That Escalated Quickly

So the party became Murderhobos. Sort of. Well only one did, but the rest became gruesome corpse desecraters.

Let's backtrack. They came into town and dropped off the goods they were supposed to deliver. The Charismatic Dwarf attempted to flatter the Shopkeeper into giving them some more gold since they had a run-in with some Goblins. Alas he failed his persuasion roll. This is immediately followed by a successful intimidate roll from the Half-Orc barbarian.So, the shopkeeper is coerced/robbed while the party sits idly by. They then continue to try to talk with the shopkeeper who is quite upset at this time. The Half-Orc leaves but the rest stay behind. The Dwarf even tries to persuade the shopkeeper to be more friendly with him. A high roll from the Dwarf convinced the shopkeeper to relax slightly, but he was still upset at everyone else.

So they pissed off one NPC in town. No big deal. He didn't have anything more to offer our group anyways.

So through some further town exploits they learn of the local gang of ruffians who are running the town. The Half-Orc makes a failed attempt to infiltrate their hideout, the dingy bar down the road. Four of the toughs tell him to get lost. He decides to intimidate them. It was a high roll, but I determined that if they were threatened, these guys would draw weapons and fight. After all, they outnumbered the Barbarian. They strike first and do a fair amount of hurting on him. He cuts out of there mighty quick, another round and he would have been toast.

So he regroups back at the nice inn with the rest of the party. Their plan is to rally the town to drive the gang out. I had determined that the town doesn't want a fight, after all, these roughs have been pushing them around for awhile. But the Dwarf gave a nice speech and rolled well, so I allowed 3 tavern patrons to be roused into action.They head out the door only to see five of the bad gang waiting across the street looking to threaten the rest of them away.

The party wastes no time with words and chooses to fight. The Half-Orc and Gnome Monk kill 3 of the gang. The Dwarf Sorcerer put the other 2 to sleep. The Drow Cleric however is felled by their wicked slashes. He makes his rolls though and stabilizes on the ground, still unconscious. The Dwarf decides to take the sleeping thugs into the inn. The innkeeper tells him that there's a perfectly good cell at the town hall. (This is where things get bad)

While they are having their discussion the Player playing the Gnome asks me if she can slit the sleeping bad guys throats.

I tell her, well yeah she can. So she does.

The gaping townsfolk look on aghast at this. The Dwarf then decides to chop off their heads and put them on pikes, while the Half-Orc (angry that he didn't get to kill the baddies) proceeds to club the corpses into pulp. All the while the Drow is still laying unconscious in a pool of his own blood. Needless to say the townsfolk are terrified.

It was late in the real world so I called it for the night. Personally I was a bit disgruntled by their actions. Part of it comes from the fact that the rest of the adventure emanates from this town. Side-quests, info etc all come from the town who now want nothing to do with the party. The other part of it is my own shock at their actions. It being a long time since I was Dungeon Master I wasn't ready to handle a party of amoral bastards. I was taking their antagonism personally, which is something I should try not to do.

Still, I got some thinking to do on how to make this adventure work in lieu of their actions.

Back to the Surface

We all needed rest after our battle with Vinhatis. It was sad that Kevin's parents were killed, but at least we were able to save the children.

We decided to rest in the High Priest quarters. In the middle of the night (or our rest, we've have lost track of time) my appearance started changing for the worst. Tentacles grew out of my chin. My ears grew to grotesque proportions taking on an almost wing-like appearance. I was turning into whatever it was that "kissed" me. There was nothing for me to do but wait until Trevor awoke and prayed for Curative powers and hope that I wouldn't turn into one of those hideous beasts.

Upon waking and praying Trevor's light was able to heal me. I could feel the disease getting purged from my body. Trevor is convinced that my appearance will go back to normal in a few days. I hope so as I look a mess.

After that business was cleared up we decided it was best to make our way out of this tomb. We heard footsteps moving away from our location and towards the surface. A damned goblin was following us. Upon his discovery I gave chase. Unfortunately the hall was lined with grease. The goblin set it ablaze and escaped to the surface.

We ran through receiving our share of singes and burns. At the surface we found the goblin and his friends, wargs, ogres and more goblins. Battle of course ensued. Trevor stayed to protect the children. Veekay used a variety of illusions to fool the wargs. Soranna fought a devastating duel with the Ogre (That lady is tough) Wolfwood as usual laid down arrow fire and I made my way around the field killing what I could.

We emerged victorious, bruised and battered. It was time to get some rest. Luckily our journey back to Morralis (Wolfwood's home village) proved uneventful.

Mayor Crawford was overjoyed with the return of his children. He gave us a Writ of Heroism and even granted us land and building within the Town. A home base could come in handy. We also talked to Kevin about the death of his parents, Phineas and Deborah. This sobered our celebratory return. With time Kevin will overcome his grief.

