Session the Thirteenth

-Travelling back to Aghione, the party consulted Kleber, the palace's resident scholar and personal tutor to Princess Aurelie. Kleber informed them that knowledge of the fourth Word might be gleaned from either Dido of Capricorn or Boethus of Aquarius.
-Andronikos attempted to purchase poison, but was unsuccessful.
-Cruum spent a great deal of gold to find a hireling. His call was answered by a young warrior named Jean-Baptiste, and the dwarf took him on as his shield-mate and apprentice.
-Taking a great overland journey, the party decided to visit Boethus of Aquarius.
-The Atlantean was discovered in a seaside grove, issuing a haughty challenge to the interlopers.
-Cruum attempted to overawe the apparent youth boasting strength of arms. The youth produced and aluminum amphora which shot a torrent of water which knocked the sturdy dwarf from his feet.
-Andronikos enchanted the Atlantean scion made to bargain with him, asking after scrolls or Atlantean artifact. Boethus expressed disdain for the accumulation of such trifles. He was however forthcoming about the location of the Word, stating that it had fallen into a forest tarn north of the village of Zilia. A young woman drinking from the tarn had inadvertently taken the Word upon herself.
-Many in the party recalled Zilia as the first settlement they encountered upon the island.
-Heading to Zilia, the party inquired after rumors of any young ladies known to wander the northern woods. They heard of a tanner's daughter, Beatrice, not unknown to them.
-At the tanner's home, they found the girl comatose, with her grieving father and an ineffectual village priest flinging droplets of holy water and droning scripture.
-The priest, Father Pascal, held that the girl was shot of elves, her spirit stolen. If her spirit were not reunited with her body soon, she would wither and die.
-The party investigated the tarn, which lay not far from the cave from which they first emerged upon the island.
-Something peppered Cruum and Baraldur with tiny arrows coated with soporific venom as they searched the area. Fray caused the invisible attacker to fall from the air with a spell of holding while Andronikos induced it to reveal itself by a charm.
-The diminutive archer, a pixie, was induced by further threats to reveal the location of the girl's spirit with his kinfolk in the forest of talking beasts to the north. The party made haste to that place at once.
-At the edge of the forest, the party encountered Brieg the woodsman's humble cottage. He allowed them to stay the night. It was noted that Brieg and his folk lived in terror of the fair ones dwelling in the forest, and Brieg's wife prudently furnished a nightly saucer of milk on the croft.
-Heading into the forest heedless of Brieg's warnings, the party encountered the sight of an ancient battle, littered with bones. The bones of two warriors arose and did battle. The creatures could only be harmed by enchanted weapons, such as Baraldur's trident and the great black sword taken from Edulf.

-Unfortunately, Edulf's blade was in the possession of one of Cruum's hirelings, all of whom had fled from the skeletal warriors. Andronikos was able to find the wayward soldier, reclaim the blade and bring it back to Cruum.
-The battle was thus won, with much hacking and hewing and the shattering of vials of holy water.
-Further along the forest path, the party found a circle of ice blue stones from which issued the voice of Pelagius the Sorcerer, entreating them to leave him to his rest and bemoaning the inferiority of the present. Cruum by eloquent words convinced the wizard that the party's quest was one which would have seemed fair even in the dawn of the world. The wizard gave his blessing and advised them that the statues ahead amongst the circular ruins were unnatural and troublesome.
-The path split in twain, with one direction indicated by a dilapidated sign as "Sorrow's Path." After brief deliberation, the party decided to take the path, heedless of its name.
-The road grew dark and a terrible gloom settled on the hearts of the companions. Their resolve was sapped and their health waned as they walked the cursed path.
-The party encounters Ser Geoffroi de Riventosa, a questing knight traveling with his squire Phippe and his steed Boniface. Ser Geoffroi identified himself a champion serving the Lord of the Invisible Fortress, on a quest of atonement for slaying a fellow knight in a tourney. He challenged the bravest of the party to stand forth and face him in single combat.
-Cruum took up the challenge, only to see the contest nullified by a Charm Person spell from Andronikos. In light of his ensorcelment, Ser Geoffroi was glad to accompany the party on their way through the woods.
-Soon the brave companions came upon the circular ruins upon which the shade of Pelagius had counseled them. Standing all around were statues of warriors, their features obscured by wind and weather and creeping mold.
-Searching amongst the statues, the party was ambushed by a foul basilisk, but the creature was slain before anyone could be petrified by its deadly gaze.

Session the Twelfth

-Andronikos prepared and cast find familiar, calling into his service the screech owl, Narses.
-Cruum had forged a weapon ever-dripping with venom, Cnidursus.
-The party headed up into the mountains.
-At the base of the mountains, they met Thierry of the True Sight, a young cleric in the service of the Order of St. Michel of the White Cross. Thierry told them he had been ordered by the Bishop himself to aid them in their quest.
-Up into the mountains they went, and found themselves walking upon a glacier. Progress was slow and weather frequently inclement.
-In the midst of their journey, they discovered a cave in which shone a jade colored light. The cave was warm, and through the air swam many colorful fish. The adventurers rested within the bounds of the cave.
-Heading further along the glacier, the party encountered a great remorhaz, the furnace-worm which lairs in cold places. Though it was a fearsome opponent, it was eventually destroyed.
-At last the demesne of the ice wizard was reached. A great archway carved with towering caryatids sparkled in the sunlight.
-Heading within, the fellowship discovered the wizard's domicile to contain furniture and architecture carved from solid ice. A four-armed ice golem attempted to stop their encroachment, but was destroyed.
-The Ice Wizard himself tried to prevent ingress to his laboratory. Andronikos improved the wizard's temperament with regards to himself, but the conjuror was ill-disposed to the rest of the fellowship, and even Fray's hold person spell was insufficient to suppress the wizard's manipulation of ice.

