[[By the light of a campfire and a Light spell, Marty writes the following diary entry]] Dear Diary, I've set up camp by the ruins of the Legion tower in old Jyyd. It's sad coming back to Jyyd. I have fond memories of this place. The crops, gardens and veggie patches, but mostly the people. Adventurers, soldiers, farmers. There was a lot of love in this place. When we lost Jyyd during the war I think Narfell lost a part of her soul. From my camp here I am hoping to probe the outskirts of the Mintas wood. With the Circle of Quercatha Terr mostly scattered, and other druids scarce, I feel the burden is upon me to make sure the beasts of that wood are culled and kept at bay. If those creatures venture beyond their usual territory it would cause major disruption to the natural order in the region. I am totally out of my depth. I'm not like the druidic heroes that mentored me. I wish with all my heart the they were still in the land. I miss Jerrick. I miss Aoth, Fadia, Belia and all the others. If they were here the multiplying hoard of direbeasts in Mintas wouldn't be a problem. In truth I have no hope of being able to fight against these creatures alone. The best chance I have is to try turn them against each other, curb their own savage instincts to have them devour one another. Sadly, this is how the wood became corrupted in ancient days. People turning on one another, druids, demon binders, everyone set on devouring one another. By turning the beasts upon each other, am I helping to undo the corruption in these woods or just perpetuating it? I wish with all my heart it wasn't in our nature to devour one another. We divide ourselves into tribes and strive against each other - over what? I dream of what we could achieve if the people of the land could unite. I once believed that Peltarch was the key to that future - "The Jewel" - the possibility that people could come together, govern ourselves, each of us with hearts filled with compassion for one another, with a passion for justice as well as for mercy. But now, I guess I've seen too much hatred and greed. Too much war. Our desire to devour each other corrupts the land. It corrupted Mintas. It destroyed Jyyd. Peltarch, "The Jewel", was once like a bright beacon on a hill, a light of justice and hope. Now, our petty desire to be "royal" has corrupted the once beautifully paved streets and turned them into filth. Each of us wanted to sit on our own little throne, and the light of Peltarch was snuffed out Maybe I'm losing faith? I have to keep faith. There is both light and darkness in all people. I need to keep believing that we can come together. I need to believe the corruption can be beaten back. Believe, despite all evidence to the contrary. If I don't believe then the corruption already has me. I will venture into Mintas before the next dawn. Should someone find this diary, please know that my corpse can likely be found not too far from the edge of the wood. I am following the old road that skirts south of Jyyd through the north edge of orc country. If you follow the road into Mintas you may find my body. I would not ask you to risk your life, but if brave and capable folk are able to venture in after me I would be grateful if my remains could be collected and taken back to a temple to be raised. It's unlikely the direbeasts will leave much of me intact, but you may be able to find a bone or a finger. I hear this is enough for the temple to raise me back to the land of the living. Somewhere close to my corps will be a pouch of gold that should cover the cost of the resurrection ritual. May nature's grace bless you.

