Assault on Vraath Keep

With a rallying cry of "Death to the Gardener's Shack!" SWAG stormed the hobgoblin base at Vraath Keep. Step 1 - investigate the rotting vegetable garden and decrepit gardener's shack. Step 2 -destroy the gardener's shack. With Odette's determined rattling, the old shack collapsed with a thundering crash.

Perhaps alerted by the crash outside, goblin worg riders emerged from the keep and attacked with bows and scimitars. A worg repeatedly tore into Red, yanking him to the ground. Red and Petra responded with hack and slash attacks while Odette peppered the goblins with arrows. Quintavian threw magic missiles and DeKelley was ready with healing and alchemist fire. As the battle turned against the goblins, a manticore flew up and perched itself on the roof of the old keep, watching but otherwise seeming grumpy and bored. Two hobgoblins with banded mail and short swords emerged to join the fight, but were struck down by melee weapons and cleave attacks.

SWAG entered the keep, finding two more hobgoblins. A hobgoblin admonished the manticore for its laziness and ordered it to attack, as Koth was paying it to do. It reluctantly flew up and fired repeated spike volleys from its tail at SWAG. The battle raged on, and Red chased a hobgoblin into a room in the keep. A massive minotaur and a spell-casting bugbear entered the room and attacked. Red backed away while DeKelley and Quintavian fired a web and then fireball into the room.

The minotaur attempted a charge on DeKelley with its sharp horns, but Red, Petra and her horse struck it down. SWAG chased off the wounded manticore with cries of, "You're not paying me enough for this!" The bugbear then drank a fly potion and escaped, leaving the hobgoblin to yell, "The Red Hand will prevail" as he was killed.

Which way to the Witchwood?

On the night of Flocktime 8, SWAG arrived at Andrushel and was greeted by a town guard watchpost. The guard welcomed the Luminous Order but was disheartened to hear that no reinforcements were behind them - SWAG was it for now. They recommended seeking out Town Speaker Wiston and Captain Sorrana (pictured at right).

Wiston and Sorrana quickly met up with SWAG, and asked for help driving away the hobgoblin raiders. SWAG agreed, for a price (500 gp/person if the hobgoblin menace is defeated). SWAG asked about Vraath Keep, and Wiston suggested they find the woodsman Jorr to help on their journey to the keep, which could be a base for the hobgoblins.

The following morning SWAG explored Andrushel, stocked up, and headed north into the Witchwood. They met Jorr's guard dogs, avoided a fight, and convinced Jorr to join them for only 10 gp per day.

Jorr led SWAG through the forest to the Dawn Way road. At a causeway over a deep bog, SWAG saw an overturned wagon. As SWAG approcahed, a 6-headed hydra attacked. After a pitched battle, with the hydra repeatedly fleeing to heal itself in mere seconds, SWAG raced to the other side of the causeway and pushed on to Vraath Keep...

How Do You Sing 'Girl From Ipanema' In Gnoll?

After the gate battle, SWAG searched the gate room and found a note to Gashkarr, describing a gathering of forces near Vraath Keep, a place unknown to SWAG. SWAG destroyed 2 gate sigils to disable the gate, an act that would greatly displease the Ebon Cabal. SWAG then decided to spend the night in the gate room resting, with Red on guard. Red surprised a powerfully-built gnoll (later determined to be a flind), and SWAG dispatched him after a short battle.

SWAG awoke the next morning, Flocktime 2, and headed back to the main elevator room. There they encountered 3 gnoll priestesses carrying a large ark with animated severed heads, and quickly webbed them all in place. As the web burst into flames from the nearby flaming demon arches, the gnolls desperately tried to escape, but were burned in the process. Quintavian countered an invisibility attempt with a well-placed glitterdust and Red bull rushed a gnoll into the ark of severed heads.

As SWAG defeated the two ark-bearers, the 3rd gnoll fled to the elevator and Petra rushed in as the doors were closing. Petra's luminary tabard unfortunately burned to a crisp in the process. Petra battled the gnoll up the elevator, bull rushed her way out and chased the gnoll down stairs to a hall ending in 4 doors. The doors were barred before the gnoll could enter, with high pitched voices cheering on the battle from behind the doors. The final gnoll was killed, and SWAG retreated back to the Shining Citadel with the ark.

At the Citadel, the Luminous Order promoted Petra to Luminary Champion and gave her a greatsword of the celestial host +1 and a new luminary tabard. Odette and DeKelley were also inducted as Luminary Captains. The Order reported slow progress in the clockwork horror battles, and asked SWAG to journey to Andrushel to check out Vraath Keep, located just beyond the town.

