[[!meta date="2010-09-30 17:30""]]

On their way to Stronghame, the Soveliss, Chong, and Eve discovered a contingent on the Sultan's men. They were heavily armed and armored, and making a path toward the Dwarven hold. Soveliss managed to throw them off by devising fake tracks indicating a Dwarven camp had recently been through.

Meanwhile, Prince Aidan was finding himself in trouble. He made it back to the Elven to try and find his compatriots, but was snubbed by the Elder's clerk. He attempted to ask around discreetly, and attracted the attention of a Dwarf, who was missing his right middle finger. He trusted this man to lead him to his friends, and was, in fact, led into an ambush. He was shot severely by the hidden archers at the 'meeting point', and took off into the woods. He managed to successfully find his way back to the Elves, and procure a pair of guides. They suggested a large supply of water, some 50gp worth, one-way. They intended on crossing the Leech Salt Flats. And, in fact, they did. The only hazard they encountered, having had massive amounts of luck, was a band of Mirage Mullahs. Prince Aidan was prepared to spend the night there, with two unearthly beautiful ladies offering him warmth and comfort, but the guides let him know he was on his own in that case. He relented and followed them to the Dwarves.

While this has happening, Soveliss and Chong were contemplating how to disrupt the sieging force at the gates of the Dwarves. They decided to fortify the cart, and ram it through the camp late at night. The cart became a wheeled instrument of death, with blades set in front, scythes set upon the wheels, and the entire frame re-enforced with adamant metal. They waited for cover of night, having informed the Dwarves of their coming by magical messenger. When night struck, they enacted plan Fire of the Night Moon, and made their way through, setting fire to the targets the Dwarves should target with their ballistae. The Dwarves, seeing the captain's tent, hit the captain himself squarely with a bolt, spewing a fine mist of captain about the area. The siege machinery were also targeted, and destroyed. The group made their way to the Dwarven forward encampment, and instructed the Dwarves to make their way and slaughter the ensieging force, which they gladly did.

Prince Aidan, by that time, had convinced the Sergeant that he was royalty and deserved to be seen by the Dwarven Liege. In the Noble's Common House (such a thing as can only exist in a Dwarven encampment), he made his bed, only to be awoken by the call to battle. He, as swiftly as possible, donned his armor and made his way toward the front lines---a three hour stoop through the tunnels---only to meet Soveliss and Chong as they were coming in. He, dismayed to learn the battle was over, invited them to the Noble's Common House.

In the Noble's Common House, Chong bought drinks for everyone. And I do mean everyone. Ale, mead, and ale flowed freely. Free enough, in fact, that when Ser Grath came in demanding to know more about Soveliss' axe (apparently the Axe of the Tenth Lord) sober, he was not amused at the drunkenness of the trio. He slapped Prince Aidan and Chong as they badmouthed him and Dwarves in general, to the point that Soveliss thought him a threat and punched him himself. At that point, a few Dwarves joined in the fray. Ser Grath dealt mostly blows deftly, trading blows with Soveliss and Chong. During this exchange, Prince Aidan drew Grandar's Ancient Longsword and attempted to speak the command word to activate it. Luckily for him, he slurred it too badly and the sword remained merely a sword; unluckily for him, every civilized nation has laws against drawing steel in public.

After Ser Grath was eventually taken down, the rest of the pub was rearing to fight. Chong was knocked unconscious, and the constable, summoned by Eve, was on the verge of arriving. Soveliss managed to 'convince' Prince Aidan to leave, letting Chong to his own devices.

The party is now severely split. Eve is with the Constable. Soveliss and Prince Aidan are on the run. Moradin himself only knows what's happened to Chong. Fang is an unknown entity, and as such may be the only way to save the situation...

Nighttime at the Smiling Date oasis came, and a small group of strong-willed men and women meet. They mingled for awhile before danger fell upon them, in the form of a troupe of Orcish raiders.

Soveliss the Elf started off combat at long range, firing an arrow square into the chest of an approaching Orc. Prince Aidan, Warrior of Heironeous, charged forward on his mighty War Camel, stomping down another of the Orcs, splitting another from stem to stern upon his lance. Fang, Sandshark, snuck around to the other side of the oasis, where another crop of Orcs was approaching. After blinding one with his Light of the Earth, he, Soveliss, and Melody the Gnome Mandolinist dispatched the remaining Orcs, killing four and incapacitating the remaining three.

Buttercup, Beloved of Pelor, revived Grog-Nak, the leader of the Orcish raiders, and began to question him. He directed her toward the cave where he and his raiders were given their task to retrieve a gold-filigreed box. He indicated that the raiders goal was to scare the merchants off with a display of arms, rather than to kill any. A quick interrogation of the merchant whose caravan was transporting the box revealed that the Sultan Greysceal and nobles Frank and Grend personally entrusted him with the delivery of the box.

