Session Zero

• We discussed the missions and objectives on offer
  • Politics: We’re done for the moment– Cormyr will have to suffer without our grand advice.
  • Back to the Black Cube dungeon– We’re not ready to enter Chaos…
  • Run and hide– not discussed, but should have been 😉
  • Continue delving for the secrets of Portals from the Portal War
• We’re heading back to the dungeons below Pelor’s Abbey, returning to where we’d fled from last time– to find the documents on Portals and planes.
• Much gearing up; a scroll of limited wish is our big “miscellaneous conditions” fix. Should be interesting…

Session One

• We teleported back to the last room Kerith(Thats Erisorn!) clearly remembered… the room above the stair’s final descent to the great cavern where the battle went so poorly last time.
  • After much planning and buffing, an alarm spell (we think) alerted them two steps out of the room we’d teleported into. Our plan was slightly out of whack– we pushed forward.
  • Draifen and Kerith(Erisorn) unleashed flame on them before they could scatter, taking out a few and weakening others. Of course a few (with Red Dragon blood and rings of fire immunity) were unscathed.
• Ludwig and Kogor closed, trying to disrupt their spell casters. That didn’t work very well…
• Timestop!
  • After that moment, we started to mop up. As things turned our way, a Forcecage shackled Kerith(Erisorn) and Ludwig.
  • Thinking quickly, Kerith(Erisorn) got up an Antimagic screen, which disrupted the Force cage. Ludwig stepped out and finished off the Mage’s ally.
  • Meanwhile, Kogor pursued an archer firing from the rocky high ground.
  • Draifen did her best to interrupt the Mage with a Magic Missile… unfortunately, his skill showed through and he got his feeblemind off. Fortunately, Kerith’s(Erisorn’s) faith protected him…
  • While Kogor finished the archer, Draifen and Ludwig worked on the archmage.
  • Before we could rest, a strange and ghostly woman approached us, giving Kogor and Kerith(Erisorn) the stink eye.
  • When Kerith(Erisorn) approached, screen still up, the woman disappeared.
  • Kerith(Erisorn) dropped the screen, but she didn’t reappear.
• Looted the bodies.
  • A secret door in the rockface stymied us for a while…
  • Til Draifen knocked, and the tunnel opened. It was narrow.
  • We went through, into a wide, tall hall, filled with doors. The doors have arcane sigils over them…
• End Session. We leveled.

Session Two

• We continued on into the complex.
• The doors were labeled with flashing symbols. We eventually figured out that the symbols are destination announcements, flashing through many languages.
  • The six portals are: Water, Fire, Earth, Air, Law/Abyss, and Chaos/?
  • Beyond this corridor was the pool of portals to various cities in the realms
  • At the far end of the pool’s room were a pair of staircases
    • Kogor led sneakily, followed by his companions
  • We heard sounds from one staircase
    • Investigation reveals: 3 Thayan wizards and 4 Thayan knights. We arrive as a wizard is casting an open portal spell…
    • We let them go through without disturbing them, despite temptation.
• Return to top of stairs & continue exploring. Come upon foyer w/ 4 doors.
  • Three sound unoccupied, while the fourth has female voices
  • Try to bluff our way in (Kogor posing as Red Wizard), but fail
  • Fight! They are (relatively young) Lich and the ghost-girl from last session.
    • Much firepower is dumped on them; the room’s firey, but the two are down and dead.
    • Investigation reveals their personal loot + concealed magical black pearl
    • Smash the pearl to release the corruption. Sadness for our casters, as it was a pearl of power (though corrupt).
    • Sounds from the hallway– soldiers?
  • We parlay; they aren’t buying our stories.
    • They cloudkill the corridor, Erisorn blade barriers along their hallway. Deadly.
    • Draifen follows up with a fireball, toasting those who lingered near the intersection
  • By the time we follow up, those who survived the magical attacks fled (via spells and the sunken chamber to Thay)
  • A Fire Giant emerges from the fire portal
    • We parley more successfully, and find out how to use the portals
    • We watch as he continues on to Hades, awaited by Hellhounds.
• END SESSION

