Iron Realm Log Two
Year of Darkness 1123
2nd day of the Wolf
In the aftermath of the fight with the bandits in the Volcan Hills, the party are joined by three other travellers. Mallepus, an elven ranger, Kliton Frent, a human fighter, and the bastard son of Lord Jorik of the South called Valorn, an archer.
After a search of the bandits they find a telescop and an Eye Patch of Seeing, which Kliton claims and a much sought after Ring of Protection. The Wildling battlemage Kysan'tel is irritated that a newcomer should take the spoils as Mallepus takes the ring, but a quick hypnosis soon returns the ring to the Wildling.
As they head east towards the southern tip of Hell's Ridge, the Wildling spots a large crow and casts familiar on it. The crow becomes a servant and the sorcerer can see through its eyes.
With the magical eye patch and a telescope, Kliton spots a small camp fire a mile away. On closer inspection it is the scene of two ogres - huge beasts - spit roasting a dwarf and settling down to the spoils of a recent fight. A pile of equipment lies next to the ogres and the party are quick to hatch a plan to recover it.
Valorn, Kliton, Mallepus, and Kysan'tel creep up to maximum bow range, hidden by the rough terrain. Isirion, the vampyre sorceress, and Faye, the Priest of Fire, decide to get closer and hit the ogres with spells.
The archers loose their shafts and find the ogres' armour tough to penetrate but Kysan'tel strikes true with her Wildling sling. The lumbering giants take damage from arrows and magic missiles from the vampyre. One charges the archers whilst the other closes on the two spell slingers with a dangerous spiked club.
A well thrown rock winds Kysan'tel, who ignores the pain to concentrate on the onrushing opponent. She prepares a spell.
She waits until the ogre closes and casts grease on the unfortunate creature. The ogre slips and slides and cannot close the thirty or so feet to get to the archers. Kliton decides to leave the archers to it as his friends - the vampyre and fire priest - are now in hand-to-hand combat with the club-wielding ogre.
After several near misses Valorn, the noble archer from the south, manages to spear the creature in the right eye, the deadly arrow punctures his brain and the monster falls dead.
As Kliton joins the struggling spellcasters the ogre is full of minor cuts and is slowed down by the pain. But he is dangerous enough to power a deadly strike into Faye's back with such power that the priest's spine is snapped like a twig.
Valorn and Mallepus continue to fire into the melee, despite the anguished howls of derision from Kliton. But Valorn does not miss. He puts two arrows into the deadly beast, the second enough to puncture a major blood vessel in the ogre's groin.
Whilst Kysantel stops the blood from her wound and sets a few broken ribs, Isirion sneaks off to bite the neck of one of the spare horses. Whilst animal blood is tart and bitter (not nearly as sweet as human or elf) it does afford her strength and heals her wounds.
The soreceress and battlemage are aware of hidden magic on the dwarf. But it is the crow - Kysan'tel's familiar - that spots it. An arrow head buried deep into the dwarf's shoulder is identified as Azimar's Curse. Valorn covets the arrowhead and places it on his best shaft.
With the spoils shared and weapons and arrows replenished the party head further east and are joined by a human warrior called Plo'Koon, another traveller heading for the more civilised avenues of the citadel of Castle Haddon.
The further east they go the harsher the terrain becomes. The venting of sulfurous gases and hot deadly pools bring and unpleasant afternoon to the party. Soon the eye patch spots a hooded figure in the distance and once more the party are on high alert.
Kysan'tel's crow sees the semi corpereal figure able to move through rock and submerge into the dangerous pools. As they get closer to the figure Isirion sniffs the air.
"It is undead."
But they are drawn to the magic. The sorcerers sense it as the figure is at the bottom of a nearby pool. Only Isirion, the vampyre sorceress, is able to survive the water. She slips in and soon comes face to face with the rotting half-dead boy who's good hand clutches the source of her magical sense. A powerful amulet suspended round his neck by a long silver chain.
"Do not kill me," the boy pleads, "I did not kill them."
Isirion reaches into the ghoul's mind with ESP and senses trouble; the boy has stolen the item from the castle and is now trying to make good his escape. The vampyre launches magic missiles and the boy struggles to escape.
Isition is too strong. She wrenches the amulet from the boy's grip and is stunned by the powerful surge emanating from it. With all her strength she hauls the ghoul to the surface where her friends set about it violently. In seconds the ghoul is shattered and broken, it's body turns to dust and blows away in the breeze.
The amulet is called Horatio's Fortress and is worth a small fortune (350,000gp). As they study the artefact they are disturbed by the ghosts of five soldiers in the livery of House Haddon. The soldiers walk up to the amulet and are instantly absorbed into it.
Further down the road the party find the corpses of the soldiers and their fine horses. One of the soldiers is noble born (big nose) and it is clear that they all died in their sleep peacefully. Two powerful magical items are found on the nobleman: a longsword called Dragonstar and the Ring of the Stricken.
Kliton claims the longsword and Mallepus takes the ring.
Isirion, her hair swept back by the wind to reveal her astonishing beauty, eyes the southern tip of Hell's Ridge.
"We should return these items to House Haddon, lest we be hunted by every soldier within a hundred miles."
Kliton and Mallepus share a secret glance, both men think that the vampyre has lost her mind...but they say nothing...