Adventurers, including a few members of the Order of the Silver Rose and their allies, took an anti-magic holding box with the gem they had previously found in a pouch inside the box as well as the ring and novel of Netheril in their possession, and decided to make way to Teo in Candlekeep from the Order of Silver Rose keep to research the items further there in conjunction. Cyrus carried the box, pouch, and gem. Gina carried the novel. Seth carried the ring. Elvina Aira-S'effaro and the Gondian Karl provided escort.
As they made their way down The Lion's Way, under the protection of sanctuary, the group witnessed a large thunder cloud and thunderstorm brew overhead and was then waylaid by a mob of mad crazy magi of Talos blocking the way to Candlekeep. The mob of magi, seemingly having true seeing and/or some other means of thwarting the adventurers in sanctuary, spoke of general destruction and doom as well as Talos and demanded the ring and gem in the possession of the adventurers, implying that on the other side of a portal that the magi had opened, they held 80 farmers hostage near Baldur's Gate and would annihilate them all if the adventurers did not give the magi what they wanted. At some point in the two groups bickering, one of the adventurers attacked the magis without a plan beforehand and a chaotic pitched battle began, much in favor of the chaos and destruction personified magi, casting many powerful death and elemental damage spells, leaving all but a few magi dead, and all of the adventurers grievously wounded and temporarily unconscious, a decent outcome for the adventurers considering that at least a dozen more magi poured out of the open portal during the battle and the adventurers had no plan against an enemy that fights best when there is no organized opponent.
The battle left the wounded, now again conscious, Seth held hostage by a magi summoned vampire warlock, with the vampire having a grappled knifehold to Seth's throat, and Elvina and Gina held by hostage by a magi with the magi's spell fingers jabbed into their backs. A standoff then ensued, with the magi making the same demands again, but adding that if the ring and gem were not handed over that Seth, Elvina, and Gina would be killed in addition to the farmers. At this time, a slew of other adventurers not yet named approached the dispute for various reasons at various time in what transpired hereafter, including Ivan, Arshes, Balthazar, Duragin, Cienne, Merek, Zeno, Karl, Hinzel, and Artorius. Earlier in the battle, the box holding the pouch and gem on the now near dead Cyrus fell out of Cyrus' possession. The box was destroyed in the chaotic spellcasting romp, leaving the pouch containing the gem to be burned to a crisp, with the exposed gem now on the open ground, lying before one of the magi, unknown so far to any of the mad mages of Talos or other adventurers. The adventurers tried to toy with the magi claiming there was no way they would ever get the gem, thinking they must have still possessed it, but then a few adventurers spotted something shiny on the ground before one of the magi, seemingly a gem in look. Elvina spoke out loud about something shiny and gem like being at one of the magi's feet, perhaps not realizing she was in speaking range to the magi or perhaps talking about some other gem than the one in dispute, as she may have not known what the item was on the ground given her distance away and line of sight. A magi near the gem, however, hearing and seeing as much, looked down and promptly grabbed the item, then dashed into the nearby portal, Merek and Cyrus narrowly missing regaining the gem for the adventurers before the magi that snatched it.
The stalemate then continued for some time, with Seth, Elvina, and Gina held as hostages and negotiations and demands repeated and stalling again and again, even as terrified and sobbing farmers were sent through the portal by the magi to try to convince in a sincere tone the adventurers to do what the magi want "or their families and spouses would be exterminated!" Seth was eventually able to remove a vial of holy water from his person and while not being able to use it on the summoned vampire holding him hostage, he was able to signal Gina to aid him with using it to break free by throwing it at Seth's head, breaking it on him and splattering the holy water on the vampire. Gina, smiling at the magi holding her up, bluffing, leaned over to Seth and fetched the vial of water from him, then took position again as a seemingly complying hostage to the magi holding her prisoner with one of his spell fingers. Most adventurers, thinking on the matter, decided to hold back attacking to try to save the hostages from annihilation. Karl did not do much thinking, however, and attempted to attack one of the magi, but was immediately struck down by a finger of death spell.
About then, Gina was able to throw the holy water at the vampire holding Seth hostage, allowing Seth to break free of the vampire and cast a sunburst spell, annihilating the vampire. Gina, acting bravely for her comrade, was then struck down unconscious by another finger of death spell of one of the magi. The magi, now furious at the assaults and escape attempt, now killed a slew of their farmer hostages, including about 40 in the portal location, witnessed through the portal by the adventurers in bloodied screams of terrified farmers emanating from the portal, as well as killing 2 of the 4 four farmers at The Lion's Way. The magi also now sent reinforcements from the other side of the portal to The Lions' Way in the form of half a dozen more mad robed mages. The magi then said that they must have the ring as well or the held hostage Elvina and all the remaining farmers would be slaughtered. Seth, still holding the ring, refused and carried Gina off in his arms to safety, leaving her a bit of a distance away. After doing so, he rejoined the battle and fell to a finger of death spell from a Talos magi, then, upon the completion of the final battle, Elvina would raise him and he would been taken back to the keep of the Order of the Silver Rose.
