Synopsis:

Session begins on the morning of October  26 with the party at Sea Foam Inn in Achintee.  The weather is mild with a breeze coming from the west.  It is overcast but dry.  Kieren is speaking with Rutlett and his band of dwarves at their camp near the boat-builder's shed.

Afterwards, Kieren casts invisibility  on the assembled shards of the Dragon Amulet.   He then returns to Old Cud’s hut to speak with him.  Cud immediately recognizes Kieren and  demands that he leave.  He emphasizes this point by brandishing his walking stick in a threatening manner.

The morning is marked by a lot of activity as Tarl prepares for his journey to Inverness.  William and David MacPherson have agreed to go along as William needs to return to his duties at the church.  Tarl has also managed to convince the dwarves, Agate and Gawain to go along, and Gawain in turn has persuaded Magnus to go.  The new party is provisioning itself at the outfitter’s and merchant’s shops.

Liothien is checking out bows and arrows at the weaponsmith’s shop.  He purchases 3 score sheaf arrows and 1 score of silvered arrows.

Liana spends her time studying new spells.

Rhyawdd speaks with William and arranges for a donation to the church in Inverness.  He intends to donate 10% of his share from the sale of the necromancer's books.  Rhyawdd also gives William the staff of striking.

Meanwhile,  Lord Edmund Ross has instructed Joseph Kerr and Baldric to find the books that the party is transporting and check them out.  Joseph bribes Oswald, the innkeepers son, to tell him where the party is storing the books.  The books are being kept in Tarl's room on the second floor of the inn.  They check out the room and discover that the door is locked.   Not to be deterred,  Joseph gets his spell book and casts a Reduction spell on to the door. The door is reduced about 5% and springs open as the locking mechanism is disengaged from the door frame.  Joseph and Baldric enter the room and search through its contents.  They discover a large number of books as well as Tarl's possessions.  Joseph instructs Baldric to grab some books to show to Edmund.  Baldric grabs an armload and knocks a bunch of other books over in the process.  Joseph and Baldric leave the room, and Joseph casts Enlarge to restore the door to its normal locked state.

As the thieves are leaving the scene, Rhyawdd encounters them in the hallway.  He  recognizes the books and confronts Joseph and Baldric.  Joseph attempts to talk his way out the situation, but Baldric lets slip that they have taken the books at Lord Ross's instruction.  Rhyawdd demands that they return the books.  Baldric reluctantly complies and crashes through the door to Tarl's room where he dumps the books to the floor.  Baldric then leaves and tells Rhyawdd that his going to report to Lord Ross.  Joseph attempts to leave the scene and Rhyawdd pins him against the wall.  Joseph has his spell book in hand, which Rhyawdd presumes is one from the necromancer's tower.  Joseph struggles to get free to no avail, and he is forced to hand over his spell book to Rhyawdd.  Joseph tries to explain that the spellbook is his, and he implores Rhyawdd to look through it to verify Joseph's claim.  Rhyawdd  peruses the book  and determines that it belongs to someone named Kerr.

Meanwhile Tarl returns from the outfitter’s shop to find his room ransacked and Joseph and Rhyawdd standing in the hall.  Rhyawdd explains the situation to Tarl.

A moment later Lord Edmund Ross appears on the scene with Baldric following behind.  Baldric's left eye is puffy and it appears that he has been punched.  Lord Ross makes his entrance and offers and apology to Tarl and Rhyawdd.  He explains that he had instructed Baldric to make an inquiry about Tarl's books to see if the gnome would be interested in showing and selling any of the books to Lord Ross.  Edmund further explains that he is intensely interested in any books on geography as this is a hobby of his.

Lord Ross explains that Baldric misunderstood his instructions and presumed that he was to take the books from Tarl's room.  Poor Joseph was misinformed by Baldric as to Lord Ross's intentions and was an unwitting accomplice.  Lord Ross offers to pay for the damage to the door to Tarl's room and then asks if the Rhyawdd and Tarl would let him examine the books for possible purchase.  They agree and Lord Ross sorts through the piles of books.  He  finds  several books that interest him and offers Rhyawdd  2000 gp  worth of gems for 2 of the books.  Rhyawdd agrees  if he has an opportunity to examine the  books during their travels in the coming weeks.  Lord Ross agrees if Rhyawdd throws in a third book for an additional 500 gp.  All is agreed upon and Lord Ross goes to fetch his wealth.  Lord Ross returns and  pays 2500  gp in the form of 5 well-cut opals.  Lord Ross also requests that Rhyawdd  return Joseph Kerr’s  book  to him, which he does.

Rhyawdd  divides the opals amongst the party members who intend to remain in Achintee:  Kieren, Cedric,  Liana,  Liothien, and himself.  Liothien goes to the money changer and  trades his opal in for smaller gemstones (4x50, 8x25, and  3x10).  Liana does the same but  gets a mix of coin and smaller gemstones.  Kieren trades  coins for  gems (1500  gp for 3 stones:  amethyst, emerald, sapphire) but keeps the Opal.

