I’ve been neglecting my reports lately. I don’t know why but it seems that death makes you think a little more before you speak about some important things.

I was investigating this disappearance of a hobbit. He was supposed to be from a high level hero that was from the rebel republic. He came on a boat that was transporting Elvin wine to the city. The wine casks are long and odd shaped; you could almost put a couple of tower shields inside. Supposedly it makes the wine special that it touches that much wood or something. The ship was a small one master that the hobbit hired to take him here. It arrived two days prior to my investigation but was gone when I got there.

When muscle and I arrived the lightning brigade told us that no one would be allowed to investigate the area because the evidence could be damaged.
When they noticed it was I the lightning brigade gave us permission to investigate. One of the first things I noticed at the scene was an ornate barrel that was broken. I made sure that is was broken into not out of. Then I saw some footprints leading from where the boat was. It took two steps off then a shift to the side and then continued. I look from the barrels point of view and noticed that a boat was in line if something was shot off the boat at the barrel. As if the man stepped off the boat something was fired or thrown at him he stepped back and then continued on his way.

Muscle and I went to the boat and it was haunted. It was a one masted ship that had seen a lot of bad weather. Some severe cold weather damage was apparent everywhere. This struck me as odd because we are in a near tropic zone. There was no food no wine nothing on board that showed signs of life. There was one pile of bones that seemed to have some decaying flesh on them. I recognized them as humanoid femurs. Just then a transparent ghoul came into our realm and gave us a fright but seemed preoccupied by something. I vaguely saw a hobbit coming out of the ethereal realm and then it all went black. Muscle woke me up telling me I died and that there was indeed a hobbit appeared and it killed the ghoul just after it killed me. The haunting seemed to be quelled and the hobbits body faded back into the ethereal realm never to be seen again.

We returned to the scene of the crime to follow the footprints to a warehouse where there was a locked door. Muscle then did what muscle does best and she broke in the door. We checked briefly for traps and muscle entered. She narrowly dodged a poisoned dart and then I followed. There was a warehouse full of wine and nothing else. The clue trail seemed to end here maybe I can find more out later.

today i really blew it. heimdall curse me for a fool. in an effort to impress a mage school, (with the hopes of joining, to learn stronger magics to protect my companions. ) i embarked on a fools errand. i should have known not to trust them when they started asking for people as trade, and doing magical experiments. but after concluding my trades with them i accepted a quest to retrieve an item. our journey up the ferry was fairly uneventful. we fought some swamp beasts with the aid of some friendly local kobolds. we killed a blackspire excavation team. and with the use of the map managed to unearth a large wooden chest. we should have known better than to unearth something a mage school didnt want to retrieve themselves. there was a skull on top of it, it looked human or elven, our goblin, bit of a dullard, smashed it against the chest. i identified the chest, it seemed to be sentient, lawful evil, and had the ability to teleport, presumably itself and others. we carefullly carried it back to mithil grisodendin to the mages from stormwatcher tower. who gratefully accepted it, and cautioned us ( after the fact of course) not to unearth it or disturb the chest. the bastards used me as a patsy, and i foolishly brought my trusted friends along. i identified myself and my friend kerrowyn, and it seems we have been cursed with some sort of haunt. having failed in common sense, i shall attempt to redeem myself in vigilance, i shall do my best to protect my companions from this foul haunt. perhaps hiemdall will smile upon me if i pass this test, and grant me the means to rid my companions of this curse. though he may leave it on me as a measure of penance and a reminder to be vigilant against subtle threats as well as the more obvious kind.

The chest was neutral evil by the way, not lawful evil.

postybs js

New Type of Chronicles:

I have just started a new form of Historical Chronicling which I am calling the Photo Essay. If you have a digital camera (or phone with one on it) you can take pictures of the events that we do, note the basics of that quest, and then post the photos with captions stating what they were. An excellent way to do this is to just copy down the quests you do photos for from the white board and post that under the picture like this.

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Local Mercenary accompanied by Urukk the Ugly and Trasli, attack Dwarven Strongholds along Stonehammer Hills in attempts to rescue stolen hobbit comrades.

OR

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Elven Hero wielding Helionos and wearing Plate of Griffin House rescues Dwarven Hero and recovers Demon Slayer Sword.

A series of photos like this of an event would count as a chronicle for experience points adds.

Hello all FanWar Players:

I dredged up some old Forum Posts and I thought they might be of use to players since they have been asking about this stuff. Here it is.

Author Message Select
snx Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:41 am Post subject: Magic Items


hey all fanwar peole, i asked chris about this stuff and he said that you guys would know alot about it, so if you know anything about any of this pleez post it: korikon, oakenthen, merigrads works, neonorns crown, mirathulous, minimotos naginata and kumi bow, the Dark Gaurd, Lion Maw, the litch king swords, i also to find out what happened to gortakitak after celindil. Letesashi, Dagameties Flag o victory



Pangolin Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 10:55 am Post subject:


Isn't Lion Maw that biting shield that Tyson got after we killed the Boogeyman (along with the Chameleon Rod and Prismic Blade)? I think Cookies had it last.

Other than that, I don't know anything. Sorry.




Roscoe Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 2:15 pm Post subject:


I recall hearing about the kumi bow but I don't know where and if it was in game or not. About Dagameties I don't think I have the same one seeing how mine can't be used by warriors but the one I have is probably similair.