-At length and in fear of his life the wizard begged for parley, and allowed Andronikos into his laboratory to retrieve the Word of Power, which was contained in a twelve-sided gem of nevermelting ice. While in the laboratory, Andronikos declined to test the contents of a large copper kettle, bubbling despite the cold and dribbling a milky fog over its sides.
-As the adventurers trekked back across the glacier, they were ambushed by a trio of yetis, though none met the creature's terrible gaze.
-During a layover in the strange ocean-cave, Andronikos experimented with the fish therein, finding that they lost their ability to swim in and breathe air when removed from the cave mouth.
-Once the party came down from the mountains, Thierry took his leave of them, stating that he had other business elsewhere on the island to attend to.

Session the Eleventh

BAND OF ARMED VAGRANTS FOILS ASSASSINATION/DIABOLIST COUP
The brave warriors were showered with accolades and silver for their deeds. Being guests of the palace, they availed themselves of the library hoping to turn up information relevant to their quest, but the stars were not in their favor. Kleber, the palace's scholar-in-residence, was able to supply them with the information that one of the remaining word-shards was in the possession of a man known as the Ice Wizard, who resided in a cave accessible only by a glacier in the western mountains of Corsinia.
MALEFACTOR'S FATE DECIDED
Bishop Gerard de Centuri summoned the newly knighted Ser Fray to the cathedral. The meeting concerned the fate of the perfidious Armand's surviving minion, the Turk warrior Malik of Tunis. Naturally the king's first inclination was to let the blackguard rot in the oubliette or to be drawn and quartered, but since the man's crime had been an attempt on the Bishop's life, the holy man's word had some influence.

THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
He offered to intercede on the Turk's behalf, remanding him to the custody of Fray, who was to put the Turk onto the true path, ensuring the salvation of his soul. Fray, still feeling remorse for his failure to protect the lovely Donusa from being made an offering to a pagan deity, readily accepted. He conferred upon Malik the name of Isaac. "Isaac" seemed resigned to his fate, but presently unwilling to contemplate conversion.
SAINT MARGARET'S REVENGE
Andronikos had called bootlessly to heaven during the battle with Armand, and now had to pay the price. The Bishop told the wizard that he had been granted a vision of Saint Margaret in a dream, in which the saint had charged him to give a certain clay jar containing her apocryphal testaments to the young wizard and charge him to deliver the scrolls into an ocean crevice roughly 13 miles off the coast of the island. Andronikos agreed to this and hired a fishing vessel, begging the assistance of Baraldur and his magical trident, which could ensure the help of local sea-life in ensuring the scroll's arrival in the trench.
NORSE BUSINESSMAN 6' 3'' BLONDE HAIR BLUE EYES SEEKS COMPANION STOUT OF HEART AND STATURE FOR GOOD TIMES, WAGON GUARDING, MUST WORSHIP THE ALLFATHER, SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY
Meanwhile, Cruum had a dream in which the Allfather charged him to head to a local tavern, "Le Corbeau" and there offer whatever assistance he could to a man he would find there. Heading to the tavern next morning, he made the acquaintance of Thorolf Ulfsson, a viking warrior whose longboat had been wrecked by a great sea worm three years past. Ulfsson had turned to trading to support himself after the loss of his crew. Currently he sought to transport his goods for sale in the village of Piéve, but had been unable to find local men willing to brave the island's queer wilderness. One night, in a drunken rage, the Norseman had cursed the island's weak-hearted men, calling out to the Allfather to send him a worthy traveling companion. It seemed his plea had reached Odin after all. Cruum agreed to travel to Piéve with Thorolf and be his shield-mate until bloody death or the attainment of the village's borders.
AFRICAN LIONS SPOTTED SOUTHWEST OF PORRI, EXPERTS BAFFLED
The first leg of the journey was uneventful. As the party arrived in the town of Porri, Andronikos sought to discover whether any spells might be acquired locally. He was disappointed to find no peddlers of occult lore, but did hear a rumor concerning the presence of a pride of African lions living on a plain to the southwest of the town. Sensing sorcery afoot, Andronikos convinced his fellows to accompany him to the plain. There the party discovered a sheltered aureate meadow populated with sunflowers, marigolds, and palm and orange trees. Loping lazily about were a pride of 12 male lions. Cruum, insensate the natural beauty surrounding him and sensing only the profit he might make from the pelt of one of the magnificent creatures, fired a crossbow bolt into a nearby lion. The beast charged, and its fellows made ready to do so as well. The guardian of the meadow, Sestus of Leo, also came running. Clad in yellow garments and golden plate armor, the scion of Atlantis was terrible to behold in his anger, his fair-haired head actually transforming into the visage of a lion. In this form he fired bolts of radiant sunlight from his eyes, one of which struck Cruum and did the dwarf a great deal of damage.

MAKING NEW FRIENDS IS AS EASY AS 1-2-3
Andronikos in a rare display of bravery charged towards the furious Atlantean, dodging a blast of radiance which would surely have been his doom. He cast an enchantment over the lion-headed man, mitigating his rage and ensuring his good will for a time. With the meadow's guardian charmed, Andronikos was able to broker a peace and secure the purchase of some scrolls containing a some spells of the lower echelons. The body of the one slain lion was left in the field to be tended to by its surviving brothers. The party hastily took leave of the sun-drenched plain, lest the Atlantean should recover from the charm placed upon him.
LOCAL WARRIOR CONVALESCING AFTER RUN-IN WITH GIANT STING-PANDA
The next leg of the journey found the party traveling through trackless wilderness in the primeval forests which covered much of the island. One day, as rain began to fall, the warriors spotted an immense monstrosity crashing through the greenery ahead. The beast resembled a 22 foot tall emaciated panda with a long tail terminating in a bony spike. It was soon found that the beast was only vulnerable to bronze or magical weapons. Thus Baraldur's pearl trident and the great two-handed black blade owned by Cruum were the only reliable methods of hurting it. Combat began with the creature charging Cruum, biting him and not letting go. During subsequent rounds of combat, it lashed with its tail at Baraldur, laying the warrior low. After the creature was killed, Fray was able to rescue the warrior with the aid of forest herbs. Isaac contributed a share of medical knowledge which the European party members found highly dubious- hot water and clean bandages? Clearly the savage had much to learn. Nonetheless his ideas were entertained and Baraldur survived, though the warrior was forever weakened by the foul poison of the beast's sting.
SAFE AT LAST
The party finally reached Piéve. Cruum paid a substantial sum to have the panda-creature's sting forged into a poisonous broadsword. Andronikos attempted to sell the creature's severed head, but met with surprisingly little interest in the local market.

