The Sylvan Realm #4 (#48)

[GM Mad]

Sylvan Realm #4

November 27th, CR 571

The Heroes of the Mother Tree have reached the mountain top griffon stable to the north of the Sylvan Realms. The ancient elves appear to have found a strange stone structure on the mountain peak and used it to make an observation outpost. The stone has strange and previously never seen before properties. The stone itself glows red and emits heat after being touched, seemingly absorbing heat from beings, storing it and then releasing out again.

The structure is guessed to be thousands of years old. So old that it has been twisted in places by the movement of the earth itself. The left hand chamber is now tilted at a 45 degree angle and unusable. Part of the hall going straight from the entry wall and the chamber beyond it are now at an even steeper angle and take either a rope or magic to reach. The rest of the structure, while slightly sloping off in one direction, is still usable.

A nearly catatonic elf is found at the bottom of the straight ahead chamber. He does not respond to any words or even prodding or shaking. Occasionally he mutters something about blood. Otherwise he mumbles and whimpers a lot.

Lilia casts Alterself on herself to give her sylph-like wings. The Priestess of Corellon flies down to inspect the elf. She casts Cure Light Wounds on him, but much like when Kylie was down here earlier the elf is seemingly oblivious to her presence. After a time, Lilia flies back up to the upper area leaving the strange elf alone once more.

While that is going on, the griffons are led into the stable area. Valena talks to each of the griffons first telling them what they are to expect. Laucian then leads them down the stairs and into the stable. There are only four stalls and six griffons. One settles into the hallway to the right going to the twisted hallway. The last one, Aura, Laucian's own griffon, settles into the middle of the stable area.

A guard shift rotation is set up for the evening while the books in the quarters area are examined. There are six tomes in all. The first two are journal style entries from the various commanders of this outpost over the passing of thousands of years. The other four books are regular reports of what was spotted. The fourth book is only a quarter used, the rest of the pages are blank.

[GM Mad]

Here are the highlights:

The ancient elves named this place “Crimson Crest”, for obvious reasons. The outpost was placed into use on the 73rd day of Highsun in the year of 209 AP. In the early days there were reports of some elves having a strange mental breakdowns while in the structure. There was just something about the place that caused them to collapse and be unresponsive. Once far enough from Crimson Crest such afflicted elves returned to their normal selves. From that time on, those posted at Crimson Peak had to be screened to ensure that they were not struck by this weird affect. It seemingly only affected one out of every twenty elves or so.

The glowing/warmth effect was noted back in those days as well. The stone was dark in color when found, but physical contact caused it to 'heat up' and radiate heat. Once spent, the stone would go dark again. The more people present, the more the heat would be stored and the longer it would take to be released.

The journal claims that the chamber straight ahead, where the nearly catatonic elf is now, was used as an observation chamber. According to the text that in the light of day, the chambers walls become translucent and you can see down on the mountain below. This effect only only occurred in that chamber and the entry stairs from the outside. Seemingly this effect only happens to stone that is hit by sunlight. The rest of the structure is buried and remains the unchanged.

Typically a unit of four elves and their griffon mounts were assigned to the outpost. They would stay here for three days and make their observations before flying off to the next outpost. These units would travel to all the mountain outposts over the course of an elfin month. After that, a new unit would be dispatched to repeat the procedure. Roughly, a unit was stationed at Crimson Peak four times a year.

There are reports with the passing of the years of trips made to scout further to the north. The area at the northern base of the mountains seems to have seen much seismic activity. What once had been a plain has been shattered into a multi-level,broken landscaped. Some portions have risen up, while others have fallen down. A few stone structures like this outpost were found, but they all had been buried in the earth and were no longer usable. Other than the stone, no other trace of who built this city or lived here was ever found. These other structures had the same glowing properties of the outpost. The elves theorized that on the plains below there was once an ancient city of this red stone. But earthquakes had shattered it some long time ago and it was buried with the passing of the years. Those elves who did regular checks over the city never saw any intelligent beings living there, just some wild animals and a few monsters.

The first three books of regular reports show regular observations from the Crimson Crest. The reports tend to be sparse tending to lean on the side of nothing new to report to sightings of wild animals or monsters. Rarely was there any real danger spotted from here. The final journal entry and regular report are on the same day: the 24th day of Duskfall in the year of 11,289 AP. It was on this day that the outpost was officially closed. The current commander does wonder if any elves will ever return to this distant outpost as most are now moving to the Elfholds to the south.

[GM Mad]

November 28th, CR 571

The night passes uneventfully for those who can sleep. As the priests turn in for the evening, they cast Endure Cold on everyone in the group and the griffons. Once everyone rises new spells are learned / prayed for by those who need to do so.

As the first light of day arrives, you can see that the minor snow storm from the night before has ceased and the day appears to be clear. As the light hits the roof of the entry stairs, the stone slowly starts to fade away as if it was clear, but red glowing, glass.

Having read about the chamber below serving as an observation chamber, some go to take a look for themselves. The ancient elves described what was down at the base of the mountains as barren, broken plains with a few red stone structures dotting the landscape. Those who check out the view will find that this had changed dramatically.

To the shock of all who look, there are some thirty buildings that can be seen partially emerging from the plains. Red stone towers and building tops that are now many floors above the plains. Clearly the once buried city is now being uncovered! And all the structures seem glow the same red as the outpost! Those looking at this sight can't help but glance at the shivering elf at their feet. Blood everywhere indeed!

The city is still miles away below the mountain, perhaps half a day's ride on griffon back. Those with really good eye site can make out figures outside the buildings on the plains seemingly locked in combat while many more lie motionless on the ground...

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

The number 48 in the title is the number of posts in this forum including Blackflame and Elfquest. Post #50 is coming up!

While we've mostly used the Cynalon Calendar for months and years, the above is the Elfin one. It's divided up a bit differently and their starting year is much earlier than Cynalon's, since elves are much older race.

Seems that I forgot abut Lilia using the Star Crown and that changes some things. While wearing the Star Crown she does not feel the chill, so it is not necessary to cast Endure Cold on her. Likewise, the crown amplifies the number of mage spells she can case. Under this alternative system, that equates into having more spell points. Lilia should have 70 spell points available fully rested.

The implication is that the ancient city of red stone was buried back when the ancient elves were here, but has since been found and is starting to be uncovered. Perhaps by the orcs that are believed to live here now. Could these ruins be what the orcs call Xorg?

This post will be the last chance to make any adjustments to your spell lists.

Now what?

[Kylie]

Kylie:

Laucian listens to Lilia speak of how the wood workers seal thew ood then make elaborate designs and achievements that last a very long time.he adds, “It is also why Elven bows are so prized. For their longevity and the beauty that they possess.”

"The few I have seen have certainly been works of art," Kylie says in admiration.

Lilia leaves to see to the traumatized elf while Laucian and Valena see to the griffons. Kylie goes to investigate the books in the living quarters. They make for interesting reading. The elf's collapse seems to be related to a known issue with the structure; hopefully history will hold true and he will recover once far enough away from this place.

Since the red glow seems to be based on the number of people nearby, and fades over time once they are gone, that seems to confirm that Chandra and his followers were here recently.

Kylie is particularly intrigued by the observation chamber effect. She is very anxious to check in the morning to see if it still works with all of the damage to the structure.

After receiving her watch shift, Kylie goes to bed early. She misses both her mom and Dapple and wishes they were here with her, but is also glad that her mother will not be facing the great evil tomorrow - whatever it may be.

Rising early in the morning, Kylie eats quickly while thinking about the observation chamber and makes a few small changes to her spell choices. Once done, she heads quickly down to the back room, both to check on the elf and to see if the effect still works.

Wow, does it ever! Kylie watches in fascination as the stone seems almost to melt away as the sunlight hits it from the outside. And what a sight it is: a whole town of this strange red stone appears to have grown up out of the valley below. This lake of redness must be the "blood" that the elf keeps murmuring about. Looking carefully, Kylie can just make out figures moving about; though she cannot tell herself, one of the others explains that they appear to be fighting.

"It must be Chandra and his followers..." Kylie says, to no one in particular. "We need to get down there and help."
_________________________________________________________________________________
48 threads is pretty impressive! We'll have to do something special to celebrate when we reach #50.

Spell list updated.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Lilia flies down to the elf in the lower chamber and casts Cure Light Wounds on him, but it doesn't seem to have any affect. Regardless it was worth the attempt and marks the first time that the elf maiden has actually healed someone before.

Returning to the area above, Lilia and the others start to go over the books left behind. As suspected, they are watcher reports and journal entries from former commanders over the passing years. The ancient elves called this place Crimson Crest and that it caused some elves to collapse and be unresponsive like the elf down below.

