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Bastard Son of the great-grandchild of the sister's gibbon's friend of the nephew of the Campaign that Would Not Die, now in 3.75e
Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster
Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster
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Bastard Son of the great-grandchild of the sister's gibbon's friend of the nephew of the Campaign that Would Not Die, now in 3.75e Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster |
Glassblowing Tools
Glassblowers use a suite of specialized, heat-resistant tools to manipulate molten glass. The most essential tools include blowpipes (for gathering and inflating glass), jacks (pincers used to shape necks and flares), shears (for cutting the hot material), marvers (flat metal/graphite tables for shaping), and a glory hole (a reheating furnace). Whether you are working in a large-scale hot shop or on a smaller torchworking bench, these tools serve specific purposes during the creation process: 1. Gathering & Inflation 2. Shaping & Manipulation 3. Cutting & Separation |
Over the days spent in Utkinton, the pair spent some time assembling equipment for their professions. Ruby, limited by Rowla's frankly poor gear, made up her own Masterwork smith's tools, and then used them to create a set of glassblowing tools for Borax. Something a bit special happened between the two craftsmen as they designed and built these, and the results were something truly outstanding.
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In the grey, cold wintery pre-dawn they set out for the Fist. Neithar came to see them off, wishing them well, as he was working to try and find a good home for Zalia.
Midway through the trip, the pair spotted a strange, funnel-like mound a couple of hundred yards off the road, which with spyglasses appeared to be an ants' nest, but gigantic. Another species of Curst making an incursion into Stryre. They didn't disturb it but resolved to tell the knights about it.
Around half past ten they reached the Fist, where they were greeted as friends by the guards, and urged inside as "they're nearly ready". In the bailey they found a hubub of preparation as Brasshelm's expedition gathered to set out. Borax eyed this, evaluating how close to ready they already were, and retired to the Rowdy Rider for a second breakfast. Banmyr looked at him as he came in; "No bags of ears today?" he asked a little archly. "No," "Good enough!"
 DM Note: There it was in the DMG II; hiring classed characters costs Level Squared in gp per day. Nice and easy. |
Meanwhile, outside, a large riding horse had been found for Ruby (and Calcryx), a pony for Calvis and a rather small mule for Meepo. Another pony, of a size comfortable for a dwarf to ride, awaited Borax's arrival. When he emerged, he looked it up and down. The young farrier who'd brought it assured him that it was a calm beast, suitable for those not used to riding, but Borax hitched it to the back of the cart that was part of the expedition, introduced himself to Corwyn the cart driver and settled himself into the back amongst the heaps of supplies. Brasshelm wisely didn't trust any food or drink foraged in the Desolation.
Ruby rather cynically eyed Brassshelm with her monocle, discerning good enchantments on his armour, sword and shield, and earmarking them in case he didn't survive.
Apart from the Commander and themselves, the expedition consisted of:
It occurred to Ruby that there were no spellcasters in this lot; either Brasshelm relied totally on martial force or had been banking on their turning up with Calvis and Meepo.
Shortly after, the expedition rode out of the gates and headed away north-west into the Borderlands.
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As the expedition moved along through the degrading landscape, Brasshelm sought out the Tanks and explained a bit more about his objectives. “My main objective in these missions is to seek out certain artifacts of Sildor-era Elvish magic and craft and knowledge. Those I reserve to myself; other treasures we may encounter are divided between our company by rank. These trips also, of course, serve as training for my men and reconnaissance of the lands around us. It’s no secret that the Elves are currently the greatest threat to the peace of the realm, and the more we can learn about their “Empire” the better.” His voice dripped with contempt at the word “empire”. To queries about exactly what he himself was seeking, he politely declined to comment.
The location he planned to explore was apparently seven days away. He’d not been there, but purchased the directions from another ‘contractor’, a ranger named Deverill whom he had found reliable in the past. Deverill had suspected there might be ruins in the area but had been travelling through on urgent business at the time and had not investigated further.
Later, around the campfire, he told the company of the legend of the Dance of the Damned. In this day and age, it was regarded as a myth, a ghost story to thrill a gathering for an evening's entertainment.
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At around three pm on the fourth day, the expedition was passing through rougher ground, with crags to the right/north which contained caves. The scout on that side wss riding along about twenty yards from them, and a hundred yards from the expedition, keeping an eye open, when a loud bellow was heard and a large creature, looking more like a metal cow than anything else, burst from one of the caves and charged straight at him.