The intrepid adventurers brought Grog-Nak, and his remaining allies Wershog and Farenk, with them on their quest. They first made their way to the caves, where they learned that the differentiating medallion that the Orcs contact at the next oasis would be wearing. They also learned that the 'cowled man' who gave the Orcs their task had simply 'appeared' in their storeroom and disappeared just as quickly. Presumably, he was unafraid of the Orcs, feeling he could make his way out if need be.

Following the encounter with the Orcs, the party of adventurers encountered a few of the denizens of the Shabib Wastelands. They tiptoed their way around a trapdoor spider of prodigious size. A few hours later, a mated pair of Ashworms approached them. A ghostly sound distracted one of the Ashworms, leaving them to fight the first alone. The party made their way to a rocky outcropping, retarding the Ashworm's progress. They dispatched it, Prince Aidan suffering poison from the beast's stinger in the process. Half a minute later, the other moved forward, toward the party. They dispatched it, with further damage to Soveliss. Buttercup healed the wounds of Prince Aidan and Soveliss, and sucked out the poison from their wounds, allowing them to overcome the rest of the it.

After a day's rest, the party made their way to the Resting Jackal Oasis, where the majority of the party separated from the Orcs, who were given the box to deliver to their contact. Fang followed the Orcs, making sure they made their way to the oasis, then departed to seek out a common group of Asherati, finding them hawking salted meat and dried fruit.

Buttercup made herself incredibly welcome offering her services as a healer, discovering in the process that a cactus farmer (Old Man Henry) had been driven off his land by a group of Bhukka. After earning Henry's trust by healing his son Jed's injuries, she learned that the Bhukka are resentful of the Sultan for some reason, and that they dislike traders peddling their wares to the Sultanate.

Meanwhile, Melody and Prince Aidan started at the bar tent run by Dwarf Mergold the Mad. They discovered from him that the man with the gold medallion is a regular visitor to the oasis, and that many of the passersthrough owe him a favor or two, and that he is the leading officer of favor-asking in the area. They were also directed to the common tent as the place to spend the night, and the Asherati booth as the place to purchase foodstuffs.

The party's goals are now split --- do they follow the gold medallioned stranger? Do they investigate the Bhukka? Do they investigate Prince Aidan's connections with the Sultanate?

The brave adventurers-turned-spelunkers delved deeper into the cave wherein they discovered the fell beast, and handily dispatched him. It turns out Illithid weren't the only danger in the deeps.

After some further exploration, a pair of strange humanoids ambushed the party. They were strong, and their blows rang resoundingly. It seemed that, after several exchanges of blows and some unluck of Chong and Fang, that the creatures were to drive the party back; the party however rallied, and some choice shots of Soveliss felled the creatures, however not before they could sound an alarm. The quartet of these creatures arrived shortly afterward; they were, however, menaced by the warriors, and backed into the depths. The party followed, turning back to the surface only when it seemed that they were approaching a dwelling placed, which the majority were unwilling to assault.

Emerging to the surface, the group made their way back to the Elven Village. It turned out that Prince Aidan had questioned the kill order, having heard nothing of it on the way north, and he as well was heading back, though with a significant delay. A mysterious messenger approached the party, announcing civil war amongst the Orcs. The party, upon hearing this, approached the Elven Council. The Elder Councilman heard out the proposition of the party to spring a trap on the Orc leader purporting to lead the Orcish people to war under the Blood Star. They took with them an Orcish artefact---GrugGr, the Spear Which Always Strikes True---and headed off to the cave of the Bhukka to make a stand, having sent a message that way to prepare for small-scale conflict.

Along the way, the adventurers were beset by a small slaving party. They began by, upon seeing a Asherati, to harden the ground (expelling a number of irritated arthopods in the process) and assault the party. After a brief fight involving fireworks and Chong inspiring dread in a number of the slavers, the slavers were defeated. Fang searched the Wizard, discovering a writ to take slaves issued by the administrators of the Sultan, took off in the direction of the meeting place.

Upon reaching the cave of the Bhukka and the holy shrine of Pelor, the adventurers, together with the Bhukka, constructed a series of tricks and traps to keep the Orcish leader. These succeeded for the most part, trapping and destroying a large number of peons. The Eye of Gruumsh, however, was made of sterner stuff, and---spittle flying from his mouth---ripped the portcullis asunder, allowing himself and his lieutenants to exit the cave. He charged forward, heedless in his rage, and, despite inflicting a fair amount of damage, eventually fell to his madness. His lieutenants did less well, and were also dispatched.

And so the small remaining party made their way to the Dwarven Hold of Stronghame.

Following in the wake of the victory, the party was invited to a spectacular feast in the Elven main settlement of the Petrified Forests. Chong Wang acted as an intermediary for Soveliss, introducing him to many lovely maidens; Soveliss, however, declined to take any to his bedside. Not so Prince Aidan, who had luck with two young elven ladies. In fact, in the morn, Prince Aidan convinced the young Anastrannia to accompany him on his journey.

