"A Debt Paid"

Session Date - 11/11/00

DM - Jeremy

Synopsis - The Fellowship accepts a job from William and Johnny to retrieve the remains of a fallen comrade.  She died almost forty years ago while the Company of the Fourth Door was exploring a wyrmling's den.  Her death has weighed heavily on the minds of William and Johnny, but age kept them from returning.  Enter the Fellowship. 

The first step in retrieving the elf's remains was to travel to a druid's grove south of the town of Bambryn.  There we would find the map to the dragon's lair in the possession of a druid.  William warned the group that the druid didn't take kindly to strangers in his grove, so we were warned to announce our intentions early.

The Fellowship left early the next day and traveled to Hlintar, the first stop along the journey.  They were toasted as heroes for their previous exploits in the town and spent a night drinking and wenching.  The next stop was the town of Bambryn.  The group was disappointed to find it wasn't so much a town as a collection of noble manors with a single, albeit fine, inn.  A rather uneventful night was spent drinking alone in the taproom.  The innkeep revealed that "the lunch crowd" kept him in business and might yield some information about the forboding forest we were to soon enter.  The decision was made to stay another day and see what info could be turned up.

Delezar and Shera visit the temple of Tyr the next morning, while the rest of the group hangs out at the inn.  Delezar finds records indicating the name of the druid (Ed. note - I didn't write down his name, so I'll just keep referring to him as the druid) and also notations concerning donations made by the Company of the Fourth Door when they came through town forty years ago.  Shera learns that the town's older citizens frequent the inn for lunch, so she returns there.  The lunch crowd is a bust, so the decision is made to move on immediately.

The forest is indeed forboding.  It was an old growth forest, so a double canopy prevented sunlight from effectively coming through.  The decision is made to camp overnight and enter in the morning.  The night brought a mournful wail that the group decided to investigate.  After awhile in the dark woods, it's discovered that the rough map given by Johnny is heading in roughly the same direction as the wailing.  The group notices skeletal versions of forest life as they travel.  The further they go, the more plentiful they become.  The group finally emerges at the druid's grove.  Zombie bears and other skeletal animals come forth and surround the grove.  Delezar makes our intention known and we are allowed entry.

Inside the group finds a gaunt, almost dead looking, man who identifies himself as the druid.  The mourning is more noticeably and the group figures out it's coming from a pool at the center of the grove.  The man turns out to be a wight and his evil nature forces combat.  Lady Shera manages a couple of welltimed turnings and the group wins the day.  A gem is found in the pool, along with a map case.  The gem is determined to contain someone's soul, hence the wailing.  Raethe breaks it open and the real druid's soul is released.  The grove and forest also return to their natural state.  The map case contains the map to the dragon's lair.

The next morning the group heads to the lair.  They enter through the hole and begin searching the tunnels.  Raethe manages to set off a boulder trap, but springs away just in time.  Eventually, the group finds a very old looking man sitting in a room.  He reveals that he killed the elf because he wanted the dragon's hoard to himself.  Unfortunately, the dragon dominated him and he's been serving as a guardian ever since.  Collan knocks him out and the group continues into the lair proper.  The dragon seems willing to parlay at first, especially once Delezar speaks to him in Draconic.  That is short lived, however, as he breathes corrosive gas on the group and the battle is joined.  The dragon is a tough fight, even though he's fairly young and only the size of a horse.  The Fellowship defeats him and leaves bearing the hoard, elf skull and bow, and the unconscious wizard.  The wizard is determined to have served his time for the death of the elf and released.  The remains are returned to William and Johnny.

Experience - 1240

Roleplaying Award - 300, Chad

Quote of the Week - 100, Keith