Alturiak 1st, 1372 DR

Early in the morning, before the sun comes up, a lone figure in woodland garb “falls” through a tree near the party, closely followed by two werewolves wearing several fetishes and charms. 

Meriden and Emen close on the werewolves, as Mourn takes the baby and retreats from the fight, and the new figure, Grim Greycastle, circles wide around the fight with the werewolves. 

As Meriden and Emen fight the werewolves, Grim casts entangle on the pair  (as well as Meriden and Emen) and Mourn begins to fire magic missiles at the werewolves.  Emen manages to escape from entanglement often, striking and moving around the lycanthropes, as Grim fires arrows at the beasts.  Meriden is stuck, but can reach and injure the nearby werewolves, and kills the first one after taking a single bite from it.

Mourn strikes the remaining werewolf with another magic missile, Emen continues to injure it, and Meriden finishes it off with his silver bastard sword.

One of the fetishes on the werewolves indicates that they are People of the Black Blood, and Grim explains that his master, a druid, gave him the book that he carries and shoved them through the nearest tree as several werewolves attacked his retreat.

Before the sun could rise, several creatures, worm like with insectile legs and bat wings, land near the party.  They are confronted with a group of people in black and grey clothing that appear to have shadows rising off them like steam. 

The leader of the group, who identifies himself as Ambassador Borsaelis of the City of Shade, and that he wants to calm the populations fears about the return of his city.  He has a diplomatic mission to Zhentil Keep to perform, but wishes to give the party gifts as proof of his good will.

He gives each of them a silver ring set with a black stone that he says is a ring of protection and a ring of proof against necromancy.  Emen, Meriden, and Grim all accept the gifts but put them in their packs, while Mourn gladly places it on his finger.

Borsaelis asks the group where they are from, and Mourn tells them they came from Shadowdale.  Borsaelis tells them that if they wish to travel with the detachment they will gladly drop them off in Shadowdale on their way through to Sembia.  He also offers to let them sit in on the meeting between the Shade and the powers that be in Zhentil Keep.

Not wanting to invoke any more questions, and worried about how exposed they are, Meriden and Grim  (who gives the false name of Tobias), accept the offer to enter the Keep with the Shadovar group.

 

Alturiak 2nd, 1372 DR

Meriden, Grim, Emen, and Mourn are shown to the diplomatic hostelry in Zhentil Keep's southern portion, and the Shadovar tell them that they are completely free to do as they will.  Grim casts around for some information and finds a brothel that fronts for a fence, and manages to buy a disguise kit.  He comes back to the room and uses the disguise to make the baby appear as a half-ogre, and comes up with a story that the half-ogre Emen is his wife and the child is theirs.

 

Alturiak 3rd-6th, 1372 DR

Meriden and Emen secure supplies for taking care of the baby.  Meriden rests, and wakes up to find that Mourn has bought a fighting wolf from an animal handler, as well as two chickens to feed it, and that Grim has traveled to the slave market to buy a young boy that he intends to set free.

Grim explains that he cannot free them all, but that he must do something.  Meriden is just worried about how deep in the group is getting. 

 

Alturiak 7th, 1372 DR

Ambassador Borsaelis and his group pick up the party and ask them if they wish to go with him to his audience with the rulers of Zhentil Keep.  Grim and Meriden definitely want to see what is going on in this meeting, and so they volunteer.  Meriden also manages to notice that one of the armored Shadovar is wearing a holy symbol to Shar, and thus realizes what goddess the Shadovar hold dear.

Just after nightfall, the Shadovar and the adventurers travel to the Castellan's Chambers in Zhentil Keep.  Scyulla Darkhope, leader of the Keep's military forces, apologizes for the fact that Fzoul Chembryl cannot attend himself, but is otherwise busy.

The Shadovar explain that they now claim all of Anauroch as Netherese territory, and as such, the Zhentil Keep caravan's that pass through it will have to pay to have access to the desert territory, as well as having Shadovar supervision.