“Personally, I like Blood Stone Peak better,” Lilia notes. “It would be wonderful that when we remove the elf from this place that he will return to normal. Maybe there is something about this stone that is unsettling to some, but not others?”

The dates given in the records are based on the standard elvish calendar. Realizing that the half-elves might be unfamiliar with the elfin method of tracking days, Lilia will explain the system to them.

“Those in Cynalon divide their years into 12 months of 4 weeks. We elves do it a bit differently. We are more concerned with the seasons, so we divide the year into what would be 4 months of 12 weeks. Many of our holidays are set around the solstice and those fall in the middle of our months.”

“Winter for the elves is called Deepnight and it starts on what humans call November 8th and lasts until February 7th. Dayrise is what we call the spring season. Highsun is summer and Duskfall is our fall. So the 73rd day of Highsun is something like July 24th by human reckoning.”

“When our ancestors finally reached the Sylvan Realm and re-planted the Mother Tree, they took this as a sign of a new beginning for our race. Thus they changed how years are recorded. The time before the Mother Tree was planted was referred to as the time Before Planting, BP for short. After Planting, AP, is how long ago the re-planting occurred.”

“209 years ago was not long after the Mother Tree was planted. The elves abandoning this outpost in 11,289 AP sounds about right. The current elfin year is 20,519 AP and today's date is 21st day of Deepnight.”

The books tell of the ruins that like to the north of the outpost. They are described as being built of the same glowing stone as this outpost. Lilia can't help if this outpost isn't part of the same city and ended up here after centuries or even thousands of years of earth movements.

Morning happily comes without incident and with the light comes a new and strange occurrence with this very unusual stone. It becomes transparent in the daylight! The lower chamber was used as an observation area and down the plains below an ancient city is being unearthed by the orcs! In a way it makes sense, as this stone emits heat so living there would be comfortable year round in spite of the cold climate. From the looks of it, fighting is still going on down below.

“Let's mount up and fly down there,” Lilia states. “It seems that our mission is reaching it's climax. Given the sight of that ancient city, it seems to me that the priestess was warning us of something from there. Perhaps the orcs dug too deep? Regardless, let us ride and save as many of our kin as possible.”

[Lia]

Lia

Lilia flies down to the elf in the lower chamber and casts Cure Light Wounds on him, but it doesn't seem to have any affect. Regardless it was worth the attempt and marks the first time that the elf maiden has actually healed someone before.

Returning to the area above, Lilia and the others start to go over the books left behind. As suspected, they are watcher reports and journal entries from former commanders over the passing years. The ancient elves called this place Crimson Crest and that it caused some elves to collapse and be unresponsive like the elf down below.

Seeing Lilia move past her toward the elf, Lia quietly waits for her return, “Did your spell work?” She asks curiously as she walks back with her toward the others. Lia sees Kylie and Lilia pouring over some books and Lia is curious as well and sits next to Kylie. “Anything interesting?” she asks picking up one of the books and begins to flip through it.

“Personally, I like Blood Stone Peak better,” Lilia notes. “It would be wonderful that when we remove the elf from this place that he will return to normal. Maybe there is something about this stone that is unsettling to some, but not others?”

Maybe there is something about this stone that is unsettling to some, but not others? Perhaps a spell effect of some sort?” she asks curiously. “But if no one was here how did they find it? Would it have been glowing red or perhaps the Rocs knew of this place.” she surmises to no one at all.

Hearing of the see through stone by that of sunlight Lia is up early, eating fully as she walks to the observation room. She gives a yawn and stretch as the sun hits the room. Soon enough she can see a field of red with buildings half buried decorating the landscape. “By Eilistrae, I have never seen such a sight.”

“Let's mount up and fly down there,” Lilia states. “It seems that our mission is reaching it's climax. Given the sight of that ancient city, it seems to me that the priestess was warning us of something from there. Perhaps the orcs dug too deep? Regardless, let us ride and save as many of our kin as possible.”

“Could be. Let us hope that it isn’t demons.” She says softly. “Nightmist spoke of the briefly as our kin had relations with them…” Looking at Lilia, “And if they dig deep on their own accord.”she says quietly.
Lia will make ready her weapons then her mount. Looking at the others she will lead her mount out and gets ready to move with the others to battle.

[Laucian]

Laucian

Laucian sits and listens to the others as they speak of the books. He doesn’t say much just letting what is heard sink in. Rising early, Laucian taps Aura’s side and tosses her some food. He sees the others head toward the observation room and he follows suit.

As the light hits the stone it slowly becomes transparent before his eyes. Laucian looks cautiously about then slowly squats placing his hand to the stone. “Even with warning of this room, I could not imagine such a sight. As he looks down upon the half buried buildings within a sea of red.”

Laucian stops and looks and he can make out figures moving in the distance, there are some flashes of metal but only brief as the figures begin to move, Sadly many figures lie prone upon the ground.

“A rescue mission of grand proportions.” he says quietly. “This is the price for Chandra’s bloodlust.” He says shaking his head slightly.

(Laucian will try to make out the figures that the elves maybe fighting.)

“Let's mount up and fly down there,” Lilia states. “It seems that our mission is reaching it's climax. Given the sight of that ancient city, it seems to me that the priestess was warning us of something from there. Perhaps the orcs dug too deep? Regardless, let us ride and save as many of our kin as possible.”

“Let us try to find the largest group of our kin.” Thinking that perhaps they can rally their kin and give them some hope.

Grabbing his equipment he dawns his helm and whistles for Aura, whom quickly is by his side clicking her beak. Once on the landing pad, Laucian mounts up and waits for the others to do the same. “Let us hope that there are some kin to save.” he says grimly .

Laucian prays to Ehlonna before taking off.

[Talen]

Talen:

Talen is equally amazed when Lilia explains the elfin method of making wood last, seemingly, forever!

“Well, I guess that makes sense that the elves would adapt to their situation,” Talon notes. “When subjected to heavy rain, one makes wood that does not rot.”

Talen is tense as the night drags on. He tries to help when it comes to reading the old books, but finds it hard to focus on them like the others can.

When morning arrives and nothing happened, Talen feels a bit sheepish. He'll eat what he can as he has no idea when there will be time to relax with what is to come.

The strange red stone becomes see through in the daylight and what seems to be the top of buildings made of the same red stone can be seen down below the mountains. “It's as if its emerging from the ground itself like a living thing!”

The group mounts up on their griffons and beings to fly towards the strange city, the orcs who know doubt live there and the elves who followed Chandra.

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

Laucian listens to Lilia speak of how the wood workers seal the wood then make elaborate designs and achievements that last a very long time. He adds, “It is also why Elfin bows are so prized. For their longevity and the beauty that they possess.”

“And elvish swords as well,” Valena adds. “They are also made of wood treated to make them as strong as any metal. Some call such weapons to be made of 'iron wood'.”

The night passes slowly. While others look through the books, Valena will perform her daily bow maintenance when not on guard duty or asleep.

A new property of this stone structure is revealed come the dawn. In the light of day it can be seen through! The lands below the mountain can be seen and more of this reddish stone is present. What once must have been the tops of buildings once buried beneath the earth are emerging from the ground. Beings locked in combat can be seen far off in the distance.

“Let us put an end to this unseemly matter,” Valena says as she mounts her griffon. “And save as many of our kin as we can.”

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“And elvish swords as well,” Valena adds. “They are also made of wood treated to make them as strong as any metal. Some call such weapons to be made of 'iron wood'.”

"Really?" Kylie asks in amazement. "I would very much like to see such a sword some day."

Lia sees Kylie and Lilia pouring over some books and Lia is curious as well and sits next to Kylie. “Anything interesting?” she asks picking up one of the books and begins to flip through it.

"Yes! Quite a bit, actually," Kylie replies, her enthusiasm seeking into her tone. "There's quite a lot of information here, mostly from before the elves left the Sylvan Realm; this structure, the patrols in the area, even about some similar structures in the valley below..."

“Personally, I like Blood Stone Peak better,” Lilia notes. “It would be wonderful that when we remove the elf from this place that he will return to normal. Maybe there is something about this stone that is unsettling to some, but not others?”

"Perhaps the elf back there can explain it once he's feeling better," Kylie surmises. "And I agree about the name: Crimson Crest isn't very evocative."

Maybe there is something about this stone that is unsettling to some, but not others? Perhaps a spell effect of some sort?” she asks curiously. “But if no one was here how did they find it? Would it have been glowing red or perhaps the Rocs knew of this place.” she surmises to no one at all.

