The Chronicles of Kulgar Hakonson

SHEEBA ERINALA RETURN TO SCANT THE SEARCH FOR CIRCH (PART 1) THE SEARCH FOR CIRCH (PART 2) CHAPTER 5.1: OF SWORDS & MAPS (PART 1) THE WHYESTIL LAKE THE AUCTION THARRISON & CIRCH THE OGRE MAGE Kulgar Tharrison Circh

Sheeba [Sunday 10 April 1983] [p130-132]

24 Aug 03 (CY 578):  Very windy.  Sail onward.

25 Aug 03: Clear skies.  Kulgar locks the rudder as Harbinger continues northward.

26 Aug 03: Breezy with some clouds.  Sail onward.  A warship is spotted far off in the distance.  Kulgar discovers that Tharrison actually has a map of Eastern Oerik.  The barbarian [who has become somewhat infatuated with maps in general] spends most of the day studying Thar's map.

Later: The ocean currents tell Kulgar that an island is nearby.  A small bit of land is soon spotted in the distance.  Kul and Thar decide to rest for the night and investigate in the morning.  The anchor is lowered and they sleep.

27 Aug 03: Sail onward towards the isle.  The isle is about a mile long and a mile wide and Thar recognizes it as, Sheeba, the island of his training.  He intends to stop and leave his two confiscated tunician weapons (Morbon's gimja and a hooked pole-arm) here before continuing on.  As they approach the island, Thar warns Kul that the isle has a sorcerer upon it.  He suggests that the barbarian (who is somewhat superstitious and uncomfortable with magic) may want to wait on the boat as there is a fair amount of sorcery put to use upon the isle.  The nargison guard's secret base is protected from enemies by many traps, but Thar claims to know the safest route through.  They circle around and put ashore on the north side of the isle.

Kul, who refuses to wait on the boat, follows the half-elf into the jungle.  Thar leads them through the jungle (avoiding secretly marked pits) until they reach the rougher, more mountainous inland area.  At this point the half-elf meets two invisible nargison guards at the entrance to the base.  Kul is becoming increasingly uneasy and is beginning to think that he should have waited on the boat after all.  He and Thar are escorted inside and follow a long passage lit by occasional floating balls of light [continual light spells].  Kul likes none of this!  They finally enter a chamber where Thar meets Selewict, his teacher during his training.  They talk a bit and Selewict informs Thar that tunician warships are being sighted more frequently in the area, [perhaps indicating that the tunicians are expanding their range].  Thar leaves the tunician weapons in the armory and then he and Kul immediately depart, sailing northeast.

[Within the underground base of the isle of Sheeba was Selewict (the isle's commander), a magic user, a dwarf (to maintain the tunnels), a ranger (to track visitors and maintain and check the traps) and numerous nargison guards (one currently in training).]

28 Aug 03: Bad winds makes for slow sailing.  Continue on.

29 Aug 03: Great winds!  Fast sailing!

30 Aug 03: Strong winds again.  Sail northeast along coast of Hepmonaland.

31 Aug 03: Sail northeast through Tilva Straight.  Very foggy.

01 Sep 03: Rain.  Sail eastward.  Arrive at Sulward.  Kul and Thar bypass Sulward's port and instead dock at the Perith Estate's private port.  Inside, they find that Thar's father is home; his mother is in Silverwood and will be gone for a while.  Kul is shown to a room (Circh's old room during their previous visit) where he bathes and is given clean clothes.  He and Thar eat and then Kul sleeps (after telling the servants of some of his travels).  Thar talks privately with his father [Mr. Perith] for a while and tells him of his recent adventures.  He plans to have the cyclops' horn mounted and tells a servant to send it into town to be done.

Kul and Thar plan to leave Harbinger here at the house and grab a ride to Dullstrand on one of the Perith trading ships in six days.

Erinala [Wednesday 13 April 1983] [p132-133]

02 Sep 03:  Hard rain.  Kulgar and Tharrison consult Thar's map of Eastern Oerik and discuss their next direction of travel.  They also discover that another of the Perith ships is leaving for Scant in seven days, [allowing them to bypass Dullstrand altogether.]  From Scant they plan to continue on to Greyhawk in search of Circh.

They spend a good part of the day exercising and practicing with their weapons.

Later: Kul dons his cloak and travels into the town of Sulward.  He happens upon captain Nahr in a tavern and tells the old man of his most recent adventures and about the map [C].  Later, however, a spellcaster enters and entertains the crowd with some minor cantrips.  Kul tells Nahr that he'll see him later and leaves.

Meanwhile, Thar's father has guests for dinner.  Among the guests is a very pretty young lady named Erinala (the others being her father and his wife and her father).  They all dine and then dance, all the while making polite conversation.

Kulgar, meanwhile, has found another tavern.  After eating a meal, he notices a noble man enter.  The noble buys a bottle of very good wine and then leaves.  Kulgar, noticing the fancy coinage that this fellow is handing out, rises and follow him outside.  The man climbs into a carriage surrounded by guards and rides away.  Kul heads back to Thar's house.  He arrives as the others are dining and is told by the head servant that Mr. Perith has company.  Kul realizes that they are probably nobles and that he would probably not be well accepted, so he goes up to the third floor and bathes.  He then sits in bed thinking.  He doesn't want to sit around the house here for six more days with nothing to do.  He considers trying to hire himself out as a mercenary to the city guard.