Scyulla does not like this concession and tells them to explain why the Keep will have to consent to this.  The Shadovar offer to make sure that the desert vermin  (the Bedine) are scoured from the desert and thus the Zhentil Keep caravan will bring more profit when then travel across the desert.

Both Meriden and Grim are bristling at the discussion of free people as vermin and the causal way that their extermination is being discussed.  Meriden is very uncomfortable in the presence of a cleric of Shar and a blackguard of Bane, and Grim wishes to strike out against oppression any way he can, but both manage to sit through the audience.

 

Alturiak 8th, 1372 DR

The Shadovar get ready to leave and offer to fly the party to a new destination, a meeting that the Shades say they have with the Dalelands Council.  The group accepts, and they are strapped into the saddles of the Veserabs as they take to the air.  The Shadovar then shift into the plane of Shadows as they fly south.

The Shadovar unexpectedly cut the trip short, and drop the party off in Shadowdale, explaining to them that something very important has come up.  The party is very thankful to be back in Shadowdale and away from the Shadovar.  As they travel in towards the dale, they see a figure lined in silver fire fighing a figure cloaked in shadows, then both disappear.

Then, Mourn's ring leaks shadows, as the shadow weave magic in the ring shorts out the wards that exist in this area, in the proximity of Elminster's Tower.  A rift opens in the sky around the tower, and the Old Sage appears and tries to close the rift.

Mourn frantically tries to take the ring off, and eventually Meriden, barely stopping Grim from taking off Mourn's entire hand, cuts off Mourn's finger to get the ring off.

By this time, Elminster has entered the rift and disappeared.  The rift then closes.

Soon after, a wild haired woman in a tattered dress appears, and gazes wildly at the group standing in front of her.  Before anyone can offer an explanation, Mourn panics and fires a magic missile at her, and the woman blasts them with a spell that knocks them out of the Prime Material Plane of Toril and into a plane of complete gray and silver skies.

The party eventually drifts into a portal, and Mourn launches into a heartfelt prayer to Corellon, asking for forgiveness for every impulsive thing he has ever done, asking for forgiveness for trying to make an icon out of a spoon that he carved to look like Corellon, and promising to take his god far more seriously from now on.

At this point a golden winged creature similar to an elf, but radiant and cloaked with energy, appears to the group, and asks them where they are from.  After discussing what all has transpired, the celestial offers to take them home, and Meriden convinces the party that they should go back to Mistledale first to regroup.  The celestial takes them back to Meriden's rented home.

 

Alturiak 9th, 1372 DR

After Meriden shows everyone in the party around the rented house, they group rests and is sleeping the next morning as there is a knock on the door.  When Meriden is awakened, he is confronted with Neylessa Sheldean, the leader of the Mistledale Lancers.  She asks Meriden and his companions to attend a meeting at Haresk's mansion in Ashabenford at midday.

Grim takes the morning to forage for wolfsbane and belladona in the more wooded areas, and Meriden takes Mourn and Emen into town to do some shopping and selling before the meeting. 

Meriden visits Noristuor the Wizard, who tersely examines the rings that the Shadovar had given them, informing Meriden that the rings are shadow weave items and that they break wards that they come in contact with.  He offers to buy them and then sends them off. 

While Meriden and Emen talk to Noristuor, Mourn stays outside and receives a message from a halfling currier, containing a note that details a business opportunity.  Jarwain, an importer of fine goods, has asked Mourn to talk with his friends about locating dragon eggs that might be for sale, and Jarwain wishes to secure them for an interested third party.

The party meets back up outside of Haresk's house, and is admited to the council room by the Mistledale Lancer guards outside.  Inside the room is a collection of important local figures, including the other lords of Mistledale, excepting the High Councilor himself, Alok Silverspear and Luvon Greencloak, Jhaer Brightsong, and Storm Silverhand.

Storm details to the party that the two children in their care are both alright, and that they are currently with Matron Fleet in Stump Hill, and that Matron is trustworthy and the mother of an acquaintance of hers.  She tells them that she has brought the horses with her from Shadowdale, and warms them to avoid her sister for a while.

