The Druid Temple of Llewellyn

Alan, I assume you're okay with heading to the temple?

Nym, Talathel and Violet begin walking into the town, and have no problem spotting the temple. The town is built in a flat area between two ridges coming down from the mountain that is the primary topological feature of the island. The temple is nestled into the mountainside just above the town. Steam from the mountain rises and covers much of the temple, but there is a very clear path leading up to the temple from the main thoroughfare in the town.

The trek up to the temple takes fifteen minutes, and the trio arrives to find the area relatively clear of people. Outside they find several attendants (1 halfling and 1 elf) maintaining the grounds, and through an entryway that consists mostly of a gaping hole in the front wall, they see three people worshipping (one human and one half-orc), and one half-elf druid who is meditating and communing with Istishia. There is a pool of water in a sort of well at the altar where the druid is meditating, and water seems to be gurgling up to the top, but it does not overflow its bounds.

Spiral Battle in Candlekeep

Here is the map of the area for the battle. Once we get everyone's initiative, the conflict will continue here.

You can access the combat spreadsheet here. 

The order of combat will be as follows:

1. Johan
2. Beranhond
3. Ceilith
   
4. Darvin
5. Ragnar
6. Baddies

I have shifted Ceilith and Ragnar's turns to be right next to the people controlling them in order to speed up combat a bit. All of the enemies will take their turn at the same time.

Map of Ship Sinkings

Talathel and Nym, Here is the map of the attacked ships. Let me know if you need more info about them.

Recap: As It Was Before, So Shall It Be Again 1.2C

May 7th, 1371
The adventurers divided into three groups. Group 1 consisted of Talathel, Gurkirat, Starks, and 2 henchman. Group 2 included Grumbleshanks, Hring, Arngrim, and 2 henchmen, and group 3 included Darvin, Beranhond, Thjodolf, and Scriptus and Codex. Everyone tried to be sneaky and perceptive. Cross Section of the Sewers.

Darvin and Beranhond (And Nym):
Upon entering the sewers, Darvin immediately discovers a secret door. Beranhond inspects the door for magic, and finds two auras. Darvin got everyone into position, while Tigrisclawu smelled for things. Tigrisclawu warned everyone that there was a person and something unnatural and foul behind the door. The group gets tense, and opens the door. They find a small tunnel, and continue to explore deeper, when an undead creature attacks them. Beranhond shoots arrows at it and Darvin attacks it with his cutlasses, and with a bit of help from a henchman, the wight goes down, almost draining Darvin.

As it dies, they are surprised to find a teenage half-elf boy trapped nearby. The boy introduces himself as Nym, and Beranhond and Darvin introduce the rest of the party with them to this mysterious stranger. Nym is very concerned that they are going to continue the abuse he's already been subjected to, and is not helped by Darvin's introduction as a pirate, though Beranhond helps to calm him down. Nym shows off some magic tricks, and Beranhond begins to suspect, with Tigrisclawu's help, that Nym is actually a girl. They keep talking, and Beranhond openly asks Nym if he's a girl, which Nym denies with a very blatant lie. The conversation continues, with Nym getting worried, but being soothed by Beranhond. Nym joined the party, and they set off again as Beranhond notices that Scriptus and Codex are sweet on each other.

Nym follows the group as they investigate the other doors in the corridor where they found Nym, wishing she could run. They find a body that has been dead for several hours, which Beranhond tries to heal and which makes Nym both curious and squeamish. Beranhond uses this as an opportunity to ask Nym about religion. They have a short discussion as they continue their search, while Darvin gets lost in thought. They enter a room with some rather odd things sitting around. They search the room, and find some magical stuff, including a Lathanderian robe. Nym grabs a light orb and rambles for a while, Beranhond finds a book, which he tries to open, but it explodes in his face. He heals those who need it. Not one for pleasantries, Darvin hurries them along to get back to the action, after Beranhond saves what he can from the charred remains. Nym is a bit confused about what's going on, but they get going again soon.

As they travel, Nym trails a little behind and gets caught in a daydream, but they travel on. Nym gets caught up on fighting wererats as they travel, and Beranhond gives her some silver arrows and advice. She is very nervous still when they come across a wererat that runs from them and leads them into a smoke cloud, which they quickly backtrack from to think through their actions.

Grumbleshanks:
Grumbleshanks hands out 1 Stinking Cloud Gas Grenade to himself, Arngrim, and Hring, and enters the sewers. They use some very handy hand and footholds that someone very considerately carved into the walls of the sewer. He continues adventuring down the sewers, preparing for the worst. Grumbleshanks hears something, and stands and listens for rats. He finds some, and attacks with his compatriots. The battle is over very quickly. Grumbleshanks got up and started off again down the tunnel.

