Game Session 20: 4/10/15
In-game Dates: Arodus 29, 4720 – Rova 7, 4720

• The group began the journey into the desert towards the mountain range that Sleven pointed at, attempting to find the Scorpion Lord, Lord of all Scorpions
• One day out into the desert, Archibald and Stroot were swept away a day into the future by a massive Temporal Storm
  • The Storm seemed to come from the direction of the Shattered Range, and is likely a side effect of the chaotic energy of the Mana Wastes
• After leaving a few notes, Edo, Xelas, and Fara’ji continued the journey into the Desert
  • Archibald and Stroot attempted to head back to the Blood Ruby mines, but became incredibly lost and turned around
• Xelas predicted a sand storm roughly a day out in their location
• Edo, Xelas, Fara’ji, and The Avatar were all captured during an ambush by strange “Sand Men” creatures
  • The creatures dragged them directly into the sand
• In the future, Archibald and Stroot were caught in the sandstorm
  • During the storm they successfully fought off one of the strange “Sand Men” creatures
  • After the storm they found an ancient temple that appeared to have been buried in the sand for ages
  • Within the temple, they recovered Edo and Xelas from strange crystal chambers very similar to the one that held Cho’Uda
• A massive sand statue of Fara’ji had been created in the back of the underground temple
  • Fara’ji was held captive in another crystal chamber lodged in the back of the massive statue
  • Upon approach, Fara’jizord attacked and a fierce battle began
    • During the battle, a massive sand version of The Avatar came up from the ground and joined with Farajizord, to create The Faravatar
• Eventually the statues were defeated and both Fara’ji and The Avatar were recovered safely
• Another Sarcophagus was found in a small chamber under the sand where the statue stood
  • Within, the group found the second Mask – revealed to be the Warrior Mask of the Jackal
  • Archibald donned the mask first
    • The Jackal mask is strongly neutral aligned, and seemed to have the code to “Protect and Honor the dead”
    • Although obviously very powerful, no further powers of the mask were explored
• Reunited at last, the group continued into the desert towards the mountains, eventually reaching the primary breakthrough point
• The terrain changed radically at the breakthrough, revealing a hellish landscape of sharp rocks, hills, and canyons, all surrounded in an inferno like heat
  • The colossal black scorpion could be seen hunting this region from nearly a mile away, moving swiftly from target to target
  • Many other strange predators were seen in this region, and it seemed to be active with wildlife
• Although spending the night and continuing to search, the constant presence and danger of the massive scorpion caused the group to retreat, leaving the missing rangers to their fates
• The group turned back to Haven, and arrived safely a few days later

Game Session 19: 4/3/15
In-game Dates: Arodus 19, 4720 – Arodus 29, 4720

• Back at the lake, Edo attacked the Grey Robed man and learned that it was clearly some sort of demon
  • Despite an impressive effort, he lost the fight and was flushed down the large pipe towards Madoro with Morte
  • Edo drank a water breathing potion which delayed the inevitable, but the journey underwater took far too long
    • When Edo awoke from drowning he was in Morte’s body, and Morte had clearly sacrificed himself
    • Edo’s body was incredibly aged upon death, suspected to be a result of overuse of the Golden Monkey Mask
• The group at the mine named the Scorpicor “Lucky Number Sleven” after it lost dozens of games of dice with Stroot
  • Sleven was eventually released with a message for the Scorpion Lord, Lord of all Scorpions – “Drianus comes for the Scorpion Lord.”
• Spot was assigned to guard the Blood Ruby mines from further scorpion attacks
  • A position he gladly accepted
• The group reunited in Haven, with Edo in Morte’s skeletal body
  • The team left for the Da’Khe village to confront Kuleo
• Once at the Da’Khe village, Kuleo was found to detect with strong binding magic
  • Chieftan Da’Khe agreed to let the party bring Kuleo out of the City and attempt to bind the demon
  • The demon was successfully bound, and interrogation let on that it was summoned by Grendal
    • Although motives are still unknown, the orders were to get the Da’Khe tribe to move from that location by the least lethal method possible
    • Kuleo was awoken and the demon was rebound, for now
• After hearing this news, the Chief agreed to move her tribe to Haven for the time-being
• After some discussion, Edo’s original body was gathered and the group teleported to Quantium, capital city of Nex
  • Xelas stayed behind to assist the tribe moving, and keep Kuleo awake during the transition
• Edo’s body was reincarnated into a female Gnoll by a druid in Quantium
  • Morte’s soul was returned into the body, but the two quickly switched back
  • The group stocked up on some supplies, and armed Morte with a spellbook and the teleport spell
  • Morte brought the group safely back to haven, and then requested to have some time off to reflect the recent events
• The team took a few days off to help the Da’Khe move into Haven, and then headed to the Blood Ruby mine to begin seeking out the missing rangers