Session the Tenth

-Andronikos buys a new spell at the market from a dealer of "Genuine Atlantean Artifacts"- Rose Moles In All Stipple Upon Trout That Swim. Fray buys an Atlantean coin.
-Fray attempts to talk the Bishop into aiding his altar-converting quest, but gets rebuffed. Fray declines to mention his heretic status to the Bishop.
-The party notices two robed men watching them in the Cathedral plaza. They also observe a cleric clad in a red surcoat with a white cross speaking to these men.
-Party goes to cathedral for guard duty. Witnesses mass in King's honor, followed by procession to palace.
-The party gets put on ball room detail, and told they are to stand quietly and interact with no one. A seneschal finds their appearance an affront to the event's decorum and drapes each warrior with great garlands of flowers. To his horror, the party moves about and attempts conversation with more than a few partygoers.
-The party notes the robed Turks from earlier are in attendance, along with a veiled figure
-They also note the brief presence of a man in meal-colored cloak, but cannot trace him. They follow him to the kitchens and garden, but cannot find him.
-The feast begins
-Feast proceeds, at end Armand the cleric stands up and proclaims that the king has yet one more gift awaiting him. He tells one of his Turk henchmen to take the bishop home.
-Party splits up: Fray and Andronikos follow the king, cleric, turk & veiled figure, while Cruum & Baraldur follow the Bishop.
-Cruum & Baraldur witness the Turk draw scimitar & dagger and attempt to kill the Bishop. They intervene, knocking out Malik & rescuing the Bishop. They tie Malik up and head for the Palace.
-Fray & Andronikos see the king & others go into a room, which the turk guards. Andronikos attempts to use Charm Person on the turk but fails & is given a nasty wound. Fray casts Hold Person & instantly slays the other Turk.
-Andronikos runs away and uses his staff of healing.
-Fray enters the room & witnesses a beautiful dancer performing a lascivious dance which induces the king to renounce God & make Armand the new Bishop. Fray casts hold person on the dancer, Donusa, & Armand and attempts to kill Armand, but the cleric's incredibly high number of hit points prevent this.
-Andronikos heads for the room & witnesses the man in the meal-colored cloak approaching the room. He attempts another charm person and gets nailed with a poisoned dagger for his trouble. He passes his saving throw and lives, however.
-The assassin smoothly continues into the room & throws another envenomed dagger into the king's back, killing him. Avoiding entanglement with Fray & Andronikos, he flees, taking a few damage.
-As the assassin is leaving through the palace gates, Cruum & Baraldur accost & kill him.
-Fray puts many arrows in Armand but cannot kill him. Armand breaks free of the spell, draws an axe and engages Fray in combat. Andronikos attempts to call upon Saint Margaret to exorcise Armand, but fails and is placed under penance. Eventually Armand is overcome and dies, though he makes many attempts to talk Fray into converting to diabolism.
-Cruum & Baraldur arrive. Cruum prays to Odin, offering up a sacrifice of gems and the dancer, Donusa, despite her pleas for mercy. The dwarf successfully petitions the Allfather and King Tarquin is restored to life. Odin places Cruum under geas.
-Tarquin II thanks the warriors & promises them a great reward. The princess gives them a small red-and-gold box containing a shard of the Word of Power. Cruum enjoins the King to offer yearly thanks to Odin.

-Fray is knighted as a member of the Knights of Saint Michel of the White Cross by the order's head, Bishop Gerard de Centuri.

Session the Ninth

Can Fray ask Christ to simply overrule Njord, Freya and other pagan dieties?