Meanwhile: Tharrison and Erinala go for a walk in the garden.  She notices his whip and figures out that he must be a nargison guard.  Thar tells her of Posoe, Gashintain, and Kulgar the barbarian.  She finds the part about the sword known as the "rainbow spreader" difficult to swallow.

Return to Scant [Wednesday 08 June 1983] [p133-134]

03 Sep 03: Kulgar travels into the town of Sulward and volunteers for guard duty at the guard house.  During the day he actually breaks up an argument between and old pottery salesman and a customer.  Thar, meanwhile, spends the entire day working out.

04 Sep 03: Kulgar serves guard duty again, but it proves to be a boring day.

Tharrison, however, makes his day a fun [and silly] one.  He decides first to go swimming.  But as he climbs a tree to dive into the pond, the branch breaks off and he falls harmlessly into the water.  Next he runs back to the house and grabs a kitchen knife.  He then runs back to the pond and uses the knife to cut off part of the branch.  Then, holding the leafy branch piece in front of his face (as camouflage), he sneaks carefully back to the house again.  He then sneaks into the house through the game room and stalks through the mansion, hiding at every corner.  Once outside again, he draws the image of a man onto the throwing knife target and pegs it in the heart at twenty paces.  He then continues running around the estate causing mischief.

05 Sep 03: Kul and Thar both work out all day.

06 Sep 03: Erinala and her family leave.
Kul and Thar both work out all day.

07 Sep 03: Kul and Thar both work out all day.

08 Sep 03: Kul and Thar board the Perith merchant vessel bound for Scant.  Kul has left a lot of his extra equipment with Harbinger, [which is now in dry-dock storage on the Perith estate].  Though it is not necessary, Kul intends to work as a sailor on board the ship during the voyage.

09-10 Sep 03: Sail onward towards Scant.

11 Sep 03: Sail onward.  Arrive at Scant.  After helping to unload the cargo, Kulgar joins Tharrison and they go immediately to the library in search of Trosco.  They find the sage and Kul shows him the half-map [C], explaining how they came across it.  Trosco says that he can try to research it, but he will need a week.  "Another delay!"  thinks Kulgar, [who is eager to move onward and continue the search for Circh without delay].

That evening Kulgar is sitting in a tavern, when he is approached by a man calling himself Blackmask. Blackmask asks the barbarian to join he and his friend on a journey north to the coast of Onnwal, where they intend to rob a spellcaster of his precious treasures (including a magical wand).  Ugg!  [Something in Blackmask's manner irks the barbarian and he finds that he doesn't trust this stranger at all.]  Kul replies that he wants nothing to do with this ridiculous expedition and immediately leaves the tavern.  Blackmask follows, trying to persuade the barbarian that the journey will be rewarding and that the wizard is not powerful.  Kul's mind is made up though and he walks away with no further reply.

The Search for Circh (Part 1) [Wednesday 15 June 1983] [p135-137]

12 Sep 03: Kulgar and Tharrison visit Trosco again and explain that they intend to leave town and return sometime later for their map [C].  Kul mentions that if anyone comes looking for him, Trosco should tell them that he has gone first to Greyhawk and then northwestward.  The barbarian is thinking specifically of the roughian known only as "Uglio", who seemed quite determined to get Gashintain from him in Rol on 12 Jul 03 [p105].

Noon: Kul and Thar board a Perith ship bound for Greyhawk.  Later during the voyage, in the cargo hold, Kulgar notices a crate of wine that resembles those that the pirates drank from on the isle of Kidias [during "Escape from Kidias" [p111]].  He runs off to find Tharrison and brings the half-elf down to the hold.  Wondering if the other half of their newly acquired map [C] is inside, they bring the crate to the ship's captain.  But the captain explains that the entire crate has already been bought and cannot be opened.  He is actually upset that they were carrying it around and orders Kulgar to put it back.  Kul is quite upset that Thar could not do something to have the crate opened (he is after all Mr. Perith's son!)  The barbarian dutifully returns the crate to the hold and then immediately quits working for his passage (he hates the captain now, who he perceives to be a jerk).

13 Sep 03: Sail onward.  Kul and Thar rest.

14 Sep 03: Sail onward.  Arrive at Greyhawk.  Thar watches as the crate of wine is loaded onto a wagon with some other crates.  Kul sets off to look for Circh at the Silver Unicorn Inn, while Thar follows the wagon.  They both end up in the center of the city.  Thar watches as all of the crates are unloaded and taken into a winery.  Kul, meanwhile, enters the Silver Unicorn and pays 2 gp for a room.  He describes Circh to the innkeeper, asking if she is staying there, but the innkeep does not remember her.  Thar arrives and asks the innkeep to look up her name in the register.  He does find the name and reports that she left in late July.