Session Three

• We backtrack and explore other paths.
• We come upon a spiral stair heading up and down
• Down we go
  • The first floor down had a library, protected by a necromatic field
  • Field dispelled by Draifen
  • Just off this room is a teleportation chamber, to another plane. (Chaos we later find out.)
  • The scrolls and books are too fragile to move and touch, but seem to be portal related.
• The next floor down is a copy of the room above
  • Inhabited by our good friend, Mr. Black Dragon.
    • Mmm, nice roaring fire. Also, a secret door in the room.
  • Some wary conversation
    • Dragon went back to chaos to look for allies, found none
    • We brought him up to date on our hunt (and why we’re here)
    • He hints at occupants of the floor below
• Despite being a bit tired, we continue down to the next floor
  • We’re hit at the stairs; a repulsion field goes up
  • By some luck, Erisorn and Ludwig each break through the repulsion field and start smacking the casters around, while Kogor sucks up a disintigration beam (barely!) and retreats to hide.
  • The battle’s soon done, the two casters are dead. One reverts to a black dragon wyrmling.
• The room has archives (public plans, no secret doors) and wine.
  • We hunt for a secret door & find a secret hallway, no local access
    • However, we think that stairs from the Dragon’s room above exist behind that room’s secret door
    • A crypt is reported…
• We also come across a few cool items
  • A jar with some wheat puzzles Kogor for a while
  • An urn with 13 faces tells its story. It came from a faraway kingdom…
• We decide to bed down here
• END SESSION

Session Four

• Erisorn heard a grinding sound behind the wall on last shift of night watch
• Then everyone wakes up in the room at the foot of the stairs
  • Draifen was a bit drained; suspicion leapt to the new 13 headed vase
• (Up to preserve the books? Or was that later?)
• We packed up and headed up the stairs to Black Dragon room
  • He wasn’t there; the fire was burned out, no one home
  • We go through the secret door and head down the stairs, ready for an ambush
    • There are foot steps leading down the dusty stairs
  • We come upon a burial complex room
    • We skip the effigies, find a secret door to the room beyond
• The room is alive! But the people inside aren’t, not really…
  • Wake first guy by smacking wall w/ shock sword
    • Room appears sympathetically connected to hibernating people
  • Long chat with first guy to wake: he was a “Royal Mage” from the portal mage era
    • He was also evil and tried to mentally hitch a ride
    • He told us that 7 mages are required to get into the library above
    • Tales of division among their ranks makes them sound less than noble
  • Erisorn decided that their trying to evade death would piss off Kelmvor, so he took matters into his own hands
    • Death to the talker
    • Which resulted in a banshee wail that drove Kogor and Draifen from the room
    • Leaving Erisorn and Ludwig to crack open the other caskets and end the unlife of the others
    • Plus extensive loot, as they were powerful men in their own right
• Finished, we regroup, explore the dead end, then head up the stairs to Black Dragon’s room
  • ?? Back down to the basement?
  • Then up the stairs, to try to figure out if the library’s protections are already broken…
• END SESSION FOUR

Session Five

• We debate resting, to recoup our strength, but decide that it’s not necessary for the library
  • So we go up the stairs and find the proper level
  • Some exploration: there’s a pit trap that we skirt.
  • There’s a cave in the back and a magically concealed door
    • Kogor heads into the cave and scouts
    • The rest of the group approaches, while Erisorn keeps an eye on the stairway behind us
  • We see daylight coming into the cave… and hear the beating of wings
    • It’s a pair of black dragons! One is familiar… is the other his mate?
    • Big black dragon is our “friend”
      • We banter with him, but it’s clear he’s looking for a snack
      • He sicks his “date” on us, we retaliate massively
    • Fight; Ludwig holds off big black solo, while Kogor takes on the female, with artillery support and buffing from Draifen and Erisorn
      • Erisorn’s elementals help distract the dragons slightly
      • Kogor, already weakened earlier that day, is killed by the female
    • Who expires on the next blow dealt…
      • Erisorn dashes into danger and heals Ludwig
      • While Draifen protects them with a Fire Shield
    • Ludwig smashes big black, who teeters on the edge of life…
      • But dies as his tail swipes a fire shielded elemental
  • Victorious, they debate resurrection, but realize that they don’t have the right tools on hand.
    • They hear goblins pass and decide to explore the level above
    • They soon realize that Kogor’s trap finding would be awfully handy for exploring those tunnels
    • They stuff Kogor in a bag of holding, gather the few items the dragons had, and teleport back to town
  • The arrive in Erisorn’s temple
    • They present the heads of their two dragons to the temple
    • They cough up gold and platinum to get Kogor restored to them
    • He returns from the dead, a bit weakened…
• END SESSION. Characters level to 15.

