| Session Date | March 20, 2021 |
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| Base XP Gained | Carry Over |
As the party made final preparations to depart Manston, Ravenna appeared among them in their quarters. She wished to know when they planned on returning as she found their presence useful. The party was honest, telling her they were not sure but that they did plan on doing so eventually. She also reported that their residence was being watched by someone who was "very good" and that she had not been able to figure out who it was (or if there were multiple people). It was not the doppelgangers, she thought, but she could not be 100% sure of anything. The party should be cautious. They thanked the guildmistresss of thieves for her help and departed, leaving the residence in the hands of their six Dwarf soldiers.
The party amde their way through the city to the Elf enclave. Upon reaching the Upper Bridge, they found a group of eight thuggish-looking men blocking it. Knar dimension doored across to the other side, while Iban cast ESP to determine what they were up to. It seemed they were intending to harass and rough up the party, apparently having been paid to do so by someone. Iban then cast sleep while Knar cast detect invisibility while Bel shot arrows into them. All hell then broke loose. Half of the thugs were knocked asleep, with one falling into the river. This was followed by a pair of fireballs shooting into the party from the east embankment (one from north and one south of the bridge), cast by a pair of wizards that suddenly appeared not far from Knar. The blast killed Bel outright and left Mordecai gravely wounded. Floi, himself badly hurt, charged the thugs. And, from behind, a halfling thief (Daklim, who'd they'd met briefly before) attempted to backstab ZZ, shouting something about "Lord Fasanorna nd the Hooded One send their regards." The thugs on the bridge fell away in terror from Floi, clearly not having expected the fiery explosions and the chaos that ensued. From beyond the bridge, a trio of attackers rushed the bridge (a human and a half orc fighter, and a cleric of Magnus, god of the underworld). A complex battle ensued. Spells thrown at the wizards faltered, as they were clearly protected by globes of invulnerability. Knar used a second dimension door to pop to the top of the nearby gate tower (and thus get clear of the charging fighters). The halfling, no longer cherubic but with murder in his eyes, took a rapid beating and quaffed a potion and flew up from the melee. He was knocked down (40 feet!) with a dispel magic from Amadin. The Halfling fled at great speed and seemingly escaped. meanwhile, one of the wizards vanished while the other took to the air, now coming under missile fire from some of the surviving party members. Floi was in bad shape, so Thunderfist ran to assist him, as he now was tackling the enemy fighters (the thugs now all either drowning, dead, or asleep). The cleric of Magnus cast a spell at Floi and he suddenly stopped fighting them; in fact, they now began to flee with Floi joining them! Knar threw a web spell, but only caught the human fighter and the cleric; Floi and the half orc dodged it and continued to flee. Seeing as he was clearly under some magical; compulsion, Iban shot him with a pair of magic missiles, hoping to render him unconscious...it worked to stop Floi, but only because it killed him! The second wizard, airborn, managed to escape behind buildings while the half orc got into the western portion of the town and seemingly escaped, as well.
As the battle ended, guards descended on the area from both directions, those from the east accompanied by a cleric of Magnus (his temple was nearby) and shortly after by Lord Alcibard (head of the city's forces) and a force of his own men. The party had two prisoners, the fighter and cleric. They quickly moved to interrogate them before the city guard took over the scene. The cleric of Magnus protested the harsh treatment of his co-coreligionist, at least until the prisoners admitted that they were there to assassinate the party. It took some work, but the prisoners admitted to being part of a band of adventurers led by the wizard Lammoch. They had been hired by Lord Fasanorn (the brigand chieftain from the Grilbie battles) to hunt down and kill the party; they had missed the party during their adventures in and around Grilbie, and had tracked them to Manston. The plan had apparently fizzled because their second wizard, one Vorna, had fled after he shot his fireball and failed to provide proper support to the fight. The thugs were there merely to get the party to stop in one group to allow for better targeting (they were unaware of all this and expected to all be killed anyway). They had some information on where their party would regroup, but rapid action to seal the city gates was apparently not fast enough to catch those that had fled (halfling, wizard, and half orc all vanished and there were no sightings of them after the battle). Questioning complete, the party turned over custody of the prisoners to the city.
