The Return of Hanselhopf (the Jedi....NOT)

Adventuring all night in the caverns resulted in some great news. Elvis, Christopher, Grimdor, Nicolas, Ralph (my charmed GOAT-friend), and myself, Quinua the Unbathed continued on our mission to find the famed Deaths Head jewel.

After dispatching a few small bands of goat-men, we were anxious to quickly return to the pink liquid fountain for some healing before we continued adventuring. I explained to Ralph that we wanted him to lead us there and much to our surprise, the route he took passed through a large torture chamber. From the hallway outside the room, we could make out some goat-men voices as well as a familiar voice - it was Hanselhopf! He was alive - but being tortured! We burst into the room and Elvis began yelling in a commanding voice. He flashed his newly acquired sceptre and the horns from the minotaur beast (that he acquired from an earlier battle) in an attempt to confuse the goat beasts. Our ruse succeeded enough to gain a slight upper hand. One goat-dude (Kurush, as he called himself) was clearly the leader of the other four. He commanded his squad to attack us, but we quickly dispatched one enemy and I was able to charm another with a spell. Luck was on our side as a paralyzation dart rendered the leader quite helpless. In the ensuing chaos, we were able to defeat the remaining beasts and rescue Hansie! It's good to have him back with us! After searching around, we obtained a nice crown from Kurush. His crown and some opals (that we procured from a previous room) look like they're worth quite a bit of money.

The rescuation domination

After making our way to the fountain to heal up, we returned to the torture room and continued adventuring. A short way down a passage, we came upon a fancy looking door that, for some reason, was glowing in a purple light. Elvis mentioned that he recognized this door from a dream and he had a strong, overwhelming desire to go inside. We entered the room, uncertain of what we'd discover and found what looked to be a study that was in complete disarray. Everything was strewn about. Beyond that, there was a bedroom that seemed to be for someone of royal status (however everything was in shambles there also). After searching these rooms, we discovered some scrolls from the diary of King Agamemnon. He wrote about being upset with a court magician and how he doubts his loyalty. The scrolls mention his name was Telekis (the one who penned the letter to Morgellon telling him to go to the chamber of pleasures with a chime of opening). Something about the floor below needing to be purified was also mentioned. So much is going on in these tunnels. We must find some answers....

What happened next was very unnerving. We entered a small room and much to our delight, found a tunnel that led to the surface. A bit of anxiety was lifted upon discovering this exit, however the shadows all around me became frantic and their screaming and moaning in my head was too much to bear. Through the incessant noise, I heard whispers of how I must become the "Shepherd of Souls" and that they (the spirits) are "lost souls" that "must be led". Suddenly, everything went quiet and I felt another power or spirit had entered the area. In my head, I was able to communicate with it and I asked who (or what) had just arrived. This new energy force was somehow challenged by my question; as if I was trespassing on its domain. Then I asked what I would need to do to become the "Shepherd of Souls" and felt that there was a demand put on me to liberate a shepherds staff from someone or something. The words "Find the cruel king above" also rang inside my head.

As we attempted to leave to go back to camp, I felt the anguish and frustration of these trapped souls and my conscience wouldn't allow me to leave without offering to help. I pledged that I would try my best to become the Shepherd of Souls to help free them and immediately there was a more positive feeling in the atmosphere, yet still an aura of anxiety and vengeance. At last, my task has become clearer.

Leaving Ralph and Willis (my two charmed GOAT-comrades) hidden in the tunnels, we made for the exit to recoup and resupply at camp for a couple of days. Soon we'll be back to continue seeking the Deaths Head as well as some answers in these mysterious caves.

1st rank: Elvis (in purple hat)

2nd rank: Hans (l), Christopher (r)

3rd rank: Quinua (l), Ralph (r)

4th rank: Willis (l), Nicolas (r)

5th rank: Grimdor (in black hat)

Back into the caves....

I'm concerned. Lately, I've been catching glimpses of odd shadows that seem to follow me from the caves. Elvis and Christopher told me that they've noticed them too. It's becoming worse and often times I can hear whispers telling me that I must become the "shepherd of souls". Is it my mother nagging me from the afterlife or could it be something less concerning?

