The heroes dig about, discover another runestone, and leave quickly. As the explore the city, they ruminate over whether to attack Jakal and Aleeza to the east, or Tamellec and Lazithara to the northwest...

March north from lonely sorrow stone
with key a home for guards unknown
Ragdan's tallest tower marks the door
to fairest pearl on valley floor

Following the instructions from the Stone of Reckoning, the party arrive at the "Tower of Ragnar (Elven God of the Forest)", a giant redwood tree, drilled with holes.

After much experimentation, they discover that the birds are the watchdogs of the tree, and a simple offering of the twig, opens the portal to another valley.

There, like a flower, lies the Pearl Tower. The characters hop onto the balcony and enter. They are confronted by the elven spirit, Taylis Artimatori. It informs them when the city fell, they capped the opening into the ruins. Here, in the Tower, the spirits of the elves watch over the cursed land.

The heroes descend, to find the city intact, and filled with the howls and screams of demons. Aided by a magical map left by the elves, they head straight to Teluron's Library, which still stands, and is guarded by the spirit of the Head Librarian...

Session 8 (September 23, 2002):
Vyrion's familiar, Quiver, takes the role of storyteller:

Two-legger who talk funny [Tovaru Barkborn, also the Wanderer] lead group through earth. Two-legger who smell like flowers [Noc] and two-legger who have hairy beast in cloak [Ottar] get swallowed by earth.

Clutch stop when earth open up and many two-leggers appear. Sing song two-legger make noise and stopping sounds and then big cloud of bugs appear. [To prevent the elven faction led by Karis, and the human loggers led by Gobart from waging war, Noc creates an Insect Swarm to frighten them all away.] More bugs than even me could eats!

Master and six-legger fly over bugs and then bugs go poof! No more bugs! Two-leggers all start talking until stingers shoot from earth. Two stingers hit Master! Much loud noise and bright lights. Furry two-leggers come from earth and growl. [The wolfen stage an attack to complicate matters and to add tension to the negotiations.]

Then two-leggers all be quiet and talk again. Much talking and walking. Even more talking and walking! [Tovaru informs the party that they must go to Siralinda, an elven city swallowed by the earth 800 years ago during the battle between the Elves and Demons. The elven king provides directions to the gate and provides the key.] Then clutch go into earth again and meet two-legger who talk funny and many new sing-songers. [Wood elves.] Me get's snack from master and then get bad feeling like master see something bad. [Koro convinces Tovaru to surrender two items taken from the Demon Carvegogg back during the wars. It proves to be the cause of Tovaru's madness.] Clutch leaves, maybe go home again.

Circlet of Cha
Rope of Climbing
Horn of Good
Silver Raven fig.
Clear Spindle ioun

Session 7 (September 16, 2002):
Vyrion takes the role of storyteller:
The group who found the demonologist's [Vekar Priestslayer] cave rejoined with Cam, Ottar and Sara. And Noc showed up. While the rescued rangers and others stayed on the hill, the rest of the troupe went back to the cave and Noc dispelled the wall of iron. Revealing a vulture like demon and the demonologist still waiting for us.

Battle ensued. Noc got turned into a pile of changing goo, while the vulture demon was slain and the demonologist teleported away, leaving his spellbook behind, obviously being too heavy with arcane knowledge.

We left the cave to find Solaria the elven chick [also daughter of Tovaru] waiting for us, lucky thing for Noc, as none of our cures seemed to stabilize his condition.

She reported that the elves were moving on the logging village and we should hurry to find her father. [Being the king of the wood elves, but evidently mad. His presence, however, would quell the elven usurper, Karis, and his campaign to war against the humans.]

We travelled until poorly aimed arrows peppered the party and a cryptic elf revealed himself [calling himself He Who Wanders], saying how Tovaru was a fool, yet not giving much concrete information. Eventually, he challenged poor Beledev to a dual. We should have chosen ranged combat, as he'd already missed us several times, but it was a fencing challenge. She was outmatched but he was impressed with her courage, or perhaps our babbling brought him out of his stupor.

In any event, the elf is helping us or taking us somewhere. The question still remains, is he Tovaru or not?

Scrolls:
Protect f/Evil
Summon VI
Teleport

Potions:
Nondetect
Tongues

Session 6 (September 9, 2002):

Noc, as happens on occassion, succumbs to a fever; a remnant of his original sickness that left him crippled and gave him the chance to speak with Mother Yvera. Bel takes the mantle of storyteller...

After a while, Bel could clearly see the outline of the demon but she was frozen for what seemed to be quite a while. However, her Goddess must have intervened on her behalf, because the numbness was transfered to her cohort Cam, who was yards away when the demon confronted her in her face. Blindingly beautiful rainbows were hailed from Vyrion, and cold clouds forced blizzards in the darkness that obeyed Ottars command. Bel only got in one smiting attack, before it grumbled to the party in a gruff voice that they would meet again, and it disappeared.

When the party re-gathered there were clear footprints that revealed a path in which the demon must have traveled to find them. Sara and Ottar stayed to help Cam recover as Bel, Vyron and Koro easily tracked back to a cave that appeared to be the beasts lair. Upon entering, the air turned even thicker with evil. A summoning hex filled a first large cavern. Bel continued though a door to a second open cavern, to discover two dead bodies of tortured Cardamian Rangers, along with four more bodies that were chained to the wall.

Cautiously, Bel waited a moment against the wall to listen to whisperings of the cavern, only to be confronted by a Fiendish Dire Tiger. Bel took some abuse from the cat, and it was joined by a sticky cloud with teeth. Koro and Vyrion made a quick maneuver to the opposite side of the cavern, to overcome the sticky cloud with teeth, as well as stop the summoning wizard by barricade-e+ing himself in behind an iron wall.

Eventually the threesome killed the cat, and healed the hanging prisoners (the ones who still had feet to walk)and was able to break the chains and bring the four surviving rangers to safety, as well as the bodies of their fallen leaders. The trio was not able to find a way around the iron wall immediately, even though they were concerned about the evil they had discovered in the cavern. They settled for destroying the summoning hex, and saving their companions.

no loot