The party did not want to remain in the city another hour if they could help it. To the cleric of Magnus (the non-prisoner one) they demanded restitution for the other cleric's murder. Reluctantly, he said he would raise Floi (for 1000 SP, a serious discount). For Bel, ZZ used the scroll of resurrection. Mordecai was also in bad shape but could hobble, so the restored party made their way to the Elven enclave. There, Amadie showed a little concern at their condition, but agreed to send them on their way immediately. So, they boarded a splendid white Elven sailing boat and set sail. Their guide was Deomir, a high elf of the kingdom. He was a pleasant enough sort, though quite reserved like the other Elves of the Kingdom of Neldoreth that they'd met. The ship sailed smoothly and fast across the vast Lake Greensward. They arrived near nightfall at the town of Sondir.
In the town, the locals proved to be aloof but not hostile. They were provided comfortable (if alien) quarters, at no expense. Throughout their time in the elven kingdom, they sensed that the elves, while good enough, were somewhat alien and mysterious. Even their own Elves, Bel and Amadin, felt very much like outsiders. There was a pervasive sense of wonder and dreaminess here, but it was also remote and alien; everything felt ancient, but not tired or decayed. And there was clearly vast wealth everywhere one looked. There were no poor Elves here! Deomir proved responsive to questions, and told the party of the kingdom and some of its ways. When asked about Voromakil, he told them that he was far away to the southeast in Olengil (the headquarters of the Dragon Legion). That was the main standing army of the Kingdom, tasked iwth protecting their southern frontier with the Drow realm of Morlin. That realm, he told them, was in the southernmost portion of the Grand Forest. It was, as would be expected, a land of the deadliest evil. Many in the party were shocked to learn that there was a Drow kingdom on the surface of the Three Lands! Deomir further told them of a second, even more deadly, Drow realm yet further south and west, from whence the Drow of Morlin had once sallied forth to capture the southern forest form the ancient High Elves. Morlin was once the name of a great Elf city built along either side of a deep cleft or valley; it was now known as the Dismal Delve. Many wars had been fought with the Drow in ancient times, and the elves kept close watch lest they be attacked by surprise. Deomir told them other things, like how the Elves sent secret patrols outside of the woods to watch their flanks (Voromakil was one such). But it was the Dwarves of Khwarizm that were their best defense to the west. The Dwarves' own ancient kingdoms were destroyed by the Drow, so there was long enmity there, as well. The Elf-Dwarf alliance was strong with mutual hatred, even if the two cultures were so different.
The party remained in Sondir for four days to allow Mordecai and Floi to fully recover. From there, they journeyed on foot through the pleasant (but still alien-feeling) woodland. That night, they came to the Elven city of Elmariye, a astringent and wondrous place. Sadly, they left the next morning without further adieu, making their way to the fortress of Arambur. Deomir told them that, although the fort was near the border with the Dwarves, the Elves felt the need to keep a careful watch as the Dwarves missed many dangers that simply crossed above the mountains. The next day saw the end of the journey through Neldoreth as the party entered the Anchor Mountains and Khwarizm. They came to a strong Dwarven fortress called Ziglir near dusk. Here Deomir parted in friendship. He would return to Manston and his duties, but assured the party they would be free to return the way they'd come when the time came. He looked further to seeing them again. He turned and left and the party came to the gates, where Floi proudly hailed the guard and flashed his badge of rank. The party was admitted and made welcome. Indeed, so welcome did they feel at this near-homecoming, that many in the party decided to carouse in the fortress-town. There were a few incidents during this time. Bel woke up with a 2000 SP gem in her possession with no idea where she got it; Thunderfist won a tidy sum gambling. The party ended up remaining the next day to recover from the fun.
One day's journey through the deep roads of the Dwarf Kingdom and the party reached the northern city of Kazakh, and they were soon in their former (and new for some) quarters. There, they ordered their staff to set a feast for their homecoming. Floi took off at this point to "take care of some things." They also found a brief, hastily-written note from Cadwaladyr. The Dwarf Ring of Power had been stolen, he lamented. He had been unable to locate it, but had given up temporarily on it as he was he was "desperately needed in Wellington," something to do with the new Queen. He finished with a warning that the party had enemies in Kazakh they should be wary of...