Diary of Captain Nomed Oppenheimer - Entry Number 28
Sunday, March 1st, 908 TA
It has been months since the battle of Portsmith, and yet it’s effects still haunt us. It has taken me some time to put my thoughts into words, as that momentous day was such a swirl of emotion. My father is still free, and his legion remains in this realm. Yet, the sins of the father are put on the son, as we, the crew of the Wanton Wench are now forced into a quest by a diminutive wizard to stop him. So, as we finally set our sights on the great city of Teufeldorf, I figure it is time to put into record our deeds.
We had begun the attack on Jana Blackfire’s keep and had scouted out the perimeter using Java’s excellent sight. We blasted open the second story of the building with our artillery and made our grand assault. We jumped onto a foyer onto the second floor and was immediately beset by a patrol of guards, this first wave came at us with multiple wizards, including our old friend from the storm giant’s keep. A battle ensued along the hallway of the second floor, with our skills brought to their limits.
The commotion upstairs brought about the release of the resident wardens of Jana’s domain, as from several columns’ downstairs, angels began to emerge. These creatures were extremely powerful and used words of power to try and bring us to heel. While we battled, Finn quickly got out of sight and rushed downstairs in order to solve the riddle of the columns. Just as more angels were emerging, Finn, with the help of Java solved the puzzle and put in the correct combination and the angels returned from whence they came.
With the angels gone, and the first wave of soldiers defeated, we were met by some trickery from the evil Jana. There was not one, but three Jana’s running about the keep, each with an armed contingent. One group ran outside, one group held their ground, and one group attempted to move further into the keep. Scylla and Wrane stayed behind to fight the Jana on the second floor, we ordered the Wench to fire on the group in the courtyard, and the rest of us chased the group going deeper into the keep. We stopped them in the main hall, and with a combination of web, fireball, and bombs, disposed of this group, who we realized held our actual prize. The Wench destroyed the group attempting to flee outside, and a few moments later, Wrane brought the limp body of Scylla downstairs, only saying “oops”.
With the grounds of the keep finally quiet, Chironomous revived our druid, and we quickly looted all the corpses that lined the halls, making sure we took the body of Jana herself as a just reward.
With the keep fallen, we were reminded by our priest of the magical prison that we needed to save our people from in the barracks of the town guard. We quickly climbed back onto the Wanton Wench and beheld the carnage of the larger battle below. The demon horde and the knights led by the halfling wizard were still locked in combat, and the death tolls on both sides were staggering. We took the time during the flight to take out a few of the knights, and rushed over to the barracks.
The converted prison was abandoned, as all guards had been rushed over to stop the tide of demons, much to our satisfaction. Unfortunately, the building was locked up tight, and we had no way of getting inside. Our only lead was a set of hoofprints leading into a nearby tavern. We followed them, and soon discovered that the prison was guarded by minotaurs, and that one of them was taking a break by getting drunk in the tavern. Java distracted the beast, singing and talking to it, while Finn gently removed the creature’s keys. We removed ourselves from the tavern and opened the door into the barracks.
As we entered the makeshift prison, we beheld that it was an odd place, crafted of some immaculate black stone. The place had a magical effect once you were inside that made you feel drunk, and only by eating something left by the guard were we immune. It turned out that this was just one floor of the prison, and to move between, you had to solve a magic tic-tac-toe puzzle. We collectively solved it, and we moved through the floors, killing the minotaurs on each level, and then freeing the prisoners. We moved along very quickly, and managed to free all of our people, and when we were satisfied with the results, we left, only to be met by a tiny wizard.
The battle outside was over, and the wizard Hylax was waiting for us. He was not amused by the fact that we had released a coven of demons, and although he didn’t care that we killed Jana and her lot, he said that we must help him seal the covenant back up (fat chance). We agreed to the puny creature’s demands and he told us that we must go to Teufeldorf, and find the Ranger’s Gate, which we had some evidence of, and report its location to him. With that, he teleported out with the rest of his men, and we were left in an unusual quiet.
We sailed north, and around the edge of the continent, and made our way back south to the great capital of the kingdom. It has taken us many months, but now we are nearing our next phase of our adventure. I hope we can leave as great an impact on this side of the continent as we did the other, and maybe find a way to keep father free. Who knows, maybe a little chaos is what these people really need.