"That's a good question, Lia," Kylie says. "The rock shouldn't have been glowing before they arrived, so it wouldn't have been particularly noticeable."

Lilia then launches into an outline of the elven calendar system. It really is very different from the human one she's familiar with. "So four months that roughly line up with what we call seasons, and days numbered within those. Are there the same number of days in each elven month, or do they vary a bit like the human ones?" Kylie pauses for a second to do some quick math. "Then the elves departed the Sylvan Realms more than 9000 years ago? I hadn't realized that it had been quite that long..."

Soon enough she can see a field of red with buildings half buried decorating the landscape. “By Eilistrae, I have never seen such a sight.”

As the light hits the stone it slowly becomes transparent before his eyes. Laucian looks cautiously about then slowly squats placing his hand to the stone. “Even with warning of this room, I could not imagine such a sight. As he looks down upon the half buried buildings within a sea of red.”

The strange red stone becomes see through in the daylight and what seems to be the top of buildings made of the same red stone can be seen down below the mountains. “It's as if its emerging from the ground itself like a living thing!”

The view through the now-transparent stone seems to have a strong impact on everyone in the room. They all stare transfixed at the sight until it sinks in that they are witnessing battle on the plain far below.

“A rescue mission of grand proportions.” he says quietly. “This is the price for Chandra’s bloodlust.” He says shaking his head slightly.

“Let's mount up and fly down there,” Lilia states. “It seems that our mission is reaching it's climax. Given the sight of that ancient city, it seems to me that the priestess was warning us of something from there. Perhaps the orcs dug too deep? Regardless, let us ride and save as many of our kin as possible.”

“Could be. Let us hope that it isn’t demons.” She says softly. “Nightmist spoke of them briefly as our kin had relations with them…” Looking at Lilia, “And if they dig deep on their own accord.”she says quietly.

“Let us try to find the largest group of our kin.” Thinking that perhaps they can rally their kin and give them some hope.

“Let us put an end to this unseemly matter,” Valena says as she mounts her griffon. “And save as many of our kin as we can.”

And just that quickly, all thoughts turn to battle and the need to rescue their kin, no matter how misguided. "Yes, there will be time to investigate the mysteries of this place after we have settled this matter," Kylie says.

Like the others, Kylie will quickly finish her preparations, then mount up on her assigned griffon. She hates the idea of riding the griffon into danger when she can fly unaided, but the griffon can get her there much quicker than she can on her own.

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

November 28th, CR 571 or Deepnight 22nd, 20,519 AP

Morning arrives peacefully at the Crimson Crest outpost. With the light of day, the unburied portions of this strange, red glowing stone fade and you are now able to see through it. The slanted chamber where the elf is now was used as a observation chamber as the upper part of the back wall and part of the ceiling fade away when exposed to daylight. The rest of the chamber must still be covered by earth and remains opaque.

This chamber offers a view to the north and down the mountain. The plains below are now at various levels after thousands of years of earth movements. There is a large plain down below that stretches out like a peninsula from the base of the mountains. This is where most of the buildings were spotted. The ground around this plateau drops off dramatically into deep gorges farther below.

The red buildings on this plateau is where the movement was noted before. The heaviest fighting seems to be around the largest structure among the group. The buildings themselves are mostly three to four stories high. These buildings give you the impression that they are much taller, but the rest of these structures are still buried in the earth. The ground itself around these buildings is normal, sparsely snow covered tundra. Only the buildings themselves glow red.

The largest structure seems to be six to seven stories tall above this strange plain. That's where most of the movement can be noted. These figures are so far away that they are like ants in size. You cannot tell just who is who.

However, more movement is noted at a structure closer to you on the southern edge of this collection of building tops. This building is large and rectangular in shape. It's roof is flat and does not come to a point like many of the other buildings do. The structure is so large that you can just make out several rocs seated on the roof. A couple of individuals are noted on the roof while there are many, many more on the ground.

Further to the north, well past the plateau and miles away you can see the ocean itself. The water line starts to your left, which would be to the west, and snakes it's way north. The coast them turns to your right or east, for several miles before continuing to the north and east. A large stone structure, not glowing, can be seen north of the plateau near the shore. Perhaps it is something like a lighthouse?

[GM Mad]

After eating, the Heroes of the Mother Tree mount their griffons and fly towards the ruined city to the north. The hours pass by slowly as the group flies along. As you get nearer to the ruins, more details start to emerge. The plateau with the ruins where the fighting is believed to be taking place stands almost three hundred feet higher than the lands around it.

A few other plateaus can be seen, but they are not as high as the largest one. The next largest plateau is to the west of the one you are flying towards. It's about fifty feet lower then the bigger one. It does have some building tops emerging from the earth, but they are dark in color. This plateau is only about a quarter the size of the larger one.

There is a smaller one to the north and east of the largest one, but this one is only half the size of the next biggest one and just 150' above the plains.

Down below in the broken gorges more stone structures can be seen, but most of these seem to have been shattered from centuries of earth moments. None of these glow red.

Still further north and on the coast noted earlier sites the large tower structure on the shore. It could be a lighthouse or similar construction. The layout up there seems to suggest that this was once a port. There is even a large galleon docked near the lighthouse! More details are hard to make out, but the main sail is white in color with a blood red dagger drawn on it. The ship is unmistakably newer in construction.

Just after noon, the elves reach the area where the flat building top was seen from the observation chamber. The large roof has four rocs resting on it, seemingly comfortable from the warmth the red glowing stone emits. This building stands nearly twenty-five feet in height above the ground around it. There does not seem to be any ground level entrance to it, but an opening with steps going down into it is seen on the roof top. These stairs look similar in style to the entrance back at Crimson Crest.

Four elves are noted along the northern edge of the building. Their attention is drawn to what is going on down below. Three more elves are laying still on the roof's surface. On the ground there is a swarm of orcs, over seventy, trying to reach the elves. A few of these orcs are firing arrows or throwing spears, but these missiles are easy to avoid. There is a waist high wall around the edge of the roof and that offers some protection. Other orcs are carrying crude ladders in an attempt to reach the elves. The elves are firing arrows as quick as they can into the sea of orcs below them.

By now, the fighting around the large central building seems to have stopped. Figures are seen littering the ground everywhere, but no one besides the orcs trying to reach the elves and rocs can been seen. Given where the elves and rocs are, it seems like that large roof was used as a landing zone for Chandra to launch his strike against the orcs. A few elves stayed behind to guard the rocs, the elves only escape route from this area. But now they are under great threat and the rest of the elves are nowhere to be seen.

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

Just to be clear on the timeline, the elves started to migrate from the Sylvan Realm to the Elfholds around 10,000 years ago due to population size. The whole process took hundreds of years to accomplish. During this time both elfin regions were active. Eventually only Clan Feador remained in the Sylvan Realm and they stopped paying attention to what went out in the world around them.

The trouble with Moorkroft started around 600 years ago. The elves decided to simply wait out Moorkroft and his minions, since the life span of other races is so short by elfin standards. To that end several hundred elves stayed behind to tend to the Mother Tree while the rest traveled to the Elfholds over the Rainbow Bridge.

Those elves who stayed behind hid the Mother Tree, breaking the connection to the Rainbow Bridge in the process. One keeper stayed awake to tend to the Heart of the Tree, while the others slept in trees until they were needed.

Unfortunately, Moorkroft kept himself alive by draining the essence from those elves merged with the trees and survived for those 600 years. He proved to be a much bigger threat than the elves could have ever imagined. Moorkroft was finally defeated and the Mother Tree restored. With it the Rainbow Bridge was restored as well. Eventually, it will open up once more and temporarily allow a travel between the Elfholds and the Sylvan Realm for a short time.

Use this post to cast in preparatory spells for what is to come, as this will be your last chance to do so.

Also, all the buildings in this area are all translucent like what happened back at Crimson Crest, so they can be seen through. From what you can see, the rest of the building that the elves are on top of is vacant. However, you can only see through the outer walls, as if it was a window. The interior walls are opaque.

As far as the Elfin Calendar goes, their New Year starts on February 8th with the start of Dayrise. Here's the dates the months run based on the Cynalonian Calendar:

Dayrise – February 8th to May 7th

Highsun – May 8th to August 7th

Duskfall – August 8th to November 7th

Deepnight – November 8th to February 7th


Now what?

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Seeing Lilia move past her toward the elf, Lia quietly waits for her return, “Did your spell work?” She asks curiously as she walks back with her toward the others.

“No change,” Lilia reports with dismay.

Laucian listens to Lilia speak of how the wood workers seal the wood then make elaborate designs and achievements that last a very long time. He adds, “It is also why elven bows are so prized. For their longevity and the beauty that they possess.”