And in the morn, journey they did. The first two days of the desert proceeded uneventfully, when the adventurers were beset by the greater relative of the Ashworm, the Dunewinder. Luckily, this was a juvenile one and so was able to be defeated. Fang warned the party that sulphurous buildup in the creature is kept at bay by biological processes, so that this beast would detonate if dead for more than a second or two. Soveliss, then, proceeded to pepper the beast with knockout arrows, so it could be kept living until an appropriate situation could be arranged to destroy it without endangering the party. When the creature was incapacitated, such a situation was arranged, and the monster disposed of.

After another two days, the party made their way to a cavern. They entered, leaving Anastrannia at the entrance. Just within the entrance, a pair of apparently sentient, yet completely unnerving, creatures were discovered. Their incessant babbling, out of the ever-changing number of mouths about the fluid-like creature, nearly drove Prince Aidan insane, however Eve stepped forward and forced all mental effects to recede. The monster's many mouths still, however, drew a significant amount of blood from Prince Aidan, weakening him.

As the party made their way through the caves, a voice within their heads called out to them at an intersection, beckoning them to approach it and asserting that it meant no harm. The murky water just inside the passageway became apparent as it was approached, and a disgusting film appeared atop it. The creature spoke for a bit, insisting how it wanted to team up to fight the Illithid, and mentioned that, as a show of goodwill, it hadn't forced its minions to attack the group. It attempted control of Prince Aidan, the apparent leader; Eve's mental protection was, however, still intact. Prince Aidan made a show at complying whilst not-so-subtly implying he was his own man. The Monster-Beneath-the-Waters then retreated, swearing its minions would accompany desired or no.

Feeling that assaulting an aquatic monster on its home terrain to be fruitless, the protagonists continued through the underground realm. At the entrance to a large room, a trio of long-armed aberrations, which Fang identified as aptly-named Chokers, were met with and summarily dispatched.

Within the entrance to the cavern room, Prince Aidan heard in his mind that, not only was he being denied his claim to the throne, but a price had been placed upon his head. This did not, however, accomplish the Illithid's goal of demoralizing him. Soveliss moved forward, and discovered the abomination in an alcove. Supernaturally fast, he launched two volleys of arrows at the Illithid. He shook off the mental assault the Illithid launched at him, and the Illithid mentally departed the alcove. The rest of the party spotted him by the exit of the room, and Prince Aidan slammed him into the wall. Soveliss came back for the final blow, and the body disappeared as it hit the ground.

As the body faded from view, entering view were a quartet of fish-aspected humanoids. Chong began an assault on them; he and Fang killed three whilst one made his way to the alcove. He fumbled at the wall, placing his hand upon a particular rock. Soveliss, upon coming close to the creature, noticed a hidden room within the alcove. The room was entered, and a stone lid was noticed covering a stone depression. Moving aside the lid, the Illithid's (or an Illithid's) body was discovered, and instantly destroyed in chunky bits and fire.

During the search of the cavern, the words to Prince Aidan percolated in his mind. He decided he must make his way to the Kingdom of Sharim to clear his name and, if possible, retake his throne. He told Anastrannia that she should do what she wished, apprising her of danger in following either group. She decided to plead to be taken back home; with that, Prince Aidan headed off.

Next time: searching the cave.

And so the party retired for a few days in the Temple of Pelor whilst Ent sent out word to the Elven peoples that dire warnings were waiting them at the Temple; the groves of Elhonna were also apprised that a reclaimed Temple of Pelor was being re-purposed into serving the entire Pantheon of the Light. Both groups came to the Temple, as discussion began.

Buttercup, fueled by her dedication to passing on the Healing Arts, as well as party dynamics, decided to remain with the Temple and get it off its feet. She, however, realised that the party would need of restorative magics, and so sent with them one of the Elhonnites who desired to remain itinerant.

Meanwhile, Fang, Prince Aidan, and Soveliss met with the Elven Lord. They discussed that the Sultan's men where marching to acquire more Darkwood from the forests, which caused the Lord to consider that that was the major resource to go missing in the capture of workers making their way through the Petrified Forests. He agreed to let the men help with defensive preparations, as they were short-handed and the party had showed themselves friends of the Forest by their actions in the Temple. He dispatched his vassal Chong Wang to accompany the party and ensure his interests.

The defensive preparations concentrated on maximizing the benefit of the Elves' Forest knowledge. There were 'head-wires' designed to deter mounted troops. The paths leading to a cut-off were made more apparent, while the Elves hid and deterred other paths. Fang scouted out during this time, and discovered a scout of the Sultanate. He traced the scout back and noticed a smaller raiding party in non-prime ground; he inferred that the main force was on the prime ground. When he returned to the party's encampment, he shared his findings. Chong Wang mentioned that the main force was probably a distraction, and they should be ready for the mobile troops to make their was through the Forest. The party was put in charge of the defense of the choke point.

