After being targeted by an organisation called Section, the Troupe discovers their large underground base hidden beneath Beregost. They invade the base and face heavy resistance, and Skeezer is killed. The Troupe recruits the Invoker, Dynaheir, to replace him, and prepares for a second assault on the base.
21 Eleasias 1368
There’s a huge base hidden below this town. We had descended the depths but it seemed to keep on going. We learned nothing of why they were hunting us, only that some are followers of Helm. Why followers of the Lord of War would want us dead is beyond my understanding.
After Skeezer’s resurrection Dynaheir agreed to join us in our return to this mysterious base. She tests the balance of Gibbet, her new weapon, as we leave the Song of the Morning. Before we rest, we want to see if anyone in Beregost can help us identify the weapons and armour we found in Section’s armoury.
Taerom is unable to help us, though he continues to show interest in buying our Ankheg shells.
We find the merchant, Magnus, in the south of Beregost as usual. He also cannot help us identify our new equipment, but he’s eager to purchase our winter wolf pelts from us.
Magnus: Aye ye ‘ave a winter wolf pelt. Here is a fair price for you. A pleasure doing business with ye.
He gives us 450 gold for each of our winter wolf pelts.
We go to Feldepost’s Inn, and the innkeeper there can’t help us either. I’ll have to rely on the Weave to learn about these items. We get ourselves a nice room for the night.
During the night I have more dreams. We attempt to infiltrate Section again, but they are ready for us. I see ourselves die over and over.
Before we leave the inn, I use some spells to Identify our new equipment. Imoen is happy to learn we have more Arrows of Biting for her quiver.
The throwing axe has a stronger enchant on it than the axes usually wielded by the dwarven Section operatives. Breagar gives it a test, but he says the axe he has now is more than adequate.
Gameplay Note
For some reason, Breagar’s Strength bonus is negated when equipping the +3 axe, which effectively makes both throwing axes have the same damage and THAC0.
The halberd is another blade that belonged to the minotaur Suryris. It is a powerful weapon, but none of us have the skill to use it in battle.
The plate mail provides protection from fire, but it can only be equipped by a truly devoted warrior. As a blacksmith, even Breagar isn’t devoted enough to bear this armour.
I tell the others of my dreams, and suggest that we should be prepared before we go back to Section. High Hedge is close by, we could probably convince Thalantyr to sell us a few magic items. Imoen studies her book as we leave Feldepost’s and begin the journey west.
22 Eleasias 1368
We travel under the cover of night to get to High Hedge. It isn’t until we get close that Breagar realises where we are.
Breagar: A High Mage is said to have settled here. Pah.
He spits on the ground.
Breagar: If you ask me, we should take a big detour around that hut.
Dynaheir: You are too strict, Breagar. Magic is a useful and powerful ally.
Breagar: This axe here is too, but it is not going to hit my face the first moment I was not paying attention! Buzzurk!
I understand why he thinks that way. His missing hand is a testament to the dangers of meddling with powerful magics. And Thalantyr sees most magic as beneath him.
We run into the Peddler here, and he uses the opportunity to offer us his wares.
The Peddler: What can I do for you today?
He doesn’t have much that interests us, so we decide to save our coin for Thalantyr. We bid him farewell and are on our way.
Outside High Hedge we run into an elf carrying a long bow. I try and talk to him, but he has no interest in someone wearing the robes of an orc.
Kivan: I don’t have time to waste on naive adventurers.
Kieria puts her hand on my shoulder and suggests I let her try and talk to him. His reaction to her is far less obtuse.
Kivan: What foolishness takes city dwellers this far from civilisation?
Keiria Silverstring: We’re adventurers on the lookout for evil to smite.
Kivan: A strange coincidence! I have a quest similar to your own. I have been hunting the bandits in the region for the past few months. Perhaps if we worked together we would fare better. What say you to that?
Keiria Silverstring: We’ll help you against the bandits, but only if you tell us why you’ve spent months hunting them.
Kivan: Their leader, an ogre named Tazok, took the life of someone very dear to me.
Helga: A fellow ogre hunter, though yer reasons be more personal. Makes the hunting sweeter.
Aegon: We have met – and fought – the beast already. He escaped, but surely shall not again.
Kivan: Good. I am glad he evaded death a little longer… I look forward to watching the life drain from his eyes. Slowly.
I can see it in him. That rage. The need for revenge. Someone killed someone dear to me too. This archer and I have a lot in common.
Gameplay Note
I kept looking for Kivan every time I came to this area and couldn’t spot him for some reason. This time I didn’t even bother looking and he just appeared.
This is also the first time I’ve noticed Aegon failing a dialogue check. His Charisma is very low thanks to his Orc Shaman’s Cloak, so I had to use the charming bard to recruit him instead.
I start to fill Kivan in on our encounters with the bandits and Tazok as we start to walk again. He says he is ready to get his revenge.
He tells me he is an extremely skilled archer, but he would rather sink his spear into him so he can watch the ogre die.
As a ranger, Kivan can move quickly through any terrain if he chooses.
He is also skilled in tracking, which he can use to get a general idea of creatures in the area.
His skill with the bow allows him to make a Called Shot, injuring opponents in a way that lessens their ability to fight.
I suggest to him that he takes a look in our Bag of Holding. There may be equipment in there that he can make use of. He finds a composite long bow that has been enchanted to replace his current long bow.
He takes some enchanted arrows, Arrows of Ice, and Arrows of Biting for his quiver. He also takes out the Dragon Scepter. He says this will be the perfect weapon for getting his revenge.
