That song...

While in Highforge, Ziek came across a bard who was singing a song about their exploits. Here is the revised version of the song as you guys decided to give out the name of Ronin Warriors. I know this may suck, but what were you expecting?

The Ronin Warriors

Praise the Ronin Warriors!
They be the heroes and saviors
Of Highforge in its darkest hour.
Kelvin, a man once noble and true,
Had suddenly turned mean and sour.
From him our troubles grew.

Assassins creep in the dark
Waiting to to kill their mark,
But Look! There our heroes be
To deny the beasts of their kill
And from death Hesond was free.
Warriors! Save us if you will!

Junge, a warrior from empire old,
Hired the Ronin Warriors, I was told.
Our great caravan they must protect
Against any those who lust in greed.
Kelvin had other plans for his sect,
But they payed the priced indeed.

Homeward bound was the caravan,
And gold was promised to every man.
Kelvin did not like such a plan
They arrested Junge without a reason
And they stole from the caravan
All that was made this season.

Angry we were, as you all know,
But fear is all that we would show.
Who will save from our crises?
Why, none other than the Ronin Warriors!
While we hide in our city like mices
They came to be our nurturers!

A plan they brought was very bold,
But our rulers their action withhold.
However, when an attempt was made
On Baron Hal's life by Baron Kelvin
The plans were all remade
By the warriors from heaven.

Storm the castle, O Warriors!
Free dear Junge from the jailors!
Thousands of guards fought that night,
But it Ronin Warriors repelled them all
For Kelvin's strength is very finite,
And they were beaten with just an awl!

So praise the Ronin Warriors!
They proved with their banners
That strength lies in hearts pure.
Beware Kelvin, for we are coming
We will beat your heart impure,
Victory for us is now beaming!

Feb. 22nd Game Session

The players waited until about nine in the morning before they left Kelvin. While traveling on the road, they came across four travelers. They were going to ignore the travelers, but Ziek saw something weird about them, and told everyone to run. The four travelers were actually werewolves. The party ran for their lives because they were not equipped adequately equipped. Elric casted sleep three times on the werewolves by using the Ring of Memory. They continued running, and when they finally stopped, they realized that they were dreadfully lost.

After a while they, found a river which they followed up north. The river lead to Threshold. Because the party did not like the idea of potentially being followed by werewolves, they moved at a much faster pace. When they got to Threshold, they did not bother resting. They found the trailed south, and carefully followed it on to Highforge. They arrived at Highforge dog tired. Lucky for them, the mayor was waiting for them, and allowed them a place to rest and food (the party is moving up in the world, but they are still poor!) The mayor and Baron Hal read Junge's testimony and came to the conclusion that Junge was crazy. Baron Hal said that he would ride off and have a talk with Baron Kelvin.

The players accompanied Baron Hal and his guards. They were all traveling on horseback (the players are moving up in the world some more, but you still can't afford a glass of water!). While traveling down the road, a crossbow bolt that was feathered blue hit Baron Hal on the chest and knocked him off his horse. The guards formed a defensive circle around the Baron's body, and Captain Galvens told the players that if they want to prove their worth to Threshold, then they will hunt down the assassin. They rode of to the tree line where they assumed the assassin to be. After traveling in the forest for a short while, they came across two Kelvin guards. One was carrying a crossbow and blue feathered bolts. The Kelvin Guards started questioning the players. The tension rose between them, and when the Guard decked Elric combat began. The fight was real short. The players brought back the heads and equipment back to the Threshold guards. They found that the crossbow bolt missed Baron Hal's heart by mere inches, and that he was going to be okay. Baron Hal had the group retreat back to Threshold due to the fear of another assassination attempt on him.

When they got back, Baron Hal and Mayor Millard told the players that they are going to break out Junge. The players debated for a while, and they decided that the best plan was to just "break down the door and hope for the best." Really the players were going to climb up the wall, and try to get Junge out of the tower he was in quickly. Captain Thiesen decided that he would come with the players on this one. He took a claymore, and he packed a trident that was Junge's. They all rode off on horseback again (woot!) with an extra horse for Junge. When they got close to Kelvin, they left the horses behind in some trees, and had Rayne guard the horse. Before they went in the city, Thiesen throw mud over his face, and cut his left eye in an attempt to cover his identity (obviously he is not wearing Threshold armor also). They all waited in the city until about one in the morning.

