2018

            Another year has come and gone. Can you believe that I started this blog back in 2013, and it’s still here six years later? Six whole years of a new blog every week – plus the bonus stories of my D&D games, for those who read them. I never thought I could keep it going this long.

            While 2018 may not have been the best year globally, it was a pretty good one for me. I mean, for starters, we didn’t have any rats in the house, which was fantastic. Aside from that, though, it seemed to be a year of growth and change.

            One of the biggest changes is that this was the first year since it started Ringcrafts, my chainmaille business, didn’t attend any conventions or festivals. While we were sad to miss out on the events and seeing the friends we made there, we stand by the decision we made – with the increased success of Colleen’s Green Door Life Coaching, there was no way she could commit to the shows, and the set-up and tear-down of the shows couldn’t be done by me alone. Apart from freeing up a great deal of time, the lack of shows has also greatly reduced stress, making for a more relaxed year.

            For me, that extra time has been divided between a number of enterprises. The first, and by far most obvious of those, is Dungeons & Dragons. Last November, I switched from playing D&D weekly at the Devil’s Bench to running it, and I’m keeping a record of the ongoing adventure. That campaign has been running for over a year now, and has also led to me being invited to several other games. Not only that, but come the New Year, I’ll be starting a second campaign at the Bench! Crazy, I know.

            Apart from that, I’m still teaching myself computer programming and steadily advancing my skills. It’s both fun and useful, and I’m slowly understanding more about how these machines work (they could have run by magic, for all I knew). The stories I could tell you... but I won’t, because I know that if you’re as interested in the subject as I am, you’ll go and learn for yourself! (It’s easier than you think!)

            My writing projects, on the other hand, have slowed down drastically. I’m still working on them, of course, but the pace has slowed to a crawl. Why is that, you ask? I really don’t know. My best guess is that with all the creative energy I’m pouring into D&D (and the time spent recording the story) and the brainpower being absorbed by coding, my mind just doesn’t have enough juice left for my previous writing productivity. That’s alright with me, though, because I’m still quite happy with my other projects.

            Over the summer, I discovered what promises to be an amazing game, and got involved with a community awaiting its arrival. I could talk your ear off about it, but I’ll spare you by simply saying go check out Chronicles of Elyria – you won’t regret it. Your wallet might, if you get obsessed with the game, but you won’t.

            Right now, the most interesting thing is to look back over the year and see what I can best describe as a steady improvement in life. I couldn’t point at specific things and say, “That! That is better now!” but, when viewed as a whole, the world (at least my little corner of it) is just a little better than it was before, with promises of a continuing trend.

            Now it’s time to look forwards into 2019. As with all years, it’s certain to have its ups and downs, but I have high hopes for it.

            To you and yours, I wish a happy New Year. May it be full of joy and wonder, empty of sorrow, and an experience worth remembering.

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Season's Greetings

            I could write some deep, philosophical blog, or perhaps some nonsensical banter. Perhaps a short review, or some lengthy discussion on D&D or some other game. I could dig up some anecdote from my past, or ramble on about the future, yet none of that seems apt for today.

            Today, regardless of who you are, or what your beliefs, I would like to wish you a happy holiday season. If you’re spending time with friends and family, I hope you get along and have a great time – and if you’re not, I hope it’s because you’re happier that way, or that you at least engage in some activity that makes you happy.

            It’s a time of year full of celebration, but also one where the weather or old memories cause a great deal of depression or sadness. If you are such a person to be afflicted by such things, I’d like to remind you (because it’s easy to forget) that not all times are bad, and this, too, shall pass. I wish you the most cheery time you can manage and hope that the hard times pass sooner rather than later.

            I hope you all have a wonderful midwinter feast and joyous times, be they from games with friends or some quality time with a good book. Be kind to yourself and to others – that goes for the whole year round, too.

            And greetings to you from Salt, Pepper, Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, Oregano, Parsley, and all the other seasonings.

