Baelik the Cursed - Expeditionary Summary 10/4/874

Reported by Layla Redstone:

"Today our party ventured directly east of Longreach. We happened upon an old man-made structure on the northern of the two river forks. When we looked inside, there were lots of recently killed entities; a hill giant, his pet-a massive spider-and lots of empty suits of armor. In the main hall was a large man in full armor covering his whole body by the name of Bealik He had just gotten done killing all of the inhabitants of the place and looting their treasures. He told us he was from north of the sea, and that "everything he does, will be undone." Looking a little closer, we saw that most of his jaw was rotten, like a zombie. Once he left things got dicey. Suits of armor with nothing in them sprang to life, attacking the nearest person. The giant and his pet spider also came to alive and attacked us. We barely made it out alive, and with some treasure to boot."

Members of the 10/4/874 Expedition:

Lord Illitor, Scorros

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Redstone, Layla

Olivia

Other News -
Caravan on Renard's Path attacked!
-Frog people from the swamps to the east have ransacked a caravan headed to Longreach. The members were kidnapped and are being held hostage. One person has been released and told us that the others were safe, though held in inhumane conditions. We are working on a solution to the issue. In the meantime remain cautious when leaving the town proper and anyone traveling Renard's path is required to have an escort of no less than 4 armed guards.

Lord F. Arden, on behalf of Sir Calen

10/5 in the Year 874

The Vrock - Expedition Summary 10/1/874

Reported by Lord Illitor

Days after the slaying of the gnoll fang by Nimona, Layla, Olivia, Lieutenant Seery and I ventured back into the stronghold Layla has dubbed "the Pentagon." We quickly dealt with the handful of gnolls in the barracks, as they were half-asleep, unarmed but for their teeth, and demoralized.

Making our way through a long series of weapon racks, we found a handful of magic items, including a magic shield that I claimed for myself, and a longsword that we reserved for Dieterich but lent to Seery.

We then entered the room where we had fought the fang.

The gnolls were there in numbers, but they had no more casters among them. I fixed them in place with the spines of the earth, and Olivia blasted them with fire. A few blows from Layla and Seery saw to the rest.

Yet in the center of the great room, an enormous evil symbol was carved in the floor. It sucked in the blood of every beast we slew. As soon as the last of them fell, the blood ignited, and the floor melted away.

Demons spilled forth from the pit, a great harpy-like vretch flying into the air. I ordered a fighting withdrawal. Once again, I fixed most of the lesser foes in place, but the foul bird crashed into our line, and we were split in a fury of tumbling metal and slashing claws. Every one of us fought as best we could, but morale was breaking and we were on the edge of a rout. Then it released a violent, mind-breaking shriek, and I fell senseless to the ground.

When I came to, I expected death to be upon me. Instead, I saw Layla controlling the beast. It had turned its aggression on one of the weapon racks. Even as our party hacked and shot and blasted away at it, it tore at and clung to the rack, fighting it until we finally put the vrock down.

The other demons, pinned to the earth, were slaughtered.

We returned to Longreach. Seery went back to Redmoor, where he will presumably present an accurate report to Lady Vern.

Later, Olivia, Layla, Bernard and I returned and jumped into the pit. We found ourselves in some hellish prison populated by demons and part-fiend gnolls. After dealing with fierce resistance, we decided to leave while we had our full numbers and return only with a stronger force.

Members of the 9/24/874 Expedition:

Lord Illitor, Scorros

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Galavant, Nimona
Redstone, Layla

Olivia
LT Seery - Guest from Lady Vern's personal forces.

Other News -

Caravan on Renard's Path attacked!

-Frog people from the swamps to the east have ransacked a caravan headed to Longreach. The members were kidnapped and are being held hostage. One person has been released and told us that the others were safe, though held in inhumane conditions. We are working on a solution to the issue. In the meantime remain cautious when leaving the town proper and anyone traveling Renard's path is required to have an escort of no less than 4 armed guards.

Lord F. Arden, on behalf of Sir Calen

10/4 in the Year 874

More Gnolls Expedition Summary 9/28/874

   The Longreach Expeditionary Party made their way yet again to the Gnoll Stronghold, from here on dubbed "The Pentagon", to find it had been re-inhabited. They were joined for the first time by Lord Scorros Illitor's new retainer-a very green Cleric named Nimona-who proved the virtues of our gods over the heathen gnolls by fighting very well in combat and using her life magic to keep the party afloat. 

  After clearing out the keep, they moved on to the basement. Gnoll Hunters and Witherlings were waiting for them. The battle was fierce, but they of course proved victorious in the end. While the party was in desperate need of rest they knew they weren't finished cleansing the Pentagon. Resting in the main floor of the keep benefited them greatly; not only in that it rejuvenated their strength to carry on, but also in that they found a trail of Witherlings leading back to a small shack. Inside was a back staircase to the keep's basement. Once we were downstairs we heard chanting from the other side of a large door. We opened it to find some sort of ritual happening with a Gnoll Fang as the leader. Immediately the wretched beast was slain by magic and arrow, but the group was still out numbered three to one. Taking as many down as we could, they fell back to regroup. It is suspected that there is more black magic happening in the Pentagon, thus another expedition is necessary.