The rest of  afternoon is uneventful.  At  dusk most of the party members gather for dinner in the dining room of the inn.  Tarl uses this opportunity to check out Lord Ross’s  room.  He notes that the door is locked, so he checks for traps and then attempts to pick the lock.  Tarl is unsuccessful and has to resort to casting a Warp Wood spell to spring the door.  This works and he enters the room.  Tarl casts detect magic and scans the contents of the room.  The only  magical emanations that he detects come from a large metal lockbox on the floor and longbow in the corner.

The box gives off a faint emanation and its locking mechanism gives off a strong magical emanation.  Tarl notes that the lock mechanism is very intricate  and of the highest quality that he has ever encountered.  He attempts to move the box and discovers that it is far too heavy.  Tarl then casts lighten load on the box and  tries again.  The box still won’t budge.  While Tarl is examining the box he becomes uneasy and senses that he is being watched from the shadows in the far corner of the room.   He casts a light spell in the corner to reveal that it is empty.  Tarl searches the rest of the room and finds fine clothes in the wardrobe as well as boots, shoes, and travelling gear.  When he is done Tarl returns  everything in  the room to its original state, extinguishes the light spell and casts straighten wood on the door after he has exited the room.  Unfortunately the spell does not  restore the door to its original state and it is visibly sprung from its hinges.

Meanwhile in the dining room, Lord Ross offers to buy drinks for the party all evening long.  He socializes with the various party members and makes a genuine effort to be pleasant and charming.

At mid-evening Kieren and Rhyawdd go to the Salty Dog tavern to seek out old Cud.  They find him at his usual location on a stool at the end of the bar.  Cud does not appear to recognize either of them from their previous encounters.  Rhyawdd engages him in conversation and is soon regaled with tales of adventure and heroism.  The conversations is  focused around  dragon hunting, and Cud relates many tales about killing  red, green, and white dragons.

While Rhyawdd engages old Cud in conversation, Kieren palms the Dragon Amulet and casually presses it against the old man’s shoulder and  invokes its healing powers.  At first there appears to be no effect, but  gradually Old Cud  becomes more lucid.  He  takes note of Rhyawdd and Kieren and comments that he recognizes them from  their  previous encounters.  Old Cud  also comments that he remembers that Kieren is interested in the shards of the Dragon Amulet.  He says that he no longer has the amulet and that he lost it a long time ago.

Old Cud  goes on to relate the following tale:  Years ago (8-12?) old Cud was known as Cameron Gunn, a dragon hunter of great renown.   He and five of his adventuring companions were hunting a copper dragon in the mountains near Loch Mullardoch. The dragon was reported to be killing livestock near Killilan,  and Cameron and his party intended to drive off or kill the beast and recover its treasure. They determined over time that the dragons lair was located somewhere in the mountains north of Loch Mullardoch.  They spent several days  trying to find a passable route into the mountains.  Their efforts led them to forests on the southern exposure of the mountain ridge.  The party made camp for the night and posted a watch comprising Molloch the mage and Douglas MacDowd, a warrior.  During the night Cameron was roused from sleep by a cry of alarm.  He awoke to see two of the party members, Kent and Tom, fighting each other.  Doug had  been shot in the shoulder with an arrow.  Molloch  was casting a spell and  Colin, the priest, was nowhere to  be seen.

Molloch finished  his spell and threw a massive  fireball into the trees east of the camp.  The bright flash and subsequent fires from  the spell revealed no one in the woods.  Shortly afterwards, a  single arrow pierced Molloch’s neck and throat, and he fell over dead.  The arrow (with a black shaft)  was  fired from northwest of the camp.  Cameron ran to check on his fallen comrade, but was repulsed by a hail of arrows from north of the camp.  Tom panicked and broke off combat with Kent to flee into the woods to the west.  Cameron, Doug, and Kent fell back into the woods south of camp.  Arrows from the north continued to rain down upon them which forced further retreat toward the shores of Loch Mullardoch.  As they neared the loch Cameron caught sight of single figure standing in the moonlight.  Cameron charged him with sword raised but  was overcome with terror before he could strike.

Cameron remembered fleeing wildly through the dark woods for some time until he came upon a torchlit, stone circle that was crowded with faerie folk in some kind of reverie.  He was taken aback at this sight and paused for a moment.  A lone figure emerged from the circle and approached him.  The figure appeared to be an upright walking greyhound  (yes a dog) dressed in fine clothes.  Before Cameron could comprehend the situation, the greyhound  spoke to him and said that he should not be there.  The greyhound gave a wave of its hand (paw?) and Cameron felt the life being drawn from him as he aged at an incredible rate.  Instead of being a stout warrior, he was becoming a bent old man.  As this happened an elf-like being with blond hair and green eyes appeared from the woods behind Cameron.  The greyhound stopped what he was doing to greet the newcomer who he called “Reither.”  The greyhound commented to Reither that he should not have let Cameron get away and that he had seen too much.  Reither assured the greyhound that he would deal with the problem and began a brief incantation.  Cameron had almost no recollection of what happened afterwards as his mind was completely scrambled.  He does vaguely remember the two figures noticing the shard of the Dragon amulet around his neck.  He also recalls that Reither took the shard from him before leading him away through the woods.  Cameron  also mentions  that he does not recall what happened to  “Wyrm-Smiter,”  his sword of dragon slaying.