Ulwen Sharin, acting High Councilor of Mistledale, informs the assembly that a Dalelands council has been called and Haresk has gone to that council.  Ulwen also mentions that the winter has been unusually warm, and the patrol of Lancers has had to start sooner in the year then would be usual.  Goblin patrols have started ravaging the Moonsea Ride into Tilverton.

Jhaer mentions that the Shadovar have been sending diplomats into the Moonsea, Sembia, and Cormyr.  She and the councilors are afraid that the diplomats in these meetings are simply talking about carving up the dales to go to each respective area in the negotiations.

Storm mentions that the Shadovar are still tentatively allied to the Lord's Alliance in the North, sending aid to her sister Laeral as she tries to punch her way through the Phaerimm armies in order to give aid to the elven realm of Evereska, as well as trying to hear word of her husband Khelben  (at which point several of the Dale councilors are shocked to know that Elminster and Khelben are both missing).  Storm says that the Waterdhavians do not trust the Shadovar either, but currently they are still allied with them against the Phaerimm.  She is leaving after the meeting to rejoin her sister.

Since the party has already decided to go to Anauroch to warn the Bedine about the plans of the Shadovar, they volunteer to try and ride ahead and punch a hole in the goblin lines that are blocking the Moonsea Ride.

After the meeting, Mourn explains to the rest of the party what is going on with the job offer from Jarwain, and the group is wary.  They draw up plans to keep an eye on Jarwain for the next few days, to see what is going on.

Mourn goes to Jarwain's shop, demanding to see him, but his halfling attendant refuses to let Mourn talk to him.

 

Alturiak 10th, 1372 DR

Due to Jarwain's interest in the party and the secret information that Meriden has, and his overtures to Mourn, the party decides to delay their departure from Mistledale for one day in order to do some information gathering on Jarwain.  Mourn will enter the shop and try to speak with the merchant, while Grim keeps an eye on the back of the shop, looking for any clues.

When Mourn discussing the business opportunity with Jarwain, Jarwain activates some strange dragon head sculpture on the wall, which Mourn assumes is an anti-scrying device.  Grim keeps an eye on the back of the shop, and eventually sees a figure teleport in behind the shop, then give a special knock and enter the shop from the back.  Grim notices that the teleporting figure seems to be wearing the robes of a Cormyrean War Wizard.

Jarwain tells Mourn that his unnamed client is looking for dragon eggs so that they might train them to help them with security issues that they have been experiencing since an unfortunate recent series of events, and that he could not elaborate further.

Mourn leaves the shop without commiting to anything with Jarwain, and meets up wit Grim.  The pair then finds Meriden and Emen, who have  finished provisioning for the trip to Tilverton, and from there into the Stonelands and Anauroch.

 

Alturiak 11th-12th, 1372 DR

The group sets out toward Tilverton down the Moonsea Ride, which is still muddy and snowy from the strange winter weather.  After the first day, they take a detour to the north, heading off toward the halfling village of Stumphill, where Matron Fleet is taking care of the baby they came to take care of, and the child slave that Grim saved from the Zhents.

Emen had a very hard time entering the halfing home, but the rest were put up for the night as Matron Fleet fed them all quite well, and gave them plenty of time with the children.  The young boy was already helping immeasurably on the farm, and was looking much healthier.  Grim gave Matron Fleet some gold to help her take care of the children further, and she refused, but then put it aside to give to the children if they are still in their care when they get older.

After another fine meal from Matron Fleet, the party says their farewells to her and head back onto the Moonsea Ride, and back toward Tilverton.

 

Alturiak 13th, 1372 DR

The travel down the road is difficult in the snow and mud, and Mourn's horse is injured.  Meriden heals the horse, and Grim lectures the whole party on riding horses in such weather  (Grim using spells to keep up with the party), and lectures Mourn specifically for not being more careful with his mount. 

After nightfall, the party is awakened by several creatures sneaking into the camp.  A group of wererats in hybrid form attack the party.  Emen draws her silver dagger, and Meriden his silver bastard sword.  Grim attempts to slow down the wererats with an entangling spell, and Mourn shifts to wolf form.

