Past Meet Present - A Show of Force

Another session has come and gone and I have to admit I was left shocked and second guessing a number of things afterwards ... things such as if I completely underestimated the party abilities (not players, characters).  An encounter I set up that I intended to take some patience or at least some crafty decision making and tactics from the party, and certainly not one I intended to be tackled head on without deaths to be had, was tackled head on and while part of it is luck of the draw the party, short a member already and then with another removed for a time because of a bad roll, took on double their number in foes and not only defeated them soundly but did so quickly and without taking much more than scratches themselves.  Anyway, without further delay we'll jump right to the recap...
The party awoke early the next morning after having rested well in the barracks hidden below the shrine to Helm.  While they felt as if they were being watched the night before it was more a feeling of being watched over rather than studied.  Gathering up their things they headed up the stairs led by an eager Temeris who had jotted down a number of virtues through the night.

Outside they saw to the North at the base of the mountain a pair of campfire trails some distance off.  Deciding to first try the virtues before moving on they went on to the other shrine.  As they entered Temeris pulled his scroll and scrambled forward and began reciting.  "Justice, honesty, patience..." and so on with many very reasonable virtues but also having a number that left his friends snickering behind him, things such as fiscal responsibility, proper pet care and oral hygiene. 

As he got to the last 10 or so on his list the sound of stone on stone was heard as the statue began to shift, revealing a stairwell down.  At the bottom of the stairs the party could see three doors before them so they ventured down.  Temeris approached the first and found that it had writing upon it calling for the reader to call upon the god and name a virtue, and the party spent many moments reciting virtues and calling names of the gods they knew, and Crispin again tried to usher a prayer in hopes that the door would open.  However after trying for some time nothing had worked.

As they moved to the second door and found a similar writing they heard a noise from outside.  Crispin sent his weasel up the stairs to check it out and he could tell the the weasel was both happy and scared having seen a human and a large furry beast.  As he relayed this information and Shadow moved to the base of the stairs with arrow knocked a familiar voice called out from above "Daisy, I have a letter for you from Shadowdale".  Recognizing it as the druid Atvan they called out to come down.

As he descended they caught up quickly with where they were and what they had found, and during the talks it was mentioned that the god Tyr could be the god this shrine was dedicated to.  After catching up Atvan asked "Can you read Daisy" to which Daisy replied "Yes, my brother wrote down my name once and told me it said Daisy so yes, I can read Daisy."  He took the letter out and handed it to her, also telling Crispin that there was also one left for him at the Old Skull but which they would not release to anyone but Crispin.

Daisy saw that it was her name and was briefly happy, but when she broke the seal and opened it her frustration began to show as she could not read anything further than Daisy.  She turned it over in her hand but it wasn't any better that way than the other way.  She asked Temeris if he could read it since he knew the big words and when Crispin took it she snapped it right back from him and asked "Are you Temeris?".  She then handed it to Temeris who began to read it aloud.

The letter was from Bastion who had apparently been trying to garner information on her brother.  The letter stated that he believed that her brother may have ran into some Zhentarim somehow, and taken as a slave, and word has it that many slaves and perhaps her brother among them have been sold to the Drow.  Details were sketchy but he would continue to seek out further information.

At first Daisy was relieved to be getting some information from her brother but it soon turned to anger as she realized that someone out there was trying to hurt her brother.  Pulling her axe she looked around but only seeing friends around stormed out where she began to hack at a fallen log with all her furious might.

Behind her the others started to follow her out, and at the top they found a large squat badger sitting there.  Atvan informed the others that outside of Shadowdale he had called to the wilderness for a companion and when he awoke the next day the badger had been sitting there before him.  They waited for Daisy to wear herself down, and being able to pet this new creature helped, they told her they would do whatever they could to help find her brother but first they needed to examine what brought them here, and quickly, and then they would be on their way.  In her slightly calmer state she agreed and only hoped that at the top of the trail she would find part of the organization responsible to take out her frustrations on.

As they traveled up the ancient path they could see that it was leading towards the base of one of the mountains, and that on either side of the path foothills rose leaving the path in a natural valley.  Pushing forward as the day wore on Shadow finally crested a ridge where he could see the two groups of individuals around the campfires ahead and she could also see a man nestled down next to a tree watching the path.

Deciding to try to deal with this single individual herself she tells the others to hide and begins sneaking around the man to try to get closer.  As she moves forward keeping his eyes on the man ahead she fails to see the rather large fallen branch and as his foot comes down it cracks with a thunderous sound that echos in the valley.  She quickly hides behind the tree but the guard makes a single sharp whistle sound in reply to the sound of the broken wood.

After a brief moment and seeing the guard is just looking about still she decided to try to continue along but as she moves out she see another guard beyond the first, and suddenly she is seen as well.  She manages to fire off two arrows quickly that catch the man in the side but he doesn't fall.  Instead he darts behind a tree for cover and two loud whistles are then heard.

