhausted from their trip. Roscoe is next eight hours later than the first two, followed by Darelle four hours after that. All told, various members of the party spent twenty hours in the side corridors. They decide to rest for the night.

After recuperating the Coopers decide to proceed, since they are stuck anyway. They open the double doors, and in an octagonal room they find a statue in the far corner as well as a fountain in the middle. Suddenly three fire elementals appear, and they attack the group. The fighting is hard, and it seems that every time a spell is cast by one of the party members a fire ball emerges from the fountain and strikes that person. Daryle unleashes a series of arrows, while Omok repeatedly uses his ring of the Ram to damage the elementals. Darelle fights with her sword, while Roscoe lands some mighty blows against the enemy. Omok channels energy and heals the member of the group, and even Roscoe has to heal himself since he has suffered significant damage from the relentless elemental attack. Eventually, though, the Coopers are triumphant, but not before Darelle is swallowed inside one of the fire elementals before being rescued by her siblings. Following this encounter, Darelle feels strange. It is as if a part of the elemental power was left behind in her...

Thorne, dragon slayer!

Calistril 28, 4712

It has been two days since most of Fort Inevitable was destroyed in a magical fire. The town is still reeling with the lack of shelter and food, and plummeting temperatures. Emergency actions taken by Roscoe and his officers have managed to house most of the residents in the remaining housing stock, but many citizens have been sent to surrounding localities, including Dimsdale, and about three hundred people are camped in the fields outside the Fort.

Roscoe hosts a leadership meeting with his officers when the door to the Council Chamber opens. The Mistress of Thorns steps and advises Roscoe on what steps must be taken to rectify the situation following the fire in Fort Inevitable. Specifically, she is concerned with three issues: the lack of wood for rebuilding, the lack of food, and the critical shortage of housing stock. On the first, she recommends that Roscoe orders the harvesting of as much quality lumber as possible to speed up the rebuilding of the town. He agrees and orders that it be so. On the second issue, she tells the Hellknights that she has organized a caravan that will arrive within a month carrying much needed supplies to alleviate the worst of the famine. This caravan will be accompanied by a small party of devils to assure security. Roscoe agrees to this as well. Finally, on the third issue, the Mistress recommends that buildings should fit more dwellings to allow the relocation of all people who lost their lodgings during the fire. On this topic, Maralictor Wirt tells Roscoe that she has already begun working on a new urban plan that will redesign roads and services. Roscoe tells her to pursue this goal.

Finally, the Mistress of Thorns addresses Roscoe again. Mentioning that she has heard of his troubles dealing with the magma dragons, she offers him tools to deal with them. First, she presents him with four bolts of dragon slaying +10. These must be fired with a man portable ballista, which she offers to Roscoe as well. With this equipment, Roscoe and his siblings should be able to deal with the threats of the dragons.

When news filters down to Thorne about the food convoy, he begins to plan and organize a task force to defeat the devils and capture the food on its way to Fort Inevitable. On a completely unrelated issue to the fire, Thorne had acquired six months' worth of hard tack biscuits he meant to send to the front in the Mendev crusades. They arrived about a month ago, and have been stored in a farm owned by associates. He now sees an opportunity to save the town from starvation and make a tidy profit at the same time.

Due to the housing crisis, Gerald has been forced to welcome three large families to his house. This interrupts his studies, so he becomes very adept at writing scrolls of sleep. He also sends a message to Abernard through Cassandra requesting advice on possible magical remodeling of his house, much like the old wizard had done himself. He also locks up all of his magical supplies to ensure they don't end up in a dish

Rowen, a wizard recently arrived in Fort Inevitable, offers his services to the Hellknights in the wake of the disaster. Roscoe interviews him and agrees to let him join the reconstruction effort on a interim basis.

Having discovered that Cassandra and Nissa have not in fact perished in the explosion that destroyed Abernard's house but were rather at an acquaintance's house in the countryside, Roscoe decides to meet with them to discuss the source of the explosion. The two have been relocated to the camp on the training fields, and Roscoe finds them there. He interrogates Cassandra on her whereabouts and determines that she is truthful when she mentions that both herself and her daughter were not involved in the house's destruction. When he asks her whether she might have been the target of the destruction, Cassandra appears to be genuinely puzzled. Who would want to harm her?

