This session begins with the party going to meet with a mysterious group of Rangers and other classes that work to protect different sites around the land. They are known as the Order of the Midnight Sun.

Characters played this session were:

• OLEANDER and BITTERS - Half-Elf RGR2
• ITHIMYR - Half-Elf CLR2 / RGR2
• RHINOCK - Half-Orc FTR2
• TALON - PAL2
• ZENOBIA - Elf THF2 / MAG2
• FANDILLAS - Elf FTR1 / MAG1

Hired Mercenaries: Three Light Footmen CG - 0 lvl fighters, Shields and Longswords (AC 5) - Talon's base Loyalty is 90.

Marching into the northwest forested regions, we know the area is infested with giant Fire Ants.

We march for 4 hours and see that the grass to the west is still gone. The grass is growing back and the area is muddy. We are on the edge of the forest with mountains in the distance. We have a general idea of where the ORDER OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN are because of Ithimyr and Oleander's training under one member named EXAR.

We are following up the river until we hit the mountains. We find three tents set up. Exar approaches and along with him, Siril, another Ranger, and Welrick an Illusionist. They are members of a group called the Order of the Midnight Sun and their practices are pretty secret.

Unfortunately, the Druids are not happy. They say that a foul form of warfare was exercised on the local insect population. This only made their groups situation more difficult. The Druids don't like the Order because they are upsetting to the balance. One of the Druids visited the trio asking about it. They say that some sort of cart was left outside the river and had heavy fire damage. They found that giant wasps were crawling around the ground, bothering the other wildlife. Druids believed that the balance had been agitated.

There is a very powerful Druid with them who is rumored to be vying for the position of the named Order of Druids. They say that there is only one Great Druid. He has two assistants with him. The Rangers are keen to not upset the Druids as they spend all their time outside observing nature. They seek to restore the balance and typically do not act aggressively.

Exar is sad about the death of Lathar but he says he can give us the location of the Druids' grove. He says that they are on a mission that needs undertaking. Their trio is protecting a group of standing stones in the area that contains some kind of magic. He describes this further saying that just behind the standing stones is a strange pillar that is about 4' tall. It is covered in moss and has strange runes. Their tents are currently set up around it.

The stone circle exists about 1 mile to the east. The stones all have a similar construction to the pillars. They fear leaving the stones alone.

Exar describes how they found the stones and says that he did not arrive to this camp alive. They were in the mountains to the north and fled down here from the forests, pursued by a group of 14 Gargoyles. They were pursued for over one day before Exar was killed! The other two narrowly escaped. They happened upon the standing stones and in so laying his body against the stones, there was a flash of purple light. The others passed out as did Exar while he lay dying. The standing stone he was laid next to was crumbled to dust, and Exar was restored to life.

They explored the area of the forest around the stone and found two more stones. The Illusionist detected strong magic on the stone, seemingly from a god level entity or some otherwise powerful, secretive magic. They have not been able to deduce anything more about these stones. They are only a few hundred yards from each other. The stone that was destroyed is equidistant from the the Chalice, which is located at the fork of the river. The trio have not found any other stones in the area.

It is noted that the first stone that disappeared and the Chalice are made of the same type of stone. They also mention that they do not want the Druids to find out about the Stone Circle.

The group also says that they were scouting out the are of the Chalice and they think there are some fey creatures in that location, casting powerful magic. These creatures are very mischievous so they would not dare to go back because of these Pixies. They suspect that the Chalice might be connected to the origin of the stones.

In more recent days, the Druids came to visit the trio after the grassland fire. They also say that there are at least ten Pixies around the Chalice, which they describe as a huge 40' tall stone Chalice that drips water out of the sides.

Using his magical helmet, Rhinock reads on one of the stones that it says “WISH AND OPEN THE GATE” and it has very strange curvy magic runes.

