1st Planting
[Lief]:
Leif met Adri, the ranger in the Temple of Ehlonna. She was travelling to the Adri Forest to investigate the happenings there. Adri herself trained Leif in the art of Shape-changing, accomplishing this in a mere 6 days.

In the meantime, Shzzt decided to check out the device he had been given in the card room, the CONTAINER OF TUERNY, and travelled overland with Bill the Bear and Irving the Imp. They ran into a small band of Hill Giants, and Shzzt decided to fight them. The ensuing encounter did not go well, and Bill the Bear was smashed into little pieces. Things got worse when Shzzt was killed, but Irving managed to frighten the Hill Giants away. Regeneration took over and Shzzt eventually became right again, minus a point of CON. Shzzt then continued his journey to Greyhawk City. He became lost, and travelled in the wrong direction for a time. Once he realized his mistake, he got Irving to scout directions for him and found it would be quicker for him to go North to Dyvers. Hopefully he would find a church of Hextor there. Shzzt was in luck, because a temple to Hextor had been built in a clearing in a small wooded area South of Dyvers.

The priests accept Shzzt's offering of 50,000 Nobles, and help him discover some of the properties of the device. Shzzt is now the proud possessor of "The Container of Tuerny". This Minor Artifact (if minor is a term which can be used when discussing an Artifact) contains the Night Hag "Tuerny". She was once one of Tharizdun's servants. She betrayed him after the imprisonment of Princess Nespar by attempting to first free her from imprisonment, then kill her and take her body and her soul back to Hades for a vile experiment scheduled to be performed by Anthraxus, her first master. Tharizdun discovered the attempted treachery before the fact, and has therefore banished her to the Prime Material, trapped in this Artifact. To be freed, Tuerny must successfully serve the finder of the Artifact while carrying out the purpose to which she had been sent back to again appear in Tharizdun's good favor.

The Artifact had the following properties, which the Hag mentioned to Shzzt:
The possessor is IMMUNE to all Gases.
Find Traps 3 x day.
SANCTUARY when held with both hands.
Power Word BLIND/KILL or STUN once/day.
If person owning container is away from it for more than 24 hours., it TELEPORTs to the owner, NO ERROR.
Owner gets -2 to Attacks.
FUMBLE Spell cast on Owner Permanently.
The Artifact also has the following side effect (which Shzzt has already discovered for himself but Tuerny does not mention):
User gains 18/00 STR, but loses corresponding amount of DEX (treat percentile gains as percentile losses, but remember that 16/44 DEX is treated as 16).

Tuerny's Mission
See file on this - DM Only!
Tuerny tells Shzzt that Princess Nespar discovered an awful secret about Tharizdun, and that she was placed in "prison" by some trickery on the part of Tharizdun's number one cleric (he later became the Lich which guarded the diamond at the top of the Tower, but Tuerny did not know this). Tuerny tells the owner of the device how to destroy it once she kills Princess Nespar, claiming that the secret Princess Nespar carries can only be drawn from the Princess after her death.

Shzzt, together with the priests of Hextor, called up the Night Hag, and asked her questions. She claimed she knew how to destroy the Container, bet needed a vital piece of information from an Elvish Princess named Nespar. The Night Hag knew that Tharizdun was keeping the Princess somewhere on the Prime Material, but not exactly where. Shzzt decided to rejoin his party. He returned to them without further incident. He was gone a total of nine days.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party had wondered where Shzzt had wandered off to. They searched the surrounding area for the Drow, but to no avail.

Eventually they gave up, but stayed at the temple anyway, resting and healing. A few days of this, and Shzzt returned. His Strength was greatly increased, but his Dexterity was equally reduced. He also acted as if a FUMBLE spell were cast upon him. Leif finished his SHAPE CHANGE training the next day.

3rd Planting
[Chamdar]:
Jean, Trish and Chamdar have now spent 8 months on the island. Each has taught the others almost everything s/he knows. It is definitely time to leave.