Kul and Thar leave the inn and find an ostler willing to sell two light war-horses.  [They need more cash to complete the sale though, so] Kul leaves and goes to a nearby jeweler to exchange some gems.  He exits with two sacks filled with a total of 290 gp and begins making his way back to the stables.  As he passes an alleyway, however, he spots a young woman seemingly being abducted by three darkly clad figures.

"Damn!"  thinks the barbarian.  He then yells for Tharrison at the top of his lungs as he charges into the small alley.  The figures disappear through a door with the woman and, as Kul drops the two sacks to the ground, a short balding man runs to help him (drawing a short sword).  Kulgar kicks in the door, but sees only darkness.  He enters the building and manages to find another door across the room.  After smashing it in, he finds himself in a tavern.  The barkeep immediately runs over complaining and Kul asks him where they took the girl.  The barkeep claims that he doesn't know anything, but Kul finds a trap-door in the floor and rips it open.  At this point Thar finally arrives and Kul realizes that the balding stranger is gone along with the two sacks of gold!  Kul debates momentarily on whether to look for the girl or the gold and then suddenly leaps down through the hole in search of the kidnapped girl.  He finds that it is too dark to see and yells upward for someone to fetch him some light.  Thar, meanwhile, uses Asterlain to detect hidden people, but finds no-one.  He quickly grabs a candle and joins Kul in the passage below.  They find themselves in a tunnel leading in two directions.  One direction leads to a set of descending stairs.

Thar follows the stairs down, while Kul sets off to investigate the other direction of the tunnel.  The half-elf enters a room full of supplies, but finds no-one.

Meanwhile, Kul's path also ends, but he finds a ladder leading up.  He climbs up and attempts to force open what he thinks is a trap-door, but it holds tight.  He begins pounding on the ceiling, causing water to leak through.  Thar arrives just as Kul hacks through the ceiling with Gashintain, making a hole and letting through a gush of water that soaks both of them.  The barbarian sticks his head up through the hole and discovers that he has broken through the bottom of a horse trough in a stable.  He and Thar quickly return to the trap door and climb up.  At the top they meet three city guards (called by the barkeep).  Kul explains everything, including the part about his stolen gold and Thar speculates that the barbarian was probably set up.  Kul ends up paying the barkeep for the damage done to his doors and then also pays the ostler for his trough.

Once all of that is taken care of, Kul finally buys the two light war-horses [Kul names his horse Ventar] and he and Thar leave Greyhawk, traveling westward towards Dyvers.  They arrive at Dyvers that night and secure rooms at an inn.

The Search for Circh (Part 2) [Wednesday 22 June 1983] [p137-140]

15 Sep 03: Kul and Thar leave Dyvers (continuing their search for Circh) and travel north into the Kingdom of Furyondy.

16 Sep 03: Afternoon: Kul and Thar arrive at Littleberg.  Kul finds a bunch of his old room-mates in a tavern and decides to hang around and have a drink with them.  Thar sits in the corner waiting silently as Kul tells his old buddies of his journeys west and south, and of his obtaining a diamond-bladed sword called Gashintain.  They don't believe him, of course.  Afterwards, as he leaves, Kul tells them to direct anyone searching for Gashintain northward to Chendl.  Then, to top it off, the cocky barbarian flashes them a glance at Gashintain on his way out of the door.

As Kul and Thar ride through the small town, a man armed with a knife leaps from a low roof and knocks the barbarian from Ventar's back.  Swiftly, he presses the knife to the surprised barbarian's throat and demands that Kul give up Gashintain.  Thar suddenly strikes the man with Asterlain, but the stranger manages to keep the knife at Kul's throat.  The stranger then begins to pull the diamond-bladed sword from its scabbard on Kul's belt.  Thar leaps at him, but is struck swiftly by the man's knife.  The thief then quickly rolls away while smoothly unsheathing Gashintain!  He holds the sword menacingly as a warning to them and then turns to flee.  Kulgar leaps to his feet and bolts after the thief with knife in hand.  The man swings Gashintain at the pursuing barbarian, but Kul manages to avoid being struck.  Thar, who is also in pursuit, spins Asterlain and disarms the thief, sending Gashintain arcing away.  Kul slashes the stranger with the knife and then slugs him, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

Thar runs back to fetch the horses while Kul retrieves Gashintain.  They mount up (with the unconscious thief on Kul's horse) and quickly ride away as the town's mounted guardsmen arrive on the scene.  The guards, however, spot Kul and Thar fleeing and give chase, striking Kul in the right shoulder with a quarrel.  Kul and Thar succeed in evading the guardsmen and ride out of town.  They keep riding, leaving Littleberg far behind before finally stopping.  Kul questions the thief with Gashintain at his throat.  [The barbarian wonders if there is a possible connection between this man and "Uglio".]  The tight-lipped thief refuses to answer though, and instead manages to kick Kul away with his feet and then tries to run off.  Swiftly (but painfully, due to the fresh wound in his shoulder) Kul swings Gashintain, cutting a deep gash in the man's torso and killing him.  Afterwards, Kul puts his arm in a sling, and decides to seek out a cleric in Chendl.  He and Thar continue on for a while before finally stopping to sleep.