-From the report of Layla Redstone

Members of the 9/24/874 Expedition:

Lord Illitor, Scorros

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Galavant, Nimona
Redstone, Layla

Olivia

Lord F. Arden, on behalf of Sir Calen

9/25 in the Year 874

Tracking the Gnolls - Expedition Summary 9/24/874

From the field report of Lord Scorros Illitor:

After spotting a gnoll skulking around Haggard Keep, I gathered Lord Dieterich, Olivia and Griknak, and we set out in pursuit toward the northeast. This soon led us off the edge of the map, and we decided to remedy that with a little cartography. The thought was that we would likely discover the gnoll camp in the process.

We were only a few hours into mapping the new territory when we encountered a small party of gnolls, only about twice our number. We killed them all and set up camp for the night nearby.

Alas, we were doomed to endless interruptions. Vilgor spawn attacked in the night. We easily destroyed them, but it was a clear reminder that the blight is not entirely gone.

We were joined by Layla and found the gnoll fortress soon after. This was much more than the ramshackle camp I had expected. They had taken over a ruined fortress, and were using it as a base for necromancy and hyena breeding. At the crumbling walls, our party entered the most vicious battle I have ever partaken in. Even Lord Dieterich was barely on his feet at the end. Every one of us was soaked in the blood of our foes, our friends and ourselves. Dozens of hairy corpses and severed limbs littered the mud. There was no tactical brilliance on either side. We simply proved more savage.

We made a brief retreat into the woods to recover. In the morning, we renewed our assault, entering the fortress itself. There we fought undead dog-men, massive beasts, gnoll warriors, and the necromancer itself. This time, we fought with our heads, and Lord Dieterich's incredible bravery combined with ruthless spellcasting from myself, Layla and Olivia soon turned the horde into a mass of burnt, ruined bodies.

During the fight, we slew a gnoll as he stood upon an evil symbol carved into the floor. His blood filled the lines. Immediately after, a great door opened, exuding horror. I have no idea what lies behind the door... but I am sure it was the source of the necromancer's strength.

We must return.

Members of the 9/24/874 Expedition:

Lord Dieterich, Gunter
Lord Illitor, Scorros

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Olivia
Redstone, Layla

Griknak the Goblin

Other News: The map of the region has been updated!

The First Longreach Frontier Tournament - 9/16/874-9/21/874

The following is a recollection of the events in Longreach's first ever tournament as recorded by Olivia of the expeditionary group.

Teams: Team Calen, lead by our glorious commander, Team Vern, lead by Captain Byrd, Team Wyke, lead by the flowery Sir Wyke, and Team Tarin, lead by the brutal Dame Tarin.

Participants from the adventuring party: Olivia, Layla, Lord Dieterich, Scorros.

Events: Javelin, Wrestling, Spell Duel, Archery, Martial Duels, Joust, Obstacle race, Preformence, and the grand Melee. (there might be a mock battle for split river keep and some rematches in the future). Each of us could participate in up to 4 events.

The tournament was a 5 day event working off a point system. At the end of every day points were awarded to those who won a round in any of the events and the top three participants for the day were granted additional points: 3 points for the top in their category, 2 points for 2nd, and 1 point for 3rd.

From the beginning team Longreach took the lead and expanded it throughout the tournament. The final placements for each of our adventuring party is as follows:

Javelin: Scorros took first place with an incredible final round.

Wrestling: Both Olivia and Dieterich had extremely disappointing early exits.

Spell Duel: Olivia exploited her high hp and large sorcerer spell pool to utterly dominate all opposition. Layla had a respectable second place showing.

Archery: Scorros was utterly dominating the archery. He was 20-30 points up on his opposition for the vast majority of the event until the final round. He had a little too much to drink the night before in preemptive victory celebration and disgraced himself in the final round, not hitting the target even a single time.

In the martial duels both Scorros and Dieterich put up respectable showings, but were no match for Dame Tarin, Sir Wyke or Sir Calen. Sir Wyke, despite or maybe because of his feminine nature proved to be the most effective 1v1 duelist.

On the first day of the qualifying for the joust things did not look good for the adventurers. Lord Dieterich was given a horse he had no familiarity with and almost exited early. Quickly he and Olivia pooled together some money to buy a much better horse with which he managed to put forward quite a respectable showing overall, finishing 3rd. Sir Calen showed off his years of experience at the joust taking 1st place in the most prestigious of the events.

The obstacle race had varied results from all the participants throughout. Layla managed to make it to the second where she barely missed the cut off to continue. Olivia's preformence improved as the event went on and had a fantastic showing in the final, but it was not quite enough. Sergeant Dougherty, representing team Tarin, managed to run an incredible final race, stealing away first place.

