Originals lost in the 'Great Board Crash':

Segga introduced Iztar, who performed an exotic dance for them. She slipped Garacaius a note by slight of hand which said she was a prisoner. Later that night, when all were asleep, some of the party went exploring. They were attacked by an assasin vine in the garden, and Nailo perished before the plant was cut down. Jakob discovered the statue's arms worked doors, one of which led to Iztar.
They released her and she told them 'Segga' was really Dagar, the head servant.
They investigated the wizard's tower, finding a library and gem workshop. Dagar was cornered at the top of the tower and slain, along with another 'plant'. They took his rings, necklace, bracers and sword. Searching on they found a mirror room. One mirror was shattered, another seemed to be some kind of portal but they did not know how it operated.
Behind the mirror room lay a dome room where a dire bat dwelt. In a viscious fight which nearly cost several lives the creature was finally overcome. Garacaius gave Iztar the silver ring for her part in saving him.
They returned to the entrance and confronted the remaining servants.

Wed night online:
From Bazza they learned there were two bats.
While the others caught up with their rest, Garacaius, Milla and Iztar investigated more. They discovered that the chain operated a shutter in the dome roof. They left the shutter open and the dome door closed. Garacaius deduced that the chardalyn necklace had something to do with the portal. Milla figured out what had happened to Segga and dug the freshly turned earth in the garden. Sure enough, she found Segga's body. Exhausted by their efforts they decided it was time to to sleep, Garacius and Iztar shared a blanket.

Garacius and Milla earned 200xps each.

At about the same time as Garaciaus and Milla were returning from their investigations, Jakob finally gave up his attempt to sleep. Much as he needed the rest, he found he couldn't stop his mind replaying the events of the day over and over.
- The plant suddenly becoming animate and bringing an elite ranger to the floor. Nailo's body, crushed and lifeless in the dirt, staring at him with cold eyes from a blood-drained face. Himself, disarmed and helpless before the creature that had overcome two of his comrades. -
After all that, wading into ankle-deep bat guano didn't seem too bad.

Deciding that he might as well make the most of the time, Jakob lit a lantern and began sorting through his equipment. He sighed as he came across the empty potion bottle. That potion must have been worth a small fortune, and he had wasted it in a moment of panic. Recalling the moment for the millionth time, he shuddered and forced his mind back onto his equipment. He carefully laid out his crossbow, and the one he'd borrowed from Milla, cleaning and oiling all the mechanical parts. He then took the grease rag and began to clean his lockpicking and general sabotage tools. "Hmm, I bought these to try and outdo Nailo," he mused, " All the time he was with us I was obsessed with our rivalry. Well, I'm the only rogue now...but I didn't want it like this...not like this...". The images of the corpse lying just inches from his feet flooded back into his mind. Again, he made an effort of will and forced himself back to the task at hand, counting out the crossbow bolts he'd borrowed from Milla, paying unnecessary attention to each one, just to shut out his memories of the night's events.

Hearing Milla come up the stairs, Jakob started for the door with the intention of returning her crossbow and bolts. With his hand on the doorknob he paused. Everyone needed rest, everyone needed to turn over the traumatic events in their own minds, and he was wearing a faintly embarrasing long nightshirt. It could wait until the morning.



[This message has been edited by Ironbeard (edited December 15, 2001).]

Milla closes the door behind her and looks at the bed. She has seldom seen anything so inviting.

Instead she sits down at the small desk by the window to gather her thoughts for a few minutes. It had been a real long day.

Too much death. Too many deaths.

The day hadn't started well. The two dead ogres bore witness of her and her companions violent ways. The incident might have been avoided. And then again it might not. She knew enough about ogres to know that they probably wouldn't have left them alone.

Their arrival at Seggars mansion was uneventful and they was invited for dinner. It was only after Garacaius told them about the dancers message that she realised somthing was amiss. Was she so gullible?
Their further nocturnal investigation of the place started with a disaster when Nailo caught the worse of the murderous vine and perished. Her gut reaction made her jump out of reach of the plant to attack it from a safe distance. In hindsight she wasn't sure if this was the best tactic but it had enabled her to do some damage to the plant without being entangled.