17 Sep 03: Travel northward.

18 Sep 03: Kul and Thar travel and arrive at Chendl in the afternoon.  They rest at an inn that night.

19 Sep 03: Kul and Thar leave through the north gate.  [Kul has apparently decided against visiting a cleric.  Perhaps his shoulder wound has sufficiently healed enough due to his high barbarian healing rate.]

Once outside the city, Kul begins asking farmers if they know Circh's family.  But Kul and Thar don't have much information to go on.  They don't know her family's name or even what they farmed.  All Kul knows is that Circh became a thief and left her family, for they did not approve of her thieving lifestyle.  Only her (older?) brother was not ashamed of her, although he also did not think too highly of thieving, if only because of its dangerous side.  Maybe she had a sister or two also, Kul was not quite sure.

The two friends soon turn back towards the city.  At the gate, Kul asks a guard if he knows of a city guardsman named Tharb (last seen on 19-24 Jun 01 [p2]).  The guard points up on the wall and, on a yell from Kulgar, Tharb comes running down to greet him.  Tharb urgently tells Kul that there is a price on his head (more than 2,000 gp!) and that he should leave the area quickly.  When asked about Circh the guard reports that he has not seen her anywhere about.  Kul thanks him and then relays all of this new information to Tharrison.

If there is price on Kul's head (probably set by Sir Farchard, last seen on 13 Jun 01 [p2]) then Circh may also be in trouble... In fact she may already have been captured!  Kul and Thar ride north to Crockport to search that town also.

They arrive in Crockport late in the afternoon.  Thar goes to the city prison, while Kul waits in a tavern [trying to stay out of sight of any authorities that would recognize him].  Thar tells the guards that he is looking for his drunken father, who may have caused some trouble the night before.  The guards let him enter and he looks into each cell.  He does not find Circh though, so he explains to the guards that his father is not there and leaves.

Thar returns to the tavern and reports his findings to Kul.  Kul is becoming very worried now.  He remembers the dungeon that he and Circh were being sent to after being captured in this town over three years ago on 13 Jun 01.  The dungeon is reputedly a very large and inescapable place.  Luckily, they were rescued by Loki and Tharb before their incarceration.  But what if Circh were there now?  They would have to break her out!  Thar suggests to Kul that they could use Tharb's help.  Tharb could go in as a city guard and find out if Circh was a prisoner.

That evening, a group of men enter the tavern and sit down at a table to enjoy some drinks.  One of them repeatedly boasts of recently slaying a not-so-tough barbarian named "Kulgar", prompting the others to ask what he will do with the 4,000 gp reward.  Thar joins them and manages to learn the whole story.  "Kulgar" apparently entered a tavern boasting and the man cut him down.  The real Kulgar, sitting nearby, is silently fuming and wants to walk over and teach this bum a lesson or two.  He reminds himself to keep a low profile, though, and does not start a fight.  The rest of the evening passes without incident.

20 Sep 03: Kul and Thar ride south, back to Chendl, arriving at noon.  They find Tharb, but before the guard will commit to any plan, he suggests that they return to Crockport and find out if the bounty on Circh has been paid or not.  Damn!  What a grand idea!  The half-elf and barbarian then turn about and ride straight back to Crockport again.

Evening: Tharrison finds out from the city guards that Circh has not been captured yet.  He then rejoins Kul in the tavern.  Where could she be, they wonder.  They visit a temple of Athena and pay a cleric to cast a spell to find her.  The spell fails and Kul feels cheated.  They then visit an elven temple and have the same spell cast again.  But again the spell fails.  The clerics apparently do not have enough information about her.  Discouraged, Kul and Thar return to the tavern to ponder the situation for a while.  Kul soon retires to his room early.

Later: Thar sits at a table watching as a familiar looking cloaked figure enters the inn and orders a drink.  It is Circh.  Thar sits down next to her and when she realizes who it is she exclaims in surprise, "Where have you been!?"

Astonished, he replies, "Me?"  What about you!?"

She then explains that after her visit to Sonda (back on 11 Jul 03), she returned to Rol on foot and found that everyone had gone.  No Kulgar.  No Tharrison.  No Nahr and no Quartz.  She figured that everyone had left without her.  [In fact it was while she was off at Sonda on her own that Kulgar and Tharrison had gone off in search of pirate's treasure on the isle of Kidias.  At the time, they were expecting that Captain Nahr would pick Circh up again.]  Tharrison informs her that there is a price upon her head and brings her to his room.  They talk about everything.  He tells her about Kulgar flaunting Gashintain in every town.  She replies that she won't travel with him if he keeps that up and then adds that Thar shouldn't either.