Session Six

• We’re in the temple, where Kogor has just been raised from the dead.
  • He adds his donation to the other gifts in thanks
  • He then heads into Kelmvor’s sanctum and quietly thanks Kelmvor.
  • Once that’s all taken care of, we set out for the coronation
    • The coronation? Yeah, a King has been picked.
      • By unfair means, we all suspect
    • We watch the speech. The king is Stanis, the former king’s cousin.
      • Ludwig catches sight of a Red Wizard in the room behind the balcony.
      • Stanis is mildly enchanted w/ charisma enhancers, but doesn’t seem to be evil or suffering from mind control.
      • Erisorn notices several powerful evil and magical auras through the curtain as the King returns through the curtain.
    • We’re joined by Steel Dragon mid speech.
  • When the speech is done, we head to an inn for a private talk.
    • Just as we’re getting relaxed and ready to speak, a runner comes from the guild.
    • Scuttlebutt says that Kostrick, Maerbourne, and Jendra were the council’s votes for Stannis.
      • Which doesn’t make much sense, given Jendra’s opposition…
    • We follow the guild runner and have a private talk w/ the Captain.
      • Draifen shows off with her Secure Shelter.
      • The Captain’s unhappy with the situation, wants us to represent the guild at the coronation two days hence.
      • We agree, and hint that there may be some investigating before then.
  • We’re dismissed. We return to the Steel Dragon and share our concerns.
  • We split up
    • Erisorn teleports north to Jendra’s castle.
      • The Viscount is away, negotiating with the elves. His oldest son is holding the castle. (He’s surprised at the vote, since he should have cast his family’s vote!)
    • Draifen goes to Jendra and gets the run around from the butler.
      • She blinks through the house and notices extensive dust…
      • She also notices the butler reporting in… to someone who isn’t in the room
    • Ludwig goes to Yurlada and arranges a meeting with their representative over the butler’s objection.
      • After some hinting, it’s clear that Jendra was the family the voted very against type.
      • Kogor talks with Lorens and doesn’t learn a whole bunch new.
  • Erisorn teleports back with Jendra’s son.
  • We regroup and plan.
  • The Dragon’s Talons hit the Jendra house from both ends.
    • We pursue and catch the butler just before he makes it to the stables. (Via his hidden passage.)
    • The butler’s no normal butler– caustic blood flows from his pores. (Chaosian anyone?)
    • Stabby stabby and he’s soon knocked out by Kogor’s sap.
  • We head back to the butler’s room and look for clues.
    • Someone checks in (via the mirror), but we don’t know the password, tipping them off. They shut down the conversation.
• General planning: do we want to infiltrate the castle? Some discussion about crowning the guy elected king vs. the crowned king. We know it’s bad PR either way…

Post Session 6 Planning

• Couple of ideas to think about…first Kogor (and Draifen?) use disguise and pop in at various inn’s, meeting halls etc to spread the word that the whole thing is a fraud, get rumors running rampant about Thayans/Chaosians and the Kostrick and Maebourne are up to no good. Not standing on a soap box yelling it but just joining the conversations and ‘I heard ….’ While appearing as just normal towns folk, NOT recognizable as themselves.
  • Meanwhile I’ll be spending some time in the Temple of Kelmevor, scrying for the elder Jendra, and for the other head of house…Yurlada I think, try to get them all teleported back to the capital in time.
  • From there, I’m not sure if a stealth strike into the castle to try to kill the Thayans and Chaosians before the coronation, or just walking in in force just before the coronation and denounce it for the fraud that it is. I’m thinking the Dragons Talons walking in with the heads of three households and their council reps saying “we never voted for this” might throw a kink into the plans…. but it really puts us on the spot, have to be ready for a knockdown drag out fight if they resist. — Kev

• That sounds pretty good so far; I’d add that Ludwig makes an excellent bodyguard / diplomat to the various heads of household that Erisorn rustles up. (Starting with the Jendra we’ve already got.)
  • I particularly like the “go out as not the dragon’s talons” and spread rumors plan. I don’t think it’s going to do a whole bunch before the fight, but it might help set expectations for the derailed coronation.
  • I also like the “walk in with the three heads of household” part of the plan. I fully expect things to go crazy if we do…
  • Do we want to investigate the castle before hand? I’m guessing we’ll need to sneak the three heads of household in– otherwise they might be killed at the front gate as impostors. (Though, alternately, we could have the confrontation on the doorstep, which prevents us from being completely inside the Castle and under the false king’s power when they announce the lie.) — Scott