Gina, nursing her wounds from a distance, made sure that no Talos magi escaped any final melee and kept innocent bystanders away from the horrible engagement. Karl and Cyrus later joined them as such as the day went on. Finally, all retired to the Order of the Silver Rose Keep once their duty was lifted when Elvina rejoined them later on at the end of the prolonged struggle.
The remaining adventurers then decided to assault the magi, after multiple adventurers even inferred that doing so would mean the death of many farmers and possibly Elvina. Fortunately for Elvina, Cienne managing to stab in the back the magi holding up Elvina as the battle began, likely saving Elvina's life. Battle then escalated in earnest, as screams of farmers echoed from the portal. The portal of the magi then shut, and the magi in The Lion's Way then enthralled the two living farmers present to fight for them as another battle started, quickly leading to the slaughter of the two farmers enthralled. The magi and farmers were then all killed, save one knocked out and unconscious magi, the total of four farmers on The Lion's Way all charred beyond saving by spells of the engagement. This was at a cost of multiple fallen and injured adventurers, who were then subsequently raised and healed. Elvina then wisely thought to cast a trace teleport spell on the location of the closed portal and was able to make a teleportation rune notating that the portal had been from a location a few miles northeast of Baldur's Gate. The adventurers then debated about what to do with the unconscious Talos magi prisoner, while looting him and his dead magi brothers and sisters, only finding lint in their robe pockets and some symbols of Talos and confirming meanwhile that all the dead farmers present were burnt as ash beyond saving. Some marginally involved and not otherwise named began to leave the scene, but a few adventurers remained.
While some were able to infer that it might be helpful to interrogate the prisoner in a more favorable setting for information on the whereabouts of the gem and the plot of the robed magi, others wanted the Talos magi dead. Elvina and Ivan argued for bringing him to the Order of the Silver Rose keep to interrogate him, after Elvina initially desired to slaughter him, but others, including the dwarf Duragin and Zeno, did not trust the Order of the Silver Rose to keep the man alive once in their walls. Zeno, while this argument was underway, drew some suspicion with an odd look he gave the group after touching the magi, after which Ivan snatched the magi's body and made off with it to a nearby tree to attempt to teleport him away. It was there that the dwarf Duragin assaulted Ivan as he was about to teleport, promptly knocking out and grievously wounding the distracted Ivan, to stop him from making off with the magi, and Elvina then promptly slit the prisoner's throat, for motives of her own. Zeno then joined the battle on Duragin's side, and Cienne, Merek, and Elvina on Ivan's side, after which Duragin was quickly overwhelmed and knocked unconscious, as his dwarven friend Balthazar stood and watched the melee unfold as a neutral party. Zeno, clearly outnumbered, then fled to a nearby cliff edge of the Sword Coast, as Elvina tended to restore and heal the badly beaten and unconscious Ivan, Balthazar tended Duragin's wounds, and Cienne and Merek chased after Zeno and cornered him at the cliff's edge.
At the cliff, Zeno cast a Flaywind Blast spell at Cienne and Merek, knocking Merek down in the windstorm of the spell, but not Cienne. Cienne then attacked Zeno in a fury of blows, severely wounding him, but Zeno was able to make off before Elvina knew that Zeno had escaped from the altercation, unable to finish Zeno with an ice storm spell or a different offensive spell, as she was preoccupied tending to Ivan and by the time she knew that Zeno had fled he was far beyond the range and line of sight of any of Elvina's offensive spells. The adventurers then parted ways. The gem now in the hands of the Talos magi. The ring still in the hands of Seth. The novel in the hands of Gina. A rune to the portal location of the Talos magi near Baldur's Gate in the hands of Elvina. An executed prisoner that may or may not have held information as to the intentions of the magi and the location of the gem. A lot of poor dead farmers.
Participants:
Cyrus
Gina Waynn
Elvina Aira-S'effaro
Seth Siger
Ivan
Arshes
Balthazar
Duragin
Cienne
Merek
Zeno
Karl
Hinzel
Artorius
Rewards: XP and gold varying from 250-2500 depending on RP involvement, although I may have missed folks that logged off or left early.