He dons the Dragon Armour, a suit made for rangers. He can move freely enough with it that it doesn’t hinder his ability with the bow, and it helps him to hide in the shadows.
He throws the Cloak of the Woods over his shoulders, further improving his ability to hide.
Finally he takes one of the Bands of the Forest we recovered from the corpses of Section operatives. It isn’t useful for him right now, but we have plenty of them to go around.
He takes the Potions of Mirrored Eyes, a Potion of Stone Giant Strength, and a couple of Potions of Invisibility to fill out his potion belt.
Thalantyr is a recluse, so we shouldn’t crowd him too much. I ask Helga to hold the fort at her home. She is not happy about the request, but agrees to wait for us there.
Helga: Bah. I’ll be at my home in Beregost, next to Thunderhammer if ye change yer tune.
The rest of us make our way inside High Hedge. Kieria goes to make our introductions to the High Mage.
Thalantyr the Conjurer: I sincerely hope you have some reason for bothering me. I’ve already stated that I wish you to leave.
Kivan: I hoped for a warmer welcome for my company, Thalantyr. You once offered your roof, or have you forgotten?
Thalantyr the Conjurer: Elf! The name was Kivan, if I am not mistaken. Bah! That’s a proper treatment for you, if you stand in the corner with your cowl covering your face. But I never thanked you properly… Come, come, I’ll show you what I have done with the spear you broke on those bothersome bandits who tried to force their way in. I am quite happy with the way the enchantment has turned out. I do not craft weapons, mind you. Bah! It’s a gift. Take it, take it, elf.
He hands Kivan a fine looking spear, but doesn’t elaborate on the enchantment he placed on the weapon. I step up to him, pulling out the egg we were given by Teodor, the man we rescued from the wyvern trainer in the Cloakwood.
Aegon: I have this egg here… I was told I should show it to someone who knows about magic, or I would have a nasty surprise in a tenday.
Thalantyr the Conjurer: Hello again, Aegon, how can I help you today?
Aegon: Can you help me with this?
Thalantyr the Conjurer: I could kill it in the egg, probably preserving some of the magic, but the negative consequences would make it nearly useless. I don’t want to do this, no.
And to prevent further question: I do not care about your spider hatching. I would prefer it wouldn’t happen here, of course, but I don’t have my golems for nothing.
Aegon: I’m not concerned for my own sake, but if I can’t defeat the spider that hatches from this egg, it will survive to harm others, and I don’t want that on my conscience.
The conjurer sighs.
Thalantyr the Conjurer: Alright, I will destroy that egg for you, if you want me to. I say destroy, and I mean it. No fancy magic item will remain. I will take the egg, destroy it and that’s it.
Aegon: You are saying it as if it would be possible to keep the egg, if treated differently?
Thalantyr the Conjurer: Someone could, if you’d find that someone.
So, what will it be?
Aegon: No, I will keep on looking whether I’ll find someone who tries to preserve the magic of that egg.
Thalantyr the Conjurer: I am sure you’ll succeed in finding a mage foolish enough to be willing to earn money with this.
Kivan is still playing with the spear he was given. I take a look and can’t figure out what enchantments it holds. We ask Thalantyr, but he seems frustrated that we can’t figure it out ourselves. He asks us for 100 gold before he will tell us it’s an Elven Spear of Entanglement.
Kieria asks Thalantyr if the rumours of his craftsmanship are true.
Thalantyr the Conjurer: Rumours? Bah! There is no mage here that wishes to speak or be spoken of. Unless, of course, if you have magic that you wish to sell.
Kieria Silverstring: Can you make magic items or alter them?
Thalantyr the Conjurer: I would be a bad magician if I weren’t adept at it. However, not each item can be altered or improved.
Kieria Silverstring: Do I have anything you could alter?
Thalantyr the Conjurer: Show me what you have, and I’ll tell you if it can be altered.
Kieria Silverstring: I have a Cursed Berserking Sword. Certainly you can make something of it.
Thalantyr the Conjurer: Why, of course I can! I can remove the curse and make its fury more useful to you. I will need two Scrolls of Remove Curse and two Scrolls of Horror. As payment, I’ll take only 3000 gold. Should I make this item for you?
Kieria Silverstring: I don’t need it right now. Maybe I have something else you can alter?
I have an enchanted dagger. Certainly you can make something from it.
Thalantyr the Conjurer: I can make an excellent throwing dagger with it. The dagger will return instantly to your hand after an attack is made. Except for my talent and magic only an Oil of Speed, white, is required. As payment, I’ll take only 500 gold. Should I make this item for you?
Kieria Silverstring: Yes, make it for me.
We give him the dagger and a Potion of Speed, and he begins his enchantment. After a short while he throws the dagger at the wall. It disappears and reappears in his hand. He smiles, then hands it to Kieria.
We ask to see what other magic items he is willing to part with. I come across a cloak that will provide extra protection. I’m always at the front of any combat, so I purchase it. I give Mutamin’s Cloak to Breagar, and place this new one over my Shaman’s Robes.
I also give my Amulet of Protection to Breagar so I can replace it with the Gem of Insight. It should bring me both wisdom and insight, enabling to both serve Corellon better and strengthen my connection to the Weave.
Dynaheir opts to purchase a better robe for herself. With it she can use magic more regularly, almost like a sorcerer.
Our equipment upgraded, it is time to move on. But where to next? Section is nearby and could still be hunting us, but Kivan is eager to follow in Tazok’s trail.
Perhaps revenge should be our focus for now. With Kivan’s help we can get closer to father’s killer.
Section can wait. They aren’t going anywhere.