Thorne's arrests papers having disappeared, the thief decides to find his brother and become Fort Inevitable's hero by solving the food crisis with his warehoused merchandise. He looks up Roscoe in the tent city, and they negotiate a deal. Thorne is made quartermaster of Fort Inevitable. He is granted access to the treasury so he can secure quick payment for the food. There are about 125,000 crowns in the treasury at this time. Roscoe also mandates Thorne to hire masons, timber wrights, carpenters, and other builders to rebuild the town. Thorne says he can find these people but this will be costly. Thorne plans on heading to Daggermark and secure workers from their prisons and bring them back.

Daryle finds Maralictor Wirt and organizes a hunting party. Darelle joins the party, but they don't travel near the Fort. They are unable to find any prey, and the forest is filled with traps, most of which will not catch anything they are so poorly designed. It's only been two days since the catastrophe that wiped three fourths of the town, and already the people are hungry!

With the affairs of state now in order, the Coopers return to the Emerald Spire and descend to the Magma level equipped with the Mistress of Thorn's new gear. Their plan is simple. They will come down to the third level, then will use the spire transport to land on the tenth level. They will cross over the lava lake, set up the ballista, and lure the young magma dragons out to their demise.

Rowen and Thorne appear by the Spire first. Thorne checks the rope they had previously strung, and it is still standing. It appears to be secure. Thorne crawls the rope and makes it across. Rowen then teleports across. Daryle, Roscoe and Darelle then come in using the second transport token. Daryle crosses the magma lake using the cable. Darelle and Roscoe also make it. Thorne sets up a trip wire at the back of the room to prevent an ambush from the rear. They arrange themselves in a line. Rowen casts invisibility on each member of the party, then true strike. He will handle the firing of the weapon, while Thorne will reload between rounds.

The party throws stones into the lava lake, and makes a lot of noise. Nothing happens on the first or second attempt, but on the third attempt the female and dominant magma dragon emerges from the lava and climbs up in the air. The battle is on. Rowen looses the first bolt, which successfully hits the female, but not before she's able to breathe on the party, causing considerable damage. Her brother emerges from the lava as well, and he joins the attack. He also breathes on the party. Everyone successfully attack the dragons but the situation is dire. Rowen manages to fire the second bolt, hitting the female who crashes on the ground near them. The male sees where the bolts are coming from, so on his second pass he grabs Rowen and almost throws him in the lava.

Darelle summons a blue pegasus and heads up for the dragon. She lands a mighty blow on the beast, but he in turn inflicts enough damage to her magical construct to destroy it. Falling to the ground, Darelle barely manages to grab the cable. She climbs back to the Spire ledge.

As the magma dragon comes for one more pass, Rowen releases another bolt, hitting him square in the chest. Thorne also takes a shot with his small bow, and he is amazed that his arrow is true. The dragon is hit in his one functional eye, and arrow penetrating deep in his brain. He crashes into the lava, and quickly sinks out of view. The Coopers have defeated the magma dragons!

Burn, baby burn!

Calistril 26, 4712

It's a blistering cold and windy day in Fort Inevitable. The weather has been dry, but the winds over the last three days has created major drifts along the streets of the town. Hellknights have tried to keep up with the digging but it has been almost impossible to remove enough and keep the streets clear.

On this particular morning, the Coopers are dealing with the meteorological conditions. Gerald is outside the walls of the Fort using flaming sphere to melt some of the snow. Darelle visits Dr. Mordel's house. Daryle is out hunting big game. Roscoe has ordered the Hellknights to pile as much snow as possible on Lord Warden Way to block the worst of the wind.

At nine o'clock, the residents of Fort Inevitable feel the ground violently shake and the sound of an explosion spreads quickly. Windows are broken, dishes fall to the ground, chimneys collapse, and much property damage happens. People are stunned. What just happened?

A large blue cloud quickly raises from the area near Dr. Mordel's house and reaches up to the sky. At the same time, the pillar of smoke quickly spreads outwards. Houses catch on fire and begin burning down. Seeing this out of the window, Darelle helps Mordel and his assistant Erynna move the patients to the basement to escape from the flames. Gerald notices the smoke pillar and immediately returns to Fort Inevitable. Daryle bags an elk and sees the pillar raising. She rushes back to the town.

