Mysteries of the Moonsea - campaign log

Characters

• Isek Ilinich - wandering monk of the Yellow Rose Ilmater monastery
• Kara Whitethorn - cleric of Ilmater, also from the Yellow Rose monastery
• Ranjar Ivarson - dragon shaman and ex-woodcutter
• Myriam al Nadir - mage from Calimshan

August 15

Rumours during voyage

• Melvaunt is ruled by a twenty-one strong council of merchant-lords. Individual Lords often hold specific offices as well as their general seat on the council.
• The Lord of Keys is Halmuth Bruil. He commands the city's army, and ascended to the post after a scandal caused the previous office-holder, Abarel Stendale, to be demoted to the rank of watch-captain.
• The army, five thousand strong, patrols Melvaunt's territory and also polices the city. The patrols have been staying closer to home recently, as pressure from the savages of Thar has mounted. There've been a lot of orc attacks along the Phlan path in particular.
• The savages of Thar aren't the only enemy which the city faces. Zhentil Keep has had its eye on Melvaunt for a long time now, and its recent detente with Hillsfar only bolsters the danger of a Zhentish invasion. Zhent spies are everywhere, though needless to say, their lives are forfeit if they're caught.
• Other major figures on the council include Ghunduilith Leiyraghon, the Lord Chancellor, and Meldonder Nurian, the Lord of the Waves.
• The Lord of the Waves commands the city's navy, which is kept busy fighting pirates and smugglers. Smuggling is relatively rampant in and around Melvaunt, though the penalties are quite harsh for those who are caught.
• Lords are replaced by a vote of the council when one dies. It's also possible to purchase a new seat on the council, but this is extremely expensive.
• Most of the power on the council is controlled by the three major noble families of Melvaunt: The Nanthers, the Leiyraghons, and the Bruils. They collectively hold about two thirds of the council seats. The remaining seats are held by independents, who lend their support to the three families on a case-by-case basis.
• The recent death of Dundeld Nanther, the Lord Envoy, has left a vacancy on the council. All three families are embroiled in cut-throat intrigue as they maneuver to replace him with one of their own members, thereby shifting the balance of power in their favor (or keeping it, in the case of the Nanthers).
• There are even whispers that the Bruils may leverage the fact that one of their own holds the office of the Lord of Keys to effect a complete takeover of the city during this time of political turmoil.
• Killian Nanther, a rising star of House Nanther, disappeared some time ago under mysterious circumstances after abruptly resigning his position within the family and its shipping business. This has weakened the house still further.
• The Leiyraghons, fearful of Bruil violence, have withdrawn many of their private guards to their estates, and have ceased holding their traditional public tournaments.
• The city's guilds hold a lot of power in the city, since they control its economic lifeblood. The three families effectively rule several of the guilds, though, which can blur the situation considerably.
• Many of the guilds are little more than fronts for crime gangs who use extortion and blackmail to enrich themselves - and to keep foreign merchants from getting too much of a foothold in the city, which is the main reason that the Lords tolerate their presence.
• Some of the city's smiths have been complaining about the high taxes that are assessed on their work and wares, and are pressuring their guilds to fix the situation. A few are even pressing for the Lords to regulate and limit the number of dwarves within the city, since they're slowly taking control of those trades.
• Theoderus Stoneblood is the most well-known dwarf in Melvaunt. He doesn't work the smithies, but rather serves all of them as an wizard-for-hire, turning the best weapons and armor into magical gear for the smithies to sell back to their customers. He's a recluse, though, and rarely seen even by those whom he does business with.
• The council regularly publishes rumors of monster sightings and treasure hoards in Thar, hoping to encourage adventurers to take care of problems outside of the city before they reach the city itself.
• Individual Lords often hire adventurers to act on their behalf, providing a neutral face and plausible deniability in the city's intrigues.
• Three major temples stand in Melvaunt. The oldest is the Purple Portals, a temple and workshop dedicated to Gond. Newer and relatively small is the Resting Place of the Whip, dedicated to Loviatar. Newer still, and struggling to find a place in the city, is the Hall of Laughter, dedicated to Lliira. There are also shrines to Tempus and Tymora, and a Sharessan festhall which serves the "spiritual needs" of the most decadent nobles.
• The Resting Place of the Whip and the Hall of Laughter are at odds with one another, though their conflicts generally take place out of sight.
• Slavery is openly practiced in Melvaunt. The primary slave market is located in the city's main marketplace, and is known locally as "The Livestock Pen". While there are certainly opponents of the slave trade in the city, they're few and far between, and are seen as saboteurs when they attempt to disrupt it.
• On the other hand, smuggling slaves (rather than trading them openly) is regarded as a criminal enterprise just like any other kind of smuggling, since it robs the city's coffers of much-needed taxes.
• All ships putting into port in Melvaunt are thoroughly inspected and fees and taxes assessed against their cargo. In theory, anyway. The three families have ways around this system when there's something important being brought in (or shipped out), and smugglers have hidden ways in and out of the city.
• The local lighthouse, which is known as the Finger of the Gods, guides ships safely into port despite the thick fog that often shrouds the waters. It is magically lit, so it never goes out, even in the worst weather. The lighthouse keeper, Jered Wavetamer, is an old sea dog who is full of tales, old and new, and will happily spend hours swapping them with anyone who has new ones to relate.
• All sorts of crime goes on under the noses of the city watch. The Lord of Keys doesn't allocate enough troops to police the city. If you're a noble, or a merchant, or someone else with influence then you might be able to see justice done, including imprisonment or execution of the offender. The most that commoners can hope for is that the miscreant will get a fine. Of course, the right bribes to the right people can improve your luck.
• An assassin from the east with glowing eyes prowls the streets of Melvaunt at night, preying on those who travel alone.
• In old times, the orcs, ogres, and other savages of Thar were united under a king known as Vorbyx, who wielded a hammer of legendary power. All of the savage tribes of the current day seek his long-lost tomb for the sake of recovering this hammer, which would give them claim to lordship over Thar in the eyes of the other tribes - and would let them rally a horde to sweep down and plunder all of the cities of the Moonsea.

