The Chronicles of Kulgar Hakonson

THARRISON THE DISAPPEARANCE OF PLOTOR THE DRAGON'S CLUTCH THE BUTCHER THE LAST CHANCE THE VOYAGE TO SCANT THE SEARCH BEGINS THARRISON'S HOME CHAPTER 3: POSOE CAPTAIN NAHR THE DUXCHAN INCIDENT LOST AT SEA REUNION THE TUNICIANS OF ROL RECOVERY POSOE Kulgar Circh Quartz Tharrison

Tharrison [p52-65]

24 Aug 02 (CY 577): Kulgar, Quartz and Circh say farewell to Queen Daleena, Loki, Grindlin and Hargril. There is much fanfare as they leave Narcharhard as heroes. Travel southeast.

25 Aug 02: Travel. Pass wild horses.

26 Aug 02: Pleasant weather. Travel.

27 Aug 02: Pass more wild horses.

28 Aug 02: Cool and windy at dawn. Travel. A giant eagle is spotted flying high overhead.

29 Aug 02: Warm and cloudy. Travel.

30-31 Aug 02: Travel.

01 Sep 02: Overcast, humid and muggy. Travel.

02 Sep 02: Travel.  Scare away a bunch of jackals.

03 Sep 02: Wake up and eat breakfast. The campsite is suddenly invaded by two trolls. One attempts to catch a horse, while the other chases Quartz. Kulgar intercepts the first troll, while Quartz and Circh fight the other. Circh is soon seriously injured and Quartz is in trouble. Kul leaps at the second troll to distract it. He misses, but does manage to divert its attention by swinging at it. Quartz rolls away and both trolls attack Kul. Kul runs and leads both trolls on a wild goose-chase away from Quartz and Circh. Quartz drags the unconscious Circh over to the horses. He manages to get himself and Circh onto one horse and then strikes the other horse to start it running. Kul spots an opportunity for escape and makes a running leap onto the moving horse! The party escapes the trolls!

04-07 Sep 02: Travel

08 Sep 02: Travel. The party arrives at a hamlet. A town shaman heals the still unconscious Circh for 50 gp.

09 Sep 02: Circh is healed again and she finally awakens.

10-17 Sep 02: The party spends several days in the town recovering from the previous troll battle.

18-22 Sep 02: Leave town and travel (rain on the 21st and 22nd).

23 Sep 02: The rain stops. The party reaches the familiar spot where the buccaneers had buried their treasure back on 03 Dec 01. Nothing is found. (This marks the halfway point of the journey eastward).

24-30 Sep 02: Travel.

01 Oct 02: The party encounters four wemics. The wemics recognize Pureblood's name.

02 Oct 02: Kul, Quartz and Circh follow the wemics towards their camp.

03 Oct 02: Arrive at camp and meet Pureblood.

04-05 Oct 02: Rest in camp.

06 Oct 02: The party leaves the camp with Pureblood and two other wemics accompanying them as guides. It is a twelve day journey to the next village.

07-19 Oct 02: Travel. The party passes a group of about twenty travelers on the 19th.

20 Oct 02: Arrive at the village where Loki fought the large, bald villager and started the riot a year earlier on 14 Oct 01. Pureblood and the wemics part company with the party and head south. Kul wishes to avoid being recognized in the village, so the party sets up camp outside of the settlement.

21-23 Oct 02: Travel.

24 Oct 02: Encounter twelve orcs (six on horses). An easy victory. Three escape. Arrive at Ulakand. Overcast with light winds, but no rain.

Enter an inn. While Quartz and Kulgar sit drinking, a half-elf [wearing [+1] chainmail] gets into a fight with a human over  the half-elf's seat. The half-elf pulls out a strange weapon [a nargison whip -- Asterlain] and defeats the man in a very brief fight. Kul and Quartz are quite impressed, and introduce themselves. The half-elf is Tharrison [1st level nargison guard]. They all eat together and then agree to travel together.

Night: Quartz goes out to practice his profession. He picks on the wrong person though and receives three darts in his back. He escapes and runs back to Kulgar's room at the inn. Kul removes the darts and bandages the wounds.

25 Oct 02: Kul & Thar are sitting in the tavern eating when Circh enters holding her neck, blood dripping from her hand. She tells them that she was robbed by seven men in another tavern. Kul & Thar follow her back to the scene where Kul swings open the door forcefully and the fight begins! One of the rogues escapes through a window as the others are all killed. Kul is injured; he fought without his armor or shield. Circh's money is not found among the dead thieves and Kul fails to find any tracks that the escaped man may have left outside.

26 Oct 02: Rain. Stay in town.

27 Oct 02: Foggy. The party leaves town, heading northward.

28-31 Oct 02: Travel.

01-02 Nov 02: Travel.

03 Nov 02: [about 44 degrees] Arrive at Ceshra. Pay 2 sp to enter the town. Rent rooms at an inn. Quartz joins a group gambling, but loses 67 sp.

Later, Circh gets a little drunk, while Kulgar gets plastered! That night, Circh has to show Kul where his room is.

After Midnight: Quartz attempts to sneak downstairs (to steal back his lost money, which was given to the bartender as credit). He accidentally tips over a glass which shatters! He runs swiftly back to his room and hides.

04 Nov 02: First snow of the season. Everyone is up that morning except for Kulgar. Circh and Quartz go walking through the town and see an expensive house. They sneak in through a window and steal two candleholders and some crystal eating utensils. They quickly sneak back out onto the road and return to the inn. Circh attempts to appraise the items. The ten crystals are worth 10 gp each and the candleholders are worth 40 gp each! They check on Kulgar, but find that he is still unconscious.

Later: Kul finally wakes up, very hung-over. He comes downstairs where Quartz begins yelling in his ear. He eats and tries to pour orange juice on Quartz's head. After eating, he returns to his room and goes back to sleep.

Evening: Kul's head feels better now. After eating again, he retires early without drinking anything.

05 Nov 02: [32 degrees] Heavy snowfall. About a foot of snow covers the ground as the party leaves town through the north gate. They travel towards Sefmur. Cross small wooden bridge [over Tuflik River]. Arrive at Sefmur.

06 Nov 02: [31 degrees] Still snowing. Head north-east towards mountains (a five day journey across plains). Circh and Quartz wear snowshoes for the trek. Kul gets Quartz back for pushing him into the snow.

Night: There is no shelter in the open snow-covered plain. The party digs a clearing in the snow for their campsite.

07 Nov 02: [30 degrees] The snow stops, yet it remains cloudy. No more snow for a while. The party continues onward.

Night: While digging their clearing, Quartz and Kulgar have a snowball fight. Circh is struck a couple of times by Quartz. Kul is struck in the forehead. He discovers that Quartz hid a sling-bullet in the snowball! Ouch! Kul charges but Quartz manages to evade him and then pushes the barbarian into the snow. The fun ends and the party continues digging. Kul discovers later that he lost the amulet of the tarae King while wrestling around in the snow.

08 Nov 02: [31 degrees] Kul's forehead is still sore. The party continues onward passing a herd of rams. They dig a campsite in the evening.

09 Nov 02: [37 degrees] Overcast with a faint breeze. Continue on. Dig a campsite at night. Kul attempts to bury Quartz in the snow that night, but he misses.

10 Nov 02: [34 degrees] Continue on. Reach the mountains.

11 Nov 02: Enter mountains. Encounter four ogres. Kul is hurt bad [critically] and does rather poorly in battle. Quartz fires his arrows, while Tharrison uses his nargison whip. The battle is won and the group continues on.

Night: As Tharrison digs, Kulgar begins to build a shelter. Quartz finds a pile of copper coins half buried in the snow. They all pause to investigate. Beneath the coins they find a torn bag (a bag of holding, perhaps?). After finding nothing else of interest, Kulgar and Tharrison return to work. Quartz, however, keeps watch with his bow ready. He spies a green demon-like creature [gargoyle] in a tree and calls for Kulgar. Kulgar refers to these creatures as demons (he last fought them with Circh and Loki beneath the Tower of the World back on 17 Feb 01). Another gargoyle attacks Kulgar and two more attack Tharrison and Circh. Kulgar kills one and Quartz kills his opponent. Tharrison is struck and blinded in one eye! Quartz runs to help him and kills that gargoyle. Kulgar is struck again and Circh is clawed twice. Quartz kills another gargoyle, but is then struck unconscious. A gargoyle grabs him and tries to carry him away. Kulgar strikes it, but it flies up out of reach. The gargoyle drops Quartz (perhaps attempting to injure the halfling), but Quartz's ring of feather falling allows him to land unharmed, though he remains unconscious. Circh is badly injured. Kulgar kills another one, but then slips on his next attack and strikes his head on a rock. Tharrison, though blind in one eye, manages to finish the battle by killing the last gargoyle. Everyone tends to their wounds and then rests.

12 Nov 02: Rest. Due to her injuries, Circh will be unable to travel for a while. Quartz wakes up.

13-17 Nov 02: Uninterrupted rest. Overcast skies.

18 Nov 02: Rest. Two gnolls enter the area. Kulgar puts Circh and Quartz on the horse and the party leaves the area, avoiding the gnolls. They travel [for about an hour] and then rest more.

19 Nov 02: Rest. Still overcast.

20 Nov 02: Kulgar and Tharrison are now fully healed, though Thar is still blind in one eye. Circh is now well enough for travel so the party continues onward. First it snows, then the snow turns to rain. The party stops and Kulgar builds a shelter. It stops raining. Rest.

21 Nov 02: Overcast with a faint wind. Travel.

22-25 Nov 02: Travel.