Game Master Chris Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 8:26 pm Post subject: Research done by the Hobbit Mafia


Hello Clay: (if you want this info ot be private just tell me)

The Historians and Informants have been working all week on this and have turned up very little on Merigrads works. The things they do know are as follows. Merigrad worked on many Magic items in a lost city known only as Merigoth the location of which is lost to time. Supposidly he worked on his items in a secret forge under Mt. Wizaste and was very reclusive. He is credited with making many of the Morganti weapons around today (along with the Dwarven Smith Hragnor). Merigrad supposidly made items called "Pathfinder" items that could locate things but you have no details yet. He supposidly made five such items, all of which were used by the Waning Moon Warriors in Amir during the second age. That's all they have dug up so far. Would you like them to keep looking up stuff on Merigrad's Works for next week or start on the next one?

Christopher




Pangolin Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:46 am Post subject:


Whatever Clay wants to research, I'll have Talys pitch in on hiring more historians and informants. I'm curious too!

By the way, (out of game) was Minimoto a PC? It sort of seemed like it from reading the history, but I could be wrong.




Jeff Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:45 am Post subject:


Sence were on the topic of magic items, Chris you know how i have that human Ranger Buenathor, who can weild Ebonafter(SP?) and is related to Broden, or something like that. I remember you saying something about there was a set of magic items that Ebonafter was a part of and that my dude can use thoughs magic items. I had Buanathor look for any information on thoughs magic items over his entire 25 year break, and i just wanted to know if he found any information on them.

-captian potato man




Game Master Chris Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:30 pm Post subject: Magic Items


Cora:

Taly's researches Merigrads works and finds out some interesting stuff. I will print it here and in the future if you want it to be private just tell me. Clay want's his info provate so I won't post what he finds out here anymore. It is up to you whether you are sharing your info.

Merigrad made five legendary Magic Items which were each used by members of the Waining Moon Warriors in Amir in the second age. There were six members of the Waining Moon Warriors and five of them used the legendary weapons, the sixth used a broadsword and shortsword, reportedly from Illionass that were powerful magic items as well.
The Five Magic items were called; Ravenwing (a Two Handed Longsword that supposidly held the spirit of a Dark Angel- but that is legend); Specter Shroud (a clock that allowed the user to go etherial at will like a specter), Sudden Thunder (a Large Sheild with awesome Storm Mage powers), Merigads Familiar (a Spell Staff that bit people?), and Merigrads Fire (a Ring, reportedly used in the creation of magic items). The items were used by a Human, Dwarf, Centaur, Elf, and Hobbit- respectively. The sixth member of the Waining Moon Warriors was a human as well. The Waining Moons where critical in most of the battles of the second age as was the use of their items which supposidly could lead them where-ever they wished to go. The items disappeared near the end of the second age, along with the Waining Moon Warriors who have not been heard of since.
Merigrad also made a great deal of Morganti Weapons. It was rumored that he was working to create a perfect Morganti weapon and most of the Morganti weapons we see today were his cast offs. He reportedly worked under Mt Wizaste but no one has been able to locate this supposide Dark Forge, nor have many wanted to, considering what Merigrad made. It is said taht Merigrad founded the city of Merigoth where he did much of his work, but the location of such a place is lost to time.

Christopher




Game Master Chris Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:04 pm Post subject: Illionass Legacy


Hello Jeff:

Well it just so happens that a Historian from Illionass is in town and his specialty is in the Legacy of Illionass, the items you are researching! He is a human, in his late 70's and has been displaced by the takeover of Menonas by Dagdeoth. He tells you the following.

There are seven of the Legacy items, Ebonafter being the most powerful of them all. Ebonafter was made my Merigrad in the second age and it was the last of the seven. The other six where made by Lotorock, one of Merigrads apprentices. They are as follows, in order of importance:

Ebonafter: the Morganti Longsword with Necro Elder Sorcery + other?
Auquaflame: a Dagger combining Storm and Flame Elder Sorcery
Lathen Tack: a Short Axe with viscious battle attacks
Necrolife: a Tower Shield that protected all others at the users expense
Jerthed: a Short Flail of deveasting power against undead
Eminence: a Long Spear critical in tactical attacks and charges
Northern Star: a Short Sword with Cartographer and other? skills.

This set of item gained added powers the more items from the set were being used by the same party. Thus if three of them were being used at the same time, each of the three gained additional abilities. They were used all through the second age in a great number of battles and have been lost and regained numerous times. The first to disappear for good was Northern Star which was given to the young prince Illion on his twelfth birthday. It had been predicted by the Oracles of the day that Illion would be a leader of great and powerful armies but it was not to be so. He reportedly was assassinated by Dagdeoth by a Morganti weapon at the age of seventeen. The Northern Star was never found. Eminence went missing near the end of the third age in many of the large scale battle of the day in the sleeping wastes and was never recovered. The rest have been kept by the Royalty of Menonas until recently. Jereth and Ebonafter were stollen from Menonas by the Dark City. Auquaflame is being kept by Lady Nonas, a Apprentice at Astengrad. Lathen Tack was being used to defend Menonas from Dagdeoth when it fell and it is still in the hands of the Illionass troops who retreated to Odilwatch. Necrolife is currently in Amir Ford being kept by a few of the surviving Royal Guard of Menonas who escaped.

That's it, enjoy.

Christopher

More History:

I found a little more history I thought I would post.