Exar continues describing what happened and says that, when he died, he felt he was on a journey to the heavens. He could see nothing around but lights and swirls. The Illusionist admits that he did wish for Exar to come back to life…

The group looks at each other before they decide to share some info with us, somewhat reluctantly. One of their fears is that, it was not just a flash of light that they saw. It was a strange color, a mix of black, purple and white, that appeared above the stone in an eclipse. They saw a dark shape, as if like a solar eclipse. Their entire vision was swallowed by this and only a dark shape standing in front of the stone was visible. Then they passed out. They have since wondered what it was…

When they were scouting the area, they came upon a group of 9 Ogres and 1 Ogre Shaman. The Ogres were attacked by Large Worm that was about 40' long, with a huge mouth orifice. It had triangular flaps coming out with sharp teeth. The Worm came out from behind a mountain and went straight for the Ogres. The Large Worm also spewed forth a purple fire which destroyed the Ogre Shaman. The other Ogres fled in fear and the Worm ate the shaman whole.

The trio confirms that indeed, the Worm creature breathes fire and all agreed that the shape that they saw, was that of a worm and not like that of a Dragon. They believe that something horrible was committed in exchange for Exar's life which brought this creature into this world.

We check out the other stones and Rhinock sees the same runes.

There is a tree about a mile to the south that looks like a mushroom. This is a telltale sign of Dryad presence. Dryads may charm men and women but have perfect knowledge of the woodlands.

We searched around the area and looked for the other similar standing stones to see if more existed. After many loops around nothing else is found.

As the investigation continues and the conversation with Exar expands on more details, we learn that the Worm creature went specifically for the Shaman which could be a concern to the Druids as it might be upsetting to the balance, in their perception. We also know that Dryads go after those with high Charisma, such as Talon with a 16 Charisma.

We travel south to find the Dryad which is about a mile away. We find a truly extraordinarily bulbous tree, like a squished orb, sitting in a clearing. We all approach the tree and we spot an alluring beautiful tree sprite that keeps herself half concealed. She looks at us up and down. The Dryad seems calmed in demeanor and holds out her hand. We bow before her respectfully but she dismisses it and says there is no need to bow.

We offer her some wine that Talon and Oleander purchased before we left. She carefully excepts the wine from us. And after asking her some questions on the area, she knows of the standing stones and the Chalice. She says she observed the arrival of the men. The Chalice and stones were there before she was born. Although she knows not much of their origin, she says that there used to be more of them. She felt strong feelings of a powerful magic and says that when she felt this magic, she went back to the stones, and found that a stone was gone. Disappeared over time.

On the Chalice, she says that the Pixies have called the Chalice their home. There was a Giant Boar and some Bandits that once used the Chalice. In the river near the chalice, the Dryad explains that there is an enchantment along the river originating from the Chalice. A magical force upon its floor, located at the bottom of the river. This magical enchantment is related to the Chalice somehow.

As the conversation continues, she mentions that ever since those men arrived, a Great Worm began haunting the woods. It happened right after the group of men arrived. The Dryad has a great fear of the Worm.

We tell the Dryad that we are trying to learn more of the Worm. She says that it has not destroyed any of the woods but has heard from the animals that it hunts through the woods by day and night. It has been hunting Ogres and Hobgoblins.

The group further inquires if she has gone to visit the Druids. Yes, they told her that they have not seen the Worm creature and do not know anything about it. The Druids seem concerned now.

The dryad also explains how is bound to the tree and that she has not observed how the stones disappeared. There are all sorts of woodland creatures that live here and the only group of any significant number are found a few miles north where there is a den of Stirges. There is also a great Giant Boar that stands about 5 feet tall and hunts the woods. Ogres and Orcs pass through the woods and 3 times the Worm has attacked these groups. Each time the Worm has gotten bigger from consuming this prey and it is now 40' long.

On questioning the Pixies at the Chalice, she smiles and says that we must ENTERTAIN the Pixies. They just like to be entertained. There are also Wolves and Goblins that the Pixies were tracking. They found a gathering of Goblins. where they were making an encampment however even these Goblins are not foolish enough to come into this area.

