Whiterock 21 August 2023: God of the Bullywugs, Celestial Sewer Rat, and Friends 1, Silhouette and Friends 0

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

And our helpers:

Elweiss, ghostly guardian

Fthirya, aka Erica, ghaele eladrin

Galdiera, kobold who thinks she's an elven paladin

What they did

Garreth whips out a potion and slams it, then growls menacingly at the dragon as he steps back into the fight. Erica slams her sword into the coins and the coin golem sprays apart and stops moving, then her next blow hits the dragon. "Ya killed mah golem!" Logan takes down the pit fiend, which blows up at his feet, though he stays up. Elweiss casts Puissance from his spear, then lobs it at the dragon, hitting her in the innards. I rush at the dragon and her tail bats me away, but some of the rocks from above fall on her, pinning her. Polly shoots thrice at Silhouette, and Silhouette bats away all three. Galdiera spins around and tries to hack Silhouette over the skull, but she loses her balance.

Silhouette swings her limbs at Elweiss, who doesn't feel the pain. "A gosh darn ghost? Ah know how ta treat wid ya!" She blasts arcane energy at Elweiss, but he takes the magic. "Gah! I was gonna Disrupt Undead!" She instead blasts Erica, who also withstands the magic, but Silhouette's tail swipe knocks her back. She then sneers at Polly, and swings her limbs at her. "Elves taste so good, like cookies!" Polly's body goes back to the wall, her innards spilling out as she dies.

I yell out, "No!" as if I were lamenting the loss of some space wizard whom I had just met a few hours before.

Garreth roars. "I'll kill you for that, dragon!"

Silhouette casts another spell at Elweiss, and this time he feels his being tear asunder, though he stays standing. She also casts Slow at Erica, and Erica does not withstand it.

Garreth drops from the air into the water then rockets forward through the water towards Silhouette's back, with Scalemar leading the way. The dragon roars in pain from the blows, but stays up. Elweiss lobs the spear again at the dragon, but this time she swats it away. This is the last thing she does, as Logan rips, Logan tears, Logan shreds! Her innards spill out all over, blood going everywhere. Logan tastes into her flesh, which he likes, though it is a bit pickled.

RIP, Silhouette. Died fighting the god of the bullywugs and a celestial sewer rat.

Castle Whiterock log 31 July 2023: The sorriest god

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

And our helpers:

Elweiss, ghostly guardian

Fthirya, aka Erica, ghaele eladrin

Galdiera, kobold who thinks she's an elven paladin

What they did

Garreth swings Scalemar many times, and carves through thick dragon hide. Erica slashes the coin golem, but it doesn't hurt it much. Logan slams the pit fiend but it stays up. Elweiss lobs his spear at the eye of the dragon but she swats it away. I try to stab the innards of the dragon but she pushes my knife away. Polly shoots the dragon thrice in the back of the head, and one knocks her to the foul water. Galdiera slams the pit fiend and tries to kick it.

Silhouette blasts acid at Polly, Bleu, Elweiss, and Logan, which hurts Polly but not the others. Then she tries to swat at Garreth and me, but I step away. Garreth winces from the pain and totters, and says, "You'll regret turning your back on an immortal."

Silhouette insults Garreth, "You're the darn sorriest god I seen since the bullywug god!"

Garreth hisses back, "I killed him, too." Left unsaid is that the bullywug god is a kobold named Kubunk who crippled his finger when he was picking his nose, and all the other kobolds clown on him.

The coins pelt Erica and Logan, then lashes out with monetized pseudopods at Logan, Bleu, and me. Its pseudopod stretches too far as I step away.

The pit fiend lobs a fireball at Logan, but he gets away. "What? You stupid celestial sewer rat!" Then it turns to Galdiera and cackles at her in Celestial. She smiles and says, "I prefer garlic parmesan," as she steps aside.

Garreth sneers at Silhouette, "Look at those cute widdle wings. You gonna bat 'em at me again?" He chugs a potion and whacks her.

This does not faze Silhouette. "Ah ain't a blonde bimbo like that darn Celestial you got, mah wings are all natural!"

I step forward. "Yer a goddamn newt, not a dragon."

Flustered, she spits back, "Ah ain't a newt!" as I stab her.

Logan again slams the pit fiend, but this slam does nothing, nor do his slashes afterwards.

Elweiss stabs the coins, which doesn't help much.

Polly says, "Ooh! You stunned the dragon for me, Zaber!" then shoots three arrows, but Silhouette swats them away.