"Game Master Chris Posted: Tue Apr 11, 2006 10:32 am Post subject: Chronicle of Estorock Keep March Events by Christopher

Our character began their exploration of Estorock Keep and the surrounding area with scouting missions into the Blackspire Mountains which have been more active of late. Blackspire has been relatively quite since the third age but Keri Johanai takes nothing for granted and so regularly hires trackers and scouts to make sure that the Blackspire Pass remains open and that Sezolath (Watch Peak) is under control. The adventurers who took on this mission found bands of Goblins which they easily routed, gaining a fair number of throwing weapons in the process. The scouting mission would have been done but for an encounter on the way back in which they encountered a group of Orks who were well armed and lead by a very skinny dark cloaked figure who appeared to be lighting a fire a top of The Steping Stone (the major peak between Sezolath and the Blackspire Pass. On closer inspection this figure appeared to be Skeletal! The adventurers tried to sneak past as the orders were to get information not destroy the threat, but they were run down on the banks of the Dungarion and all but two died, slaughtered by the Orks. Luckily, the Estorock ferrieman picked up the bodies and healed those who had survived and helped to transport them back to Estorock Keep for Resurection. In town, many of the young Saumurai to be were busy gaining honor through duels and keeping the roads clear of thugs.
In the next few weeks several events unfolded for our heros. One of the most interesting was the appearance of a strange group of apparently Insane Cultists who began to become more and more common throughout the city, often wanting to measure people heads! The law enforcement got into a argument with Serpenton officials who claimed there was nothing illeagal about these Cultist and therefor they should be left alone. Keri Johanai disagreed but has had trouble implementing a task force to deal with the Cultists until the proper papers have been filed with the Sperpenton Depot. Meanwhile the Cult has grown, some saying that the group is building some kind of shrine in the cemetary though no one who goes looking for the shrine finds it (some ending up dead having to be Summoned by the Necromancers Guild in order to be Resurected). Certain of our heros have encountered a strange Black Ooze which instilled a great amount of fear in them but was not heard of since. As this Ooze was able to take a humanoid form and showed up around the time of the Cultist, some of our hero’s theorize that there is a connection between to the two.
While these events have been unfolding, our adventurers have learned to be cautious of the Serpenton Samurai who uses Sorikonian Helms to help with their Law Enforcement, forcing anyone who speaks with them to speak the truth only at all times, a dangerous situation not just for those with something to hide but also for those who do not get to ask the questions but must only answer them. Our heros received an entreaty from a small town along the Dugarion that was plauged by Sea Serpents! Because of their high honor, out poor heros where honor bound to take such a mission or risk being dishonored. They bravely defended the town long enough for one of their patron Goddesses to send aid in the form of more Sea Serpents who brought the massacre to a stalemate. Once again our heros were resurected and returned to daily life. Meanwhile, certain other adventurers were exploring a haunted Pagoda. The story of the haunted Pagoda falls to those who were there to describe, but what is common knowledge is that they discovered the tomb of a forgotten Shogun, lost to time, who had been promised something to keep his sleep peacefull but that the promise had not been kept. He was changing into a living dead, one of the dread Vampires that now control the fallen city of Celendil, The Dark City! Thanks to the quick thinking of our heros they fulfuilled the promise and the Shogun sleeps again, the spirits of his guards no longer haunting the Pagoda.
Shortly after this, a group of Nomad from Amir came through Estorock Keep carrying a Black Coffer which eminated evil. Due to the bad weather (a Hurricane hit that week, killing some of our heros) the Nomads had to camp inside the City. Keri Johanai brought them into the Palace Gardens where he could moniter the Coffer and keep it from hurting Civilians. As it turned out this was a very good idea because, as those who had been charged with it’s protection discovered, it had come alive and slowley killed and absorbed any life forms in it’s vacinity animating them into more undead to continue it’s growth. Soon the heros were overwhelmed with Apparitions! At this point Keri Johanai brought in his Elite Paladins and Samurai who Exorcised those that had been taken by the Coffer and kept a watch on it from a distance where it could not harm anyone else. The next day the Coffer was removed from the City, taken into the East where it will be quarentined.
Several of our intrepid heros who seem to have a knack for solving problems, discovered that Wu Senti and Wu Oblia as well as Solia Meni had died unexpectedly in an inn. Only Sori Enin has able to be resurected and she could not remember what had happened leading up to the deaths, having pulled a black stone when confronted with death. Our interped hero took on the mission with the knowledge that could they discover how the Samurai died they would be paid the sum of 150 gold pieces and another 150 if they could prove it was murder. The story of the clever thinking and deduction of the small band of heros and the strange virus their Herbalist identified is a story best told by those who lived it, but suffice it to say they discovered how these poor Samurai died and even who else was in the room with them though they could not tie these individuals to the crime and so only received the 150 as promised. They have not since done any further investigation though the Estorock Keep Guards now are keeping a tight watch on the other two Samurai who were in the room, Noe Cubai and Weehen Carak, two leader of rival Samurai Clans.
The end of the month of March has brought about the Festival of Minamoto, one of the great Samurai of Dsesnors past. It is a tradition during this time to play the game of Minimoto, a Chess variant that involves honor and a hexagon based board and pieces. These matches continue through mid May when the final matches are held on the pallace grounds, the winner of which gains a great deal of honor and is allowed to take the trial of the Fire Bird, hosted by the Sorikonian Martial Masters.
Much more has happened in Estorock Keep that is not common knowledge and so will not grace the pages of this article, you will have to discover them in the chronicles of those characters or ask them in person for all the other things they have discovered in this short time so far. And we have not begun to discuss the further elements of the world of Roekron, in Amir near the Dark City, in Pinicle or in Temnor. Such discussion could not fit in a article of this size, but suffice it to say that the wars continue, the Wizards Trade Order watches, and the Dark City expands, it Carakwaith and undead armies combined with those of Dagdeoth and Werek, weilder of the Morganti Longsword, Ebonafter, and no-one likes to think about what is going to happen next…


Christopher

There, I did that one for you guys, now you need to pick up where I left off and start posting your own stories so people know this stuff."

