The Story so far...

[Joseph Barros]

The party on the road see Sherwood's dark form above them, his cloak flapping manically in the wind behind him as he speeds off, flying over the tree's... and everyone wonders how such things are possible...

Then All at once there is a sound of breaking glass so loud it reverberates through the fiber of everyone's being. It is earsplitting and looking all around all that can be seen are shards of glass rending the world asunder, it is as if everything is made of glass and is splitting and fracturing, the roads, the skies the trees... each other...

Everyone screams in pain, a pain so acute a pain so unimaginable that it is 'hard to believe' that any mortal could bear such suffering.

Then there is the dark, the dreaming dark and a falling sensation... a terrible falling sensation down down into the dark down down into the blackness so deep and dark...it appears as Endless Night.

Choking, you cannot breathe, something clogs your airway, then it is ripped from your throat with little care or gentleness and then the pain of hitting something hard and slick and wet from your fall, dizzyness takes over and your blurry eyes feel the sharp dagger-like sting of light on newly woken eyes, a different kind of light to what you recall, it is diffuse and all around in points, many green glowing points of light.

You are breathing, you are cold you are wet and you are naked lain weak and half dead upon a cold stone floor you know not where. Your know little of your past, your vaguely recall a name.. you feel as if your life has been drained from you to the last drop.

Then the floor drops open and you are unceremoniously falling down a chute of some sort at break-neck speed and then all of a sudden a dark red walled chamber opens up and you hit some sort of mushy pile with hard bits...(hehe)

Looking about in the dimness you see a Human skull atop a a clump of debris and then you notice the debris is made up of more bones and carcasses, the whole chamber is full of rotting dead bodies, some fully decayed some only half.

Then another body comes hurtling down a chute and is dropped into the garbage chamber, and another and another...

It would appear you are not alone and as you look about you see bloodied skeletal Humanoids who look more dead than alive gazing up at one another in states of bewilderment shock and horror at the predicament they have found themselves in.

[vinnytheelf]

Thus it would seem that those Adventures in the Realms of Hluneru, the Dream Storied world are now memories of the past and a more wakeful reality has set in, that of a truer sense in that the dreamers have awoken and are now seeking their way out of the facility they were incarcerated in.

Not only have they to regain their wits, their belongings and their minds, but some of them should surely gain their sense of humor and make good of the situation...

[Joseph Barros]

Yes, because when I get chuted naked into a room of 1,000 corpses, naked, and barely able to remember my name the first thing I think of is "Eh, anybody got any jokes?"

[vinnytheelf]

I am just relieved you guys got out of the dumping chamber before the 'cleaner' came along... I think it would have been then, that a sense of humor failure would have been warranted. Say no more...

[agroson1]

I was expecting a cleaner, or worse, a flushing out through the Great grate. Being shit out and then flushed, too, would have been more than I think I could handle...heh.

[earthwizard]

I was about to whip out my communicator and call up C3-PO. You know, just in case the trash compactor started up.

[vinnytheelf]

Well come on, I mean I am the King of Cliche.

[vinnytheelf]

The group of Adventurers explored the cavernous dungeon they had found themselves in, defeated broken and somewhat defective and very old looking warforged servants.... very old, too old, for the 'Forged' were a new House Cannith creation, new as in only, now 4 years ago did they spring them forth from their Foundries...

Drow and eventually some Riedran inspired were encounteered and defeated, perhaps also a new ally was found, the Mysterious Masked Stranger, who leapt casually off a precipice into the darkness and further below into the heart of Khyber when bidding a farewell salute.

Fleeing the earthquakes and destruction of the Dreaming Dark 'facility', freeing the hundreds held captive and leading them to safety, the party eventually made their way through the freezing Barovian winter to the cosy and welcome hospitality of the small town of Barovia.

It was here that the Burgomaster Ivan and his beautiful daughter Ireena Kolyana organised the people of the village and thawed out the cold and almost frozen escapee's.

The Burgomaster, declared the Adventurers Heroes and with the heartfelt thanks of all those they helped rescued, the party were given the deed to an old shack, a simple one roomed dwelling on the edge of town as their own property to use as a home away from home for as long as they wished, in thanks and gratitude for their good deeds. A couple of the people free'd were native Barovians who had been missing for almost a year.

