The Adventure Begins

The Cast:

Joe as:	Jax - Male Human SpellThief (Complete Adventurer)
James as:	Rookwood - Male Dwarf Totemist (Magic of Inarcnum
Matthew as:	Thrys - Female Human Wizard
John as:	Lorash - Male Human Druid
and:	Mort - Wolf Animal Companion

A group of intrepid adventurers some traveling from afar, some from near, gathered in Cauldron at the Drowned Morkoth Inn. One night after discussing how to make a name for themselves, get the attention of the Lord Mayor who is known to be hiring adventurers, they decide that walking the streets at night is sure to lead them into trouble. This is just what they are looking for.

After walking through drizzling rain just after nightfall they hear a cry for help down an alley they just passed.

While the main party goes directly toward the noise Jax goes around the back.

Investigating they find a group of 3 men with faces painted black on one side and white on the other. One holding up a beaten young man by his cassock growls "Stay away from the orphanage." Jax and Rookwood also spot a girl hanging off the roof of the alley buildings like a spider, all in black, with a painted face similar to the other 3 figures.

Rookwood takes the lead, demanding to know what’s going on here. The painted men drop the beaten one, backing off drawing weapons, while their leader growls “Bugger off.” Rookwood presses toward them, while the rest follow. Lorash sets his wolf to guard the beaten man. Rookwood demands of the beaten one “What did you do to the orphans?!” Lorash repeats Rookwood’s orginal demands “What is happening here?” The painted ones repeat their demand “Bugger off! Now!” but outnumbered 4 to 3 (including Mort) don’t press the issue. The beaten man says “I didn’t do anything, these criminals just dragged me out of the street, bring them to justice!” Rookwood doesn’t believe him, pulling him up off the ground, and tells him “Stay away from the children”.

The painted men don’t seem to want to fight, and take into the night. Jax says to the girl hanging off the building “What about you?” She replies “Well done, the point has been made.” And skitters across the roof away into the night.

The heroes straiten out the situation from the beaten man, as he heals himself with a spell, finding that the man is actually a holy man from the Temple of Dol Arrah, goddess of light and self sacrifice. That he was investigating the disappearance of 4 orphans, and had just come from the orphanage. He thanks them for rescuing him, although he wishes they’d been a bit more vigilant against the criminals. He does not know who they are. He invites them back to the temple.

In the temple they meet Jenya acting high priest of the temple, who offers them a job to find the orphans which they agree to. Jenya explains she has used a relic to cast divination to try to find what happened to the orphans and got a cryptic riddle.

The locks are key to finding them.

Look beyond the curtain, below the cauldron,

But beware the doors with teeth.

Descend into the malachite ‘hold,

Where precious life is bought with gold.

Half a dwarf binds them, but not for long.

The heroes first start again at the orphanage interviewing all the people who work there. None have any useful information. Jax thinks the Half-Orc Janitor Patch is hiding something, but can’t figure out what it is. Rookwood questions the children, and finds that the only one who has anything is a young child who had a dream of a nasty smelly gnome with crooked teeth trying to give him a kiss.

Not finding any leads at the orphanage, they hit the streets, asking around about the men with painted faces. Zhray meets a half-elf named Farlo in the Drowned Morkoth who says he’s actually investigating them himself for a private party. All he knows so far is they are some sort of Rogues’ Guild that calls themselves “The Last Laugh” that is known to mint their own money with a jester’s head on it.

After the day was over, convinced the headmistress at the orphanage to let them stay the night, for fear more children would be kidnapped. The party broke up the next morning to try to investigate different leads.

Zhray checking the mines, to see if anyone knows of anything that might be a ‘malachite hold’.

Rookwood & Lorash checking out the lake in the middle of town, thinking the locks had something to do with that.