*OOG knowledge unless you were there*
I had the most spectacular experiance! I feel that I have truly become a blessed paladin of my Sun Lord!
I GOT TO SLAY UNDEAD! I cannot even begin to describe the feeling of holiness I got from ridding this earth of those abominations!
I feel however that i must make a small confession- I experianced a certain amount of trepidation to face my first undead, yet I came upon them so suddlenly that I had no time to be afraid. Myself, Gremnir, the lizard-man and the quick-fingered hobbit joined forces to investigate some mysterious dissapearances near a sewer drain.
I found through asking around that some other's had checked this area out prior- it was our detective friend. Strangely when I went looking for him I encountered a Oger carrying his equipment who informed me that in no uncertain terms were there vampires near that sewer drain- while holding up four fingers. Well obviously he was trying to give us a hint, but not being entirely sure what his connection to the Detective is, I was slightly unsure what to belive.
Upon arriving and decending into the drain we did in fact find several walking corpses- 4 in fact. I was rather unimpressed howeve, they seemed to be pitiful craven things, afraid of the light, afraid to come near me...they seemed to spend most of their time hidding in the realm of spirtis, which I can see into now thanks to Gremnir. These abominations seemed to prefer to hide and attack those who were unaware, I had to save the hobbit a few times. I know the Lizard-man took some wounds, yet strangely he required no healing, I attempted to heal him once and he gruffly brushed me off.....I must keep an eye on this, its was strange.
And speaking of strange I noticed somethign strange and wonderful...the more of the vampires I laid to rest the more powerful I seemed to become! Truly I am blessed to be given such awesome powers. I have a feeling however that these powers do not come from only The Shinning One, but perhaps those norse god's that my companions worship. Tis an odd thing to feel a power not of my Sun Lord interested in me, yet I do carry their blade in defense of my brothers.
On another odd note, we encountered a 5th vampire, farther back in the sewers- the hobbit lady noticed tracks as though something had been dragged. This vampire seemed to be much older, dressed in full plate which gremnir identified as of Dwarven make. Upon slaying this one, when we attempted to divest it of its armor to find more about it, it teleported away. Consternated we found its coffin, and took a sample of the soil to be identified, where we learned its of Svodlin...very strange to have undead from so far away....

(Note: This would actually be two posts but it is easier to just make it one. Also these are technically the private journal notes of my saurage character Malkavus, and though they are written here, he would not share any of the specific knowledge. I've posted them for people who aren't at the events to gain a, or another, perspective and a little more flavor on the happenings that are common knowledge.)

My oh my, how displeased Father would be. It has been well over a Month since I've updated my core journal. Been keeping everything in my secondary and tertiary notes. Displeased indeed. Oh well at least it is being done. I shall begin with the events that occurred on the third day of the month of Junus, as dated in the Primary Global Dating System that Father taught Ventrus and I.

3, Junus

In an attempt to gain further knowledge about this section of the world I have begun a number of projects, The preservation of knowledge should be the utmost goal of any life form. So far the Creature Compendium (CC). The Animal Compendium (AC). The Journal for the Understanding and Preservation of Arcanum and Artifacts (JUPAA). And the Journal for Technological Advancement (JTA). I will henceforth use these as references in my daily journals to ensure that information is kept organized.

I began today with my brother Ventrus. It was our intention to spend the day in some form of exploration or another. To that regard we were fairly successful. Early on, say about mid morning or so, we encountered a dwarf (CC species: 01) by the name of Dural. He seemed to be an investigator of sorts and had a whole adventuring party that he partied with. He seemed happy to let us follow him about for a bit. I was excited as this was my first opportunity to closely study something for my compendium. Of note, he carried a strange instrument with him that he called a Hand Ballistae (JTA item: 01) and he had an animal companion, an Owl (AC species: 01). We quickly met up with his party and were off out the gates of city before I really knew what was going on. Thankfully I had a bit of time to get a good look at a number of the party members, though the only name I caught was "Muscle". There was a Centaur (CC species: 02), two Potrang's (CC species: 03) (one of which is the afore mentioned "Muscle"), a Cobben (CC species: 04) and later a Dolynx (CC species: 06). To note, I am under the impression that the Dwarf, Dural, has the ability to transform into an Ogre (CC species: 05). Whether this is innate in Dural himself, and aspect of his species, or due to some form of Arcanum or Artifact is still under investigation. On to the adventures of the day. We were on a mission to reach a city by the name of Thunderwall, though for what reason I have no idea. Of note, Dural seemed to have some sort of fear of leaving the town even though he felt it very important to leave the town. Muscle fixed this though by bashing him upside the head and knocking him unconscious, the dragging him outside the gates. Once outside and out of seeing distance of the town he was revived at which point he became unnerved and and wished to regain the town but did not know where it was. Muscle pointed him in the direction of Thunderwall (or what I believed to be the direction of Thunderwall) and said to go that way. Dural obliged. The reactions of the dwarf and the apparent connection between Muscle and Dural were most interesting to watch. I wonder if there is something deeper that I don't know about. Oh well, time to continue on. As we moved north from the town we encountered a group of creatures that I was told were called Orc (CC species: 07). As Ventrus and I hung back, we watched the fray as the party tore into these "ork"s, killing all but one. This one was left off to the side, which granted me the opportunity to study a living specimen. I felt a bit of pity for them, but such is the nature of the world. We progressed further north and encountered a group of lizard like people. They were similar in appearance to Ventrus and I but were smaller and apparently not nearly as intelligent. I lacked the opportunity to study them further though, as the party decided to find a way around them. I did learn though that they are called Kobold (CC species: 0. We continued on and met a party of Dwarven "Heroes". We passed them by without any incident. I once again lacked the time to properly study them. Thankfully I have already gleaned much information from the dwarf that is present. We then met a group of Ogre (CC species: 05) After a proper show of power (namely the using of much fire) we dealt with the ogre's. As I was a bit distracted contemplating the nature of the cobben's "Spirit Item" when these events occurred I cannot speak to the specifics. Very shortly after word we encountered a Centaur (CC species: 02) and an Elf (CC species: 09). I "got a bad vibe" as the saying goes. Dural and Muscle went off with these two new comers. And I progressed further into the mountains with the other potrang (CC species: 03) and the centaur (CC species: 02). Soon after the rest of the group caught up to us and we decided to make camp for the night. I believe we were waiting for Dural and Muscle to return but I was unsure. I felt that it would be a good time to study the physical nature of the party members and so did so. I lost track of time, but at some point in time Dural's Owl flew into the camp screeching. Some of the party members saw this as a sign to return whence we came, others decided to press on to Thunderwall. Ventrus and I thought it best that we follow the former. Namely for me because they had the Cobben (CC species: 04) with them. That is where this adventure ends.