26 Nov 02: Snowing. Travel.

Night: Kulgar sets up a shelter. A large 8 foot tall creature comes through the woods. Quartz and Kulgar immediately attack the creature. It easily swats Kulgar aside and then throws the barbarian at Tharrison! Quartz fires his arrows.  The creature  calls itself Khondhor. A halfling suddenly comes running onto the scene calling for Khondhor!  The fighting abruptly stops as the party realizes that these two are not hostile! Introductions are made. The halfling, Plotor, apologizes for Khondhor's behavior! (Plotor's full name is really Mashinorathabinplotorkrogabin.)

26 Nov 02: Plotor leads the party back to his cabin for food and warmth. He says that he is interested in training to be a  warrior. He and Quartz manage to convince Kulgar to let Plotor come along with them to Schwartzenbruin to find a trainer. The party spends the night in Plotor's cabin.
 

Night: Tharrison is awakened by Khondhor's growling. Eight gnolls are attempting to enter the house. Khondhor splits one gnoll's skull open with a mighty blow. Only two gnolls manage to escape the carnage after taking wounds from Kul, Thar, and Quartz. [Quartz gains 4th level (thief)]

27 Nov 02: Quartz and Plotor go walking outside together.

28 Nov 02: Quartz, Plotor and Khondhor go out hunting. They eventually return with two deer.

29 Nov 02: Kulgar goes outside running. Later, he and Thar wrestle in the snow.

30 Nov 02: Kul goes out running again, while Thar exercises. Quartz seems to dislike Tharrison. He constantly mimics and pesters the half-elf during their stay at Plotor's cabin.

01-07 Dec 02: The party stays at the cabin. Kul and Thar continue their routines of running and exercising.

08 Dec 02: The entire party, including Plotor and Khondhor, leaves the cabin heading toward Schwartzenbruin. As they travel, Quartz begins mimicking Tharrison again. They end up fighting, but Thar only disarms the halfling and tosses him around a bit to shut him up. The incident soon passes and the party continues on. Quartz walks along acting like nothing has happened, but then sneaks away when no-one is watching. Soon his disappearance is noticed and Kul backtracks alone to search for him. Kul finally finds the halfling hiding in a tree. Quartz tells him that he'll rejoin the party in a few days.

09 Dec 02: Travel. There is no sign of Quartz (actually, he's secretly following far behind the party).

10 Dec 02: Overcast [39]. The party enters a nice little valley. Quartz still follows.

11 Dec 02: Travel through mountains. Quartz, still trailing the party, encounters two hill giants. Kul and company hear the commotion in the distance and respond. The battle is violent and deadly. If not for Khondhor's presence, it would be a complete disaster. Thar ends up seriously injured and unconscious (probably for a couple of days at least). Kul is wounded badly, but conscious. Quartz finally rejoins the group and a camp is set up.

12 Dec 02: Rest. Kulgar prays to Thor for guidance. Circh's ring of warmth is placed on Thar's finger to keep him warm.

13 Dec 02: Rest.

14 Dec 02: Continue resting. Tharrison's war-horse has run out of feed, so Kul sacrifices the unfortunate animal to his deity [Thor] as an offering.

15 Dec 02: Tharrison awakens and the party decides to move on. Kul and Quartz carry Thar on a makeshift cot. Thar attempts to return Circh's ring to her, but she refuses. He offers to hold her hand so as not to lose the ring, but she stubbornly pushes his hand away. Kulgar snarls.

16 Dec 02: Overcast and snowing [21]. Continue traveling towards Schwartzenbruin.

17-18 Dec 02: Travel through deepening snow. The snow finally stops on the 18th.

19-20 Dec 02: Travel. The party passes a windwalker on the 19th and then finally leaves the mountains on the 20th.

21-25 Dec 02: Travel onward. Encounter herd animals on the 23rd. Some are killed for food.

26 Dec 02: The party finally arrives at Schwartzenbruin. They enter the town and quickly find the nearest inn. Upon setting eyes upon Khondhor, however, the innkeeper refuses to rent him a room. The party moves on to another inn ["Naushau's Inn"] and succeeds in tricking this innkeeper [Naushau] into accepting the barsholh. They sit in the common room, eating and drinking. After the meal, a drunk and exhausted Kulgar goes upstairs to his room to sleep. Circh also retreats to her room to rest, but later she sleepwalks downstairs and eats dinner. After her meal, she returns to her room without even waking.

Meanwhile: Thar goes to a nearby church of Athena and has his still damaged eye regenerated. He also finally has his wounds from the hill giant battle on 11 Dec 02 healed.

Later: That evening, Kul awakens and mistakenly thinks it is morning. He descends to the common room and orders breakfast. As Kul eats, Circh enters and joins him. Soon, a few [eight] young local roughians enter and begin causing trouble. After a short while [about 30 mins.] they head toward the door. On their way out, however, one youth remarks to Circh, "See ya later, toots". Kul becomes enraged and rises, swinging a wine bottle at the youth. The barbarian misses though and the roughians quickly back away from him towards the door, apologizing. At the door the youth begins bowing mockingly and Kul then attempts to throw the bottle at him. However, this time he accidentally drops it and the roughians quickly exit. Outside, they unexpectantly run into Khondhor and run off in a panic. Khondhor, Plotor and Quartz enter the inn.

27 Dec 02: Overcast [45], 1'1/2 of snow. Kul and Circh go out for a walk after breakfast. Quartz, meanwhile, finds a man, Lord Tridnal, willing to train him in the longsword [to be a fighter].

As Kul and Circh walk along they spot the same eight young roughians entering a nearby tavern. Kul follows them in, looking for a fight. As Kul enters and orders an ale, one of the roughians takes a bottle of wine without paying. Kul strikes the youth in the face with the bottle. Another youth manages to stab Kul in the back with a dagger. Kul, swinging the bottle as a weapon, misses his assailant and then is struck by the first youth. Kul drops the bottle, steps back and unsheathes his sword. The fighting stops and the youths step back, suddenly intimidated. Kul demands that they pay the bartender for the wine. The youths pay and Kul returns to his ale. Finally satisfied that he's taught them a lesson, he drains the ale and then leaves the tavern with Circh.

28 Dec 02: Rest.

29 Dec 02: Blizzard conditions. Quartz returns to Lord Tridnal to begin his training. Kul, Thar and Circh remain in the shelter of the tavern, resting.

30 Dec 02: Tharrison locates a jester named Maultrodon willing to teach him a backflip maneuver.

Kul, meanwhile, finds a woman willing to train him in the use of the bow, but he decides that it will take too long and cost too much. He attempts to stay in shape by exercising.

31 Dec-25 Jan 02 (CY 578): Quartz, Thar and Kul continue their training and exercising. [10 Jan 02: Kulgar's 20th birthday]. Meanwhile, Plotor and Khondhor leave town after only a couple of weeks and disappear.

[Quartz completes his training with Lord Tridnal and is now a multi-classed 1st lvl fighter/4th lvl thief]

The Disappearance of Plotor [Saturday 25 September 1982] [p65-66]

26 Jan 02: Khondhor returns... without Plotor. He explains that Plotor is hurt somewhere south of the town. Everyone gathers their equipment and the party leaves town. Circh and Thar reluctantly agree to go along.

Evening: The party digs through much snow attempting to clear a space for their campsite. They finally end up sleeping on the wet and muddy earth.

27 Jan 02: The party awakens early very wet and uncomfortable. Kul decides that he would rather return to the comfort of the town than search for Plotor after all. He, Thar and Circh all turn back, while Quartz and Khondhor continue on. Khondhor carries Quartz as they search. They eat venison that evening.

Kul, Thar and Circh arrive back at Schwartzenbruin and return to "Naushau's Inn".  They first take baths and then eat. As they relax comfortably in the common room, Circh receives delivery of a crate.  She pays 13 gp and promptly disappears into her room with the mysterious package.

The Dragon's Clutch [Sunday 26 September 1982] [p66-69]

28 Jan 02: Kul and company rest comfortably as Quartz and Khondhor travel onward.

29 Jan 02: Snowfall. Quartz and Khondhor continue. Meanwhile, Kul spends some time at another tavern and eventually passes out there.

30 Jan 02: Kul awakens to find that he fortunately still has all of his valuables. He pays the innkeeper and leaves.

Quartz and Khondhor travel on, entering the mountains. Plotor is not found where he was last seen by Khondhor however, so they turn westward and continue the search.

31 Jan 02: Kul and company rest as Quartz and Khondhor travel onward.

01-04 Feb 02: Rest/travel.

05 Feb 02: The innkeeper, Naushau, introduces himself to Kulgar. The same eight roughians wander into the inn, but suddenly turn and leave upon seeing Kulgar. Meanwhile, Quartz and Khondhor finally decide to call off their search and turn back.

06 Feb 02: Kul and company rest in town as Quartz and Khondhor make their way back. They encounter three ogres and are victorious in the ensuing battle. Quartz is struck only once!

07 Feb 02: Rest/travel.

08 Feb 02: Quartz and Khondhor arrive back at Schwartzenbruin.

09-10 Feb 02: Rest in town.

11 Feb 02: Overcast. Quartz bids Khondhor farewell. Khondhor is heading south, back to his home on the isle of Pni.

Kul, Thar, Quartz and Circh also leave the town. Thar and Circh both have new horses. The party rides across the river to a small village. Kul, Thar and Quartz walk while Circh rides, as they travel northward.

12 Feb 02: Overcast and windy [31]. Snow is expected. Travel.

13 Feb 02: [36] Travel.

14 Feb 02: Travel. The party arrives at Traft and immediately finds an inn.

Kul and Quartz hear strange noises coming from an alleyway while walking through the town. They find a fellow being held and strangled by two men. Kul immediately draws his sword, but is struck by a dart as he advances upon the thieves. He strikes the closest rogue a few times, killing the man. Kul, in turn, is struck once. Quartz disappears around a corner and the second thief turns and flees. Kul chases him out into the street where he manages to strike the fellow causing him to stumble. The barbarian then leaps at the thief, knocking him to the ground. The man rolls away before Kul can get a grip on him and Kul jumps to his feet. Quartz swiftly sneaks up behind the thief and drives his sword through the man's torso. Quartz quickly grabs the man's pouch and he and Kul swiftly return to the alleyway as they hear horses (with mounted guards) approaching. The victim is still here and alive, coughing. Quartz suddenly kills the poor fellow in cold blood! Kulgar is quite surprised, but decides not to question the action since he cannot change what has happened. He and Quartz quickly leave the scene just ahead of the guard's arrival and return to the inn.