He came upon another group of enemies, and tries unsuccessfully to sneak up on them. He attacks, and throws another Gas Grenade, disabling an enemy, who falls back to regroup.

Talathel and Gurkirat:
The group enters the sewers and comes upon some rats that they can't see but can hear. They decide to attack, trying to do so before they are noticed. They sneak up, and catch a wererat in human form unawares with several of his "friends."

They attack, Gurkirat swiping first before the rat-folk retaliate and attack feebly against Talathel. Talathel fights back, and Gurkirat throws a Stinking Cloud Grenade at the enemies. They trade another round of blows, both sides absorbing some small damage. And another round goes by, with all participants starting to feel somewhat pathetic by the time the enemies fall to Talathel and Gurkirat's attacks.

Candlekeep Quandary: Beranhond, Darvin, and Johan Investigate (Part 1)

May 22nd, 1373
After a night of light drinking, as befits adventurers about to set out on a quest, Beranhond, Darvin, and Johan set out the next morning from Baldur's Gate with Alixondra and Ragnar tagging along.

They set out at a reasonable hour, and Beranhond set a moderate pace for the horses, allowing them to travel without dawdling and taking more than two days to get there while not jeopardizing the horses and allowing the riders to be alert and not too tired when they arrive at Candlekeep.

The beginning of the first day is mostly uneventful. They see small groups of refugees streaming toward Baldur's Gate, as well as several small groups of bandits that make themselves scarce as soon as they realize how well armed the band is. As they travel, they begin to discuss where they will camp and how they will approach Candlekeep.

The two most common ways to travel to Candlekeep are to either camp on the plains about halfway between or to push through to Beregost the first day to find an inn and then leave a bit later in the day for the shorter journey from Beregost to Candlekeep. 

What I need: 

1. Please decide whether you will camp on the plains or stay in Beregost.
2. Please give me a perception check.

Candlekeep Quandary: Beranhond, Darvin, and Johan Investigate (Part 0)

I assume that you are traveling together to Candlekeep and that you are going to be riding down together by horse. That is the usual way of getting there. I also assume that you will bring Ragdar, but Ceilith will stay behind to help with the city.

Please let me know if you would like to bring anyone else, travel in some other manner, or change anything from the above plan, and I'll start writing up your journey.

Sword Coast Sinkings: Nym and Talathel Investigate (0)

So, before we begin this next phase, how do the two of you intend to research these sinking ships? 

Are you going to travel together to try to collect information, are you going to take the Lady Narath out and try to confront whoever or whatever is sinking the ships, are you just going to each do what you think is best and meet up at the end of the day to share what you've learned, or some option I haven't mentioned here?

Please let me know what your plans are so that I may start writing up the first day of your investigation.

City Council Meeting Summary

It is at this point that I would urge you to all start taking notes. I have started, because there is WAY too much information that I'm sharing here and in emails to you individually to be able to keep track of it without some sort of notes. :)

The group ate their exquisite salads, followed by a cheese plate with raw sheep's milk Roquefort Coccinelle and toatsted hazelnuts. The third course consisted of a Gorgonzola and Pancetta pasta dish with orecchiette, fresh red bell pepper, scallions, walnuts and gorgonzola cream sauce. The meal concluded with small trays of sea-salt caramels.

Small talk continued throughout the meal. Once the plates had been cleared, Georgia asked Jeeves <i>(the servant)</i> to invite Ragnar and Ceilith to join them.

Under his breath, Jeeves whispered, "My vast knowledge is wasted here!"

Once Ragnar and Ceilith had entered and taken their seats, the meeting and strategizing began.

Georgia begins by giving everyone a bit of the recent history, to make sure everyone has the same information to start from.

• Georgia begins the breakdown in a very businesslike manner. Ishmael and his false Lathanderian priests have done quite a lot of damage through both direct and indirect assaults on Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate. It's suspected that his lot are the reason for the silence from Candlekeep and Luskan.
  

Tarryn Kallis (formerly known as Councilwoman 2, sitting between Johan and Councilwoman 3)

• She explains that the City Council has not been idle, and has spent the past year working to formed an alliance with several other cities in the area, including Candlekeep, Scornubel, Athkatla, and Murann, as well as several smaller towns. They were starting to try to raise an army to defend themselves, but about six months ago, their emissary to Candlekeep stopped writing, and none of their attempts to contact them have been successful.