Additional Notes: The cobben (CC species: 04) claims that his "Spirit Item" is a natural occurance for all of his species. It appears that at birth each member of the race gains one and what it is, and what abilities it has are completely random. It also seems that as the cobben (CC species: 04) grows stronger in skill and wisdom, their spirit item also grows stronger. This raises many questions. He stated that the item is tied into his very soul. This would explain how he is able to summon it, and recall it, at will. But the questions lie in the very nature of the item itself. What would happen if it was struck with a spell of unforging? What if it was sealed in silver when the cobben (CC species: 04) tried to recall it. Is there a way to artificially reproduce the effect in a non member of the species? I have heard that some thieves have the ability to keep items with them when they leave their body. Must test some of these theories if I get a chance. Especially the unforging. I wonder if, as unforging unmakes enchantments, thereby releasing the soul within, it will separate that part of the soul from the main body, or just destroy that part of the soul. Can a soul be pulled apart into multiple pieces? I am beginning to digress so I will leave my notes here for now and perhaps pick up this line of thought later.


25, Junus

Not much to report in over notes. The past few weeks have been spent updating my Animal Compendium while trying to scrounge enough silver that Ventrus and I can continue to eat. I have not had time to add anything of a non mundane nature to any of my compendiums. Thankfully I've bought some time to make today an exploratory one. Sadly Ventrus will have to remain behind today to earn money. On to the active notes of today.

Father would be proud. Today I journey to the fabled "Grey Isles" on a great three masted ship. I journey again with Muscle and now a new companion, a hobbit (CC species: 10). There were others with me but none really worth mentioning, though I did manage to get a silver shield from one of them. Its weight was incredible, thankfully I was not trying to use any weapons with it. On second thought, there was a mutant bat thing among them. It deserves further study. Though my skills are a bit weak to maximize the benefit of this trip, I will still attempt to gain all the knowledge I can. I have outfitted myself with as many things useful as I could think of. Long extra rope, torches, a dozen alchemical vials, and plenty of parchment and ink among other things. At first look the hobbit (CC species: 10) seemed most disagreeable. He was sickly and kept himself shrouded. As much as I wished to study his ailment, I feared catching it myself. He also seemed.... of a darker nature, not kind at all, not that it matters much in the end. I am happy to say though that as I was around him more I found him to be much more agreeable and... friendly? Perhaps that is not the word, but it is unimportant. As we sailed out I began to notice behavioral quirks in the hobbit (CC species: 10). I began to watch him much more closely. On our way to the isles we met up with an elven trade ship, but lacked the funds to trade in the things they were selling. Though I would gladly have given whatever I had, or even a companion, to acquire some of the Artifacts they were selling. At least there they would have provided a purpose other than pure annoyance to me. Oh well, I doubt the elves would have found such a deal equitable. As we came close to he isles a stray fog bank drifted across the deck of the ship. In a near instantaneous moment the ship was surrounded by swimming enemies. I believe they were merfolk (CC species: 11). In any case they attacked us. Thankfully the warriors and fighters among us were able to dispatch them quickly. Sadly no specimens were recovered for study. Shortly after that something very strange happened. Suddenly there were several mages on the ship, and another, empty, ship next to ours. They appeared instantaneously, and were demanding release of the ship to them. I personally was unaware of any arcana allowing them to appear there. Due to the moving of ships, I doubt it was a common teleport. My next guess would have to be something in the corrupted magical nature of the isles themselves. Regardless, a fight broke out and we were able to defeat the mages (Note: I am continually surprised at the violent nature of the world around me. There was nothing of this in fathers libraries. perhaps this is why he sent Ventrus and I out to find our own way. How naive I've been. No more.) Once again, not enough time to collect proper data. This time we crashed on what appeared to be a rock. The captain went down below to take a look, and a good thing for him. After he went down spirits appeared. They seemed to be of the classification of "Haunt." Reenacting some tragedy that happened to them. Then they attacked. I had not really been glad of that silver shield before. Now it was my saving grace. It allowed me to jump ship to the small bit of mainland where Muscle and the Hobbit had managed to escape to. There I hunkered down while Muscle dealt with any spirits who strayed our way. I would like to note that at this point I have noticed that the Hobbit is not what he appears to be. I have too little data at this point to make any full hypothesis. After this, a few things happen in rapid succession. The bat mutant thing pops up near us dead. Unsure of how it happened but I made sure to get a vial of blood samples and a vial of skin and hair samples, will keep these cooled in a bucket of sea water to keep the samples viable. then Muscle broke open a chest of which origin I have no idea. There were many shards of things, mixed potions and a few scrolls we managed to salvage. Muscle the Hobbit and I split up the scrolls between us and I filled the other ten vials full of the mixed potions. Will experiment with these later. Perhaps on some unsuspecting inn patrons so that I can get objective data. Will keep these with the blood samples. And finally we were attacked by large land based beastie creatures I was later told were called Wurms or Worms (CC species: 12). It was a long and arduous fight to get them off the ship so that we could move away from the isle. I tasted the bitterness of death for the first time in that fight. I must say though that if there were not such an inherent risk involved I would like to study the exact effect of dieing more. (Note to self: If ever presented with the opportunity to study something "PD"ing, don't pass it up!) From there we sailed home. The return trip was rather uneventful. But it did provide me time to reflect on the happenings of this morning.

