The Pentacle, by Khandis

Mission Report from the Turning Moon regarding the Pentacle and Sorcerer Zacharius. Present: Khandis Greykoil of the Grey School of Magic. Kurt Polarise of the Crusaders. Kyle Ompaq of the Rangers. Sir Verrick of the Crusaders.. Drieden of the Path. A group was gathered together by the Tian to return to the site of the meteor that crashed six moons ago. Our mission was to open lines of communication with the Tower of the Weaver. We were told the House of the Weaver had exiled House Tilduring from its ranks and were fighting them for possession of the site. I will pass quickly over the non-important points but am always available to provide further details should anybody request them. Earth Day   We approached the spiders den way station through (unsurprisingly) spiders, where Kurt lost both his guardian and good spirit. Also a group of Khalid from the 3rd legion(5). At this point I would like to encourage other adventuring groups to keep a tally of the number of Khalid killed as a friendly competition.   Once at the way station we sat, talked, were updated by Ark'nor on the mission parameters, attacked by two miscellaneous scouts, offered fairy dust by the Dai-Fah-Dyne, warned off by two members of house Tilduring, swore to return a lost girl to her father and finally talked to by Lady Kevralyn and Saladine. Fire Day Breakfast Hordelings before going in search of a member of the House of Weaver. On a previous mission (see the archives for my report) we were unable to prevent members of the Pentacle from corrupting a Vessel of Purity by the name a Riana from the Order of Chastity. It was her Sir Verrick swore to return to her father. We had been told she had escaped from the Pentacle and was in the area. We soon encountered her being pursued by Zacharius's minions. We agreed to travel with her and We fought through various other groups of spiders, House Tilduring drones and Khalid (tally 9) before getting to meet with a high priest of House of Weaver. For those who have not encountered them before their colours were a black and orange spider, their tower makeup appears to be a mix of Humans, Drow and Duegar with a large number of spiders. Including one who Drieden found somewhat cute. We were told that there was a General in the area and our request for an audience would be conveyed to him. We returned back to the way station through some Labryinth drones including two with gold faces who were semi sentient in some much as they were able to hold a conversation. Also a pair of Dymwan from the force of Lord Mian who despite Verricks best efforts we did not kill. While waiting at the waystation for the Generals response we were attacked by a large group of Khalid, accompanied by a Hepath and led by Sourcerer Galek, who carried a note saying the scouts last night were Khalid and they were sent by Gabrille Childe (total Khalid tally 16). The generals messenger arrived saying he would host us nearby and we left to speak with him. The negotiations were in full swing and going well until Sorcerer Zacharius appeared out of nowhere, killed the general and fled. The only thing we were able to salvage from the negotiations was that the Generals assistant survived and agreed to tell the accurate tale. The other thing of note from the discussion was that rather than being a human or Duegar the general was a spider, fully capable of speech and seemingly intelligent.   We returned explained the matter to Lady Kevralyn, Ark'nor and the Darkbringer when they arrived later. They told us to change target and kill Zacharius. This would be difficult for two reasons, firstly he was capable of magically teleporting and secondly even if killed he would turn to a gas and return to his grave to regenerate and we had no idea where the grave was. Lady Kevralyn provided us with a way of stopping Zacharius fleeing and told to go and find the needed ritual parts they also agreed to protect Riana from Zacharius's tracking spell. A Dai-Fah-Dyne vampire turned up just as the Wolfhold group were leaving and offered us a bottle that would trap Zacharius. It seemed very convinient to have an answer to our question provided on a plater but despite the likelyhood of alternative motives we agreed to use the bottle. We left in search of information about the ritual which we belived to be in the nearby area. Fought through shades and found a Drow who gave us a box that would direct us to the ritual components. Steel Day Breakfast, hordlings, and a glow from the magic box signaling it was time to leave in search of the ritual components. We followed it, through more drones, Shadowsfall and Khalid (total tally 25). The Shadowsfall declared that members of the valley had acted against the will of the mystics and placed a contract for the loss of spirit strength on the following: Kevralyn Soulfire Lancorrin Bloodcall Kylar Harlequin Irwin Kakarot Sutnak Anthrax Dudge Jack Morgan Bill Jingle Smudge Welk Ezekial Bramble As well as the permanent death of the Dreadlord Arakis. They become very defensive when we questioned their integrity as the will of the mystics given the temple of four winds. We encountered a group of Morsylvani undead before collecting the ritual components from a pocket of the Shadow realm and returning home bumping in to two knights of Purity who Verrick invited for dinner. An assistant of the Dai-Fah-Dyne vampire returned sending us off to an excavation site to collect the bottle to store the vampire in. We killed an ancient Sultan zombie and his colossal plague zombie who was previously stored in the bottle to get it. We set up and performed the ritual to bind Zacharius. He attacked the group when we had the protections on Riana removed. After a long hard fight we were victorius. Zacharius tried to escape and I for one enjoyed his face when he failed. We then beat him until his physical form evaporated and we collected what was left of him in the bottle.   We returned to the waystation in high spirits to report our success and deal with the various expected guests. Rianna's father turned up to collect her, shortly followed by a large group of the knights of purity. After some discussion and our refusal to hand over the bottle they attacked, were slain and their leader Sir Valence skulked off into the darkness. Lady Kevralyn and the Darkbringer returned declared the mission a success and we all turned in contentedly. Important outcomes: Diplomatic relations with the House of the Weaver are on hold. Sorcerer Zacharius a known member of the Pentacle is now a vaporous gas in a bottle that has been returned to Fortunes Keep. Rianna, her father and son have been offered sanctuary in our tower and have accepted. We killed a total of 25 Khalid which I set as a benchmark for later adventuring groups. I would be very interested in any information regarding the Pentacle particularly their members and motives. Known Chalices of the Pentacle Zacharius, formly of the Wizards Concilliium currently in our possession. A high ranking Sorcerer (2nd?) of House Tilduring. Other believed chalices: A high ranking member of the Khalid. A ranking member either of the Yakuza or the Celestial Bureaucracy. Khandis Greykoil Sorcerer of the Grey School 12th Sorcerer of House Drannath.