[prandur]

Sweet! We have a shack.

[vinnytheelf]

Indeed. It measures 20'x20' enough room to swing a cat...

There is a log fired stove, one bunk bed, 1 table 1 chair an old dusty wooden trunk(chest), a kitchen bench with a bowl for washing in.

Outside there is a small stack of wood, looks like Jeref wasnt planning on staying through the winter and was indeed probably going back to his wife in Stormreach.

But of course, some of you know what was his ultimate fate... perhaps he is where you left him and could be returned to his heartbroken bride?

[Joseph Barros]

I CALL TOP BUNK!!!!

[vinnytheelf]

A strange 'Trapdoor' of elven craft was found in the floor of the cabin. Droz determined it was enchanted and opened it.

A rough stone staircase leads down into the darkness and a dungeon is discovered...

[agroson1]

Droz is, and always has been, a mover and a shaker. Together with his Elven friend, Finnegan, there is little they cannot accomplish. And thus a large portion of the hidden dungeon below their 'shack' has been explored. However...was it by accident the town gifted us this particular parcel of land? I think not.

[vinnytheelf]

The Trapdoor was opened, against all instinctive warnings that each one felt.

Down below was discovered a small basement, carved out of the earth the town of Barovia is built upon.
It was soon discovered that a complex lair of traps and tricks had been built by someone and utilised by Goblins. However it was the strange shrine, apparently some dedication to Khyber the Dragon Below and the Mysterious Statue that were the main interest in this dungeon.

The shrine was guarded by magical sword wielding statues and a strange dark clad female figure, somewhat reminiscent of a recent Dark Rogueish persona seen in the Dal Quor dream stealing complex.

(more)

The statue was revealed after a familiar earthshaking event..

[vinnytheelf]

The earthquake revealed a sealed off chamber, where a life sized staue, nay more a carving of a bespectacled wizard-like Human is his later years, was found, holding book in one hand and rod in other.

Upon approach and entering into the shallow nimbus of light that surrounded it, a voice spoke and requested that a terrible beast be defeated and the artifact it guarded be free'd...

Ever the ones for a challenge the stalwart band of spellunkers battled onwards ahead through crumbling ruined halls and passageways and after a short while they found a large furnace like chamber, remnants of an old Giantish forge perhaps, where an Adult Gold scaled Dragon lay atop a pile of treasure, all glittering and shimmering in the orange glow from the forge fire.

Upon awakening the Dragon asked what they were doing in its lair and when they claimed to pass though, a toll was demanded, to which the Dragons price was rejected and a battle ensued.

It appeared the Adventurers were at fist not well coordinated in their attacks or strategy at fighting such a large being, yet after 2 ran around looking to steal treasure and perhaps make off with some well made magical swords, the Dragon returned across the chamber and flew down to scoop up the Dark Necromancer among them, one who would grab the only item of any threat to the Dragon, notably a Frostbranded Greatsword, a weapon the mage suddenly felt inspired and somewhat deluded into thinking he could swipe or wield the thing aginst such a beastie, yet nay all his efforts were for naught, scuppered and taken aloft was he, yet Droz the real Wizard felled the beast afore it claimed too lofty a height,, and thence it fell and did splatter itself and the luck-lost and lackluster cavorter of corpses until they were both lain dead upon the cavern floor, bloodied and gone from Eberron.

The beast 'defeated' the prizes rightly, and in correctly ordered claimed, the group bimbled back along the tunnels seeking egress and then Finnegan remembered, aha! The statue and giver of our quest, returning to the Statue of Gygax... they found only more rubble and now the image of the Great One crumbled and gone, yet in the ruins Finnegan did spy a small pack... deck of cards with a warning on the box..."Warning! Deck of Many Things, not to be toyed with."

Droz upon seeing such, remembered all of a sudden some maddening and terrible events of his past with such an item and urged strongly his friend to discard and never look upon the thing again.. Yet Finnegan, being no fool, yet respectful of his Elven cousin, pocketed and forgot somehwat the item left over for the group, much to Droz' dismay...