After some discussion it is agreed that the first artefact to be recovered should be the
Heart of the Oerth a great jewel said to
be a powerful seeing-stone. Although it lies in the lost capital of the Dragon Empire the
Temple of Athena's secret records give some clue as to the possible site of those ruins.
Further a detailed description of the artefact itself have enable the construction of a
special wand which will locate the Heart with a range of 880'.
The most likely location of the ruins is in the
Dragon Lord Hills in Oricha so for the first stage
of the journey the party augmented by Hanna, Thatis, and Olo take a ship to
Diancecht. Near the Cape of No Return, however, the ship
is assailed by a many-tentacled sea monster. As the party attack the flailing tentacles
Dindle who has flown into the air for a better view of the conflict notices a second
monster approaching from the other side of the ship. Unfortunately at this stage a 20,000lb
boulder appears to slip from his pocket which while discouraging the second monster
severely destabilises the ship. Eluriel and four members of the crew are thrown into
the water but the monster is somewhat cut up and decides to retreat to the bottom of the
ocean. Rok is, however, in the grip of one of his tentacles and decides to slice it through
thus ensuring he will make it to the bottom of the ocean under the weight of his own
platemail but is luckily spotted by Hanna who throws him a rope. The rest of the party then
heroically rescue all those stranded in the water (not many of the sailors could swim).
The party make it to Diancecht without further incident and seek a barge travelling to
Capricia. Having to wait a few hours for passage Eluriel wiles
away the time with an archery contest against the elven barge marines. She wins, earning
the party free passage, but the marines don't seem too upset at having such an excellent
archer on board and Eluriel duly proves her worth again when the barge is attacked by bandits.
When the barge reaches Capricia the marines make some money betting on Eluriel in another
archery contest while Rok pays his respects to the Temple of Kazadarum and finds the company
a reliable dwarven guide for the trip south. The Temple also warns him to keep well clear
of the lethal and xenophobic dwarves of
Snake Hill.
Just before sunset as the party journey through the hills having forded one river they
encounter a large party
of the unpredictable Altanian tribesmen. They seem friendly enough, however, and welcome
the opportunity to trade some of their furs, herbs and dried meat. They then invite the party
to join their camp and everyone gets roaringly drunk. The next morning the party come to a
second river which marks the northern border of the possible sites for the Dragon Lord capital.
The party explore the river valley and realise they are being tracked by two large beasts
which turn out to be dire sabre-tooth tigers. Olo avoids a tricky battle by persuading them
to hunt elsewhere. The party find some ancient ruins but they turn out to be just a small fort.
Deciphered inscriptions indicated that the capital must lie to the south. In the ruins the
party stumble upon a
secret underground temple dedicated to Hermes which contains an ancient magical helm claimed
by Narin (or vice versa).
Journeying on through the hills the party come to the
Aerie of the Stonemasters, a dwarven monastery
perched high on a cliff. Narin has been keen to visit the monastery ever since he realised
the party was likely to encounter it on their journey and he ends up spending a week
there enhancing his martial training. The party are willing to wait for him but have to
camp in the valley below as non-dwarves are not allowed in the monastery grounds. Although
the party have seen scattered ruins in the hills they believe the ruins they seek were close to
a river and so the search begins again in earnest when they enter the valley of the
River of Swords.
As the party explore the river valley they notice the presence of giant ants and that right
in the middle of the area they wish to investigate is a large anthill. Fearing the worst
Thatis flies over the anthill using his wand and discovers that the Heart of the Oerth is
indeed beneath the hill. Worse is to follow as the giants ants appear to be partially
resistant to magic since the spells the party use in an attempt to creep past them only work
sporadically. Olo then suggests that the ants are recognising each other by scent and the party
set about 'borrowing' some of the ants secretions so that will smell like ants. The ploy seems
to work and they gain entry to the anthill. Although most of the ants seem happy with their
presence, however, they soon discover that there are many different types of ant within the
colony and some treat them as intruders and have to be fought off.
In a chamber deep below ground level the party discover a cleric of some forgotten god
who takes umbrage at their presence. Realising he is about to cast some powerful spell on
them the party quickly reduce him to mincemeat and loot his quarters finding among other things
a manuscript which explains how to bind imps into the giant ants, some vials of 'ant scent' and
some more which the sages later identify as a 'trail scent' for insects. The party penetrate
deeper into the anthill and eventually come to a chamber that holds the artefact they seek.
Unfortunately it also holds the Ant Queen who summons a demonic presence in the form of a black
cloud to her aid and some tough looking guards. While the halflings take on the queen the
rest of the party are toasted by the fire-breathing guards and the gnome looks a little unwell.
A desperate fight ensues but the party emerge victorious. On the way out the party rescue a
halfing and an orc who appear to have been stuck in a 'time trap' for a hundred years.
Emerging from the anthill the party note that there are many dead ants around and a
disembodied voice tells them to throw down their weapons as they are surrounded by archers.
Their ambushers are elves and the party guess it must be the vicious Amiondel Elves.
Another brief but extremely violent clash takes place in which the party are fireballed
but send some of their own back with interest and are aided by the arrival of Olo and some
lightning. In the end the elves retreat in disarray with
at least one of their magic users dead.
After a lengthy debate the party decide to return to Zothay the way they came rather than
head immediately for the coast. Narin is dropped off at the Aerie as he has decided to
acquire two weeks of training from the monastery to increase his fighting skills. The rest
of the party return to Zothay and begin planning for a trip to
Tarantis which will be the next leg of their quest.