As Kul enters the inn, he finds Circh sitting in the company of three sailors. He approaches and with a hint of jealousy, sits down to join them. Circh introduces Kul to Molanae, the first mate of the Dragon's Clutch, a large merchant ship anchored here in port that will be sailing southward to the isle of Pitik soon. They talk for a while and then Kul, Quartz and Circh go with Molanae to the ship and receive a tour. [It is the largest ship any of them has ever been on and the only four masted ship that any of them has ever seen.]  Molanae promises Kul that he will speak to captain Crowdor about letting Kul on as a sailor to work for his passage south.

15-23 Feb 02: Kulgar trains Circh in basic sailing techniques and responsibilities. Tharrison and Quartz relax in the town.  [16 Feb 02: Quartz' 44th birthday]

24 Feb 02: The party boards the Dragon's Clutch and the ship sets sail for Greyhawk.

25 Feb-08 Mar 02: Mostly overcast skies during voyage.  Sail through Lake Quag, the Velverdyva River, the Nyr Dyv, and the Selintan River.

09 Mar 02: Warmer weather with clearer skies. The Dragon's Clutch arrives at Greyhawk. This is Quartz' first visit! The ship will be in port for about a week. Circh, exhausted from the hard work aboard ship, immediately finds a room at an inn [the Silver Unicorn] and goes to sleep.

Meanwhile: Kul and Quartz go to a rowdy tavern on the waterfront. Quartz begins telling his stories of Kulgar's adventures and victories. Many people listen with interest, but he is soon interrupted by a drunk who punches Kulgar. Kul attempts to retaliate with a kick, but misses. The drunk continues to fight with Kul, until Quartz stabs him in the groin with his dagger, ending the skirmish. The bar patrons don't think much of Kulgar now, but Quartz continues to boast, insisting that Kulgar can beat anybody! A 6'6" bald blacksmith called, "Blackie", steps forth to challenge the barbarian. He quickly loses the fight, though, as Kul takes him down with just two punches and throws him out the door. Quartz continues to cause trouble though, as he hurls a plate of potatoes in the air and yells, "Food fight!". The ensuing "food fight" quickly turns into a fist fight and Quartz sneaks towards the door. Kulgar pushes aside tables and chairs searching for the halfling troublemaker and then spots him exiting the building. Kul follows him out and they cross the street to visit another tavern. After eating, they return to Circh's inn and find Tharrison sitting in the common room.

The Butcher [Sunday 03 October 1982] [p69-72]

10 Mar 02: Quartz decides to speak with a lisp. Circh descends from her room limping slightly. She explains that she is very stiff. Quartz, meanwhile, continues speaking in a lisp during the entire morning. The halfling's antics amuse Kulgar so much that he falls on the floor laughing. Circh returns to her room to rest more.

Later: Kul and Quartz meet Circh outside. She goes to a public bath house and Kul waits for her in a nearby tavern. Quartz, meanwhile, returns to his room at the inn to practice walking backwards while looking in a small hand-mirror. Kul and Circh soon return to the inn. Quartz wants a tour of Greyhawk and Kul offers to show he and Circh around the great city (though he's only been here once before, himself!). They leave the inn and Quartz promptly takes out his mirror and begins walking backwards.

As Kul, Quartz and Circh walk along, the crowd around them suddenly begins to part and a knight dressed in black armor and mounted on a black horse passes by, trampling to death an old woman in the process. Out of curiosity, Quartz begins following the black knight's route and Kul and Circh join him. The black knight [anti-paladin] ties his horse and enters a tavern. Kul and company follow him in. Kul buys two ales and Quartz buys a whiskey. Quartz boldly approaches the knight and asks if he needs any hired men. The black knight scowls, "No." Quartz returns to the bar and the knight rises and leaves the tavern. Kul, Quartz and Circh return to their inn.

11 Mar 02: Quartz visits the barber and has his head shaved. He wears his helmet afterward so that no-one will notice.

12 Mar 02: Quartz has a tailor fill a leather pouch with blood-red dye and then seal it up tight. The halfling then returns to the inn. Outside, he carefully places the pouch on his head beneath his helm and enters the common room walking very erect. Circh and Thar are sitting, eating breakfast. Kulgar enters and Quartz quickly pulls him aside and easily convinces the barbarian to participate in a prank. Quartz asks Kul loudly, so that all will hear, "So... you're not going after that black-knight?" "No, I'm not," replies Kulgar. He and the halfling then begin to argue loudly and Kul ends up striking Quartz on the top of his helm with his tankard. Quartz hesitates for an instant for dramatic effect and then stumbles backwards with red dye (from the pouch) running down from under his helm. Circh screams as Quartz falls down to the floor. Kulgar, playing his part for all it's worth, stares unbelievingly and cries out, "I've killed him!" Thar is surprised for an instant, but immediately realizes that this is Quartz, the prankster, that he's watching. Circh also soon figures it out. Quartz leaps to his feet, delighted by Circh's scream! He runs outside, eager for more reactions and attention. Outside, he begins groaning and falls over again. Passing folk stop and watch until a man swiftly grabs Quartz' pouch and runs! Quartz immediately calls out to Kulgar, and the barbarian emerges from the inn. They chase the thief into a nearby alleyway, where the frightened man throws the pouch back at his pursuers and continues to flee. Kul makes one attempt to stop him by throwing his club at the man, but he misses and the chase ends.

Later: Kul, Circh and Quartz go walking through the town. Meanwhile, Tharrison sits in his usual seat within the common room at the inn. He always sits facing the door with his back to the wall, so that he can always see the comings and goings within the room and will never be taken unawares. A nearby young, copper-skinned woman  with short hair [the Butcher] stands up and sheds her cloak, revealing her bare chest. The tunician woman approaches the half-elf and suddenly draws a terrible barbed bastard sword. Tharrison swiftly uncoils Asterlain and the woman swings at him. She lands several very good hits upon Tharrison, including a particularly nasty gash running diagonally across his chest from his right shoulder to his left hip. Thar falls defeated and the Butcher, apparently satisfied, leaves him for dead. Tharrison wakes up later in much pain as the innkeeper revives him.

Kulgar, walking through the wharves with Circh, spots a woman throwing a nargison whip into the water. Kulgar knows that nargison whips are very unique weapons, carried only by nargison guards. He decides that Thar should know about this, so he dives in and retrieves the weapon. He leaves Circh, who is talking with Molanae, and returns to the inn to find a crowd of people gathered there. Confused, he pushes through the crowd, dragging the whip behind him, and discovers a very cut up Thar in the middle of it all. He soon learns the story from the innkeeper and puts it all together. The whip [Asterlain] obviously belongs to Thar, and the woman he saw was obviously "the butcher" responsible for his condition. As he bandages the half-elf, Circh returns. A cleric is soon found and he is able to partially heal Thar.

The Last Chance [Wednesday 13 October 1982] [p72]

12 Mar 02 cont: As Tharrison rests in his room, Kulgar and Circh go to the wharves and begin searching the taverns for the tunician woman, who they now call the Butcher. They eventually find her in the common room of the Last Chance Inn. She is sitting with a copper-skinned, tunician man ["Pierre"]. Kul and Circh spend the day here spying on the Butcher and her companion.

Evening: The Butcher and "Pierre" leave their table and retire to their inn rooms. Kul and Circh leave and return to their own inn.

The Voyage to Scant [Friday 15 October 1982] [p72-75]

13 Mar 02: Early Morning: Kul leaves a message for Circh who is still asleep and returns with Quartz to the Last Chance Inn. As he and Quartz eat breakfast, the Butcher enters. Kul makes conversation with the friendly bartender, Larkra, while keeping one eye on the Butcher. She is soon joined by "Pierre" and they leave the inn together. Kul and Quartz follow them out. Circh arrives and joins them as they continue to follow the two tunicians through the markets of Greyhawk. "Pierre" purchases what appears to be a most unusual sword, but Kul cannot quite make out the details of it through the crowds. They eventually enter a tavern. Kulgar is becoming very bored of following these folks around and decides to go cause trouble at a nearby expensive restaurant. Quartz is excited to be going!

The three friends enter the restaurant and Kul hangs his cloak in the front room. They enter the dining area and sit down at an unoccupied table. A quartet is performing on a nearby stage. A waiter arrives at their table and abruptly asks them to leave. Apparently, the group is not dressed properly to be served here. Kul and Quartz argue and two more waiters shuffle over to support the first. After more arguments, Kul, Quartz and Circh finally take their leave. Outside, Circh shows off her stolen silverware. They return to their inn.

Meanwhile: Thar continues to recover.

14 Mar 02: Morning: Kul finds that he doesn't have enough money to buy breakfast; this makes him somewhat unhappy. He knocks on Tharrison's door and once inside, finds Thar pondering his new chest scars in front of a mirror. Kul, who is still in a bad mood, questions Thar as to when he will be better. He reminds the half-elf that the Dragon's Clutch leaves in two days and he only has that much time to decide if he will go kill the Butcher or not. Quartz and Circh enter, the latter carrying Thar's breakfast. Thar doesn't want the food, however. Kul and Thar continue to argue. Kul says he will find and kill the tunician woman if Thar doesn't. Circh interrupts, asking if Kul wants the unclaimed food. Kul is too worked up now, though, and stubbornly refuses it. Quartz, meanwhile, is repeating and agreeing with both sides of the argument. Kul soon leaves and sits downstairs in the common room. Circh leaves the inn to fetch a cleric for Thar again. Thar and Quartz soon enter the common room and the discussion continues. Thar replies angrily that Kul cannot bear to associate with a man who has been defeated by a woman. Kul rises and ascends to his room where he dons his armor. Quartz has followed him, though, and steals one of Kul's leg guards, hiding it beneath his cloak. Kul collects all of his equipment (except for the missing leg guard) and leaves the inn.