They had Ziek climb up the wall so that he can set up a rope for the rest to climb up on. Ziek waited until Thiesen climbed over before going over himself. The fight began. Thiesen held out against several guards on the left side. Ziek fought some guards on the right. Elric was suppose to be next, but he fell. He was caught be Ashton, but they both were hurt in the action. Detelle was then the next one to go over. He went over to hold off the guards on the right so that Ziek can break out Junge. Ziek managed to get through the doors and get Junge out. Atrem was the next one over, and he went to help out Thiesen. Elric tied him self to the bottom of the rope so that the fall won't hurt him, and Ashton went back to climbing the rope. Junge joined the fray, and Thiesen tossed him his trident. Junge went to help Detelle out on the right, and so did Ziek. Ashton just got over the wall when the Elven Guard fired a rain of arrows at the people at top. They hit the party, Thiesen, Junge, and some of their own. That is when the party decided to make a run for it. Detelle grabbed Junge and casted Levitate to get to the ground safely on the other side of the wall. Ziek decided that he would scale the wall back down. Atrem was tossed over the edge by Thiesen to Elric. Both fell down, but were okay since Elric was tied to the rope. Ashton and Thiesen fought off the guards on top real quick. Thiesen lost his left arm in the process. That is when Thiesen grabbed Ashton, and jumped down. He was okay since he used magic. Ziek attempted to jump on Thiesen also to get down quicker, but he missed and fell the rest of the way.

Detelle and Junge ran out of the city without any problems. They only ran into two guards at the west gate, whom they killed quickly. When the got to the horses, Detelle and Junge rode off leaving the rest of their party behind. The others did not have such an easy time. They had to hide in an ally in order to heal Thiesen up a bit. It was about five in the morning when they finally found their way to the city gate. The west gate was closed and guarded by about sixteen guards. Elric casted sleep and offed a several of them. They fought their way past the rest. The last they kept alive if he opened the gate. The hobbled back to their horses, and rode off with the rising sun on their backs. (This is now the fourth time in a row that the party has escaped a situation badly beaten. At least this time they planned to be badly beaten.)

They returned to Highforge in the morning. The party was finally heroes (of course, the party was just trying to start a war, but they will take the glory). The tales of their adventure traveled through the town, and many gave them gifts of chocolates and such. They spent the next several days shopping around, and healing from their battle. Maleik came to the party in Highforge, and he told them that they are going to take his mission now. Elric had the balls to insult him, and was hit with a curse that caused him to look really ugly. The next session they party will be back at Maleik's place, and it will be the 16th of Flaurmont. The players are going to sent to the mountains. (Good thing it is Spring, eh?...maybe)

Feb. 15th Session

The hour of the session, the players debated on what they would do. They already know that they want to take a course of action that would start a war, but the question was, how would they do that without being caught? Maleik to no part in their planning. All he did was to provide them with basic information.

After a while, the players first agreed to go to Highforge in hopes of finding some aid from the Gnomes. They managed to find the mayor of the town quickly, Millard Bell, and told him that they wanted to spring Junge out from jail and attempt to steal back the gold that Kelvin took from the caravan. The gnome mocked them since they did not have a clear strategy on how they would do this, and wondered just how he would just trust random strangers. After some questioning, Millard found out that the characters were the ones who saved Hesond's life back at Stallanford. As Hesond was a major supplier for Highforge, this was indeed helpful for the Gnomes. Millard had the players deliver a message to Baron Hal of Threshold. Baron Hal allowed them to stay the night while he pondered the letter that he received. The next morning, they all rode out to Highforge. They were accompanied by a couple of guards from town. Among these guards were both Captain Galvens (the guard who caught the players, but he didn't remember them) and Captain Thiesen (the guard who escorted them to the trial and to Maleik. He remembers the players, but doesn't care).

Once back at Highforge, Baron Hal and Mayor Millard had a private chat. They then summoned the players in to ask them what is it that they wished to do. The Baron and the Mayor both did not agree to the players radical idea of immediately breaking out Junge AND taking back the gold. They told the players to go and get a written statement from Junge. The players agreed and traveld to Kelvin. When they reached Kelvin, they took on the idea that Junge was locked up in one of the towers at the castle. They had Ziek climb up the tower and found that Junge was indeed in that room. Ziek forgot to bring the pen and paper, but Junge just wrote the statement in blood on a leather parchment that his food was on.