Jax had found that all the locks were made by a gnomish locksmith, and went to his shope. Keygan’s Locks. Jax started asking about the locks in the orphanage, Keygan became nervous, Jax knew something was up. Jax asked him to inspect the locks in the orphanage. After arriving at the orphanage, Keygan took just a glance at each and said there was nothing wrong. Jax confronted Keygan, “That’s all you are going to do? There are 4 missing children here! What do you have to do with all this?”

Keygan broke down “I didn’t know they were going to take children.” “They blackmailed me with my familiar to make master keys for all the locks I’d made in the city.”

Jax “Who?”

Keygan “I… I don’t know, they… There were two kinds I know of, humans who’s skin changes color to match the surroundings, and ones that look like gnomes with hooves for feet. They came from Jzadirune.”

Keygan explained that Jzadirune was the secret enclave of gnomish magicians, which was abandoned when their magic caused them to start vanishing about 75 years ago. The only entrance through his shop, which was his father’s before him.

Keygan explained there is one of the chameleon skinned humans watching him from the back of his shop.

Jax gathered the rest of the party back together, and they went back to his shop pretending to buy something expensive in the back.

The Skulk felt something was amiss, and ran through the secret door before anyone could see it. The party quickly followed descending into the magician’s hold.

They came to a large chamber where laughing, birdsong and music seemed to come out of the walls. They carefully examined the chamber, Jax finding a trap on the odd gear shaped door to the south, which appears to have a triangular depression instead of a keyhole. Jax was unwilling to try to disarm the trap, it appearing to be magical, and beyond his abilities. Lorash spotted the skulk and a couple buddies hiding just on the other side of a partially open door, ready to strike. He quietly informed Zhray, who cast a sleep glamour on them, knocking two out. Rookwood charged into the room trying to get the last, but not in time, it bolted for a rough tunnel in the wall. Mort blocked it off, and it went for the other tunnel. Rookwood chased it down and ended it’s life.

They tied one and manacled the other sleeping Skulk. Awaking both they tried to interrogate them, but they were indomitable. Sneering at and insulting the heroes.

They dragged the manacled skulk upstairs and left him for Keygan to watch. Before leaving Keygan gave them a map his father had, and told them his father told him the place was full of holes, doors concealed in practically every room and hall, which aren’t marked on the map. Jax asked Keygan to re-key the locks in the city he had made, starting with the orphanage. Keygan refused, saying he wouldn’t put his familiar at risk, but would if they retrieved his familiar who he knew was alone, afraid, cold, hungry somewhere within a mile. Jax grudgingly accepted the mission.

After descending again they set off through the rough tunnels that the Skulk had tried to flee through.

They found a strange underground forest room with trees and birds. Lorash investigated, and determined that it was an elaborate illusion.

Then they continued on to a kitchen where two human sized dead spiders lay. Investigating, they were surprised by two Dark Creepers (the hoved gnomes), one of whom tried to grab the sunrod Jax was holding. The creepers clothes came alive providing them some measure of protection, but it wasn’t enough, and the party quickly eliminated them.

Not finding another way out of this room besides through another gear shaped door Jax assumed was trapped they then went back the other way to a room where when Jax stepped in he disappeared. After he stepped in the party heard a gnomish voice say in gnome “Destroy all intruders” which Rookwood was able to understand. A loud grinding sound started, and something attacked Jax, which no one could see. The party fought the invisible thing ineffectually, bumping into it, trying to get past, and throwing flour which disappeared just as they did. The thing screamed so loud their bones shook and brought stars to their eyes. They finally got a glimpse of it as it passed across the room and became visible for a second. A golem with 3’ long rock drills for arms, attached to what looked like a cement mixer for a body. It felled both Rookwood and Jax with a scream, then a crunching gear sound came and it quieted.

Lorash had mort smell out where Jax was when he didn’t respond, and healed him enough to keep him from bleeding to death with his last bit of magic, then searched out Rookwood, and dragged him off through the hall. Zhray went over to Jax, not strong enough to drag him, she found the healing potion given by Jenya, and poured it down Jax’s throat. That brought him round, and they both escaped down the hall before the machine moved again.