Circh returns with the cleric, who heals Thar again. Kul, meanwhile, marches straight to the armorer where he buys a replacement leg guard. He then heads for the Last Chance Inn.

Quartz has already been to the inn, though, and has discovered that the Butcher and "Pierre" have just departed and turned left outside the door. He leaves, hot on the Butcher's trail. Kul arrives, learns the same news, and follows with Thar and Circh just ahead of him.

As the group passes the Dragon's Clutch, Kul hears Molanae calling to him. The first mate informs him that the ship will be leaving today instead of on their established departure day. Apparently, their smuggling operation was discovered, forcing a change in the plan. Kul is disappointed at not being able to confront the Butcher, but agrees to leave.

Soon, they are all aboard the Dragon's Clutch and sailing towards Scant, Onnwall.

15 Mar 02: Another ship (possibly a pirate ship?) is spotted ahead. Several men row over to the Dragon's Clutch in a longboat and meet with captain Crowdor. The entire crew is on deck with weapons in case of trouble.  On his way to the upper deck, Thar spots the Butcher and "Pierre"! They have departed Greyhawk on the very same ship!  Thar informs Kul, who in turn, passes on the info on to Quartz and Circh. Kul and Thar decide to attack the tunicians after the ship puts into port and they have disembarked.

Later: The Dragon's Clutch docks in Scant and the party follows the two tunicians off of the ship, where the battle begins immediately on the pier. Kul finally discovers what type of sword "Pierre" has been carrying as he engages the tunician in battle. It is a strange double-bladed sword; two blades forking out from the hilt.

Thar engages with the Butcher. Quartz fires several arrows at her but fails to hit her. The halfling then switches tactics and moves into position behind Kul's opponent where he is able to backstab the tunician. "Pierre" falls to the ground and Kul easily finishes him off.

Suddenly, a sailor from the ship charges at Kul screaming, "Two against one isn't quite fair!" He attacks Kul, but misses. As Kul avoids the attack, the Butcher, who has again defeated Thar (this time leaving two parallel gashes (at either end of the recent diagonal gash) across his chest, creating a backwards "Z"), turns and flees towards the end of the pier. Kul dodges past the sailor and chases after her. The Butcher dives into the water and Kul drops his sword and leaps in after her! He quickly finds, however, that he can barely keep afloat with all of his armor and equipment on! As he climbs back onto the dock, the angry sailor lunges at him again. Kul ducks swiftly and the fool falls into the water. The Butcher has escaped yet again. Circh fetches the cleric again and pays for Thar's healing.

The Search Begins [Saturday 16 October 1982] [p75-78]

15 Mar 02 cont: The party finds an inn and rents rooms. Kul realizes that he should have taken the dead tunician's sword. He returns to the pier, but the sailors tell him that the city guards have already removed the tunician and his weapon from the scene. Kul tells them where he is staying and asks that they inform him if the Butcher is spotted. The sailors inform him that she is supposed to be departing with the ship for Pitik in two days.

Kul decides to visit a leech. He is bandaged and receives a haircut and shave to disguise himself from the Butcher. He then  buys a change of clothes and a handaxe to wear in place of the club. He returns to the inn and eats dinner with Quartz and Circh.

16 Mar 02: Thar is upset and destroys his room. The innkeeper throws him out. He rents a room at another inn just down the street.

Meanwhile, Kul returns to the wharves and begins searching the taverns for the Butcher, but there is absolutely no sign of her. He then joins Quartz and Circh and they all move into the same inn as Thar.

Evening: Six darkly cloaked figures enter the common room of the inn and attack a stranger. The stranger unsheathes a sword and defeats all six just by himself. Kul and Quartz witness the incident and are suitably impressed. They introduce themselves and Kul offers to buy him a drink. The stranger seems wary of them, though and hasn't much to say. He introduces himself as Pandral. Quartz questions him about the Butcher and Pandral only replies with, "What?", in a very cold, slow tone. He then complains that he is very tired. Kul and Quartz take the hint and leave him. Quartz tosses him a gold coin for the promised drink. Kul and Quartz relax in the common room for the remainder of the evening.

Night: Kul is awakened by Circh's voice crying out for him. He runs into the hallway, sword in hand, to investigate. Circh is here, wrapped only in a bedsheet. On the floor at her feet, though, is Pandral. He is covered in blood and very near death. Kul sends Quartz out to find a leech and lifts the bloody man. He brings him back into his room where he attempts to bandage a large gash in his neck. During the treatment, Pandral gasps, "Go to the Pillar of Posoe before they do...".

Thar and the innkeeper both arrive, and a small crowd of spectators also has gathered. The leech arrives and removes Kul's bandages. He then proceeds to rewrap the wound (too tightly in Kul's opinion!). Quartz runs out to fetch a cleric. By the time the priest arrives though, Pandral has died. Kul gives the cleric 10 gp for his troubles and then turns his attention to the leech. He blames the leech for Pandral's death and grabs him roughly, cursing. After talking with the city guards, everyone returns to their beds.

17 Mar 02: Kul returns to the wharves to discover that the Dragon's Clutch has already set sail. Thar, meanwhile, purchases some maps of the surrounding area, but unfortunately finds no references to "pillars" or ruins near the town. Circh remains in the tavern, while Quartz locates and visits a sage named Trosco. The sage agrees to research famous pillars for a price of 200 gp and instructs Quartz to return in two days with the money. The whole party meets back in the common room of the inn where Quartz relays his new information to everyone.

Thar decides to pay a visit to Trosco himself. He is interested in selling his [+1] ring of protection to the sage. Trosco does not have all the money though, so he agrees to owe Thar 10,000 gp worth of research and information. Thar tells the sage that he knows Quartz and will pay for the research of "Posoe" with his credit. He relates the whole story to Trosco again, filling in a few details that Quartz neglected to include. Trosco asks him to return in four days.

18 Mar 02: Kul roams through the town while Thar and Circh sit in the tavern. Quartz, meanwhile, makes his way from one tavern to another relating stories of Kulgar's heroic deeds. Circh also manages to practice her thieving a bit.

19 Mar 02: Kul and Thar both hear Circh yell and immediately run to her door. They find her angrily throwing furniture around and discover that her jeweled coffer of gems (worth about 5,000 gp) has apparently been stolen. After watching Circh vent for a bit, Kul returns to his room.

20 Mar 02: Rest.

21 Mar 02: The party returns to the sage's home. Trosco reports that the only extraordinary pillars that he can find reference to are those said to stand in the great meeting hall of the City of the Gods. Kul laughs loudly! He refuses to even consider the notion of planning a journey to the legendary city. After some discussion on what to do next, the party is ultimately unable to come up with a plan and finally decides to return to the inn. Circh suggests that the party should travel southward to Sulward to visit Tharrison's home.

22 Mar 02: The party buys horses and leaves Scant on horseback. They plan to ride west to Dullstrand where they then intend to secure passage on a ship to Sulward.

23 Mar 02: Windy with only a few clouds [58]. Travel. The party is attacked by a band of sixteen ferocious goblins. It is an easy victory.

24 Mar 02: Windy and heavily overcast. Travel.

25 Mar 02: Overcast and very foggy [60]. Travel. The fog clears in the afternoon.

Tharrison's Home [Saturday 23 October 1982] [p78-79]

26 Mar 02: Cloudy with little wind [51]. Travel. The party spots a cattle drive in the distance. Arrive at Irongate.

Soon, the party has settled in at one of the town's inns. That evening in the common room, Kulgar gets very drunk and, feeling rather full of himself, challenges a large man to an arm wrestling match. He carelessly offers to give up one of his silver bracers (which he still stubbornly insists are not enchanted) if he is beaten.

Kul quickly loses the match and the man takes the bracer and exits through the front door. Still very drunk, Kul becomes angry and tries to follow him out, intending to reclaim the bracer by force if he must. Thar and Quartz quickly step in to stop him. They wrestle around as Kul tries to get to the door. Through the open front door, Quartz spots the man entering another inn across the street. Kul, however, doesn't notice this as he is somewhat distracted by Thar, who continues diligently to foil the drunken barbarian's attempts to escape. Quartz decides that the half-elf can handle Kul all by himself and returns to his room. Finally, just as Kul is about to escape from Thar, a tavern patron strikes the barbarian in the head with a sap, knocking him out.

27 Mar 02: Kul awakens in the mid-afternoon with a pounding headache. He stumbles downstairs where Quartz mocks him and yells in his ears. The halfling refuses Kul's repeated request of where the arm wrestler disappeared to, so Kul returns to his room and sleeps some more.

28 Mar 02: Quartz finally gives in and shows Kul where the arm wrestler went to. The bartender of the inn informs them that the man in question already left a day ago. Kul eats a large meal before the party departs for their next destination, the town of Naerie in Idee.

29 Mar-01 Apr 02: Travel. Kul is seething about the arm wrestling incident and refuses to talk during the journey.

02 Apr 02: Arrive at Naerie. Kul continues to remain silent.

03-10 Apr 02: Travel.

11 Apr 02: Travel. The party passes a band of merchants and arrives at the free town of Dullstrand. Kulgar stubbornly maintains his silence, brooding over his lost bracer.