7th Planting
[Chamdar]:
The adventurers pooled their information, Leif being a Grey Elf and knowing the legend of Princess Nespar. They had no other lead the find the Princess than the Tower itself. So the party began with the Tower. The party figured that wherever Princess Nespar went was probably the same place where Haedake, Garz and the other unfortunates who drew one too many of Tharizdun's special cards went. Using several LOCATE OBJECT spells, they decided to try and find Garz' EBONY FLY. The use of these spells did indeed lead them to the Tower, just as the party had expected.

When the party arrived at the Tower site, they found three Ogre guards at the hole through which the Tower had fallen some days ago. As the adventurers made themselves known, three other Ogres join their fellows to help secure the hole. Leif transformed himself into a hummingbird, and looked inside the hole to see several Goblins mining, and several dead Goblins lying about. The party attempts to parley with the Ogres, and discover they are working for the Dragon Chloros. Partway through the parley, the Goblins exit the hole carrying a huge diamond. This distracted the Ogres, and the party attacked! The diamond is discovered to be the source to which the LOCATE OBJECT seplls are attracted. As the three fighters of the party tried to hack up the six Ogres, a skeletal figure rose up from the depths of the hole and looked about. It saw the Goblins taking the diamond away, and focussed its' attention on them. Leif suddenly decided that a MINOR GLOBE OF INVULNERABILITY would be useful at this point adn cast one. Seconds later, three Goblins and one Mule burst into Pillars of Flame. The skeletal apparition gestured at the diamond and it floated over to the thing's hands and it descended with the diamond back down into the pit.

The party retired to the temple to come up with a plan. It took them a full day to prepare.

8th Planting

[Lief]:

The Leif party assaulted the hole where the Tower collapsed. Leif hovered above, supporting Shzzt and Steele. The skeletal apparition attacked the party, and the party narrowly escaped using Steele Bonecrusher's RING OF SPELL STORING TELEPRT Spells. In the meantime, Phaedrus tried to use Shzzt's Wand of Illusion to make the illusion of a Great Hall back at camp. The command word that Shzzt had given him did not work, however.

Suddenly Shzzt, Steele and Leif arrived back at camp.. The party then saw a tangible, man-shaped darkness approaching from the direction of the fallen Tower. Shzzt grabbed the WAND OF ILLUSION from Phaedrus and promptly dropped it. He fumbled it off of the ground and then conjured up an ILLUSION of the hall. Steele took the MAUL OF THE TITANS, and crushed the 100,000N Diamond with it. All of the entrapped souls were then suddenly released. A shimmering form lept from the shattered Diamond and moved towardsthe man_shaped darkness still approaching. The two seemed to merge, and the darkness suddenly fled. The party tried to talk to Princess Nespar, but she refused to listen to anyone but Leif, the Grey Elf, one of her kin.

Leif chatted with those freed from the Diamond, trying to find a new MU Henchman. The only prospective one was a 6th Level Wizard who had no intention of joining the party, and was rude enough to not even mention his name to Leif. A couple of other interesting facts were gleaned from the freed prisoners.

Princess Nespar snubbed the party as a whole, finding the humans only slightly less palatable than the Dark Elves Shzzt and Shaitan. The Princess had certain qualities which reminded Shzzt of his lost love in Dorgon (I think her name was Sandinista).

The Princess claimed that she did not know of any information which could be used against Tharizdun. She agreed to parley with the Night Hag Tuerny for the party. The party prepared spells to protect the Princess from the Night Hag, then Shzzt called Tuerny forth. The Night Hag hissed at the sight of the Princess, but sensed the powerful protection spells surrounding her. Tuerny claimed to Shzzt that the Princesses knowledge is actually unknown to the Princess and can only be gleaned from her soul after the Princesses death. Nobody is particularily impressed by this. Shzzt insisted that Tuerny was lying, and cast a MELF'S MINUTE METEOR at her. Tuerny hissed in pain and insisted she was telling the truth. Shzzt aimed at her again, preparing to cast another spell, and finally Tuerny admitted she was lying. Tuerny admitted that she wanted Princess Nespar's soul for her own purposes. After the Night Hag revealed the true manner in which the party can free Shzzt from the cursed Artifact, Shzzt recommitted Tuerny to her prison.