Maybe.  In future session he should consider asking for God's intervention directly in the form of a Dispel Magic from on high.
Was his own casting of Dispel Magic successful in shriving Cruum of his obligations to the Gods?
It was not.
Did Cruum successfully convert the altar of Blidoolpoolp to Njord?
He did.
Having cleared out the homarid temple and found what they sought in the sea caverns, what did the party do next?
They left the ocean for the dry land, and headed for the Cityport of Aghione, capital of the island.
On what date did they reach Aghione?
June the 20th.
What was their first order of business?
To sell the jewels and treasure plucked from the depths and fill their purses with silver.
And their second?
To get very drunk in the North Star tavern.
What transpired at the tavern?
A protagonist and his friends picked a fight with Fray.
How did that go for them?
Not well. The leader was the subject of a Hold Person spell in the first round, and his allies were subsequently dispatched until the remainder surrendered and soldiers arrived to keep the peace.
What did the soldiers disclose to our heroes during the course of drinking?
That the city's recent festival air was the result of an impending celebration three days hence in honor of the birthday of King Tarquin II. Also that additional guards were needed for the maintenance of order during this time, and that our heroes would be ideally suited to such a position.
Did the adventurers assent to the idea of becoming guards?
They did. At the castle, Ser Osmond Dupre signed them up as guards.
What were the stipulations of the contract.
Vaguely, to uphold the integrity of the kingdom of Corsinia and to put the safety of King Tarquin before all else. Specifically, to report to Dupre on June the 23rd at 4 P.M.
Was there any mention of the use of sorcery in the contract?
There was not.
What did the party decide to do with the rest of the day?
They headed to the Port District, largely defunct since the involuntary cessation of international sea-trade some 400 years previous.
What did they see in the Port District?
A fine building whose sign depicted a woman ravished by Zeus in the guise of a swan, a sun-dappled and bepuddled alleyway containing a mysterious figure, and a man in a grey cloak waiting by the sea with his fishing vessel.
What was found in Leda and the Swan?
A gaudy house of ill repute wherein painted Stygian twin sisters introduced the establishment's purveyor, a statuesque woman, over six feet tall, bald and wearing a deep purple toga.
What did Cruum request?
The company of dwarven ladies, potentially bearded.
What was offered in their stead?
The company of Boudicea. This upset Cruum deeply as he was averse to deception.
What wonders did he miss out on for his prejudice?
The company of the Empress Theodora, of Helen of Troy, Cleopatra, Hypatia, Nausicaa, Arete and others.
After leaving Leda and the Swan in a huff, did Cruum approach the grey cloaked man?
He did.
And what was his deal?
He claimed knowledge of a small island a few miles off the coast whereon were certain strange ruins, almost certainly full of ancient treasure. He offered to carry Cruum and the others there for a 50% cut of any salvage recovered.
How did Cruum alter the deal?
The dwarf proposed that a 30/70 split would more accurately reflect the asymmetrical risk of the proposed undertaking.
The result?
The party piled into a small fishing vessel, sans hirelins and henchmen, and were carried to a small island with three hills dotted with cypress trees.
And the ruins?
A marble post-and-lintel archway of seemingly Roman design, set into the side of one hill, invisible from the shore.
Within?
A slope leading down into darkness, terminating in an octagonal chamber containing an altar set with the image of an eye, the pupil of which was a small hollow depression suitable for the insertion of a gemstone.
And when such a gemstone was inserted?
Two things happened.

The first thing?
Four flames, violet, red, green and blue sprung up upon the altar.
And the second?
The walls on either side of the adventurers slid inward allowing the egress of two flapsails or dimetrodons which attacked immediately.
What are the stats for a dimetrodon?
AC 4, MV 12''//6'', HD 5, AT 1 (1d10+5), SD Large size
What was the result of the battle?
The party was surprised, Andronikos felled, but the struggle was ultimately won without fatality on the side of the adventurers.
What ensued?
Experimentation with the flames. Increasing rage on the part of Cruum. The shattering of the altar by Cruum resulting in the dissipation of three of the flames. Reticence on Baraldur's part to yield the green flame to destruction. The demanding of the green flame as recompense by the grey cloaked man. The killing of the grey cloaked man by Cruum.
By what means the latter?
With a crossbow.
What was the general mood of our heroes as they returned to Aghione in a fishing boat?
Dejection, anger, disappointment, frustration.
What made up for this in some small part?
The identification of a few of their magical items by an alchemist in the Market District. By means of this Baraldur discovered that his trident had the power to exert control over fish, and the felicity of the green flame was made plain.
What did the green flame do?
It could be imbibed to grant a breath weapon attack, usable once.
What did the violet flame do?
It would have increased the power of any non-magical weapon placed within it.
What did the red flame do?
It would have granted resistance to cold to any piece of non-magical armor laid within it.
What did the blue flame do?
It was harmful if imbibed, but beyond that its properties remain unknown.
Why was Cruum so very angry?
Possibly because he is a dwarf.
.