Later the same day,

An exploratory mission is leaving soon and I have decided to join them. The group is basically the same as before, and so I cannot pass up this opportunity to study the Hobbit further. We went to the swamps east of town. While we explored the swamp I think I finally landed on exactly what the hobbit is, sort of. He appears to be some sort of vampire (CC species: 13). The effect is not perfect though. He lacks the aversion to silver and his physical features are not as distorted. Conversely he does appear to by highly affected by sunlight and shows a need to feed. This would explain many things about his behavior and aversion to others. He seems to have an affinity with Muscle though, and has no aversion to me. I vaguely remember him saying something about bad blood, though I don't know if he was referring to something figurative or literal. In either case it gives me a chance to further study him. If only I could find a way to get some samples from him and experiment with them. Oh well, I'm confident that the opportunity will arise at some point. Within the swamp itself we discovered some kind of beast that I am currently naming "Swamp Beast" (CC species: 14) for lack of a better term. It appears that some of our companions were downed in this fight. Not surprising, considering that the beast's teeth were sharp enough to go through most armor and it's bite seemed to have some kind of poisoning effect. Without close inspection I could not tell whether it was a venomous effect, a bacterial effect, or something else. Nor was I able to closely study the effect on the host body. A near failure to acquire data here. In an attempt to acquire this missing data some of the party decided to use our fallen comrades as bait (why not, they were not doing anything else). This was very effective and I had the opportunity to study their attacking and eating habits in action. After a little while we prepared to leave when we realized that we left a companion behind. I (under some protest) was sent with others to bring him back. No reason to leave him behind. The two who came with me could fly and so came in and lifted out the body. It seems I served no purpose in being there, so why was I sent? I cannot say. As I turned to return to my companions a figure appeared in front of me and challenged me to Duel. An interesting effect these duels. It seems that the challenger positions himself in such a way that it renders the other party incapable of escape. I must study this effect later, perhaps there is a way to make it ineffectual... Regardless, my calls for aid fell on deaf ears, it appears that my companions were busy with some goings on of their own. This enemy combatant cut me down with a single blow. Once again I tasted the bitterness of death. At least, I believe, I am beginning to gain a better understanding of what death means. In time I felt it was necessary to leave my mortal shell behind and wander the spectral paths. I awoke later that evening in the guild of mages surrounded by Muscle and the Hobbit. Perhaps they are even better companions than I had guessed.

Addendum notes: The Hobbit needs to be studied further while he is still around. He appears to be only partially undead and I wonder how this is even possible. Must gain a deeper understanding of this.
Do not forget to run full tests on the potion mixtures sometime in the near future.

Chronicle:

Excellent chronicling Doug. I don't know how many Ranks in Read/Write etc. you have so it is hard to gauge the amount of exp gained from this post, but I would say at least 2. As a note, the boat stopped on the shore to salvage a sunken ship, not because your boat crashed their. But if that is what your character thought was happening, that is fine, just wanted to clarify.

Christopher

Cool, I've got 3 lvls in read write and 2 in historian. I heard somebody say something about crashing on a rock, and thought they were talking about us. Oh well thats what Malkavus remembers.

Junior and Advanced League Chronicle (from the end of May- please note that it was not the Keep of Hragnor that was retaken, but a keep in the Stonehammer hills).

"Player: Quinn Morgan (age 9.5)
Character: Nniuq Nagrom, Paladin (level 6)
Dictated to Mountain Cat Scribe

``Retaking the Keep''


It was a warm day in Spring when we set out through the Stonehammar
Hills to retake the Keep of Hragnor. We were an army from Forgen and
when we arrived there were four ogres, eight orcs and one troll
wandering around outside the keep. The door was broken, so we went
inside and were followed by the ogres, the orcs and the troll.

I am Nniuq Nagrom, a combat medic. An ogre attacked me and I do not know
how long I lay there, unconscious. Then the TROLL gave me enough
strength so I could wrap up my wounds. It surprised me that the troll
would help me because trolls usually do not heal others.

Then I healed as many people as I could. I was trying to help a hobbit
life mage, when unfortunately an arrow shot me in the back. Then the
troll healed me a second time! The troll continued to fight until he
defeated all the ogres and orcs by throwing boulders at them. At the end
of the battle, he ate most of the orcs but left the ogres.