SWAG journeyed on to Andrushel, stopping at the U. in Riverbend, and checking in with Armin Harrak and shopping in Sumberton. Lukrimar Keep welcomed the group and finally, on the hot summery day of Flocktime 8, they neared Andrushel. A large force of hobgoblins and fire-breathing dog-like creatures waited in ambush, however, attacking from fortified positions along the road near an old farm house.

After an intense battle that nearly saw the end of Red and Quintavian, the battle was won. SWAG found a map of a town on the hobgoblin leader and a dead farmer, merchant and 3 bodyguards in the farmhouse. SWAG also found a note on the merchant, dated nearly a week ago, asking for help from increasing bandit attacks...

The Fonz is Jumping His Motorcycle Over What?!

After the lenghty troglodyte battles, SWAG made their made to the mimic room to rest overnight. On the morning of the first day of the new month of Flocktime, SWAG went back to the troglodyte room and disabled the violet demon arch. Water cascaded down the stairs out of the room, and SWAG descended, reaching a pool of water at the bottom of long sets of stairs.

Across the water was a woman who greeted the group. She announced that she was a sorceress with "that other organization" and had slipped this far into the dungeon using stealth magic. She said that Gashkarr was nearby, attempting to open the demon gate, and she was willing to join them in disabling it.

SWAG opened nearby doors to a large chamber with 4 gates, 3 of them obviously broken. A mezzoloth wielding a trident was guarding the chamber, and Tybalt of the Luminous Order charged forward to engage it. The mezzoloth responded with a cloudkill, instantly killing the brave Tybalt and sending other SWAGgers retreating to a safe distance. Petra, immune from poison, continued to engage the mezzoloth, while DeKelley cast poison protection scrolls on SWAG. Meanwhile, a chanting was heard from a hidden position at a balcony beyond.

After about a minute of skirmishing, the cloudkill drifted away, and SWAG re-engaged the mezzoloth. The mezzoloth responded with a dispel magic on SWAG and another cloudkill. Some of SWAG again backed away, and then attacked again once the cloudkill began to drift, finally killing the mezzoloth.

At that moment one of the gates opened with a blast of magic, sending hundreds of skulls and a large toad-like demon hurtling out of the gate. SWAG engaged the demon and Quintavian cast dispel magic on the gate. The dispel attempt failed, but caused a cascade of magical force to again hurtle out of the gate. Two men dressed in blue uniforms and wearing a strange metal weapon were blasted out of the gate. The startled men opened fire on the demon with the weapons they called revolvers. The demon battled back, eventually killing the two men.

Meanwhile, Red raced up the balcony, finding the gnoll warchief Gashkarr reading from a magical tome. Red chased him down the stairs. The sorceress then grabbed the tome from Gashkarr, grew leathery wings, and fled through the gate. Gashkarr followed, just as the gate magic ceased, dragging the demon and the two men's bodies with it. All was silent again in the gate room...

Troglodytes? Perfect Time for a Swimsuit Competition

While pondering how to get past the violet demon arch, a roguish human approached. After some questioning, SWAG agreed to allow the rogue Kerylen to join the group, and he proceeded to disable the demon arch.

SWAG entered a flooded armory -- a waterfall cascaded through an opening in the wall, pouring water into the room. The water covered the floor and filled a pit in the center of the room. Along the edges were weapon racks with dozens of piercing and slashing weapons, along with a Luminous Order knight, tied up and unconscious. Guarding the room -- two troglodytes. SWAG engaged the troglodytes while DeKelley healed Tybalt of the Luminous Order. Another troglodyte them shot up out of the pit, slowing descending to the floor and casting spells to attack SWAG. After a lengthy 1 1/2 minute battle, the heavily injured troglodytes fled by diving into the water pit, and SWAG was victorious.

Odette then volunteered to swim into the pit to see where the troglodytes went. She found a flooded ranged weapon armory room below, the weapons destroyed by the water. A flooded stairway went up at the other end of the room. She swam up and was immediately attacked by heavily armored troglodytes with halberds. She was heavily wounded, but barely escaped.

SWAG then prepared to swim to engage the other troglodytes. Petra, in her full plate armor, was not up for swimming. With assistance she removed her armor and was buffed with mage armor and shield of faith. Petra, the high charisma, blonde teenage paladin, waering only her standard issue Luminous Order lingerie and longsword, then swam with SWAG through the water to fight the troglodytes.

SWAG swam to the other room, a bludgeoning weapon armory, and engaged in yet another lenghty battle with the heavily armoed troglodytes. After another 1 1/2 minutes of skirmishing, SWAG was victorious.