Galdiera gives the pit fiend some mighty blows, but it stays standing.

The dragon gathers her wits and flies past me—I get out of the way—to try to claw both Erica and me. I step aside while Erica parries, but Silhouette knocks the pillar towards Bleu, who steps back, letting it splash harmlessly. She hisses at Polly, "I love elves! They taste like cookies!"

Polly smiles. "Thanks! Elves love cookies!"

Silhouette then swats at Erica and Logan with her wings, with her fore claws and teeth at Polly, and her back claw and tail at me. Logan, Erica, and I all get away, but and we think Polly is a goner but somehow, she misses. 

The pit fiend tries to step on Logan and Galdiera with its bulk, and tries to hack away at Galdiera again, but misses both.

Castle Whiterock 10 July 2023: Acid!

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

And our helpers:

Elweiss, ghostly guardian

Fthirya, aka Erica, ghaele eladrin

Galdiera, kobold who thinks she's an elven paladin

What they did

Garreth sighs, cracks his neck left and right, and pulls out his sword. "What do you think Scalemar?" After a moment, he says, "Yes, I've taken great pains to make you ready for anything."

I shake my head and lean down to Logan. "There he goes, talking to a sword that we can't hear …"

Garreth looks up and grins. "Zaber, I don't think letting you go off alone is wise. So maybe you and I advance together and you are my spotter?"

I nod. "Yeah, let's go." I put my ring back on and poof, then slug some whiskey while Garreth drinks from the Everful Everclear Skin.

Garreth shouts out into the dungeon. "Hey there, draaaaagon. I heard you … something awful." He stops for a weird moment and focuses his chi before singing "Afternoon Delight." He grips my arm somehow, and we go towards the edge.

The filthy, burning water suddenly swells, and then the head of the black dragon comes through the water. "Stop singing!"

Garreth chuckles. "Oh, hello, sweetheart."

Silhouette hisses. "Scithia didn't tell me you were so annoying!"

Polly shoots three arrows fast at Silhouette, and one hits her eye. "Bloody elf!" Galdiera calls up mighty energy, and Bleu stands warily as Garreth shuts his eyes and beckons forth his speed. Logan pulls the cord linked to the crossbow on his back. The dragon parries it, as well as Elweiss's spear. I hold and wait until she comes near. Silhouette says something in Draconic, and Bleu shouts, "She said, "Golem, attack!' in a lowland swamp accent of Draconic!" The coins take on a the shape of a man (or woman, who knows?) and fly at us. Most of us get out of the way, while Bleu blinks. A pillar comes down at Garreth and me, but we get out of the way.

Silhouette shuts her eyes and casts a spell on herself, likely Great Haste because she's suddenly much faster. She spits acid at us, though it hurts only Erica as the rest of us get out of the way. Silhouette lobs a red gem from her paw at Erica's feet where it bursts. This doesn't hurt anyone other than Logan, who takes a little blunt trauma. Silhouette them claws, bites, flaps her wings, and swats her tail at Garreth, who parries every blow. "Ya'll done took out the demonhold, thank ya for that!"

As Polly shoots and misses Silhouette, a pit fiend shows up, coming from the gem Silhouette threw. Galdiera, who is ticked pink to see the demon, swats at it, hitting once and wounding it. Garreth dives into the water, and comes up at Silhouette's rear, but she parries his blows with her hind legs and tail as she does. He keeps going up with her, hitting her once. "Ya darn half ork, I ain't callin' you immortal like ma handmaid Scithia!" Erica charges up her chain lightning and blasts the golem, stunning it. She bounces the lightning to the demon, hitting it twice as Logan is wounding it. Logan likewise goes after it like a flying furry ginsu knife of good and it falls down. Elweiss casts Great Haste then lobs his spear again, scratching the cornea of the demon. I step and stab at her eye, but she swats me away.

Silhouette steps and tries to smush Garreth, then rend him, which she cannot do. She casts again and again tries to rend Garreth to bits, which she again cannot do. "Stand still, ya li'l varmint!"

Garreth bares his teeth. "Yer kung-fu is weak! Hic!"
The pit fiend lets out an aura of fear, somehow scaring Elweiss but no one else. His eyes widen. "Oh no, a pit fiend! It might … I dunno!"

I chuckle. "Listen, bub, you aren't remotely as scary the stuff I've seen after taking acid, and not the stuff under us!"

The pit fiend lobs a fireball at Logan, sizzling him a little, then lobs firey meteors at Galdiera, Logan, Erica, and Bleu. This burns all of them, but Bleu's Bless takes the pain and gently pushes her out of the way.