The Whyestil Lake [Thursday 14 August 1983] [p140-143]

21 Sep 03: Kul enters the common room and eats breakfast.  Tharrison informs him that Circh is staying in the inn.  Kul is dumbfounded!  He knocks on her door, asking to talk to her and she lets him in.  [She seems somewhat cold towards him] as he asks if she'll be rejoining them.  She explains that she will not travel with him if he continues to act like a fool.  Kul [is genuinely happy to see her and, hoping to ease the tension a bit,] admits to his foolishness and further states that he plans to rid himself of Gashintain for good!  She tells him to sell it if he really doesn't want it anymore.  Kul says he'll think about it, but privately, he plans to lose the sword (which he's beginning to feel is cursed) in the Whyestil Lake during their journey eastward to Grabford.  [Kul and Thar, after consulting Thar's map of Eastern Oerik, have discussed traveling eastward to Grabford and trying to catch a ship downriver to Greyhawk (and ultimately further to Scant).]  Circh seems friendly enough now, and even joins him for another breakfast (Kul's second of the day!).

Before leaving, Kul tells the innkeeper his name and that he has Gashintain.  He also states that he is going north (while he is really going east) and he wants anyone following to know.  His intention is to mislead anyone following him into going in the wrong direction.  The party then mounts up and leaves the inn.  Kul stops at a weaponcrafter and pays the man double price to fashion a good club, quickly.  The barbarian gets his club and the party leaves, riding towards the east gate.

Suddenly, Kul is struck in the back by an arrow.  The party turns to see two men (one armed with a bow) down the road.  Kul spurs Ventar into a charge and his struck by another arrow as he closes in and clubs the archer.  He then quickly dismounts to face his enemy.

As Kul struggles with the archer (holding his own, but not gaining an advantage) the other man begins yelling, "It's Kulgar!  Here he is!"  Kul swiftly shuts him up with his club, though.  Thar joins in the battle.  The archer draws a shortsword, but the tide of the battle has already turned against him.  He does manage to last long enough to attract a crowd of people with his cries of "Help!  It's Kulgar!  Help!"  The crowd surges forward toward the barbarian and half-elf.  Kul and Thar leap upon their horses and Circh joins them as they flee out through the east gate, leaving the angry mob far behind.

22 Sep 03: The party rides all day upon the road.  That night Kul leaves the campsite on foot, running northward to the nearby Whyestil Lake.  [It is clear to him now that Gashintain must be cursed and] he is determined to rid himself of the diamond-bladed sword once and for all.  He brings only his cloak, a knife and the sword, leaving behind his club, provisions and all the rest of his equipment.

After the barbarian has been gone a while [a couple of hours], Circh finally asks Thar, "Why is he going to the lake?"

"To dispose of the sword, I would guess," is the half-elf's answer.

Circh cannot believe it.  Kul would throw the sword in the lake instead of selling it!?  Quickly she mounts up onto the barbarian's horse and rides northward towards the lake.

Meanwhile, Kulgar has reached the shore of the Whyestil Lake.  He strips off his cloak, shirt and boots and swims far out [about a mile] into the lake.  Then, casually, he lets Gashintain, the diamond-bladed sword of the pirate-king, Brodargg, sink down into the waters.  He is quite certain that no-one will ever be able to find or recover the cursed weapon again.

As he swims back to shore, he can hear Circh calling for him  He wades ashore and dresses, calling her over to him.  Circh approaches. She knows what he has done with the sword, but still cannot believe it.  As Kul walks away, he hears a strange scraping sound from behind.  He circles around to spy on Circh and finds that she is carving a marking into a tree, obviously to mark the location where Gashintain was disposed of.  "Foolish woman!" thinks the barbarian.  [He knows that the lake is too deep for anyone to be able to swim down and retrieve the sword.  It is gone... Gone for good.  And good riddance!]

Circh finds Kul again and they begin to look together for Ventar.  The horse is gone, though, and Kul discovers that it was purposely cut from its tied position and apparently led away by someone.

He tracks the animal, finding many small, but unfamiliar, footprints around Ventar's prints.  They soon find the light war-horse standing alone in a small clearing.  They approach warily, but fail to see the trap!  Suddenly, both Kul and Circh are hoisted up into the air, tangled in a thick, but crude net.  Kul is taken aback, as small dog-faced, biped creatures with tails and small horns come running out from the surrounding forest on all sides.  The demon-dogs [kobolds] prod Kul and Circh with short spears.

Next, they are lowered and dragged across the ground.  Kul begins to secretly cut at the net with his knife, but one kobold spots this and forces the barbarian to give it up by prodding him with a spear.

Soon, they reach their destination, somewhere within the forest.  The kobolds uncover a hole in the ground and Kul and Circh are dropped in.  Kulgar rolls and lands first to absorb most of the impact for Circh.  The kobolds soon enter the hole and drag the still tangled duo through a maze of tunnels to a large rock.  They move the rock aside and shove the two captives into a small dung-covered chamber.  The entrance is then quickly blocked again.  Kul and Circh cut their way out of the net and Circh lends Kul her shortsword (though he's never used one before).  They easily move the rock aside.  Two very surprised kobold guards lunge forward from either side of the hole with their spears...their aim leaves much to be desired however, as they completely miss the barbarian and instead spear each other... to death!  Circh manages to find the correct tunnel leading out and Kul kills eight guards as he and Circh escape from the kobold lair.  They mount up onto Kul's horse and ride back to the campsite.