We are still no nearer to finding the cause of the Vale's curse. However we continue on our journey unearthing all that we can.

The Vexing Venhatis

We traveled deeper into the Dwarven ruins. Wary of what awaited further into the depths. It was as silent as a tomb down there. Morbid thoughts, but what else is that quiet. Heading in each direction were many doors leading to the Cultists' living quarters. Each one contained little more than a bed and a dresser. Not much in the way of coinage either. Where was everybody? Had we killed them all? Where was their leader?

In addition to the basic living quarters we found the High Priest's rooms. In the one was a diary of Freya. A bigwig of some renown in the cult. From what I gathered the Blight Cult came to the Vale after curse. So, they are not the cause of it. They are just capitalizing on the misfortune. There was also some details about the Cult leader Venhatis. He is described as a mad man and Freya and her brother Drognir are planning on betraying them. I kept that information in my head thinking it might come in handy.

 In the other high priest's quarters we found a treasure chest with a secret switch in the bottom. I flipped the switch in the hopes that it would reveal more treasures. Instead it opened up a secret door behind a painting. Within this area were terrible looking creatures that were nothing more than grotesque heads with wings. One emitted a harsh shriek that pierced my very soul with fear. I slumped to the ground too frightened to move, even when the creature came close to me. It inserted it's horrendous tongue into my mouth. I don't know what it was planning to do. I couldn't stop it whatever it was. Luckily my companions made quick work of the beasts and saved me before I was done in. Needless to say this encounter left a bad taste in my mouth. The sooner we got out of here the better. There was just one more door to go...

And this was the one. The black heart of the blight cult beat within this Dwarven Hall. It must have once been a temple with the balconies and the pews. At the end of the hall was a Dais where stood Venhatis and the Blight Siblings. Venhatis was a madman who's cackling laugh and jittery speech echoed off the walls. What gave him that spastic tic? As we entered the room he gave his speech and pulled a switch dropping two cages from the ceiling. Inside was one was Phineas and Deborah,the kindly farmers that sheltered us. Kevin, their son, said they were kidnapped. Inside the other was the Mayor's children. Attached to each cage was some devious trap. We were obliged to rescue them, but first we had to get through Venhatis' minions.

They appeared to be mindless goblins. They were sitting in the pews and turned on us at their master's bidding. I quickly stabbed the first one I saw with nothing to show for it but a small piercing that oozed acid. My swords would be of no use on them. It fell to the light of Heironius to deal with them. And deal it did. Trevor's god basically obliterated these "blight zombies" Good for us, bad for Venhatis. Unfortunately there was more than just zombies serving Venhatis. The balcony contained more mages, and blight priests. These suckers continued to the vex us with magic grease and acid blasts. Then to top it off, we discovered a giant Gelatinous Cube guarding the dais. On top of that, Venhatis decided taking flight was a good way to engage us. The coward hid behind Stalactites only appearing to spit acid and taunt us.

Wolfwood took care of the balcony cultists with the help of Veekay. That left the gelatinous cube for me, Trevor and Soranna. Of course Soranna found herself floating in the ooze, again. She nearly succumbed to the Cube before we finished it. Then the Siblings attacked . We fought back valiantly Wolfwood with his arrows, Trevor and I with our Swords while Soranna lay recovering on the ground. The coward siblings turned to gas and fled before we could offer the finishing blows. Meanwhile Veekay was doing his best to get Venhatis. Lightning Bolts, Magic-Missiles and every other spell he could cast. In the end it was a well-placed crossbow bolt that finally took the Mad Priest out.

We were left bloody and broken. Somehow Wolfwood's Wolf companion Toafy was killed. I quickly ran to the dais and rescued the mayor's children. Sadly there was nothing I could do for Phineas and Deborah. When Drognir escaped he dropped the key to their cage and it broke on the ground. There was nothing we could do except watch them get consumed by acid.

There is no time to mourn and no time to heal our wounds. We have to get back to the surface and the relative safety of a town.

The blight might have started to take it's toll on me. My hair has fallen out. Will I succumb...

The Curse of the Vale

I had grown weary of living off the ill-gotten gains of the local populace and was looking for a more legitimate means of employment. No, that's not right, I had procured a lovely necklace with an emerald scarab that was going to keep me fed for a few weeks. Unfortunately my fence was under surveillance from the constabulary. Turns out they were looking for this particular necklace as it had some sentimental value to the magistrate's wife. I knew nothing of the magistrate as I had pocketed it off of a very drunk Halfling at The Owlbear's Nest. Regardless, I was left holding the bag.