The rest of the evening went by in a blur as her monk training made her focus on the task at hand, bottleing up her emotions to be dealt with later.
Looking at her left arm she was reminded of the unfortunate hit by the late Dagar/Seggar.
She knew now that her god had given her some measure of power to deal with this sort of thing. Milla concentrates on her wounds and giving a thankful prayer to Ilmater she watches as they close.

The fate of the real Seggar was revealed when Bazzar confirmed her suspicion and they discovered Seggars grave in the indoor garden.

Too much death. Too many deaths.

Exhausted Milla finally settles in bed.

[This message has been edited by Zorac (edited December 15, 2001).]

Sat night online - 15th Eleint

That morning, at breakfast, Iztar announced to everyone that she and Garacaius were betrothed, since he had given her a ring and shared a blanket. Garacaius smiled and seemed quite happy with the arrangement. The others offered congratulations. Milla, Hayden, Garacaius and Iztar resolved to dispose of the remaining dire bat. They literally caught it napping under the dome, A round of missiles, including magic ones from Garacaius dealt appreciable damage. It attacked Milla with viscious bites but she fought back bravely and it finally succombed to a fusilade of magic missiles from Garacaius.
Next their attention fell on the bodies. Three pyres were built and at noon Nailo, Sgga and Dagar were cremated. Milla and Hayden led the prayers.
Finally their thoughts returned to the mirrors. Studies in the library convinced Garacaius that chardalyn gems were keys to the portals. Milla deduced from the view through the 3rd mirror that the destination was either Marsember or Phlan. She also found a note in Dagars handwriting saying that passage through a portal removed all magical protections.
Garacaius sent his familiar through the mirror, it emerged unharmed on the other side.
Hayden proved to be a man of action, while the others debated what to do he took a chardalyn in his hand and stepped through.
It felt like he had been rolled down a steep hill in a barrel. After saying hello to his breakfast again he was able to stand and wave back to his companions. He was 'somewhere else'.

200 xps to Garacaius and Milla
500 xps to Hayden (includes 300 xp bonus for first through the mirror)

[This message has been edited by Erran (edited December 16, 2001).]

OOC: Ok if I retro to the funeral? I'll edit if it's not...

As the mourners began to leave, Jakob, who had been standing quietly at the back of the small group stepped forward and cleared his throat. He obviously hadn't slept much, and a black scrap of cloth was pinned to his lapel where he usually wore the red one. "Um, if you could stay for a few more minutes - I'd like to say a few words," he began.
"Most of you will know that Nailo and I had our differences. In fact most of the time I rarely saw past our petty professional rivalry. But now that we've lost him, I'm able to realise what we've all lost and I think I speak for all of us when I say he will be sorely missed. He knew us for only a short time, yet he was willing to risk his life for any one of us - and, on this tragic occasion, to give his life for us. Were it not for his sacrifice, most likely Sarathien and myself would be lying in his place now. We have lost a true comrade, and a brave half-elf." Jakob choked back his tears, bowed his head and departed....

On the way back from the pyre site, Jakob walked in silence, slightly behind the group, head down, thinking on his experiences - particularly the night before.

In the mirror room, Jakob watched skeptically as the others discussed using the teleporter, occaisionally mumbling to himself along the lines of, "A dead wizard and blood all over the teleporter room - Elminster here reckons it's safe...". As Garacaius' familar and then Hayden passed through, his eyes widened in disbelief. After a period of relief and slack-jawed wonderment, he began thinking clearly. "Ah, Milla," he said, returning the crossbow and bolts, " Thank you for the loan. I'm sorry I forgot until now - the funeral and the tension about the teleporter pushed it out of my mind. I think you'll find you have the same number of bolts as you started with - oh, and I took the liberty of oiling and greasing your crossbow - I hope you don't mind." Addressing the group in general, he spoke again, "Well, I don't know about anyone else - but I can't see how we're any closer to finding out about this ritual. We came here to get information from Segga - and he's dead. So we've found a working teleporter, and I'd probably ride one of those things for coolness factor alone - but what are we planning to do on the other side?"

