Emerging from the waygate, the group eavesdrops for a bit then goes to offer their services to the Baron of the Bloodstone province. There is a history of foreign involvement in the region, so the offer is gratefully accepted. The first set of tasks are to investigate the outlying communities of the centaurs, halflings and dwarves that surround the barony, The group agrees and makes preparations to depart at first light.
The morning slumber is interrupted by a commotion that ends up being a wolf-pack attack on the church. The grisly scene is put to rights by Dalliance and Co. with fire and fletching. The grisly scene inside the church is investigated and anomalies are detected. The abbot is put to the questions and he reveals himself for the vampire he is! Bud is drained and the abbot flees. His whereabouts are detected for, but the results are inconclusive. Bud is restored and the party departs.
At the centaur village, the elders pledge support of their troops, although practically speaking there are none after a decade of war. That night while the group rests, a ghost enters the longhut and attempts to Magic Jar Dalliance. His failure prompts him to materialize and age the group members by a decade. While he does battle with the party, he gates in demons..and the demons gate in more demons and it looks pretty grim for bit, but they eventually win through the onslaught and rest some more. They leave the centaurs behind and voyage to the halfling settlements where they are treated in a manner befitting of heroes – provided they can do one little teeny service to the short dudes of the hills. It seems there is a cave, and within that cave there are goblins and worgs – a couple hundred of each. Could the group members be dears and nip over to deal with them?
Scouting is undertaken and a plan is made – and actually executed! The scouts are bypassed by means of flying and invisibility. Demming creates a Creeping Doom and sends it into the cave entrance, Dalliance follows up with Fireballs and Lightning Bolt. Barada erects a wall of fire to seal the entrance and Demming sends a conjured earth elemental through the flames and into the cave to finish off whatever survivors there might be. The wall is lowered and the plunder is sifted from the large amount of swag collected. The party that follows is epic indeed.
Journeying into the foothills, the group makes contact with the dwarves of the area. After opening niceties are observed, they are offered a guide to lead them into the Bloodstone Mines. Sadly, maps are not available, since the dwarves needed them on site to oversee mining operations. Once the group is properly rested, they may begin the ascent to the mountains and the descent into the mines.
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