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Dungeon Master Growth Patterns

            Those who have been following my blog for a while will have noticed how much Dungeons & Dragons has become a part of my life in the past few years. In that time, I’ve been part of about fourteen different games, and I’m currently involved in five active games. During this time, I’ve been both a player and a Dungeon Master, but what has captured my attention today is the rise of new DMs and how they follow roughly the same growth pattern that I went through.

            Most people starting out as a Dungeon Master (though not all) have played the game before, so they have a pretty good idea of how it works on the players’ side of the table. They know that it’s a challenge to switch to being behind the DM’s screen, where they essentially have to create and control an entire world – much like a writer does, only a writer doesn’t need to account for the craziness that players come up with.

            The first game the new DM runs isn’t bad (with a good group of players, it’s very hard to have bad D&D), but it isn’t quite where they want it to be. Often the plotline railroads the players – that is to say, there’s pretty much only one way for the players to go, and one way for them to solve problems. This isn’t ideal in a game that revolves around the decisions made by players, but it’s also extremely understandable – because allowing players complete freedom takes a lot of thinking on your feet, and that takes practice.

            That first game usually falls apart within the first few sessions, but the new DM doesn’t give up. They learned a lot in those games, few though they were. The next game they run is significantly better. They’ve learned to prepare for players doing crazy things, and so they adapt their new game for that. This game goes much better, but it still isn’t perfect. The rails are still there, and still noticeable, and the DM runs into two similar problems: the players don’t catch on to what they were certain was obvious, so they need to improvise huge hints; and the players respond to things in ways previously unanticipated. Once again, the game usually falls apart at this point – but the DM has learned even more.

            Now comes the time for over-preparedness. The new DM has realized that players are wild and uncontrollable, and so the solution is to have a plan for everything. A massive world begins getting built, populated with interesting people and things. Histories and mythologies are created, as well as multiple dungeons and ways to attract the players to them. It becomes overwhelming, and at some point the DM realizes that if they keep this up, they’ll never get to play again – and so they take a leap of faith and start the game with what they’ve prepared.

            This time, the game goes very differently. Instead of the players going in crazy directions and forcing the DM to improvise, they seem to stick to the plot and avoid 90% of the content the DM has painstakingly created. This isn’t out of malice – this is simply because the DM has improved enough that the players feel that they are on the most natural course. The game lasts longer, and now the DM learns and perfects the rest of their skills. Their world is more in-depth, so they find improvising easier when it’s necessary. They get more of a feel for how to run and balance the game. They learn how to anticipate what their players are going to do, and to plan accordingly – but also how to have backup plans for when the players surprise them.

            Finally, DMing begins to come naturally, and less preparation is needed for each game. A lot of work still goes into running the game, but it becomes easier and more natural – as does coming up with things on the fly when the player throws a curveball at them.

            This isn’t a precise formula, as different people improve at different speeds. Some people manage to hold together that first game, improving as they go, while others have a few more false starts. However, by and large, this is the basic pattern of learning and growth I’ve observed in multiple new Dungeon Masters, and I find it to be fascinating – because running Dungeons & Dragons isn’t a skill you can learn everything about by being taught, or reading a book. It’s a form of art that you can only learn by doing.

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Lark's Landing, Episode 49

Colonial Caerdia: Lark's Landing is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. If you aren't familiar with this ongoing story, you can follow this link to Once Upon a Tabletop on YouTube to hear the start of it or read the brief summary I wrote when I switched from video to blog.

You can find the previous episode here.


19th of Waning Spring - 31st of Waxing Summer, 1AL

So, the 3rd Watch have returned home to Port Noble, the vampire left behind for now. Patrick, having sent a magical message to his guardian, Saul, has been instructed to come home right away, as there is something he doesn't understand. He makes the painstaking decision to return home, but first informs the rest of the 3rd Watch, in case he turns up dead tomorrow.

He returns home and is welcomed with a hug by Saul, who then reminds him of how important he is, as a god-touched child. Saul insists that it's too dangerous for Patrick to be out adventuring - if he were to fall under the wrong influences, it could be disastrous for the world. Patrick insists that it's better than being cooped up in the house forever, but Saul surprises him by saying that he just needs to wait until he's eighteen - which is in a couple of months. Apparently, when he's eighteen, he'll receive the proper sort of guidance - though even Saul doesn't seem to know what this may be. Patrick grudgingly agrees to wait for his birthday, on the condition that Saul acquires a new book for him.