12 Apr 02: The party boards a ferry, bound for Sulward, capital of the Lordship of the Isles.

13 Apr 02: The ferry sails across the Aerdi Sea.

14 Apr 02: The ferry lands at Sulward and the party disembarks and follows Thar on horseback through the town. They arrive shortly at the Perith family's sprawling estate, where Tharrison's real name is revealed to be Wilton Perith. Upon hearing Thar's real name, Quartz laughs out loud and Kul remarks to the half-elf, "Don't feel bad... my real name is "Ragluk."

Kul, Quartz and Circh meet Thar's brother, Siserhel, and then enter the house where they are shown to their rooms.  The head servant warns Thar that he and his friends should not dine in the dining hall, as Thar's mother is busy entertaining guests.  Thar leads his friends to the dining hall anyway (in an outright display of disobedience to his mother with whom he has never gotten along), but his mother becomes upset at the invasion of these uncouth commoners and demands that they eat elsewhere. The party ends up eating in the kitchen. Kul continues to maintain his silence and doesn't eat much.

Captain Nahr [Sunday 24 October 1982] [p80]

14 Apr 02 cont: The party rides into town to purchase spices for the cook. Kul decides to wait in a tavern while the others take care of business. He soon meets an old sailor named Nahr, who has a very friendly, fatherly, and knowing air about him. Nahr perceives that something is bothering the big barbarian, so Kul decides to tell him of Pandral, the pillars and "Posoe". Nahr has heard of "Posoe". The old sailor describes an island east of Rikulalord in the seas south of Sulward, called Posoe. The isle emerges from the sea and stretches toward the sky like a huge pillar. Nahr explains that "posoe" means "pillar" in the ancient Suloise language. The isle is supposedly inhabited by demons. Thar, Circh and Quartz return and learn the new info.

Nahr further explains that long ago, a pirate king named Brodargg once ruled the southern isles. Brodargg was forced to abandon his throne, though, and legends say that he took his priceless treasure with him as he fled. The treasures, which included a legendary diamond-bladed sword called Gashintain, were then supposedly hidden somewhere, never to be seen again. Tharrison suggests that Brodargg may have stashed his treasures on the isle of Posoe. Nahr offers to sail the party to Posoe. He agrees to meet them again in a couple of days.

The party returns to the manor where Thar talks with his mother. Thar sleeps outside in the fresh night air next to a tranquil lagoon within the family's estate.

15 Apr 02: Kul rises early and works out with his swords.
Later: Kul walks with Circh through the woods surrounding the manor and then goes swimming with Thar.

16 Apr 02: Kul works out with his swords again and then returns to the manor to find Circh. He discovers her outside on the terrace laying face down asleep, apparently tanning herself. He sits and watches her [for almost an hour] 'til she awakens and angrily throws him out. She agrees to meet him [in half an hour] for a trip into town. Kul is impatient and leaves without her. He journeys into town and finds Nahr. The old sailor shows Kul his boat, the Silence, which has a unicorn's horn attached to the bow. Kul eventually returns to the manor to suffer Circh's wrath... a swack in the arm. She is quite upset at being left behind.

17 Apr 02: Very overcast (with thick clouds) and windy. The party meets Nahr at the wharves and boards the Silence. They set sail and leave Sulward behind.

The Duxchan Incident [Sunday 07 November 1982] [p81-82]

18-23 Apr 02: The Silence sails south-west. The skies clear on the 21st and a good sailing wind picks up.

24 Apr 02: Sail onward. The port town of Duxchan is spotted in the distance.

25 Apr 02: The party arrives at Duxchan and settles into an inn for the evening. Kul and Circh explore the town, but it becomes very windy and they return to the inn as it starts to rain.  Thar [is short on ordinary coinage and] has a strange feeling that he's being watched [as he pays for the group's food and lodging with platinum]. The storm worsens and Kul accompanies Nahr to the boat to secure the equipment. They return soaking wet, but the task is complete. Thar continues to worry, while Quartz attempts to get Kulgar drunk.

Night: Two men attempt to sneak into Tharrison's room, [apparently intent upon stealing some of the half-elf's wealth]. Thar is awake though, and the two intruders quickly flee down the hall before he can catch them. The half-elf yells for Kulgar, who comes stumbling out of his room. Quartz joins them as they chase the intruders down into the common room where one of the men easily escapes from the building. His friend, however, only escapes the room after receiving a stab from Quartz. Thar and Kul chase the stranger through the streets and into an alleyway. They charge into the alleyway, but find that he has disappeared. A moment later, Thar finds the man [with Asterlain which, at this time, was able to locate hidden people]. The stranger lashes out, stabbing Kulgar in the back. Kul responds swiftly with a slash of his sword and the man falls to the ground, bleeding and unconscious.

Kul and Thar bring the stranger back to the inn, hoping to interrogate him, but upon their arrival they find that he has bled to death. Kul brings the corpse to the guardhouse and spends most of the night [two hours] attempting to convince the authorities of that evening's events.

26 Apr 02: The bad weather continues. The party remains at the inn in Duxchan, waiting for weather to clear.

27 Apr 02: Drizzle. The party returns to the Silence an prepares her for departure. Water is bailed from the boat. The rain finally stops completely and the party sets sail for the southern isle of Pitik.

28 Apr 02-17 May 03: Nice weather. The Silence sails south-westward toward Pitik. Nahr tells Kulgar of his travels. He also knows of many legends.

18 May 03: Clear skies. Sail onward.

19 May 03: Afternoon: Cloudy and raining. The waves become choppy and the weather worsens. A storm has rolled in. Quartz keeps below deck, tying and securing everything down. After quickly clearing the deck of extra equipment, Thar and Circh both retreat into the cabin with Nahr, while Kul mans the rudder.  Once inside the cabin, Thar, Quartz, Circh and Nahr tie ropes between themselves with the intention of keeping the group together, should the boat sink.  Kul, meanwhile, ties himself to the mast with a long rope, hoping that it will keep him with the boat. The waves are powerful and destructive, but the boat seems to be holding together. After only a brief period, Kul is drenched, beaten and aching. A large wave thunders towards the boat. The wave crashes down and capsizes the Silence! Kul is thrown aside and strikes his head violently. He finds himself under the water with the rope wrapped tightly around his neck.

Within the flooded cabin, Thar feels the rope go taught, and, thinking that whoever is on the other end is slipping away, begins to haul it back.  The rope suddenly goes slack, though [as Nahr frees himself of it in order to reach the surface], and the half-elf finds himself beginning to run out of air. He swims out of the cabin and surfaces, but becomes separated from the boat. He treads water, managing to stay afloat and ride out the storm.

Quartz, who had been hanging onto Thar's leg, loses his grip during the sudden motion of the boat. He is able to find his way out of the flooded, upside-down cabin and swims desperately for the surface. Once at the surface, he sees the capsized boat and manages to grab onto it. He finds himself next to Nahr; both of them clinging desperately to the capsized boat.

Meanwhile, beneath the heaving waves, Kul is being violently strangled by the rope still twisted about his neck. He swiftly grabs his dagger from his belt and manages to free himself by cutting the rope. He finally surfaces, but finds himself caught in the midst of the raging storm. The boat is nowhere to be seen.

A huge wave suddenly crashes down upon Kul driving him beneath the surface again, choking him with seawater. He manages to surface again and coughs, forcing out the foul tasting seawater, but another wave drives him under yet again and he blacks out.

[Special note: as a result of this incident, Kul's two maps of Baklune (maps A & B) are permanently ruined.  He continues to carry them with him afterwards, though.]

Lost at Sea [Thursday 11 November 1982] [p83-85]

20 May 03: The storm has subsided. Thar begins swimming south-westward.

Quartz and Nahr have tied themselves to the capsized boat. Nahr swims inside the cabin to retrieve some fresh water. They soon begin to paddle the boat southward.

Kulgar, still unconscious, floats with the currents and is tossed against some rocks He eventually washes up onto the beach of a nearby tropical isle.

21 May 03: Thar swims.

Quartz and Nahr continue to paddle along with the boat.

Kul, meanwhile, wakes up. He is aching and pained. After finding nothing on the beach he falls asleep in the cool shade of some trees.

22 May 03: Thar swims.

Quartz and Nahr continue paddling with the boat. They spot land ahead and are able to maneuver the capsized boat toward a village. They rest for the night at an inn.

Kul awakens. He finds some tropical fruits to eat (and a coconut, which he cannot open and tosses aside).  He climbs a dead volcano and discovers a lake within the crater of the volcano's collapsed dome.  This is a relief, as the fresh water will be vital to his survival on this so far uninhabited isle.  Looking out over the ocean, he sees only another tropical isle nearby and nothing but vast ocean all around.  He swims in the lake and finds 11 gp and 9 sp on the bottom.  Once back on shore again, he discovers a broken human skeleton and is then attacked by a water dragon [a true dragon].  During a tough battle, Kul throws himself over the edge of a 100 foot cliff to escape the beast.

23 May 03: Thar continues to swim through the open ocean.  He sees a fin nearby and thinking that it might be a shark he stops his swimming and tries to remain stationary, hoping it will pass him by without incident.  The fin closes in, however, and suddenly the creature surfaces, revealing itself to be a dolphin!  Thar grabs the dolphin's dorsal fin and it tows him to a nearby island where he meets a fisherman who kindly offers him food and shelter.

Meanwhile: Quartz and Nahr hire workers to right the Silence again and have it repaired

Kul has somehow survived the previous day's fall intact and regains consciousness.  He is very wounded, though, and retreats into the forest to eat some more fruits and sleep.

24 May 03: Thar rests at the fisherman's home which is part of a village.
Quartz and Nahr rest.
Kul rests.

25 May 03: Thar explores the village and finds Quartz and Nahr in a tavern.  They make plans to search for Kulgar and Circh.

Meanwhile: Kul rests.