The troops did eventually made their way into the clearing, where the party and the group of troops with them was waiting. The army's scout moved forward, and narrowly escaped a collapsing pit. The troop leader sounded the all-forward, and the men marched toward the clearing's depths. One of the crossbowmen made a lucky shot at Soveliss, lodging an arrow in his shoulder. Chong Wang charged forward, nearly getting himself slain in the process. The scout's retinue were overrun and trampled by Prince Aidan's steed, so he took some men after Prince Aidan. As they moved forward, a log slammed the scout and two lieutenants, obliterating one lieutenant and knocking the others prone. Prince Aidan then reversed the charge, skewering the brainpan of the scout upon his lance. Chong Wang forced the leader and two of his men into the now-exposed pit, giving Soveliss a clear shot at him, ending the rest of the officers in one swoop. The battle was over, with no Elven casualties!

All told, the entire Elven resistance collected 60 captives. The Elven Marshal was about to order their disposal when Soveliss made a shocking (to the Elves) suggestion: a prisoner exchange. He negotiated a 20% cut of the monies, and took it to himself to bring the diplomat to the opposing army. They were able to secure meeting with the captain of the Sultan's men, and began negotiating with him. They were able to convince him to leave the Elven lands alone, and secured 100 Gold Sovereigns per head.

And so, the Elven Lands protected, the party now considers what to make of the Illithid portion of the Golem admixture, and how to make their way across the Leech Salt Flats.

And so the wayward ground proceeded from the Pelorian Temple in the Bhukka's cave. They made their way back to the Leech Salt Flats, and turned Westward toward the Petrified Forests, handily avoiding a patch of Porcupine Cactus set to explode.

En route to the Forests, a monstrosity of a lizard barred their progress forward. Soveliss determined that, while territorial, the beast would likely let them pass if they sated its hunger sufficiently. After relaying this information to Buttercup, she struck upon a way to complete this daunting task, which did not require hunting food merely twice the size of a man. She wrapped some of the magicked berries which the party was feeding themselves on in a bit of beef jerky, and had Soveliss toss it to the beast. The beast, smelling the jerky, set upon the concoction, which filled its belly; the creature became slothful and unaggressive. Soveliss and Fang then led the party slowly outside eye-and-earshot of the massive lizard, avoiding a potentially deadly encounter.

After several more nights of travel and craftsmanship, the intrepid wayfarers made their way into the entrance of the Forests. Soveliss led the way, being an elf himself, and slipped past a particularly great stone tree. As the rest of the group, significantly more loudly, passed, the tree awoke and questioned their right to enter. Speaking carefully, the party managed to convince the Ancient One of the Forest that, if they would cleanse an ancient Human temple of Pelor and swear that their only other goal was to warn the Elves of encroachment, he would let them proceed deeper. He accepted, leading the rest through such untold overgrown passages and secret trails the party was sure they couldn't make their way unaided.

Eventually a crumbling building was reached. A tree had burst through one corner of the building, and the symbols decorating its exterior were tarnished. An eerie silence surrounded the temple, devoid of animal life as one would not suspect other that the perverting aura of desecrated tombs. The party entered, and set a patch of Hallowed Water -- bane of the Unliving -- at one hallway while they searched the other.

The group entered the Barracks first, which was filled with over half-a-dozen fell animated skeletons. Buttercup unleashed the Holy Light of Pelor, completely destroying most of the creatures. Soveliss then entered, and noticed an even more disturbing creature hidden behind a desk. The monstrosity resembled nothing so much as a sore-ridden Goblin with sickly white tentacles protruding from under its arms. The creature moved toward Prince Aidan, and grabbed him, beginning to force the tentacled toward Aidan's ribs. Fortunately, Melody summoned the ability for the Prince to be covered in a slippery coat of grease, allowing him to slip away from the creature, while it was finished off. Buttercup alluded to the creatures ability to liquefy and drink bone structure, dubbing the monster a 'Bone-drinker'.

A number of other encounters struck the party as they searched the remainder of the first floor of the temple, including two creatures whose thirst drove them mad enough to drink Hallowed Water. One of them restrained itself enough to attack the party, but it was quickly slain, as was the hearth-keeper. In their search of the level, a missive was found, detailing the clouding of Pelor's Might in the midst of Aurifar's growing power, and that the writing priest feared Aurifar might be overstepping his holy bounds. With that missive, destined for another temple, was found a pair of boots emblazoned with a lightning bolt, which Soveliss donned and found made him more springy and fleet of foot.

While the adventurers moved upwards, Prince Aidan stayed below. The group made their way through an unoccupied library while Prince Aidan made his way towards the tree, in hopes to climb it. He reached the tree before the rest gathered their bearing of the second floor. His failure to climb alerted a second Bone-drinker, who jumped down after him, just as the party burst into the hall in view of the tree, spotting the enemy. Soveliss charged towards it, running down the limbs of the tree after it jumped down. The Bone-drinker started running towards the fleeing Aidan, and just as it reached him and struck him with a tentacle, Buttercup---approximating its position---fired forth with the Holy Light of Pelor utterly annihilating the perversion of nature.

The party regained their bearings, and proceeded to the final room of the second floor. Within, they found several piles of ash---presumably Undead who were slain by the bursts and flashes Buttercup unleashed---and one man-sized Bone-drinker. This creature stood strong against the onslaught of the adventurers, however its concentration of defense hampered its ability to strike. It was eventually dispatched, after inflicting several deep claw wounds. Buttercup's magic closed the wounds received, and purified the Altar of Pelor from the corruption of Erythnul, including its saintly relics.