Session the Eighth

Orestia spoke of the days of antiquity when great Atlantis formed from thirteen kingdoms and stretched all the way from Susran in the Mediterranean Sea to the black cityport of Tartessos in the New World. Betwixt these lay Poseidonis, now Corsinia, where now the last fallen remnants of the empire could be found, confined to a few strange souls and a smattering of spider-haunted ruins. Thanking the naiad for her hospitality and taking the word of power secured within a bubble within a clamshell within Cruum's sabertache, the party, these being the dwarf Cruum Tinyhammer of White Hill, Cruum Gore-Beard, Friend-Reaver, Bearslayer, Thrall of the Mushroom King, Cruum of the Weeping Shield, Alarbusbane, Master of Emmerin Tor, Friend to Xvarts, Leader of Dead Men and Beloved of Freya (She of the Golden Tears), also good Baraldur, forsaker of the Holy Catholic Church, who struck down Gabor who struck down Fray and the aforementioned Cruum, embracer of the Old Ways and the Gods of His Fathers, soon-to-be Lord of the Pearl Trident, Unworthy in the eyes of Saint Procopius, and Of the House of the Fish, and lastly the aforementioned Fray, champion of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, wielder of the Divine Gift, keeper of the Shield of Paradise, for whom Milo Thriceborn died twice, Heresiarch of an unspecified doctrine, and Speaker to Animals, did return to the surface to heal themselves and recover spells.
Upon the shores where camped Cruum's strongarms they found the seawrack and wreckage of a fine strong ship which upon the godly sea had been set upon by a diabolic great sea worm, capsized and dashed to smithers, its human occupants drowned or consumed and its treasures lost to the deep. One soul from among the crew and passengers had been spared and this fellow, a fat easterner, lay draped in his sopping cloak by the cookfire, deep in dreamless sleep. Cruum advocated robbing the man and made to do so, but his hand was stayed by Fray and Baraldur, who thought it better of it. The man came to presently and owed that his name was Andronikos Xiphilinos, lately of Constantinople, who fled his homeland and the depredations of the Turks seeking to learn the ways of the barbarian Westerners. The others told Andronikos of his plight, being upon the island of Corsinia which admits not casual egress. This news much distressed the Byzantine, but thanking his Eastern Orthodox God that he yet lived, he agreed to accompany his rescuers in their travels until escape from the island could be effected.
Plunging back into the sea, the adventurers entered the caves once more, only to encounter a pair of sea trolls. These vicious aquatic predators sheared through the defenses of the benthic explorers, forcing them to retreat to the surface one more. Knowing the cavern entrance would be impassible for some time, the party contrived to ask their dolphin friend how they might help him re-unite with his pod. The dolphin was unsure, but told them that he felt a benevolent presence to the west, out in the sea. This cryptic premonition was enough to induce the others to set forth to seek the council of whatever the dolphin's psychic probings had discovered. The aura emanated from a grove of seaweed some miles from the shore. Within the waving tendrils of green the party discovered a giant sea horse, a wise and powerful steed of Mananaan Mac Lir. The marvelous creature giving his name as Melusidar greeted them, and with promting divulged a description of his homewaters, the holy silversea which rings the pink-white shores of the Island of Worldheart far to the west. Upon those shores where only the greatest mortal heroes may tread there lies a great hall wherein dwells a beautiful and virtuous maiden, a warden of the Gods gifted with youth and beauty everlasting, awaiting the coming of worthy warriors. Cruum expressed disinterest in any maiden "of virtue." Andronikos picked up a golden scale of the sea horse and concealed it within his sleeve. When asked about the dolphin pod, the sea horse related that a short time ago there had been a great shipwreck off the coast of the island, caused by a great sea worm exacting its grim duty on a ship which strayed into the enchanted waters of the island. This pod of dolphins had rushed to the aid of the castaways only to be slain and scattered by the worm. Melusidar directed the heroes where they might begin their search for the remains of the pod.
Heading north in accordance with Melusidar's direction, the party came upon a band of ten dolphins engaged in mortal conflict with a group of marauding locathah, the leader of which sat astride a giant eel. Coming the aid of the dolphins, the part won the day and slew the wiley fishmen. The leader of the dolphins, their elder, thanked them for their timely assistance and the return of the younger specimen, and pledged the pod's loyalty to whatever undertaking the adventurers might require. Accordingly, the party returned to the sea-cave with their new companions and turned the tide of battle against the waiting trolls, slaying the creatures and thwarting their regeneration by means of a crushed up paste composed of a small crustacean of which Melusidar had disclosed the utility. The trolls destroyed, the adventurers sought the temple of Amphitrite, now a stronghold of the foul homarids or lobster-men.
Finding and entering the temple, the warriors and their dolphin companions confronted a band of homarids which they thwarted with spell and spear. Before all were the slain, the creatures called in their burbling bubbletongue for relief, which arrived in the form of a corkscrewshelled shaman wielding a coral staff and two hulking warriors. These presented a great challenge to the heroes, and sadly in the course of the awful conflict the elder dolphin was killed. In the end, however, the homarids were slain and temples riches, a great store of jewelry and gems, along with a fabulous iridescent trident were laid open to the conquerors. Also discovered was the former altar of Amphitrite, now consecrated to Blidoolpoolp, the Great Mother of the homarid race. Fray made plain his intentions to convert it.
Grieving for the loss of a brother-in-arms, Cruum and Baraldur devised a ritual seeking the intercession of Njord, the sea-god, asking him to restore the elder dolphin to life. Despite the offering of a fine emerald, Njord was unmoved by the plight of His supplicants, and for their impertinence in asking such a boon of one so great He inflicted upon Cruum a divine injunction to convert the altar of Blidoolpoolp to honor His own greatness. Sensing an inevitable conflict of interest, the adventurers silently contemplated their situation, enclosed in their bubble of light deep beneath the waves...

Session the Seventh

On the way back to the town of Corte, the party spied as evening fell a bonfire burning on the beach at some distance. Approaching, they encountered Gepaepyris, Scion of Pisces, the ancient crone who had told Baraldur of the mermaid Orestia's dwellingplace. The hag gifted the adventurers with four coral amulets, which she told them would for the span of one moon allow any man who wore one around his neck to breathe water as if it were air.

In Corte, Cruum attempted to find a butcher willing to buy the strange two headed pigeon he and his men had trussed up. Finding none who would buy, butcher, or train the creature, Cruum and his hirelings took it outside the town and put it to the sword, though not without taking some injuries.