26 May 03: Thar decides to swim from isle to isle along the archipelago, searching for some sign of their lost companions, while Quartz and Nahr sail the Silence.  They agree on a particular isle as a rendezvous point.

27 May 03: Thar and company find nothing while Kul continues to rest on the isle.

28 May 03: Thar and company continue to search, but still find nothing.

Kul continues to rest.  He watches as the water dragon flies overhead and then disappears into the ocean.

29 May 03: Thar continues to swim from isle to isle, but still finds no sign of Kul or Circh.

Meanwhile: Kul spots a familiar boat offshore.  It is definitely the Silence!  The boat approaches the isle and Kul watches as the water dragon surfaces behind them.  The dragon takes flight and Quartz begins firing arrows at it.  The arrows seem to have no effect on the beast, however. Nahr and Quartz beach the boat and quickly disembark.  The dragon soars in towards Kul and Quartz and the halfling unsheathes his shortsword and dagger.  The dragon swoops down and swiftly grabs Kulgar, lifting him from the ground.  Quartz and Nahr run to the cliffs as the dragon carries Kul towards the lake.  High above the lake, Kul chops at the beast's leg and it finally releases him, dropping the barbarian into the water.  The dragon then descends into the water and again attacks Kul.  Kul manages to avoid the beast and swiftly swims to shore.  Once on dry land, he again unsheathes his sword and attacks!  Quartz arrives and also attacks, using his enchanted longsword.  Kul finally deals out a couple of solid hits and Quartz finishes the beast.  They are joined by Nahr and all return to the beach where they launch the boat and sail to Thar's agreed upon rendezvous point.  Thar is there, but there is still no sign of Circh.

30-31 May 03: The group continues to sail amongst the isles looking for Circh.

01 Jun 03: The party continues in their search.  That evening they put into port at a village on the isle of Pitik and rest comfortably at an inn.

02 Jun 03: The party decides to split up to continue with the search.  They agree to meet up again in the village of Bis.  Kul and Thar walk southward towards Bis along the eastern shore of Pitik, looking for any sign of Circh having washed ashore.

Quartz and Nahr, meanwhile, stay aboard the Silence, sailing her southwards along the coast.  They stop at three villages along the way, but still find no sign of Circh.  In one tavern, a few men scoff at Quartz behind his back, but the halfling decides to heed Nahr's advice and not cause any trouble.  They leave and sail onward to Bis.

Later: Kul and Thar come upon a village (one of the same that Quartz and Nahr passed through), but find no sign of Circh.  They continue through the village and sleep on the beach that night.

03 Jun 03: Kul and Thar continue on.  They soon arrive at another village, but still find no sign of Circh.  Kul's beard is becoming very uncomfortable from the hot weather and salty ocean water.  He vows to shave it off later.  After leaving the village, they encounter two sandmrees.  Thar's leg is badly injured during the fight and they stop to rest for the night after the battle.

Reunion [Sunday 21 November 1982] [p85-90]

04 Jun 03: Kul and Thar turn back towards the last village.  Thar is walking with a limp and uses a branch as a walking stick. The new plan: Thar will rest in the village for a few days while Kul continues on south towards Bis.

05 Jun 03: Kul eats breakfast at the inn.  The innkeeper offers him some information, so Kul gives the man a gem (worth 100 gp!) and learns that there is supposedly [pirate's?] treasure on the isle of Kidias (about 100 miles southwest of Pitik).  Kul leaves and walks southward about a half day to a larger village, but he still finds no sign of Circh, so he continues onward through the village.

Later: Kul arrives at Bis.  He finds Quartz and Nahr in a tavern.  Kul fills them in, explaining about Thar's absence, and then  visits a barber [leech] to have his beard and mustache removed.  Upon returning to the inn he is greeted by Quartz, who jumps up and down excitedly on a table, asking, "Did you find her?  Did you find her?"  "Yeah," Kul lies, "she's staying at the inn down the street."

Quartz runs to the other inn and charges in yelling for Circh.  He is told that no-one by that name is staying there and realizes that he's been tricked.  As he wanders the streets, pondering on how to get Kulgar back for his trick, he is tripped by a roughian.  Quartz unsheathes his enchanted sword and dagger and the five roughians present are taken aback by the enchanted weapons.  Quartz does well in the ensuing fight, and the two remaining conscious men attempt to flee.  As Quartz gives chase, he is suddenly stabbed in the back and falls to the ground.

He sees a cloaked man with a crooked nose, dirty blonde hair and a scarred right cheek hovering over him.  A number of guards can be heard approaching in the distance.  The cloaked roughian tells Quartz that they shall meet again and then suddenly grabs the halfling's [+1] dagger and flees.  Quartz is brought to the leech (herbologist) and sends for Kulgar.  Quartz explains everything to Kul and then hesitantly asks Kul to hold his enchanted weapons for safety, during his recovery.  Kul agrees and Quartz asks for the barbarian's dirk in the meantime.  Kul returns to the inn and explains all to Nahr.

06 Jun 03: Thar rests.

In Bis, Quartz rests while Kul searches the streets and taverns for the cloaked roughian.

07 Jun 03: Both Thar and Quartz rest while Kul continues his search.

08 Jun 03: Kul spots the cloaked roughian entering a tavern and follows him in.  The roughian asks the barkeep for chicken, but is told that they have none.  The scarred-face man then grabs the barkeep by the tunic and draws him closer, while unsheathing Quartz' glowing dagger.  He points the enchanted dagger at the unfortunate barkeep, demanding, "I want chicken!"

The barkeep looks past the roughian and watches as Kul unsheathes his sword.  "Oh, you'll get it!" he replies.

"Hands off him, scum!" yells Kul as he attacks the scarred-faced man.  The roughian stabs at Kul twice, but only strikes the barbarian once.  "I've seen your handywork already!" continues Kul as his second attack misses.

"Here's another example!" yells the roughian, as he stabs Kul twice with the dagger.

"Attacking poor halflings!" Kul misses.

"He attacked my friends!"  The roughian strikes again.

"From behind, yet!?"  Kul strikes him with a well-placed strike.

The roughian misses, "He deserved it!"

"Like you deserve this!" Kul swings at a clear opening and kills the man.  He finds and returns all of Quartz' stolen items (including the glowing dagger) to the halfling.

09 Jun 03: Thar begins traveling south towards Bis.  His progress is slow, as he is still not able to walk without the aid of a crutch.  Kul, Quartz and Nahr rest while awaiting the half-elf's arrival.

10 Jun 03: Thar travels towards Bis.  Kul and company wait.

11 Jun 03: Thar travels and arrives at Bis.  He meets up with Quartz, who convinces the half-elf to visit a healer located on the outskirts of the village.  Thar reluctantly follows Quartz to the healer's home.  The healer turns out to be a very beautiful woman named, Balane [4th lvl druid NPC].  Balane is able to partially heal Thar's leg wound, but the half-elf will still need to walk with a crutch.  When Thar tries to compensate her, she refuses any money as payment.  Instead, she asks Thar to buy her some supplies in the village.  Thar agrees, and he and Quartz return to the village where Thar sets out immediately to collect Balane's supplies.  Quartz follows Thar all around the village, buying all the same items as the half-elf.  Finally, Thar buys a chest to hold all the items and then immediately starts back towards Balane's home.  Quartz decides not to buy a chest (too heavy), instead carrying all of his items in a sack.  He continues to follow the half-elf back towards the healer's home.

Kul spots Thar and Quartz leaving the village and approaches.  Quartz stops to greet Kul, but Thar keeps on walking.  Quartz quickly explains where they are headed, hands the sack of items to Kulgar for the barbarian to carry and hurries after Thar.  Kul promplty drops the heavy sack to the ground and follows the halfling.  Quartz looks back to see his sack upon the ground.  He immediately races back to grab the bag and then ducks into a nearby alleyway.  Kul runs after the halfling and finds the sack sitting on the ground outside of the alley.  Quartz meanwhile, has hidden in the shadows of the alley.  Kul picks up the abandoned sack and walks into the alley.  Quartz tries to climb a wall, but fails and runs out through the opposite end of the alleyway.  Kul chases after him and hurls the heavy sack at the halfling, striking him in the back!  Quartz finally stops, "Forget the sack, we have to catch up to Tharrison!  I'm tired, carry me!"

Carrying Quartz, Kul runs to Balane's home (by following Quartz' directions).  When they reach their destination, they find that Thar has not yet arrived.  [Unbeknownst to them, Thar has paused by a small, tranquil pond to rest his injured leg.]  Quartz introduces Kulgar to the beautiful Balane.  Once they are inside, Quartz tells Balane the story of how Kulgar saved Prince Corben and Princess Daleena and sent the Baron of Rockedge to hell!  As usual, he exagerates greatly in Kul's favor and makes no mention of Loki.

Their conversation is suddenly interrupted as they hear a wild animal outside.  "Daynor", Balane exclaims as she rushes out the door.  Outside, they find Thar, with Asterlain spinning in his hands, confronted by a wolf.  The wolf turns out to be Balane's pet and no blood is shed.  Kul and Quartz decide to leave, while Thar remains.

Halfway, back to the village, Kul and Quartz come upon the peaceful pond and decide to rest beside it.  They both fall asleep.

Thar, meanwhile, mentions to Balane that they are searching for a lost companion.  Balane offers to help find Circh and promises to cast a spell on the following day.

12 Jun 03: Balane casts the spell and sees Circh in a vision.  She is in a busy city, selling a necklace and talking to Molanae.

Armed with this new information, the group leaves Bis immediately, sailing south to the port town of Garn.  They discover that the Dragon's Clutch was here, but left for Rol, capitol of the isle of Pni, three weeks ago.