Game Session 18: 3/27/15
In-game Dates: Arodus 13, 4720 – Arodus 18, 4720

• During the night, Faraji became extremely ill with Sleeping Sickness
• The group entered the Da’Khe Zenj encampment in the morning with the local farmers
  • They encountered Chief Da’Khe, the matriarch leader of the tribe, who immediately questioned their reasons for being in the Mwangi Expanse
  • Many of the tribe believed that the Haven settlers were the cause of the current plague of insects
    • The times that the plague began correlate very closely to when the ETC army defeated Mazani and returned to Haven
• The group stayed the night at the camp and were aided by a grey cloaked tribal healer named Kuleo
  • During that night, all of the group and villagers seemed to worsen in condition
    • Bloodhaze mosquito swarms appear across Lake Madoro each night at sundown and attack the Da’Khe tribe
• Faraji created an arsenic mixture to attempt to fight off the Sleeping Sickness parasites
  • Although it made him extremely ill, it was successful
  • Xelas and Archibald were later cured with a similar mixture
• The group decided to check out the middle of the Lake where the insects were seen to appear
  • An enormous pipe was found submerged in the middle of Lake Madoro, that seemed to lead in the direction of the Madoro Ruins
• The group headed to Haven for additional medicine
  • Warden Xelas was informed by one of his scouts that the Blood Ruby mine had been attacked
  • The group headed out immediately to the mine
• Upon arrival at the mine, two rangers had been killed and two more were missing – the mine had been shut down
• The group decided to try baiting out the creature at night
  • An intense battle was won against the newly named “Scorpicor” creature, and it was captured alive
  • Although not very intelligent, it oddly spoke Taldane, and made reference to the “Scorpion Lord, Lord of all Scorpions” and his mighty arena in the desert
• Edo left the mine to return to the middle of the lake and seal off the pipe, hoping to prevent further insects form emerging
  • He arrived in Haven and recruited Morte to assist in sealing the pipe
  • A large mesh net was placed over the entrance to the pipe
• At sundown, the water level in the immediate area dropped rapidly, obviously magical
  • A huge swarm of Bloodhaze mosquitoes was heard in the pipe
  • The mesh net was effective at keeping the mosquitoes contained for a few minutes
    • The grey cloaked man appeared over the water and immediately dispelled the defenses and illusions of Morte, dropping him into the pipe and tearing through the Net
    • Edo waits nearby, invisible and flying over the water

Game Session 17: 3/20/15
In-game Dates: Erastus 18, 4720 – Arodus 13, 4720

• The group set out to scout the surrounding terrain Immediately upon return to Haven
  • The exploration began by heading East down the river towards the Shattered Range
  • During one of the nights a group of animals was heard fighting for multiple hours, but the group did not investigate further
• The group then veered south into the Desert
  • During the daytime the desert is nearly impossible to navigate due to a strange heat mirage
  • At night the moon causes the sand to glow and it becomes much easier to explore
• (1313) A strange rock formation was found in the desert
  • It was home to a den of Crimson Basalisks that were promptly dealt with
    • The rock formation had an underground vein of Blood Rubies, a rare exotic resource that increases arcane power at the cost of one’s own health
• The Arodus Council meeting was held
  • A large waterfront was created to engage the Ginsi tribe in trade
  • Abioye Sabura and his followers completed a dangerous hunt in the southern plains, and were handsomely rewarded by Nemet Hesingwary
    • Abioye offered the rewards to the Council in hopes that he would be considered for future position
  • Morte was brought into Haven, and given a Hat of Disguise
    • She now goes by the name Morticia
• The group set out towards the Gibbous Moon goblin tribe on the 9th of Arodus
• Chief Baldo was consulted about the goblins, and he mentioned that they had become far more organized of late
  • Their encampment is within a maze-like cavern complex in the nearby Jungle
  • Baldo has caved in multiple entrances, but it seems that there are always more
    • Priestess Schony recommended that the ETC make peaceful contact with the Savannah tribe North of Lake Madoro
• The group set North towards the Zenj
  • (1116) An amazing growth of rare and valuable flowers was found in the jungles North of the Ginsi
• (1016) Some small tribal farms were passed while exploring
  • The animals in the farmland had all been drained of blood
• That night the group was woken by a high pitched buzzing noise, as massive swarm of red mosquitos began to sweep through the area
  • The group protected another local farm that night by dispersing the swarm
  • Many of the group were drained by the vicious insects, including the children of the family and some of their farm animals