Evelia Hutchcraft (formerly known as Councilwoman 3, sitting on the end next to Councilwoman 2)

• Evelia adds that they she had even begun having some regular, if rather tense, discussions about mutual defense with the druids of the Moonshae Isles, but that Algor, the leader of the druids, had not been at the agreed upon meeting place for either of their last three meetings. The next meeting is scheduled for less than a week away, but they're beginning to lose hope.

Delilah Dynamo (formerly known as Councilwoman 1, sitting between Beranhond and Talathel)

• As if reciting a long-worn argument, Delilah brought up the undead and how to ensure they would be able to protect the city against them. She mentioned a city watch and armed guards patrolling both the city and the sewers, but warned that the watch was stretched extremely thin with all of the refugees pouring into the city. If an attack comes, they will have to cut back somewhere, and that means they will be exposing themselves to an attack somewhere. They just don't have the resources to do everything at once.
  

Abarrion Bort Garther Regginold Dartherson III (formerly known as Councilman 1, sitting between Talathel and Darvin)

• Abarrion stood up with a really big gesture to draw attention to himself and said, "Things are bad!" Having said his piece, he promptly sat down and tried to continue staying awake. 

At this point, please roleplay any questions and comments you'd like to make. This is the background for what's going on in the world, but it is up to you to decide where your responsibilities lie and what you want to do to change things.

The City Council

At 6:00, Beranhond, Darvin, Johan, Nym, and Talathel arrived at the City Hall, where they found Violet waiting for them.

"Dinner and the City Council are waiting inside," Violet told the group, "They have been growing nervous with all of the bad news that has been coming in recently about the other cities along the coast. I would recommend calming their fears as much as you can." 

As Violet led them into a modest sized building, past several artistic renderings of the city and the surrounding countryside, she continued, "The last they heard from any of you, you had just encountered Methasse at Waterdeep and were traveling to the Shaar to try to raise troops to help you fight him. They are hopeful that you've been successful, because they received word this last week that Methasse is considering attacking here next." 

The group came to a medium dining room with a door on each side. In the center of the room was a round table and fifteen chairs spaced equally around it. Each chair had a table setting with a generous salad, several bottles of assorted dressings, and a few small bowls of toppings for the salad. As they approached, a servant who had been standing the door opposite the one they entered from quickly ducked into the door she'd been standing next to. Several moments later, the servant reappeared and took up her place beside the door as the 7 members of the City Council came through the door one by one.

As the council came out, the members of the group that had been in Baldur's Gate at the beginning of their adventures recognized both Arngrim and Hring among the seven. Apparently, they had both become more of a political fixture in the city since the last time Kilink had visited.

One of the women that nobody in Kilink recognized raised her arms in greeting, "Welcome, Kilink. I see your group has changed a bit since last we met. I am Georgia Stourm, the leader of this council. Please, sit and join us for a dinner, and we will bring each other up to date and strategize how to stem the tide of the darkness that sweeps over the land." Georgia motioned everyone to sit, and the council spread out to put themselves next to and between the members of Kilink. 

The final seating arrangement was in this order: Georgia, Beranhond, Councilwoman 1, Talathel, Councilman 1, Darvin, Hring, Nym, Arngrim, Johan, Councilwoman 2, Councilwoman 3. 


Are you thinking you'd like to roleplay this dinner, or would you prefer to just do more of a rundown of important information and such? Please vote.

Another Familiar Face

At this point in the conversation, there came a knock on the cabin door. "Rat-a-tat-TAT."

"Enter," Darvin called.

 And on his command, a  somewhat tall woman with dark brown hair and dark clothing with a deep violet cloak walked in. Darvin, Nym, Talathel, and Beranhond recognized Violet, though it took a moment before Talathel and Beranhond remembered exactly who she was, as she had only traveled with them briefly. She has a morningstar at her hip, and walks into the room with a very quiet though purposeful stride.

She said, in a low alto voice, "My bold adventuring group has returned at last. Welcome back to Baldur's Gate!" With this, she came in and gave Darvin a big bear hug and went around the table trying to do the same with everyone but Johan. As she came to him, she asked, "Hello. Do I know you?"

Recap: As It Was Before, So Shall It Be Again 1.2B

May 6th, 1371

At this point, Hring (the man who is hosting the adventurers) explains to the adventurers that he would like their help with the wererats that are infesting the sewers. He offers to pay them and supply them with alchemical silver weapons if they will take out the creatures' leaders. Talathel is incensed by the audacity of the man for sending his thugs to incapacitate him and Darvin. Beranhond asks questions about how the man gathered his information about the wererats.

