Still swamped with real life activities Jeremy again tackled the last two weeks of recaps. Here they are in all their glory.
(Week1)
While still in Ashabenford, the party continues to prepare for the dangerous return journey west to keep the Earthblood out of the hands of the Zhentarim. Prompted by a question from Temeris as to whether the party should hire additional men-at-arms, the increasingly strange Shadow suggests holding open auditions. One lad, a boy names Jim, remains interested in the group even after losing an arm-wrestling match with Daisy and being punched in the face by Shadow. He agrees to come with the party as a torch-bearer and errand boy for a few silver and the promise of greater riches to come. The group re-hires the caravan guards who had escorted them to Ashabenford, increasing their pay to account for the longer voyage west: 5 gp each, and an additional sum to be negociated once the entrance to the Underdark is reached. In a bid to aid Bastian's efforts to travel to Zhentil Keep undetected, the group agrees to try to keep a low profile and operate under the initials "RKF." Atvan returns later that night with a new animal companion, a panther, whom Daisy quickly dubs with the (now-permanent) moniker "Catvan."
The next morning, the party provisions itself for the trip. Daisy buys a new axe, Shadow buys a new bow, and Temeris is persuaded by the shopkeeper to spend almost a thousand gold pieces on a wondrous device that magnifies images at great distances. Temeris is convinced he's well on his way to being one of the greatest explorers the Realms has ever seen.
During the journey west, the group bypasses Shadowdale in the hopes of saving some time. On the journey are the group's four remaining active members and sundry animal companions, along with Jim, the caravan guards, and a priest of Tyr named Corman. A few days into their travels, the group spots smoke rising from campfires in rugged terrain in the distance. Shadow stealthily investigates and discovers a band of orcs. Although Temeris presses for a surprise attack, the others convince him it's too dangerous. The journey continues uneventfully until the group reaches the long-abandoned shrines that mark the path leading to the end of a quest: the Earthblood!
(Week2)
After extracting a promise that they wouldn't take anything without permission, Corman led the party into secret rooms under the forgotten shrine of Faerun's God of Justice, Tyr. Inside are barracks with beds and suits of armor and hidden libraries full of books and scrolls. Temeris is excited to have helped discover such a treasure trove of lost information and gains Corman's approval to take one of the journals and search it for clues as to what the Earth Blood is and why the priests of Tyr and Helm abandoned their posts. A cursory inspection turned up no clues, but Temeris vowed to continue perusing it carefully. Having found a safe place to rest, the party camped for the night.
The next morning, they climbed the path past Crystal Lake and towards the cave that served as the entrance to catacombs. Caullum, the Chitine who had joined the group at the bequest of his "Queen", emerged from hiding and told the group that no Zhentarim agents had entered during his time as sentinel. Temeris gave Caullum the Wand of Magic Missiles found earlier, and the group entered the cave. Once in the entryway, Instead of following the path through a secret door that led below, the group decided to continue straight ahead to investigate strange scraping sounds identified by Daisy.
Emerging into a wide room with several exits and a large central fountain, the group was stunned to see unholy skeletal abominations forming from a pile of bones in the pool. Within seconds, the party was locked in combat--and everytime some skeletons were killed, others formed in the pool! Atvan fought with his quarterstaff, Daisy cleaved several with her gigantic axe, Temeris dodged and parried, and Corman and the men-at-arms lent their arms to the fight. Caullum noticed a symbol of arcane power on the front of the fountain that pertained to necromantic enchantments and guessed that destroying the symbol might stop the spell that re-animated the skeletons. He fired at it several times with his new wand and even hurled acid at it using a spell from a scroll, but it was Daisy's powerful swings with her Greataxe that cracked the symbol into shards and won the battle. After the conflict, Temeris and some of the men-at-arms were badly hurt, but Atvan drew upon his reserves of Druidic lore to heal them.
A cursory examination of the chambers adjoining the room with the fountain revealed several empty crypts once dedicated as resting places for fallen priests of Tyr and Helm. Corman began returning the bones from the fountain to the crypts and the others pitched in. It was a small step toward undoing the unholy desecration that had apparently fallen over the entire temple complex.
Before continuing further, Atvan and the men-at-arms agreed on a fee of 1/10th of any treasure the party recovered. Soon, with Caullum leading the way, the party found themselves back at the massive bronze doors surrounded by obelisks that had stymied them in the past. Corman examined the mystical symbols around the doors and determined that they were wards set to allow passage only to those who were pure of heart and dedicated to Tyr and Helm. With a single push, the doors swung open before him and the party soon found itself in the hallowed halls that contained intact sarcophagi dedicated to the holiest members of the faith. The party was careful not to disturb any of the sarcophagi and decided to rest for the night and prepare for the conflict that was immiment: the fight for the Earth Blood!
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