The journal of Detheriel (full of spoilers)

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

Nobody ever bumped the Chronicles of Faldorn like this...

[Dave_the_quack]

LoL aww... cheer up babe. I'll bump it now, and stand accused of thread necromancy if it will please you.

Will it?

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

No, it's the thought that counts. All I wanted was a cult following of my very own...

[shamrock_uk]

Sorry (as always [img]smile.gif[/img] ) - life is mega busy at the mo, I've barely been able to keep up with the online roleplay I'm in, never mind this too.

I'm away for the next few days but I'll see if I can rustle up a little something by the end of the week. [img]smile.gif[/img]

And Faldorn's thread deserves a good bump or two, I enjoyed that...

[shamrock_uk]

Huzzah, after much assistance from Sillara my game is now back on the road and bug-free! Hope you enjoy! It's split into two posts because of the picture limit.

Well, I really hope this won't become a habit but yet another day was started with a fight. I hate fighting early in the morning; I'm never at my best and I really wish they'd wait until after midday! We were just walking away from the cabin when we heard a rustling behind us and, turning round, we saw people emerge from the shadows of my home.

The party is ambushed in the dawn light!

They introduced themselves as Lilla and Meritt, employed by someone called Ceara who they assured me had both talents and charm in abundance. Kelsey suddenly realised who she was and turned a remarkable shade of white - apparently she was a crackpot wizardess who stalked Kelsey for her research. Unfortunately for him this research has more to do with dissecting him than bedding him apparently! Needless to say, I was not amused at being disturbed at this hour and gave their offer short shrift. Both Kelsey and Tsujatha hurled spells in their direction, but just after they had begun their flight, shadowy figures emerged right in our midst, threatening the vulnerable casters in my party!

Tsujatha and Kelsey acquit themselves admirably in the brawl.

The ambush, whilst inconvenient, was of course beaten off and soon we stood on a field of corpses. Kelsey was understandably distraught as he hadn't realised that she was this crazy! I re-assured him that I wasn't about to hand him over and accepted his many apologies for getting us attacked. No sense in worrying about it after all - if that's the best this Ceara has to throw at us then it looks like Kelsey's insides are safe for the forseeable future!

With corpses all around the party, Detheriel saves a cowering Jan from the strike of a sword with a well-placed arrow as Mazzy strides to his aid.

We set off from Umar still quite early in the morning. The dew was still fresh on the grass and the crisp morning air made the march back towards Athkatla less onerous. As we entered the outskirts we were caught up by Danno who had apparently been waiting for Mazzy with some terrible news. He managed to poison Mazzy's little sister Pala with a love potion that he bought from a peddler - damn fool, that's what I say! What kind of love did he think a potion would buy him anyway? The compassion of Saerileth knows no bounds however and she turned and touched me on the arm, quietly reminding me to hold my tongue. "We must aid the sister of Lady Fentan" she declared firmly and of course she was right as always - it's not Pala's fault that this man is a dolt.

Before turning around though, we had to report the death of Khalabaxin to the Order. Saerileth could hardly contain her excitement - her face was completely radiant. We found Sir Havun Clarenshide and told him of our victory. He was very impressed and, seeing as we'd shown great valour, asked us if we would be interested in performing another task for him. I explained that we'd like to help but that we needed a way to get to spellhold fast as I had a friend being held captive there.

The party exits the magnificent and imposing fortress of the Order

It appears that we have made a good choice in our friends - he said that he would look into acquiring a ship for us to gain passage! This would also save us from having to work for those dubious thieves! The Fates are obviously being kind to us! The task he set us will not be easy however as he wants us to wipe out the guild of vampires that dwell in the graveyard city. I felt very lucky at that moment that I hadn't dallied with Valen when she approached us! Obviously Valen and her Mistress were operating on a scale far larger than I had initially appreciated. I had no hesitation in pledging myself to such a cause - undead deserve to be wiped from the face of Faerun. Sir Clarenshide supplied us with stakes and promised us that a wizard would meet us when we were ready and support our assault.

We had more immediate concerns however, namely Mazzy's sister. After fighting our way out of the city (as always!) we trekked back across the countryside to Mazzy's town - that of Trademeet. There was a rather amusing conversation on the way as - despite all my warnings - Kelsey decided to ask Jan about his family. This naturally led to a long conversation about the "Botanical Campaigns of '32" and his Auntie Clematis! As Kelsey's query was about sorcery in his family we were then treated to information about how Cousin Barium produced his area effect spells - undercooked turnips and an excess of stomach acid apparently! My mind wandered for a while but after a mile or two I was jerked out of my reverie by Kelsey demanding a refund on the conversation! Ever the merchant!

Tsujatha shows why it is unwise to ambush a powerful mage.

After an ambush on the road in the night we arrived at Trademeet in the middle of a fight between some guardsmen and animals. I held the party back, unsure of exactly what to do and waited to be approached by the guard. He was understandably grumpy and explained that the town had been under siege for several days by these animals. I found all this slightly hard to believe and offered my services to the town to see if I could get to the bottom of it. We passed through the centre towards Mazzy's house and I must say that I was quite impressed - a lovely fountain, ornate stonework pavements and charmingly rustic houses made it far more pleasant than the squalor of Athkatla.

The party reaches the bedside of Mazzy's sister.

We went in to see Mazzy's sister who was lying in bed, deathly pale and were directed to Wallace the Peddlar, a merchant in the Trademeet market. On our brief walk there we were interrupted by the little messenger from Imnesvale. Incidentally, his homing ability is almost magical...I made a mental note to ask his parents if they would consent to him joining my party as a scout. He bought news of a band of large orcs that are marching on the village and would arrive in about four days. Luckily that would give us enough time to attend to Mazzy's sister so after assuring him I would come with all haste we rushed to the market.