We thought the troll might have been enchanted, so he was killed and we
brought him back to Forgen. We knew we could bring him back to life if
he turned out to be a king or a prince. The Storm mage was able to
identify his bones and it turned out he was just a regular troll, just
past his maturity rate. He might have been raised by a Paladin which I
am training to be.

With the help of this mysterious troll, the army from Forgen succeeded
in retaking the keep."

Werek and the Skull Demon:

In the evening light the two main armies formed up, Lord Longrass and his son Peter, and Werek, his body Guard with the infamous Shang Gou hook swords, and his best Urukai division. As the passed the camps of the Rebel republics, many of the rebel troops looked as though they were ready to join Longrass in the attack, but once they was Wereks banner at the lead, their was stony silence and even drawing of blades. Longrass urged the Rebels to join with them to defeat the Skull Demon but none of the troops of the Rebels would do so, Keri Yi Ti going so far as to say that any who rode with the Vampires begotten would be Dishonored. Werek also refused to ask the Rebels to join, instead continuing to brood in silence, his newly acquired flaming short sword already drawn and Ebonafter slung over his back.
They reached the valley of Reedmen by midnight. They had to pull back a bit and make camp on the Menonass plataue out of rang of the strange Magical canceling effect so they could plan with full use of their skills and mages. Unfortunately, they did not have long. Soon, the effect began to move towards them, and they knew they must act immediately. Werek rose and order everyone to form up for an attack. When Longrass asked what the plan was, is was then that Werek rage seemed to boil over. He seemed to consider for a moment and then said, "Lord Longrass, you are to take you division, and attack in full force against this foe. I want to see what I am up against." Longrass is said to have drawn his sword and shook with rage, but in the end, he formed up with his son and best warriors and led the attack in full force, without any of Wereks division or Werek himself. It was a slaughter of epic proportions. The rode off into the dark and though they outnumbered the foe 20 to 1, the undead were unstoppable, and the more they pressed the attack the more they were cut down and slain. Longrass engaged the Skull Demon itself but with no means to harm it is ignored him for a while and then promptly skewered him on it's bone sword several times without so much as a backward glance. Longrass used Armor Wound at first, but soon ran out and finally was struck though the chest, slain with a single blow, Peter as well.
It is said that at this point something in Werek snapped. He had been watching in mute contempt the carnage below and many of his troops laughed at the demise of the "pathetic humans" but as Longrass fell he suddenly rose to his feet and drew Ebonafter staring at it long and hard as if looking for his reflecting in it's black empty sheen.
"All wrong." He said, "It is all wrong." And then to his troops, "Form up! We take the beast now. Defensive formation only. You cannot harm them, any of them, as you have seen. So don't bother trying. Parry, Brace, Disarm, and keep me from the others while I kill the beast. Move now!" He seemed suddenly to be in a great rush, "And may we be remembered as something great!"
Wereks division moved in with the grace and skill of an elite task force. The undead attacked, but instead of attacking back, his troops did as they were told and simply negated the attacks, defending fiercely, and keeping the undead off Wereks back while he approach the Skull Demon duel wielding Ebonafter and the Dragon Tallon. Ebonafter seemed to to have gone dim, but there was still fear in it, and Werek seemed to think it still might work against this foe, and began the dance. Werek made the first attack and would have Morganti slayed the thing were it not for it Avoiding the attack! Werek seemed deeply troubled by this new development but set in to fight. Werek delivered several more blows that wounded the best with the Dragon Tallon, but it was plain the thing was Regenerating it. Then werek took the Skull Demons sword across the chest and Avoided the slay but took a horrendous wound that left blood across his entire body. He seemed to staggar from the damage but kept his feet. The wound would not heal, but Werek continued.
THe battle lasted almost twenty minutes it is said. Wereks division kept the other beast at bay while Werek continued to fight the beast. He landed at least one Morganti blow to the best and even a Morganti Hack to the creatures face, which didn't seem to Regenerate. This seemed to only infuriate the thing, who had already been pummeling Werek, who only remained in the fight due to two Leg Endures, and a Body Endure. The beast tried a savage Mana drain that is uncertain of it power, though it is said that many of the Urukai NEAR Werek at the time, lost a mana! His Silver armor saved him, and he fought on. And then, he Endured his left arm. He is said to have dropped Ebonafter at this point, and taken Dragon Tallon only in his right. The beast brought it's sword in on him and he struck it upwards with the blade as it chopped his head clean from his body. The sword stuck in the beast side, and though it bled profusely, it is said to have yanked the weapon out and thrust it down the severed neck of Werek and left it there, burning.
The Urukai pulled out as best they could, and only half of them returned, along with only three of Longrasses troops.

Fall of the Skull Demon:

I cannot post this in detail, hopefully someone will do so in character, though so many characters were destroyed in this battle I do not know that there is anyone left to tell the story...

Two days ago, a small group of young adventurers (read Junior League) went into the the VaNenen forest and recovered some ancient, first age Elder Sorcery objects. The objects create a field that holds things out when positioned geometically. The found 4 of them and put them around Randwin to protect it. This saved Randwin!