"Well you see Jacob, I'm rather positive that the other place is the Moonsea. One of the places where we could go looking for information on this Netheril scroll as we were told by the abbess. This might lead us to information on how to stop this raising the dark ritual."

Garacaius then turns to Iztar and looks her in the eyes.
"Iztar, I want you to stay here and look out for this place together with the other servants. I will come back, I promise, and your help will be needed just as much here as it would on the other side. After all, if somethings happens with the portal on this side, we probably won't be able to come back."
He then hugs her and kisses her goodbye and turns toward the portal. He looks into the other side and thinks to himself, Oh well, my Liege let this work, then finds his Chardalyn gem, holding it tight and walks through the portal, hoping to arrive safely on the other side...

[This message has been edited by Lokken (edited December 17, 2001).]

"Oh no, Garacaius, where you go Iztar goes"
Unfortunately, when she tried to follow Iztar found that, for her, the portal was blocked by a sheet of mirror-glass.
Garacaius fell up, down and sideways all at once. He managed to retain his breakfast and his dignity as he staggered out dizzily on the other side of the mirror. Shadowfang perched on his shoulder. "What took you so long, boss?"
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a parchment that had been pushed under the door.

Ooc: Careful with the Chardalyn, you started with 2 each. Khor sold his and Jakob's were stolen.

"Woah!" Garacaius shakes his head, "Well met my little friend, hmm, what have we here..."
He walks toward the door and pulls out the parchment, reading what it might have to say.

Hayden walks to the window and takes a look outside. "It's a little colder here, don't you think." Turning around, Hayden walks around the room examining the rest of the furnishings.

Seeing Garac pick up the note, he waits while he reads it. "Well, what does it say?"

"Thanks Jakob. I see you cleaned it as well", says Milla as she accepts the crossbow.

Milla practices her slackjawed expression as she sees Garacaius walking through the mirror.
She sighs deeply and exits the room muttering "Men, they're all the same. Just dashing off with no thoughts of others.."

Milla takes the stairs up to Seggas former bedroom and gathers 200gp from the chest, leaving the rest.
She walks back downstairs and finds Bazza.
"Bazza, we leave you in charge here while we are away. Here are 50 gp in case you need to buy supplies. When we come back I expect to see some new plants of the more benign kind in the garden"
Milla hands over 50 gp to Bazza.

Milla composes a letter to any companions left behind.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
"We have travelled through the mirror to what we hope is Phlan.
To be able to enter the mirror you must find a Chardalyn gem.
These can probably be bought at either the lucky axe mine or the city of Nesme.

Milla of the Broken Ones
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-


She gives Bazza the letter with the instruction to show it if any more of her companions show up.

She then turns to the kitchen and packs some lunch just in case. Returning to the mirror room she picks up the atlas and tries to memorise as much as she can about Phlan and the Moonsea in general. She takes particular notice to anything written about the places. She puts the atlas on the map table.

Finally satisfied that she is as prepared as she will ever be Milla turns to Jakob.
"I guess it is our turn now. You are coming are you not?"
Milla hands Jakob one of her two gems and takes the other in a firm grip.

Milla steps boldly through the mirror.....



[This message has been edited by Zorac (edited December 17, 2001).]

Milla's monastic training had prepared her for many things, but not for being turned inside out then outside in again. She fell to the floor with a bump, unsure whether it was floor or ceiling.

Garacaius and Hayden read the note:
'Master Segga
Room rent of 30gp for the month of Eleint is now due. Prompt payment will avoid the unpleasantness of putting your furniture in the street.
Yours humbly,
Umburto (landlord)'

Jakob, seeing that all his companions have gone through safely, double checks his equipment one last time, holds the chardalyn tightly in his small fist, then takes a deep breath and jumps into the mirror.

Milla puts both her hand on the surface before her and tries to forcily stop it from spinning.
After a while things starts makes sense again and she looks up at her companions.
"Wow, I haven't felt like that since I overdosed on master Siaams herbaceous liqueur"

She takes a quick look at the paper from the landlord.
"Hmm, yes I suppose we should start with finding this man and pay for the room. Might as well pay him for Marpenoth while we are at it. We don't want to lose this room do we?"