So, the group decide to spend some time enjoying the comforts of home. Fiaeorri checks in with Gregor, hoping for more information on defeating vampires, but learns nothing new. However, Gregor does show her some impressive blueprints for a fortified mansion for the future new home of the True Daughters of Pagslas. Fiaeorri then spends the rest of her time alternating between training Ruby and continuing to learn the draconic language.

T'Zaric continues his indentured work, and also works to spread rumors that he is willing to do anything for a bit of gold - though this only appears to catch the attention of some militia members, who begin keeping a closer watch on him. Extang turns his attentions to trying to find a way to repair the magic mirror that allows the viewer to view portions of the past of a creature or object -  which he admits to the group he broke by using it on a god. Quib works on composing a song loosely based on the story Extang told him about the gold dragon he'd used the mirror on, then spends tome studying his former master's notes.

Early on, there is a concern brought to the group by Logan, because his apprentice, Lykos, is missing. Patrick quickly solves the issue by sending a magical message to Lykos, to which he gets the reply that everything is fine - he's out on patrol and should be back within a couple tendays. This satisfies everyone for the time being, but a couple tendays go by and Lykos still hasn't turned up. Another series of messages establish that he's lost, but he's fine.

Time goes on, and still he doesn't return. The group try to figure out who he went on patrol with, and find that neither the Militia or the Explorers' Guild sent him out. They ask Lykos who he is on patrol with, and he gives them names of the militia members he is out with - but Hargrom doesn't have people by those names in the militia. In fact, asking around town, no one has heard of them.

Now the 3rd Watch are worried that Lykos has been kidnapped, but they don't want to tell him because he might get alarmed and tip off his captors. Instead, they send him instructions on which direction to travel to find his way home, to which he replies that he's fine and says he doesn't need them to keep checking up on him. Patrick and Quib then pool their money and post a reward at the Explorer's Guild for the recovery of Lykos, as Saul is unwilling to let Patrick back out of his deal to stay home until his birthday - so they go back to waiting, keeping tabs on Lykos through Patrick's sending spell much to the boy's irritation.

On the 3rd of Waxing Summer, Fiaeorri wakes up to find her the birthday coin she was expecting to get, having seen her companions receive them. However, she's a bit confused, because the expressionless mask on the coin is not connected to her goddess, Pagslas, though she's not certain whatever else it means. However, it will temporarily improve her abilities, so she tucks it away for later use. She then heads out to arrange with Hammer to help Gregor construct his mansion - though more funds are required before the work can actually start. Hammer, having promised a favor to each of his former companions, agrees.

On the 31st of Waxing Summer, Hargrom summons the 3rd Watch to inform them that he'd found a militia member who had seen Lykos leaving Port Noble with a tall man wearing jade armor. The 3rd Watch recognize the description as that of the vampire, and horror dawns on them as they realize what has happened to Lykos. They tell Hargrom about the vampire, and he becomes very concerned - as there have been reports of other people disappearing as well. He chastises them for not telling him about the vampire sooner, and starts making preparations to add additional protections on the town at night.

Extang and Quib visit Feryon in the hopes that the wizard will know something about vampires. Feryon doesn't know anything, though he expresses great fear because vampires can turn other people into vampires - which is news to the 3rd Watch, and it sheds a new light on why people have been going missing.

They want to head out to rescue Lykos and slay the vampire, but it's still 24 days before Patrick's birthday. While contemplating what to do next, they realize that since Patrick can send magical messages to anyone he's familiar with, he can use it to contact the vampire. Plans begin being made for magically trash-talking their nemesis, but they can't figure out what is best to say. They settle for asking a simple question that they have been wondering about. They ask the vampire his name.

They receive an amused reply in response: "Hello, Bright Eyes. I am Zotzilaha, the vampire god of the underworld. Your friends are delicious."