Melvaunt

• We dithered in the process of finding an inn.
• Myriam eventually asked the captain who gave us directions to two good places, the Floating Fighter and the Breakwater. We picked the latter.
• We listened to various rumours over dinner:
  • Some merchants or nobles claimed that a thief has been breaking into Nonya's Jewels every night without taking anything.
  • Hireswords mentioned a place called Blackalbuck's and somebody shady called Hermuk. Also something 'fishy going on at the Devil's Fire', with 'Corwyn' being on edge.
  • Sea-captains talked about something which may have been dire rats, in the drains of the northern part of city.
  • Somebody mentioned stranger-than-usual goings-on at the Whip-rest.
• Then we went to bed.

August 21

• Over breakfast we decided to investigate the rumoured rat problem.
• A thin, elderly stranger joined us, recognised we were new in town, and offered a mission on behalf of a 'patron'. The mission involved investigating some 'suspicious happenings' to see if anything illegal was going on. We agreed to meet with this patron at the Floating Fighter in a half hour, asking for Jorwin.
• On gathering our belongings and reaching that inn, we were guided to a conference room which was occupied by a single gnome, presumably Jorwin, in merchant's garb.
• Jorwin Rivenhorn turned out to be a guild representative and wished to engage us on a personal mission.

• After some initial discussion, we went to look around the tavern area.

• We plan to visit the tavern tonight, leaving armour behind so that we won't look too tooled-up.

September 3

• We sat down to eat (and listen, and watch).
• Some time later, a human in sailor's uniform emerged from the back hallway, moving toward the front door to leave. It looked like he'd found some other way in. His footprints tracked red-coloured mud across the floor.
• A little after that, Corwyn left the bar to a serving girl, and went to a curtained-off corner table to meet with two other men. The men had entered at the same time we did. Both were plainly dressed; one middle-aged, the other a bit younger with a notable scar on his left cheek.
• Isek managed to pick out the phrases 'keeping them in the caverns' and 'recent acquisition'. The two men left and Corwyn returned to the bar.
• Fifteen minutes later, a nervous-looking younger man with short hair entered and waited at the curtained table. Corwyn joined him in half an hour or so for a brief conversation which ended with the man exclaiming 'trying to sell me cursed goods!' and storming out. At that, Corwyn set a heavy to follow after him.
• We left at that point... and a second heavy also followed after us, making a rather stupid-looking caravan down the street. When Nervous broke and ran, Thug 1 ran after; we followed and Myriam put Thug 1 out of action with a Sleep spell. Thug 2 arrived, saw 1 on the floor, decided we were too much to handle, and ran back toward the tavern.
• We tried to get Nervous to agree to come somewhere and talk, but he was reluctant, and after much faffing on our part, he broke and ran (again). We chased after and finally got him to give us some useful information.