Game Session 16: 3/06/15
In-game Dates: Erastus 9, 4720 – Erastus 18, 4720

• The Haven army spent the night in the newly taken Unta camp
  • During the night the army was harassed by Kango warriors
  • Excellent scouting ensured that the harassment did not escalate to conflict during the night
• The next day the army marched on the ruins of Madoro and engaged the Kango in a decisive battle
  • The leaders of the army pushed through waves of elite warriors into the Madoro palace
• Mazani had the remaining Bekyar villages held captive in a large cage within the palace
  • He was deftly dispatched an error involving an invisible Morte and a dropped necklace of fireballs left him vulnerable
  • As Edo landed the final strike, his dying breath whispered “Mezmazz, remember our deal…”
• His body was immediately torn in half as a massive nightmarish spider creature burst out of it
  • The battle was fierce, but was won when Edo donned the Golden Monkey Mask once again and unleashed it’s power
• The Bekyar villagers were freed from their bondage and offered the chance to join the Empire Trading Company in Haven
  • Utonga was found inside the cage with the remaining Bekyar
    • Being the most respected of the remaining tribe, he assumed a leadership role over the Bekyar faction and agreed to join Edo on the journey back to Haven
• The trip back to Haven was mostly uneventful, but the return to Haven was filled with celebration from most
  • The Bekyar faction was less well received, but has been able to peacefully establish a small camp on the opposite side of Haven as the other tribesmen

Game Session 15: 2/27/15
In-game Dates: Sarenth 20, 4720 – Erastus 9, 4720

• War drums began from the Bekyar camp, likely warned by the escaped ambush party member
  • The group evaded detection and circled back to the Bekyar camp
• Stroot led a one-half-man infiltration mission into the camp
  • 5 large slave carts were full to the brim with people
    • Contact was made with a group of Nexian nobles (Lady Isslar), and the Ginsi Halfling warriors (Chief Baldo) within the carts
    • 3 of the carts contained Bekyar villagers
  • All of the cages were opened at once and chaos ensued
    • The Nexian Nobles and Ginsi Warriors escaped unharmed
    • Nearly all of the Bekyar villagers were recaptured, and almost half were killed in the chaos
• The large group returned to the Ginsi village
  • Lady Isslar, Baroness of the bordering region of Nex and her party of nobles had been traveling from New Limit to Kibwe to investigate rumblings of an economic shift
• A grand ceremony took place back at the Ginsi village
  • Involved a large rope of herbs and magic draped across the river, causing it to glow with vibrant colors for the night
  • Chief Baldo declared the Ginsi tribe an ally to Haven, and would support them with his warriors in the future
  • The tribe ferried the group across Lake Madoro back to Haven

• Erastus 4720 – Council Meeting Minutes

• On the 4th of Erastus – The newly formed army of Haven began to march towards the Bekyar camp
  • It stopped briefly at the Ginsi tribe and united with Baldo’s Ginsi warriors
• The Kango and Bekyar had completely fortified the Madoro ruins
• The decision was made to continue North and attack the Unta camp
  • Camp Unta was extremely quiet, held only by a handful of Kango warriors
  • The Haven army pushed to attack, while a small team snuck into the camp from behind to release the hostages
  • During the assault a trap was sprung and two enormous Stegocentipedes were released
    • A large portion of the Unta villagers were being used as reanimating food to keep the Stegocentipedes sedated
  • Both the trap and the Kango army were defeated, but none of the Unta villagers were found alive

Game Session 14: 2/20/15
In-game Dates: Sarenth 20, 4720

• The group was ambushed by jungle warriors while scouting the Bekyar camp
  • While the majority of the warriors were the known tribe of Bekyar, the more fearsome tribesmen appeared to belong to a separate tribe
  • The leader of the raiding party was a badly scarred witch woman controlling a massive spider
• After a tough battle, the group repelled the ambush party
  • A few of the tribesmen were captured alive, and one managed to escape
• Archibald learned that his newly evolved hand could animate the dead