Session Seven

• We decide to get a hold of all the families, make sure that they’re not also infiltrated
• First to Lorens
  • We have a nice soup with Brailford… poison soup, but we all survive
  • Hot pursuit; we catch and kill the Chaosian infiltrator (who was also escaping to the stables…)
    • Meanwhile, Kogor fought some smoke elementals that seemed eager to cover the crime
    • Also, the place was set on fire
  • We collect and protect Brailford, head over to Yurlada’s house
  • Duchess Orioku proves competent and commanding
  • We head to the temple; representatives of the 3 houses put their heads together
    • After some pressure, they come up with a nominee for King…
• They come up with Bronowyn Lorens… who we need to go pick up. (Yeah, a Queen. No one said they followed directions well.)
  • We head there and find an attack in progress– a huge giant of Chaos is trudging toward the Queen Elect’s room
  • Ludwig does his thing, charging up the stairs and maiming the critter badly
    • The critter’s presence threatens to scramble Ludwig’s brain, the “spindle” it wields does more of the same. It’s also armed with a chaos-disruptor…
  • Kogor leaps ahead, around the fight, to secure the Queen Elect
  • Meanwhile, another chaos critter appears; Draifen and Erisorn start mangling it
    • Though Erisorn’s brain gets scrambled in the process
  • A third appears before we put down the threat completely
• We ride back to Kelmvor’s temple by coach
  • St. Radam is overwhelmed by temptation when offered the chaos-disruptor
    • He tests it on a prisoner, disintegrates him, then asks for another prisoner!
  • We “persuade” Radam to set the weapon aside
• Together with the nobility, we start planning an announcement of the queen elect
  • We also decide that we need to start the rumors of a botched/forced election immediately, so the people are prepared for the coronation to derail

Session Eight

• This report will is noticeably spotty… if you remember more, please add it to the outline.
• Research and discussion; discuss laws and plot alternate site for conflict
  • We find out there’s a custom/obligation to pray at the Cathedral for Pelor (or other, FR appropriate god)
  • The books with the laws of the land are stored in vaults below the Cathedral
  • Erisorn and Ludwig head over to the temple to prepare for a future
  • While Draifen and Kogor get to the rumor spreading, heading for the bars
• Erisorn and Ludwig go in to the temple
  • They note that the main hall is pretty empty; not even a priest is in sight
  • Though one appears when they get close to the priest area
  • After discussion, they’re led and meet the Archbishop
    • They tell him about the rigged elections
    • They head down to the basement
    • They find out about that the false King’s going to be here… Erisorn goes for reinforcements
  • Erisorn swings by the three families in the Temple and get them in motion for the confrontation
• Kogor heads out and starts spreading rumors, with Draifen as backup
  • The rumors soon start spreading on their own
    • The rumors include both “false election” and “good surprise coming” elements
  • So Kogor wanders into enemy aligned districts, drinks and spreads rumors
    • It goes pretty well; he leaves feeling successful…
  • As Erisorn arrives and suggests the rumor spreading should be cut short– they have an appointment with the false King
    • Until they are ambushed by a nasty demon critter as they head back for their horses
    • Tough fight; the PCs eek it out and ride to the Cathedral
  • Their allies, the representatives of the three families, including the newly selected queen, are running about 10 minutes late.
• END SESSION

Session Nine

• We gather near the stairs and prepare to escort our Queen and the Bishop to meet with the duplicitous rebels
• We arm and march on the rebels
  • The second floor is trapped, with a slow like spell. The stairs up to three are spike stoned.
  • We hit the third (top) level of the Cathedral. There’s a nasty fight.
    • Several bad guys get away; via teleports, dimension doors, and the like
    • The archbishop is killed in the fight, by the vampiric Haellaine Kostrick
  • Faux king Stanis surrenders and is captured
  • We lead him to the stairs in front of the Cathedral
    • He lies (proclaims his election) and is konked by Ludwig
  • The queen is introduced and announces her election
    • The other heads of house step up and verify her election
    • (She promises rewards for our heroic service, the raising of some houses, and casting down of others.)
• There is cheering; the word is carried by the mob.
• END SESSION