And that brought an end to this game session. We reconvene in the New Year to discover what our heroes will do in Episode 50.

Sleep Beckons

            You know, I often see posts bouncing around social media about how much people love to sleep. While I agree with the associated sentiment that it can be very challenging to get out of bed in the mornings, I must say that I’ve always found sleep itself to be a dreadfully dull, yet unfortunately necessary, waste of time.

            To function at optimal efficiency, the average human needs eight hours of sleep per day. That’s a full third of the day where we basically have to shut down and do nothing! From a young age, I always found that to be exceedingly frustrating. Think of how much more we could accomplish if we didn’t have to sleep!

            As to it being enjoyable, I recognize that everyone has different experiences in life, but how can it be so? It begins with lying down and doing nothing for a long enough period of time that your body goes into sleep mode – boring! This is followed by a period of unconsciousness accompanied by dreams – which can range from amazing to horrible, but also most of which end up not getting remembered once you wake up. To be fair, dreams can sometimes be enjoyable, but it’s erratic and inconsistent enough that it can’t really be used to define sleep as enjoyable. Then, after that, you wake up and have to get up – which, as has already been mentioned, can be quite the struggle.

            So, how is it that sleep can be defined as enjoyable? It eats up time that could better be used elsewhere, only erratically contains entertainment, and is otherwise a whole lot of nothing. This really is quite the puzzler for me.

            Sadly, I don’t have the time to figure it out – as I must now go to sleep.

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Lark's Landing, Episode 48

Colonial Caerdia: Lark's Landing is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. If you aren't familiar with this ongoing story, you can follow this link to Once Upon a Tabletop on YouTube to hear the start of it or read the brief summary I wrote when I switched from video to blog.

You can find the previous episode here.


8th-19th of Waning Spring, 1AL

The 3rd Watch found a silver box. Inside the silver box was a copper fish figurine. The copper fish figurine had a hatch on the back. They opened it and found colorful glowing beads inside. They touched the beads, causing the hatch to close and the fish to take to the air and fly off down the corridor.

Now the 3rd Watch are in hot pursuit. They follow the fish until it comes to a door, where it stops, waiting... so, they open the door for it, and it flies into the room - which is filled with a decrepit army of clay statues. The fish flies around the room for a little, then goes to another door, which is barred on this side.

Fiaeorri takes this brief respite to begin training her fire beetle, Ruby. T'Zric looks around for treasure and grabs some coral beads from a sedan chair with a skeleton chained to it, though they have little value. By then, the fish is flying again, back out the door they had come in through. Extang follows, staying on the fish's tail, but Fiaeorri unbars and opens the door the fish had been waiting at, wondering if it might come back - it doesn't. She and the rest of the group check through the door anyway, finding that it leads to a sandstone block they had pushed out of their way earlier. They then hurry to catch up with Extang and the fish.

For over an hour, in the poisoned air of this ancient temple, they follow the fish figurine as it meanders around - leading them in circles a couple times - until, at last, having returned to the room with the cat motif, most of them decide it's a dead end. They return to their search of the lower levels - all except for Extang, who insists that the fish has something to show them and continues to follow it on his own.

The main party make their way down to the lower levels, and then through an already open secret passage behind a statue, dropping down from high on the wall of a large hall lined with frescoes.

Back with the fish, Extang follows it through the open secret passage behind the calendar stone in the cat room, down a narrow tunnel, into a wider hall with three doorways off of it - one closed, one opening into a closet, and one opening into a large room. He follows it into the large room, which is filled with a diorama of a city built around a lake and rivers of what looks like liquid metal. The two do a circuit of the room - with Extang noticing some potential treasures but not stopping for fear of losing the fish - then back out of the room, into the hallway. The fish flies through the open door into the closet - and vanishes. Extang follows behind, and also disappears.

Down in the hallway, Fiaeorri is far in the lead, the others having hesitated before following her through the secret passage. She opens the doors at the far end of the room, and hears a horrible shriek. 120 feet back down the hall, the fish figurine appears under an archway, followed by Extang, but much more noticeable to her are the hundreds of swarming rats that come boiling out of the walls and ceiling to attack her.