Meanwhile, Tharrison, having waited quite a while for their return from the lake, begins to worry that something may be wrong.  He breaks down the campsite, gathering up all of their equipment, and rides north upon his light war-horse in search of his two companions.  After a while [a couple of hours] he sees them approaching.  They set up a new campsite and rest.  Kulgar tends to a nasty spearwound on Circh's back before they settle in to sleep.

23 Sep 03: The party travels east towards Grabford (where they plan to attempt to find a ship or ferry willing to carry them downriver to Greyhawk and perhaps further on to Scant).

24 Sep 03: Mid-morning: The party arrives at Grabford.  Circh first visits a leech to have her backwound treated.  She complains the whole time.  She then waits in a tavern, while Thar checks the wharf for a departing ship.  Kul meanwhile, purchases a spear and a new cloak with a broach.  He also looks for a quality horned helm, but cannot find a good one.  Thar discovers that a boat is leaving on the following morning.  They can even take their horses along, as this boat will be carrying passengers and horses.

25 Sep 03: The party rises early and boards the ship, paying fees for themselves and their cargo (the horses).  Tharrison announces that after their stop at Scant he wants to ride east to a town called Pitchfield (in the County of Sunndi) to take care of some unfinished business from about two years ago (before he met Kulgar and Circh).

The Auction [Monday 25 August 1983] [p143-145]

26-27 Sep 03: The ship carries the party south along the Veng River.

28 Sep 03: Arrive at Greyhawk.  Kulgar and Tharrison want to look for a departing ship immediately, hoping to leave on the same day, but Circh wants to stay in the city for a couple of days.  Kul says he hates Greyhawk [(with good reason after being robbed of 290 gp during his last visit (on 14 Sep 03)!)] and makes it clear that he wants to leave as soon as possible.  Circh says good-bye and begins walking away down the busy street.

Kul checks out two ships, but neither is leaving right away, so he and Thar apparently have no choice and reluctantly follow Circh down the street.  They leave their war-horses in a nearby stable and then catch up to Circh in a market.

They find that an auction is taking place and one item to be auctioned is a case of Five Star wine.  The exact same type as the bottle that Barthron gave to them which contained the half-map [C] [p124+129].  As the case of wine goes up for bid, a group of five well-dressed men push forward through the crowd and start the bidding at 300 gp.

Kul thinks that they look suspiciously familiar.  The barbarian remembers Barthron mentioning that three well-dressed men bought his last two bottles of Five Star wine (on 22 Aug 03 [p129]).  Kul suddenly bids 500 gp and Thar almost falls over!  Everyone present is surprised, but the five men bid higher.  Kul raises his bid and so the bidding continues until at about 850 gp the men ask to hold the bidding for a bit.  Kul is very annoyed by this!  Do they need to get more money!?  Two of the men leave and everyone waits in suspense for a while.  Then a coach is drawn in and one man talks with someone inside.

Afterwards, the bidding continues as the well-dressed men raise their bid to 900 gp!  But, Kul refuses to be outbid on this day and tops that with 1,000 gp!  The bidding finally ends there as the well-dressed men finally back down.  However the mysterious merchant lord [Lord Drycburh] inside the carriage wants to make a deal.  Kul talks to him and discovers that he is supposedly a collector of rare wines and claims that he has none of that type (Five Star).

The large man asks if Kul would be willing to trade a couple of bottles of his Five Star brand for another type?  Kul agrees.  The man with the well-trimmed mustache and beard and wide brimmed hat [Lagrin] will contact Kul tomorrow at the Silver Unicorn to make arrangements.

The party proceeds onward, [with their case of wine,] to the Silver Unicorn.  Kul immediately takes the wine to his private room and investigates the bottles.  One is only half full with bits of cork floating in it.  It tastes bad and the barbarian puts it aside.  He inspects the other bottles without opening them, checking to see if there is paper (the other half of the map [C]) inside any of them.  They all appear to have liquid inside them, though.

Kul joins Thar and Circh in the tavern and eats.  Later, after Circh has retired to her room, Kul spots a very comely woman entering the inn.  He watches as she orders some wine and then he strolls over and buys it for her.  She appears to take an immediate liking to him and offers him a seat.  He learns that her name is Rahneen and she soon gets very friendly with him.  She states plainly that she wants to spend the night with him and they soon retire to Kul's room to drink some of his newly acquired wine.  The wine is soon put aside for more interesting activities (and Kul discovers that she is very good too!).

29 Sep 03: Kul washes and then wakes Rahneen.  She's still hot for him that morning... What a woman!

Later: Kul [and Rahneen] descend to the common room where Kul meets Lagrin.  Lagrin states that his master has found that he already has some wine of that type (Five Star) and that the trade will not be necessary.  He goes further to apologize for any inconvenience they may have caused and then exits.  Kul is really suspicious now.  If the merchant lord really collects rare wine why doesn't he know that he already has this Five Star brand?  [Kul surmises that he could be searching for one or the other half of the map [C].  Hmmm... he may even already own the right half and may be searching for the left half (which Kul has).  But, how would Lagrin know that Kul's case of wine didn't contain the map without even having the opportunity to examine any of the bottles?  Hmmm... How would he know?]