Session 10

• The next morning is sweet
  • Tomorrow, the Queen will be crowned
  • As we get in motion, we hear a spooky voice
    • The voice is Despater’s, challenging us and telling us that it’s all over
  • In warps a Spellweaver
    • It eats spells like candy, but is also very tough.
      • (Lots of OOC chatter about the critter and its abilities.)
    • With buffs from Draifen and Erisorn, Kogor and Ludwig whittle the creature down and kill it
• We taunt Despater, who asks us if we’ll have a Queen to crown tomorrow…
  • So, after some discussion (are we doing what he wants?), we head to the Queen
    • She’s happy relying on guards and keeping herself apart from those of us with big targets on our foreheads…
  • We convince her to issue us a writ of blood & fire, so we can clear out the rival families
    • Off to the castle we go
    • We present housekeeping and the guards with the writ; they offer their assistance
  • We tromp off to investigate the council chambers
    • There’s a nasty mirror, set to hurt investigators
    • There’s some paperwork, but nothing too damning. Until we stumble on a secret door…
      • In the secret entrance to the council chambers lies Count Crandor Jendra, bound and dehydrated
      • We restore him and have him led back to the Queen, so he can tell his tale
  • We then head upstairs to the rooms of the five families
    • The allied rooms aren’t a big deal
    • Kostrick’s room has a secret compartment with a Phylactery
    • Stanus’s room has a searcher who we catch with papers in hand.
      • She surrenders, proclaiming her innocence. We’ll drag her off to see the Queen… at our convenience.
    • Maerbourne’s room has a contract for the soul of the faux King, and a communication coin
• We decide that we have enough, and plan on returning to the Queen (or her staff) to report.

Session 11

• We finish scouting through the rooms.
  • Kogor is killed by a death ward in the process.
    • As are several servants…
• On completing the scouting, they collect the prisoner and Crandor Jendra. They head back to the temple.
• They have Kogor raised and have a chat with St. Radam about getting the Archbishop up for the next day’s ceremonies.
  • He promises to have the archbishop ready in the morning.
• We then convene before the Queen and report what we found
  • She’s happy to have Crandor restored
  • She asks our prisoner questions
    • Our prisoner tries to evade a number of them, prompting Erisorn to comment on the convenience of speaking with the dead…
  • When she wakes up from he get a few answers; the three families have rallied on the plane of Chaos. No, she doesn’t know where the portal is…
  • The prisoner is removed from the room and we finish briefing the Queen
• We divide up and rest, preparing for the morning
  • Kogor spends the night in prayer, thanking Kelmvor for returning him to his friends once again
    • Morning dawns…
• Erisorn goes to make sure St. Radam’s raising the Archbishop. He catches Radam in the middle of the ceremony.
  • The queen accepts us among her honor guard
  • In a whirlwind of preparation the morning passes… we’re soon off to the Cathedral
  • We ride, protecting the Queen’s carriage. The route through the city offers no problems…
    • We break from the pack and pull up behind the Cathedral… along with a troop of Purple Dragons.
  • The attack springs out of nowhere; blobs of slimers with exploding goop attack
    • They’re dealt with, though their dying is more deadly than their attacks…
      • The archbishop kept low during the attack… evidently his brush with death made him cautious
• We head in, positioning ourselves near (but not on top of) the Queen
  • After a few nervous moments, they’re ready for the crowning.
  • Which we interrupt, restoring the Wyvern Crown of Corymr to the Queen
    • She mentions our heroism, and grants us gifts of land from her own family
  • We adjourn and report for the par-tay!
    • After a great evening, we return to our rooms… and find a note from Despater.
• “You have won this battle… but I will win the war.”
• END SESSION