“And elvish swords as well,” Valena adds. “They are also made of wood treated to make them as strong as any metal. Some call such weapons to be made of 'iron wood'.”

"Really?" Kylie asks in amazement. "I would very much like to see such a sword some day."

“Given how long we elves can live, it's only natural that we make things that last a long time,” Lilia states. “Having to replace something seemingly every time you turn around would become tiresome.”

Lia sees Kylie and Lilia pouring over some books and Lia is curious as well and sits next to Kylie. “Anything interesting?” she asks picking up one of the books and begins to flip through it.

"Yes! Quite a bit, actually," Kylie replies, her enthusiasm seeking into her tone. "There's quite a lot of information here, mostly from before the elves left the Sylvan Realm; this structure, the patrols in the area, even about some similar structures in the valley below..."

“Indeed,” Lilia adds. “Our ancestors were quite thorough in their record keeping. More ruins were noted to our north, but during their time they were not inhabited.”

“Perhaps a spell effect of some sort?” she asks curiously.

"Perhaps the elf back there can explain it once he's feeling better," Kylie surmises. "And I agree about the name: Crimson Crest isn't very evocative."

“We shall have to ask him,” Lilia adds. “The stone is magical and it may have other affects beyond the ones we have discovered thus far. I wonder just what makes those one out of every twenty elves so different?”

“But if no one was here how did they find it? Would it have been glowing red or perhaps the rocs knew of this place.” she surmises to no one at all.

"That's a good question, Lia," Kylie says. "The rock shouldn't have been glowing before they arrived, so it wouldn't have been particularly noticeable."

“I can only assume that Chandra learned of this place the same way I did,” Lilia guesses. “He noted it on the table top back at Golden Peak. As for how they found it, maybe the rocs did know of it. Or perhaps the griffons as our ancestors used them for their patrols. Also remember that Chandra and his followers left during the middle of the night, so when they did reach this area for them it was in the daytime. That might have made it easier to find.”

“While I did not participate in the 'orc hunt', Chandra and many of his followers did. It is not unreasonable that a few orcs were captured to learn information. So, they may have known more about our destination then we did when we started out.”

Lilia then launches into an outline of the elven calendar system. It really is very different from the human one she's familiar with. "So four months that roughly line up with what we call seasons, and days numbered within those. Are there the same number of days in each elven month, or do they vary a bit like the human ones?" Kylie pauses for a second to do some quick math. "Then the elves departed the Sylvan Realms more than 9000 years ago? I hadn't realized that it had been quite that long..."

“It was that long ago,” Lilia states. “And yes, the elfin months have an equal amount of days. 84 days in all.”


The griffon flight is exhilarating as we fly north into what once must have been a huge city. Pieces of ruins dot the broken landscape as far as the eye can see. Just how big was this city back in its day? A port is noted further to the north, beyond yet another large building. A single ship sits in the harbor, but it is no relic from an ancient time! Whoever the vessel belongs to will have to wait for now as there are more pressing matters to deal with first.

The roof top with the rocs on it are noted, along with a handful of elves trying to hold off a horde of orcs. Clearly these elves are protecting the rocs so that the elves can escape later on. They must not be over run!

Lilia will gesture to those around her and then point down at the horde of orcs. “Let's take them out!” Lilia calls out to those close enough to hear her.

Lilia will then have her griffon bank and fly in from behind the orcs. Once about 90 yards away, Lilia will cast a Fireball into the middle of their ranks at the base of the structure the elves are in top of. Her next actions will depend on how many enemies remain after the spell is cast and the actions of her companions.


Before leaving Blood Stone Peak, Lilia will cast the mage spell Strength and use the granted power Cat's Grace upon herself.

[Laucian]

Laucian

Just after noon, the elves reach the area where the flat building top was seen from the observation chamber. The large roof has four rocs resting on it, seemingly comfortable from the warmth the red glowing stone emits. This building stands nearly twenty-five feet in height above the ground around it. There does not seem to be any ground level entrance to it, but an opening with steps going down into it is seen on the roof top. These stairs look similar in style to the entrance back at Crimson Crest.

Four elves are noted along the northern edge of the building. Their attention is drawn to what is going on down below. Three more elves are laying still on the roof's surface. On the ground there is a swarm of orcs, over seventy, trying to reach the elves. A few of these orcs are firing arrows or throwing spears, but these missiles are easy to avoid. There is a waist high wall around the edge of the roof and that offers some protection. Other orcs are carrying crude ladders in an attempt to reach the elves. The elves are firing arrows as quick as they can into the sea of orcs below them.

Laucian directs his mount to follow Lilia, calling upon his blessings of Ehlonna he casts entangle on the left side, hoping that there is some vegetation that will add them.

[Lia]

Lia

Just after noon, the elves reach the area where the flat building top was seen from the observation chamber. The large roof has four rocs resting on it, seemingly comfortable from the warmth the red glowing stone emits. This building stands nearly twenty-five feet in height above the ground around it. There does not seem to be any ground level entrance to it, but an opening with steps going down into it is seen on the roof top. These stairs look similar in style to the entrance back at Crimson Crest.

Four elves are noted along the northern edge of the building. Their attention is drawn to what is going on down below. Three more elves are laying still on the roof's surface. On the ground there is a swarm of orcs, over seventy, trying to reach the elves. A few of these orcs are firing arrows or throwing spears, but these missiles are easy to avoid. There is a waist high wall around the edge of the roof and that offers some protection. Other orcs are carrying crude ladders in an attempt to reach the elves. The elves are firing arrows as quick as they can into the sea of orcs below them.

Lia holds the reigns to the griffons loosely as she flies toward the battle below, Lia eyes narrow as Lilia call for them to get them. Focusing on the right side a thought comes to her. While fighting the drow they could call forth a darkness. Perhaps she could do the same as she was a full drow?
Lia concentrates on the right side and tries to call forth a globe of darkness on the orcs.

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“Given how long we elves can live, it's only natural that we make things that last a long time,” Lilia states. “Having to replace something seemingly every time you turn around would become tiresome.”

"I suppose that makes sense. I don't think I've fully wrapped my head around how long your lives are," Kylie replies, her mind boggled by some of the realizations that are working there way through her brain.

“Indeed,” Lilia adds. “Our ancestors were quite thorough in their record keeping. More ruins were noted to our north, but during their time they were not inhabited.”

“We shall have to ask him,” Lilia adds. “The stone is magical and it may have other affects beyond the ones we have discovered thus far. I wonder just what makes those one out of every twenty elves so different?”

"I hope we get to explore all these buildings and ruins thoroughly some day when we aren't busy fighting," Kylie says. "I suspect that there would be much to learn amongst all those buildings. I get the impression that they are far older than even the elves presence in this area. Who knows who might have built them and what they might have to teach us?"

“I can only assume that Chandra learned of this place the same way I did,” Lilia guesses. “He noted it on the table top back at Golden Peak. As for how they found it, maybe the rocs did know of it. Or perhaps the griffons as our ancestors used them for their patrols. Also remember that Chandra and his followers left during the middle of the night, so when they did reach this area for them it was in the daytime. That might have made it easier to find.”

“While I did not participate in the 'orc hunt', Chandra and many of his followers did. It is not unreasonable that a few orcs were captured to learn information. So, they may have known more about our destination then we did when we started out.”

“It was that long ago,” Lilia states. “And yes, the elfin months have an equal amount of days. 84 days in all.”

"Mm-hmm..." Kylie murmurs, nodding absently. She's really only half listening as the books have dragged her attention back down into their pages.


Following the others as they fly toward the fracas about the nearest of the buildings, the view becomes much clearer as they approach. Lilia shouts out orders, then she, Laucian and Lia fly in close to make their attacks. Kylie hesitates to see what is left of the orcs, then makes her attack run from the side. If there area still quiet a few orcs attacking, she will unleash Agannazar's Scorcher into their midst. If only a handful remain, she'll save the more powerful spell and use Magic Missile instead, aiming them each at separate targets.
_____________________________________________________________________________
As Kylie doesn't have any spells ready with hours-long durations, she won't cast any before the battle. She will accept any that others wish to cast upon her, if offered.

[Talen]

Talen:

Arriving at at the ruins, a few elves guarding rocs are found, but they are under threat of a small horde of orcs! Lilia directs the group to attack. Talen considers if he should cast a spell at this point but decides not to as he selection is rather small.

“I'll keep an eye out for stragglers,” Talen will call out. He'll have his griffon fly past the orcs and then circle high overhead. Talen will look for any more orcs rush onto the scene or if any of the other orcs try to flee.