The party then headed for the island's southeastern coast. Not far from their destination, they happened upon a statue in a wooded glade which depicted an impish rake thrusting forth his tongue, wrought in verdigrised copper. Fray stepped forward to investigate the statue, and was caught unawares as it spewed forth a poisonous spray which greatly harmed the cleric. Now greatly desiring the statue's destruction but unable to approach it or harm it with arrows, Fray ordered that the party would camp in the glade for the night. The next morning, he awoke and called upon a succession of spiritual hammers which ultimately rendered the statue down to a shapeless lump. Satisfied that the blasphemous idol could offend the world no longer with its sardonic visage, Fray and the others continued onward.
The bay where Orestia was said to dwell was a bright gob of silver ringed by green land and pale horizon. Out in the middle of the bay was thrust up a sharp pile of stones upon which was situated a statue of the nereid herself, perhaps placed there by the admiring Merlin in ages past. Sawlike fins cut circles around the statue, suggesting sharks. Knowing that the lands beneath the waves would be a realm apart from their usual habits and stratagems, the rogues adjusted their equipment, doffing hacking weapons in favor of thrusting and piercing implements and donning their amulets, giving one to Milo. Cruum had to order his strongarms to stay upon the shore and keep watch.
Descending into the bluecrushing abyss the adventurers discovered a cave entrance sixty feet down the slope of the island's demarcation. Torches were useless here, but Fray had prepared a number a light spells. He cast one of these upon Cruum's person, and the men then slowly tromped forward into the gelid darkness. The tunnel went on for 300 feet before the benthic explorers emerged into a vast chamber the limits of which neither Fray's light spell nor Cruum's dwarf eyes could discover. Careful exploration found a wall 120' to the west, in the vicinity of which the surface dwellers suddenly found themselves beset by a gigantic eel. Fortunately the beast was unsuccessful in its attempts to devour them and was slit open along its anterior by the combined trident and spear work of Cruum and Baraldur. The party explored northward and found a series of smaller caves, and within one of these lesser chambers discovered the hulk of a fishing vessel, secreted here by unknown means. Wary of running out of light, the men attempted to return to the surface, though they met with a group of sharks on the way. These they managed to slay.
After some rest and a plentiful restocking of light spells now informed by the unexpected vastness of the sea caves, the men returned to the deep. Exploring northward from the great chamber they made to investigate the shipwreck closely. As they drew near it, three long drowned lacedons bearing ancient arms and armor emerged from the hulk and swam with sharklike grace forth to devour warm flesh. The beasts' skin was loose and pale from ages in sunless depths, and their mouths were twisted lamprey-like razor holes. Battle ensued, and the horrors were successful in paralyzing Baraldur before Fray could call upon the power of Christ to remonstrate the creatures and send them running off into the blackness. In the creatures' absence, Fray and Cruum searched the shipwreck, finding within a scroll case. Once numbness had fled Baraldur's limbs, the party went again to the great chamber, and decided to explore southward from it.
They discovered another vast cavern, and in the middle of it a deep black trench. They were skirting it, looking for a way to the other side when a tentacle emerged and made to grab at Cruum. The dwarf fended this surprise attack off, but elation was short lived as the squamous bulk of a great octopus emerged from the pit and made to devour the interlopers. Fray briefly subdued the beast with a spell which calmed and rendered helpful beasts of the natural world. Even this strange creature was bound by such a call, and heeded Fray's questions for a time. Questioned about the mermaid, the octopus owed that he had some sense of her dwelling place in relation to his own, it being to the north and west somewhere. When asked to guide the adventurers to her, the octopus agreed to do so on the condition that it be allowed to devour her should they find her. Fray assented to this, reasoning that he could betray the brute later.
Taking the first northward leading tunnel from the octopus' cavern, the rogues eventually came upon a small cavern in which was located a solitary dolphin. Sensing psychic impulses from the creature, the adventurers found themselves mentally greeted and offered aid and counsel. Cruum was making tentative responses to the dolphin's psychic overtures when the octopus reached forward a suckered member, clearly intending violence upon the friendly cetacean. This seemed an intolerable evil to the octopus's reluctant allies, who turned upon and slew the beast at once before resuming conversation with the dolphin. They learned that the creature had become separated from its pod and lost, but was willing to aid them in their search for the mermaid. It warned of sharks ahead. Not desiring to encounter any more dogfish and having taken some considerable wounds from the octopus, the party resolved to withdraw from the caverns once more and rest upon the surface, entreating the dolphin to wait in the bay for them. On the way out through the exit tunnel, an enormous lamprey detached itself from the cavern walls and made to devour the adventurers, but they overmatched the pale worm and cut it to bits.
After resting and the liberal application of healing spells, the party descended once more and made their way to the former octopus' chamber. Skirting the trench they discovered another oblong cavern from which branched several passages. As they pondered which passage to explore, a crabfish the bigness of a horse scuttled out of the darkness sensing an easy meal. The creature's carapace was soon cracked asunder, spilling its vitals to darken the surrounding waters. Their foe dispatched, the divers picked out a northwest leading passageway along the bottom of which ran a shallow trench. This tunnel they followed for a considerable distance, ignoring side passages, until at length it turned around a corner and revealed a chamber some 60 by 120 feet large. The spell-light fell upon the cavern floor revealing the immense coiled skeleton of a great sea worm, an evil and ancient being which had perished long ago. Among the calcified bones they spotted something shining, but had no chance to investigate before a giant shark emerged from the darkness beyond. With the nimble assistance of the dolphin, the creature was overcome, although it managed to deliver two great rending bites to Cruum. Within the sea worm's bony gullet was discovered a large bloodstone of great value, evidently swallowed by the creature.
After one more trip out of the caves to tend to Cruum's wounds, the party returned to the trench-tunnel and followed a side passage leading westward. Down its length they found the dwelling of the sea-maiden Orestia, who reclined upon an immense clam-shell bed surrounded by shelves holding abundant curios from the world above, as well as colorful seaspawn and stranger artifacts. The mermaid was blue skinned, silver of hair and scale, and had great sad green pools for eyes. She welcomed the strangers to her home, and asked their purpose. Cruum replied that they came in search of information and counsel of how they might release the wizard Merlin from his entombment. At the mention of the wizard's name, the mermaid tearfully replied that she knew not the location of the Cave of Mists, having never been to land, but she did owe that she had a shard of the Word of Power which sealed those caves. Drifting over to her shelves, she tapped thrice a large clam shell which opened to reveal an iridescent bubble one foot in diameter. This she gave to the adventurers, saying that it contained the word. When asked if the word could be held in another fashion or spoken, Orestia told that the word, once heard, would inscribe itself upon the listener's brain like the greatest of dweomers, a tightly wound coil of energy which could be released when spoken but might imperil the mortal mind holding it overlong. The party chose to keep the word within the bubble, and asked for the clam shell to contain it. In return for the taking of the word, Orestia asked that should Cruum or the others ever meet with Merlin, they should tell him of her unwavering devotion to him, and inform him that she still awaited him beneath the waves 400 years later. Promising to do so, the party asked her about the caverns, and the fallen civilization of Atlantis. Of the caverns, she could tell them that her people had once had a temple here, in one of the southern chambers, but that it had been overrun and taken by the foul homarids and converted to their dark god. Of Atlantis, the mermaid took a moment to compose herself before weaving the tale...