Down the path the rest of the Fist has begun moving up the path using the trees for cover after hearing the first whistle.  As the pair of whistles sound shortly after that they notice that those around the campfires begin to move.  Behind their group Atvan lags behind as he is casting druidic magicks in preparation of an encounter to come.

Soon the camp ahead is surrounded in darkness that the campfires can not pierce and a female voice cries out that those approaching should surrender and perhaps a deal can be worked out for their lives.  At this Temeris charges forward with Atvan and Daisy coming up the trail close behind, Crispin just behind them with a dirge just starting to sound from his harp.  Shadow is able to move around to find the injured guard and with another shot and one from Temeris's crossbow he falls.

Replying back to the woman's voice they ask who they are and what business it is they have there but upon determining that they are Zhentarim the party announces they will have no part of anything with the "scum Zhentarim" to which they get the reply "it is your life or your death!"

Temeris reaching the edge of the blackness which he can't see beyond grabs a log from the campfire and works his way around to the lone tent and sets it ablaze.  He can hear from within many chantings as if multiple casters are at work and he can hear numerous sets of feet shuffling about.  To his north he sees a dozen or so horses in their horse line on either side of an entrance carved into the mountainside.

Back beyond Daisy and Atvan continue to approach and soon Daisy enters the darkness swinging wildly and catching something with her axe.  Shadow hoping to have similar luck begins to edge around a tree as she pulls her bowstring but steps on a rock on the hill's slope and slips, hitting her head against the trunk.  She spills to the ground unaware of her surroundings.

As Daisy takes another swing she slips on something in the darkness and falls back striking her head as well just as the darkness lifts.  As the agents of the Black Network within move to engage Temeris, Daisy and Atvan two and sometimes three on one the woman in the middle again announces they have one last chance to surrender but when the party denies she screams out to kill them all.

The Zhentarim begin their attack but the party deftly avoids their blows and the only spell that any of them were able to cast were ineffective.  Atvan with his new companion begin to tear into those in front of them with great strength pulled from nature with each blow from the staff breaking bones and causing great injury.  Temeris manages to strike out at those around him and maneuvers to avoid being flanked.  Crispin braces for the on-coming half orc charging at him.  Daisy meanwhile pulls some dust from her pocket and disappears.

Those on Daisy swing frantically but catch only air as she had already rolled away and was soon making her way to the mage.  The mage managed to get off a single ray which drained much strength from Atvan but didn't do anything to slow the druid from his onslaught of those in front of him.  Temeris then rolled forward avoiding slices from those around him and came up behind the mage catching her with his dagger in the side and soon after Daisy from her invisible rage nearly cleaved the woman in two.

Seeing the mage fall one of the Cyric clerics stepped up unable to see any other than Temeris across from the fallen mage, but when he knelt to try to heal the mage he was caught by the invisible axe as well staggering him and nearly falling him in one mighty blow.

The cleric stumbled back and pulled a stone from his pouch encasing the area in darkness.  Daisy struck out again in the blackness and her axe struck solid and a thud followed shortly after.  Outside the darkness Atvan and the badger were finishing off those that had attacked him while Crispin dodge the orcs blows left and right.  The orc however didn't hear or see Temeris step out from the darkness behind him though and soon the grin he wore was removed by a dagger plunged between his ribs from behind.  The orc slid from the dagger lifeless at the feet of Crispin.

Atvan began to make his way around the circle and summoned a minor earth elemental to aid in attacking any within the darkness, and Crispin stepped forward to produce flame into the darkness.  Just a bit off one of the agents stepped out of the dark but seeing Temeris there turned to flee.  In his retreat though he was caught with a dagger that split his side nearly clean open.  Little could be heard from within the circle though Crispin was struck by something.  Unsure if it was a foe or the summoned elemental unsure of his allegiance he stepped back out of the circle.

As Shadow came to she notice a pair of people at the horse line but unsure of what had happened stepped forward and asked Crispin and Temeris what had happened.  As they spoke to each other to ensure that all were safe especially Shadow as Temeris had feared her killed or captured, the two Zhentarim agents able to escape from the darkness mounted horses.  Seeing them Temeris called out for them to surrender but they spurred their mounts to full speed down the path.

While two arrows nearly removed one of the riders as they fled he managed to catch the pommel of the saddle and remain on the running steed.  Soon they were disappearing from sight but Atvan called upon an eagle to chase them down.  Soon they were not to be seen and an eagle was seen above chasing in that direction until it too could not be seen.



And that is where we left off.  The remains are yet to be looked through but the party has just not only survived a fight in which they were outnumbered 13 to 5 before it started and they lost 1 of their own but they completely dominated the Zhentarim agents taking only minor wounds and scratches while quickly dispatching everyone about them.

Before them is an entrance into the mountainside, behind them a pair of shrines and a pair of fleeing Zhentarim agents.  Before them also, besides the "treasure map" and the "earth blood" is the knowledge that someone who could be Daisy's brother has been taken into slavery and may be in or headed for Drow hands.