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

Seeing the elves being attacked by Orcs and the command being given to attack, Valena will circle back and then glide on to the roof, approaching from the south so that her griffon will not be seen by the orcs. Once on the roof, Valena will dash towards the elves and call out to them.

“What goes on here?” Valena calls out. “Do you need healing?”

Valena will let the mages cast their spells before turning any attention to the orcs. If healing magic is needed, she'll do that first before switching to her bow to take down any remaining or fleeing orcs.

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

November 28th, CR 571 or Deepnight 22nd, 20,519 AP

The Heroes of the Mother Tree have reached the ruined city and found a few elves on top of a large building made of the same glowing red stone as the Crimson Crest. Four rocs are sitting on top of the large 60' wide by 90' long building. Down on the ground a horde of some seventy orcs are trying to reach the elves. Most are tightly packed at the base of the building while others are using bows and spears to attack the elves. A few ladders are also seen. The elves on the roof are focused on orcs down below and are firing arrows at them.

The griffon riders are mostly unnoticed. Lilia directs the group to attack and the Queen of the Sylvan Realm starts things off with a Fireball cast the densest part of the orc horde, the middle at the base of the wall. Fire erupts around the orcs and explodes outwards 20' in all directions. The fire falls short of the rooftop, as it is 25' overhead. All the orcs engulfed in the fire are killed instantly. Their bodies, still burning, all fall to the ground. Nearly 3 dozen orcs meet this fate.

The unexpected spell going off gets everyone, elf and orc, in the area's attention and the fighting stops for a brief moment. Not giving the enemy a chance to recover, Laucian casts Entangle at the orcs. The spells area of effect is large enough to cover the entire horde. What little grass that there is tries to grab any orc standing on it.

Lia casts an innate drow spell ability and creates a globe of Darkness around the orcs on the right hand side of the group. This really confuses the orcs as they actually prefer darkness to light!

Kylie flies in from the side and hovers near the edge of the orcs. She casts Agannazar's Scorcher and sends the flame out into the largest concentration of orcs along the spells path. A jet of flame 2' wide and 60' long erupts from Kylie's hand and burns any orc along it's path. At least 10 orcs drop from the attack and are still burning. Those close to the spell take damage and try to move away from the jet, but their movements are greatly hindered by the Entangle cast earlier.

Talen keeps his distance and checks out the area around the battle. No other orcs are noted, nor any other creature. This close to the strange red glowing buildings, Talen can see that many of the buildings are round in shape and the tops come to a point. Several of these buildings have balconies on them and openings into the buildings can be seen there. Crude ladders are set to reach these balconies from the ground. However, no one is spotted in the buildings close to the battle site.

With everyone else focused on the orcs, Valena lands her griffon on the rooftop and advances on the elves on foot. Lilia's Fireball goes off and that so engrosses the elves that they are surprised when Valena calls out to them.

“What goes on here?” Valena calls out. “Do you need healing?”

The elves all turn in shock at the voice and one nearly fires an arrow at the Priestess of Ehlonna. All four of the standing elves are male, as are the three laying on the rooftop. Each of them look weary as if they've haven't slept in a while.

“We're tired and wounded,” one of the elves states. “These three are close to death, if they have not passed on already. We have no spells left and have not had time to rest.”

“Is that the Queen,” one of the other elves wonders aloud. “I thought she was not coming on this mission?”

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

That covers 1 round of combat. Given the sheer size of the Entangle spell, it was large enough to cover the entire group. Likewise, orcs actually function better in darkness. Kylie's spell will continue through next round as well until it wears off. It will continue to damage any orc close to it. About 2/3rds of the orcs were taken out in the opening attack. About 2 dozen more remain. This bunch seems like typical orcs, no special adventuring types among them.

Lilia has 65 Mage Spell Points left and has cast 1 2nd level spell and 1 3rd level spell thus far.

Now what?

[Kylie]

Kylie:

As they begin their attack, Talen calls out that he's going to watch for other attackers. Kylie's glad he thought of that, as the last thing they need is to get ambushed while dealing with these orcs. Meanwhile, Valena peels off to see to the elves on the roof; there appear to be at least a couple that need healing, though Kylie isn't stopping to count.

Lilia cast a Fireball into the midst of the orc swarm. Dozens of them are engulfed in the magical fire. Almost immediately after, Laucian calls upon his deity, and the grass itself rises up to ensnare many of the orcs; this is magic that Kylie hasn't seen before, though admittedly she's no expert on priestly magic. At least most of the remaining orcs are trapped and cannot escape.

Suddenly, a region of darkness springs up out of nowhere, covering a number of the orcs. Could this be some trick by the orcs to conceal their locations to forestall attack?

Kylie doesn't have time to ponder this strange development. She quickly casts her spell and aims the swath of fire to catch as many orcs as she can. The flames do their job, and nearly a dozen of the creatures go down. Seeing it's effectiveness, Kylie will sweep the flames toward the largest remaining group in hopes of ending this as quickly as possible.

Moving her arm sideways to direct the flow of the gout of flames, Kylie finds that she cannot get it to move. She grits her teeth and growls softly in frustration. Unfortunately, she has never really mastered combat spells to the same extent as other types - especially stealth-related spells, which seem to come most naturally to her.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

"I suppose that makes sense. I don't think I've fully wrapped my head around how long your lives are," Kylie replies, her mind boggled by some of the realizations that are working there way through her brain.

“It can be unsettling,” Lilia agrees. “While we are both considered young adults for our races, I'm around 100 years older than you Kylie. We elves live something like ten times longer than humans do.”

"I hope we get to explore all these buildings and ruins thoroughly some day when we aren't busy fighting," Kylie says. "I suspect that there would be much to learn amongst all those buildings. I get the impression that they are far older than even the elves presence in this area. Who knows who might have built them and what they might have to teach us?"

“I agree,” Lilia answers. “But admittedly, I am somewhat torn. The scholar in me wants to do as you suggest and study and learn what I can from these ruins. But as the Queen of the Sylvan Realm, I have to find out if what is here is a danger to the Mother Tree. If it is, then I will have to act accordingly.”


Riding to the ruined city, we find a few elves guarding rocs stranded on a roof top. Many orcs are on the ground below them trying to reach the elves. Spells are cast and most of the horde is neutralized. Seeing that most of the orcs are down and that other spells are still active, Lilia will switch to her Manabow. She'll hold her attacks to see how many survive Kylie's spell before firing her arrows.

[Lia]

Lia
Lia watches as the orcs erupt in fire their still burning corpses dropping to the ground, the smell of burnt orc filling the air.

Lia casts an innate drow spell ability and creates a globe of Darkness around the orcs on the right hand side of the group. This really confuses the orcs as they actually prefer darkness to light!

Lia concentrates and is elated when the darkness she concentrated on comes into form. Though her joy is short lived, as the orcs seem to just look about in confusion as the light of day was on them a moment ago.
A fire streak erupts from Kylie’s hands killing many more orcs. Lia watches as more orcs begin to fall.


Lia will call upon her deity and cast magic missile at the orcs

[Laucian]

Laucian
Seeing the fireball erupt in the host of orcs, Laucian’s features turn to one of grim concentration as he prays to Ehlonna to entangle the orcs. His prays are answered the sparse grass begins to try to grab the orcs within it’s embrace, hindering them. Reaching into his quiver, Laucian pulls forth his bow scanning the remaining orcs but then he sees Valena healing the elves on the roof. Counting those that remain he is sure Valena cannot heal them all alone and if they were in dire straits, lose more of their kin.
Laucian will direct Aura to fly/land toward the Roc sanctuary, If he is able to put an arrow or two into the orcs he will do so. As he do! es so he tries to call out to the others. "If able leave one alive! We will need to question it!"

[Talen]

Talen:

Talen looks back at the horde of orcs when the fireball goes off and seemingly takes out a great many of them. This only further illustrates that his own spells were not needed at this point.

While flying around, Talen notes that there doesn't seem to be any ground level entrances to the buildings around here. Instead ladders were built to reach balconies and from there entry into the buildings. Clearly the base of these buildings are still buried.

Talen will start to fly back towards the battle site to see what is going on there.

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

Having reached the roof, Valena moves towards the elves standing guard. She calls out to them as they are focused on the orcs below.

The elves all turn in shock at the voice and one nearly fires an arrow at the Priestess of Ehlonna. All four of the standing elves are male, as are the three laying on the rooftop. Each of them look weary as if they've haven't slept in a while.

“Easy there,” Valena calmly states holding her hands before her. “I am no foe.”