• He also told us (sadly) that the red mud is all along the coast.
• We let him go and he ran off, intending to leave town.

September 10

• We headed back to the inn to retrieve our gear, then on Kara's suggestion went to see the captain who had brought us here.
• He gave us some advice about cliffs along the coastline:
  • '[Those investigating caves had] better be ready for trouble, because more and more of it's going to come looking for them as they go. I don't know who you're after and I don't care to, but there are plenty of caves along this coast, and there are plenty who use them. And neither are all that pleasant, see.'
  • 'Coastline is mostly clay,' he adds, more conversationally. 'So the water cuts into it right well. One small crack, and given time it's a full-on cavern. And some of them link up to pockets that were cleared long ago.'
  • [About checking on foot at low tide] 'That you could, but mind your step. And the tide's not that fierce here to sweep you out. Tinker around in the caves too long and you might have trouble, unless they're half-dry.'
• With that in mind we followed the shoreline at dusk, once the tide had retreated, to search for any suspicious activity.
• As full darkness set in, we finally caught first notice of something unusual; Myriam heard a sound like the barking of dogs.
• We approached the sound and discovered a cave mouth, but it was too dark to proceed further. We briefly debated whether to leave a marker and come back later, but Kara cast a spell that made a small stone glow, easily concealed in a pouch.
• Armed with this easily-restricted lighting, we went forward into the cave. Getting closer to the barking, some of it sounded 'more bestial than doglike'.
• Some way in, a large cavern opened up to the right. Another opened to the left a little further along, and the tunnel continued.
• The near cavern was about fifty feet across, and twenty-five high. Two sailors, armed like skilled warriors, and a large (but silent - the barking must come from further on) dog, stood guard over a fenced-in area containing many bodies within. They - the humans, not the dog - were playing cards but seemed alert.
• Backing away, we discussed our approach. Ranjar thought we had proof just in what we'd seen; Kara and Isek favoured an attempt to rescue the slaves and Ranjar came around to this view (although he might have been right). It wasn't possible to scout the second (left) cavern, because of the difficulty in crossing the gap within sight of guards and dog, so we didn't know the numbers.
• Eventually we decided that an insane charge was the most sensible approach. With this two-word plan carefully memorised, we began our attack!

September 17

• We attacked the dog and the two pirates, one of which seemed to gain some kind of protective effect that made his skin harder, just as his blade struck Ranjar. This was fairly short-lived, thankfully. It didn't take long before more dogs were released from further up the corridor, and we took several serious wounds - not all of which Kara was able to cure - before the first two pirates were despatched.
• A seemingly endless procession of dogs assaulted us, wearing us down significantly. Meanwhile, Kara had found the key and unlocked the slaves, asking them to unlock their manacles.
• Once all the dogs were dealt with, a grubby half-orc pirate followed after them, himself barking like a really big, ugly dog.
• Isek managed to damage the half-orc, along with bolts from Myriam's wand, but it was Kara who finished him with a mighty charge! Save for Myriam, all the party were severely wounded.

September 24

• We found little else in the northern cavern except empty dog pens, and in particular we didn't find a key for the slaves' manacles. In the end we had to lead them back to the city hobbled.
• The slaves did indeed appear to have tattoos on their ankles that matched the description we were given earlier. One of them had a brief fit as we tried to leave...

• The guards let us in on the pretext that we were bringing in a shipment of slaves. (Wait... that wasn't a pretext, it was true...) We put them up in a cheap inn, and went to get some sleep ourselves.
• On the next day we arranged to meet Jorwin after selling most of the pirates' equipment that we'd liberated and using some of the proceeds to get the slaves unchained and fooded.
• Jorwin gave us a large bag of money, and agreed to move the slaves out of the city. He told us to bring them to the alley behind a shop run by a halfling named Ubyln - the Blackalbuck Swap Shop, which coincidentally was where we sold that equipment - at midnight. Ublyn apparently also holds anti-slavery views.
• That evening we brought the slaves to the shop, where they climbed into covered wagons which would (according to Jorwin and Ublyn) take them safely away. We drank and chatted with Ublyn, who also gave us another bag of money (the 'bonus' Jorwin had spoken of earlier), half of which we agreed to give to the slaves to help set them up, on Ranjar's suggestion.
• Corwyn has apparently fled the city; Ublyn doesn't know where. We agreed to get into the tavern - now shuttered - and look for clues, remaining hidden from the watch. In order to achieve that, we planned to enter through the tunnel.
• Reaching the tunnel again, we found that the remaining pirates had been through on their way out and had cleaned out everything of value that remained (which wasn't much, since we'd basically already done that).
• Two portcullises, close together, blocked the tunnel some way down. Each was locked but the key we found yesterday fitted. Kara turned each first left, which caused the lock to click, then right, which opened it.
• Eventually we reached a curtained doorway leading into the cellar of the Devil's Fire.