Once Mourn reveals himself as a lycanthrope, the wererats shift to using their bites on him.  Eventually the party is successful in their defense of the camp, but Mourn is bitten by a wererat.  Meriden and Grim clean the wound as best they can.

 

Alturiak 14th, 1372 DR

As the party continues to travel toward Tilverton, at midday they encounter a wolf the size of a horse.  Meriden and Emen stay well away, Mourn shifts to wolf form, and Grim stays close enough to speak with it, still a careful distance away. 

Grim cannot calm the beast down, though it does not attack.  Mourn speaks to the great wolf in its own language of barks and howls, and finds that the creature is fleeing the Beast Country due to a “wolf thing” that is a very cruel pack leader, and that it is hungry.

Grim and Mourn feed the beast, and it leaves the party to travel further down the road.

That night, just after the party sets up their camp for the evening, Mourn is keeping first watch in wolf form.  A strange wolf approaches the camp, and Mourn tries to speak to it as he did the one on the road earlier.  The wolf responds to Mourn in common, telling him that he will enjoy devouring his soul.

Mourn barks until the rest of the groups awakens, and begins to back away from the advancing strange wolf thing.  Meriden puts the pieces together and recognizes the creature as a Barghest, and he advances on it with his magical bastard sword, and Emen stalks it with her magical butterfly sword.  Mourn retreats and returns to elf form, and Grim circles around behind the Barghest with his magical dagger.

Mourn pelts the creature with magical missiles from his spells, and Meriden and Emen keep the creature busy while Grim comes up behind the beast and sinks his magical dagger deep into the creatures organs.  Meriden then douses the corpse in holy water and burns whatever is left.

 

Alturiak 15th-17th, 1372 DR

As the party nears the edge of the Dale, they have seen very little and have had a series of uneventful days.  The clouds always hang low and grey, and mists rise from the ground constantly, and Grim is on edge with the strange weather.

Grim is on watch at night, and detects a rather unstealthy intruder.  A huge troll shambles into the camp.  Grim sends his animal companion, the dire rat Dogmeat, to wake up Meriden, and hopefully the rest of the party.

Grim manages to evade the troll until the rest of the party is awake.  Emen charges the troll, and it picks up a log in camp and slams her with it, sending her flying.  The troll grips Meriden with both of its hands and begins to pull the cleric apart, splitting his skin in an agonizing attack.  Mourn stays near the campfire, lighting his arrows on fire and shooting them at the troll.  On sticks in the log near the troll, but does not ignite.

Eventually the party wears down the troll, and they drag his corpse to the campfire, thus getting rid of the creature permanently.

 

Alturiak 18th-22nd, 1372 DR

A few simple mishaps with the horses in the mud  (and a few more lectures from Grim) occur, and Mourn begins to feel ill, in general being less reasonable and less nimble of  (remaining) fingers.  Storms always seem to be off in the distance, and the party finds some free wandering cattle that Mourn briefly toys with chasing, though the rest of the party talks the ill lythari out of his plan.

Eventually the group runs into a band of orcs on the road.  There are six of them, and the leader demands a tribute to pass on the road, which they claim by right of defeating a Purple Dragon patrol on the road. 

Emen and Mourn engage the foot soldiers, and Meriden engages the warrior's leader.  Grim closes on the orc's adept, and gets close enough to him to keep him from spell casting.  He begins to ask the adept why they ended up on this road.

The leader fends off Meriden's attacks for a while, but Mourn and Emen dispatch the other orcs.  The adept explains to Grim that they were herded out of the Stonelands during the War with the Devil Dragon and the goblins forced them even farther from home.  Meriden breaks off his attack with the leader, and the leader goes to confer with the adept.

Grim explains to Meriden that if the orcs give them any trouble, they can backstab them in their sleep if they travel with them.  Meriden expresses a desire to stab them in the front now.  The orc leader is similarly not enamored with his adepts conversation with Grim.  The leader and Merdien charge one another, and Meriden cuts him down, and Grim ends up killing the adept. 