“We're tired and wounded,” one of the elves states. “These three are close to death, if they have not passed on already. We have no spells left and have not had time to rest.”

“I'll see to these men,” Valena answers. “My companions will deal with the orcs threatening you.”

Upon hearing of the condition of the men on the roof top, Valena will move towards the closest one and check to see if he still lives or not. If he is alive, Valena will cast Cure Light Wounds on him and then move to check the next closest man.

“Is that the Queen,” one of the other elves wonders aloud. “I thought she was not coming on this mission?”

“We came to save you foolish men,” Valena chides as she examines the first elf. “Chandra had no authority to launch this attack. You all disobeyed the orders of the Sylvan Queen.”

[GM Mad]

Post Continued:

November 28th, CR 571 or Deepnight 22nd, 20,519 AP

Upon reaching the ruins to the north of the Sylvan Realm, several elves were found guarding four rocs that were used by Chandra and his followers to reach this place. Clearly they are also the way back to the elves who went on this combat mission. A horde of orcs has attracted their attention.

Lilia's Fireball has removed many of the orcs and more were burned when Kylie cast Agannazar's Scorcher spell. The spell created a path of flame that emerged from her hand and traveled sixty feet away from her. Those struck by the path of flame were outright killed by it. The remaining orcs in the area try to move way from the flame, but find that they cannot after Laucian cast an Entangle spell over the area. The surviving orcs don't last much longer as they cannot get away from the flame and the heat is generates. The remaining orcs simply collapse before the Scorcher fades.

There does not appear to be any other threats in the immediate area.


Upon on the roof top, Valena approaches the elves keeping watch.

“Easy there,” Valena calmly states. “I am no foe.”

“Sorry,” the elf who nearly fired his bow offers.

“I'll see to these men,” Valena answers. “My companions will deal with the orcs threatening you.”

“Our thanks, Priestess,” one of the other elves says. With the fighting against the orcs essentially over now, the elves drop to the roof top to rest. They drink heavily from their water skins.

Valena examines the first elf and finds him cold to the touch. He has passed on into the afterlife. The next elf does still lives and the Cure Light Wounds will stabilize him. As Valena works, she speaks to the elves.

“We came to save you foolish men,” Valena chides as she examines the first elf. “Chandra had no authority to launch this attack. You all disobeyed the orders of the Sylvan Queen.”

The elves all exchange puzzled glances with each other. “That is not what we were told,” one of the elves says.

“Chandra told us that the council would never agree to such a show of force, so that he and the Queen decided to go behind their backs and eliminate this threat,” one of the other elves adds.

“He said we'd be heroes to the elfin people,” a third elf adds. “Instead, we were just fools it seems.”

With the fighting over with, the others start to land their griffons on the roof top. Talen is the last since he was further away. No other orcs are noted in the area and everything seems quiet, at least for now.

[GM Mad]

GM Notes:

Given the effects of the Agannazar's Scorcher spell, the rest of the group didn't need to add any more attacks. While the spell doesn't do a lot of damage to those not struck by it, it did enough to take out the rest of the orcs during the 2nd round of exposure. A few of the orcs might still be alive, but won't be long unless something is done to prevent their death. The Entangle in the area is still active and not picky on who it grabs.

The third downed elf has also perished, so there are five elves here in all. All are male. Here's a quick picture of these men.

Torla Strongbow is dressed like a woodsman and has the holy symbol of Ehlonna around his neck.

Finlet Tarsis wears elfin chain mail and carries two short swords for battle.

Jamar Nierde also wears elfin chain mail and has a lute handy.

Wyndel Goldenleaf carries a long sword and a staff and wears elfin chain mail.

The last elf, the one who was healed, is Andlin Alastra. He wears plate armor and carries a longsword and shield. He was very bloodied from battling the orcs.

Spell Activity:

Lilia has 65 Mage Spell Points left and has cast 1 2nd level spell and 1 3rd level spell thus far.

Valena has 34 Spell Points remaining and has cast 1 first level spell thus far.

Now what?

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Lilia is pleased that no other effort is needed to remove the orcs from the field of battle. She'll have to remember to use that combination of spells in future battles as together they were devastating to the enemy.

With the fighting over with, Lilia will direct her griffon to land near the men on the roof top. Lilia can see that Valena and Laucian are helping the wounded, so she will go up to the men still conscious in search of answers.

“Where did Chandra and his followers go?” Lilia demands. “What happened here? How many did you number?”

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“It can be unsettling,” Lilia agrees. “While we are both considered young adults for our races, I'm around 100 years older than you Kylie. We elves live something like ten times longer than humans do.”

Kylie just nods, as she really doesn't know what to say in response.

“I agree,” Lilia answers. “But admittedly, I am somewhat torn. The scholar in me wants to do as you suggest and study and learn what I can from these ruins. But as the Queen of the Sylvan Realm, I have to find out if what is here is a danger to the Mother Tree. If it is, then I will have to act accordingly.”

Kylie grimaces. "As I said, hopefully someday."


The orcs go down quickly before the assault, many succumbing to the heat generated by her flames even though not directly in the flames' path.

Laucian will direct Aura to fly/land toward the Roc sanctuary, If he is able to put an arrow or two into the orcs he will do so. As he do! es so he tries to call out to the others. "If able leave one alive! We will need to question it!"

Unfortunately, there is little Kylie can do to honor Laucian's request. At this point, she has no control over her spell, and it appears that none of the orcs will survive. By time her spell ends, the orcs have all collapsed. If any survive, she has not the training to tell.

Turning, Kylie flies over and lands on the roof with the others, then walks over near Laucian. "Sorry, Laucian, there is no way to control that spell once cast. It is possible that one or two yet survive, but if so, they'll need healing."

Lilia launches into questioning the elves that preceded them to this valley. Kylie will stand back a bit and listen to their answers while gazing around at the other strange buildings nearby.

[GM Mad]

Small Update:

When questioned by Lilia, the elves will tell her that they had around 3 dozen elves and rode about 9 per roc to reach this area. Chandra and his closest lieutenants, the missing clan council members, knew far more than anyone else did. They already knew where the mountain top outpost was and the general area where the orcs were living.

As noted in the conversation with Valena, most of the elves who went on this mission were unaware that such a thing had been forbidden. Not all of them attended the Council meeting where Lilia had forbid such activity and those who did know were told that the mission was done in this manner to get around any objections that the Clan Council might have. It was estimated that if the threat of the orcs was eliminated or at least dealt a serve blow that it would give the Sylvan Realm at least ten years free from the menace of orcs. That those who performed this task would be heroes to the elfin people.

The group left Golden Peak during the night and reached Crimson Crest during the daytime. The group rested there, but one elf kept complaining about the 'voices' in his head that no one else could hear. His condition deteriorated until his simply collapsed to the floor and was unresponsive. Not even healing magic seemed to make a difference. So, they left him at Crimson Crest with the idea of picking him up on the way back to the Sylvan Realm.

Chandra's group left in the middle of the night again, as they planned to reach the orc stronghold at dawn. Since orcs are weaker in the daytime, it would give the elves an advantage since they were going to be outnumbered. This rooftop was selected as a landing area where the rocs would wait for the elves to finish up their attack. By this point, the elves were aware of the heating properties of the strange stone and knew it would keep the rocs warm in spite of the cold.

The largest concentration of orcs was found to be at the largest tower, the one that is three stories higher then all the other buildings in this area. With Chandra in the lead, the elves went off to battle, while the elves here were held in reserve and to guard the rocs. The elves split into three groups, one led by Chandra, and the other two by the other Councilmen. Chandra's group went directly towards the tall tower, while the other two groups followed and guarded Chandra's flanks.

The battle around the tall towers started early yesterday and recently ended a few hours ago. This location is many blocks away from the roc rooftop, perhaps as far as a two miles away. The elves could only make out some of the details of what went on over there. The battle of elf versus orc lasted all day and into the night. Sometime this morning more defenders poured out of the tall tower to battle not only the elves, but the orcs as well!

By this time, the orcs were attacking the roc rooftop and those elves on guard were unable to keep a close watch on what was going on over at the tall tower. When they were able to look that way, all the fighting seemed to be over. Many bodies were on the ground, but no one living could be seem over there. All was quiet over there. But unfortunately, the elves were under siege for several hours and it just ended with the arrival of the Heroes of the Mother Tree.

Now what?

[Laucian]

Laucian

With the fighting over with, Lilia will direct her griffon to land near the men on the roof top. Lilia can see that Valena and Laucian are helping the wounded, so she will go up to the men still conscious in search of answers.

“Where did Chandra and his followers go?” Lilia demands. “What happened here? How many did you number?”