Anyway, back at camp we rested a bit and took care of some business over the next few days (partying mostly). Claus mentioned that he can spare no more men for us to take in the caves, so we decided to approach Lord Alexey Romanov to see if he's able to spare some of his workers. Upon approaching his manor, the gate was closed and the place was oddly quiet. We spoke to Alexey's servant (?) and he told us Alexey was not available. We asked if he had any men who we could hire to help us explore the caves, but were told that the labourers are gone now since the construction was finished. So we left empty handed, but curious as to Lord Alexey's whereabouts.

Next, we spoke with the monks about an interesting sceptre we obtained from the corpse of that large minotaur. They claimed that it originally belonged to the last good king of the Thracians, King Agamemnon (who ruled about a century ago). The librarian in the monastery mentioned that the king also owned a mystical sword he used to do away with the evil necromancers. This item was forged by the Purple Giant (which is the planet the monks worship). Maybe we'll be lucky enough to locate this artifact.

While running errands in town, some of the residents implored us to find out who or what was behind the kidnappings in Ilyria. We mentioned that we could use some muscle in the caves and one man, Nicolas, was willing to come with us. His brother was kidnapped and he wants to know what happened to him.

Once we were back in the caves, some of the denizens seemed to be ready for us. A group of them ambushed us with fire bombs, but luckily we took no major damage so we retreated to a safer area. Moving quickly, we eventually made it to the room where we killed the minotaur, but unfortunately there was no trace of our dead comrades. After searching the area, we located a secret passage to a roughly cut tunnel system where inside was a room with around 20 hyena-men. However there was no hyena TID-DEH!! We were able to avoid them and continue on. The next room was disturbing. In it we discovered many corpses spiked to the ground. The most disturbing part was that these creatures (some human, others abominations of hyena-men and goat-men) were still slowly writhing around. Not dead, yet somehow not alive either. Possibly the Death's Head is nearby. We must continue to investigate these tunnels and find that item.....

The party vs. some GOAT-men

The group, a short intro and history, and onto Ilyria

Having served hard time for our indiscretions, Elvis the Swordsman, Christopher Skywalken the Jedi, and myself, Quinua the Witch Doctor decided to band together to adventure strange places on the Lost Continent.

We began exploring in the mystical and endless caverns beneath Pentastadion, in hopes of proving the rumours of great treasures to be true. After fighting some loathsome creatures, finding mysterious items, and meeting a few interesting characters, we crossed paths with the famous treasure hunter named Claus.

He planned to travel to the fishing village of Ilyria with his hired group of workers to seek out ancient Thracian treasures rumoured to exist in the cave complex in the hills nearby. We went along with them in hopes of finding and looting the shiznitz out of those caves.

After arriving in Ilyria, the caves were quite easy to locate. We explored different areas of the cave complex, fought some GOAT-men and hyena-men, and found some magical items. A few were Thracian relics that Claus seemed to get excited about. We decided to visit a large house/palace that was being built on the side of the hill near the caves. We met a very hospitable foreign gentleman by the name of Lord Alexey Romanov. He sold us a gem that Christopher needed to complete the fabrication of his light saber. Money seems to be of little concern for him, so we want to party with this guy!

Also on the far side of town, atop a hill, is a large monastery. The monks inside have been very helpful in explaining some history of the Thracians and their items as well as having a spell or two handy when we need.

We're currently exploring a cave complex in which the beasts we kill eventually come back to life. Claus mentioned of a very powerful artifact called the Death's Head - a jewel that's the size of a skull. According to the purple monks in the monastery, this item was created by Thracian necromancers. It's able to control death itself. We're in the process of trying to locate this massive gem as it may be important to keep it from the wrong type of people.

The gang before the minotaur battle.

During our latest adventure, we were investigating an area of the cave where earlier, we found a strange note addressed to Morgellon (an ancient Thracian prince according to the monks) from his friend Telekis (a novice necromancer). The note mentioned of dramatic events that will allow them a chance to reach the "chamber of pleasures below" without being caught. It also mentions for Morgellon to take a chime of opening to the entrance of the Halls of Darkness. While revisiting the area of the cave where we found this note, a tough battle ensued with multiple GOAT-men and one huge minotaur. Sadly, two of our comrades fell in battle, but we were able to escape with our lives. That battle is NOT over!

to be continued....