We gained a new member today – a Cleric of Kelemvor! It seems that the Cult of Final Passage had sent word to their superiors about our deeds and Diamond Lake’s struggles and they, in turn, sent a Doomguide to join us. Her name’s Egwain Al’veer and she claims to have some “adventurin” experience. Hopefully she’ll stay longer than our other Clerics. We had to kick Justice out and then Trogdor and Carenthal just left. I thought Carenthal was my friend, but apparently he’s not that loyal.
We also collected a hefty bounty from the Garrison for destroyin’ the Orc commanders and essentially endin’ the Orc raids in the area. At least until the Orcs find new leaders who get ‘em all riled up. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Machella, however.
Travel to Blackwall keep was mercifully uneventful.
26th of Marpenoth, 1371 DR
This mornin’, while we were makin’ our way along the road towards the keep, a big, Black Dragon flew over our heads with a terrible roar! It didn’t stop or attack or nuthin’, it just kept flyin’ (thank the gods). Could this be the same Dragon that killed Morgan and the rest of the original members of the Three Hills Adventurin’ Company? It must be! This gives me a terrible feelin’ about what we’ll find at the keep.
We arrived at Blackwall Keep today to find it under siege by a small army of Lizardfolk! Two groups were moving siege ladders into position while a third group was bringin’ up a ram to help another group who was tryin’ to tear down a makeshift wooden wall where the keep’s gate once stood. Groups of skirmishers harried the guards on the walls with deadly javelins as Lizardfolk animal handlers urged trained, man-sized lizards to climb the walls to get at the defenders. As if that weren’t bad enough, a command element (a shaman and several guards) had taken over some stone ruins and were apparently usin’ the latent magical power to summon lightin’ from the overcast sky! Allustan Teleported back to the garrison to bring help, but it was clear that if we did nothin’, the keep would be burned to the ground before reinforcements could get here.
We put together a hasty but sound plan to help relieve the keep without puttin’ any of us in needless danger and attacked from the cover of the trees. We succeeded in driving off the Lizardfolk and savin’ the Keep without losin’ a single member of our group. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention individual contributions from each member of the Three Hills Adventurin’ Company.
Alabron led our charge against the Lizardfolk, barrelin’ into the shaman and his bodyguards and killing two of them before they could even react. His fearsome charge allowed Tyree to force the shaman from the circle of ruins, dimishin’ his threat to the keep. Once the shaman’s unit was broken, Alabron charged off to the keep’s gate to kill those Lizardfolk bringin’ up the ram and scattered them into the bog. He killed eight Lizardfolk and seemed quite excited to have beaten my kill total.
Egwain started the battle by grantin’ us all Kelemvor’s blessin’. The she flew around the battlefield healin’ the warriors, grantin’ more of Kelemvor’s protection, and even throwin’ the odd offensive spell into the mix. Although I don’t believe she personally killed any Lizardfolk, she was indirectly responsible for the success of our entire offensive. At one point, when it looked like the Lizardfolk leader (a gigantic Lizardman built like an Ogre) would penetrate the second level of the keep, she used a Dimension Door spell to transport herself and Storn into the keep! There, she healed wounded soldiers while Storn killed off the attackin’ monitor lizards.
Because of his stumpy legs, Storn got to the fight a little late. Once he got there though, carnage followed. I think Storn only managed to down five Lizardfolk, but his presence inside the keep surely was a decidin’ factor when their leader sounded the retreat.
Tyree charged the shaman’s position along with Alabron. In fact, it was Tyree’s determined attack that drove the shaman out of the ruins, abandonin’ the source of his divine power. After that initial attack, Tyree continued forward to demolish a squad of Lizardfolk skirmishers. Tyree even chased down one fleeing Lizardman and cut him down before he could reach the safety of the bog, puttin’ his kill total one above Storns and winnin’ their contest.
Valcrist finally proved that there is somethin’ to his “Spellthief” title. Not only did he kill the routed shaman with his crossbow, but he then stole some of the creature’s magic and cast a Flamin’ Sphere spell on one of the siege ladders, preventing the keep from bein’ totally overwhelmed. He stayed near Tyree most of the fight, providin’ coverin’ fire as well as real fire.
I had quite the day. Unlike the battle with the Orcs, where I was mostly forced to react to circumstances, I was in control today and was able to pick my targets with pin-point precision. I made my way to the top of a low hill and used a combination of Magic Missiles and Fel Drain Magic Missiles to lay waste to the team of Lizardfolk bringin’ up the ram. I killed enough so they couldn’t carry the ram themselves and more would fall back from assualtin’ the wall to carry the ram. Then I’d kill a couple more, and more would fall back to carry the ram. I honestly think I could have halted the entire assault on the gate myself had I not spotted the Naga on the parapets.
The Naga seriously injured a corporal and was tearing through other soldiers and definitely looked to be the bigger threat. So, I used the power of my new Arcanist’s Gloves to blast the Naga with consecutive volleys of Magic Missiles, killing it with the second spell! Alabron may have had one more kill than me this day, but I think the Naga should have counted for more. Once the Naga was dealt with, I turned my attention to the Lizardfolk leader (the Ogre-sized Lizardman), blastin’ him and his squad with Fel Drain Magic Missiles. I would have killed him too had he not gone the long way around the keep and out of my line of sight. I ended the fight by killin’ a couple of Lizardfolk before they could escape into the bog figurin’ the more we kill now the less we’ll have to kill later.
When the keep was secured and we were all safe inside, we discovered that the captain of the keep had been killed in the initial assault by the Lizardfolk and the woman we bringin’ Allustan to see had been captured and dragged off into the bog!
It’s clear we need to rescue the Wizard, but Egwaine and I are both painfully low on spells and if we end up havin’ to deal with that Dragon at some point, I’d just as soon have all our spells at the ready. I sure hope they don’t decide to eat her tonight.
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