Road to ?
5/28/2000
Prelude
The Library of Llygamen
Hey Arveld, look at this weird Arrrgggghhh!!!!!
Guess we'll go down the other passage.At Long Lake
I made the offer and they declined...
...no, I don't think they did...
...very well, I'll see what I can find.
Summary of the Adventure
The company's quiet campsite is interrupted when a young centaur suddenly bursts through the trees and into the glow of their fire. Behind him, the sound of hounds baying can be heard and, further distant, the thundering of hooves. The company has the boy shelter with their own horses and prepares to deal with the hunters.
The dogs arrive first; they are huge slavering beasts, with long muzzles and sharp teeth. They are mangy and appear almost mad with the fury of the hunt. Androth fires three arrows at one killing it. Malz summons a horde of rats and most of the others are held at bay. Three break free and continue their attack; one of them actually knocks Malz down.
Harkonen kicks the vicious dog away from Malz and Malz kills most of the rest of the pack with a ball of fire. The two remaining fall prey to Androth's sword. Malz quickly casts a spell and flies into a nearby tree. A moment later the hunting party arrives. They are dressed like Hill People, but their eyes have a pale yellow glow.
They quickly make it known that they are upset that their hunt has been disturbed and demand that the centaur be returned to them. An argument follows during which the Hill People make it clear that Harkonen, as a human, should be helping them to kill the centaur and the elves, not adding them. They refuse to even acknowledge the words of the elves.
Malz tires of this game and his radiant arch strikes the leader, who is injured but not killed. As the leader continues to try to convince Harkonen that his is the right path, Malz hits him again, but the electrical spell has no effect. A moment later a blast of cold kills the leader.
The others dismount and quickly attack. The fighting is not dangerous, but it is difficult. The men seem preternaturally strong and not all magic seems to work on them. Likewise, even Androth finds them difficult to kill. In the end, Harkonen saves the day with his spells, leaving more than half of them held or sleeping.
They interogate them, but learn little other than that they call themselves the Gothic after their leader Goth. They have a strong desire to kill the elves. When it becomes clear that they can not be left as prisoners, the company puts them to the sword. Checking them, they find that each man wears a pale-yellow eye as a necklace. These are collected and, at Harkonen's suggestion, they are strapped over their own saddles and sent, in groups of four, to the four winds.
After questioning him briefly they learn that Clo, the centaur youth, comes from a village more than a day's ride east. He has been running for over a day, pursued by the Gothic who came to destroy his village. A brief discussion ensues and it is determined that the company, accompanied by Clo, will go to the library for research, then go to his village.
Harkonen uses a charm which grants him advice directly from his deity. Unfortunately, the advice is not as clear as he might have liked:
Evil builds on racist price
Magic lasts 'til source denied
Rituals held in pale moon's glow
Magic so ancient no man should knowThey add this riddle to their research at the library. Hastening there, they encounter Evalar, Wundagar and Naria, three gray elves sent to serve as assistants to Androth. The trio confirms the story of the centaur village, adding the information that it appears everyone in it was killed. They followed the trail of the marauders for a time but were beset by six and forced to flee lest they be killed themselves.
A check there turns up the story of Goth, an ancient wizard who knew much of enchantment and alteration. He sought to make himself a god somehow, by creating worshippers. His first defeat was the loss of his eye to a halfling who had somehow resisted his charms. The second came when his keep was razed; his body was never found.
The books also say that he knew magic that no man should know, particularly permanent magic. Some of the spells he researched are no longer possible for new magicians to learn. It is said that the Gods believe those secrets lay beyond the ken of men and when Goth discovered them, they were hidden away for all time.
While at the library, they also discover that another adventuring group is somewhere in the garden of time. Malz wizard locks the doors at each end of the garden to trap the thieves within. Darren and Pendergrast set about the business of building the town. Androth suggests that Andi and his scouts search out these Gothics, but Malz argues against it and they are instead sent to gather and identify sources for construction materials.
The company, joined by Androth's three followers and Clo, set out for the Centaur village. Along the way, Wunagar and Noria capture a member of the People of the Valley, the tribe driven out by the Gothic. Speaking with the tribesman, they discover that his tribe was transformed to become the Gothic. Adding him to their band, they proceed towards the main encampment.
Quotebag
Malz: Smells like burnt dog around here.
Harkonen: You are about to be executed. Make your peace with your god. (Prisoner spits at him) I'll assume you're at peace now.
Harkonen: Can't even turn around without tripping over an elf anymore.
Harkonen: When I get old, I plan to spend a few days in the time room, then come out to see the elves have become nothing but legends.
Calidon: Everyone has their role in the great scheme of the world.
John (refering to Androth): He's the brains sweetheart
Mike: We're doomed.Dave (following a don't drink commercial): Who's had unwanted sex?!
Joe: You shouldn't ask that; you're the one who's done jail time.
The Spoils
11 Eye Medallions Harkonen
Experience Summary
Base experience for this adventure computed as:
Accomplishments Rescuing Clo 10,000 Hounds of Evil 2,500 Tribesmen 15,000 Tribe Leader 2,500 Individual Awards and Totals
Player Adventure Bonuses, penalties and what not Total Andivarai Shea 0 Did not play 173,250 Androth 18,000 Roleplaying + 3,000
Identify the necklaces +5,000365,950 Brother Urbane 19,500 Identify discussion +2,500
Good Spells +5,000
Roleplaying +2,000223,000 Calidon 4,500 Grand Scheme of the world +3,000
Roleplaying +1,500138,350 Daran 0 Did not play 197,500 Jameson 0 Did not play 112,415 Malz 23,000 Good Spells +2,500
Identify Discussion +5,000
Eye Cantrip +2,500
Roleplaying +3,000224,750