9th Planting

[Lief]:

To free Shzzt, the item had to be destroyed. Tuerny had told the party this can only be done by the following means: First the owner of the Artifact must free Tuerny from any further service with the phrase, "In the name of the Great One, Master of Eternal Darkness and Decay, I free thee, Hag, of any further service to me." [Note that if this phrase were to be stated before the other conditions are told by Tuerny, she is free and will go ethereal immediately, not bothering to finish telling the party how to destroy the item.]

Secondly, the powdered bones of one of Tharizdun's evil servants must be placed inside the container. [All Zombies existing on the Prime Material are servants of Tharizdun, but Tuerny will not reveal this unless bribed or threatened].

Thirdly, the container must be hit simultaneously by a powerful (12th Level) FIREBALL and an equally powerful OTILUKE'S POLAR SCREEN.

Only then will the Container be sufficiently weakened for the final destructive force, that of an unerring hit of a 20 or more (after adjustments) by the master's special destructive hammer while calling out the command word upon the handle.

Tuerny will recognize the MAUL OF THE TITANS from Level 2 as the Master's special destructive hammer upon seeing it, but will not inform the party.

If the hit from the Hammer fails, the entire process must be redone, including the powdered bones from one of Tharizdun's evil servants.

The party found they now had to trek back to Castle Greyhawk where Leif intended to ask the Wizards from the Tower of Wizardry if they are sufficiently high level to cast the desired spells at the desired Strengths. Phaedrus, feeling personally responsible for attempting to get Captain Koole resserected, took charge of the eight-day old body himself. The party travelled the Gnarley Forest for the entire day without event. [No Encounters]

10th Planting

[Lief]:

The weather was fine, and the party made good time through the forest. Leif lead them well and quickly through otherwise encumbersome brambles and thickets. They stopped and make camp just inside the forest.11th Planting The party travelled to the main road without incident. It was yet another cool but sunny spring day. They met nobody on the road and travelled peacefully to the Castle Greyhawk. As it loomed into sight, several of the party members recalled lighter, happier more carefree times they had spent at the Castle. Kay glanced at Phaedrus, thinking about how much had happened to her since she met this wonderful man. So much different than all of the other men she had ever met, so much above their petty concerns... Kay was broken out of her reverie by the sound of the Castle Gates being drawn up.

12th Planting

[Lief]:

Early the next day, Leif was off to consult with Trucan and Ybenso. Princess Nespar did not want to have anything to do with consulting with mere human Wizards, so she consoled herself with a walk through Greyhawk Castle's bazaar while Leif was busy. She allowed Allan to accompany her, since he is a Noble Human, tolerable to her. She once again snubbed Shzzt, who turned INVISIBLE and followed them.

Phaedrus and Kay took Captain Koole's body to the priestesses of Istus, who were unwilling to help because of a die roll. The three years of aging involved may also have been a factor. Phaedrus reminded them of a previous deal where Leif showed them a pool which reversed magical aging by one year per month, but the priestesses claimed that this was payment in full for earlier services, having no bearing on the present request. The priestesses suggested finding an elven cleric who wouldn't be so worried about a few years of aging to perform the spell. Phaedrus goes to a booth of the priests of Lendor, one of the major Goddesses, the Goddess of Time and Tedium. The priests of this Goddess had a reputation for looking quite old and yet never seeming to age. Perhaps this was a rumor because the majority of the priests were old men with beards and hence all looked very similar, or perhaps it was a side effect of worship to this Goddess. Phaedrus decided he would check with the order for the RESSURECTION of Captain Koole. The priest of Lendor was willing to cast the spell for the price of 10,000N. Phaedrus agrees to the astronomical price. Thus Captain Koole was brought back to life by the very man who had killed him. Koole tried to pay half the price of the RESSURECTION back to Phaedrus, but Phaedrus refused, considering the entire thing as just another event in his life. They decided to go to the Memory Moss Tavern.

