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DM: Robin
Players: Lynn, Mike, Missy
While recovering at Grog's from the adventure they couldn't remember, Shao Tsang, Mogdar, and Victor responded to a commotion outside. They saw what appeared to be an animated suit of black plate armor, accompanied by a hopping bard and a female elf, declaring himself to be a god and demanding worship. When confronted, they introduced themselves as Balthazar (the armor), Tongue (the bard), and Blue (the elf) and invited the PC's on an adventure. Shao Tsang read Tongue's mind and discovered that he was actually a disguised slaad.
They refused the offer and warned Grog about the dangerous psychopaths loose in Dagger Rock. A bird brought a note to Victor, demanding that he go to the Archdruid Derwydd to confirm his initiation into the order. He found another note in his pocket ordering him to "return to Kethys immediately. The Black Circle has need of you." Victor talked to Shod (also a druid), who drew a crude map and recommended a different druid in the opposite direction. Just as the sun was going down, a shooting star crossed the heavens in a westerly direction. They took this as an omen and chose the druid Shod recommended.
On the way, Shao Tsang was snagged by a bizzarre form of intelligent fungus which began to attack him telepathically while it squeezed him to death. Victor and Mogdar managed to kill it, releasing a torrent of previously stolen memories, including the mission of its last victims, a pair of monks from the Tower of the Heavens. They were taking a bestiary to Ash, the druid/sage, in exchange for information about where the star fell. Since they were going that way anyway, and not in a hurry to get back to Dagger Rock, they decided to carry out the monks' mission.
Ash pointed them towards the fallen star,
gave them some magic mushrooms (with mild hallucinatory side-effects) and sent
Glitter, a Pan Lung dragon who often took the form of a beautiful gold-skinned
woman, with them to teach Victor the secret druid language while they traveled.
On their way to find the fallen star, they were attacked in the night by a man-like
shadow-creature who claimed to know Victor.
They found the fallen star in the lair of some twisted dwarf-like creatures called derro. After fighting their way in and out of the lair, they acquired some brainwashed human slaves who they intended to take to the Tower of the Heavens to be healed and freed. In their current state, the slaves were zombie-like and easily controllable.
Continuing through the pass with their treasure, the PC's had to climb a giant beaver dam and convince some local hunters to ferry them across the lake. Shao Tsang made fun of their arrangement with the creatures and was instead dragged through the water behind the boat. After more travel and some backtracking to cross the river, they reached the Tower of the Heavens.
There, they responded correctly to the ferryman's code (because of their fungally acquired memories) and were informed that the Elder Sage, Shalfey, had been betrayed by his assistant, Piyarz, and was imprisoned somewhere in the tower. The PC's were told to claim to be travelers seeking answers from the sages, then to rush the man behind the curtain and try to find Shalfey.
They pretty much followed this plan, sacrificing
their "liberated" slaves to hold off pursuit by the gnome guards.
The sage behind the curtain, incapacitated by Shao Tsang, woke up and escaped
while they fought his monk guards. They ran down the stairs and found more monks
and sages in the library. The sages fled while the monks held the party off.
Finally, they confronted, and quickly defeated Piyarz.
They forced Piyarz to lead them to Shalfey, who rewarded them for their help by letting them loot Piyarz's room. Shalfey explained that the fungus-eaten monks were his personal guards, sent to obtain the fallen star so he could trade it to some "dark smiths" for new books of prophesy. With Shalfey's bodyguards gone, Piyarz saw his chance and took control of the tower from Shalfey, declaring him dead, while in fact Shalfey had locked himself in his own chambers, threatening to burn the old books of prophesy if Piyarz entered.
Which of course is where the PC's came in. After defeating Piyarz and freeing Shalfey, they left the fallen star with Shalfey and headed back to Dagger Rock.