October 1

• The cellar room had three doors and another tunnel, which sloped up presumably toward the tavern proper.
• We began by investigating the western door: a normal cellar, with barrels and casks. Ranjar and Isek searched it to find that one keg sounded empty. Isek opened the lid to reveal a diamond-patterned snake, which attacked painfully!
• After a ridiculously long battle - in which Isek (twice) and Myriam got bitten by the poisonous creature - we finally defeated the snake. The keg contained valuables (which we kept) and letters.

• The next door turned out to be a magically-chilled larder, while the northernmost door led to a dry storage area which we also searched. As we began to search it, four dire rats emerged from hiding to attack us.
• We defeated the rats (again at some length) but found nothing of value. It seemed the rats had entered through a crack in the wall, which smelled slightly of sewer [as per rumour; see end of August 15 session].
• Then we turned our attention to the tunnel leading up to the inn. The roof appeared rigged to fall, but only with small stones, so we rolled a keg of beer along the passage. Indeed the roof fell and we were able to clamber over the debris.
• In the tavern was little of interest. A chest held weapons, which we took for resale. We left the serving girl's belongings, which were in a second chest. Hidden among Corwyn's belongings in a loft were an amethyst ring and a potion vial, which we also took. The main part of the tavern held nothing worth noting.
• We left through the tunnel and returned to our inn without event, sleeping until late morning... when Ranjar discovered that a rat-bite appeared to have become diseased, swelling and festering.
• Kara's healing cured the visible wounds, though Ranjar still felt unwell; we then went to Ublyn's shop and sold the weapons. He wouldn't take the ring, since it's too easily recognisable as Corwyn's.
• Seeing the letters, Ublyn suggested that we go check the campsite.

• Ublyn helped describe landmarks along the path so that we'd be able to follow it. The site was south of the Phlan path, about halfway to that city; an explanation, perhaps, for earlier rumours about bandits on that road. It was about a day or so's travel.
• He suggested that we rest for the remainder of the day and we did just that, also purchasing necessary gear for the trip. Ranjar bought three doses of bitter-tasting medicine for his rat-inflicted illness, which he was instructed to take once a day until it cleared up.
• We set off from the city on a bright, clear morning under a chill north wind...

October 8

• We set off along the Phlan path through the coastal hills. Three hours out we encountered two figures - a man (Kosef Nemetsk) and woman (Ania) in their late twenties or early thirties, neither of whom seemed to carry much beyond their clothing.

• We encountered some of the bandits over an hour later, detecting them through our cunning and skillful use of teamwork and senses - in other words, we got ambushed.
• There were two half-orcs on the ground and two archers atop a rocky edge beside the path. We dealt with them quickly and tied up the last survivor for questioning.
• He told us that the bandit camp was five miles west of Melvaunt; a crack in the hills forming a flat shelf with a pool and cave. The pirates use it as well as the orc band. They don't get on well. Apparently Corwyn just arrived 'in a hurry' and took charge of the pirates. The orc band, meanwhile, lost their leader, killed by orcs while on a raid in Thar, and are arguing among themselves.
• He also offered a deal, that we should join with the half-orcs to defeat the pirates. Kara said we'd consider it.
• Describing the camp, he said there was a pool in the middle with a ledge around it and a watchtower in the northeastern part. There are about a dozen pirates and about a dozen remaining bandits too.
• Looting the corpses gained us some gold, a silver dagger, four gold rings, and a broken jade obelisk about a foot long with a silver inlay running along one side.
• We sent the half-orc on his way and travelled the rest of the way to the camp, approaching stealthily to avoid detection from the watchtower.