 

Alturiak 23rd, 1372 DR

The entire day is exceptionally dark, overcast, and foggy.  As the group enters the foot hills outside of the Thunder Peaks, they see a horde of charging creatures, a mob of goblins that are charging down the pass down whatever is near them. 

Seeing them from a distance up the slope, Grim manages to entangle them as they charge forward, Meriden and Emen charge, and Mourn skulks off to the side to pelt the goblins with magic missiles.

Meriden manages a hit and run attack, and the horde is slowed by the entangling plants.  Emen does serious damage to the horde of goblins, but is drawn into the mob and trampled beneath them.

Meriden makes another assault on his warhorse, and Grim and Morn attack from a distance.  Emen manages to get up from under the trampling feet, and goes on a rampage of destruction, flinging broken goblin bodies to and fro until the entire mob is dispersed and dead.

Several hours later, the group runs into another band of goblins, a group of several warriors, archers, ordered around by two worg riders.

Grim manages to sneak around the warriors to harass the archers, and Dogmeat follows him to attack another archer.  Mourn shifts into his wolf form and charges toward the archers as well.  Meriden and Emen attack the warriors directly in front of them, and Meriden draws the fire of three of the archers, taking several hits on his shoulder and thigh. 

After Emen smashes several of the goblin warriors, she is felled by one of the archers, whose shot is especially well placed and seriously wounds the monk, causing her to fall unconscious.  Mourn, Dogmeat, and Grim tear through the archers, and the riders stay back barking orders.

Meriden dispatches the rest of the warriors, and then leaps off his horse to aid Emen.  Mourn and Grim finish the archers, and one of the worg riders charges Mourn, injuring the still sick lythari.  The lance strikes deep and well, but barely injures the wolf, causing the wolf rider to rethink his attack.

The second wolf rider turns and runs, and Mourn and Grim finish off the first rider.  All of the goblins have grim trophies and trinkets from the Purple Dragon Patrols that they have ambushed and slaughtered.

 

Alturiak 24th, 1372 DR

Deep into Tilver's Gap, the party runs across a column of goblins wearing black leather armor studded in bronze studs.  The goblins are commanded by a goblin in relatively fine black and copper robes. 

The goblins fall on the band, and the goblin in robes cast a spell that shoots a net made of shadows at the monk Emen.  Emen is ensnared and cannot escape the shadow net.  Meriden attacks the column of warriors, and Mourn circles around toward the spell caster on one side, just as Grim does on the other.

Meriden dispatches more goblin warriors, and the goblins spell caster traps Mourn in another net of shadows.  Mourn desperately begins to cast spells trying to escape the net, and ends up freezing a spoon to his nose and casting light on his own forehead. 

Grim is near the goblin spell caster when the goblin manages to shrink the druid rogue.  Now only half his size, and a bit smaller than the goblin, Grim attacks and kills the spell caster. 

The goblin warriors start to bear down on Meriden, so Meriden dispels the shadow net over the monk Emen, who promptly charges forward and begins to destroy goblins left and right.  The two make short work of the goblins after the monk is free.

 

Alturiak 25th-26th, 1372 DR

The party travels the rest of the way into Tilver's Gap, and out the other side, into the city of Tilverton.  At the front gate, the guards are surprised that the group has made it down the trade road with the goblins about, and tell them about the missing patrols.  The guards, upon hearing that the group is seeking to travel to the Altar of Shields, the Temple of Helm, send for a runner to get a member of the Helmite clergy.

The Helmites arrange for the party to receive an adventuring charter and have Mourn Ninefingers registered as a spell caster with the War Wizards.  The group is granted an audience with the leaders of the temple, and Meriden explains what is going on between the Shadovar and the Zhentarim, and asks for Helmite help to aid the Bedine against the Shadovar.  The Helmites tell Meriden that the Shadovar are currently helping Regent Alusair rebuild Arabel.  They do not wish to upset the Crown.  But they are interested in the parties quest, and offer to send some aid in the form of gifts and a ranger to take their animals once they reach the edge of Anauroch.  If they can produce proof of the Shadovar's dealings, the church of Helm will aid them in speaking with the Crown.

