Elient 22/23

After the crushing defeat of the Bugbears, we confidently pressed on. Opening the door to the right revealed a room of skeleton servants of the evil druid. After Chrissy invoked the power of Tyr, most of them were destroyed! She is truly and asset to the Band! Me, Talin, and Beldak mopped up the rest of them, with some assistance from the rest of the group. Without pause, we proceeded North through yet another door. There, we met resistance. Three Bugbears were in the room, and they refused my order to stand down. The battle was difficult, and I was forced to call upon Vera's power to increase my strength. We managed to destroy them, but Beldak was critically wounded in the process. Chrissy's and Erky's last healing spells went to just keeping him alive. We were victorious, but exhausted and out of spells by the end of the battle. We were forced to withdraw to the lair of the Kobolds to rest.

Elient 23
Returning to the room of the accursed Bugbears a second time, we took the only remaining door in order to proceed. We found another chamber with some type of shadow creature that attacked Talin. Talin was severely weakened, and Chrissy and Erky worked together and held it at bay by the power of their gods while I ensured that the other exit from the room was clear. We vacated the room with the shadow beast and found ourselves in a room full of scrolls, books, and papers. Fearing the power of the shadowy undead, we pressed forward without a careful search. Next we discovered a set of stairs leading down and under the Bugbear room. They then led back up to a long hallway with 2 doors. Talin was unsuccessful in unlocking the first door, so we tried the second. Some foolish goblins again refused my command to stand down and instead attacked us. We destroyed them and sent their souls to goblin hell! The room appeared to open up to the south, so I decided to have a look....

Elient 21/22

We continued to penetrate the Druid's level. The Band of the Hand has really begun to function well as a group. Talin is checking the doors for traps and opening locks, I'm charging into the room and holding the goblins back, Chrissy and Urky are using their spells to increase my effectiveness, Aramil is blasting enemies with his spells, and Beldak is actually keeping up with me!

This entire complex seems to be some type of underground garden, with Goblins and Bugbears tending it, we assume in service to the Druid. We had a significant battle with eight goblins who managed to surround Beldak and beat him to unconsciousness. The Band rallied, however, and we defeated them. A couple of healing spells later we were good to return to the Kobold lair for yet another night of rest.

On the 22nd, we continued to run up against some goblins (who I talked into leaving us alone), but we also ran into some bugbears who where much more tough to defeat. But the gods were with us and we defeated them without so much as a scratch.

And Vera is performing flawlessly. I feel more and more powerful wielding her in battle. My father's sword is turning out to be a critical component in the Band's success, as am I. Although I really did not want to lead this group, mainly due to fears of failure based on watching my father's poor judgment over the years, I seem to have moved into a leadership position. The Band seems alright with it, and I do try to continuously seek out their advice, so I guess I have become the leader of the Band of the Hand.

It has also been very nice to have Chrissy around. I forgot how much I enjoy her company in the time she has been away in training. I am very happy to have her with me on this adventure. And I feel we are getting closer to the Druid, and to rescuing the ill-fated party that came before us.

Elient 19/20/21

Elient 19 - Vera Spoke!

I did a little training, and suddenly Vera began communicating with me telepathically. It was very odd. She told me that I am "“to fulfill the destiny of my family."” She also communicated some of her abilities, to include the ability to make me stronger three times a day for 60 seconds. Just long enough to crush Goblins! It is an amazing feeling. I always suspected there was something special about my father'’s sword, and now that I am actually wielding her, I know there is! My hope is to remain honorable and true to the Einen name, and use Vera in the defeat of evil and the protection of the weak.

After we returned the dragon, we decided to rest for the night.

Elient 20 - Defeat of the Hobgoblin Chief

We bypassed the area patrolled by the bloated one, and instead we went through the DMZ (after the Kobolds turned their traps off), and entered the goblin'’s watch room. It was empty, so we proceeded across the great hall and through a new door. Eventually, we reached a chamber filled with goblins and hobgoblins! A horrific battle ensured, but we fought so well as a team! We finally managed to work together as a unit, with me holding the door and the team supporting me. With Erky behind me casting buffing spells and ready to heal me, I was unstoppable! I didn'’t even take any damage! And the rest of the party performed flawlessly as well. The Band of the Hand finally felt like a team! And I smote the chief and his whore cleric with Vera! My blade was sharp and true!

Now for the bad news...he told us that he killed one of the party members we are trying to rescue for talking too much. He wore the ring of that felled party member, and it bore the Huerele crest. That means it was the son or daughter of the woman who hired us who was killed.

A mysterious hole was in the center of the room, covered in black vines and leading down out of sight. We suspected that the evil druid may be down there, but at this point we were exhausted so we returned to the Kobold lair to rest again (the smell may be finally getting to me).

Elient 21 -– Down the Rabbit Hole

The next morning we went down the hole in the floor of the Hobgoblin King's room. Climbing down vines we reached a dank, dark chamber under the earth. The chamber was filled with animated twigs and a few skeletons, turning over the earth. They immediately attacked us, but we were victorious. We then proceeded south.

Elient 19 - There Be Dragon!

After sleeping in the Kobolds lair for the night (they really do not smell too badly), we returned to battle the Goblins. Again the beasts had lain caltrops across their entryway. Having learned from last time, we slowly proceeded into the room, taking care to step around them. After a ferocious battle (where Chrissy had to heal me once!) we defeated them. This time we took the damn caltrops (1 bag each) so that we won’t have to deal with them again.

Proceeding further into their complex, we decided to check a door we did not happen to check last time. Behind that door we found prisoners! Kobolds and a Gnome (Erky Timbers) were being kept in awful conditions. The smell, the body waste on the floor, and did I mention the smell? It nearly made me want to lose my breakfast. Meepo freed the Kobolds who ran in terror back to their lair. We then freed the Gnome and questioned him. Erky told us that 3 humans had been captured (our missing party) and kept in the room only for a few weeks. “Old Ballack” wanted them. He is apparently an evil druid who tends the tree with the fruit. The summer fruit heals, but the winter fruit kills. He is independent of the Goblins, but they cooperate. Erky also knew that there was a raid on the Kobold lair and that the taking of a dragon was involved, but he knows nothing more. We decided to let Erky join us temporarily, while we proceeded back into the large, cloudy room in search of the Goblin Chief. And as Chrissy and I discussed, we need to get that fruit for my father.

We went back to the door behind which we heard sounds yesterday, and we burst into the room. There were 4 goblins in the room, playing dice. We attacked and quickly defeated them. Next we found the room with the women and children goblins (determined through listening through the door) so we left them alone. Lastly, we discovered the room with the Kobold’s dragon. He had been chained up by the Goblins, but had apparently broken free. He seemed very happy to be free, and had done quite a bit of damage to the room.

Now, I am a big fan if Aramil. He can cast spells, we can talk Elvin to each other, but sometimes I think his head is not in the game. He actually told the dragon that we were going to take him back “to his Kobold masters.” Needless to say, that won him a blast of cold dragon breath. I came up to him at this point and tried to intervene, but we could not reason with the dragon. We ended up pummeling him unconscious and dragging him back to the Kobolds. Probably not my finest moment, but we needed that key and perhaps one day he’ll get big enough and eat all the Kobolds in revenge for keeping him caged up.