Hring apologizes for having his thugs drug Talathel and Darvin, and explains that he has been trying to fight the wererats for several years, and that the wererat leaders were once his friends, before they were corrupted. He supplies them with maps of the sewers, and as he's working with the group to plan their raid of the sewers (and Beranhond has a flashback), one of the men who drugged Talathel and Darvin walks into the room. The group keeps discussing the best way to kill the wererats without fighting, and decides that they need to make a bunch of oil potions of stinking gas to try to incapacitate the wererats so they can kill them more easily. Grumbleshanks insults Beranhond, who gets rather angry, storms off to the bathroom to calm down, and then apologizes and returns to the discussion.


That makes a second trip to the bathroom!

Once Beranhond returns, Gurkirat volunteers to use his alchemical skills to make some oil bombs, and Hring realizes that he hasn't actually met any of the adventurers yet. The group is introduced, and Hring explains more about the situation. Grumbleshanks tries to make nice, and the group solidifies their plans for creating oil bombs for use in the sewers.

Everyone starts to head off to their own tasks, include a scouting mission performed by Darvin and Talathel and a herd (murder) of cats, starting at a pub they had already become acquainted with. Grumbleshanks and Gurkirat go to work on some spiced wine and oil bombs, and Beranhond tried to gather some information. From what he found, the situation looked very dire, with Neverwinter, Waterdeep, and the sea around the Sword Coast all in states of distress.

When Darvin and Talathel returned, they regaled the group with the tales of their derring-do. Also, they showed off a  cool magic sphere they found that changes shape when held into a cube that can cast spells, though they had a lot of problems figuring that out.

Gurkirat had a couple mishaps while trying to make oil bombs and accidentally incapacitated Grumbleshanks as he walked down the hall, returning from the restroom. They were rescued by a distressed maid before they were noticed by Darvin and everyone ran to help. It wasn't as bad as it seemed at first, as the noxious fumes just put everyone to sleep.

And that's trip 3 to the bathroom!

Beranhond tried to go to bed, but Darvin woke him up from his slumber in order to get him to explain what the magic cube does and what spells it can cast.

Soon enough, everyone went and finished their preparations, with the plan to go invade the sewers the following day.

It All Comes Back to Baldur's Gate

May 21st, 1373
Only weeks after the two year anniversary of the start of the adventure, events begin to bring the adventurers back to the city of Baldur's Gate.

Talathel:
Talathel returned to Baldur's Gate on May 5th, 1373. It seemed fitting to him at the time that this date should mark another new beginning in his life, as it had two years before. Yet again, his heart and his faith were sending him out into the world.

He found passage for Lailsan aboard a ship bound for the Moonshae Isles and began searching for news about his missing god. After over two weeks, he has only found a very vague rumor to go on. His frustration is beginning to become unbearable, but today, he hears some very good news. Both Darvin and Beranhond have returned to the city, as well.

Beranhond:
After spending the year assisting with their war in Thay, Beranhond is able to return triumphantly with an army of Tormish Paladins at his back. The city is abuzz about the size of the army that is camped an hour's ride from the city. You get the camp arranged, and ride into the city in the early afternoon.

Darvin: 
Captaining the Lady Narath, you arrive at the reconstructed port of Baldur's Gate in the late morning. Paying dock fees, announcing shore leave and a duty schedule, and generally dealing with all the hassles of being in charge of a ship takes a couple hours, and it's early afternoon before you can enter the city. 

Nym and Johan:
After a rather harrying journey, you are able to make it to Baldur's Gate as well. You were only able to find passage aboard a smuggling ship to get you to the mainland from the Moonshae Islands, and were forced to walk several days from the coast to the city. However, this morning, as you approached the city, you spotted the Lady Narath arrive in port. You enter the city in the early afternoon.

You have all arrived in the city. The stage is yours. Please start your actions in the comments.

Edit (2-26-13, 7:55 AM): I edited Talathel's info. He wasn't actually on the Moonshae Isles. He sent Lailsan there, but didn't go himself.

Recap: As it Was Before, So Shall It Be Again 1.2A

After being drugged by thugs in the sewers, Darvin and Talathel were brought to the estate of Hring Darkeyes, a wealthy merchant. Beranhond, Grumbleshanks, and Gurkirat all arrived at the estate some time later to find them unconscious on a couple cots in a large audience chamber.