[ 10-15-2005, 12:39 PM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]

[shamrock_uk]

(Part 2)

Whilst Mazzy confronted Wallace, I paused a moment to admire a philosophical debate between two inhabitants of the city. Thanks to the lessons of my foster-father Gorion I had learned to appreciate the value of these discussions even if I find it difficult to follow at times! After enjoying their conversation I was really starting to appreciate the quality of life that Trademeet offered so I was absolutely incensed when one of the participants called over a hired thug to kill his opponent! Can you believe it?! Does civilisation never reign in the town, no matter how pleasant the face it presents to the world is?

High-strung and even higher-brow conversation abounds in Trademeet!

I of course rushed to the aid of the aged philosopher but was too late to save him from the quick strike of a sword. The old figure tottered unsteadily and sank to the ground in my arms. I remember crying out with rage as I laid him gently to rest on the ornate paving and I set off after the rapidly retreating thug. A quick arrow past his head convinced him it would be a good idea to stand his ground and within seconds I was on him, my hastily-drawn blade buried to the hilt in his deserving stomach. I pushed him off my sword to the ground as quickly as I could disentangle us and, despite frantically looking around for the instigator of this barbarism, had to give up the chase. Apparently he had made off during the brief disturbance. I regarded the townspeople pressed against the railings of the promenade in fear and flashed them an angry glare - I'd just dispatched a dangerous murderer for them! Their lives are safer now and I couldn't help but think that a little gratitude might be in order...

After rejoining the party and waving away Saerileth's questioning look, Mazzy led us to the temple in Trademeet. It was a typically lavish affair - gigantic in scale and lavish in appointment with a wonderous statue in the middle. I had to bite back a snort when the Overgold asked "what humble assistance" could he offer - humble indeed!

Breathtaking mosaics on the floor of the Trademeet temple

Despite the initial impression however, the Overgold was actually a deferential, thoughtful and intelligent man and agreed to investigate the quarters of the new supplier for Wallace, a new adept named Barl.

Mazzy and Detheriel ascend the stairs to speak to the Overgold.

He returned ashen-faced with news of an alchemy set and a symbol from Talona, the mistress of poison! Barl proved somewhat less polite than his employer but Mazzy proved very adept at teaching his corpse some manners.

The Overgold looks on in horror as his temple is turned into a battleground!

We had more difficulty with the gaseous poison beasts that Barl had summoned - Mazzy's predictions that Talona would refuse to aid him were proved inaccurate!

Blood fountains on to the mosaic in the temple as Mazzy makes the killing strike.

Mazzy found an antidote on Barl's body and rushed off to administer it whilst the rest of us stayed behind to assist the elderly Overgold by disposing of the corpse and scrubbing the worst of the blood from the ornate tiles. We trekked back to the Fentan household and Mazzy told us that it was too early to tell whether the antidote was working.

As she wished to remain by the bedside for the night, we threw down a couple of rugs in the corner and bedded down. I ended up sleeping with Saerileth on one side and Kelsey on the other and the proximity to Saerileth was simply electrifying. I lay as stiff as a board with every muscle tensed, hardly daring to breathe as the strange aroma of sweat, leather, metal and Saerileth filled my world. I found myself unable to relax for fear that I might brush against her as she slept and it was early into the morning - long after a caring Mazzy blew out the bedside candle - before the remorseless march of sleep overtook me.

[ 10-15-2005, 12:42 PM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]

[Sillara of the Tamari]

(too lazy to log sillara out, this is nethrin writing)
hey kids, who rules? shamrock rules! shamrock rules! shamrock rules!

[Marty4]

Alright! Nice update shamrock, good to see your game is more or less bug free (I wish I could say the same for mine )

Are you ever going to go back to the temple ruins and take on the black dragon? I found the scale armor to be very nice for an archer, but there isn't much of a reason for you to return roleplaying-wise. Oh well.

[shamrock_uk]

Originally posted by Marty4: Alright! Nice update shamrock, good to see your game is more or less bug free (I wish I could say the same for mine )

How far into your game are you Marty? If you can remember what you did so far then the killsword approach I used might work, but it would be a real drag if you're near the end! Basically these swords (killsw01) make you chunk monsters on one hit and give you decent MR so you can storm it through the game really quickly. I retraced my steps and quests, not bothering with loot or levelling up, then shadowkeepered everyones inventory back to what it was in the corrupt savegame. It took about 3 hours or so to get to the same point and another good hour or so to finish the Shadowkeepering.

So my game is actually 100% bug-free now because it's effectively a new one - the only thing that's mucked up are the dates - I got to the same point in my game at 4 days as opposed to 34 so trying to make that up at the mo. Trouble is all my quests pile together if I just fast-forward the clock so having to make it up a couple of days at a time.

Are you ever going to go back to the temple ruins and take on the black dragon? I found the scale armor to be very nice for an archer, but there isn't much of a reason for you to return roleplaying-wise. Oh well.

Well, I'm not going to give anything away, but I will say that I've taken notes for the next chapter and there is a very good roleplaying reason to return.

Edit: Ooh, Tsujatha books, eh?

[ 10-16-2005, 07:41 AM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]

[Marty4]

I think I'm a tad far for a even a fast run-through approach. As in, end of ToB far. I think I can get past the glitch that I've hit, I just need to work at it a bit.

I'm looking forward to whatever you've prepped for the next installment!