Laucian Lands and dismounts quickly moving to the wounded elves to see if he is able to help. Seeing the wounded but Valena has it well in hand. He will still speak with the wounded. “Did you leave an elf in the gryphon stables?”he asks curiously. Laucian looks to the elves producing food from his pack and distributing it to those that want it.

Turning, Kylie flies over and lands on the roof with the others, then walks over near Laucian. "Sorry, Laucian, there is no way to control that spell once cast. It is possible that one or two yet survive, but if so, they'll need healing."

Laucian looks to Kylie as she addresses him about the orcs, “While the information would prove informative, I cannot condone healing an orc with Ehlonna’s blessings. Let them perish where they lay.” He says evenly with a hint of ice in his voice.

“He said we'd be heroes to the elfin people,” a third elf adds. “Instead, we were just fools it seems.”

Laucian listens to Lilia speak to the elves and Laucian listens intently as he crosses his arms before him. “Fools? You followed a priest of high regard whom spoke of the queen’s permission on this mission. I know not many and elf that would challenge such a thing.”he says evenly looking at the elf.

Listening to the reply of the Elves, Laucian listens stoically then asks, “Upon your arrival was there a ship with a red Dagger upon her sail?”

“So these beings attacked both elf and orc?” he asks curiously. “Then it is likely they are defending this city of ruins, possibly their home? Do we know of a race that hates orc and elf?” He casts a look toward Lia but drow are not known to attack during the light of day. “ Perhaps we should scout the remnants of this battle ground. With the warmth of the bodies perhaps we could see our shared foe before they can strike at us.” He says looking toward the others.

[Lia]

Lia

Lia holds off on casting her magic missile as the orcs drop from the combined efforts of the elves. Within moments, Lia lands her Gryphon on the roof an dismounts as Lilia begins to question the surviving elves.

Laucian looks to Kylie as she addresses him about the orcs, “While the information would prove informative, I cannot condone healing an orc with Ehlonna’s blessings. Let them perish where they lay.” He says evenly with a hint of ice in his voice.

“Then perhaps it is good that I would.” she retorts, I’ll try and find a survivor.”

Lia begins to walk toward her gryphon and mounts up. Lia’s lavender eyes look from the elves as they explain the battle of orc vs elves and then some unknown force. She leans forward as her curiosity gets the better of her. She calls out to Talen, Kylie and Valena. “I'm gonna look for a survivor. With any luck I wont be long. Perhaps one will know of what dwells here.”

Lia will fly her gryphon down to ground away from the entangle spell and draw her sword. She will move amongst the orc bodies. She will nudge the prone bodies with her foot, blade at the ready.

[Kylie]

Kylie:

Listening to the answers provided by the elves who had remained behind to guard the rocs, it is apparent that Chandra knew more than he had revealed, and had duped those who accompanied him with lies and half-truths. Worse, he encountered much more resistance than he had expected. This battle had started the previous morning and had run all night, when the orcs would have been at less of a disadvantage. Whether any of the other elves still survive is impossible to tell from here, though there are numerous bodies in the distance, stretching out toward the large tower.

The real mystery is: who are this third force that fought both the elves and orcs? Had they come from those ships that had been seen in the distance? The elves say they poured out of the large tower, so if they came from the ships, they must have arrived some time ago.

Laucian looks to Kylie as she addresses him about the orcs, “While the information would prove informative, I cannot condone healing an orc with Ehlonna’s blessings. Let them perish where they lay.” He says evenly with a hint of ice in his voice.

“Then perhaps it is good that I would.” she retorts, I’ll try and find a survivor.”
Lia begins to walk toward her gryphon and mounts up. Lia’s lavender eyes look from the elves as they explain the battle of orc vs elves and then some unknown force. She leans forward as her curiosity gets the better of her. She calls out to Talen, Kylie and Valena. “I'm gonna look for a survivor. With any luck I wont be long. Perhaps one will know of what dwells here.”

Kyile shrugs mentally in response to Laucian's statement, as she has little knowledge of the gods' requirements of those who do their work. Lia, however, seems to have a different perspective, so Kylie moves to the edge of the roof and draws her bow. "I will cover you, Lia," she says, nocking an arrow.

Listening to the reply of the Elves, Laucian listens stoically then asks, “Upon your arrival was there a ship with a red Dagger upon her sail?””
“So these beings attacked both elf and orc?” he asks curiously. “Then it is likely they are defending this city of ruins, possibly their home? Do we know of a race that hates orc and elf?”He casts a look toward Lia but drow are not known to attack during the light of day. “Perhaps we should scout the remnants of this battle ground. With the warmth of the bodies perhaps we could see our shared foe before they can strike at us.” He says looking toward the others.

"I recommend scouting first by air to make sure none of our foes are moving in this direction," Kylie says, glancing over her shoulder toward Laucian and Lilia.

[Talen]

Talen:

The battle with the orcs is short and one sided. After seeing the others land their griffons on the roof where the rocs are, Talen follows suit. Being the last to land, Talen only hears the last part of the explanation the elves provide. Talen will relate what he observed when able.

“There is no ground level entrance to these buildings,” Talen will say. “I only saw what would be balconies and the orcs used ladders to reach them. More of these buildings are still buried underground. I didn't see anyone else around either nor anyone living in any of these other buildings. They could be hiding I suppose. Can't say I would blame them.”

The part about the elf that was left behind hearing voices bothers Talen for some reason. While he found the outpost creepy, Talen did not hear any voices or strange things like that. But the environment did seem to bother him more than the others, making him wonder what is so strange about this stone?

Suggestions are offered, but Talen has nothing to add, but will be ready to do his part when the time comes.

[Valena Feador]

Valena:

“Sorry,” the elf who nearly fired his bow offers.

“It is an understandable reaction,” Valena answers in a soothing voice.

“Our thanks, Priestess,” one of the other elves says. With the fighting against the orcs essentially over now, the elves drop to the roof top to rest. They drink heavily from their water skins.

Valena examines the first elf and finds him cold to the touch. He has passed on into the afterlife. The next elf does still lives and the Cure Light Wounds will stabilize him. As Valena works, she speaks to the elves.

“This one has passed on to Arvandor,” Valena quietly says as she examines the first man. “He is now with the All-Father.”

The second man still clings to life and Valena casts Cure Light Wounds on him, stabilizing his condition. As she works, the elves explain themselves and the others start to land.

The elves all exchange puzzled glances with each other. “That is not what we were told,” one of the elves says.

“Chandra told us that the council would never agree to such a show of force, so that he and the Queen decided to go behind their backs and eliminate this threat,” one of the other elves adds.

“He said we'd be heroes to the elfin people,” a third elf adds. “Instead, we were just fools it seems.”

“Fools? You followed a priest of high regard whom spoke of the queen’s permission on this mission. I know not many and elf that would challenge such a thing,” he says evenly looking at the elf.

“It is as my forest brother stated,” Valena adds. “The only fool in this entire affair is Chandra and his lieutenants. It was their blood lust that lead to this sorry end.”

Valena has nothing else to add after the elves explain what transpired. Much of it had been guessed at earlier.

Lia begins to walk toward her gryphon and mounts up. Lia’s lavender eyes look from the elves as they explain the battle of orc vs elves and then some unknown force. She leans forward as her curiosity gets the better of her. She calls out to Talen, Kylie and Valena. “I'm gonna look for a survivor. With any luck I wont be long. Perhaps one will know of what dwells here.”

“Hold a moment, Lia,” Valena calls out. “I am familiar with the enchantment that Laucian cast. It is still active and will be for several more minutes. It's effect covers the entire orc horde and beyond. It cannot tell friend from foe and will grab you as well should you venture into its area. Fortunately, it will not harm you, but rather limit your movements. Tread carefully.”

“So these beings attacked both elf and orc?” he asks curiously. “Then it is likely they are defending this city of ruins, possibly their home? Do we know of a race that hates orc and elf?” He casts a look toward Lia but drow are not known to attack during the light of day. “Perhaps we should scout the remnants of this battle ground. With the warmth of the bodies perhaps we could see our shared foe before they can strike at us,” he says looking toward the others.

“This unknown third force could be what the divination warned us about: some ancient evil,” Valena adds. “I cannot think of any foes that elves and orcs would put aside their differences and fight against together. Such a thing is almost beyond thinking.”

“I agree with Laucian that we must search the battle site for more clues. We still might have kin alive there, but they will not be for much longer.”

[Lilia]

Lilia:

Lilia listens to the elves as they tell what has transpired. She mulls over what was said while her companions add questions of their own. This third faction does concern her greatly, as they are currently a mystery.