Meriden and Emen arrange to take vows advancing their rank within their perspective Orders within the church of Helm.  Their vows will be taken the following night.

Meriden takes the party's gems, arms, and armor that they no longer need to the Temple of Gond to barter, and to convert their treasure to more portable items.  Emen goes with him.  Mourn goes to Gahlaerd Mossmere, a local wizard, to buy magical trinkets  for the group as well as to purchase the components he needed to summon a familiar.  Grim travels to Filani of Tantras to pay her to research some of the magic items the party has found, as well as to take advantage of her forte, political research, to learn more about the Bedine and Anauroch.

Grim, a follower of Mieilikki, goes to the shrine of Silvanus to pick up some scrolls to help him decipher Sylvan, so that he might learn the language, and donates some gold to them as well as picking up some new spell components.  Grim takes a room at Grimwald's Revenge while the other members of the party stay at the austere cells in the Altar of Shields.

Mourn asks the clerics of Helm to repair his finger, and they do, though he receives a vision from Helm that indicates that he is somehow not pleasing to the God of Guardians.  Mourn is very happy when the experience ends.

 

Alturiak 27th, 1372 DR

The next day, Grim picks up his notes on the Bedine from Filani, and the party meets with him at Grimwald's Revenge, where they meet their hired ranger, Neddivel, who appears to be a bit touched.  They also run into Wulgar Browniefriend of Hillsafar Hall, Meriden's old friend, who has taken an underground route from Glen to the Thunder Peaks just outside of Tilverton, and is relaxing in the bar until he is ready to go home.  He decides to join up with the party.

Mourn completes his ritual to find a familiar, and a hawk answers his calling.

Emen and Meriden enter into their rituals in order to ascend in rank.  Emen is locked in a meditation chamber, and Meriden is given the sacred sword that he must kneel before and levitate with his own force of will all night long on his vigil.

Both Emen and Meriden manage to complete their trials, and in the morning the clerics of Helm ask for Helm's boon, dispelling all fatigue in the two Helmites that might have afflicted them from their overnight vigil.

Emen is awarded the title of Adept Lady Knight Emen of the Order of Everwatch Knights.  Meriden receives the title of Adept Watcher Meriden Greystag of the Order of He Who Watches Over Travelers.  Emen is assigned to act as Meriden's bodyguard on this upcoming quest.

 

Alturiak 28th, 1372 DR

Meriden, Emen, Wulgar, Mourn, Grim, and Neddivel all set off early in the morning.  Mourn has sold his horse and travels mainly in wolf form now.  The party heads north, along the Thunder Peaks, toward the Stonelands.  Neddivel only mutters to himself about the horses for hours.

Out of the hills comes a giant, carrying a rock in its hand.  Emen tries to warn the giant off the path, but the hill giant takes the half ogre's warning as some kind of interest in him, and he decides to knock her out and drag her off as his new bride.  He begins to hurl rocks at her, and strikes her solidly.

Neddivel fires off a shot from his bow at a long distance and manages to hit the giant in the forehead, causing it great pain, though not mortally warning it.  Mourn and Grim both spread out and attack at a distance, while Meriden and Wulgar charge the giant.  Emen joins them.

Neddivel continues to fire, but the closer he gets, the worse his aim is.  The hill giant hits Emen with his club, knocking her out of the fight, and Meriden and Wulgar engage him at close range, while Grim sneaks in closer, still firing his bow.

The hill giant is frustrated by the dwarf attacking him, and eventually the party dispatches the hill giant, and Meriden takes care of Emen, healing her with his spells.

 

Alturiak 29th, 1372 DR

The party manages to run into two well armed and armored ogres in the hills.  Initially they want to rob the wandering travelers, but when they see the half-ogre female monk Emen, they are even more interested in her than the hill giant was.

The fight is relatively short, but Emen tells the other members of the party that they are not to kill the last ogre standing, because he has to pay for the untoward interest in her that he has shown.  The duel is very short and ends with Emen unscathed.

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