Logbook of Jerek Stonewall - Entry Number 3
We had just entered the haunted house for the benefit of the library, when we were attacked by the group of stirges. The bloodsuckers were dispatched in short order, and we were able to take in our surroundings. The house was fairly neat, although the front stained-glass window had been destroyed. The front room had two different rooms leading to it, one closed and the other a passageway into the kitchen. We could hear sounds coming from the kitchen and we followed those sounds to find even more of the stirges. Those creatures were the same evil creatures and we destroyed them with ease.
The other room in the bottom floor was locked, and our good friend Neptune opened it. The room was filled with boxes, all neatly arranged and labeled. These were the belongings of the previous occupant and were being sorted for auction. We took a few minutes to look through but did not find much of note. With the first floor explored we headed for the second.
Lady Spring was the first to rush up the stairs and burst into the master bedroom, where she was attacked by a cardboard knight that came from underneath an adjoining door. Another knight came through another locked door, and a huge fight ensued with the caricatures. The creatures were quite strong, and the fight was well balanced, with our best weapons being flame and water. The creatures were defeated, and we looked behind them to the room they were guarding. It was the room of a child, filled with a knight and princess motif.
We searched the room to find that the magic of the house and the haunting of the knights was emanating from a children’s book that had been enchanted. We also found a bookmark that had been discarded by the new Dame who was squatting in the house. The bookmark was also enchanted, and when it was paired with the book, the magic became stable and the danger was averted. We held onto the book and departed.
As we made our way back home, we discovered that a card tournament was being held at the Fretful Porpentine, the same pub that Lady Spring and I had visited the day before. It was being held by a man call Noel Guildford, The Feasting King. Several of us entered the tournament, while others joined in as dealers. Only Lady Spring and Korag didn’t partake, and instead they continued towards home.
The tournament was a delight, and the competition was fierce, until I was the last of our party left standing at the final table. Just as the final table was about to commence, Lady Spring burst into the pub and started shouting about a demon attack outside. Since this was a soldier bar, the men mostly jumped into action, led by a captain Darius Baker. Knowing that people were in danger, I ceded my seat at the final table to let Neptune back in, and joined the hunt for the beast.
Apparently, Korag had lost control of his form fighting the demon, and so the guard thought there was in fact two demons at large. Our group went with the captain, leading him on the trail of the actual demon and away from our friend. The demon’s tracks led back into the sewer, towards where the gnome hideout was. I took lead, and when we spotted the foul beast, I charged the wretched monster and struck at it. I don’t remember too much of the fight after that, but I’m told my attack struck home, crippling the beast for the others to take down and that the captain was quite impressed.
With the real demon killed, we led the guards off of Korag’s trail, and made sure they chased their tails all night long until the search was given up. We were thanked for our service, paid for the trouble, and told not to speak of any demon incursion.
As morning came, we were greeted by a woman who told us she was Korag’s mentor at the ground. monastery, and that she had managed to capture him last night She brought him in, and told us that he had killed innocents during his raging, and that it could not happen again, as she would not help him if he lost control.
With our party now complete, we headed for the library to get our reward for clearing the haunted house of danger. We got information on the gate, saying that it was a part of the Rangers, that it held dangerous artifacts, and that it was also a prison and training ground. We gave the enchanted book to the librarians in exchange for a promise for more future information and made our way back to the gate.
We placed the hidden key we had found into one of the now glowing keyholes, and a puzzle emerged for us. It was our gnomish friend Telek who was able to decipher the puzzle, and as soon as we did, the door opened, and a voice asked us where we wanted to go. It asked us for a password, and when we told it we didn’t know because we were not Rangers yet, it teleported us to a catwalk above a giant room. We were 10 feet above a domed room that had a large stone dais in the center and 13 doorways. We made our way down, trying to use the way that other rangers would have had to, involving a length of rope and a knife. We failed at that trial, but made it down regardless.
Once at the bottom, Lady Spring rushed towards the only other thing in the room, a large tree, and disappeared inside it. Seconds later, the tree awoke, and told us that this was the training grounds of the Rangers, and that to become a ranger, we had to complete each of the trials provided, through each of the passageways.
We decided that we would be up to the challenge, and went through one of the openings, marked as HU above it. We went through pitch black, only to emerge back on the stone dais. This time, however, there were various objects strewn around it, and soon two ogres magically appeared. What followed was an intense battle, and with the help of our new tree friend Tallowberry, we defeated the ogres, As they fell, the stone dais rotated and went down, showing that the first trial was done.
We now know what we must do to gain access to the full abilities of the rangers. The question is, can we survive twelve more trials?