While in the bazaar, Princess Nespar's pocket is picked by Knopfler, and Shzzt sees it happen. As Knopfler is trying to melt into the crowd, Shzzt tried to grab him. This sudden action brought Shzzt visible again, but Knopfler had not noticed the Dark Elf's presence. Shzzt made another grab for the thief, and this time caught Knopfler by the arm, in the tender spot just above the elbow. Knopfler indignantly tried to get away, but Shzzt had great Strength now thanks to the Curse of the Container of Tuerny. Shzzt dragged Knopfler over to the Princess. Knopfler panicked and tried to surreptitiously sneak the purse into Shzzt's clothing, which he succeeded in doing. Shzzt presented Knopfler to the Princess and claimed that he caught him stealing from her and that, "some of us really do have honor." Shzzt then walked away to find the Memory Moss Tavern that Phaedrus had mentioned earlier. Allan and Knopfler had a reunion of sorts, in which it is discovered that the purse is no longer in the thief's possession. Allan concludes that Knopfler already ditched it or has given it to an accomplice.

Knopfler tried to implicate Shzzt, but neither the Princess or the failed Paladin believe the thief. They are finally forced to let him go. The Princess was left to ponder the ramifications of the actions of the Drow.

Shzzt took the claw of his old mount, Bill the Horse, who was once a human then POLYMORPHed into a talking horse then killed but retaining the horse shape then REINCARNATEd into a talking boar then killed but retaining the boar shape then REINCARNATEd into a talking bear, to some priestly types in the bazaar for REINCARNATION (again). He is brought back as a Black Bear. Shzzt found the Memory Moss Tavern easily, by following the sounds of the perpetual bar fight. He sat sown at the bar in front of the Tavern master, Hops the Stone Golem. He has trouble getting the ale up to his lips and down his throat because of the FUMBLE, but eventually gets drunk for the first time since he was addicted to mead back in Dorgon, years ago. He then aggressively leapt into the fray and fought almost everyone in the bar, whether friendly or un, until finally in a fit of bloodlust he drew his weapons. Upon hearing the unanimous cry of, "Weapons!" Hops hops the bar and pummels Shzzt unconscious.

Leif, in the meantime, arranged for the Wizards Trucan and Ybenso to cast the neccessary spells for Shzzt's Curse. He also arranged a time for Shzzt to come and discuss payment.

13th Planting

[Lief]:

Final arrangements for payment are made. 6,000N plus a cursed RING OF INVISIBILITY are the payment for the casting of the two spells. Shzzt had a DETECT LIE cast upon the Night Hag by a priest of Hextor and found out whe was lying about a few things. In particular, the Night Hag does not have to be freed from Shzzt's service to destroy the Artifact. Shzzt believed that she was lying about the entire first condition, but she was not. The phrase, "In the name of the Great One, Master of Eternal Darkness and Decay..." must be stated for the entire sequence to destroy the Artifact. The Hag decided to share this information on the condition that Shzzt free her from his service. Shzzt asked the Hag if she intended to destroy Princess Nespar, and the Hag admitted that she must. An agreement was eventually reached that the Hag would not try to destroy the Princess while the Princess was still with the party if Shzzt would set her free from his service.

But Trucan and Ybenso have other plans for the Night Hag. They had been approached by Shzzt and Leif about the possibility of owning their own Night Hag. They have since prepared a vessel for her to dwell in, and the room was magic-proofed for protection. The two Wizards plan to imprison the Hag when Shzzt releases her. Since Shzzt will keep his end of the bargain by letting her go, he has not breached the agreement.

Preparations were made and the spells were cast. The Artifact is destroyed and Shzzt was free from his Curse!

14th Planting

[Lief]:

The party left Greyhawk Castle for Greyhawk City, to see if they could rent a barge to take them to Leukish. From here they planned to escort the Princess to the Celadon Forest. The Princess told the majority of the party that this is where her Elven Kingdom was, but Leif knows the court of the Grey Elves is in Celene. Nespar confides to Leif that there is a portal in the Celadon which will transport her to Enstad.

Later that evening, Phaedrus went down to the docks to rent a barge. He had some trouble. He ended up renting space on a merchant vessel.

Shzzt got his STAFF OF STRIKING recharged and (finally) got the SHOES OF BEAUTY identified by a female Wizard. They turn out to only be useful to the female gender.