He grabbed his reins, ready to dash his horse out of the way – and a billowing green cloud erupted from the creature and enveloped him. The monster charged past him, heading for the expedition, and as it did so the unfortunate scout and his horse toppled over, unmoving and rigid to crash to the ground. Both horse and rider were somehow grey, and did not separate or change position as they hit the earth.
Brasshelm immediately started barking orders to his men; Stormont and eight of the knights to fan out to the sides and attack the thing, the squires, bolstered by two knights, to "defend the wagon" - in actuality, to keep them out of battle with something probably way out of their league. He didn't attempt to order the Tanks to do anything, apparently trusting in their judgement of their own capabilities.
Ruby dropped off her horse, not trusting her chances at controlling it in a stressful situation, and strung her bow. Calcryx was circling above, as he had been doing all through the trip. Calvis prepared to ride forward with the knights on the right flank, though at the back of the group - he wasn't about to get involved in a cavalry battle. Meepo rode his mule over to where Borax had climbed out of the cart. "You want to keep up?" he squeaked at the dwarf. Taking his lack of a refusal as acceptance, the kobold cast Expeditious Retreat on him, increasing his speed to the point he could actually keep up with a horse ... for a while. Hefting his hammer, Borax set off across the broken ground; for some reason Meepo was drawn to follow him.
As they closed, Ruby's arrows sleeted overhead. One drilled into the monster, while the other glanced off with a metallic ping. It didn't just look like metal; it was metal. This proved problematic for the knights, equipped with light crossbows; none of them made a mark on it. Calvis sank a bolt into it, and like the knights, slung the weapon as spanning it on a running horse just wasn't practical.
As the three groups closed on the monster, Calvis cast Bless as he usually did, including his half of the knights, Stormont and himself in Lynien's protection. Ruby loosed again, sinking another arrow into the creature, and Borax met it head-on, his flaming hammer clouting the body with a deafening clang. Meepo launched a Melf's Acid Arrow at it, striking home, Stormont struck at it with his long spear, safely out of reach, and the eight knights spread out to surround it and began battering it with their swords.
As another two of Ruby's arrows slammed into it, the beast turned to its right and coughed out another blast of its' green vapour. Four knights were engulfed; one dodged back, but three knights and one horse succumbed to the deadly breath and tumbled to the grass as stone statues. One hit a rock and shattered into pieces. Caught by surprise by its change of facing, Borax missed his next attack but caught it on the backswing, sending it staggering. Then Stormont lifted his spear high, cried an invocation to Taranis and struck, piercing deep into the beast's shoulder and into whatever passed for a heart in such a thing. It fell dead to the grass.
The expedition gathered around the fallen knights - Sir Kein, Sir Eowend and Sir Jasam and the scout Girwon - and Brasshelm called curses down on the dead creature. He seemed pragmatic about losing men on his mission, but firmly said that they would collect the statues on the way home and he would find a priest to restore them to life - with the exception of the shattered Jasam who was beyond help. They'd be safe here until then.
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On the seventh day, the expedition reached the site Brasshelm was heading for. At first sight it wasn't very impressive; a rocky crag with a flat grassy top, and a slope winding up it. It might have been shaped that way, but then again, it might have been natural.
Whether or not there were ruins under it, it was the most defensible feature for miles, and Brasshelm ordered camp to be made on top while ordering Tazarin, the surviving scout and (he suggested) the PCs to explore for possible openings. “Or, you could start cooking,” he said with a grin.
The group spread out, and began searching; all except Borax who stayed at the top, scanning the horizon with his spyglass in case of trouble. After around half an hour, Ruby stumbled on a heavily overgrown opening, remarkably similar in proportions to a ‘standard’ passage, 10’ wide and high originally, though rockslides and collapses had reduced it to about half that.
When they called out their discovery, Brasshelm hurried over, and clapped her on the shoulder in excitement. "This looks like it!" he said cheerfully. "It's too late today, but in the morning we'll make an early start down there."
Everyone else returned to making camp, but Ruby and Borax exchanged glances and quietly stepped into the dark opening, their darkvision kicking in as they passed out of the evening light.
The cave gave way to a crumbling, barely-recognizable passage, which suddenly reached stairs down to an open doorway to the East. The stonework, Borax noted, was elvish and of similar style to that in the Valley of Eagles. Yes, this was the right place. The pair backed out again and went to get some sleep.