With the smoke rising and the fires spreading, Roscoe orders an evacuation of Fort Inevitable. Hellknights rush in to fight the fires, and with the help of the inhabitants they manage to put it out. The smoke was debilitating, however, and the fires felt more like acid than flames. Unfortunately, over 400 people, including 87 Hellknights, perished in the explosion and its aftermath.

Investigating the scene, Roscoe discovers a crater about 50 feet deep. He can clearly see one of the main sewer lines, but further down there is another, older tunnel that has been cut in two. Water is slowly pooling at the bottom of the crater, and soon it will reach up to that second tunnel. Roscoe decides to investigate. He climbs down to the sewer. The ground is covered with a scorching blue ash, and soon the Hellknight is covered in blue.

Roscoe explores the tunnels, and discovers a strange creature radiating a strong evil aura. With six legs, four arms, and a triangular head with eyes all around, the creature seemingly stops, scratshes something on the wall, and proceeds down the tunnel. Roscoe follows at a distance, and takes a look at the scratches. They appear to be some sort of runes. Roscoe defaces the runes, then returns above ground to gather some help.

With the situation now under control, Maralictor Wirt reports that over 70% of the dwellings withing Fort Inevitable have been destroyed, including Darelle's cute little house. Even if people bunk up in the remaining residences and surrounding farms, more than a thousand people will be homeless. With the granaries burned to the ground, there is enough food left to feed everyone for the next three weeks, but then starvation will set in. Roscoe orders that lumber be immediately felled and that temporary shelters be built. Campaign tents are to be pitched on the training field, and rations are halved to stretch out the food. Messages requesting assistance are sent to Dimsdale and to other surrounding localities. Gerald proposes building temporary snow shelters, and Roscoe grimly agrees that, though this may be one of Gerald's worse ideas, it is worth trying. With the evacuation proceeding apace and a plan in place, the Coopers head back to the newly discovered tunnel.

Darelle is the first to notice that the crater stands exactly where Abernard's house was located. And no one has seen Cassandra or Nissa since the day before. Could there be a link between their disappearance and this explosion?

Down in the tunnel, the Coopers realize that it is quite old. It may in fact predate the Emerald Spire itself, and its construction is not Azlanti. Roscoe describes the creature to his siblings, and they proceed down the tunnel. This tunnel is straight and never deviates left, right, or up and down. It is made of large stones that have been tight fitted, and there is no sign of humidity or water. The creature has a few hours on them, but Roscoe is convinced that it can't be too far ahead since it stopped every few feet to scribble on the walls.

After a hundred feet they find the first rune that has not been scratched out by Roscoe. Gerald examines it, and notices that it is some sort of summoning rune. The creature appears not to know what it is trying to summon, but the rune repeats itself enough that, whatever will come through when the ritual is done, will be big. Gerald copies the symbols to discover who they might have been. The Coopers then remove every rune that they find.

They eventually discover a small side room connected to the tunnel that allows for travel up and down a shaft. There are no signs that the creature climbed either up and down. Daryle drops a coin down the shaft and when the sound eventually comes back she knows that it is hundreds of feet deep.

Continuing on, the Coopers estimate that they walked out of town about two miles in the general direction of Mosswater, and the tunnel has not deviated from its course. They walk in a large room with strange machinery and gears made of a metal they have never seen before. The mechanical devices appear oiled and greased and ready to be turned on. A control panel with strange symbols, levers, and buttons is present in one of the corners. There are more levels of gears below and above. The creature's runes are scribbled all over, and the Coopers spend some time removing them. Gerald speculates that these gears, when activated, would open some large gate, and that if they did they might be able to pick up the point where the gates opened from Fort Inevitable.

Right next to the gear room is another large room with several stories of metal walkways along the walls, going up and down, with the tunnel continuing on. The creature itself is on the third level, still scribbling on the walls. Daryle looses an arrow, getting the creature's attention. It jumps down, summons two large air elementals, and attacks. The creature's blows are vicious and dangerous, but eventually the Coopers prevail and Gerald manages not to die in the process.

Trekking back to Fort Inevitable, Roscoe crosses over the crater, and takes a look in the other tunnel. There are no runes carved in the walls on this side. The creature seems to have appeared at the bottom of the crater. Roscoe orders that Hellknights cement and waterproof a wall to close both of the tunnels, before the crater itself is filled with rubble. The other section of the tunnel seemed to lead in a straight line in the direction of the Emerald Spire...