In the performence Layla and Olivia regaled the audience with gripping stories every evening. Unfortunately Layla forgot herself when addressing the noble Lady Vern and her score was heavily punished for Layla's rude remarks. Olivia told 4 well crafted performences. The first was a brutal musical master piece about the slaughter at Haggard Keep. The second controversial story about the abhorrent excesses of the noble class seemed to resound with the common folk but passed over the heads of the simplistic nobility. The third the strange tale of a secret love affair between seemingly the most incompatible of gods. Her final story was of the tragic epic of Sir Vilhelm. Despite her well prepared stories she had poor execution and finished in second place.

In the melee Team Calen crushed the first round against the weak Team Vern and had a close struggle against Team Tarin, ending in first place.

The final results for the teams were Team Calen in first with 44 points. Team Tarin in 2nd place with 32 points. Team Wyke in 3rd with 29 points. And Team Vern deep in last with 13 points.

Sir Wyke was the most impressive individual overall at the event with 2 first place finishes, 1 2nd place and 1 3rd place.

Olivia brought in the most points for Longreach with 1 first place and 2 second place finishes. The other adventures results include Scorros, who had a first and 3rd place final, Layla, who ended with 1 second place finish, and Sir Dieterich who had a third place finish in the event he expected to peform worst in.

Dame Tarin, Sir Calen and Sargent Dougherty were other highlight performers each having multiple top three placements.

Scorros was confirmed as a lord at the end of the event, adopting the title Lord Illitor and Lord Dieterich progressed further on his path the knighthood. Other than being punished heavily in her performence score Layla avoided any other repercussions for her rudeness towards Lady Vern. Olivia has a friendly(?) rivalry going with Sir Wyke.

Members who took part in the games:

Lord Dieterich, Gunter
Lord Illitor, Scorros

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Olivia
Redstone, Layla 

The Gnoll Hunt Continued - Expedition Summary 9/15/874

While there were worries that the force sent out to hunt down the gnoll menace had been devoured by the foul creatures, but this anxiety has proven unfounded as they have returned with all members alive and well! The gnolls are not to be taken lightly however, the account given by Scorros Illitor, one of the most experienced members of the party describes the ferocity of the battles they had with them. 

"After spotting a gnoll skulking around Haggard Keep, I gathered Lord Dieterich, Olivia and Griknak, and we set out in pursuit toward the northeast. This soon led us off the edge of the map, and we decided to remedy that with a little cartography. The thought was that we would likely discover the gnoll camp in the process.

We were only a few hours into mapping the new territory when we encountered a small party of gnolls, only about twice our number. We killed them all and set up camp for the night nearby.

Alas, we were doomed to endless interruptions. Vilgor spawn attacked in the night. We easily destroyed them, but it was a clear reminder that the blight is not entirely gone.

We were joined by Layla and found the gnoll fortress soon after. This was much more than the ramshackle camp I had expected. They had taken over a ruined fortress, and were using it as a base for necromancy and hyena breeding. At the crumbling walls, our party entered the most vicious battle I have ever partaken in. Even Lord Dieterich was barely on his feet at the end. Every one of us was soaked in the blood of our foes, our friends and ourselves. Dozens of hairy corpses and severed limbs littered the mud. There was no tactical brilliance on either side. We simply proved more savage.

We made a brief retreat into the woods to recover. In the morning, we renewed our assault, entering the fortress itself. There we fought undead dog-men, massive beasts, gnoll warriors, and the necromancer itself. This time, we fought with our heads, and Lord Dieterich's incredible bravery combined with ruthless spellcasting from myself, Layla and Olivia soon turned the horde into a mass of burnt, ruined bodies.

During the fight, we slew a gnoll as he stood upon an evil symbol carved into the floor. His blood filled the lines. Immediately after, a great door opened, exuding horror. I have no idea what lies behind the door... but I am sure it was the source of the necromancer's strength.

We must return."

- Scorros Illitor - Longreach Expeditionary 9/15/874

Members of the 9/15 Expedition:

Lord Dieterich, Gunter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Illitor, Scorros
Olivia
Layla
Griknak the Goblin

Other news:

The games are set to begin tomorrow with qualification rounds! Come see who's made of what!

The Gnoll Hunt - Expedition Summary 9/15

"Well, there I was talking to Amrof up at Haggard Keep and I guess those guys spotted some kind of dog-human they're calling gnolls skulking around the woodline the other day. He said that elf Scarris running Haggard Keep took off for Longreach to grab those folks who go out into the woods for days at a time.

He came back with Lord Dieterich, a goblin, and that lady with the burned face who was wearing a really nice hat. The four of them went off trying to find where the gnolls had gone.

It's been a few days with no sign of them though, figure they're probably dog chow by now which is a shame. Something was bound to get them eventually livin' the way they do."

-Glenn the Lumberjack

Members of the 7/16 Expedition:

Lord Dieterich, Gunter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Illitor, Scorros
Olivia

Other news:

The infirmary has been completed, 

Doctor Anilise's Chemist and Surgeonry is now open for business and seeing patients!