October 15

• We decided the best plan was to ambush a group leaving the base and make it seem like the other group was responsible. After some time, we spotted a half-orc group and were able to do just that.
• The battle was over quickly and one half-orc surrendered. We let him escape after debating his fate in a manner that - rather clumsily, since we hadn't entirely planned it in advance - suggested that we were mercenaries hired by Corwyn to attack the orcs that night.
• Returning to our earlier vantage point, we saw that the watchtower was unmanned. What this meant, we couldn't tell for sure. Ranjar led the group closer to find out.
• At the scene we saw the aftermath of a bloody battle. Half a dozen of the half-orc group remained standing, with bodies all around. We charged in to attack the remainder.
• Straight away we killed three of them. The others turned to flee. Myriam damaged one with spells, leaving Isek the opening to finish it; alone, Isek charged after the remaining two, and finished them without taking a wound.

October 22

• Investigating the cave, we found nothing more than a foul smell in the first cavern. Small passages led into a couple of offshoots, metal glinting from one. Ranjar and Isek led the way towards it, and the large pile of coin within - when an ugly tentacled creature tried to engulf the dragon shaman.
  
• After a short battle - in which Kara got glomped by the thing - we defeated it; but seconds later, Myriam spotted two more in the adjoining cavern. Isek moved forward, taking a hit from one, then batted another across the room. Myriam finished the second with a magical bolt.
• While Kara looted the coin pile in the previous cavern, Isek checked a piece of folded paper discovered in the final one. The paper enclosed a plain copper ring within and, unfolded, bore a sketch of the sigil we'd previously seen in the form of those blue tattooes.
• Various other loot was obtained, including the heirlooms and deed lost by the couple we'd encountered earlier. The only magical item was one potion.
• Checking the view from the lookout tower before leaving, we saw a large flying creature, some long way north and heading northeast. Although we speculated it might be a dragon, it was too far distant to tell for sure.
• We returned to Melvaunt and returned the couple's goods, for which they paid as promised. After closing time we repaired to Ublyn's shop to discuss events.
• Ublyn had little to add about the sketched sigil or the mysterious perfectly-ordinary ring, but he paid for our services anyway as well as trading a cloak of protection for the loot. We left with him the mysterious jade artifact we'd found in an earlier encounter, because he wanted to show it to some interested parties. He also offered to get in some high-quality goods for us to spend our bulging purses on.
• Returning to the inn, we took a relaxing meal and overheard a little gossip.
  • The head of the council wasn't the only recent death among noblemen. A rich lady said that Sergan Bruil died, supposedly in an accident when a stuffed wyvern's head fell on him.
  • "The Whiprest is courting trouble, buying slaves off of the black market like that. Especially with the recent... well, you know..." (The Whiprest is short for The Resting Place of the Whip, the local temple of Loviatar.)
  • From one who looked like a blacksmith: "... but that Theoderus seems a bit shady to me. Still, he does a good job with the enchantments when anyone..."
  • "Someone raided the Devil's Fire tavern! Corwyn Jaffe hasn't been seen since, and the place is all boarded up!" "Aye. They're saying that the watch found bodies stacked like cordwood in the cellar! Makes you wonder about the food that he'd been serving, don't it?" (Neut reassures that we 'neither saw nor stacked bodies there'.)
  • "...those rats are still a problem in the north end of town. But not to worry, I'm sure that some up-and-comer will deal with them soon enough..."
• Kara interrupted the rat conversation (an elderly couple) to ask where we'd go to offer our services; he advised trying the civic engineers ('the sewer people') in the Asberyth, which is where the government offices are.
• The next day we set off toward the eastern part of the city to begin our rat hunt. But as we passed along the street, two large men closed together in front of us - and two more slipped out from their hiding place behind.

October 29

• The bruisers demanded to know what we had learned about the blue brands, otherwise they might come back with orders from 'the powers that be' to be more forceful next time.
• We told them about the mysterious fits suffered by branded slaves (and that we didn't know where these slaves now were), and that we'd chased after Corwyn partly on the rumour that he might know more, but had been unable to catch him.
• After that they left, not willing to reveal who they were working for. They implied that they might return another time to see if we'd learnt any more.
• We made it to the engineering office, where we were told about the problem by an middle-aged, balding official named Dalton Gornhaag. Yes, big rats had been leaving the sewers and causing problems; but the reason for that was that grates which would have prevented this had been melted. Some kind of ooze was suspected.
• Venturing into the sewers, we dealt with a couple of rats and then encountered the promised acidic beast, which lurked in the water then leapt forth at us, making it hard to attack. It also melted our weaponry; luckily, we'd thought to purchase wooden spares, and a wand of Myriam's was highly effective, so the battle was over fairly quickly.
• We returned to the office with corroded weapons as evidence of the encounter and were rewarded with a small amount of gold, a bottle of wine, and the promise of a favour should we need one later.