A pair of bandits sat by their fire, waiting for their pot to boil. The light from their fire dimly illuminated their cave hideout. "I'm tell'n ye Frod, the way he died ... just wasn't roight" "He died of natural causes Boch. Ain't nuth'n else to et! He tripped, fell, knocked his head and died." "His skin had been peeled off Frod!" ".... Skin prob'ly fell of after he hit his head." "Nay ... those stories ... about the ghosts of angry druids ... I think they haunt this place." "Don't be stupid Boch! Ain't no such thing as druids!" "Shhh ... what was that?" Boch listened carefully, peering into the darkness, hand gripping the hilt of his sword. "Relax Boch. We have another new lad com'n in from the hold. Hin fella." A quiet voice spoke from the darkness, "You Boch and Frod?" . The darkly clad halfling emerged from the shadows, pulling back his hood to introduce himself. "I'm Gullie." "... 'Bout toime you got 'ere Gullie. You get your kit?" "Yes mister Frod. A couple of healing potions and a thunderstone trap kit. Did you want me to set the trap up somewhere?" "Nay, just hang onto it for now. So t'start with-" Frod was interrupted by a gentle plopping sound of something being dropped into a puddle. The sound echoed around their cave. "What was THAT!?" Boch drew his sword, shakily on guard against anything that may emerge from the darkness! Frod wasn't expecting anyone else. "Prob'ly just a rat Boch. How 'bout you go check it out then aye?" "I ain't goin' into no dark place to go check noth'n out! Not gona 'ave my skin peeled off by some bastard druid ghost!" Deep panic began to take hold of Boch. "YOU go check it out!" "Nar." Frod replied, "I got this fire to watch. Well new guy, I guess this'll be ye first job! Go check it out." "Wait .... there are ghosts down here?" "Nar, don't listen to Boch. He's just spooked. Five coppers says it's just a rat." Gullie drew a dagger and quietly disappeared back into the shadows. Boch and Frod waited by the fire for Guillie to return. After waiting a few moments Boch blurted out "He's DEAD! I know it! I'm tell'n ye Frod, we gota get outa here! It's druid GHOSTS I'm tell'n ya!" Frod let out an impatient sigh, "Wait here Boch." Drawing his sword, frod strode out into the dark cave to find out what had happened to their new henchman. Boch crouched by the fire gripping his sword, terrified. A quiet gurgling sound, followed by a wet thud. "WHO's THERE!" Boch cried out. "SHOW Y'SELF!". Barely audible over the crackle of the fire, arcane words whispered, echoing off the walls of the cave. From the darkness emerged the translucent form of an elven woman. She held out her hand to complete her spell. Magic smothered the light of the campfire, plunging the cave into utter darkness. Overcome by terror, Boch fled, stumbling through the darkness out toward the corridor. Beyond he could see dim light. In his panic he failed to spot the thin tripwire before him, attached to a cluster of thunderstones. The trap detonated, sending a piercing sonic crack echoing through the entire ruin. As he staggered, stunned by the blast, a crossbow bolt struck his shoulder. The bolt ruptured a nexus in his energy flow, causing him to convulse and then freeze in place as rigid as stone. The ghostly figure emerged from the darkness behind him, moving round in front of him so she could be plainly seen. She slung her crossbow over her shoulder and drew a cruel looking dagger. "For your information," the ghostly elf began, "I am not, in fact, a druid. Nor am I a ghost. I have cast a spell upon myself that gives me the visage of a ghost." Movalyn began to cut away at the side of the bandit's face, peeling it off. "I thought you should know. I would hate for you to die in ... well .. in total ignorance." [[Happy halloween!]]

Word spreads of two separate battles between the bandits by the Nars Bridge and soldiers of the Troff Legion. The first occurred near the bandit leader's camp, where a bandit archer appeared to be frozen by Legion General Theaon Thorn, only to be shot down by her own fellow bandits. After the battle concluded, the Legion troops made their way towards the Gypsy Camp. The following day the Legion troops emerge from the camp and engage a few more bandits at the leader's camp. After killing all of the bandits at the camp, the General was able to capture a lone bandit closer to the bridge with a hold spell. After being disarmed, the bandit was reportedly defiant, accusing the Troff Legion of being bandits and having no connection to the other bandits. After the hold spell seemingly wore off, the bandit wildly started swinging at the Legion troops, until he was knocked out. At that point, several more bandit archers appeared and started firing towards the Legion troops, and their incapacitated friend. As General Theaon, Corporal Thau'lira, and Recruit Es provided cover, Corporal Pugor bravely put the unconscious bandit over his should and made his way towards Hin Hold. From there, the Legion troops were reportedly able to bring the bandit to their cells for further questioning.

MAPPING THE ICELACE FROM HEROES BLUFF TO KRONT - Pt. 2 Things have gone much smoother after the unexpected ambush by the Dread Wraith. Lence is still mulling how it managed to make its way to the Shattered Gates... those wraiths are known to wander around Ormpur, and not stray far. Perhaps some hapless adventurer had drawn it to the riverside? Well, it won't be haunting the Shattered Gates any more, Lence thought grimly to himself. After dispatching the wraith he headed south along the Central Plains, and snuck into the dale where the Deep Riverbed bubbled quietly. Lence had mapped it, but not completely, and he wanted to have as complete a map as possible. He was mildly surprised to find some pixies playing a life-sized game of Catur with some... interesting pieces when he explored the area more fully. He pushed west, then south, and mapped the Eastern Cliff face and Shoreline, running into some cliff dwelling spiders, which seemed as much at ease wading in the shallows of the Icelace as clambering up the cliffsides. There was a collapsed tower, that surely must have towered over the Icelace before the elements, or the Scar, knocked it down into the cold waters of the river to keep secrets it may have under the swirling waters. Nestled in one of the cliffside was a hideaway, obviously the site of some illicit activities. Good thing no one was home when Lence came calling... fighting off bandits is part of living in the Nars, but for any dedicated cartographer, not having to fight for the opportunity to map new territory is a gift horse you should not look in the mouth! Heading further south, Lence navigates the Eastern Archipelago, venturing further south, until he runs afoul of some bugbears. Thinking retreat is the better part of valor, he doe not engage and sneaks back north and bunks down for the night on top of hill in the Archipelago that overlooks the river with its kinetic waves rolling past.