I wouldn't be left holding anything after it was ruled that my hand should be cut off for the crime of burglary. That didn't seem like a decent prospect for my line of work so I "volunteered" my expertise for hard labor for the benefit of the Empire. It just so happened that nearby Skylark Vale was in need of some hard labor, or at the very least some inexperienced and disposable fools to investigate. While I didn't want to be traipsing around in some diseased backwoods, I did want to keep all of my extremities so I agreed to go. The judge just laughed and even offered up a reward if the "Vale Curse" was lifted. I wonder if others have been sent to this Skylark Vale. I wonder if they ever returned...

So here I am in the bottom of an ancient underground dwarven stronghold following another in a long line of clues as to what is cursing the Vale.

We are following up on the Blight Cult, which makes sense. This cursed Vale is under some kind of blight, "blight" is right there in their name. It has to be these fools right?

If not them, then we are off to Blenlough where we were told the Dwarves have awoken an undead ancient evil. Trevor being Trevor wants to head up there anyways as "The Light of Heironius needs to exterminate this darkness." Whatever. We will go there if that's where our investigation leads. But, if it is this "Blight Cult" (Which it has to be) then that's it for me. The Empire didn't send me here to kill something that is already dead. I try to deal with the living.

Or we could see if the Goblins are behind it all. Why not? The Goblins might be trying to push the Empire out of the Vale so they can have it all to themselves. I don't think Goblins have it in them to organize an effort of this scale, but for all I know this could just be caused by them shitting in the river. Wolfwood wants to take care of them next. You can tell he's got a grudge against the Goblins for some reason, but I don't think it has anything to do with the Vale's curse.

Our only option is but a fragment of an idea from the lips of a madwoman. Hilda, the crazy lady in Morralis mentioned ruins in the North that might have something to do with it. I wonder what they are and I wonder how she knows about them. Of course, in my line of experience ancient ruins only contain monsters and treasures. I wouldn't mind the latter, but the former can be tricky at times. Maybe with this group we can make a side trip to these ruins. This investigation has already proven to be a lucrative affair, why not get as much out of it as I can. With the help of my new companions a nice monster clearing treasure hunt would be easy. And who knows, maybe the answer to our curse is there. (But really, it's got to be the Blight Cult. Just look at that name!)

In the Dwarven Ruins

I have lost track of how long I have been in this accursed vale. Has it been two weeks? Longer?The days blend into the nights and blend into the days again. It's worse down here in the underground. The lack of light is disconcerting. The creatures that dwell here should be left well enough alone. The only good of being down here is that I can't see the malaise of the surface. Whatever curses the Vale above has yet to really make impact down here. Will it ever? Or is the lack of blight a further clue as to what goes on above? Are those who dwell down here in the dark responsible?

I fear that whatever is tainting the land is taking it's hold on me. My thoughts turn to blood and violence. Depression and anger have emerged in my soul. No, they have always been there, it's just that the feelings can no longer be contained. I am losing control. I have become less cautious and more aggressive. In a sense I have to be, considering my companions.

Soranna is able enough as our fighter-in-residence. However, at times she seems a bit reluctant in her actions. I would wager to say that she is not used to the lawless wild where the beasties run rampant and bandits don't yield at the sight of the city guard. Still, I have seen her cleave many an adversary in twain. If I am to be more reckless then perhaps I can learn a thing or two from her. The more I learn the art of battle the more deadly I can become to those who stand against us.

Trevor's shield is an apt metaphor for the man himself. He's great at taking the brunt of our enemies impact. He's even greater at healing when those enemies break through which unfortunately happens all too often as Trevor is slow and can be caught flat on his ass. He's an unusual personality to pin down. One day he's an overbearing buffoon spouting off at any and every opportunity about the god of light Hieronius. The next day he will be sullen and unengaged. I tend not to trust those with split personalities. I tend to trust organized religions even less. However, his goodness and loyalty to his fellow adventurers seems to shine through and I don't mind hiding behind a shield to stab at the enemy. I just need to make sure he never calls down the light of Hieronius to smite me.

Wolfwood the Ranger we met on our way to Fort Rafius. He's excellent with the bow but rarely gets his hands dirty with melee. Listen, if I was as good with it as he is I'd probably stay back as well. But, I wouldn't constantly whine about returning to the fey grove while doing it. I appreciate the man joining in and helping out, but I wonder how far into the muck he is willing to go. When it gets too deep will he stand and fight or will he head back to the grove? (Stupid fey.)

And then there's Veekay, our tough little gnome. I may laugh at his silly illusions, but to the enemies they are no laughing matter (except for that Stone Elemental who found it all hysterical) There's nothing like watching half of them flee from a make-believe dragon. And for those that stay? Well, then ol' Veekay has a lightning bolt ready to fry those poor saps.Of course, when he is out of spells then he is out of luck as he's not much of a fighter. What he needs to do is get his crossbow fixed so he can lie back and lay some cover for me

So I continue to delve further into this mystery, throwing myself into harm's way. These companions of mine will have to do. I hope that we can figure this thing out. I don't know how much longer I can stay in this vale before I too am cursed.