Session 12

• Three days after the coronation, we get an urgent, “There’s trouble on the Dragon Coast” message
• So we pack up and walk through the portal to the Dragon Coast
  • The portal has been secured and guarded
  • We head to the Steel Dragon’s shop
• The Steel Dragon confides his young king’s condition
  • He’s in a mindless, drooling state… after, evidently, casting a strange spell
  • Draifen IDs the school; it’s a twist on divinitation
  • The king begins speaking as if he’s someone else
    • We listen and take notes, deciding that these Knights of Tyranny are bad news
      • Among other things, they’re preparing a strike & rumor mongering campaign in the Dragon Coast
    • The mage guy, whose eyes we’re looking through, finishes up by chopping the head off of one of the knights
  • The king’s observation is suddenly cut off, so Erisorn reinforces that w/ anti-magic
    • We get filled in on what happened; the king’s completely coherent w/in the field
    • Erisorn makes an argument for using the king as a link to the Mage foe, to Mr. Steel’s consternation
  • The anti-magic ends
    • We keep it short, and mime out a blast through the link. The mage panics and cuts the connection completely, restoring the king.
• With the King restored, we decide to return to the palace and meet the man who taught him the spell…
• But we’re interrupted by a protest/mob, who have been riled up by agitators
  • Ludwig makes a speech about rabble rousers and trust, breaking their hold over the crowd
  • Erisorn borrows Ludwig’s ring and flies off, tracing an agitator back to an inn
    • He invisibly follows the agitator and beats on him at key times, convincing him to run away
    • He swaps off and takes on the inn contact
      • Some amusing complications later, he takes the woman out into the street and starts abusing her He demonstrates that she’s a he, and uses the ring to illustrate the perfidy of the Kingdom’s foes.
    • Soon he’s leading a procession to the castle, showing off the foes and preaching against listening to rumor mongers
      • A storm blows in to cut short his fun
• Meanwhile, the other three talons are follow up on the girl’s uncle, the man who taught the king the trapped spell
  • They’ve cleared out of their front house, leaving behind only a scrap of color shifting cloak that caught on a nail in the door…
• We meet back in the castle, enjoy a dinner with the king, and prepare to follow the cloak back to its source
  • Scry, see the mage alone, and teleport in. Just as someone’s knocking on the door, not that we can hear that…
  • The mage dies quickly. The two knights at the door take more effort, but go down. The castle’s rallying to the battle however…
    • We fight off the first skirmish group, and soon close on the festal hall
    • Draifen plans a stone melting fireball spread over the corridor entrance
  • The slaughter is impressive; many Mages managed to escape, but those who closed on us exploded prettily.
    • The rest escaped.
• END SESSION

Session 13

• We explore the remnants of the hall; it seems to border on Chaos, but it isn’t Chaos itself.
  • We eventually figure out that it’s just north of Waterdeep
• After some fun with the statue of Despater, a negotiator starts speaking through a tapestry in the hall
  • He’s Despater’s representative
  • We agree to talk with Despater
  • Despater’s “scribe” comes through– some big Preying Mantis demon
• Despater appears
  • We talk; he tells us that the Plane of Chaos collision is something he wants to undo himself…
    • But that he’d need the assistance of our gods
  • We also bitch about each other’s actions
  • He claims his slain lieutenants and their gear, but we dispute it
    • Solomon like, he winds up with the lieutenants and we wind up with the gear
• He tells us to show up tomorrow with our gods
  • We remind him we don’t command our gods, but do agree to show up with a message
  • He vanishes (probably back to his plane), with his lieutenants’ dead bodies and his scribe
  • We wander out, locate the area, study it for teleportation
• Then we return to Corymyr
  • Erisorn rounds up St. Radam and they start to pray
  • Ludwig goes to the Castle to let the Queen know what’s going on… but she’s not free
    • So he drops off the goods for IDing, and asks to have his armor enchanted… by tomorrow.
    • It is agreed
  • Draifen communes with the dragons in her head
  • Kogor informs the Arch Bishop, who prays for guidance
  • Eventually Ludwig meets with the Queen and other powerful members of court. He dissuades her from coming, but accepts help from the knight.
• None of the gods say they’ll show up
  • It sounds like they don’t trust Despater…
• We prepare up for betrayal. Tomorrow, noon, is the meeting.

Game Recap:
We began by returning to the discussion with the Steel Dragon and his young prince. We discussed our decision to investigate the town of the portal mages; he though we’d have better things to do. We did hear some new information, including the fact that Chaos rifts were appearing back in the Dragon Coast too. In fact, he was concerned enough that he chose to leave the prince in Cormyr to negotiate a response, while he was returning that very night to coordinate defenses. (There was an amusing moment where we checked to make sure he didn’t want the Dragon’s Talons to watch his prince. He mentioned something about the danger we live in, and we all breathed a quiet sigh of relief that he wasn’t entrusting the prince to us.)