Further search of the premises found the Head Priest's quarters, which contained a set of vestments magicly tailored to a servant of Pelor, and a set of slippers which seemed like they might aid in making it safely up and down the ladder and even the tree.

With their task finally finished, the party returned to the tree, who asked to be called 'Ent'. He fulfilled his promise of a boon, toughening their skins like the bark of a tree without, however, a change in appearance and texture.

The party has successfully gotten themselves access to the heart of the Petrified Forests. Now, they must find and parlay with the Elves, warn them of danger, and then hunt down this strange creature from Realms Beyond known as an Illithid.

The adventuring party departed from the Hobgoblin encampment, after depositing Farid/Faird there for the protection of the Hobgoblins, suggesting he develop ingenious defenses for the Hobgoblin peoples. Fang, in taking the lead, subtly led the party towards what he knew to be a Asherati village that had dropped off the map.

When the intrepid band found the Asherati village, they discovered it had been abandoned. A cursory examination found four bodies, two Asherati and two olive-skinned human. They were killed with slashing and bludgeoning weapons. Further searches of the bodies turned out a Eagle's Claw hidden on the person of the most-beaten Asherati, as well as identification on humans. Prince Aidan discovered it contained identifying markers of the H'Sinth Princedom to the east.

Soveliss combed meticulously over the surface buildings, discovering casks of water, wine, and dried provisions. He also, in an unremarkable pot, discovered a fist-sized ruby. Meanwhile, Fang discovered a hidden room deep in the underground dwellings. While the handle of the entrance was covered with contact poison, Fang got lucky in placing a cloth over it to insulate himself from same. Within the closet, Fang discovered an Asherati boy, Clay. Clay provided a bit of history, cluing the party into the fact that it was, in fact, the Sultan's men abducting wastelands humanoids for slave labor. Interesting was the fact that the Men from the East had offered aid, but were unsuccessful in stopping what had come.

The party made their way most of the way to the next Asherati village over, and the naturists Fang and Soveliss, who could hide their tracks, led the boy to said village, where they were able to convince the elder to take in Clay with gifts of water, wine, and foodstuffs. The mission accomplished, they made their way back to the party proper, disguising the fact that they had been there at all.

Along their path through the desert to the Petrified Forests to the west, the party skirted a den of outsized ant lions. Surprisingly, in such a field, they did not discover any ants... Along the way, Soveliss fashioned arrows whose heads were of the Adamantine, and a hand-factored crossbow designed especially for Fang. In the same period, Prince Aidan fashioned armor for Buttercup and Soveliss and two wooden shields out of the darkwood. Fang shaped the remaining bits of Adamantine into a fine set of caltrops, which should be sufficient to slow even the Adamant Golem the Sultan's contacts were devising.

Approximately two days into the trackless journey, a massive sandstorm made its way toward the protagonists. Prince Grandar mentioned to Prince Aidan that the Unwavering Path was approaching. While the rest of the group dug in for the storm's passing, Prince Aidan prepared to stand his ground. After several seconds of being buffeted by the sands, he was able to visualize a platinum-lined path into the heart of the storm. For the better part of three minutes, he focused his energies into the path, eventually coming to its heart; in this heart was a demonic-looking figure. Prince Aidan heeded the words of Prince Grandar at their first meeting and thrust the ancient longsword into the 'guardian'. He was, in his mind, instantly transported to a corridor -- however Fang, who had been following him, instead saw him freeze and be unaffected by the buffeting winds. In this mental journey, Prince Aidan met with a statue who demanded his intention. Replying that he would awaken the sword Kratosh, the statue demanded what he would happen with the current 'taker'; Prince Aidan replied whatever Grandar willed. Luckily for him, Grandar, after so many generations extended upon the Oerth, wished to join Heironeous and leave the curse-breaking to more modern parties. Prince Aidan was returned to the sandstorm, the Fang led him out the other side of it, albeit with grievous injury.

Upon returning to camp, Prince Aidan's sword energized, Buttercup announced that she discovered several ways of destroying the Demon Heart. The two most promising were immolation in a Hallowed kiln, which she determined she could not yet accomplish, and sacrifice of the heart, all her divine power for the day, 150 worth of incense and other religious goods, and a blade of the solidest construction. Opting for the latter path, she suggested they find a place to purchase these. Soveliss mentioned that he remembered a nomadic Dwarf tribe that should be nearby. His estimate of four days turned out to be less, as the party used treacherous-but-passable passes and a prevailing tail wind to speed them to their destination.

In the Dwarven camp, Buttercup traded her healing skills for the religious imagery, while Fang and Soveliss bartered for better equipment. The dwarves, in exchange for a large value of precious metals in the form of already-worked weapons and armor as well as a dire warning of the safety of the Dwarven people at large, were willing to trade out one of their tribe's five magical boons. Prince Aidan sought out a Holy Warrior of Moradin's Forge in order to inquire about the proper way to be a paladin. After some confusion regarding the proper weapon to use (warhammer versus long sword), Brunhilde was able to tell him he must focus on the divine spark already within him. Disheartened by the lack of precise definition on how to do so, Prince Aidan re-united with the party after a bath in water which, while dubious, did scape the mud and sand off of him.

