Jessie is a clerical scholar of Pelor, who is known for long research missions in unusual areas. She has been absent for six months now and her superiors have decided to clean out her quarters at the temple in Dragon’s Den due to a pressing need for space. They have found a fragment of a map and some research notes of hers. All the information leads them to believe she has gone looking for the Tome of the Ancient Suns, a powerful religious artifact. They have provided copies of the information for use by the champions. The map is for an area outside the ruined town of Jessamyne on planet 9 of Terra 13. The notes include mention of unusual undead and a guardian Sun Blade. The superiors of the temple have asked the champions to seek out this place and find Jessie and the artifact. Who will accept the mission? |
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The teams assembled at the Dragons Den Temple of Pelor and spoke with the superiors of the order. They were provided with some rather cryptic notes and a map of the area around Jessamyne. Several teams noted the large distance from the stable myst route in Gan Dong and the seasonally open myst route in Jessamyne (marked as Sangsa on the map) and conjectured that it would take a person walking most of five months to just cover the distance. (Jessie herself later confirmed that this, plus the floods in Yeonhwa, where she spent much of another month ministering to the victims, had taken all of the time since her departure from Dragon's Den.)
Electing to shortcut straight to Jessamyne the teams arrived near the home of Fredrick of Pelor, which they found much like the drawing in the notes provided to them. Several teams took the direct approach and walked right up to the place. Others headed to nearby cottages to see if the locals could provide any further information on the situation and what they might find inside the house. Lisonamit and his dire bear Whiskers took directly to the air to scope out the house from above.
By the end of the day the teams had managed to find Jessie, the Tome of the Ancient Suns and the Guardian Sun Blade. They also explored all parts of the rather eccentrically built house, gradually piecing together that the house was haunted by a cluster of Ghost Beholders. They managed to free several of the town's children from their stone prisons (although they did leave two still inside for some reason). One hopes they will come back to rebuild the front door and free the remaining children at some point.
- Swarm (Novice)
Player: Mark Jerard
Kristoliana (Female Human Aranea Master of Flies 15) was one of the teams who headed to a local cottage where she encountered Marcy (age 6) and heard that a nice lady (matching Jessie's description) had been in town just last night and had headed into the house earlier in the day. Further discussions with Marcy's mother yielded clues to possible creatures haunting the house (mentions of "statues" of local teens glimpsed inside, disappearances of children and strange moans heard issuing from the house). She used her form changing ability to explore the first floor study and protect the champions from the ghosts by surrounding the stairs with her swarm form.
Swarm survives to adventure again.
- Raging Bull (Novice)
Player: Jonathan Sternfeld
Grynak Beleroth of the Violent Spirit (Male Minotaur, Minotaur 8 / Barbarian 7) headed straight for one of the front doors which he noticed was partially open and stuck. He was the first to glimpse a stone figure of a young teenage boy just inside the door. He quickly opened one of the rather massive doors and did much scouting on the grand floor and staircase. He was also the first to notice something was amiss in the place when his sensitive nose detected an odor of the grave and he spotted the ray from a manifested Ghost Beholder through a hole in the ceiling. However, his prowess of both axe and javelin was only once tested against the elusive ghosts, much to his regret.
Raging Bull survives to adventure again.
- Darkstar (Novice)
Player: Jan Kuhlmann
Phemis (Male Elf Rogue 5 / Sorcerer 6 / Arcane Trickster 4) joined Swarm in gathering information from the local population, including the fact that most adults were quite afraid of the house. He was quite helpful in waking Grynak and Widdle when they each fell pray to rays of sleep from the Ghost Beholders. He also journeyed to the Ethereal Plane in an attempt to fight them, but alas was bounced back to the Material Plane by the glance from their antimagic central eyes.
Darkstar survives to adventure again.
- Twig (Epic)
Player: Vanessa Wilcox-Suarez
Lisonamit's (Male Wood Elf Druid 21) unconventional exploration methods and ease of flight stood him in good stead as he flew through all of the upstairs rooms and found several potions in a bedroom. He quickly claimed the much sought after Tome of the Ancient Suns when finally the storage chamber was opened. Fortunate for him his natural affinity was much aligned with the former owner and he was not burned by its very touch.
Twig survives to adventure again.
- Mithril Chef (Novice)
Player: Wayne Edie
Criipt (Male Human Psychic Warrior 17) was apparently in a destructive mood for this adventure. His first action was to demolish the stuck side of the front doors. Dismissing the grand first floor as of no interest to him he quickly climbed the large staircase and explored the room and hall of the second floor. He was stymied by the password locked Forbiddance field on the storage chamber but managed to do some redecorating of the walls and floor of nearby areas in his attempts to gain access. All his troubles only gained him two painful jolts from the field. He did have a rather interesting discussion with the Guardian Sun Blade inside the chamber when he wielded it with only the power of his mind. He carried the blade back to the temple of Pelor in Dragon's Den and relinquished it with some dismay, heartened only by the thought of the quickly pocketed necklace collection from the storage chamber walls.
Mithril Chef survives to adventure again.
- Ghost Wind (Master)
Player: Christopher J. Ford
Ghost Wind assembled with a larger than normal force. Illiri (Human
Female Sorcerer 17), Kentrow (Human Male Ranger 4 / Rogue 3 / Psion
3), Kenter (Human Male Sorcerer 6 / Fighter 1), Ja'Nek (Human Male
Cleric 6 / Psion 1), Melee (Dwarf Fighter 5), Thomas (Human Male Ranger
5), Elizabeth (Human Female Sorcerer 5), Lyrin (Human Male Bard 12),
and Khevak (Halfling Male Psion 5) appeared with several new mages
in tow: Albert (Male Human Wizard 1), Isaac (Male Human Wizard 1),
Riccardo (Male Human Wizard 1). They did exterior reconnaissance at
ground level and found the only other way into the unusual home was
through a locked study window. The lock was of course no problem for
the intrepid Illiri. The interesting mystery of the sleeping form
on the floor surrounded by books was too great a lure to resist in
any case. Upon awakening the form was revealed to be the missing Jessie.
After some discussion Jessie was surprised to find herself the object
of such a search but seemed happy for the assistance. Melee and the
mages worked on cleaning up the library while Illiri was quickly pointed
in the direction of the artifacts. They rode about in style in the
provided globe of force to keep them safe from the ghosts (and one
suspects to keep the errant Jessie close by). Jessie's well placed
incantations removed the Forbiddance field in short order allowing
the teams to recover the Tome of the Ancient Suns and the Guardian
Sun Blade and thus fulfill their missions. The team did seem to slip
up on one thing though. On the trip back through the portal they lost
Riccardo and the books from the library. Not to fear though. Riccardo
was seen the next day at his usual haunts. Whatever did happen to
those books? (Player Information: Ghost Wind
has added a well stocked section to their Guild's library.)
Ghost Wind survives to adventure again.
- Team Name? (Novice)
Player: Julia McGinnis
Widdle Lentach (Female Gnome Druid 15) was a new addition to the ranks of the champions. She had a bit of trouble keeping up due to her small stature and was a bit overwhelmed by the grand scale of the house but valiantly tried to lend a hand just the same. She was unfortunately struck by a ray of sleep early on in the adventure and spent much of the time napping. Once awoken by Phemis she decided that the natural world was much more to her liking and she retreated to the calming presence of the forest just outside of town.
Team Name? survives to adventure again.
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