Meeting Notes for 9-22-24 staff meeting: Staff attending: Darkpowder Jazz Lence Wolfe Agenda Items & notes: Kudos: Kudos to Maythor for continuing to run great Fight Nights, and expanding them to include more than just fighting and trucidation! Kudos to the community for sticking to making the server a more hospitable place to any players who should wander into our little corner of NWN. This welcoming attitude is going to go a long way toward incentivizing new players to stay. Server Hosting: It was agreed upon that Lence should take over ownership of the server hosting account, and that a payment system will be set up for any folks who want to contribute to the costs of hosting the server for the community. ACTION ITEM: Lence will set up an account to oversee the server hosting responsibilities & payment method for community members to contribute. AT: A discussion was had about opening up voting for new ATs. This will allow for an odd number of staff so that there can be tie-breakers in terms of team opinions. We will open up applications for AT members with some stipulations: Server Interests need to supersede personal interests, teamwork is a requirement, and open communication is key. Whether the AT is expanded to 3 or 5 will be a decision made based on player applicant interest and voting results. We will also reiterate the call for any community members who are interested in Devving. ACTION ITEM: Open up applications for players interested in being part of the AT/Lence will put out call for Devs Server Direction: Server Direction forum will be locked on 9-27-24. DP and Jazz were encouraged to add their thoughts on server direction on top of all the other community members who had submitted posts. Once the window is closed, work will begin on consolidating like-minded proposals, and creating a hierarchy/priority list for the staff to begin addressing ACTION ITEM: Darkpowder will be putting together a worksheet to start distilling all the community suggestions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFGs7HP15d4 The Avett Brothers - No Hard Feelings Stealing this post from @Aota-Fabrosi

((XP awarded 240830))

Calistra recently traveled through Hinhold markets and noticed the townsfolk's renewed vigor with spring's arrival. Secretly seething at the joyous mood over the end of winter, she keeps her distance and dare not take part for fear of divine retribution. ((OOC - won't be able to make. weekdays during that time it tough for me since i'm east coast state-side. weekends are more forgiving. hope its a good event!))

Thank you for all your years of effort. It's not an easy job, nor does it come with high praise or reward. For what its worth, you have my sincier applogy for my part in this. I wish you nothing but the best.

Ariula Willowstrem - Priestess of Yondalla Physical Description: Ariula Willowstream - Is a priestess of Yondalla and the leader of Copper Star Trading. She is exceptionally tall for a lightfoot hin, with folk often thinking she has elven blood, but that's where any sense of refinement in her bearing ends. She is a physically imposing athletic figure, with a shock of fairly unkempt blonde hair, about as well kept as any soldier in the field while in battle. She is fair of appearance though and is surprisingly vain, in her mannerisms. Public Knowledge: She is known for her very well equipped and tactically sound group of forces who travel with her, as well equipped as any notorious mercenary group, but without doubt being a trading organisation. The "coppers" as she refers to her armed forces, refer not to her by her name but simply as "Priestess". Her retinue is known to number approximately twenty, of which some are heavily equipped for melee, some skirmishing and others clearly divine or clerical devotees of Yondalla. Hailing from Damara, where it's widely known her caravan travelled from, she has so far worked well with locals in dealing with a Nars Bandit ambush, and is known to use a crossbow with an array of different magical bolts readily at hand. It seems she is welcome at Hinhold since Copper Star Trading encamped there, with her herd of pigs and wild boar. Thematic Music: Ambient Empire Atmosphere.