Our scaly friend was opinionated; evidently his information from spies indicated a little new information. He didn’t think that Jendra was so wonderful; he suggested that Jendra and the priests of Kelemvor might have allied. So there’s a thread to investigate there. Also, he mentioned that he thought that someone within the Necromancer’s household wasn’t just involved with death– he suggested that they were undead. [At this, we breathed a sight of relief at Kev’s absence, since we suspected that we’d shift tasks again to deal with this. Dad reassured us that he’s prepared for that eventuality, but we were happy continuing on to the portal town.]

Oh, last Dragon friend opinion; none of the contending men are worth spit. Look into the women of the lines.

So, the Talons all planned for a little excursion to the never-before completely explored ruins of the great Portal Mae empire. As we were about the leave, Saint Radem’s assistance caught Erisorn and drug him off to attend to letter coordination and such joys. The other three weren’t too worried; since Erisorn has done the scry/teleport thing, they just told him to join us whenever he gets a chance.

Since we were going to be without a cleric, there was a round of shopping– lots of healing potions were purchased. We also picked up a pair of bags of holding, since we’re now light in ability to carry mountains of copper. With that, we rode off to the north.

At the end of a light day’s ride, we got to the little hamlet. The local barkeep was a fountain of information, and his wife was a masterful cook, somehow taking uninspiring cooking supplies and making something tasty. Kogor and Ludwig practiced a bit, drawing quite a crowd. As they reached a break point, a local lad showed off his father’s sword and asked for tips. Kogor and Ludwig had a talk with him, telling him of their humble beginnings. They mentioned obligation and family, but the boy was undeterred. Kogor wrote the boy a brief introduction and gave him directions to the mercenary company. Later the boy’s parents came and harangued the warriors, but admitted that their son had always been unusually excited by war, etc. Ludwig gave them coin to help them hire help for the first season of their son’s absence.

There was a comical scene of Ludwig taking a bath and the innkeeper’s daughter peeking under the curtains.

The next morning, the Talons set off up the road to the abbey. [Sidenote: Pelor’s priests built an abbey over the old town. No one has gone to join the abbey in centuries; it’s a ruin.] Along the way they were stopped by elves. Evidently they had tasked themselves (or been tasked) with protecting the ruin from people who would steal the secrets for their own good. Ludwig spoke truthfully and persuaded them to let us pass. In an act of arrogance, Kogor and Ludwig vanished, intending to make the point that stopping for this “interview” was mere formality. Of course, that wasn’t the message received… but Draifen talked them down and we continued along.

[Sidenote: we could have taken a turnoff, through a canyon, to enter a few hundred feet below the abbey. To ensure that we wouldn’t be in the middle of a sandwich, we chose to continue up to the top.] When we reached the top of the hill, there was an exposed stair headed down and the abbey. Not wanting to allow bad guys to follow behind us, we investigated the abbey. It was tumbledown ruin; a nasty watchman harassed Ludwig, but we chased him back to his hidey hole and covered it with big stones.

From there we went down the outside stairs, into what turned out to be a crypt. Having learned our lessons about strange sarcophagi, we continued into the tunnels. The way grew narrower and the stone less finished as we ended the session. [XP earned = 1300.]

Cormyr Politics

Major Houses of the High Court of Cormyr

Kostrick: The Royal House of Kostrick is the closest line to the throne. Prince Dalam Kostrick, age 71, is the uncle to the late king. (There is a nasty rumor that he is a necromancer and is slightly crazy) His wife is the Prince’s Consort Haellaine Kostrick, (nee Deal) age 60 who was a sensual, pale beauty in her younger days, but not much given to entertaining or socializing . She is now almost a total recluse. Dalam’s eldest son, Stanis, age 43, is the individual who this family is attempting to put on the throne of Cormyr. He has a half-brother Radholme Kostrick age 39 from his father’s dalliance with Sylaena Elantorae before she was the wife of Alender Stanus. The Kostick family lands are vast and scattered with the major holdings surrounding the capitol.

Stanus: A minor house but with ancestral ties to the throne. Its head is Viscount Alender Stanus age 57 whose wife, Viscountess Sylaena Stanus (nee Elantorae), a 137 year old half-elf, seems to be the real power of the family. They have one son, Trandor Stanus age 36 who is an up-and-coming power in his own right. If there is any conflict between the two related families, it is the fact that Trandor seems to be a stronger candidate for the throne. Trandor’s birth into a minor house is the only obstacle that keeps him from announcing his candidacy for supreme ruler of Cormyr and tearing the alliance to shreds. The Stanus holdings are sandwiched between the Kostrick, Lorens and Yurlada domains.

