Our heroes set out from Crofton Mill to explore the ruined Lord's Hall. Reed performed a brief reconnaissance, and the party approached from the north to encounter a group of goblins standing guard. Maidok charged in at full speed, and the battle started! The party made short work of the group, but not before Alek noticed something odd: depending on where he was standing, he could feel a pulsing energy, almost a vibration. Consulting his magical training, he recalled that these were ley lines, confluences of Arcane energy. Ula consulted with the spirits of nature, and sensed that something horribly unnatural was going on here, and that the balance of nature had been disturbed.
Proceeding on, they entered the basement of the ruin, where Alek and Reed attempted some subterfuge with cat noises. This baffled the guards at first, as did Ula's summoning of Tate. The party was able to defeat this second group of guards, and even fended off six goblins jumping from out of the walls.
Finally, the group entered a large under ground room, where goblins were using the power of the ley line to brew some sort of foul poison, and were refining the poison into the slingers' missiles. A brief battle raged, with both Alek and Reed exploiting the power of the ley lines to inflict maximal damage. Only one goblin remained, but when he turned to flee deeper into the partitioned room, he knocked a torch into the pool, igniting the poison in a massive explosion, knocking everyone near the pool to the floor.
The explosion knocked down the partition, revealing the famed Professor Kazimir Domarien, his assistant Lerissa Vrago, and a few goblins standing guard. The Professor was attempting to exploit the intersection of ley lines via a ritual, with possibly disastrous consequences. The party listened to his rantings, then determined to put an end to him. Maidok bisected Lerissa Vrago with a few expert moves, while Alek and Reed did battle with the Professor, and Ula fought off the guards. The Professor, drunk with the newfound power of performing arcane magic (rather than studying it), was able to knock Alek unconscious, though did substantial damage to himself by abusing the Ley Lines power. Ula used her shaman healing powers to revive the wizard, while Reed continued casting spells and curses against the Professor. Alek, struggling to his feet, was able to send a final magic missile into the professor, knocking him dead.
In the aftermath of the battle, the party discovered that the Professor had enchanted a book to automatically record his experiments, and that his findings had been magically communicated to the Iounan University Press for potential publication. Alek wanted to be sure that no one would attempt to exploit these ley lines or harm the Amber Vale again using this power, and pleaded with his party to keep their findings a secret.
Upon their return to town, the party met with Captain Deaderick and informed him that the goblin problem had been eliminated. Deaderick thanked them, and offered a small token of his appreciation. The party also spoke with Priestess Mariband, but, despite her interest, told her nothing about the ley lines at Lord's Hall, and tried to disuade her from going there. Despite her interest in the Hall and in the history of the Vale, the party did not offer her the books they recovered from Professor Domarien's possessions.
Proceeding on, they entered the basement of the ruin, where Alek and Reed attempted some subterfuge with cat noises. This baffled the guards at first, as did Ula's summoning of Tate. The party was able to defeat this second group of guards, and even fended off six goblins jumping from out of the walls.
Finally, the group entered a large under ground room, where goblins were using the power of the ley line to brew some sort of foul poison, and were refining the poison into the slingers' missiles. A brief battle raged, with both Alek and Reed exploiting the power of the ley lines to inflict maximal damage. Only one goblin remained, but when he turned to flee deeper into the partitioned room, he knocked a torch into the pool, igniting the poison in a massive explosion, knocking everyone near the pool to the floor.
The explosion knocked down the partition, revealing the famed Professor Kazimir Domarien, his assistant Lerissa Vrago, and a few goblins standing guard. The Professor was attempting to exploit the intersection of ley lines via a ritual, with possibly disastrous consequences. The party listened to his rantings, then determined to put an end to him. Maidok bisected Lerissa Vrago with a few expert moves, while Alek and Reed did battle with the Professor, and Ula fought off the guards. The Professor, drunk with the newfound power of performing arcane magic (rather than studying it), was able to knock Alek unconscious, though did substantial damage to himself by abusing the Ley Lines power. Ula used her shaman healing powers to revive the wizard, while Reed continued casting spells and curses against the Professor. Alek, struggling to his feet, was able to send a final magic missile into the professor, knocking him dead.
In the aftermath of the battle, the party discovered that the Professor had enchanted a book to automatically record his experiments, and that his findings had been magically communicated to the Iounan University Press for potential publication. Alek wanted to be sure that no one would attempt to exploit these ley lines or harm the Amber Vale again using this power, and pleaded with his party to keep their findings a secret.
Upon their return to town, the party met with Captain Deaderick and informed him that the goblin problem had been eliminated. Deaderick thanked them, and offered a small token of his appreciation. The party also spoke with Priestess Mariband, but, despite her interest, told her nothing about the ley lines at Lord's Hall, and tried to disuade her from going there. Despite her interest in the Hall and in the history of the Vale, the party did not offer her the books they recovered from Professor Domarien's possessions.