13-17 Jun 03: Sail southward toward Pni in good weather [the equator is crossed on the 13th]

18 Jun 03: Enter the doledrums.  With no wind to fill the sails, Kul and Thar begin to row the boat.  They arrive at [the port town of Shoreside on] a large isle north of Pni, called Noma.

19 Jun 03: Kul and Thar continue to row southward.  The Silence eventually arrives at Rol.  The masts of the Dragon's Clutch is in full view.  After docking the Silence, the group decides to split up.  Kul and Quartz head straight for the Dragon's Clutch, while Thar and Nahr head off to secure rooms for the group at an inn.

As Kul and Quartz approach the large merchant vessel, the sailors recognize them and greet them heartily.  They easily convince the barbarian and halfling to join them for a drink in a nearby tavern.  Kul tells them the story of the storm and how he survived, but as soon as his tale is complete he leaves to look for Circh.  He begins searching through all of the waterfront taverns in a random fashion.

Meanwhile, Thar and Nahr find an inn, the Mermaid's Lyre, and rent rooms.  After the business is complete, Thar leaves immediately to join the search.  He finds the Dragon's Clutch and learns that Kul has gone to a nearby tavern with some of the crew.  Thar finds the crew in the tavern, and learns that Molanae is staying at an inn called the Mother of the Pearl.  He leaves and heads towards the inn.

Outside, Kul and Quartz join Thar and follow him to the Mother of the Pearl.  The innkeeper confirms that Circh and Molanae are indeed currently renting rooms here, but that Circh is out right now.  The threesome sit and await her return.  Soon, Circh walks in, but doesn't notice Kul, Thar and Quartz as she heads straight for the bar counter.  Kul approaches her from behind and, grabbing her around the waist, lifts her up into the air!  She struggles fiercly, but cannot free herself.  Kul puts her back down and she turns about angrily, ready to fight.  But after realizing who has grabbed her, she suddenly gives the barbarian a huge, tight hug and then, after a pause, another!

As Kul and Circh exchange stories and order lots of wine to celebrate their reunion, Thar leaves to relate the good news to Nahr.  As he walks down the street (still using a staff to compensate for his bad leg), he notices that the crowd of people is parting behind him.  Turning, he sees a copper-skinned tunician [Morbon] with a cruely spiked sword [gimja] charging toward him.

The Tunicians of Rol [Sunday 28 November 1982] [p91-93]

19 Jun 03 cont: Thar dives to the ground in front of the charging tunician who trips over the guard.  They both rise to their feet and Thar swiftly has Asterlain spinning in his hands.  The half-elf manages to disarm Morbon, but the tunician punches him and quickly retrieves his gimja.  Morbon notices that Thar is favoring one leg and begins concentrating his attacks on the half-elf's injured limb.  After taking some nasty wounds from the spiked sword, Thar breaks the tunician's left knee and then administers the coup de grace.  When he questions the spectators as to the location of the nearest guardhouse, they only turn away,  perhaps afraid to offer any assistance.  But, he is approached by a friendly monk, named Othello, who does help him out.  They find that the guardhouse is very run down, however, and ultimately decide that it would be more trouble than it would be worth.  After Thar relieves the dead tunician of his money and weapon, they leave his body in a nearby alleyway.  Othello follows Thar back to the Mermaid's Lyre where the half-elf updates Nahr.  Thar then returns to the Mother of the Pearl and updates Kul, Quartz and Circh.

Thar suggests that they get rid of Morbon's body so that none of the tunician's friends find him.  Kul agrees and suggests that they stuff the body into a barrel and throw it in the ocean.  Kul, Circh and Quartz wander down to the wharves and take an empty barrel from the hold of the Dragon's Clutch.  They then return to the inn and follow Thar to the alleyway.  They stuff Morbon's body into the barrel and then carry the barrel back to the wharves.  Quartz rents a row boat and they row out into the harbor.  Circh suggests that they bury the barrel on a nearby island.  Quartz struggles to voice his suggestion, but no-one is listening to him.  Kul likes Circh's idea, and rows the boat back to the wharves to get some shovels.  Quartz is mad that no-one will listen to him.  While Kul is retrieving the shovels, the halfling buys a fishing rod with some fishing line, but no bait.  Kul returns with the shovels and some lobster and dolphin meat for food.  Quartz opens the barrel and cuts off one of Morbon's fingers to use as bait, but Kul thinks this is a rediculous idea and tosses the severed finger overboard.  He then replaces the barrel's cover and holds it in place with his hand to prevent Quartz from getting inside again.  Quartz becomes very angry and unsheathes his enchanted dagger.  He violently stabs the dagger into the cover just next to Kul's fingers.  Kul retaliates by trying to push Quartz overboard.  He misses the halfling, though, and Quartz grabs onto the barbarian's arm.  As they struggle, Kul manages to grab the enchanted dagger and hurl it away from the boat and into the water!  Quartz panics and leaps out of the boat onto the dock.  He runs down the pier and dives into the water after his dagger.  As Quartz retrieves his dagger, Kul rows the boat (with Thar and Circh aboard) from the pier, leaving the halfling behind.

They soon stop at a small island in the harbor where Kul and Thar begin digging.  By dusk they have dug a ten foot deep hole and the barrel is dropped in.  Circh, however, suddenly notices a young boy watching them.  She approaches the boy as Kul and Thar fill the hole and ends up giving the "little brat" 5 gp not to tell anyone about the buried barrel.  Kul rows them back to Rol.

Meanwhile, Quartz, extremely angry at Kulgar, finds Kul's leather armor in the cabin of the Silence and takes it, leaving his own (much smaller) leather armor in its place.  He returns to his room at the Mother of the Pearl and stashes Kul's armor under the bed.  Once back downstairs in the common room, he notices three tunicians and overhears them talking about their missing friend, Morbon.  Quartz, concerned for Thar's safety, decides to wait for the half-elf outside in order to warn him of the impending danger.

After docking the boat, Kul and Circh decide to return to the Mother of the Pearl, while Thar heads back to the Mermaid's Lyre.  Once at the Pearl, Kul and Circh find Quartz outside the inn.  Quartz tells them about the tunicians within and then runs off to find Thar.  Kul decides to run back to the Silence and retrieve his armor, while Circh enters the inn to spy on the tunicians.

Kul gets to the Silence, but finds Quartz' leather armor in place of his own.  He dumps the armor overboard into the water!  He leaves the boat and finds Thar at the Mermaid's Lyre.  Kul informs the half-elf of the tunicians at the Pearl, but suddenly remembers that he's left Circh alone there and runs back towards the inn.  Thar remains at the Mermaid's Lyre, as he is still suffering from some rather nasty wounds acquired during the sandmree attack (on 03 Jun 03) and the battle with Morbon.  On his way back to the Pearl, Kulgar meets Quartz, who has been unable to find Thar's inn.  Quartz informs Kul that the missing armor is in the halfling's room.  He quickly passes the key to the barbarian and they go their separate ways again.

Quartz continues on to the Silence, but arrives to find that his armor is missing!  He sees the armor in the water and dives in to retrieve it.

Meanwhile, Kul arrives at the Mother of the Pearl inn to find the largest of the three tunicians sitting with Circh and getting rather friendly with her!  Kul approaches and looms over the large tunician, "What in hell do you think you're doing!?"  The tunician stands, rising to his full 6'11" height, and grabs Kul by the collar.  Kul punches him in the gut, but "the Giant" doesn't seem to even feel it!  He laughs and slugs Kul across the jaw, knocking the barbarian into a table.  Kul, upset (and very injured from the massive blow), draws his broadsword and the brawny, tunician monster pulls a spiked halberd from his back.  Circh backstabs "the Giant" and Kul slashes quickly, but the battle begins to go downhill from there.  Quartz finally arrives, wearing his wet, leather armor, and begins firing arrows at "the Giant".  However, he is soon forced into hand-to-hand combat by one of the other tunicians.  Circh also is forced to fight another opponent, but deals with him swiftly by slicing his throat.  Kul does very poorly against "the Giant" and soon both he and Quartz are defeated!  Othello, however, just happens to be present and decides to take action.  He delivers a series of unarmed blows to "the Giant", stunning him.  However, as the monk turns to check on Kul and Quartz, the tunician recovers and makes a hasty escape!

A leech is summoned and Kul and Quartz are bandaged.  Quartz is unconscious and barely alive.  Kul is brought to a room by some sailors from the Dragon's Clutch.  Circh finds Thar and fills him in.  Thar decides to visit a local temple [the Norse church of Aegir] and have his injured leg healed.  Afterwards, he is finally able to walk without the aid of a staff or cane.

Evening: Circh looks in on Kul, but does not stay claiming that he needs his rest.

Recovery [Sunday 05 December 1982] [p93-95]

20 Jun 03: Kul and Quartz need some time to recover from their injuries, so Thar suggests that they leave Rol and rest somewhere safer.  Nahr agrees and suggests the port-town of Sonda, only a few hours to the south.  Kul and Circh both agree, but Quartz refuses to leave until he receives some healing.  Circh fetches a healer [a priest?] who heals the halfling twice.  Kul is in rough shape himself, but manages to make it to the Silence on his own.  Thar asks a sailor from the Dragon's Clutch, named Trimlix, to keep an eye out for "the Giant".  There is no wind as they shove off, so Thar rows the Silence out of the harbor and southward to Sonda.

Evening: The Silence arrives at Sonda.  The group eats and then retires to private rooms at an inn.

21 Jun 03: Kul and Quartz continue to rest, while Thar takes his armor to a blacksmith for repair.  He is told that it will be ready in six days.

22-25 Jun 03: Kul and Quartz continue to rest.

26 Jun 03: Kul and Quartz are finally feeling much better.  They leave the inn to explore the town.  They visit a leech where  Kul gets a shave and has his hair cut short again.  Quartz has the peach-fuzz shaved off of his head.  They return to the inn.  Thar and Kul agree that the group is ready to return to Rol.  They wake up the still snoozing Nahr to inform him.