Session cut short due to snow

Game Session 13: 2/13/15
In-game Dates: Sarenith 9 – Sarenth 20, 4720

• The group began to explore the area surrounding Haven
• (1315) A large heard of Stegosaurus was found in the plains near Haven, and dozens of tracks for other large beasts were discovered nearby
• (1217) The Ginsi Planes halfling village was discovered near the waters of lake Madoro
  • They were being attacked by the Gibbous Moon Goblin Tribe (1317), led by the Chieftan’s son Thorx
    • The attack was successfully repelled with the help of the Empire Trading Company
  • The Ginsi tribe priestess Schony offered the group food and shelter for the night, and mentioned that their warriors (led by Chief Baldo) had left on an expedition to Kibwe for supplies
    • Priestess Schony politely declined the offer to move to Haven, as the spirits warned her against that action
• While headed north in the Jungle, the group heard a terrible screaming at night
  • A skeleton was being pulled apart by 7 large white apes, who took off into the jungle with pieces
  • The skull introduced itself as Morte and requested the help of the group to recover it’s body
    • Morte detected with strong evil and necromancy magic
  • The group decided it was best to destroy the skull, and Edo proceeded to Smite it with his spear
    • Halfway through the smiting, Morte somehow switched bodies with Edo and attempted to escape
  • After disabling Edo’s body, it was determined that nobody (including Morte) knew how the switch happened, or how to reverse it
    • An uneasy agreement was formed that the group would aid Morte in recovering his body, if he would allow Edo to return to his own
• The group tracked the white apes deeper into the Jungle, towards the “Sky Peak” mountain
  • (1119) A treetop village of white gorillas (and monkies) was discovered
  • An enormous white gorilla dropped from the treetop and questioned the group’s purpose
  • Very brief negotiations led to an arrangement where they would release Morte’s body, but in return the group took responsibility for him and he was to be removed from the Jungle forever
    • He revealed that a previous ambassador to their tribe was killed (by Kreed’s Gun)
• It was confirmed that Morte could not leave the Jungle due to the Curse on his ring (which matched Archibald’s)
  • The group decided to detour North towards the ruins of Madoro
  • On the way back to the ruins of Madoro Xelas was struck deaf inexplicably
• (915) A advance Bekyar war-party was stationed back at the ruins of Madoro, setting up battlements
  • Morte used some clever illusions and scared them off without incident or conflict
  • Kipenze and Morte were introduced, and it was decided to leave Morte at the ruins until a way to break the curse could be found
    • Stroot and Archibald braved a few hours in the Evolution Engine, with varied degrees of success
• The group headed North towards the Bekyar camp to begin scouting, but were caught in an ambush

Game Session 11: 1/30/15
In-game Dates: Desnus 26 – Sarenith 9, 4720

• Edo was forced by the mask to make an immediate decision
  • Option one was to free Cho-Uda, as the Madoro people were no more and his sentence had been completed
  • Option two was to re-instate the seals on Cho-Uda, and fore-go the initial hardships suffered by the whims of the spirit – but risk becoming tempted once again by it’s power
  • Edo chose option two, and immediately was filled with the knowledge on how to re-instate the magical seals
• Archibald still did not agree with this decision, but could see he had lost the argument
  • He requested the Remove Curse scroll and headed off for contemplation with Dopey
• Edo went back to the chamber and began a complicated series of actions that would bind Cho-Uda once more
  • The party ignored the plees from the spirit to release him
  • As the plees from Cho-Uda became more desperate, something obviously took notice
  • The dark statue representing the Monkey Demon Angazhan began it’s assault
    • Using the powers of the Golden Mask, Edo quickly dispatched the threat and completed the ritual
  • Cho-Uda gave one final threat, that at some point this seal would fail and they would face his wrath
• Once re-sealed, the facility whirred with activity and became active again
  • A new chamber opened up to reveal another strange circular portal closely matching the one seen deep under Kibwe
    • The portal appeared disabled, lacking the activation ring according to Kipenze
  • The minting room was infused with power, allowing the conversion of one metal to an equal value of another metal
  • The “Evolution Engine”, according to Kipenze, was also reactivated (previously an empty furnace pit)
    • She described it as a right of passage for great warriors, that they could enter the chamber and see if they were deemed worthy
    • This chamber was not entered
• Kipenze officially joined the Empire Trading Company, and goodbyes were said
  • The party left to reunite with the Caravan – leaving Archibald to gather his thoughts and catch up later with Dopey
• (913 to 912) The Caravan was easily found in the nearby plains preparing to cross a large slow moving river
  • Harrassment of Edo began, as he was completely unwilling to remove the Golden Mask
  • Utonga and his men had not been treated well once the rumors of the groups demise spread
  • The caravan headed South around the Eastern side of Lake Madoro
• (1112 to 1213) Scouting ahead to the second river crossing, an impressive bridge was discovered
  • It appeared to be extremely well constructed but had an enormous boulder on the opposite side
  • The boulder was guarded by Duck and Bocky, a massive two headed giant that spoke only Halfling and appeared to have a childlike fondness for small trinkets and clothing
    • Duck (the right head) appeared friendly, and told Stroot that he had already paid for a few passages – obviously mistaking him for another Halfling
    • It was revealed that Duck does business with one of the Halfling tribes in the desert to the South
    • Bocky (the left head) appeared limp and likely dead, but Duck claimed he was the bad one, and it was best that he did not speak
• (1214) A few more days of scouting revealed an impressive Hot Spring and rare mineral deposit site
  • Harrassment of Edo continued, still refusing to remove the Mask
  • Tracks made by small creature were found at the spring, assumed to be left by local Halfling tribes
• The caravan continued South, eventually coming to the large bridge guarded by Duck and Bocky
  • Stroot was able to negotiate an additional two passes using some children’s clothing for barter
• (1215) The caravan continued safely to the final location
  • Kreed approached Edo with an impressive offer: Become the leader these people need, the face of the Empire Trading Company, and run this new civilization – but remove the mask. There was no negotiation in this offer.
  • Upon seeking council, Balbas agreed with Kreed that the Golden Monkey Mask was not the right face of a civilization attempting to grow beyond the threats of the Jungle
    • Eventually Edo relented, and removed the mask