That evening, Borax gave his half-sized spyglass to Meepo, telling him that it was more suited to his size than Borax'. The little kobold was overcome with pleasure at this present, and almost hugged Borax, only at the last moment remembering that this might not go down all that well.
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The next morning, the delving party assembled in the driving snow. Apart from the Tanks, Brasshelm had brought two of his knights - Mazbadil and Shifan - both of whom had large empty sacks at their belts. “Treasure will be divided once the site is cleared,” he explained. “Financially, 1 share each to the squires, 2 shares each to the scouts, 5 shares each to the knights – and you. Magical items – except what I reserve – divided between the knights and yourselves, with lots drawn for first choice, second and so on”
The humans unpacked lanterns and torches and started lighting them; Borax rolled his eyes. He disliked humans intensely, and was determined to be suspicious of Brasshelm's motives. He cares nothing for his men; he left the stoned behind and carried on, he thought, but then had to concede that the Baron had said that he'd take them back and get them revived on the way home. Borax didn't care. He still didn't trust the man.
2. This room showed much sign of vermin and small animals living in it; there were a couple of sparrows’ nests. The stone frame of a desk or table stood at the east end, and heaps of rubbish to the sides might once have been shelves with books on. Flanking the east door were two bas-reliefs which Calvis recognized as Mithlendel, elvish god of magic, lore and craft. Above the door was an inscription in the archaic Elvish of the time. There was closed door in the east wall.
The inscription read "Be welcome, seeker after knowledge, to Proudstone Library" and Brasshelm looked speculatively at Ruby as she read this off; he'd clearly not taken her for any sort of a scholar.
After some searching of the rubble, a tiny silver key was discovered. Hopes were dashed when it didn't fit the door, so Calvis unpacked his tools and opened the lock.
3. This was in far better state than the Reception Room. There was a dome over the centre, once beautifully decorated with painted frescoes, but most of these were now a heap of multi-coloured rotting plaster on the floor. There was a closed door to the E and arched doorways N and S.
Turning south, they headed towards the dimly-visible fountain.
4. A circular fountain stood in the centre of this room. The rim was carved with sitting places so people could sit at the edge and admire the cool water. The bowl was still filled with water, and the magic that operated it was still running, but the fluid itself was no longer wholesome. It was dank and foul, and smelled dreadful.
Brasshelm became very animated at this discovery, and insists that a potion-sized bottle was collected. Sir Shifan took it and very carefully filled it, handing it back as Brasshelm explained that this water might match how the water of the river Vileflow had been at the height of the Desolation. As they moved on, Borax noticed that Shifan was looking more than a bit queasy.
"What happens if you fall in the Vileflow?" wondered Ruby. Brasshelm spread his hands. "There's no account," he said, "but it can't be good."
At this point, Borax separated from the main group, moving from room to room and exploring on his own. Brasshelm clearly felt he was just being contrary, but Ruby quickly realized that he was scanning for nice loot ahead of the main party in order to quietly pocket some.
5. Borax got to this room first. Storage chests lined the walls, with a workbench against the E wall. A closed door was in the N end of the E wall.
"Here's the treasure!" he sang out loudly, bringing the rest of the group at a rush.
The chests contained rotted and crumbling bookbinders tools and supplies, some carpentry tools in good repair, disintegrating books that all appeared to have had damage when put in the chests, neatly stacked but rotten robes and a wooden rack of coins. All the chests disintegrated when touched. The coins were all of ancient elvish minting; 10gp, 5pp, 20sp, 50cp and 20 that they eventually recognized as electrum. Nobody has used electrum coins for centuries. Calvis commented that "The coins will spend, but they may make more as collectibles." The carpentry tools were masterwork and with new grips would be worth 55gp. Nobody took them.
The door in the east of room 3 was locked, and Borax spent some time repeatedly kicking it until the main party arrived. It was touch and go whether he'd stop in time for Calvis to try unlocking it, but in the end he did and Calvis opened the door.
6. There were remains here on the tables that suggested there were magical machines here that produced food and drink. On the E wall flanking the door were inscriptions in large Elvish letters. The writing read: “No food or drink within the library! This means YOU! You have been warned!”
4. Continuing his independent exploration, Borax returned to the fountain (4) and took a piddle in the fountain. He watched with interest the way the colour of the fluid changed in the baisin, and then more interest as - after a delay - it appeared in the jet as well. Cheered, he headed back up towards the 'treasure' room as the others were leaving the Refectory.