Next session the date will be the 5th of Flaurmont at 3:00 A.M. The trial for Junge begins in about seven more days.

Feb. 8th Session

The players headed south after they left the ruined church. They saw that they titan that they saw earlier had moved to the west of them and was sitting on a building as though it was a sit. As they headed south, they came across a Gargoyle. The players thought they saw the house move, and decided to attack the house. While they were distracted, the Gargoyle swooped down, picked up Atrem, and dropped him from a height. Atrem broke both of his legs. The players went through a quick combat round with the Gargoyle where they failed to do any damage to the Gargoyle. The Gargoyle swooped at Ashton and knocked him down in one blow. The players attempted to talk to the Gargoyle, but they did not realize that the Gargoyle did not have an interest with talking with them. The Gargoyle tried to attack Elric, but Elric got out of the way which allowed the players to take a swipe at the Gargoyle and remove one of its wings. Detelle attempted to fire his crossbow, but it broke when he tried firing it. The people left standing debated on if they should fight or not. They were arguing for so long that the Gargoyle attacked them again. This time, the Gargoyle took a hit at Ziek. Rayne swung his war hammer and smashed Ziek in the head on accident. Ziek was out cold and was in critical condition. Detelle followed up with an attack from his sword and took off the other wing and an arm. Elric casted Magic Missile to finish off the monster. The players spent a moment trying to stabilize Ziek, mend Atrem legs the best they could, and to patch up Ashton a bit. Atrem was able to hobble out with the rest of the party by using a staff that Elric had. The other two had to be carried out. The party only came across zombies the rest of the way out which they dispersed quickly with Atrem using Turn Undead. The party hobbled out of Krakatos.

When they returned to Specularum, they saw Gelu leave the city on horseback with a Female Cleric who had a metal plate over her mouth and an old man in blue robes who looked like as though he was sleeping. He mocked the injured characters and rode off west. The characters spent all of their gold on getting themselves healed. Junge had to advance them some more because it cost so much. The players spent the next few days trying to identify their rings. They found that only the blue one (which Detelle had on his finger) was magical. They later found out, by experimenting, that the blue ring was a Ring of Memory. They later found out that the dagger they found was a +1 Dagger of Light. They then spent the rest of their free time gambling. They managed to change 5 cp that they made from selling the rusted ring into 4 sp.

The caravan left, and the players traveled north mostly uneventfully. However, when the caravan was crossing the ferry, a large amount of Kelvin mounted units surrounded the caravan. Junge had expected this. He had given the players a package to give to Maleik when they return to his place. The guards arrested Junge, and Junge told everyone to remain calm. The guards also took all the gold that the caravan had on them. Thus the players did not get paid for their trip, but they still had that 4 sp that they won. The gnomes and drawves were disgruntled for what the guards have done, but they returned to Highforge without attempting any action since Junge order them not to.

The players returned to Maleiks, and gave him the orb and the package. Maleik laughed at the player's misfortune. He read the package and told them that Junge basically is asking for whatever help they feel is needed. The way Junge had ordered it, the players can attempt several things from here. They could try to kill Junge while he is in jail. They could try to spring him out. They could try to get outside aid. They could try to help his trial. They could even just ignore it. There are several choices that the players can make here, but each choice will have grand consequences. Even the simple act of ignoring it will have consequences. If the players do choose to ignore it, Maleik has another mission set-up for them where they are to investigate the Frost Giants up north. Maleik assured them that they shouldn't get close to a Frost Giant as the players are just trying to investigate the recent attacks done by the Frost Giants. Either way, the players are going to have to plan carefully. The Frost Giant mission, Maleik will help them out a bit, but if the players decide to do something about Junge, then all the planning will be up to the players as Maleik is unable to determine a proper path to take since all paths are equally bad.



Also, from the Gargoyle attack:
Ziek lost 2 points in his intelligence. (Brain damage)
Atrem move 15' slower due to the damage done on his knees. He can move 5' faster if he uses a staff or something to that effect.

Mystara Calendar

In this world, there are only 28 days in a month (of course you could argue that this was done on laziness on my part, but that is how TSR listed it so I will stick with it)

The months are

Nuwmont
Vatermont
Thaumont
Flaurmont
Yarthmont
Klarmont
Felmont
Fyrmont
Ambyrmont
Sviftmont
Eirmont
Kaldmont

The year is currently 1001 A.C. (After Crowning of first Thyatian Emperor)

So the date at the start of the next session will be the 12th of Thaumont 1001 A.C.

