Welcome to the Chamber of Echoes and Reflections
_______________The Trader of Baldur's Gate(Part 1)
Characters:
Celad Teglen, Taran Seven, Rodon Waynn, Liam, Faith Black-bow, Davan, Dragonby, Vendel
Plot/Story:
Rumor spreads of travelers and traders traveling north of Baldur's Gate never being heard from again. The rumor are confirmed as an injured woman stumbles into the farm lands, wailing over the loss of her husband. After some healing and soothing words from a group of adventurers, she introduces herself as Ashley and recounts the events in which she and her husband, Henry, were attacked by bandits. She tells them of a seldom used trail used to safely travel away from danger and points them in a rough direction to follow. She offers a sizeable reward for reporting the fate of her beloved husband and promises even more if he can be returned.
The adventurers set out, with Faith Black-bow taking up the lead. With Ashley's directions and Faith's tracking skills, they are soon on the trail. After following the trail for half the day, they come to a halt. The trail cuts along the edge of a dense grove of trees that seems to be emitting a unnaturally dark, heavy fog, which leaves the adventurers with an uneasy feeling. As they approach, undead begin pouring from the fog and assaulting the adventuring party. Wave after wave poor forth, the fog concealing their movements until they are upon the adventurers. Fighting every step of the way, the party continues along the trail, pressing forward with determination.
After some time, the adventurers finally get a break from the fighting, but the danger only seems more imminent as they find themselves surrounded on both sides by dense trees, the heavy fog pouring over the road, making it barely visible, and a grisly scene before them. A destroyed wagon burns in the center of the road, pools of blood circle the wagon, as well as ransacked crates, and the two horses which had pulled it lay dead and badly charred. As the party approaches closer to investigate, a robed woman steps out of a near by cave followed by two armed men. She raises her staff into the air and speaks a command word and the horses begin to move, stand, then attack the party. The fight is long as undead pour from the fog again, the necromancer and bandits assault the adventurers with dagger and spell, but in the end they are over powered and fall to the combined strength of the party.
The adventurers investigate the wreckage, finding the contents of the crates and Henry missing, a thick trail of blood leading towards the cave being the only sign. Following the trail into the cave, they again find themselves under attack by bandits, undead and necromancers. Easily felling their foe, the party swells with confidence, though short lived. Walking through the dark, narrow tunnels, they come upon an opening to a large room. Stepping through, bandits and a couple of powerful necromancers turn at once, bodies scatter around the room begin to rise and another fight break out. One by one the adventurers fall. The few that remain standing resort to stealth and illusion and flee from the cave, leaving their dead companions behind. Outside the cave entrance, they take some time to recover and devise a plan to retrieve their allies bodies. After a bit of debate, they reenter the cave. Using stealth and trickery, the two manage to distract the necromancers while Faith gathers the bodies and exits the cave.
Again outside the cave, they begin reviving their fallen and formulating a plan of attack. After taking much needed time to recover and reform, they put their plan into action. Stepping back inside the cave, the group takes cover as the tapping of approaching foot steps echoes through the cave. The necromancers, still scouring the caves for the surviving party members, round a turn and come into view of the adventurers. Despite their best efforts, the plan quickly fell apart as the necromancers instantly spot a couple of the group who were not quick enough to take cover. A battle ensued, though without the aid of their undead or bandits the necromancers were the ones who were pressed. Still, they managed to put up a good fight, injuring several members of the party badly before falling. The adventurers took greater care as they proceeded through the cave, Faith scouting and reporting the dangers ahead to the rest of the group. Reentering the large room, their strategy paid off, slaying the remaining undead and bandits with little effort.
In the back of the room, the group comes upon a disturbing sight. Piles of dead bodies fill a section of the cave. Searching through the pile, they eventually find the body of one who seemed recently deceased. He appeared to be in his mid forties and wore a gold wedding band around his left ring finger. Feeling confident that this was Henry, they pulled him from the pile and began to leave, carrying him on their shoulders. Before they could exit however, the echo of foot steps alerted them to incoming danger and they prepared for another fight. A powerful necromancer entered the room, bandits in tow. Eyeing the group she called out an order to attack and the battle began anew. Again, the adventurers found themselves being poorly pressed, several members of the party falling in the attack. Eventually, the fighting came to an end. With her dying breath, the necromancer made one final threat, "I shall rise again, and my master will have your souls!". The decision to quickly gather their fallen companions and flee was made and none would disagree. Hurriedly they escape the cave and made their way back along the trail, however their escape would be no easier than their entrance, as undead poured from the fog once again, assaulting the group. More members of their party would fall before their escape was secured, only two of the eight remaining, dragging and carrying their companions back to the safety of Baldur's Gate.
In Baldur's Gate, the two hurry to the temple of Tyr, where they have their companions revived, along with Henry. Reunited with her husband, Ashley breaks into tears of joy as the group watches on, most feeling good about themselves for bringing the couple back together. After filling Henry in on all that had happened, he ask if the party had managed to recover his cargo, but much to his dismay, they had not. Faith, feeling for the man's plight, offered him all of the gold in her possession. Astonished, he accepted her gift, then offered the group a reward for all they had done. Many demanded food, as they had nothing to eat during the course of events, and Henry was more than happy to oblige them. Leading him back to his house, Ashley began dinner while Henry welcomed them to stay the night, rest up and brought them a reward for all of their trouble. They ate and slept well that night, Henry and Ashley bidding them farewell and showering them with appreciation the next morning as they departed.
Henry is still uneasy with his missing cargo, the necromancers, while having been dealt a heavy blow, have not yet been stopped, and rumors continue to spread of travelers between Baldur's Gate and Daggerford never reaching their destination.
Rewards:
Experience: 1200 each
Gold: 10000 group
Individual: (Faith Black-bow) No gold, instead a Hardwood Bow and alignment shift 2 points towards good.