Departing the Dwarven encampment, the resolute group made their way to the only Hallowed Altar they knew of, the one they cleared in the Bhukka hold. Buttercup unlocked the massive iron door of the tombs with the key she had secreted, and motioned the party within. She retired to the Altar room with Fang as protector, whereas Prince Aidan, Melody, and Soveliss remained in the Tombs region to protect against meddling Bhukka. Once the ritual commenced, the Altar room was encased in a sun-golden 'bubble' of protection, which showed dark spots where the fell forces tried to force their way past Pelor's might. After expending all her energies and speaking the appropriate prayers in the language of the Gods Themselves, Buttercup motioned for Fang's Adamant blade, and sunk it deep into the Demon's Heart, which immediately dissolved, releasing all the Divine Energies. Buttercup stumbled out of the Altar room, entirely drained, and announced that it was done, and she would be sitting down now.

The intrepid adventurers have now closed off one avenue of attack against them, by cleansing the heart of its evil and fell lure. Now they intend to head to the Elven Petrified Forests. Are they yet found and tracked by the Sultan's men? Is the slaving post north of the Sultan's palace on their list (and if not, will Fang allow it to remain as such?)? What paths lie afront of the party, and which shall they walk? Only time will tell.

And so the party embroils itself deeper into the heart of the Sultan's conspiracy.

Soveliss and Fang spent the morning searching for information on the Underground of the city. They discovered that the Warehouse District is the best place to seek out more information. At the end of their information-gathering abilities, they called on the Mistress of the Silver Tongue, Melody. She fount out that they should seek Carl at the warehouse on the far corner of the district. Soveliss and Fang had her hang back while they sought out information. They reached the entrance to the warehouse, guarded by two toughs. After inquiring about Carl, they find themselves allowed in. Here they met a man who spoke of "Carl", and discerned that the man is he to speak with regarding arms deals, but "Carl" is the one to speak with regarding poisons. They pieced together that this man and "Carl" are the same man, operating in different businesses, but did not discover more regarding the Golem Project.

Meanwhile, Prince Aidan made his way to the Sultan's Palace. He announced himself as a Prince to the guards at the gate, and they hastily guided him to the stables, where he dropped off his steed at the skittish stable boy's care. He then was led to the Sultan Graysceal's Vizier. The Vizier spoke with Aidan for a bit, gathering that he believes himself to have a legitimate claim to the throne, as opposed to the so-called imposter Grel-en-ak. The Vizier entertained his notion, suggesting that they take a trip to the Sultan's Seers to find out about Prince Aidan's heritage and Prince Grandar's sword.

Sultan Graysceal's Seers were as cryptic as you expect seers to be. They mentioned that Prince Aidan's heritage shows "Downness pointing Up" and "Basic Beginnings", which the Vizier took to mean Prince Aidan was of common stock, and not a member of any Royal Family. Prince Aidan, however, deflected this by stating that it was his destiny to bring the Kingdom of Sharim to glory from the ashes. The Vizier decided to run with this, and tasked Aidan with discovering the identities of conspirators in the Sultan's Court in exchange for support for his bid for power in the Kingdom of Sharim. Aidan then questioned the Seers on Prince Grandar's sword, which yielded that the Unwavering Path was once of Focus and Determination until the Eye of the Whirling Sands. The Vizier then crudely dismissed Prince Aidan, and left him to find his own way out.

While these were happening, Buttercup traded her healing skills for information from the local peasantry. She, in addition to providing balms and treatments for many of the foul diseases of poverty, learned that the peasants were fond of the Sultan in part because he offered them security from the marauding humanoids as well as a greater deal of farmland and less crowding in their districts.

In the waning hours of the day, Fang, Melody, and Soveliss made two forays into the Wizard's Guild in an attempt to learn more about the Golem. At first, they recruited a drunken Freshman to sneak them into the Dr. Jeffrey's, the Construct 101 professor, lab. They noticed, at the entrance to the lab, a suit of armor with faint wisps of smoke rising from it. Soveliss' elven senses noted a wall opposite the lab had a hidden door built into it. He was unsure whether he could open it without trouble, so after humoring the Freshman for a few minutes in the lab, they departed to find the correct tools.

While the rest of the adventuresome group slept, Fang, Soveliss, and Melody made another trip to the Guild Hall. Soveliss used his tools, which they had acquired in the meantime, to prop open the pressure place which, they suspected, would trigger the suit of armor to assault them. After opening the door, they entered the secret laboratory. Inside, they found a small devilish creature apparently constructed entirely of flame. Melody kept it occupied, asking it to show them around it's master's work, while Fang and Soveliss sacked the room. They made out with 75 pounds of Adamant material, and 50 of a flexible plant matter likely made from Darkwood trees of an ancient age. In with the materials, they discovered Dr. Jeffrey's notes, mentioning a contract with the Sultan's men to build them an unstoppable War Machine. His notes indicated that the machine would require wood from the Ancient Forests of Distra, Adamant from the Deeping Lordships, a Demon's Heart from beyond the Leech Flats, and an Illithid's Brain --- from a generic southern region (perhaps the beast is mobile?).