She begins fending them off, with her friends helping mostly from afar, but then an enormous wolf-sized rat comes from beyond the doors into the dim light cast by Ruby to join the fray. The rest of the 3rd Watch (except Extang, who is casting from a distance while strolling along behind the fish) rush in to help, but they're having their own problems - as more rats have dropped out of the ceiling to land on them.

Eventually they clean up the pest problem and continue on down the hall, which goes down some stairs before the floor gets quite wet. The hall eventually opens up into a strange, half-flooded room with a stony beach and crystal ceiling. They pause here to refill their waterskins and for T'Zaric to wash off the liquid light that would be drowning him were it not for his magical cloak that lets him breathe underwater. Except for Extang, who follows the fish to a door, where it pauses. He tries to open the door, but finds it blocked by mud and silt. The fish turns around and leads him back the way he had just come from.

The rest of the 3rd Watch have decided they've had enough of this temple, and it's time to go home - with or without the vampire. They start heading out, passing Extang on the way, who argues that the fish must be leading them somewhere. Fiaeorri and T'Zaric continue on, in spite of Extang insisting on staying behind, but the others pause long enough to restrain him with spells and rope, then drag him along behind.

T'Zaric and Fiaeorri wait for the others to catch up with them once they get out of the poisoned area, then they all continue on out of the temple - with Extang finally cooperating once he's realized the fish is long since lost. They emerge into the night, which immediately alarms them as they know this is the time of the vampire. They push on for a couple of hours before making camp. Everyone on watch duty is exceptionally observant that night, and they are very glad that nothing dangerous occurs.

They rest throughout the day, deciding that they should travel at night so everyone is awake and conscious should the vampire come after them. Struggling through the jungle at night, it takes them much longer to get home - but the push on, arriving on the 19th of Waning Spring. They split the tiny amount of treasure they found on this trip and head off their separate ways.

T'Zaric goes to the council and asks if, as part of his penance for his crime of murdering Balasar, he can establish an archive or library. His suggestion is turned down, however, as the settlement currently has no need for such an establishment - but they agree to revisit the idea in the future when it will be more practical. Fiaeorri visits her shrine to Pagslas and works on training Ruby some more. Quib moves his nest from his lean-to to the 3rd Watch headquarters and begins looking over his notes. Extang goes to the tavern and Caerdian Explorers' Guild to complain to Stor about the new members he's stuck him with, talking about how they got cold feet at the first sign of trouble. Stor insists that they just need time and experience, and ends up more concerned that Extang had been planning to stay in the temple alone.

Patrick goes to the shrine to Epesta and asks one of the worshipers for a place to stay. Unfortunately, it seems that Saul, his guardian, has been worried and has asked people to keep a lookout for Patrick. The worshiper encourages him to go back to Saul so the old monk won't be worried anymore. Instead, Patrick goes to find Logan, who gives him permission to stay in his old house. Once there, Patrick sends a magical message to Saul, assuring him that he's safe, alive, and well, and has done well on the adventure he went on. Saul's reply is relief that Patrick is alive, but also an urgent request that he comes home immediately, insisting that there is something he doesn't understand.


And that's where this game session comes to an end. Check back in a week for Episode 49.

Sifting Thoughts

            I recently had a discussion about honesty which resulted in the conclusion that saying the first thing that comes into your mind isn’t honest. This flies in the face of many common ideas, because what is honesty if saying the first thing to come to your mind isn’t the most honest thing to say?

            I periodically see a post show up on my social media claiming that a study found that people who swear more are more likely to be honest. The logical connection being made is clearly that people who swear are more likely to be spouting whatever is on their mind, and that’s honest. Isn’t it? Well, let’s take a closer look at that.

            When you stub your toe on something, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? Unless you’re a remarkably logical person, most likely the first thing on your mind in that moment is to be mad at the inanimate object you just stubbed your toe on, and be very angry at it for being there. If you were to shout out your anger at the object (as I’m sure you might), scathing it with the fury of the first thing that came to your mind, are you expressing your real and honest opinion on that object?