Just then, Rahneen asks who the stranger was and what it was all about.  Kul explains, but he purposely leaves out any mention of the half-map [C].  Now, he's becoming suspicious of her too (what a pity!).  Rahneen then says she must run a few errands and that she'll see him that night.  After she exits the inn, Kul quickly explains everything to Thar and then follows her out.  He's beginning to think that she may be in cahoots with the mysterious merchant lord and wants to find out if she is about to report back to him or Lagrin.  Circh whistles to Kul as he leaves, commenting on what a beauty he's found.

Kul follows Rahneen to a tailor's shop where she apparently buys some new clothes.  She then returns to the Silver Unicorn.  Kul waits across the street wondering if she's up to something or not.  At this point he's almost certain that she's not on the level.

Tharrison & Circh [Tuesday 09 September 1983] [p145-146]

29 Sep 03 cont: While Kulgar is out, Tharrison has Circh pick the lock to the barbarian's room.  After gaining entry, the half-elf takes the case of Five Star wine to his own room for safe keeping.  However, once in Thar's room, Circh insists on trying some.  They spend some time drinking.  Circh drinks half of a bottle and gets drunk.  Thar, being a half-elf, only gets a little happy.

    Meanwhile: Kulgar decides to enter the Silver Unicorn.  He buys an ale and watches the door, but doesn't see Rahneen come or go.  After finishing the ale, he finally returns to his room.  He finds that the door is unlocked and the case of wine is gone!   Rahneen is not here either and Kulgar suspects the worst.  The barbarian bursts into Thar's room to tell him the news and discovers the truth.  Circh is quite drunk and makes a number of stupid remarks [probably at Kulgar's expense].  Thar suggests that Kul should find a ship leaving soon.

    Kul, [somewhat steamed that he has to go do the legwork while Thar and Circh sit around getting drunk] leaves the inn and searches the wharves for a ship to Scant.  Instead, though, he finds the Dragon's Clutch!  The Clutch is not planning to stop at Scant, however, but is sailing far to the south and west, past the savage lands of the Amedio Jungle, after leaving their smuggled cargo of cattle here in Greyhawk.  Kul joins a bunch of the sailors in a tavern and trades tales with them.  Then at sundown, he says farewell and returns to the inn again.

    Meanwhile, back in Tharrison's room at the Silver Unicorn, Circh is through drinking, explaining that she's had enough and that she intends to go outside for some fresh air.  Thar warns her about the danger of walking the streets of Greyhawk after dark, but she unsheathes her dagger (for protection) and heads for the door.  Thar is still quick though, despite the wine he has consumed, and easily pulls her back into the room.  He quickly locks the door.  A drunken Circh falls against him, murmuring about how hot it is in the room.  Her hand soon finds its way into his pants and they fall on the bed together to make love.  She quickly passes out afterwards.

    Kul, meanwhile, returns to his room, but still finds no sign of Rahneen.  He re-enters the common room, eats a meal and waits for her to arrive.  She never does, though.  Eventually, he returns to his room and retires for the night.  He is somewhat upset at these events and broods.  Not only does Circh (whom he's known for over two years now) not like him anymore, but Rahneen has apparently left him also.  [Who was Rahneen and what was she up to, anyway?  And was she sent to spy on the barbarian by the mysterious merchant lord [Lord Drycburh?]]

30 Sep 03: Morning: Kulgar [is up and out early and,] after much looking, finds a ship departing for Scant in only two days.  Upon mention of Captain Nahr's name the first mate is prompted to let Kulgar work for his passage, but when he learns that a woman (Circh) is traveling with them, he refuses to let her come along, explaining that women are bad-luck on ships.  [Curiously, Kulgar has not encountered this attitude with any of the other sailors he has met, including the crew of the Dragon's Clutch or old Captain Nahr himself.]  Kul finally convinces the man to talk it over with his captain.  After all, he explains, Circh also sailed with old Captain Nahr.  The sailor tells the barbarian to return at mid-day.

Kul leaves and buys a very well-crafted ([+1] non-magical) broadsword [Falbrand; p146] for 140 gp.

Meanwhile: Thar and Circh awaken.  She can't quite remember the previous evening, but says it was really good.  Tharrison blushes a bit.  She kisses him and says she had wanted to do that for a long time.  Thar claims the same thing.  She's not drunk anymore, and seems quite sincere.