Once everyone has gathered in the common room, Kul mentions the isle of Kidias.  He suggests that they investigate the treasure isle, which is only about 100 miles southwest of Pitik, after they leave Posoe.  When Circh asks what he's talking about, Kul explains how he came by the information back in Bis [on 05 Jun 03].  Circh has a very disbelieving look on her pretty face, and remains skeptical of Kul's information.

27 Jun 03: [After picking up Thar's armor,] the group boards the Silence and sails northward, back to Rol.  Upon arrival, Thar finds Trimlix, but the sailor reports that he has not seen "the Giant".  The group then prepares to depart for the isle of Posoe.  They stock up on supplies, though Nahr explains that it is only a five day sailing journey.  Kul buys two spears, some bandages, and a sharpening stone and oil for his sword.  Once again, they board the Silence and set sail southward towards the mysterious isle of Posoe.

28-30 Jun 03: Sail onward.  During the journey, Kul takes the rudder during the day and Nahr handles it at night.  Nahr teaches Kulgar much about sailing during the voyage.

01 Jul 03: Sail onward.

02 Jul 03: Sail onward. Posoe finally comes into view.  It is about 100 feet tall, but looks to be "climbable".  Thar swims   around the isle, looking for an underwater cavern or secret entrance, but finds none.  Nahr navigates the Silence around the isle, as Kul scans the sides, looking for the best place to climb up.  He finally decides that the northwest side looks best.
 

Posoe [Sunday 12 December 1982] [p95-99]

02 Jul 03 cont: Kul takes the lead and begins climbing the northwest side of the isle.  Quartz, Circh, and Thar follow, while Nahr waits below on the boat.  At one point, as they climb, Circh's foot slips, knocking loose a rock.  The rock strikes Thar in the face on the way down and the half-elf slips, losing his footing and handholds.  As he begins to fall, however, the armor bracer on his forearm snags onto an outcropping of rock and he ends up dangling high above the Silence.  He soon manages to regain his holds and relentlessly continues upward.  A bit later, after Kulgar almost falls, Quartz begins to feel very unsafe climbing below the large barbarian, so he moves to his left to avoid any mishaps, should Kul loose his grip.  The group eventually reaches the top without further incident.

They find that the top of the isle is a flat plateau with a large 15 foot high stone structure in the center.  Two large stone lions stand guard on either side of a pair of massive double-doors.  Quartz circles around the building, searching for secret doors, but finds nothing.

Kul approaches the entrance and pulls open one of the doors.  It is very dark inside, but several shapes can be seen within.  Eight large columns appear to hold the ceiling up, although none of the columns seem to actually connect directly to the floor.  Instead, each column is held in place by three humanoid statues.  The statues stand with their backs to the columns, with the bottom of the columns resting in their clenched hands.  Each statue has an expression of agony on its face.

The group enters the building.  After finding nothing interesting about the statues, Quartz and Kul investigate a vault on the far wall.  They find a large hole in the wall and a shaft leading down.  Quartz ties one end of a rope around himself and hands the other end to Kulgar.  The halfling then jumps down the shaft.  His ring of feather falling slows his fall and, as he reaches the bottom, he finds a bed of nine inch spikes.  A human skeleton lies on the floor in the midst of the spikes.  Kul ties the rope onto a nearby statue and the rest of the group descends into the shaft.  Quartz wields his enchanted shortsword and dagger and Circh carries a torch, thus supplying the party with enough light.  They follow a passage as it spirals left and downward.

The passage eventually opens into a cavern where four platforms and a large chest hang from the ceiling by chains.  The chest hangs in the center with the platforms hanging concentrically around it at varying heights.

A wide ledge leads down along the wall to the bottom of the cavern.  The group follows the ledge to the bottom and discovers two dead human bodies lying on the hardened tar-pit floor.  After finding nothing else of interest on the floor of the cavern, the party turns their attention to the chest hanging from the ceiling.  Kul follows a second path up until he is only about 10 feet from the lowest platform.  He takes a mighty leap from the ledge and succeeds in grabbing the chain attached to the platform.  After centering himself, he begins swinging the platform towards the next highest one.  When they are closest, he leaps and grabs the chain of the second platform.  He then attempts the same maneuver for the third platform, but misses and falls awkwardly to the hardened tar below, landing beside the dead folks!  Circh runs to his side.

Quartz runs up the path to where Kul started.  He catches the first platform with his grappling hook and then jumps off of the ledge to dangle by rope below the platform.  He pulls himself up and unhooks the grappling hook, dropping it to the floor below [presumably because his rope is not long enough to reach the next platform].  He then begins swinging the platform, just as Kul did, and easily leaps to the second platform.  He misses on his leap to the third platform, though.  But instead of falling, his ring of feather falling allows him to float harmlessly down to the floor.

Meanwhile, Kul has recovered from his fall and is still determined to get to the chest.  He climbs the path again, and this time succeeds in leaping all the platforms in succession.  Only one leap left.  The leap to the chest itself.  Everyone watches in suspense as the barbarian swings the fourth platform, leaps for the chest... and misses!  His momentum carries him into the wall of the cavern and he falls onto the ledge.  Circh runs to his side again.

Quartz is through fooling around.  He and Thar follow the path up until they are as close to the chest as they can get.  The halfling then uses his grappling hook to climb to the fourth platform (just as he had done earlier to get to the first platform).  Finally, he swings the platform and leaps successfully to the chest!  He climbs up the chain and discovers that all the chains disappear through holes in the ceiling.  Thar throws a rope to Quartz and the halfling ties one end of the rope to himself and the other to the ring connecting the chain to the chest.  He then hangs from the rope and briefly investigates the bottom of the chest, but finds nothing worth noting.  He then begins to jump up and down on the chest, trying to make it fall!  The plan works!  The ring dislodges from the chest and it crashes to the floor!  Quartz himself is left dangling from the rope which is still connected to the ring on the end of the chain!  He cuts the rope and floats down to the floor.

Everyone gathers around the chest.  It is still sealed tight, despite the fall.  Hours pass as the group uses various knives and thieving tools to pry off rivets and metal guards.  During this time, it is discovered that no magic will work within a 10 foot radius around the chest.  Kulgar likes this at first and considers taking the chest with them, until he realizes that if it negates magic, then it must be magic itself!  Finally the top of the chest is removed and the treasure within is revealed:

a diamond-bladed broadsword, undoubtedly the legendary Gashintain -- Kul
the jeweled Crown of Brodargg -- Quartz
the jeweled Scepter of Brodargg -- Circh
10 gems worth 100 gp each -- Thar 3, Quartz 3, Kul 3, Circh 1

A pile of gold, silver and electrum coins is left behind, as the group is unable to carry all of it.

After resting and eating the party follows the second path to its exit near the ceiling.  The path leads into a chamber directly above the cavern.  The chains supporting the platforms (and chest) come up through the floor and are attached by giant metal rings to the ceiling.

The party leaves the room and backtracks through the cavern and back up the first path to the spiked shaft.  They climb the  rope back up to the vault entrance.  Kul is about to untie the rope from the statue when an odd thing happens.  The statues suddenly straighten their hands, releasing the columns, which fall to the floor!  The statues have come to life and move to attack the party!  Thar yells for everyone to get outside as the columns begin to topple over.  Quartz does not hesitate and is the first to escape.  Two massive columns fall in front of the exit cluttering it with huge piles of stone.  Circh manages to fight her way past the living statues and, climbing over the rocks, escapes through the exit.  Kul and Thar also manage to fight their way  through the exit.  However, upon escaping, they discover that the stone lions have also come to life and are ascending the steps to block their escape!  Circh moves to the right, Thar moves to the left and Kul leaps straight over one!  Upon landing, he begins running to the cliff edge, but Thar and Circh are forced into combat with the stone lions.

Quartz, meanwhile, has reached the edge and leaps off without hesitation, expecting his trusty ring of feather falling to protect him.  The ring fails to work this time [due to his own natural halfling resistances to magic] and he falls 100 feet into the ocean below!  He survives the fall and pulls himself onto some rocks at the base of the isle.

Meanwhile, Kul turns around to see that Thar and Circh are struggling in the battle and cannot escape!  He runs back to help Circh, who has fallen to the ground unconscious.  He leaps at the lion, hacking at its stone face with the diamond-bladed sword!  Thar continues swinging Asterlain around, but cannot seem to hit the creatures.

Quartz has climbed back up the cliff and now runs to help the half-elf.  Thar is struck in the leg, which is fractured from the blow, and thrown aside!  The lion then turns it's attention to Quartz!  Kul finally breaks off the lion's face and it staggers around before falling to the ground.  Quartz falls defeated, but Kul jumps in and finishes the battle.

Kul bandages Quartz and Circh and brings them to the cliff's edge.  Thar takes Quartz' ring of feather falling and jumps off of the side to float down to the Silence.  Kul lowers Quartz and Circh down by rope.  Once on the boat, Kul explains all to Nahr.  He shows Gashintain to the old man and gives him two of the gems from the chest.  Nahr explains again that the sword once belonged to the pirate king, Brodargg, who long ago hid his treasure on a secret isle (now revealed to be Posoe).

[Kul and Circh have achieved 5th level upon completing the Posoe scenario]

03 Jul 03: Nahr begins the journey back to Rol.

04-07 Jul 03: Sail towards Rol.

THARRISON THE DISAPPEARANCE OF PLOTOR THE DRAGON'S CLUTCH THE BUTCHER THE LAST CHANCE

THE VOYAGE TO SCANT THE SEARCH BEGINS THARRISON'S HOME CAPTAIN NAHR THE DUXCHAN INCIDENT

LOST AT SEA REUNION THE TUNICIANS OF ROL RECOVERY POSOE