Milla walks over to the window and studies everything she can see through it.

"I have to agree with Milla. We should pay and even pay for the future. Who knows how many times we will need this mirror. However, I suggest that only one of us go to pay. I don't want to raise a lot of suspicion when a whole group of adventurers walk through this mirror with no Segga. If I was the Inn Keep I would not like it."

Milla's concentration was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Jakob, shortly followed by Jakob's breakfast.
Gazing out of the window, ahead she could see a small island with a keep, to her right a tower and the start of a city wall, to her left the thatched rooves of houses and beyond them the rigging of sailing ships. The faint smell of fresh fish was in the air. It was certainly chillier than the land they had just left.
The room contained a simple cot bed, chair, chest and of course, a large mirror.

"Right, we can always cover our expenses here with Segga's gold."

Garacaius drops the note and looks around to see if anything else might be of interest. When his eyes passes the chest, he walks to it and tries to open, thinking it might contain information or something else useful.

[This message has been edited by Lokken (edited December 18, 2001).]

Hayden watching Garac head to the chest. "Be wary of a mage and his chest, Garac."

Garacaius stops, "Hmm, perhaps you are right Hayden, at least he had a reason to keep things secret. Jakob, would you take a look at this?"

Jakob looks confusedly at Garacaius, struggling to keep him in focus. "Hmm, oh yeah -sure - just as soon as the room stops spinning and settles down. Oh, boy was that teleporting a blast! Emm, but I don't think I'll try it again for a while." Steadying himself on the chair, Jakob waits for the effects of the teleportation to subside. A number of times, he staggers over to the chest, then decides staggering is not a good sign and staggers back. Eventually, he decides that he's sufficiently re-oriented and carefully examines the chest.

Having recovered his scattered wits, Jakob examined the chest. He found and disarmed the acid vial trap on the lock then opened the chest. Inside they found a weatherproof cloak and hat, a purse with 5gp, 2 keys, and a torn citymap of Phlan with 4 locations circled.

50xp to Jakob.

Jakob slips the purse up his sleeve before anyone else notices, then shows the map to Milla. "Milla, you seem to know a bit about this place - maybe you could have a look and see what these places Segga's circled are." Taking the keys, he begins to study their construction, noting any peculiarities, and trying to picture how he could get by without them. He leaves the cloak and hat, feeling uncomfortable about touching a dead man's clothes.

[This message has been edited by Ironbeard (edited December 19, 2001).]

Unfortunately for Jakob, both Hayden and Garacaius clearly saw the gnome peek in the purse and then slip it up his sleeve.

Although the outline of the city, built on a river delta, corresponded to what she had seen of Phlan in the atlas - nothing she had previously seen went down to the detail of buildings. 3 of the circled buildings were in the 'harbour' area, the 4th lay in the west part of town.

Garacaius pats Jakob on the shoulder, "Sneaky as always, hehe" and then turns to Milla. "So Milla, what do we have?"

Jakob coughed uncomfortably. "Just keeping in practice," he mumbled, "for the good of the party and all. I obviously still need to practice, thanks for pointing that out. I was going to keep the money for party use anyway." Jakob slipped the purse out of his sleeve and gave each member one gold piece each, and put the one left over back in the chest for later. He then went back to examining the keys.

"At least it seems that we are in the city we hoped for. And it seems we have a decent map. But what those encircled areas are I'm afraid your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps some plant shops."

"How about the door? Is it locked, Jakob?"

"I brought some of Seggas money. We can use that to pay off the landlord. Speaking of which, who is best suited to go and talk to him? You want me to do it?"
Milla looks around for opinions.

Hearing Milla, Hayden glares at Jakob. So that he looks threatening, Hayden places a hand on the handle of his axe, and states in a harsh tone,

"I don't care who goes as long as it is not this little thief. He may take the money and never look back. I have trust in either you or Garac to handle this, Milla. I will stay up here with the sticky fingered halfling."