Making their way back to camp, Fang and Soveliss woke the others to repeat their findings. Buttercup recalled magic to seek the possessors of certain items, and suggested the party flee and transform the materials, both to make them harder to track. The night then passed.

In the morning, Buttercup made her way to Farid, who admitted to also being Faird. She discovered that he had been coerced into doing experiments to make poisons hydraulicly active, and offered him a chance to make his way with them to the Hobgoblin encampment. He agreed. Buttercup made her way back. Meanwhile, Fang and Soveliss managed to convince Prince Aidan to not make his way to the Sultan's palace. They all, instead, procured armor and weapon manufacturing equipment, and met up at Farid's place.

After gathering up Farid/Faird, they skipped town (Prince Aidan stopping for a privvy break). They made their way to the Hobgoblin encampment at the badlands, and dropped off Farid as an expert, in exchange for his protection. During this time they made up several arrow heads, a kukri, and a hauberk of wooden chain.

The party now faces a four-pronged path split. Do they move to the aid of the Elven peoples? The Dwarven? Do they find out how to prevent a Demon's Heart from being re-harvested? Or kill off the strange and nightmare-inducing Illithid?

After a bit of deliberation, the intrepid adventurers find themselves on the path to the city housing the Sultan's Palace in an attempt to find a seer or---failing that---more information on what the beating heart could really be. Soveliss was unconvinced that it was unnatural, but the consensus was just that. And so they headed out of the Badlands and into the Sands of Kryth-en-Lak.

At the end of the Badlands, a gruesome pair of creatures assaulted the party. These twisted creatures resembled a man who had been horribly twisted and had his bones shattered and re-assembled into odd structure. They wielded nasty spears seemingly constructed from their own long bones. The pair nearly slaughtered the Sand Shark Fang, with split-second healing by Buttercup all that prevented his early death. They were eventually subdued, being unable and/or unwilling to cease fighting and speak after their emotional state was altered. The party was uncertain what manner of beasts they were, but were certain that they were not natural creatures of the Wastes.

Following the battle, the group did, in fact, make their way to the city outside the Sultan's Palace with no further molestation. They then split up into groups. Buttercup and Melody proceeded to the curio dealer Farid, having learned that he was the most likely to know about Strange and Wondrous Things. After he decided it was likely a Demon's Heart, and that the most likely use of such is in constructing Golems, they retired to the library at the Temple of Aurifar to do further research with the information gained at Farid's.

Meanwhile, Prince Aidan attempted to slink off to do some research about Grandar's Ancient Longsword. His cover of heading to the Bath House was picked up on by Soveliss, who decided he too would head in that direction. After some tense discussion, Soveliss let Price Aidan leave (after a short bathing---after two weeks with no bathing, even Paladins begin to have a bit of funk). Aidan then did some research on the streets, finding out the Farid would be the best to find out information. He approached Farid, who told him (after use of a Lens) that the sword was magical and suggested further avenues for research. Aidan's payment was considered a slight by Farid, which didn't yet have any repercussions. Prince Aidan made his way into an alley after noticing Grandar's ghost over his shoulder. In his cryptic way, Grandar noted the command word 'Kratosh' that would activate the magic of the Cursed Cold One's icy resolve, at least after Prince Aidan bound the sword to himself on the Unwavering Path.

After research at the Library, Buttercup made her way to the infirmary, where she heard that Aurifar, Lord of Midday Heat, was not granting his clerics the ability to cure two dehydration-stricken patients. She determined that it was a Curse of Aurifar, and fell upon her knees offering a supplication to her patron, Pelor, to grant her the power to break them of the Curse. Pelor did then shine his might through her hands, in an awesome display of power that wracked Buttercup's mind and funneled all her power into the two sick men. The Curse was broken, and after some water they were able to disclose the reason for their Curse.

At that moment, Prince Aidan arrived at the Temple. He told Buttercup that he was concerned after their safety, and that he had been trailing them throughout the city. They converged at the infirmary to hear the story of the patients, who said Aurifar had stricken them for aiding three men who were meant to perish in the Wastes. The men had been bound for the Leech Salt Flats, across which they had hoped to prevent some aspect of the Curse of No Water. This concerned the three there, who considered following up on this trio.

Buttercup then stated she would make her way back to Farid to give him the book she had fetched as her payment for his services. Price Aidan, pretending to never have been there, reluctantly accompanied her there. When they reached the cottage, Buttercup produced the book, and Prince Aidan's treatment of the man bore its fruit. He told Buttercup that Prince Aidan was there, even after Prince Aidan had shook his head 'no' at Farid. Buttercup then became angry at Aidan for his deceit, and stormed off with Melody. Prince Aidan, shaken, returned to the Library where he discovered the sword's forger was of the school of Mordag, whose design is noted for the blade's stability within the hilt.