All the rebels forces outside Menonass gathered there to protect Randwin. The Magic Null-Field did pass through the elder sorcery object shield, but apparently it didn't let the Skull Demon or it's minons in. So, they decided to launch a counter attack. The set up to rush the demon, with ALL the rebel troops, who would distract the Rorges and other undead to the party could deal with the Demon. To do this, they took the Pheonix dagger from Pebbles. Just before they headed out they met Wereks Bodyguard outside the feild. He carried The Dragon Tallon. He gave it too them and then left. The attacked the Demon and in a long bloody battle managed to kill all it's respawns though 4 PC died and over 50% of the best of the best of the rebel republic forces from all over died as well (many due to the fact that an careless hero THREW the Pheonix dagger at the Demon, who promptly picked it up and started massacring with it!). The did manage to disarm the thing and finally kill it completely. The sword, it turns out, is called Soulbane, and has many abilities, chief of which is the fact that anyone killed by it gains the weilders curses permanently! As the puzzled over this, they began to realize that players who had died in the battle could not be resurrected because the Null-Field is apparenly a curse on the Skull Demon and now, everyone it has killed has this curse. The tried to consolidate the bodies to reduce the effect and over the course of the evening discovered that it was not the bodies that created the effect, something else was going on. Finally, around midnight they discovered that the spirits were all missing from the bodies, though the sword seems to make that impossible. By the next morning (too late) they discovered that the spirits had all become Haunts (this being likely a second curse on the Skull Demon). Luckily, the DID have the presence of mind to put the Skull Demons remains in the field created by the 4 elder sorcery objects and so when it turned into a Haunt, it is still contained. However, all the rest are now floating around with 100-200 foot radius Null Feilds moving with them! The effect of the Null Field is now no longer limited to that region but is becoming like a random occurance all througout the region as these Haunts now seem free to roam. No one can see these Haunts, if Haunts they be, as all have the Null-Feild, and no one seems to be able to do anything about them, for the same reason. As Haunts they are like to respawn indefinitly, unless "solved" which seems unlikely given that they cannot be seen, heard, or spoken too!
Needless to say this has caused a great deal of havok across Roekron! People are speaking of it all across the land with murmors of awe and terror. All across the north, peoples magic fails suddenly and they run screaming in all directions. Shrines, suddenly fade, and circles of protection suddenly collapse. Should one of these Haunts decide to enter a town, nothing can stand in its way to anyones knowledge and the devistation could be huge. Currently (and this is the only positive so far) no one has actually been attacked by a Haunt of this type, so perhaps, they are non-combative or at least not interested in fighting yet.
A few other important notes. The Bodyguard of Werek showed up at Menonass and is following Lady Nonas around now, apparenly guarding her! She also has TWO Ebonafters now!
The Phoenix Dagger and Dragon Talon were returned to pebbles, as Nenieve, Elias, Acabani, and [James Paladin], all were killed by the Skull Demon and now apparently are Haunts with the Null-Field.


More later, and I hope those at the battle get to tell a blow by blow, it was a wicked battle and a great Summer Season Finale! Wow!

Christopher

as written by ariland , guild vassal to elias.
after consulting with the leaders of the various republic troops. my lord and his party decided on a full frontal assault. putting all their eggs in one basket. such decisions are a bit over my head, but i imagine they felt it was their best chance at defeating the demon. as we set out i noticed an odd sort of calm pervade my liege, as if he knew the role he was to play in this, and accepted it. he approached the battle as if he knew it would be his last. i cannot pretend to know his mind in this, even i who have studied under him, and know the way of the kensai. even to me this sort of serenity and resolve is source of both envy and awe. as our party made to leave randwin a large armoured figure awaited us at the door, anticipating a fight i loosed my blade, drawing the tsuba an inch clear of my sword in preparation for a sudden strike. i let the blade slide back into place as i noticed my master had not touched hand to sword, and rather seemed to recognize the figure. it carried two fearsome shang gou hook sword, and a flaming short sword. my lord approached alone through the barrier around randwin, and spoke to the figure, i caught the works werek, avange, and a few others, im not sure precisely for what reason, but the figure gave the flaming sword to elias, presumably to fight the demon. as the battle began the republics best and brightest engaged the demons minions, a pair of large undead armoured beasts of some kind, i was warned that magic would not work on them, only healing them, much in the manner of rourges, and that nothing else could harm them either. those that engaged them used delaying tactics, brace and armor wound and the like, keeping their attention focused away from defending their master. darting ahead of the party, my lord challenged the creature to a duel, which it avoided. he challenged it again and again, clearly not wanting to face a kensai in his element. closing he struck the demon a pair of swift blows, in quick succesion, one to the arm and one to the side, the short flaming sword biting deep and searing the things flesh. the demon retalliated with a mighty slash, which was deflected by a well timed parry with a dueling katana. the flaming blade darted forth again, seeking to peirce the demons heart, but the demon deflected the blow with its massive bone-sword. at this point i noticed something terribly wrong, the short sword. while fearsome in his hands, saw relatively unfamiliar. the strikes were neither as quick nor as sure as those i have seen him make time and again with his dueling blades. the demon wheeled back and slashed furiously, opening a terrible and mortal wound to elias's chest, nearly splitting him in half. on the verge of death a soft of mad fury filled elias. his blows rained like a summer monsoon. he spun and twisted in the dance of steel, fire streaming behind the blade in great arcs. myself coulnt follow the blur of steel, but i saw the demon bodily hacked limb from limb. torso pouring out blood in gouts, my lord handed me his weapons, to carry back to his family. he gave a stiff bow, effort lining his face, and looked me in the eyes. "my sister, you must look after her. i feel my time has come" i strained to hear his words over the din of battle. no sooner had the words left his lips than the light left his eyes and he fell slumped to the earth. and then the demons body began to pull itself together........