Maerbourne: The House Maerbourne is lead by Lord Admiral Andaro Maerbourne, a 46 year old shipping magnate who recently inherited the noble title Lord Admiral of the Oceans and the control of the house Maerbourne when his father was lost at sea. There is some rumor that the old admiral met his fate in a somewhat suspicious way. He had been sailed with the Maerbourne shipping fleet and, on a calm night, apparently fell overboard and was never seen again. Andaro is not a suspect in the disappearance since he was at home in the family manor when the old admiral was lost at sea. Since that time Andaro, who was thought to be a confirmed batchelor, has been seen in the company of Freritha, a beautiful wizard and an influential member of the mage guild. He has also shifted alliances from the Yurladas to the Kostrick/Stanis Families. The Maerbourne family’s holdings are in the capital itself, although the Maerbourne fortune is so vast as to be almost incalculable.

Jendra: Count Crandor Jendra, 44, is the head of the Jendra Clan, a paladin and Dragon Disciple. His holdings are in the north woods bordering the Elven kingdoms to which he has both economic and political as well as emotional ties. Crandor has 2 sons, Laith Jendra a 22 year old paladin and the ambassador to the High Court of Cormyr when his father is unavailable. Laith has a younger brother, Damon and an influential cousin, Farshall Jendra with whom he often keeps company. Crandor’s wife died just after giving birth to Damon 19 years ago.

Yurlada: The old and influential family of Yurlada with holdings bordering Sembia, is lead by Duke Senith Yurlada a 67 year old aristocrat. He is power hungry and often conflicts violently with the Jendra Clan. Dutchess Orioku Yurlada (nee Kinoshia) is a slim, 143 year old elf who seems to follow the druidic ways. She is the ambassador to the High Court of Cormyr. Since there is often a need for the other families to unite to blunt the power of the Stanus/Kostrick Family, a more conciliatory approach to diplomacy is often needed than that of the Duke. As the apparent heir to the Yurlada title there is only a single child, a girl, Onoku, a 42 year old, heavy set half-elf who seems to follow in her mother’s druidic footsteps. At one time the Yurlada and Maerbourne families were united to stave off the threat of having the Kostrick and Stanus families. The latter attempted to use their relationship with the former king to gain influence and power on the council. Since the king’s death the house alliances have shifted and the Yurladas, Lorens and Jendra Families have made an uneasy truce and united to combat the new Kostrick/Sanus/Mearbourne threat.

Lorens: The newest house at the Court of Cormyr is the Lorens family from the area of the Hullack Forest. Raised to the high nobility by the former king, its head is Count Aldrade Lorens, a 53 year old diplomat. Other than the proclamation announcing the crown’s gratitude to the Lorens Family little is known about why the king elevated this family from its minor house status. Their domain runs from the Immerflow River to the Thunder River and from the Thunder Peaks to the Wyvernwater. Aldrade’s wife, Bronowyn (nee Silve) , age 49, seems to be a wonderful entertainer and hostess and most minor noble houses seem to flock to the Lorens House during festivities and holiday celebrations for that very reason. There is one son Brailford Lorins, age 33, who seems to be a serious threat to surpass his mother in comeliness and manner. He prefers living in Suzail, the capitol, rather than upon the family’s holdings in the forest.

The Lesser Council of Lords:

There are some 17 minor families which make up the lesser aristocracy of Cormyr, among them the Deals, Elanthoraes, the Silves and the Kinoshias. They are non-voting members of the Court known as the Lessor Council of Lords. Their lone representative on the High Court, Viscount Alender Sanus, serves only in an advisory capacity to the High Court of Cormyr.

The Ranks of the Nobility:	Distaff member
The King	King’s Consort*
High Court
Prince	Prince’s Consort
Duke	Duchess
Count	Countess
Lesser Council
Viscount	Viscountess
Baron	Baroness
Baronet	Dame
Banneret	Lady

*In the distant past when Cormyr was ruled by Queens as well as Kings the distaff side was known as the Queen’s Consort. There has never been a Princess’ Consort.

Resources for our D&D game:

Our game group thread on llamafodder.

Links for D&D/d20 games from the website.

Kogor Online. I usually update him every level or two.