Session the Sixth

Grieving the loss of his stalwart companion Milo, Fray stood vigil through the night in prayer and meditation, supplicating the Archangel Raphael for intercession. As morning dawned, the angel saw fit to restore Milo's life to him. This being the second time he had died and been raised from the dead, Milo was now known as Milo Thriceborn. Furthermore, he had returned from death bearing the Divine Gift of miracle-working, and moved up from his status as a mere strongarm to being a cherished retainer.
After bidding Jacques Le Vert farewell, Fray, Baraldur, Cruum and Milo set off for the Loremaster's tower with the scrolls they had received from the Oracle. Médard graciously received the scrolls and agreed to answer any questions the adventurers had about the island. Cruum inquired about the nature of the Great Sea Worms, and was told that the horrid beasts were infernal in nature, but had not troubled the island until about 400 years ago. The onset of the beast's depredations had coincided with the disappearance of a great wizard known to have fiendish heritage. Baraldur asked about Ix, and Médard related that he had read of one so named who had walked the island just over a century past. This man Ix had visited many villages and lonely places of the island with a cloaked companion in tow, and each place he visited had experienced an upsurge in awful violent crimes. Rumors surviving from the period held that Ix had sought knowledge of his father, but had departed in disappointment.
Fray asked the Loremaster if he knew of any enchanted items of holy aspect which might be found upon the island. Médard told him of a wondrous shield said to grant boons to one who held it aloft beneath the night sky in full view of the stars. The last reported resting place of this shield was a village long ago destroyed, which lay at the eastern foot of the mountains. Before departing, the rogues asked Médard if there might be another who would know more about the great archmage whose disappearance had incited the worms' coming. The Loremaster related that if one traveled to the foot of the mountains and beyond two rivers, there was a still tarn high in an isolated valley. There dwelt a scion of one of the thirteen fallen kingdoms of lost Atlantis, who might know more. Thanking the old man, the adventurers departed in haste to seek their fortune.
They encountered and slew a strange legless lizard with batwings which they encountered in the high crags, and made their way down to the foot of the mountains. There they found the cinder-strewn ruins of a village long dead, burned down over a hundred years past. As they approached one of the more complete buildings, a six legged salamander of crimson hue came forth to devour them. The beast was of twisted shape, and its upper body was erect like a man, making its semblance somewhat like that of a centaur. The beast was not too physically strong, but was able to emit a cloud of poisonous gas which nearly killed Fray and slew Cruum's last shieldman, Leon. Once the beast was slain, Fray recovered a silver shield emblazoned with a white antler with seven tines from the ruins of a church. That night, Fray knelt beneath the stars and held the shield aloft in prayerful attitude, and was blessed with a measure of divine protection in battle for the next day.
The party continued their journey, crossing two rivers and spending a brief time in a small town called Alando. Heading into the mountains, they eventually came to the tarn, a verdant place of still waters where many crocodiles, armadillos, and crabs flourished. As they surveyed this hidden paradise, a woman of striking beauty garbed in a shimmering argent dress, her neck adorned with pearls. Cruum knelt in obeisance before the lady of the tarn, and begged her name and her counsel. She identified herself as Sophonisba, last scion of the Kingdom of Cancer. It was fortunate for Cruum that the lady was well disposed toward him, for his next question caused her no small consternation; when the dwarf inquired about the vanished wizard, the skies about the tarn grew dark, and the lady's sad eyes took on an edge of malice. She related that the wizard had not died, but was imprisoned still on the island, and that his crime had been the foul betrayal of his lady love. Pressed with further questions, Sophonisba divulged that the wizard had been a lover of the enchantress Rionach Dihada, and had been unfaithful to her, sporting with a nereid who lived in the waters about the island. After the Dihada imprisoned him within a place called the Cave of Mists, she sealed the cave with a Word of Power, which she then shattered into four pieces which scattered upon the five winds. The great Enchantress, bereft and betrayed, then cast a spell which enraged the great sea worms and caused them to destroy any vessel which came near the island. When asked the name of the imprisoned wizard, the lady answered: Merlin.
The adventurers left the tarn and its hallowed guardian, humbled and perplexed. Sophonisba had not known the location of the Cave of Mists, but owed that one of the other scions of the Zodiac might. Her sister Gepaepyris of Pisces lived on the northwestern coast, near the fishing town of Corte. Baraldur noted that the sign of this mage aligned with his own, and under this auspice declared that he would speak to her and learn what he could. The party set off through the wilderness, skirting the northern edge of the mountains. Deep in the forest, they encountered a werewolf-like beast with a pink crabshell upon its back. It was easily slain.
Upon reaching Corte, the adventurers set about restocking provisions and basic equipment. Cruum spent a month and much silver trying to find a retainer, but was unsuccessful. Being unable to find a skilled companion, he instead hired five new strongarms, Turburt, Gamel, Warin, Guy, and Silvester. The party then made for Gepaeprys' demesne. It lay on a small island in a bay, and Cruum and his men built a coracle so that the party might pay a visit. The scion had the form of a white haired crone, stooped and worn by uncounted centuries. She received Baraldur well, and agreed to answer his questions. She was able to tell him the name of Merlin's illicit paramour, the nereid Orestia, and that she still dwelt upon the island, in a bay on the southeastern coast near a statue fashioned by the wizard in her likeness. The hag new nothing of the Cave of Mist's location, however.
Before traveling to meet this doxy of the deep, Fray desired to seek out another ancient pagan altar to convert. In a secluded cove north of Gepaepyris' demesne, he found a small shrine to Poseidon. In the waters nearby swam a bizarre creature, a skyblue two-headed pidgeon the size of a pony. Cruum roared with laughter at the sight of the creature, and set about devising a means to capture it. Fashioning a man-catcher from a ten-foot pole and a length of rope, he lured the beast to the shore and managed to restrain it, though he took a few wounds from its piercing beaks. The creature was then hog-tyed and trussed up to be carried hanging from a ten-foot pole carried between two men. Fray entered the nearby shrine, warded himself with magical protection, sprinkled the altar with holy water, blessed it, and converted it to his own god's influence.