She notes that the Dryads rarely communicate with each other but there are others.

Since we have given her gifts, she tells us that we are pure of heart and we must do something about the Worm that arrived. If the Chalice has anything to do with the Worm, we might be able to find something in the river. She knows that we will have a hard time breathing under water but offers to give us a special kind of seaweed that will let us breathe underwater for 1 hour. The Dryad gives us 12 doses of a blue green seaweed.

The Dryad believes us to be a blessing, especially the Half-Elf… But was it Ithimyr or Oleander?

We return to Exar of the Order of the Midnight Sun and explain that we have learned about the enchantment. Exar does not know about the Pixies and we tell him that the Druids talked to the Dryad about the Worm. Exar is worried as well as Oleander that the stone opened some kind of gate that let the Worm out. We wonder if maybe the other stones have released other creatures? The Chalice located is near the fork of the river but the river is some distance away. There is some risk attracting the Pixies, though they have never been accosted by them, the give them a berth of 100 yards from the Chalice.

The Paladin, Talon, confirms that none of the standing stones radiate evil.

We leave for the Chalice and head about a mile to the south east where we can see the Chalice but cannot see the top of it. The Chalic is covered in blue and green moss and stands very tall. We can tell based on where we are standing that it is about it is 20' in diameter at its base. There is a stone wall of sorts around the base, which is where the water will flow into when it rains.

We come to the river and can tell that the current is weak here. From the shore of the river, after looking around, we can see through the water and notice that there is a glimmering something at the bottom, about 25' deep. On the bank of the west side, there is a sparkling under the river that appears to be about 5' in diameter. This sparkling stays in the same place even through the current there is a darker in color below the sparkling area. It is a darker hue about 25' down from the surface.

We can see that there is a STONE DOOR BUILT INTO THE CHALICE SIDE.

As the party approaches, we don't see anything in writing with Rhinock's magic helmet, a Helm of Comprehending Languages and Reading Magic. Ithimyr will eat a dose of the seaweed and finds that it has a bitter sweet taste. He then jumps into the water with his armor and spear. He finds that he can breathe underwater and sees some flashes of fish.

The glimmering that we saw from outside is some sort of sparkling dome that is covering a side of the riverbank, behind which is a wooden door. it is only big enough for one person to stand in and it covers the wooden door entirely. It appears to be built into the side of the river and the door is not damaged or corroded.

The party enters the circle and the wetness falls away. The wooden door is very old and Zenobia looks over the handle but finds nothing of note. Ithimyr uses his spear to get leverage and pushes open the door. Inside, we find a dirt tunnel that goes further into the darkness. We are about 25' under the river and there is a cool air that comes up from tunnel.

Ithimyr can see from up the river, against the current, that there is a group of 12 humanoid creatures about 100' up the river. They are holding sparkling weapons. Thanks to the direction of the current we pull ourselves out pretty quick and we can see the other humanoid people in the river. We can make out that they have 2 arms and 2 legs but their skin is a green blue. They are coming from the north of the river. The Chalice is on this side of the river.

Suddenly, leaping up are 12 Koalinths, or water-based Hobgoblins. They have gills that allow them to reside underwater where they make their homes. Ithimyr begins casting BLESS. The Koalinths have HD 1+1, Zenobia casts SLEEP and 3 of them fall asleep!

They have an AC is 5 and type 5 and are equipped with spears and shields. The Koalinths charge forward with their spears while 3 of them attack with ranged weapons. A total of 9 are charging in.

Talon's Paladin Protection from Evil encompasses the group, including Oleander. Rhinock takes 4 damage as he is struck. Talon takes 3 damage. 3 of our mercenary guardsmen take 2 damage, 1 damage and 4 damage respectively. They each have 4 hp which means 1 is dead! Henchie, Oleander's War Dog, takes 3 damage.

The guardsmen fail their morale roll and they disengage to begin a retreat.