• On Sarenith 1st, 4720 – The Empire Trading Company Outpost of Haven was founded
  • TBD

Game Session 11: 1/16/15
In-game Dates: Desnus 26 – Desnus 26, 4720

• Opened the Gatehouse Portcullis prior to leaving in the morning
  • Discovered that it revealed a new staircase in the Palace
• The second staircase lead down into a memorial chamber for the old Kings of the civilization
  • 4 of the Kings could be questioned using necromancy charged plaques in the floor
  • The most ancient, and also the most recent kings were asked how to open the doors in the Palace, to which the most recent mentioned the mechanics in the Well
• The party left the Palace and once again lowered the water level in the Well using the handprints
  • The well contained a complex series of mechanical gears and traps that slowly led deeper into the complex
  • After a few hours of challenging trial and error puzzle solving, they managed to reach the 5th floor under the Well
    • This floor contained one final gear that seemed to release a great mechanism within the palace
    • The group also found a strange nondescript Golden Mask, which detected with extremely powerful magic from all schools
• Upon entering the palace once again, the original sealed archway in the second dungeon floor had now been opened
  • The room following seemed completely intact and livable, including a freshwater basin, clothes hangers, and a stone bed with various pillows
  • Inside the room, a strange simian woman had just woken up and introduced herself as Kipenze
  • She seemed a calm, very up-front, and almost playful woman who was unflinching in her oath
    • Kipenze revealed that she was from the ancient civilization, and had sworn a life oath to protect the temple/prison of Cho-Uda, and she seemed insistent that she could not let them release the spirit
    • The ancient Madoro people had become extremely “evolved” according to her
• The stories in Kipenze’s culture told of wrathful nature spirits (of which Cho-Uda was one) that made the lives of the Madoro tribesmen very challenging
  • Despite prayer, reverent worship, and sacrifice, the spirits continued to barrage the tribes with floods, insects, and famine
  • One day the great mage Jatembe and his 10 magical warriors offered a solution, and bound the nature spirits using powerful magic
  • The Madoro tribes united together and harnessed the power of the spirits to rapidly evolve their civilization, eventually leading to the creation of the flying sky citadels
    • This now ruined city, Madoro, was once the Capital sky citadel of the ancient nation – powered by Cho-Uda
    • The seals containing Cho-Uda’s power are weakening
• Kipenze allowed the group to speak with Cho-Uda as well
  • Cho-Uda looked exactly like Jim Lost, and was bound inside a strange magical device
  • He was awake and able to communicate, and began to rapidly offer anything he could to be released from his prison
    • Offers included leaving Kipenze alone forever, and flooding the nearby desert
    • Cho-Uda mentioned that he was imprisoned thousands of years ago by powerful men wearing strange golden masks, and that surely anyone with the same power could release him
    • Although obviously a powerful and chaotic force of nature, Cho-Uda did not detect as evil
• The party had heated discussions for hours on the decision to release or re-seal Cho-Uda
  • Edo thought that releasing the force of Chaos back into the world would be too dangerous
  • Fara’ji needed more time to study the situation and gather information prior to making any decision
  • Strootman abstained from the voting altogether, claiming that they had a caravan to protect
  • Xelas threatened to kill anyone that attempted to release the seals
  • Archibald strongly opposed keeping the spirit imprisoned simply for being powerful, and was ready to stay behind
• For some unexplainable reason, Edo decided that the situation could be resolved by putting on the strange golden Mask they had found earlier
  • The mask quickly wrapped around his head, changing into the form of a golden monkey
  • Edo felt a wild rush of power, as the mask took control