Kieren and Rhyawdd listen intently to Cameron’s tale and ask him many questions about his missing companions and his ill-fated encounter at Loch Mullardoch.  Kieren recalls numerous stories that he knows about the exploits of a legendary dragon-hunter known as Cameron Gunn.  The stories about Gunn relate the mysterious disappearance of him and his companions about 10 years ago.

Kieren asks about Loch Mullardoch, and Gunn describes its location as being about 1 days travel west of Killilan along the northern side of the Five Sisters of Kintail (mountains east of Loch Duich).

After about an hour, Cameron tells Kieren and Rhyawdd that he is tired and has much to think about.  Kieren asks if  he would consider accompanying the party for a return visit to Loch Mullardoch.  Gunn responds that he is to old and frail for such a rigorous  journey, although he would like to avenge himself and his lost party upon the faerie folk (Reither in particular.)  Cameron warns Kieren about the powers of the third shard which Reither may hold.  The shard is known as the Shard of Seeking and it can warn it holder of impending ambush and attack.  Worse still, the shard gives its holder the ability to cast a powerful cone of cold which is capable of killing a smaller dragon.

Kieren and Rhyawdd return to the Sea Foam Inn and relate what they have learned to their fellow party members.  It is decided by the party to head to Loch Mullardoch to attempt to recover the third and remaining shard of the Dragon amulet.

Lord Ross and his entourage return to their room around 10 PM.  They notice  the sprung door and begin a frantic search of the room to determine if the perpetrator(s) are still around and if anything has been taken.  Other than the door, all appears in order.  Lord Ross summons Muriel, the innkeeper, and demands that he be moved to a new room.  His request is granted, and all of his things are moved to another room down the hall.  Lord Ross comments to Joseph that their old “problems” may have followed them here.  He vows to make inquiries in the morning to determine if this is the case.  Meanwhile, Baldric is allowed to spend the night in their new room on watch.  The remainder of the night is uneventful.

October 27.  The day is unseasonably warm with a warm breeze blowing from the SW.  The sky is still overcast but there is no rain.  Tarl’s party eats breakfast at the inn  before departing for Achnasheen and Inverness.  Hearty farewells are made between the various party members, and Tarl’s party leaves town around 9 AM..  Rhyawdd has given Tarl the bag of  holding  to assist in transporting the books to Emchath in Inverness.  Rhyawdd has given instructions to Tarl to tell Emchath that he would like to keep the bag of holding as part of his compensation for delivery of the books from the necromancer’s tower.

Later that morning, both Rhyawdd and Cedric discover that the opals they received  from Lord Ross are missing!  Rhyawdd suspects Tarl may have something to do with the disappearance.

Kieren speaks with Rutlett and hires him and his party for the expedition to Loch Mullardoch.  Rutlett’s terms are that his group will receive 3 shares of any treasure that is recovered.  Kieren tells Rutlett’s group to make preparations to leave immediately.

Kieren also makes an agreement with Rutlett for training to use a battle axe.  Rutlett begins by accompanying Kieren to the weaponsmith to select and purchase a battle axe.  They purchase one for 15 gp.

Lord Ross makes inquiries in Achintee during the morning and learns that  someone has been asking locals about him and his companions.  This person has arrived recently from Achnasheen.

Edmund has heard about Kieren’s expedition to Loch Mullardoch, and he instructs Joseph to arrange to join the group.  Joseph is unsuccessful in his efforts, so Lord Ross meets with Kieren about the matter.  After a brief discussion it is agreed that Lord Ross and his retainers will join Kieren’s expedition.

Session ends with the newly assembled party preparing for immediate departure for Killilan.

Experience point awards and character status:

Liana Ashwood - Fighter/M-U
Total EP’s                250
Spell point total:      32 / 32
Hit point total:          38 / 38

Kieren Urquhart – Ranger
Total EP’s               650
Spell point total:    12  / 12
Hit point total:     40 / 40
 
Tarl Tallows – Cleric/Th
Total EP’s                800
Spell point total:    25 / 25
Hit point total:     38 / 38

Rhyawdd MacPherson – Rogue
Total EP’s                500
Hit  point total: 66 / 66

Liothien Snowhawk – Fighter
Total EP’s                250
Hit point total:   75 / 75

Joseph Kerr – M-U
Total EP’s                450
Hit Point total:  27 / 27

Rutlett Trollcrusher – Fighter
Total EP’s              150
Hit Point total:  63 / 63