Jakob glances up from studying the keys he'd found, and looks nervously at Hayden's axe. "I'm personally very offended that you mistrust me so much. I'm going to put that down to the fact that you've not known us for long - you even mistook my race," he pulls off his boots and points at his feet, "see, I'm no halfling - I'm a gnome. However, you're free to voice your opinion, and I'm okay with letting Garacaius or Milla go. My vote goes to Garacaius. No offense Milla, but I've seen him speak for us before and know that he can be persuasive. About the lock, I think you might be needing these," he says, offering the keys he's found. "I've not had all that long to look at them but they seem fairly complicated, and might even be magical. When you're done using them, I'd like to have another look at them - I think I might make out some more detail with the loupe (sp?)." He suddenly slaps his forehead. "Blast!" he cries, "I've gone and forgotten to pick up these nice tools from Segga's workshop. Oh, well - Bazza and the others probably need them more than I do anyway. One last thing - I really would prefer if you didn't both go - I don't relish the prospect of being alone with this big guy and his axe."

[This message has been edited by Ironbeard (edited December 20, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Ironbeard (edited December 20, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Ironbeard (edited December 21, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Ironbeard (edited December 21, 2001).]

One of the keys fitted the bedroom door. A simple flight of wooden stairs led down to a hallway. Off the hall there was a wooden door with a tarnished brass plaque which simply said 'Umburto'

Taking his hand off the handle of his axe, Hayden crosses his arms over his chest. "Halfling, gnome, makes no difference. But shoving money bags up your sleeve hoping no one sees you will not gain my trust."

Turning around to face Milla, "So do you think the rest of the group will be able to follow?"

"They should, all they need is a gem. I did leave a note behind explaining that. And besides Iztar knows what to do. I believe Sarathien still has a couple."

"As for Jakob, I will say this. He has earned my trust over and over again. The strength of this group lies in the trust we have in each other. If you don't think you can trust us then maybe we should follow different paths."

Milla turns to Garacaius.
"Are you up to talking to the landlord? I have some money to cover expenses like this."
Milla offers a rather heavy purse with gold to Garacaius.

Garacaius gives Jakob the coin back, "Only a compliment of your skill little one, not that I need this," and turns around to face Milla. "Yes, sure, I'll go," and accepts the purse, packing it away as he starts walking down the stairs.

Sat night online
Milla grabbed the purse and pushed ahead. She paid Umberto and they headed out onto the streets of Phlan. Comparing the map with their surroundings they were able to figure out that A was the lodging house where they entered, C was a Jeweller's shop and B was an Inn - the Laughing Goblin. Feeling hungry they entered. It was a lively Inn, with many sailors. They sat and ordered fish stew from the bartender, Sot. Enquiring about warm clothing he recommended 'Tanned Hide' leathers.

Map of Phlan now available on Baldak's page.

50xp each to Milla, Jakob and Hayden for figuring out their whereabouts.

Finally feeling refreshed after a day in the wild, Sarathien had decided to return to Segga's hall and the rest of the group. The death of Nailo, his companion, friend and student, had struck him harder than he had thought possible, and so he had left for the sanctuary of the open air after the funeral. He had intended to be away for a few days at least, but the revitalizing air of the northlands did wonders for his old ranger heart, and now he found himself returning already. The matter at hand was too grave to be ignored.

"Old?", the ranger caught himself thinking. "I am not that old for an elf! But I guess losing someone younger than yourself always makes you feel older..."

As Sarathien got back to Segga's former hall, Bazza presented him with a letter saying he should follow his friends through the mirror. Making sure Mithollo would be taken care of, the elf gathered his gear, grabbed one of his Chardalyn gems in his hand and took a deep breath.
The step into the mirror seemed to take an eternity as reality seemed to somehow stretch.


Tumbling out through the portal on the other side, Sarathien feels dizzy but otherwise alright. Standing up and investigating his surroundings, he finds himself in a what seems a small sleeping chamber with a chest and a locked door. Wondering where his friends have gone too, he realizes that the best thing he can do at the moment is to just sit down and relax.

contd in Through the Looking Glass