Part 23

When we last left our heroes they were leaving Secomber en route to Leilon, a trip that's less uneventful that one might expect...



"Hey fellow traveler… what's hanging?"





"We'll… uh… we'll get right on that. But we've got things to do somewhere else."

"Away from you and your creepy voice."



Leilon's a lovely little place just off the coast, at the foot of some mountains. Still, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for that whole quest thing.



"I think I spy our destination."

"You'd have to be blind not to… although I will say it's a welcome sight at the end of a long day."

"With a bunch of wealthy ambassadors traveling together, it's probably been a huge party every night."



"Ooh, a fortuneteller! Perhaps he'll have some advice for us on our quest or… other matters concerning our fates."

"I think a fortuneteller isn't necessary for those other matters… or if you need one, I could serve in that capacity for you."

"I think I might need someone to treat my indigestion."






"Do you happen to know another old guy with a white beard and a really creepy voice?"



"The name certainly adds some local color… although I hope it's not too indicative."



"Uh… don't mind us?"

"Wait, is that guy literally carrying a woman off over his shoulder?"





"Well, I'm tremendously disappointed but I'm sure we can find some way to pass the time until they get here… especially if somebody else is buying!"



"So was this venison actually rutting when it was killed, or is it just a coincidence?"

"Is anybody else starting to..."



"Aww man, not again…"






"You'd think that they'd have learned their lesson about leaving us with all of our equipment by now."

"I don't understand how you can all be so calm about this… who knows what they used on us?"

"Doesn't matter, getting us out."



"Er… I don't meant to nitpick, but isn't this likely to burn us all alive before it succeeds in smoking the guards out?"



"The important part isn't the actual effects of the fire… it's the effects of the fire on their minds."



New opponents! The cyclopskin (which I have to mentally work at to avoid separating the two words into cyclop and skin) are kind of poor excuses for giants, and the guards are just ordinary fighters.



"It really is amazing what you can find when you're going through someone's pockets… although something like a letter saying where they're really from would be nice."



"Zanros, I'm curious… what held you back from joining the battle? I saw the others striking at the enemy in the lines, but you hung back. Was it to protect me?"

"Oh, this ought to be good."

"Er… of course! And to hold back a reserve to take advantage of any changes in the enemy's situation. Strategy is important when we're so outnumbered."

"That's sweet, but you don't really have to do that for me… I shall be fine. It's just that I know you could be such a great fighter if you put your mind to it."

"If you're absolutely sure… I'll see what I can do."



"Something's fishy here… how long have they been waiting in ambush since we set that fire?"



This ambush adds hellhounds, which are a decidedly boring brown color. They should have gone with something more like a Houndoom.



We're treated to a few more lucky papers… these are actually the mechanism for the first half of the game, giving us directions once we can actually decipher them. It'll still be a bit, but around update 6 or 7 I'll be able to throw the gates open for some input as to where we'll be going next.



"You've really got a hard-on for Waterdeep and their guards, don't you?"




"Huh, did we ever put out the fire that we started down there?"

"No, no we didn't. We should probably leave now."



"Was the entire town some kind of setup? How many people were even in on it?"

"We'll just have to poke around the town and find out."



"The hellhounds and cyclopskin that appear to be living comfortably as though they own the place, it's not looking good."



"Riddled with secret passages too…although that just could be local smugglers."



"I suppose you could call giant spiders a kind of local smuggler… does anybody else smell ozone?"



For some reason, these spiders have an additional type with them… as you might expect, the electric spider has a lightning based attack that it can send at your party members and that will bounce off walls to hit people twice. It's very random, but luckily they don't do anything as painful as causing lightning damage when you attack them.



"…I hope you don't mind Siulajia, but I'm killing these with fire."

"There's courage, and there's risking your life and soul by having them sucked from your body by undead abominations."



The spectres are significantly more dangerous types of undead, and much more difficult to fight hand to hand. They're also have enough HD that they're difficult to turn, and you don't get experience for that anyway.



"I'm not sure if it's just me, but something seems off about that middle door…"



"I hope the carpenters got paid overtime for this one, because the secret door is giant-sized too."

"There's got to be a secret graveyard somewhere for all the workers who built these secret lairs… which is terrible, of course."



"Oh no you don't! You're not getting away as easily as that!"



"Land sharks… well, that's certainly a good reason to run out of a room screaming. If we let these live, they'll surely devour the townspeople."

"If there are any left… I mean, we haven't seen anyone except for enemies and all kinds of monsters in this town since we left the tavern."



Bulettes are tough enough to withstand some attacks, and the quarters here are too tight to use area of effect spells. They do, however, still need to breathe…

"Oh, Zanros… the way you ran right up to that cloud of green murk and stabbed the creature inside was so brave!"

"It was the least I could do… although a longer blade would have made it much easier."

"She… she doesn't know about that spell, does she?"

"I don't think Zanros would thank us for telling her, either."



"Wait, did the griffins move in immediately after the horses left or were they here the entire time?"

"Maybe they chained the griffins up with the horses so they'd be mad for blood when somebody else came in to the stable?"

"I've given up on this town making sense… what does Amanitas have to say about this whole mess?"




"Wow, he's almost as hung up on Waterdeep as Alaric is."

"Maybe they'll start their own little club about it?"

Character Snapshot





Catching up from the last two update, the biggest changes are Galen picking up a new level and everybody but Vermunt getting some more AC from getting new helmets. We'll have a chance to pick up new and better headwear as we go along, usually through separating the heads that are bearing it from their bodies. The Dude and Zanros are getting fairly close to another level, however, which will bring access to fifth level spells.