Session the Fifth

The adventurers and their strongarms stood by the black pool overwatched by a pensive mermaid statue. Perceiving two underwater passages leading from the bottom of the pool to caverns unknown, Fray set about convincing one of his lads to swim down and have a look. Though lesser hearts refused, Thad the Stout-hearted offered that he would go. Baraldur, too, offered to explore the depths. The two doffed their armor and dove into the cold water, Thad with a knife in his teeth and Baraldur with his trident in hand. After forty or so feet of groping in utter darkness, the two found another cavern which contained a pocket of air near the ceiling where they could catch their breath. Baraldur had hardly a chance to call out to Thad when the young man suddenly screamed and disappeared beneath the water. Clearly he had been the victim of some dread silent beast. Baraldur hastily retreated to his comrades and told them the grim news. The party withdrew from the dungeon to heal and recover Fray's spells.

Returning to the cavern, the braves encountered four white ape-like monstrosities, the degenerate descendents of the once-mighty Altanteans. With help from Fray's magic, the beasts were finished off with a modicum of difficulty. Once they had returned to the cavern, Cruum and Baraldur undertook exploring the other passageway, which led them to another cavern containing a sunken stone coffer full of silver. By repeated trips, the two were able to extricate the treasure. Resolving to discover what lay beyond the cavern containing Thad's bane, all three warriors shed their mail and, after enchanting Cruum's broadsword to shed light, entered the beast cavern.
Within they found a great crayfish, which having digested Thad hungered for flesh once more. Facing skilled men of arms aware of its presence, the homarid was overmatched and slain. The warriors continued on and found a way out of the water in another cavern containing an altar to the Goddess Hecate. Within dwelt a foul creature, a lamia who had sought to pervert the earth weird's portal for her own ends. The creature attempted to charm Cruum, but the dwarf's mind was as hard as rock, unyielding to the brazen vixen's whispers. The lamia succeeded in fooling the men into believing that she had summoned a balrog from hell to her aid, but undeterred by the illusion, the lads fought on and slew here before the phantom could inflict any damage. The demon's image winked out like a candle flame. After offering the lamia's body up on the altar, the party found the keystone repaired.
Returning the stone to the earth weird, the rogues watched as a procession of strange earth creatures made their way into the chamber and egressed to their home plane. The earth oracle then offered them a clay urn containing the scrolls they had sought.
Though what they had come to do was accomplished, Fray felt that there was more work to be done in the temple. Gathering all the holy water he could, he set about converting each of the Goddesses' altars to honor Christ. After he explained his purpose to Jacques, the kindly hermit lent him a nail from the cross of St. Andrew the Lesser, which he said his order had brought back from the holy land long ago. Despite the influence of the relic, Fray's first attempt to bless and reconsecrate Hecate's altar ended in failure, and the goddess summoned a pair of hell hounds to deal with the meddling priest. Invoking divine protection from fire, Fray fought back and slew the hounds. He then successfully turned the altar, banishing the Goddesses influence.
He had similar success with the altars of Demeter and Artemis, vanquishing the pagan glory of their Mistresses. Aprhodite proved resistant to Fray's attempts to diminish her influence, and a woman crowned with coils appeared to mete out the Goddess' vengeance. The appearance of the medusa took all present by surprise, and Baraldur and a number of the hirelings were immediately turned to stone by the creature's gaze. Fray fought bravely, but despite his magical protections, he and all but one of his men were petrified. The infernal medusa, her mission discharged, disappeared. Cruum, having sensed an affinity between his patron Goddess Freya and Aphrodite, had chosen not to involve himself in the fight, closing his eyes and leaning upon a wall. He now left the dungeon and his petrified comrades and sought Jacques for advice. The old cleric thought for a bit and then related that a member of his order dwelt in the forests not far east of this place, who knew much of herb lore and might be able to help. Dwarf, cleric, and the two remaining retainers went forth to seek the help of Nicolas the Eremite, a divinely gifted herbologist. En route, they encountered the humble but brightly colored cottage of the Chromatic Master of Hues, an eccentric and sorcerous fellow who enjoyed complete control over the colors of material objects. Cruum asked the magician if he could be of assistance, citing his allies' dire condition. The magician declined to help, but altered the dwarf's splint mail to reflect a riot of clashing pastel colors.
When at last Cruum reached the hut of Nicolas, the cleric listened to his pleas and gathered together a number of herbs, unguents, poultices, tipples, draughts, and tinctures. With these he returned with the dwarf to the temple and cured all the petrified individuals of their malady. He also gifted to Fray a pouch of exotic herbs, which if burned lent a holy musk which would aid in the reconsecration effort. With this sacred incense, Fray was able to turn the altar of Hera without incident.
The altar of Athena, however, proved not so yielding. The carayatid columns, sensing the malicious purpose of the interlopers, animated and attacked, though they were unable to protect their Mistress's sanctum. Fray lit the incense, sprinkled holy water about and intoned the proper prayers, but failed to turn the altar, prompting the materialization of a bloodthirsty chimera. Fray was able to protect himself via spells from the beast's dire breath, but his shield men were not so fortunate. To a man, they were cremated by the beast, dispatched to their final rest by the Goddess' wrath. Fray escaped, and keeping the summoned beast at bay by spellcraft, spiked the door with a shard of a carayatid's sword. At this point Fray abandoned his holy effort, head bowed in shame. He shrived himself to Jacques, but the old man would hear none of it. He reminded Fray that man holy purposes came to ignominious ends after great initial gains, citing the Crusades as precedent. Fray's spirits were lifted, and the warriors resolved to visit the Loremaster and learn some of the Island's secrets.
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