“Chandra's tactics were sound,” Lilia will finally say. “My only objection to not proceeding with this mission was leaving the Mother Tree less defended. Chandra took nearly half of the adventures who came across the Rainbow Bridge with him. There are other threats to the Mother Tree apart from orcs. I only pray that his foolishness hasn't doomed the Mother Tree.”

Talen reports what he found while scouting.

“There is no ground level entrance to these buildings,” Talen will say. “I only saw what would be balconies and the orcs used ladders to reach them. More of these buildings are still buried underground. I didn't see anyone else around either nor anyone living in any of these other buildings. They could be hiding I suppose. Can't say I would blame them.”

“So these buildings could go deeper into the earth,” Lilia notes. “Deep enough that the orcs would be protected from the light of day. But deep enough to unearth something else?”

"I recommend scouting first by air to make sure none of our foes are moving in this direction," Kylie says, glancing over her shoulder toward Laucian and Lilia.

“I agree.”

“So these beings attacked both elf and orc?” he asks curiously. “Then it is likely they are defending this city of ruins, possibly their home? Do we know of a race that hates orc and elf?”He casts a look toward Lia but drow are not known to attack during the light of day. “Perhaps we should scout the remnants of this battle ground. With the warmth of the bodies perhaps we could see our shared foe before they can strike at us.” He says looking toward the others.

“This unknown third force could be what the divination warned us about: some ancient evil,” Valena adds. “I cannot think of any foes that elves and orcs would put aside their differences and fight against together. Such a thing is almost beyond thinking.”

“I agree with Laucian that we must search the battle site for more clues. We still might have kin alive there, but they will not be for much longer.”

Lilia notes that Lia is attempt to save an orc for questioning. Lilia simply decides not to comment on it, as it may be a function of her faith more than anything else.

“We'll depart after Lia finises up with her task,” Lilia states. “Kylie, you, Lia and Talen will scout the upper levels of the tall tower from griffon back. See if anyone or thing is up there. Go inside if you think it safe to do so.”

“Laucian, Valena and I will examine the battle field and look for any survivors. Maybe one of these new enemies fell in battle and we'll be able to find out what we are dealing with.”

Turning her attention back to the weary elves, Lilia will say, “Can you men hold this position a little while longer? Guard the rocs as before, but if you are in danger of being over run again, take flight to a different location. If worse comes to worse, fly back to the Crimson Crest and rest up. I fear that there won't be many of our kin to make the journey back to the Sylvan Realm. Keep yourself and the rocs safe.”

Once Lia is finished with her mission, Lilia will say to her companions, “Shall we be off?”

[Lia]

Lia

“Hold a moment, Lia,” Valena calls out. “I am familiar with the enchantment that Laucian cast. It is still active and will be for several more minutes. It's effect covers the entire orc horde and beyond. It cannot tell friend from foe and will grab you as well should you venture into its area. Fortunately, it will not harm you, but rather limit your movements. Tread carefully.”

“A ring of free action will not work on such an spell?” She asks curiously. If Valena advises against it she will withdraw the hunt for a prisoner.

[GM Mad]

Another Small Update:

Lia flies back to the base of the building being used by the rocs on her griffon. Laucian's Entangle spell is still active and as Lia moves closer on foot the grass and weeds attempt to grab her feet and ankles but cannot seem to hold on. As for the orcs, they all seem to be gone by now. Not only the did the Fireball and Scorcher spells do heavy damage, it also lit most of the orcs on fire. Several still burn and the smell is unpleasant to say the least.

Listening to the reply of the Elves, Laucian listens stoically then asks, “Upon your arrival was there a ship with a red Dagger upon her sail?”

“Yes,” one of the elves answers. “It was so far away that Chandra did not consider it a threat.”

Turning her attention back to the weary elves, Lilia will say, “Can you men hold this position a little while longer? Guard the rocs as before, but if you are in danger of being over run again, take flight to a different location. If worse comes to worse, fly back to the Crimson Crest and rest up. I fear that there won't be many of our kin to make the journey back to the Sylvan Realm. Keep yourself and the rocs safe.”

“We will hold,” the elf in plate mail proudly states. “This I do swear!”


GM Notes:

Anything else you want to accomplish before we move on?

[Kylie]

Kylie:

“There is no ground level entrance to these buildings,” Talen will say. “I only saw what would be balconies and the orcs used ladders to reach them. More of these buildings are still buried underground. I didn't see anyone else around either nor anyone living in any of these other buildings. They could be hiding I suppose. Can't say I would blame them.”

"Are the ladders still in place, Talen?" Kylie asks. "We may need to use the same approach." Of course, she could just fly up, but the others do not have that gift though some can achieve flight through a spell.

“So these buildings could go deeper into the earth,” Lilia notes. “Deep enough that the orcs would be protected from the light of day. But deep enough to unearth something else?”

"It is possible," Kylie says. "We have no idea what happened to the original occupants of these buildings."

Kylie has nothing to add to the discussion with the elves, though she continues to listen in as she keeps an eye on Lia's progress below.

“A ring of free action will not work on such an spell?” She asks curiously. If Valena advises against it she will withdraw the hunt for a prisoner.

Kylie is curious about the answer to Lia's question. She has never heard of anything that would impede the wearer of such an item, but she is no expert on priestly magics.

“We'll depart after Lia finises up with her task,” Lilia states. “Kylie, you, Lia and Talen will scout the upper levels of the tall tower from griffon back. See if anyone or thing is up there. Go inside if you think it safe to do so.”

“Laucian, Valena and I will examine the battle field and look for any survivors. Maybe one of these new enemies fell in battle and we'll be able to find out what we are dealing with.”

"As you wish, Queen Lilia," Kylie says a little worriedly as she has no idea what they will encounter. The seer's prognostication from the previous morning seems to chime in her ear. "At what point should we meet back up to discuss our findings?"
__________________________________________________________________________________
Kylie will make no other particular preparations prior to reaching the area of the tower.

[Lilia]

Lilia:

“We will hold,” the elf in plate mail proudly states. “This I do swear!”

Lilia raises an eyebrow in surprise at the forceful oath the armored elf delivers. “How very human,” she thinks to herself.

As you wish, Queen Lilia," Kylie says a little worriedly as she has no idea what they will encounter. The seer's prognostication from the previous morning seems to chime in her ear. "At what point should we meet back up to discuss our findings?"

“Half an hour should be enough time for us to find anything,” Lilia will answer. “Sooner if either one of us finds something dire and calls for assistance. Use your good judgment, Kylie.”

Once we land our griffons to inspect the battlefield, Lilia will cast Sixth Sense at this time. “The magic I am invoking upon myself is specialty spell for Corellon priests,” Lilia tells her companions. “It will alert me to any danger in the area around me. Regardless, we should proceed with great caution.”

Lilia will not have a weapon in he hand as we go to explore the battlefield. Instead she'll have a Magic Missile ready to be cast should we be attacked.

[Lia]

Lia

Lia flies back to the base of the building being used by the rocs on her griffon. Laucian's Entangle spell is still active and as Lia moves closer on foot the grass and weeds attempt to grab her feet and ankles but cannot seem to hold on. As for the orcs, they all seem to be gone by now. Not only the did the Fireball and Scorcher spells do heavy damage, it also lit most of the orcs on fire. Several still burn and the smell is unpleasant to say the least.

Lia tentatively steps out and watches in fascination as the weed and grass lash out attempting to grab her in their embrace. But In moments she realizes that the entangle spell cannot grab and ensnare her. With one obstacle behind her, Lia begins to move through the orc bodies, the smell from the burning corpses cause the drow to bring her free hand to her nose and mouth as she tries to hold back the taste that is beginning to form in her mouth. She swallows suddenly fighting back the horrible smell as it unsettles her stomach. She checks the orcs before her and none are unresponsive to her kicks and prods.
“None are alive,” she tries to call out and the sudden smell of burnt flesh comes to her and she looses her fruits and nuts. Wiping away the sick, she looks up to Kylie wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She shakes her head then heads back to the Gryphon and then to the others.
Lia will be ready for the scouting run.

[Laucian]

Laucian

“Yes,” one of the elves answers. “It was so far away that Chandra did not consider it a threat.”

“Was it known to him or the other elves?”he asks curiously. While he understands distance can make it a none issue the people that it may carry could in time become an issue and with orcs and an unknown force about it seems that the non issue could quickly become one.
Laucian will be ready to scout the battlefield. As they approach the battlefield, Laucian will look down and try to see where the unknown force came from. Once on the ground, Laucian will have an arrow knocked to his bow, He will move low and begin checking the elves/orcs for life.

[GM Mad]

Post Closed