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rw081115

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Saved by Nick
on November 18, 2008 at 9:38:30 pm
 

Last updated November 18th, 2008.

To Do:

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Game Summary

Previously...

 

rw081108

 

Previously, on Rumors of War...

 

Overview

Episode 2: A Dwarf, a Paladin, and an Aristocrat Walks into a Bard

Date: November 15th, 2008

The camp is that of a small tribe; there are about 50 adults, with more than half that number in children. News about the arrival of the party spreads quickly throughout the camp, and three additional guests of the goblins make the acquaintance of the party; a human explorer named Dorus, an elf refugee named Katri, and a wandering dwarf mystic named Payne. Dorus seeks adventure in the desert, Katri hails from somewhere in the colder climes of the North, and Payne claims to be guided by vision and prophesy.

 

Polynices is quick to welcome the new additions to the party, nearly speaking more to them than anyone during the entire voyage aboard the Themia. Katri brings with her a heavy warhorse, which is a marvel to the small goblins, and she is also accompanied by an owl. Payne has a wolf as his companion, though he does not say how he came upon such an unusual traveling companion.

 

The night passes without incident, and the party sets out just before first light. Some effort is needed to pry Anaxagoras from the beds of a few of the goblin women. The very thought of the bard's activities during the night seems to disgust Polynices, but he maintains his characteristic silence. That morning, the party also has the chance to speak with the man they found unconscious in the desert. His name is Siris, and his reason for being in the desert was an attempt at suicide.

 

Though Siris is initially secretive about his reasons, Anaxagoras read the man's journal and tactfully pried information from him; Siris told that he was prophesied to be the instrument of his father's ascension to power, though also his downfall. Throughout his youth, Siris was abused by his father, until he reached adulthood and was finally able to escape; he has evaded his father ever since. Siris believes the prophesy of his father's ascent to power to be of some magical sort. Siris has no desire to see his father ascend to any sort of power, and claims that his father is evil.

 

Owing his life to the party, Siris pledges to aid them in whatever way they deem useful, and chooses to follow them on their quest. Of himself, he doesn't say much else, only that he dabbles in the magic arts. He dons one of the extra sets of desert garb the party has with them, and follows along quietly.

 

The party makes excellent time during the day; with both Dorus and Polynices foraging for resources, the party group easily has more than enough food and water to supply their increased number. During the afternoon, the party encounters a few scouts from a tribe of enormous men, each one easily 8 feet in height. These men have coppery skin and the blood of giants.

 

When the half-giants hear of the group's purpose in the waste, they try to dissuade them from continuing to the temple. They tell of a few other groups searching for the same temple, and they know the way to be dangerous. Polynices, in particular, seems intrigued by the heritage of the large men, though they don't share much about themselves. They claim to be among those descended from the cyclopes who opposed the new order of gods and that their forefathers were cast down into Tartarus along with the titans. They see their lineage as a curse and exiled themselves to the waste in shame.

 

The party turns down an invitation to see the half-giants' camp and continues traveling for the last few hours of daylight. With the light of the next day, they trek the last few miles to the temple's location with Krest as guide. Krest takes them to where the entrance of the temple is said to lie, the temple itself being deep within a natural cave. The terrain outside the cave, however, is between sloping hills, and completely covered in cacti. A narrow path winds between the spiny plants, but it isn't wide enough for the large warhorse, and is too narrow to be easily maneuvered by the pony and cart.

 

A small group, consisting of Polynices, Eithne, Payne, and a couple others begin to make their way along the path, only to find after thirty feet or so that the cacti explode when something brushes against them. They carefully retreat back along the path, though they inevitably set off another exploding cactus or two on their way back to the cart. They hit upon the idea of rolling the cart down the hill to make a wider path, free of the exploding cacti. They spend the next couple hours rolling the cart down the hill, dragging it back up when it gets stuck, rolling it down again, and repeating the process until a pathway is clear.

 

The group leaves the cart, pony and warhorse at the entrance of the crevasse, and make their way through to the temple; on the way avoiding a shallow pit formed by an earthquake and a pool of acid. Inside the temple, they find the bones of several priests, which they bury. In an adjacent room, they detect the presence of the oracle, and they find a mural depicting people in the throes of worship at the foot of a seated figure they identify as Cronus, the king of the titans.

 

The party decides to spend the night in the temple and being the trek back to Varna in the morning. Telemachus studies the oracle while the rest of the group searches the temple for secret passages and anything resembling treasure. Finding none, they settle down as the daylight wanes. The night passes without incident, and the next morning they leave the temple and head back to Varna. They stop by the goblin tribe and bid farewell to Krest, who leaves to rejoin his people.

 

The party reaches in good time Varna; their entire trip has taken just over 8 days, and now they have a month-long wait ahead of them, before the next ship will take them back to Media. Trimedes is very excited to hear about their journey, and congratulates them on the completion of their first mission. The party is granted free lodging in the Order's guildhall as long as they keep mostly to themselves.

 

A week passes with little excitement; Anaxagoras practices his oration skills for coin on the streets, Dorus makes some money on the side with the trapping of local wildlife, Ala-din plies his trade as a professional gambler mercilessly; Polynices spends most of his days wandering from mead-hall to brewery, avoiding the troubles of daily life while drowning his ghosts. It is around this time that Trimedes approaches Anaxagoras with a troubling matter.

 

After the expeditionary force has been called together, Trimedes tells the tale of his brother, Trias, who is a seer of modest talent who fears the visions his gifts sends him. Trimedes has recently learned that several weeks ago, Trias had gone to a local temple of Apollo seeking the wisdom of the priests and relief from the strain of his visions. Around the same time, there was a catastrophe that caused a mass outbreak of madness.

 

Quotes

NICK

She's stuck between a dwarf and a bard place.

STEPHEN

That was a terrible pun. One we shall never utter again.

 

(Later)

NICK

She's stuck between a dwarf and a bard place.

STEPHEN

We said we weren't going to use that pun again.

NICK

I never agreed to that.

 

(11/17/08)

NICK

A dwarf, a paladin, and an aristocrat walks into a bard. "Ouch," says the bard, "watch where you're going, Telemachus!"

 

Game Review

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EXP by Player

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EXP by GM

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Next Session

Date: November 22nd, 2008

Link: mp081122

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