After resting up the party debate which portal there should explore next and
opt for a jaunt in the forest. They arrive in the middle of a stone circle and
scout around to see whether anyone has been there lately. They discover what
appear to be offerings of herbs near the stones and tracks leading to the edge
of the circle (but not into the forest). The party correctly deduce that this
circle might have some druidic significance which is confirmed when some druids
turn up. The Druids assume the party have near god-like status and are entitled
to free rare herbs until Midge talks them out of this much to the disgust of
Brand who had noticed some rare brewing herbs had been left in the circle. As a
friendly gesture the party agree to sort out the inhabitants of
Skeffington who
have been showing disrespect for the forest lately.
Unfortunately for the party it turns out that Skeffington is not quite what it
seems.
All goes well at first. Midge goes ahead and invisibly infiltrates the castle
and observes some evil ne’er-do-wells being given orders by a man behind a
desk. Unluckily he then finds himself trapped in some kind of force cage and
captured. Meanwhile the rest of the party bluff their way in and are
(apparently) granted an audience with the Baron. They are shown to an anteroom
where again a force cage traps them. The party are now in deep trouble as there
would appear to be hostile high-level magic-users in the castle (weren’t all
high level characters supposed to be off helping with the war effort?). Time
passes, however, and nothing happens. Clearly someone is waiting for orders or
there are more important things on the minds of those running the castle. With
luck the party will not be recognised and their capabilities will not be fully
appreciated. The party duly recover spells and hatch a plan. The castle’s elite
guards are unable to contain the party long enough for the high-level magic
users to arrive.
Back at the trans-planar portal lounge beneath their own castle the party
resolve to investigate Skeffington at a later date when they are fitter,
stronger and have more backup. In the meantime Midge, Brand, Dindle and
Maelith the Drow explore the castle above (results in Castle Raglan II).
Midge takes time out to talk to the Bard about the possibility of the assassin
who is after the party being a Rakshasa (high magic-resistance, detect
thoughts, shape-change etc.). The Bard does some shopping for the party in
town (blessed cross-bow bolts etc.). The Bard doesn’t recognise the description
of the harbour in the portal illustration but points out that the nearest coast
is in south where lie Carondor’s two main cities.
The party pass through the ‘harbour’ portal. They arrive in a sea-cave which it
simply stacked with treasure (with a nautical theme – lots of pearls –
recovered treasure chests from sunken galleons etc.). Several members of the
party start uncontrollably salivating. Others of a more practical nature
calculate how much pension it would buy assuming the lump sum is spent
purchasing a tropical island. Spoilsport Midge points out that although it
probably belongs to a dragon it could theoretically be a good-aligned one.
Disturbed by this possibility Rok fills his pockets and heads for the portal.
Sadly there appears to be technical malfunction in the portal and Midge appears
to have set off an alarm by the only exit. The party climb some stairs to a
trap door and enter a tower (as illustrated on the portal). The tower appears
to be empty but recently occupied. A cat is spotted as the view from the roof
is checked out. The tower appears to be on an island (slight change from
illustration) and a very large port is on the coast nearby (5 – 6 miles).
The cat is helpful and advises the party to seek the enchantress’s apprentice,
Alf, in nearby
Greatport. Rowing towards the coast the party get the somewhat
disconcerting impression that they are being followed by a large animal
underwater. In Greatport the party find Alf and have a chat. They want to meet
the enchantress but Alf says they need to prove their worthiness first. He sets
them the task of recovering the goods of a craftsman who has had them illegally
confiscated by a tax collector. A cunning plan is hatched and the party first
use Midge’s contacts to purchase some counterfeit gems and money. This takes
them to the rough part of town and they are set upon by 10 thugs. The roughs
are tough but the party are tougher. Only a few survive to run away. Then
some party members create a diversion by getting drunk very noisily in a tavern
four blocks away Dindle and Midge emulate Father Christmas by going down the
tax collector’s chimney. The craftsman’s masterwork tools are recovered and the
counterfeit loot is planted in his coffers (no doubt this will get him into
lots of trouble when he delivers it to the government).
Alf is pleased and he invites them to meet his mistress. Back at the tower the
enchantress has prepared a sumptuous meal for her guests. She tells them that
the portal system once belonged to a powerful magician thousands of years ago
when planar travel was common. But some of the travellers opened a
planar rift through which came something that destroyed their civilisation. The
magician left for other planes but her family was charged with guarding the
portal. In return the party tell of their adventures which she finds
interesting. She invites them to come back and releases the lock on the portal
so that they can travel back to the castle.