            Technically, the answer is yes; in that very specific and precise moment, those horrible things you shout at that poor innocent inanimate object are precisely what you are thinking about it. But, that opinion is fleeting and won’t last. It fades with the pain, leaving you feeling a little silly for shouting abuse at something that doesn’t even have ears – and which you probably put there in the first place. Unless you’re a remarkably stubborn person, you’ll most likely even admit to yourself that an inanimate object can hold no responsibility for the pain you just experienced. And, just like that, your totally honest response to stubbing your toes crumbles into meaningless lies that you spewed out in a moment of emotion. Your actual, honest opinion on that inanimate object and the part it played in causing you pain is the one that comes after letting the pain die down and taking the time to think about it.

            Now, naturally, there isn’t that much trouble with shouting at inanimate objects – unless, of course, it’s fitted with some very sophisticated Artificial Intelligence – but consider if it had been an impressionable child you’d tripped on when you fell and hurt yourself. Why you left a child lying on the floor is beyond me, but that initial, ‘honest’ response of yours could do everlasting harm.

            Let’s take a look at prejudices. These are ideas that we’ve been trained into believing, sometimes since childhood (possibly by having them shouted at us after having been tripped over). We look at someone, and we instantly make certain decisions about them based on how they look, how they’re dressed, how they move – anything. As an enlightened person, you are aware of at least some of your prejudices and know them to be untrue (and, frankly, in some cases, ridiculous. I mean, seriously, just because it’s a spider, it doesn’t mean it’s out to murder you). Yet, there’s that trained piece of your brain that throws the prejudice to the forefront of your thoughts. If you voice that prejudice, because it’s what’s right on your mind, you won’t be being honest – because your honest opinion comes after all that hard work you’ve put in to quashing that horrible prejudice (spiders are people too, you know).

            So, speaking what is on your mind clearly isn’t inherently honest. I would call it impulsive, and only honest out of happenstance or if the person you’re conversing with asked about the first thing that came to your mind. Honesty is what you get after you’ve taken the time to form well-reasoned thoughts.

            That, in itself, is something of a revelation, isn’t it? True honesty doesn’t come from impulsively speaking what you happen to be thinking; in fact what you say can become more honest by sifting it through mental filters before speaking.

Check out my YouTube channel where I tell the stories of my D&D campaigns.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

Also, make sure you check out my wife's blog and her website.


If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.

Lark's Landing, Episode 47

Colonial Caerdia: Lark's Landing is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. If you aren't familiar with this ongoing story, you can follow this link to Once Upon a Tabletop on YouTube to hear the start of it or read the brief summary I wrote when I switched from video to blog.

You can find the previous episode here.


7-8th of Waning Spring, 1AL

In a room full of stuffed cats, the 3rd Watch are once again facing off against a vampire - and T'Zaric, who has fallen under the creature's influence. The worst part is that as the group attempts to cast spells to bring T'Zaric back to their side, they discover that the changes that occurred when he made his wish prevent a lot of their spells from being able to take hold on him.

The vampire zips around the room for a bit, confidently ignoring the great deal of damage being dealt to him, until several swarms of bats arrive, answering his earlier call. At that point, he departs, instructing T'Zaric to keep the others occupied while he finishes his preparations down below - and telling him he can forget they ever met after he's expended his powers.

With the vampire frustratingly out of the picture, the group turn their attention first to eliminating the bats, then to taking down T'Zaric - who has mostly been kept in check by counterspells from Extang. When T'Zaric finally falls, they make sure he's not dying, then tie up his unconscious form.

Next comes an argument about what to do next. Quib expresses that he thinks it's time to go straight home, and Patrick wholeheartedly agrees. Fiaeorri isn't ready to give up on destroying the foul undead vampire, and Extang insists that this is all part of their job. However, they all agree that they need to recover from this encounter with the vampire before moving on, so they retreat to a side room on a higher level where they barricade themselves in so they can rest. They wait almost a full 24 hours for T'Zaric to stop struggling after he regains consciousness. Then they head back down, much to the dismay of Quib and Patrick.

