Reply With Quotei'll go ahead and start....
For once, it didn't all begin in a tavern. The tavern was second. First was the blood-curdling scream that sent Path running towards the docks. But he soon checked his headlong pace as the obvious source of the scream came running up the cobblestone road and right past him without even seeing him. A pretty young thing, for a human. She was in obvious distress and shock, blinded by it, in fact.
Not one to be torn by indecision, the obvious answer was that he needed to both investigate where she came from, and to speak with her. So, calmly he strings his bow, nocks an arrow, centers his mind, and all while ignoring how far she was getting from him. Then he shoots her through the leg, dropping her to the ground.
Now, he moves as swiftly as he can, and runs down to the docks. His excellent night vision reveals that something came from the water, and also returned to it. There is no other clues, and he is not about to enter the water when something that may have a clear advantage in said water may still be lurking.
Swiftly returning to the young lady, he finds that she has fainted. Taking advantage of this, he forces a healing potion into her mouth, massaging her throat to make it go down. His arrow had already long vanished. Then he carries her to the first inn he finds, a somewhat well-to-do place in the bordering merchants quarter.
A silent gesture and some money soon secure service for her, and gives him time to write a short note. Finding that the inn-keep is literate, he writes another short note of explanation, and orders for them both. This unusual manner of conduct attracts the attention of a few others, some who offer to help, all to listen... or as soon transpires, read. The others understand Path's gestures and written notes to mean that he is mute.
Some of the others have run into similar situations, there is an unusual rise of uncanny things taking place. Unusual signs have been seen, and things that should rightly be dead, are not staying where they were laid.
Someone suggests that something more than simple chance has brought us together, and that since we are ones who have collectively noticed the problem, then we should investigate further.
Our inquiries over the next few days bring us to the attention of the town administration, who commissions us to seek out the source of these evil happenings. With reward upon return, little-to-no payment upfront, the usual blatherings that the short-lived races seem to find so needful.
We decide to pool our resources and consult a learned divinist. This proves more costly than expected, but Path was able to pay 1/3 of the price with a single coin, of ancient origin, and of great value to a seeker in the past. Our payments prove their worth, and so does the diviner, as something was blocking his efforts, but despite that, he managed to come up with a few leads.
Path had urgent business that needed taking care of, and while he was away, the rest of the group searched out the leads, and met with some success. A previous group of well-doers had sought out the same thing that now disturbs the general peace, and won a partial success against it... if the death of all but two, maybe three, can be counted a success. Armed with new information and a new companion, the group continued to seek the source.
Path returned from his affairs with a treant companion and acquaintance. Together the group found the source of the disturbance... a place know only as the Tomb of Horrors. To our dismay, an academy devoted to the unearthing the secrets of the necromantic arts had been built upon the site, and they were most determined to keep us away.
After much tribulation, and several deaths, fortuitously revived before too much time had passed, the academy was defeated. Several abominations were discovered that were too dangerous to deal with directly, they were entombed by Pook, who also took it upon himself to more or less level the structures surrounding. The building material went towards entombing the evils, and apparently the start of a garden.
This, of course, we did not find out until after we returned from the depths of the tomb. Many traps, of a devious and decidedly macabre and evil nature, were overcome, but some took the lives of yet more of our companions. This time, we had not the resources we needed to revive them, for the one who could do such, was one of the first victims.
These deaths resulted in the most unexpected joining to our group of a new companion, one that had unbeknownst accompanied Path from when he was very young. Within his dagger, slumbered away the spirit of a woman, apparently a human woman, one of rare and unusual powers. Her centuries-long sleep was disturbed by the psychic shock of the sudden deaths of our companions, and the survivors' subsequent mourning. Her abilities proved most effective and useful in the deadly environment we found ourselves. We struggled on through more traps, twists, and dead ends.
At last, we fought with the demi-lich... only it was not. This entire tomb, was nothing but a sham, in a way. A monstrous test to amuse the twisted and evil mind of the true source behind all this destruction. We lost yet another companion in that final battle, only to unexpectedly recover hope, when the gem containing his soul was found intact. And a body to receive it as well... unexpected and ironic that we will be able to turn at least one of the evil plans of the academy towards good instead.
A rare treasure indeed, to take from any tomb; the treasure of hope.
so some good did occur also
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