The Ogre Mage [Monday 22 September 1983] [p146-148]

30 Sep 03 cont: Kulgar returns to the Scant bound ship, stopping at the stables on the way to pay for their horses' upkeep.
    Once on the ship, the first mate informs him that the captain has agreed to take Kul and his party to Scant.  Kul remains aboard the ship all day working.  At sundown he returns to the Silver Unicorn.  He begins looking for Circh, but doesn't know which room is hers.  The innkeeper is being difficult and Kul almost hits him.  Suddenly, though, Circh comes running in!
    In the privacy of Tharrison's room, she tells them that a man is in town looking for Kulgar!  This man apparently intends to collect the reward offered for the barbarian in Chendl and Crockport.  Circh looks at Kulgar and accuses him of flaunting his name and the sword again!  Fury builds up in Kulgar.  He wants to hit her, but instead accuses her of robbing everyone in sight.
    "I was not!" she screams defensively.
    Thar sits quietly as the arguing gradually dies down and Circh suggests that they leave town as soon as possible.  Kul explains that he has already secured passage for them aboard a ship leaving the next morning.
    "Good thinking!" exclaims Circh.
    Kul cannot believe his ears!  [He is quite surprised at the compliment, since just moments before she was being so critical of him.  He senses that something has changed between Circh and Tharrison and resents it.]  He remembers the only kiss Circh ever gave him, along with the heartfelt thanks for saving her from the tarae over a year ago on 04 May 02.  Then, feeling somewhat uncomfortable in their presence,] he suggests that everyone be up bright and early in the morning so as not to miss the ship and makes a hasty exit.

01 Oct 03: Morning: Kul, Thar and Circh fetch their horses from the stable and make their way to the wharves where they board the ship.  Tharrison and Circh pay in advance for their passage, while Kul gets to work.  As the ship sails away, Circh spots a man standing on the docks (apparently looking for Kulgar).  [His face reveals that] he knows he has lost the barbarian... for now.  She calls to Kulgar, who is working on the deck, and the barbarian strains his eyes trying to catch some detail of the man's face.

02 Oct 03:  The ship sails onward towards Scant.  Kul watches Circh as he goes about his work on deck.  He has suspected for a while that she might be falling for Thar, especially now that she seems to have drawn away from him.  He notices that she does seem to spend most of the day on deck, blabbing away to the half-elf and he is very jealous, of course.

03 Oct 03: Kul continues to watch Circh as he works.

04 Oct 03: Early Morning: The ship arrives at Scant where the party debarks and walks to Trosco's house.  They learn that after much research the old sage has determined that the half-map [C] depicts an area to the south of Eastern Oerik (maybe Hepmonaland).  He has also found invisible writing (in lemon juice) along the torn right edge of the map.  Only part of the message is there, though, as the rest is on the other half.   He's never seen and doesn't know where the other half of the map is, though.
 

Secret writing on the half-map [C]: writing on top right  edge of map: "Ye temple...  thy soul now...  my ship-mates...  by dead..." writing on bottom right  edge of map: "One twenty...  and north...  use caution...  or ye life..."

    Thar asks Trosco if he can collect the remainder of his debt, but Trosco claims that he hasn't nearly enough to cover it.  The party leaves Trosco's house and rides out of the city westward.

A couple of hours later, as they continue on, Thar suddenly sees the grass off the road parting in their direction... Very quickly!  [As it moves swiftly towards them, Thar uses Asterlain to search for something invisible and sees a huge humanoid creature [ogre mage] with a horn set in its forehead charging forward with a two-handed sword in one hand!]
    Thar is prepared to start a gallop and flee, but Kul turns Ventar towards the attacker and readies his new sword, Falbrand.  The ogre mage swiftly moves onto the road and without the benefit of the parting grass Kul becomes unsure of its position.  Suddenly, it appears on the barbarian's right swinging its huge sword!  Kul is struck, but manages to remain mounted.  He charges forward and strikes the monster, but then is suddenly engulfed in total darkness.  It is a strange magical darkness very reminiscent of the magical ability of the demon-like tarae in the far-off lands of Baklune.
    Thar tries Asterlain against the creature, but fails to damage it.  A thrown dagger by the skilled hand of Circh strikes its mark, though.  Kul, still surrounded by darkness, quickly dismounts Ventar and slowly makes his way towards the sounds of the battle.  As he does so the darkness begins to fade.  He soon sees the ogre mage before him and rejoins the fight.  However, the ogre takes to flight before any serious injuries are inflicted.  Kul runs over to his horse to grab his spear.  He lets fly the spear, which strikes its target and then falls into the grass below.  The ogre flies low over Thar, but they both fail to inflict wounds on each other.  However, Thar soon finds himself surrounded by the darkness.  He tries to escape it by dropping several items (thinking that the spell may have been cast on an item that he is carrying), but it doesn't appear to work.
    Kul, meanwhile, retrieves his spear and attacks again.  The ogre mage displays more sorcerous power than Kul has ever witnessed before.  This is clearly evident as the creature emits a blast of white frost aimed at the barbarian.  Taken off guard, Kul is struck full-force, freezing him beyond belief.  Dazed and hurt, he resumes the battle taking even more wounds!  Finally, Kul sends the ogre mage sprawling defeated to the dirt!  Determined to make sure the battle is indeed through, the barbarian spends much time cutting off the ogre's head.  Kul is injured badly, while Thar and Circh are both surrounded by spheres of darkness.

SHEEBA ERINALA RETURN TO SCANT THE SEARCH FOR CIRCH (PART 1) THE SEARCH FOR CIRCH (PART 2)

THE WHYESTIL LAKE THE AUCTION THARRISON & CIRCH THE OGRE MAGE