Leif went down to the docks later and asked for extra space and cabin facilities for Princess Nespar. He ended up gambling for his request. His luck is good this night and ends up paying nothing and getting a free cabin for the Princess.

Shzzt presents the SHOES OF BEAUTY as a gift to Princess Nespar, who is flattered. Unfortunately, she is also much more beautiful when she dons them, and Shzzt suddenly found himself FASCINATED by yet another Elven Maid.

15th Planting

[Lief]:

Leif hired two servants for the Princess, and special fare for her comfort during the ride. Phaedrus took Kay out and bought her some nice earrings for 50N. Kay thanked him.

16th Planting

[Lief]:

The party left Greyhawk City on the vessel. The captain turned out to be a man of his word and the Princess spent the trip safe in the Captain's Cabin, while the Captain roomed with the First Mate. The rest of the party slept in the cargo hold. It was slightly damp, but comfortable compared to some of the underground dungeons the party had slept in in the past. They traveled uneventfully (barring a Tropical Storm) for 8 days before arriving in Leukish.

24th Planting

[Lief]:

The party entered the city of Leukish. The front gates were under construction. They entered through the side gate after stopping at the Grey Ghost Tavern for a moment.

They bribed the guard to tell them where there is a good quality inn. They followed his directions to the Hotel Leukish. Leif got the penthouse for Princess Nespar for 1,000N/week and Shzzt obtained a suite for 100N/3 days. First they went across the street to the public baths to clean themselves up. Bill the Bear was made INVISIBLE and smuggled into Shzzt's room. Shzzt sent his Hotel servant to pick up a botlle of fine elvish wine and some food. He sent the wine to Princess Nespar during her supper, and retire to study the POLYMORPH OTHER spell.

Nespar and Leif had supper and discussed Olven Politics.

Phaedrus and Kay had supper and Kay had a little too much wine and began to come on to Phaedrus. Phaedrus got shy and pretended he did not realize what was going on. He retired early. Kay sighed and went to her own room. The wine from Shzzt arrived at Nespar and Leif's table, served by a high_elven waiter. Nespar is surprised at this gesture from the Drow. Later on, after Leif is asleep, Nespar goes to Shzzt's room to thank him for the wine. She apologizes for her earlier behavior, and thanks Shzzt for opening her eyes to her own prejudices. They part as friends.

25th Planting

Shzzt POLYMORPHs Bill into human form. Unfortunately his system cannot take the shock of the Transformation, and his new body died. Shzzt took Bill to the temple of Lydia to have him RAISEd. This temple is more concerned about amassing capital than religious beliefs, and so charged Shzzt 5,000N to do this without even checking Bill's alignment. Finally, Bill is back in a human body. The side effects of his many incarnations are: he tends to snort periodically, he tries to use his sense of smell to figure things out, he has a fondness for female equines, he loves to scratch his back on trees, he talks with a sort of hairlip, he is lacking in social graces, etc. Later that day, the party bought some excellent horses with Leif's expert advice. Shzzt hired mourners to mourn Nespar's departure the next day. The rest of day passed without adventure.

26th Planting

The party left in the morning and traveled the road to Nellix. 40 mourners lined the streets to mourn the departure of the Princess Nespar. She is slightly amused.

It was an uneventful ride and they see no-one else on the road. They reach the Inn of the Halfway Mile which is 40 miles SE from Leukish on the road to Nellix at about dusk. This was where they spent the night.

27th Planting Tornado

[Lief]:

The party arose early, anxious to make the Celadon Forest by nightfall. Both Shzzt and Leif ready LEOMUND'S TINY HUT spells to make themselves and the Princess more comfortable when they reach the Forest's edge. The party used an infrequently used path from Nellix proper, through the outer city and on to the Celadon in the SSE. The day was cooler, with few clouds, but with a definite greyness to the East. As the day drew on and they approached the forest, the wind picked up and the skies began to grow unnaturally dark to the East. Bad weather was coming. The party hightailed it and reached the forest edge just as the Tornado reached them. The wind winds up to a dizzying 114mph, and the party desperately tried to get deep enough into the forest that the wind could not harm them. Rain began to fall. [From Nellix, a definite greyness is seen to the East. As the day wears on the wind picks up and the skies grow dark and unnatural to the East. A tornado passes over the Celadon Forest and on through the grasslands of the Duchy of Urnst, missing most inhabited areas.] Shzzt did not want to enter the forest proper because he felt the Grey Elves would kill him on sight, tried to cast a LEOMUND'S TINY HUT spell at the forest's edge, but the wind buffeted him so badly that he stumbled and ruined the spell. Shzzt had no option left but to lash himself to one of the outmost trees and hope that the Elves forgive him. Luckily he did not lash himself to a guardian or Treant. The other of the party hid themselves deeper in the forest, and the Tornado did not seem to harm the Celadon as much as the party expected it too. Leif suspects some magical protection.

The Tornado moved on to the West. The danger was over. The party camped at the edge of the forest and was not disturbed.

28th Planting

Leif and Princess Nespar depart into the Celadon to seek the portal, Nespar thanking Shzzt and bidding him goodbye. Nespar and Leif then walked into the forest Eastwards, while the rest of the party looked for an ideal place to set up camp for a few days until Leif returned.

The party found a nice hill, and dug a 30' diameter hole for the horses and the party. They heated up rocks all night to keep the camp warm at night without telltale fire. During the first night, their encampment is attacked by a huge group of brigands. A scouting group of the brigands had been watching the party's fires all day had relayed the information back to the main group, who were out in force searching for unwary (but wealthy) travellers. 119 brigands converge on what is going to be "an easy kill".

First the party was assaulted by team 1, who's job it was to kill any guards and then assassinate the sleepers. Failing this, which they did, they tried to draw out the party from their hole so the rest of the group could overwhelm them. The leader Elmer stood with his 5 3rd level fighter bodyguards within his INVISIBILITY 10' RADIUS, awaiting possible complications. Kay went to wake up the rest of the party as Phaedrus draws his sword on four of the five brigands who have tried to sneak up on the camp. The party is slow to arise and face the danger. Shzzt and Bill both kill off a brigand each with well-placed Magic Missiles, and Phaedrus cuts one down with his sword. Suddenly the "unwary travellers" seem tougher than first anticipated, so the remaining front flank backs off to try and draw the party out and to await further orders from Elmer.

Elmer figured that by now the "travelers" would have had time to figure out they were severely outnumbered, so he shouted at them to throw out their valuables and perhaps no harm will come to them. He and his guards laughed at this request since they know there is only one possible reaction from the "travelers", who are so horrendously outnumbered.

But the party reacted by diving back into the dugout and helping the remaining members come to full wakefulness and into their battle armor. Phaedrus shouted something derogatory to Elmer , who decided to demolish the travelers with a FIREBALL spell that he had ready. If any loot got melted, so what? They had insulted Elmer, and they would pay!

Shzzt became INVISIBLE and moved out along the perimeter. Irving told Shzzt that was a 20' circle of magic in the center of the mass of brigands, but Shzzt does not know what this may portend. Suddenly the figure of Elmer and the figures of his guards become visible as he casts his FIREBALL at the hill.

Phaedrus suddenly realized that something is wrong. He recognized the stifling quality of the air that occurs just before the impact of a major offensive fire spell and shouted, "Incoming!". The members of the party try to dodge the ball of flame that suddenly fills the hole they have dug.

Elmer had decided at the last minute to place the FIREBALL slightly high to save any loot from the travelers after all, and so some of the faster of the adventurers are all right. Those who tried to exit the hole arebadly burnt. Bill is caught heavily by the fire, and collapsed to the ground. He was not dead, but was very crispy. Shzzt saw this and cast a HASTE upon himself.

Elmer shouted to the travelers to surrender, laughing with his guards. There is no way anyone will be left to answer. Their laughter ceases as Phaedrus shouted back, "Aw go fight your mother, you weakling!"