Darvin and Talathel awoke, Beranhond tried to engage Grumbleshanks and Gurkirat in conversation, and food was brought in and Grumbleshanks began to eat. Gurkirat began eating as well. Beranhond felt a bit slighted by the silence that followed his greeting, and tried to Darvin instead. Failing that, he decided eating was a good idea. Unfortunately, Beranhond's cat, Tigrisclawu, had other ideas, and decided to create a ruckus, ruining the food that everyone was enjoying and pissing off Grumbleshanks.

Having lain awake but unmoving until this point, Talathel realized that he really had to pee. Tigrisclawu needed to go out, too. Tigrisclawu went outside, and Talathel mentioned he needed to use the restroom, followed by almost everyone else. Grumbleshanks took the opportunity to ask the guards outside the door what was happening, which was a question the guards were unable to answer. Beranhond scolded Tigrisclawu and repaired the food. Talathel, Darvin, and Beranhond headed to the restrooms, and Beranhond waited while Darvin and Talathel took their turns.

Wow, I forgot how much excrement I had to put up with at the beginning... ;)

Back in the room, Grumbleshanks explored a bit and finds a back room filled with silver weapons. Tigrisclawu grew bored waiting in line for the bathrooms and checked out the kitchens. Beranhond follows his lead and grills the chef for information (pun intended). Gurkirat grows bored waiting for everyone to get done with their exploration and plays his clarinet. A man walks, unnoticed, down the hallway and stands in the doorway of the room where Gurkirat and Grumbleshanks are hanging out. He is finally detected when Talathel and Darvin return from the restroom. Grumbleshanks finally notices the man in the doorway, too. Beranhond goes and shaves, then returns to the room.

Recap: As it Was Before, So Shall It Be Again 1.1B

Upon arriving in Baldur's Gate, Beranhond was promptly involved in an altercation with a priest of Lathander before performing a mass healing of those injured in the earthquake. After healing the crowd, he discovers that the earthquake seems to center on the Temple of Lathander, where there is an inordinate amount of foul rot and a chasm leading into the sewers. Narath, Beranhond's goddess, appeared to him and he reveals that he is rather infatuated with her. Hearing voices, Beranhond backed out of the tunnels to find out more before diving in. He was approached and asked to meet an important figure in the city.

Darvin and Talathel met with Marty, a rather shady fellow related to Darvin's romantic interest (Mashy) back in the fishing village he'd left. Marty informed them of strange creatures in the sewers and offered 20 gold for each unusual body collected from the sewers. They rested and waited for dark, when they ran off to make some cash after having a discussion about whether working for Marty was really something that two honest adventurers should be doing. They climbed into the sewers, where they ran into a group of thugs, who told them to back off. Irked, but not seeing another way out, they followed the thugs. The thugs didn't appreciate being followed, and knocked them both unconscious.

Grumbleshanks and Gurkirat ran into each other in a meeting that was rather confrontational and full of misunderstandings, and then made their way into the city, where they fought a couple rats attacking the city guards. They realized shortly after the fight that these were wererats, rather than regular rats. They discovered that the people of the city were going missing, a couple people per night. They also were summoned by a half-orc named Thjodolf to meet an important figure.

Recap: As it Was Before, So Shall It Be Again 1.1A

For the sake of helping both the new and old to this game, I will be starting with a recap of what has happened already in the world. Feel free to comment on things that you or your characters especially liked or disliked. Remember that < i > and < / i > make text italics, which is used for out of character comments. Also, < b > and < / b > make text bold, if you would like to emphasize something.

Our story began in Baldur's Gate, on May 5, 1371, where Beranhond, Darvin, Talathel, Grumbleshanks, and Gurkirat all arrived in a city that had just been destroyed by an earthquake followed by a tsunami.

Beranhond, a human cleric and budding prophet, was on a search for meaning and following the chaotic urgings of his goddess.

Darvin, a half elf ranger, was in search of adventure and a life as a pirate, fleeing marriage and the father of a halfling girl who was smitten with him.

Talathel, an elf monk, sought peace and meaning for his life. His primary companions Darvin and the flask he always carried were his prime motivators in the beginning.

Grumbleshanks, a halfling druid, came in search of status and answers to his questions about why the druid circles in the area were under attack.

Gurkirat, a gnome bard, was in search of fame and fortune, and just happened to be in the area.

They arrived a Baldur's Gate that looked like this:

I know this is very little detail, but I will get faster as I go. :) I hope this whets your appetite. 

Edit: 2-19-13, 8:17 AM - Correction: Darvin is a half-elf, not a human. 

It Begins Anew

One year later...