November 5

• On the following day, the stench of the sewers long cleaned away, we went to see Ublyn.

• We did a bit of shopping, picking up a +1 ring of protection for Isek and a suit of masterwork full plate for Kara, along with travel equipment.
• The trip actually took us three days, either because of our heavier load or our unfamiliarity with the terrain. We camped on the third night near the base of the plateau.

• We entered the cleft and found a large cavern within which seemed to occupy the space beneath most of the plateau. A couple of lizard-beasts, with lightning attacks, came after us; we dealt with them efficiently and continued examining the cave.
• The lizards' nest contained some remains of past unwary travellers; a few hundred gold and a spell scroll which turned out to be Shatter. Also in the cavern, in two patches on the western side, strange holes a few inches across dotted the ceiling. We avoided these. A tunnel to the northwest rose higher into the plateau.
• This led to a second cavern, a little smaller than the one below, with another ascending tunnel in its northeast corner. To the west, a gap in the wall led into a smaller cavern, where one set of holes was bored into the floor, presumably matching those below. At its far end, a small gap led out onto a ledge and daylight. Bones and other remains were scattered near the entrance and blood stained the ledge.
• As Isek entered, two of the animal skeletons - wolves - suddenly rose up from the ground. Simultaneously, back in the main room, four small round creatures a few inches across - with several eyestalks and one central eye - rose out of the holes.
• We defeated the beholderkin and skeletons with relative ease, although Ranjar got hit by one tiny eye-beam and sent into a panic. Around the area, one of the skeletons only a few days old belonged to an orc, with a suprisingly high-quality chain shirt. We also found a pack, hanging over the ledge outside on a spike of rock, with some gold and potions.
• After that we headed to the next tunnel up...

November 12

• We emerged into another large cavern, again open to the sky on one side. The cavern was thickly coated with bat guano (a suitable venue, perhaps, for adventurers who might kindly be described as 'batshit crazy') and many bats clung to the roof. In one corner a skeleton holding a quarterstaff sat half-submerged in the gunge. An ancient, faded mural could barely be seen on the west wall.
• Kara advanced into the room, at which point two horrible tentacled worm things appeared from the rear of the cavern and came to attack!
  
• We backed away into the tunnel; they didn't follow. Awakened by the commotion, the bats took off in a giant swarm. As we cowered on the floor of the tunnel, we were safe, especially as the majority left through the hole into open air.
• Isek stupidly bravely led the way back into the bat-free cavern and was promptly skewered by both tentacled worms, which had flanked the entry. Thus begun a somewhat challenging battle, since the creatures were tough to injure and dealt hefty damage.
• Though Myriam used up her wand, we did eventually triumph. The last blow was a lucky (or blessed by our god, depending on your point of view) cast of Isek's dagger, which he had honestly been intending only to attract the creature's attention.
• Rungs above the gap in the wall formed a way up, but more interestingly, an ancient mural on the west wall seemed to form some kind of map. We couldn't interpret it, and the compass rose pointed north in all four directions... but in its centre was a depression that looked like it might fit our jade obelisk.
• After a brief diversion in which we took and cleaned the skeleton's quarterstaff - it seemed solid and whole, under the muck - Kara inserted the obelisk...

• Once we'd taken note of the location, Kara removed the obelisk and the map returned to its previous state. We climbed the ladder to the top of the plateau.
• There, apart from excellent views of the surrounding countryside, we found a mysterious pool, the water of which constantly shifted in colour. It didn't glow but only changed repeatedly through every colour.
• Kara tried going back to put the obelisk back in the map, but nothing happened to the pool while she did. Isek dipped his staff in the pool, also to no effect.
• Eventually after various tests we found that the pool seemed harmless and the water was warm; we spent the rest of the day relaxing in its waters. Toward evening we caught sight of some large bird, at a great distance, flying toward the plateau. It was then we realised that the pool had enhanced our vision; presumably a key part of this so-named watchpost.
• We gathered up our stuff and hurried back down to the caves. Unfortunately the 'bird', which turned out to be a griffon, reached the third level at the same time we did. We ran for the tunnel down and thankfully it abandoned its pursuit.
• We made camp in the lowest level, spending the night there. Since supplies were low, we set off back to Melvaunt. (On the uneventful return journey our eyesight faded, about a day after leaving the pool.) We reached the city at nightfall and went to report to Ublyn.