Castle Whiterock 3 July 2023: Going down

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

Thrognar, half-orc holy warrior

And our helpers:

Elweiss, ghostly guardian

Fthirya, aka Erica, ghaele eladrin

Galdiera, kobold who thinks she's an elven paladin

What they did

We go back into the dungeon, and down to talk to Scithia, since we know she has spoken to Silhouette about us in the last week. On the way, Garreth talks to his sword again, then tells us that he's even more in favor of killing Silhouette the Black Dragon. Go figure, but he takes a big drink afterwards, so I know he's doing alright. We can't have him drinking water.

Scithia tells us that Silhouette stopped giving her baubles after the first few things she said about us. "She doesn't think you are immortal, by the way. So don't die! I have a bet."

I chortle, "I don't think she is immortal."

Garreth chuckles. "If I don't die, she won't be around to pay it. What was the wager?"

Scithia says, "She was going to give me an awesome coach for my art gallery."

Garreth asks her, "What do I save you if you lost?"

Scithia says, "I was going to have to wear my maid dress and polish all her scales and talons with a toothbrush."

Since Scithia had bet on Garreth, we ask Scithia for more information on Silhouette, and learn that Silhouette likes swimming and surprising people by coming up with a big splash, and that the water is acid and toxic, though not as toxic as the poison Scithia used on Garreth.

We go down into the dragon's lair, this time taking the other hallway straight to the gong.  There, we get ready for the dragon, casting spells to buff us.

Castle Whiterock 19 June 2023: Stoned again

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

(Stonemaul, dwarven cleric of Danethar)

And our helpers:

Elweiss, ghostly guardian

Fthirya, aka Erica, ghaele eladrin

Galdiera, kobold who thinks she's an elven paladin

What they did

I check out the ledge, traveling with my left side to the wall, and come to a ledge that looks like another ledge that I saw earlier. Then I keep going, coming to a small, hollowed-out cave in the rock wall that triggers my anxieties.  Its floor is black and lumpy like coal or rock and is invisible, which I can see since Bleu has cast See Invisible on me.

I keep on flying, and make it to another cave. Inside is cooler air and a carriage with the seal of the Kingdom of Morrain on the side. Beyond the carriage is an opening that leads away from the lake. Around the carriage are many items of adventuring gear, and under each item is a small sheet of paper. The items include a beautiful lyre, a greatsword, a scroll case, a book, a rod, and a barrel. Inside the carriage is a painting and a bunch of wine bottles.

Wine bottles? Someone made this for me.

I check one out. Each bottle has a brass and platinum stopper bearing a seal of Morrain and is decorated with a silver chain and emerald. According to the paper, these bottles are of the famed 2716 vintage, the best in the history of Morrain! These are the 25 bottles missing from Vemin the Magnaminous's well-known last party, that everyone wanted to remember but no one was able to!

I grab a bottle, and fly back to Garreth to celebrate. We both take a swig, and it has the light scent of fruitiness and a lasting tingle of delight with a hint of chocolate on the palate. Galdiera whines that we're supposed to be fighting a dragon, but I let her know that Garreth gets even tougher with booze. Elweiss recognizes the vintage as soon as he sees the bottle. I tell him about the carriage, and he says it might be the Bearer of Kings, a carriage for the Kings of Morrain. That and Princess Thistle (whoever she is) went missing long ago, and folks say a dragon did the deed.

We talk about the dragon, and agree that it has been watching us. I pull a bag over my back and use it as a blanket, then signal to Garreth that we should lure the dragon out somehow. He tells me that Scalemar thinks the gong is some kind of signal. We go back to the start of the maze and meet with Baghanaya and Scithia.

We ask them some questions. We give Baghanaya the bottle and he takes a swig, and, showing his good taste, also says it is great booze. We ask Scithia about the gong. She tells us that the statues under the gong are erstwhile lovers, and she seems to like it when I say that she must be a great lover since they had smiles on their faces. And she uses the gong to summon Silhouette, or she her.

"Who is Silhouette?" I ask.

"She is a black wyrm," she tells us. "She always makes me wait when I ring the gong." I say that means she has to die, but why does Scithia summon her? To pass her news, and Silhouette passes Scithia "pretty baubles and things, as well as cuties."

I get the idea that they wouldn't be upset if Garreth killed Silhouette, nor would they be upset if Silhouette killed Garreth and the rest of us. We go back to town, and look for warding against acid.