Back at the castle the Bard has invited to dinner a merchant from the nearby
town of
Salar-Aelendil who seems to have knowledge of the jewels
which act as
portal keys. She offers some for sale at 1200gps. She is coy about where she
gets them from and the next day the Bard follows her movements to see if he can
determine her source.
Meanwhile the party head back to the forest of Skeffington disguised as Royal
Rangers with a (genuine) charter to protect the forest. A non-complying
Skeffington guard is killed and his logging party sent off with a caution. As
the party plot their next move Brand discretely arranges a meeting with a
mysterious stranger who may throw some light on his past while Dindle, Midge
and Lura go for a stroll in the forest across the lake from the castle (where
according to the Bard a unicorn has been sighted).
While Midge and Dindle meet with the Chief Druidess and discovers that she
knows something about their castle they don’t and wont spill the beans until
she is told the names of the ‘Great Dragon of the North’ and the ‘Great Dragon
of the South’. Lura spends her time with the Druid’s assistant. Midge then
busies himself arranging a meeting between Vaarth and the Greatport enchantress
hoping that between them they will provide the information required by the
Chief Druidess. Vaarth and the enchantress both turn up in person for the
meeting with the Druidess who on being told the names gives Midge a red jewel.
Midge then rejoins the party who are camped out near Skeffington as a deterrent
to would be loggers. A logging party escorted by a knight on horseback and
several men-at-arms is stopped in its tracks and sent back without bloodshed
much to the disgust of Rok who hasn't had a good horse stew for ages. The knight
later returns with an invitation for dinner with the Baron at which point the
party have the sense to send to the Prince for a real diplomat.
The diplomat visits the Baron who agrees to stop the logging! A major victory
for diplomacy – obviously all is not what it seems.
Using the red jewels the party discover ways down to the demi-plane underneath
the castle from each of the castle towers. Further a hidden room contains more
of the red jewels (40) plus instructions on how to create portals with them
(sadly this process is not easy and requires 24 – 48 hours). Vaarth offers them
10,000gps for each jewel and a wrangle ensues as to whether to let him have the
jewels and what entitlement Maelith has to the proceeds. The Drow is somewhat
indignant that she should not be considered for a share of this money and in
the end the party relent after Lana is sent to negotiate with Vaarth.
The party then return to the Underdark feeling that the ‘Road to Hell’ was
their best chance of encountering their evil MU opponents. Their first
encounter was with an axe-wielding black-skinned giant who reeked of evil.
Luckily he only gets in a couple of (heavy) blows before he is brought down but
the party are reminded of how dangerous the Underdark can be.
A little further on they meet a broad short man in exotic clothing on the edge
of what appears to be a 50 foot diameter pit. He is stroking his chin and
muttering but when he sees the party approaching he looks up and say 'You must
be the help I was expecting.' He has been contracted by the 'powers that be' to
close portals along the Road to Hell and this one, being so large is causing him
a few problems. He needs some 'helpers' to figure out the exact nature of the
planar breech i.e. people who are stupid enough to descend into a bottomless pit
reeking of evil merely because
some brightly dressed nutter is standing on the edge talking to himself.
Naturally the party jump at the chance and soon find themselves dangling on an
endlessly expandable rope helpfully provided by Treskallion Cordollin of Union,
Portal Closer to the Gods by appointment. 400 feet down the pit gravity reverses
itself and to continue the rope has to be hauled up in the direction of the
other plane. Luckily sufficient members of the party had Boots of Flying/cast
Fly spells on themselves that the operation is succesful. At the other
end of the portal, however, two black-skinned giants are waiting. They give
chase and another bruising encounter ensues and the advantages of having both a
Cleric and a Healer along manifest themselves.
Treskallion had encountered Shae-na and Drek's party the day before and indeed
the two winged females and the rest of their scouting party soon emerge from
the depths of the Underdark reporting that they had scouted the Orc city
further down the Road to Hell. The Orcs themselves were being harassed by demons
and frequently taken as slaves when an evil magic user had stirred them up with
an alleged prophecy of conquest on the surface. There is no trace of the magic
user now and although the orcs and demons continue their struggle their is
little immediate danger of a further eruption.