Elmer realized now that he has trouble. These are not mere travelers, these are seasoned adventurers! He immediately began to cast a MIRROR IMAGE spell upon himself, causing three identical copies of himself to appear beside him. Shzzt waded in through the guards, who could not see the Drow, to get to Elmer. In the meantime, the adventurers have finished donning their armor, and they are ready to join the fray. Koole screamed down the hill at the Wizard Elmer in the vain hope of getting him before he had a chance to cast more spells. Allan followed Captain Koole's lead. Two brigands moved to intercept Captain Koole, but he slammed one with each arm and sent them sprawling. Allan is not so lucky, one determined brigand managing to halt Allan's forward momentum. Allan is forced to fight. From up on the hill, Phaedrus fired two arrows at Elmer while Kay tried to hold off the brigands who were now rushing the hill to take the fortification. Kay put a HOLD on three brigands as Phaedrus managed to cancel one of the MIRROR IMAGEs. One brigand has successfully breached the hill, and several otherws move in behind his lead. Allan killed the brigand halting his progress at the same time as Shzzt took down another one of Elmer's MIRROR IMAGEs. Shzzt then hacks at the last remaining Wizard, who must be Elmer, and spoiled the spell the Wizard was preparing. Koole slashes at the arm of one of Elmer's bodyguards, but is struck a glancing blow himself. Shzzt killed the Wizard before he could prepare another spell, and then Shzzt turned his HASTEd attention to the now unemployed bodyguards, who have been trying unsuccessfully to hit the Drow since he became visible again. Koole and Allan parry with the other two guards, as Phaedrus and Kay try to hold their own at ten to one odds. Phaedrus called Suisse to get up and help. Suisse had been badly hurt by the FIREBALL, but he got up and tried to knock off a brigand or two without getting too involved in the melee.

The battle raged both on top and at the bottom of the hill. The balance of the brigands broke and ran for their horses, now that their leader Elmner was dead. Never had they seen such fierce fighting as this group of "travelers" was showing. Suisse was cut down as Phaedrus takes out three brigands, now using his dagger in offhand, his right hand.

Shzzt finished his three guards and then helped dispatch the two fighting Allan and Koole. Allan got the last blow in on the guard he was fighting, but as the guards slips to the blood-soaked ground, Shzzt pulls his sword out of the brigands back. Shzzt turned and sped up the besieged hill at top speed with Koole and Allan following more slowly (but also each running as fast as they could) behind him. The brigand who downed Suisse grabbed a couple of items off Suisse's body and then took off. Shzzt arrived at the hill and killed two more brigands. Shzzt silently communicated to Irving to take any valuable but unobtrusive magic off of Elmer's body. Irving steals the Bracers AC4 and the +1 Ring of Protection off the body, and everyone is too busy to notice.

The party is now back together as a cohesive force, and they down all the brigands except two, who immediately surrender. They plead for their meager lives in exchange for information which will lead the party to "Millions 'o' bucks!". The party does not seem willing to honor this deal, so the brigands refuse to talk further. Phaedrus offers the first one who tells them the location of the brigands' lair his life, but the other's life is forfeit. They both immediately start talking, but they are speaking of two different places. Finally Kay CHARM s the one brigand into talking to her about the warehouse in Nellix where the headquarters supposedly are. The brigand is charmed only three quarters by the spell and the rest of the way by Kay's beauty. He blabs all he knows, which isn't much, in exchange for Kay's promise that the "other guys" won't hurt him, meaning Phaedrus and the boys. The brigand even goes so far as to draw a simple map of a couple of rooms in the warehouse (the only rooms he has ever been in). He knows that two weeks ago the password was, "You Wascally Wabbit" but does not know what the current password is. Meanwhile, Leif in the form of a bear and Nespar (riding Leif) are traveling to the door in the Celadon Forest. They meet Jelna, the speaking Unicorn, and she offers to let Princess Nespar ride on her back to the portal. Nespar agrees after first asking if she may cast a spell to see if Jelna is really a creature of the dark in disguise. The Unicorn agrees, and so Nespar knows the spell is unnecessary. Leif departs from Princess Nespar as a bird (owl) and flies back to the party.

Elmer and his five 3rd level fighter bodyguards and his band of brigands from Nellix are killed by Phaedrus, and Shzzt. If in the area S of Nellix on this night, a FIREBALL will be seen.