Eventually, the party is victorious and we capture one of the Koalinths to question it.

The captured Koalinth says that they have over 200 brothers and their tribe is powerful. We ask about the door we found and he says there is nothing past the door but the Koalinth seems uncomfortable and angry. He suddenly sputters out that we will get killed by the River Boar.

At this point, Zenobia dispatches the evil creature.

Ithimyr looks for loot amongst the bodies finding that they each have coin pouches containing a total of:

139 cp and 42 gp.

Cure Light Wounds is cast upon on Rhinock, healing him for 4 hp.

We can sell the 9 spears at half their value, around 80 sp.

On the way back to Gren, we encountered a large group of NOMADS that are seemingly heading toward the northeast hills. They have numerous pack animals. They could be headed farther north for the Summer as they tend to migrate.

In Gren, we rest and heal up for the night before heading back once again.

Once we get back to the area of the Chalice and the river, we find that the rope is still there, the one used to tie up our captive Koalinth, but there are no more tracks in the area. We drop into the river and are all bunched in together and head into the wooden door.

The dirt tunnel goes for about 50-70 feet before we find some stairs that go down. There is some cool air but nothing is heard up ahead. The stairs descend into an open area and the passage is about 5' wide.

Ithimyr spots numerous Koalinth tracks on the ground and we also see 12 sarcophagi inside this chamber. There is also a decapitated frog head and bones everywhere of normal frogs that are arranged neatly around the sarcophagi. The sarcophagi are a granite color and all are closed.

We find markings that indicate that they were all opened at some previous time. There are only fish and frog bones lying on the ground, no other creatures. We search the sarcophagi while Ithimyr watches for enemies. Inside, we find a burial shroud that is ornate but there is nothing else under the first sarcophagus. The second one has a slot in it that is a few inches long and about 1/2 an inch wide. It is located on the side of the bottom of the sarcophagus. It looks like the shrouds are valuable. They are white with off white thread and do not appear to have ever been used.

We examine the slot which goes about 5 inches inside but only a half an inch wide. It fits a dagger perfectly. When we place one inside, the wall opens when the dagger is inserted. This reveals an alcove that is 30' x 30' with NO tracks inside. A 10' long tapestry hangs on the southern wall. It is a beautiful weaving of cosmic stars that fill up the entire thing and it has a wavy border. It looks a little dusty and has not been eaten by animals. Looks like the night sky and has a high density of stars on it. As we study it, the tapestry looks like it has more stars than the night sky. We see no stars that look familiar. The sky is filled with unfamiliar stars, perhaps to a different part of space that we have never seen.

Rhinock looks all around the tapestry and finds it surprisingly heavy. It is high quality and very thick. There are no buttons or secret doorsin this room, only a wooden door going north. As we look at the tapestry, we do know that we are in the northern hemisphere. Ithimyr has heard of sages that can gaze into other parts of space or other planes, other distant places. None of us has ever seen this field of stars, which might have come from another realm.

The burial shrouds feel like a different types of cloth but the thread density is high on the tapestry and it weighs 75 pounds. We are taking the tapestry out to sell it.

We head back to Gren.

Ithimyr makes a sketch of the tapestry to research later.

The burial shrouds, all 12, sell for 50 gp each, The tapestry is not magical nor are the burial shrouds though they are of undeniably high quality. It is a level of craftsmanship unseen in this part of the world. It will sell for 2,000 gp value. We have 10 doses left of the Water Breathing Seaweed.

Ithimyr speaks with Syrah about the tapestry but is unable to learn anything more.

528 gp, 24 sp, 17 cp

969 xp each (Ithimyr gains 485 / 533)

This session is Ending on…

Ithimyr is a 3rd level Cleric now and is seeking training. He speaks to Syrah about the situation with the Druids and the stuff that we found, the Dryads, the Rangers, the Worm, the underwater tunnel and the burial chambers.

Ithimyr can pay 1,000 gp now and needs a loan for 2,000 gp.