November 19

• After reporting to Ublyn, we restocked with fresh supplies and headed out again. Passing by the Watchpost en route, we arrived without trouble at the area indicated, a low-lying valley in central Thar.
• While searching the valley, we saw a pair of humanoid figures on a ridge - maybe orcs. We took cover but it wasn't clear whether they'd seen us before they departed a few minutes later.
• Eventually we found a heavy, ancient stone door set into a cliff-face, bearing a hammer sigil. We cleared away the undergrowth, let ourselves in, and attempted to disguise the entrance a little with plants before closing it behind us.

• Myriam translated the script on the wall, revealing a riddle.

• We considered the riddle for a very long time but could come up with nothing better than blue, based on the line about 'neither tree (green), not fire (red), not grave (white)' and precious little else.
• Eventually Kara tired of waiting and placed the jade obelisk in the blue mouth. A bolt of lightning shot from the gargoyle, seriously wounding her... but then the top of the fountain turned around, and a beam of fierce light shot from the hammer toward the northwestern archway, dissipating a previously-unseen barrier there.
• The newly-available passage sloped down to the north for a short distance, then west around a corner. It opened into the southeast edge of an irregular room filled with powdery fragments of ancient long-decayed furniture. To the east, a passage led to a larger chamber heaped with gold and gems.
• Suspicious, we searched for another exit, finding only a loose floor tile that led to a corroded drainpipe - certainly too small to fit down. We left this open, noticing slits in the ceiling through which something might possibly pour down. Warily, we began to investigate the eastern passage.
• As soon as we entered it, acid poured through those ceiling slits. We sheltered in the passage and checked it; the gold turned out to be an illusion over a blank wall, and we could find no other exits. Thankfully the acid was draining away; if we hadn't opened that cover, the room would have filled. We ran through the rain back to the entrance to find it blocked by the magical barrier, but only temporarily so. The barrier faded when the acid stopped.
• Deciding blue had been wrong, Isek took the key from that gargoyle and inserted it in the white one, trying - but failing - to dive aside from the white, chilling ray of cold that shot forth. The northeastern barrier indeed opened for us to progress further...

November 26

• The passage was the mirror image of the first. It led down into a room where the furniture had been smashed by violence, not corroded away. The passageway onward appeared to lead to a solemn tomb.
• When we entered the passage, stone hands emerged from the walls, pummelling us. Though they were hard to damage, we managed to defeat all five of them, only to find that the 'tomb' was an illusion over another bare wall. Isek at least found a sack of coin in the first room, small consolation for another failure.
• Throwing intellect to the winds (such little as we posssessed anyway), we decided to try a random answer to the riddle. Kara picked red. This time the hammer swivelled to point directly north and outlined a secret door in the centre of the wall.
• Because some were injured, we took the opportunity to rest after Kara used the last of her spells to heal us. The night passed uneventfully.
• The narrow secret passage ran straight ahead, opening into a vaulted chamber. It turned out to be a massive entrance hall, fifty feet long and wide and lined with three statues on either side (orc, ogre, beholder; dwarf, human, demon). Steps at the end led down.

• As we tried to open the sarcophagus, a booming voice spoke from the mural: "Did you really think that you could track down my true tomb and my greatest weapon? If you survive, you may have this lesser hammer with my compliments, and to serve as a reminder that even in death I have bested you!"
• With that, a giant troll skeleton burst out of the sarcophagus, wielding a steel but functional-looking warhammer. We fought it, won, and collected our winnings:
  • The hammer, finely balanced and excellently made.
  • A matched pair of gold and diamond rings.
  • An odd-looking belt which seemed to be made of tiny chips of cut stone, fastened on a backing; this felt like stone, but was no heavier than ordinary cloth.
• Returning to the entrance, Ranjar just had to try the final gargoyle, didn't he? It zapped him with a strength-weakening ray and turned the hammer to point south; an extraplanar space opened and some kind of ape emerged, which we were able to defeat fairly easily.