Feb. 1st Sesssion

The caravan traveled South on Duke's Road. The trip was uneventful. They were in thick woods for the first few days with only a few Elven homes here and there. They passed several travelers, armed troops, and so forth on their way South. The woods eventually started to thin, and they came across Tradleran homes. (The Grand Duchy of Karameikos is made of two types of humans, Thyatian and Tradleran. Thyatians are the ones that came in when the Empire of Thyatis owned the land. Tradlerans are the ones who lived in the land for several centuries.)

The road eventually curved west because it was looping around the ruin city of Krakatos. The building the players were looking for would be next to two fully standing towers, and these towers would be the only two that are fully standing. After scanning the horizon, Detelle spotted the towers to be in the southern section of the ruins.

When the party arrived to Specluram, the Junge payed each player 500 GP for getting them to Specluram. The rest of the pay is for when the caravan gets back to Highfordge. The players first when to the registration desk to turn the letters in. While they were there, they ran into a familar face. They ran into the red-hair elven guard that they saw when they spent the night at the prison in Threshold. He had an arrow in his gut, but it did not seem to really bother him. The players overheard that Gelu (the elf) was hunting some members of the Iron Ring. He was shot with a cursed arrow and now needs a cleric in order to remove it. He was sent into the city, but not without giving the players another warning to leave Karameikos.

The players wasted some time around the two taverns. However, before they left, they bought a few items from some of the vendors outside of the city. One thing that they bought which proved helpful in Krakatos was the Desert Plum.

They reached Krakatos in the evening, rested, and went inside the next morning. Things were not easy on the players. They first saw that the two towers were dead North of them. They also saw three campfires burning in the distance. One was burning really close. The other two were farther away, but they could tell that it was almost on the same line as the two towers. They were attempting to avoid conflict with the goblins camping inside Krakatos. They also had to find another way North when they found the way North to be blocked by a banshee. While they were doing that, they ran into an eighty foot Titan. They ran like little girls for fear of being crushed. When the finished running, they found that they had manage to get behind the banshee. They continued North, but Elric stepped onto a hornets nest. They ran like a bat out of hell for fear of being stung by the angry insects.

When they rested to catch their breath, they found that the pile of rubble they were standing on appeared to have been a store in the past. When looking through the rubble, they found four rings. One was red with the gem missing on it. One was blue with a blue stone on it. Another was green with something that looks like a diamond on it. The last was rusted copper. Elric and Detelle studied the blue one and found it to be magical. They only know that it would have no use for Ziek and Ashton. They do not yet know what the magical properties of it is. However, Detelle is wearing in hopes of finding out what it does on accident.

They traveled North a bit more, but found that they had to find another way around for the ruins North was to much for them to climb safely. While traveling west, they ran into a lot of Cervders. These Cervders practically surrounded them. Thus the players ran again, but this time like a animal backed into a corner. They ran, but lashed out when they could to the pursuing Cervders. They ran into several problems along the way. At one point, they had to make a stand while Ashton broke through a wall in hopes of getting out of a dead end they ran in. They found their way into a building and into a room. The poor players were about to be doomed. I decided to give the players a break since they have forgotten what they had on them due to the long break they had. I hinted that they should check their inventory. When they did, they saw that they could use the oil to burn the Cervders who were packed in the narrow hall. They did so, but had to use all of their water to put the fire out.

They decided to camp out in the building they were in. During the night, Ashton spotted a glow in the room over. He went to check it out and found a glowing dagger on a table. He took the dagger for himself. The next morning, the players had to consume a Desert Plum to quench their thirst. They traveled for a while more, but eventually found their way to the ruined church. They saw that the two towers were neighboring buildings to the church. When they went in, they found the switch to open up the dungeon door. The dungeon below was a small one, and the players quickly figured out how to get the crystal ball they were looking for. They figured out that they had to have two people opening the door, then close it with a person inside, and then open it again. They had to do all this because there was a powerful looking skeleton guard in the room, and it would only be active if the door was open. Now the players are walking outside the church and need to find their way back to the Southern entrance.

Time so far: Day 3 12:00 Noon

Caravan leaves on Day 7 10: A.M.