7. Stone shelves lined the walls, clearly for books, but there were none on any of them. On a shelf to the left was a small glass jar, with a label on it. There was a doorway to the E and one to the N beyond which stairs down could be seen.
This looked uninteresting and Borax was just about to leave when the jar caught his eye. Picking it up, he realized that the label was written in the same archaic Elvish as everything else. To spoil Brasshelm's day, he picked it off and dropped the remains in a pocket. The contents were revealed - a preserved eyeball that rotated to face him whichever way he held the jar. It didn't seem to do anything else, so he put it back and headed through the west door.
6. Brasshelm and company walked through the door into (13). Ruby, suspecting shenanigans, had piled her rations on one of the tables, and was unbothered, but when each of the others walked through, a Magic Mouth bellowed the warning directly behind them from the lintel, jarringly loud; "No food or drink within the library! This means YOU! You have been warned!"
13. This 15’ round room had the dried, brittle remnants of two simple chairs against the S wall. An archway exited to the W and a door to the N.
Ruby and Brasshelm looked around. "This could be a reading room," said Ruby. "Maybe," said Calvis, touching a chair. With no fuss it crumbled into a heap of splinters and dust.
12. Through the arch was another round room, where a skeleton sprawled in the centre, still with shreds of dessicated skin and rags of clothing clinging here and there. A glint led Ruby to a golden ring on its' hand, which went into the bag for later disttribution.
11. This room was a duplicate of (4), with the exception that the enchantment on the fountain had failed, and the baisin was dry and empty.
| DM Note: I played this at the table with BH accidentaly shaking it while turning it over, but of course Identify should have told them what to do. Such is recorded here. |
7. When the main party reached this room, they spotted the jar immediately, and Brasshelm picked it up. Turning it over in his hands (and watching the eye follow him resolutely) he held it out for Meepo to cast Identify on it. The little kobold reported "The Eye of Insight. Shake it to ask a question."
Brasshelm raised an eyebrow, and gave it a gentle shake. A strong, resonant voice spoke, seemingly from nowhere, saying in ancient Elvish the one word, "Ask!" An eager look came over his face, and before anyone could discuss what a good question would be, he blurted out ""Are there any artifacts in these ruins?" in modern Elvish. The same voice responded, "Yes." There was a pause, as he waited in hope for detail, but nothing happened. He shook it again, and nothing happened. "Must have used it up," said Calvis. "Or it's once a day," said Brasshelm hopefully. Ruby offered to carry it, but gave it a surreptitious shake as she opened the Bag. The resounding "Ask," was clearly audible to Borax three rooms away, never mind the rest of the main group. Rather sheepishly, she asked it, "Where will we find artifacts in these ruins?" "In the Magical Lore Library, and on the Second Floor," the jar replied. This was better. She shook it again, and nothing happened, so she bagged it up.
14. A twisted, warped mass of bones lay against the NE wall of this larger round room, their shapes clearly far from normal. Doors exited to the E and W, and an archway to the S. Four arrows were sticking out of the ribs or lying mixed in with the bones.
Most of the arrows were in the same condition as all the other wood they had seen so far, but one was pristine and looked usable, a strong tell for magic. Sure enough, Meepo reported that it was Wilhelm's +2 Arrow, as well as commenting that his Identify spell could do six items at once and it would probably be a good thing to group their finds. Ruby, the only person in the entire party equipped with a bow, slid it into her quiver and nobody objected.
15. A room set into the E-W corridor contained several rows of metal cabinets with many drawers in, around 6”x4”. The rusted remains of some kind of mechanism hung from the ceiling by metal rails that ran above all the cabinets. A bit of pondering led to the conclusion that this was a magically automated catalogue, providing a guide to the library for the asking. When the drawers were explored and found to contain powder that might once have been a myriad cards, Brasshelm was not at all happy.
16. This was obviously a stack; eight square pillars contained books on all four sides; they rotated when pushed, with difficulty and grinding noises. Shelves lined the perimeter, several high, with more books intermittently racked. A movable ladder on wheels could run around the perimeter on a metal track, though it looked pretty corroded. There was a doorway to the N.
This stack had “History” inlaid into the floor in gold. After much searching by all, ten books were discovered to be salvageable. They promised useful historical knowledge, and Brasshelm had Sir Shifan carefully add them to his sack.
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Session Date: 20th July 2026 |
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