The entire group converged on their wagons, then, for the night. They shared their discoveries, though not without tension between Buttercup and Prince Aidan. Prince Aidan attempted to apologise for his actions, unsuccessfully, and they all retired, miffed at each other, for the night.

The party, upon the morning, has options ahead of them. Do they confront the constable with information of smuggling, or attempt to cut the head off the organization? Do they become like unto raiders and stop the gold-filigreed boxes, or do the strike at the source? Do they follow the trio of black-armored men into the Leech Salt Flats? Does Prince Aidan seek the Unwavering Path on his own, or enlist help from his companions?

The adventurers depart the Hobgoblin encampment after a fine tea, prepared by the healer Buttercup. They made their way towards the darkness of the underground.

In the depth of the earth, Fang and Buttercup engaged in a heated discussion on the nature of Fang's past. Fang bared a raw moment of emotion, discussing his previous enslavement, and the trials he and his fellow village-mates endured, ending on the note that there were still more loved ones yet to save. Fang was notably unimpressed with Buttercup's notion that the Gods watched over him in his escape.

The debate was interrupted when the party heard an unexpected voice deep within the cavern, beyond the range of sight. ''Third branch on the right'', it repeated. The party cautiously moved forward, until they discovered that it was a raven sitting in the cave. The raven noted that it had been sent by Pelor to find Melody and her company. Melody then recognized it as the creature which had served her previous tutor, and took the raven to herself and formed a quick and strong bond with it.

The company decided to heed the advice of the raven, and checked the third passageway on the left. Upon the ground there lay an ancient corpse still within its rusty armor; set next to the ancient warrior stood a still-gleaming broadsword. Once disturbed by Buttercup gathering the remains for a proper burial, a spectre of a man appeared before them. Although confused after the passage of millennia, the ghost recalled that it had been slain by a horde of Kobolds led by an apparent avatar of the God Kurtlmak. Prince Gondar made known that the only way to lay him to rest was to travel the Unwavering Path and thrust the sword into the guardian there.

Before too much conversation, the songsmith Melody was alerted to Kobolds screeching in the tunnels on either side of the cavern room. They were imploring the adventurers to ''Go away. Go away''. Melody discerned that an avatar of Kurtlmak was scheduled to show up in a minute, and the party decided they'd rather not be there when that happened. They weren't so lucky, though, stopping at a tripwire which they'd discovered before triggering. A kobold who called himself ''Kurtlmak Avatar of Kurtlmak'' showed himself, and demanded they either trip over the wire or provide him with gems. A few moments of wordplay revealed that Kurtlmak wasn't what he claimed to be, and pressure on the matter led him to lead them through the remainder of the cave.

After another several hours of travel, during which they bypassed a nest of Cave Crickets via use of pungent herbs and careful movement, the group found themselves at a pool of water. The pool happened to be inhabited by a crayfish of massive proportions; after a minute or so of fighting, the crayfish found itself stewed and jerked over a fire. The party soon, also, found themselves at the exit to the cavern, at the entrance to the Badlands from the northern Sands of Kryth-en-Lak and ahead of the Gold-Medallioned man.

A cunning trap was set for the Gold-Medallioned man and his crew, using boulders to trap them in a crevice some 20 feet down from the adventurers. The adventurers quickly convinced the general caravan to surrender, though the Gold-Medallioned man pressed onwards. Onwards, that is, until he was brought low from a crack shot of one Melody's knockout-poison-tipped quarrels. He quickly succumbed to the toxin, and the entire group found themselves tied together.

Upon regaining consciousness, the Gold-Medallioned man found his Symbol of St. Cuthbert the Vengeful in the hands of the intrepid adventurers, as well as his lists of favours owed and debts payable. Unfortunately, also missing was the hidden cargo (some four holdout crossbows, some strength-draining toxins to apply to same, and a small shipment of recreational-grade sedative. A bit of interrogation by Soveliss later, they discovered that the shipment was to a Faird outside the Sultan's palace, and pick up from a Cherholtz in the oasis both the party and the men had recently left.

Before bedding down for the night, Soveliss spent much time prying open the gold-filigreed box. Much to his surprise, it contained a gargantuan beating heart, not red but black as death. During First Watch, a trio of Desert Hunters (a reptilian jackal-like creature) approached the camp. One of them was slain by Fang immediately after the sounds of imminent battle awoke everyone. The other quickly fell, cut mercilessly by a deft stroke of Prince Aidan wielding the spectre's blade. The last Hunter, however, was far dodgier than the rest, managing to spectacularly avoid blows for nearly a minute and a half before giving up the spark itself.

The brave adventurers now find themselves at a crossroads. Do they confront the Sultan immediately? Do they follow up on the illicit goods trade? Do they walk the Unwavering Path into the eye of the Desert Storm? Now, surely to be hunted, the decision matters more than ever.