They wind their way into the poisoned depths of the ancient tunnels, recovering some ropes the Extang and T'Zaric had forgotten on their firs journey here. At the bottom of a ramp with stone rollers set in the floor, they barely manage to push aside a sandstone block and make their way down a corridor which leads them to a lozenge-shaped room familiar to T'Zaric and Extang. Having been looted before, there isn't much of interest in the room, but T'Zaric suddenly has a strange experience.

While looking at the strange, pictograph language on the walls, some of the images seem to rise out of the wall, translating into  and flickering between languages he knows. He reads aloud portions of what appears to be a history of this temple, with claims that this is the home of the true gods who will awake to defend their people. There is also mention of followers being lost to a snake-god, and other people turning to worship the rival dragons, Fremrossa the Eternal Flame, and Quatheig, Bringer of Death.

After the strange words have left, T'Zaric examines the pictographs that the translation came from, finding some images that seem to link up - including snake-people, a gold dragon, and a green dragon. Intrigued by this information, Extang uses his magic mirror to see if he can peer into the past of Fremrossa the Eternal Flame and views clips of images from the life of a gold dragon. He pieces together the disjointed images as best he can to tell the story to Quib, who excitedly writes it down.

The group continue on through one of the doors out of the room, down a hall to another room filled with rubbish and giant fire beetles. Having been here before, T'Zaric and Extang tell the others that the beetles are harmless if they and their trash pile isn't disturbed. Fiaeorri, after wandering into the room and getting a cursory examination by some of the beetles, decides she wants one as a pet and manages to get one one a leash without upsetting it. She names it Ruby.

T'Zaric and Logan open one of the doors off the room and see a corridor that turns to the right - where there appears to be some sort of flickering light moving away from them. They head up to the corner, but by the time they get there the light is gone. They call over the rest of the group before proceeding further.

They proceed down the corridor, but Fiaeorri - who has been fastidiously searching for traps up until now - is distracted by Ruby and forgets to be on the lookout for danger. They trigger a pressure plate that drops heavy wood and copper walls both in front and behind them. They begin trying to lift the doors, but don't seem to be able to get a good enough grip. T'Zaric casts a spell turning himself into a mist and drifts up into the mechanism, hoping to find some way to raise the doors again - but finds that they were designed only to drop once.

He returns to the rest of the group to find that some openings have opened near the ceiling, and shortly after he gets back sand begins pouring out of them, piling up on the floor. Desperation strikes them, and Patrick blasts one of the doors with a powerful spell - managing to damage it a little. That's when a little ball of light comes through the door and begins attacking them.

Quib manages to temporarily drive the glowing creature back through the door while the others smash at the door until it breaks open. The 3rd Watch rush out with the sand pouring behind them and quickly finish off the light-creature. They proceed forwards, carefully checking for traps, and come to a dead end - but Fiaeorri notices that it looks like the wall can be rotated. She pushes on one side, and it does turn, opening up a narrow passage to a hallway beyond - past a pitiful pit that everyone can easily jump over.

The hall leads to a corridor with stone sculptures of animals on the walls. They follow it in one direction, which winds its way back to the lozenge-shaped room, before coming back and turning down a side corridor. This side corridor has its own side corridor which leads to a small alcove with a pedestal and silver coffer on top. Fiaeorri immediately notices a hinge across the floor and, upon closer examination, determines that the floor will tilt in towards the alcove and lock in place, trapping anyone who is on the other side. She works at disarming the trap, but it proves a bit tricky for her - so T'Zaric pulls out his own thieves' tools and smugly finishes the job.

They enter the alcove and retrieve the coffer, opening it carefully. Inside is a strange, copper, fish-like figurine with some kind of writing on the side. Extang pulls it out to take a closer look at it, and discovers a small sliding panel on the back. He opens it, finding a wall of colorful, glowing beads inside. At the urging of the others, he pokes the beads, hoping to find something else inside. Instead, the hatch slides closed all on its own. After a couple of seconds, the figurine then rises into the air and flies off down towards the corridor.


And that brings this game session to an end. Discover what happens next week in Episode 48.