Episode 5: Against the Slavers

Today's adventure was almost canceled due to the weather; as it was, the snow kept half the players away, which sucks. But we did finish the adventure, so that's a bonus. Hopefully we'll have better attendance for the next part of the campaign.

The party checked their resources one last time. Erf decided to down his potion of invisibility in hopes of  catching the slavers by surprise from behind. As their preparations were completed, they burst through the door at the end of the bridge. Upon entering, they found a large throne room, in which a pair of dwarves were haggling over a chained-up child. Three other children were chained to a post, and the dwarf in armor turned and glared at the newcomers.

"What are you doing here, interrupting my negotiations?" he demanded.

Thinking quickly, Arthur Morgan spoke first. "We're here to bid on the slaves," he said quickly, shaking a purse of money. Jax looked at him askew for a moment, but said nothing.

"Those three are already sold," replied the dwarf. "You can bid on this one." He shook the chain holding the boy. "What's your offer?"

Unsure of the going rate of a slave in this market, Arthur blurted out a price of one thousand gold pieces. Both dwarves' eyes widened in stunned amazement. Before the second one could speak, the armored one gestured to Arthur. "Show me the money," he said suspiciously.

Arthur stepped forward, flanked by the invisible Erf. As the gnome positioned himself behind the dwarf, the room was filled with the sound of a deep, bone-chilling howl. Turning quickly, Erf found himself under attack by a horrible cross between a mastiff hound and a porcupine. The porcu-dog leapt at the gnome, who sidestepped just at the last second. Before Arthur could react, the dwarf whipped out his battle axe and swung. The elf desperately dodged, but the axe struck true, and the elf fell, unable to stand.

Even as the blow was struck, the rest of the party rushed forward to engage the dwarf. The second dwarf muttered a few words in an infernal tongue and vanished from their sight. Their attention focused on the axe-wielding dwarf, they paid no mind to the would-be slave buyer. Erf threw a dagger at the porcu-dog, dispelling his invisibility but striking the hound on the flank. The howling beast shrugged off the dagger and struck, nipping the gnome and nearly taking his arm off.

Meanwhile, Alexandria and the dwarf faced off in a battle of axes. The dwarf was immensely strong, and his axe was unusually sharp. Jax was able to strike the dwarf, but the powerful foe struck back, nearly killing the paladin with a single blow. Yaervan was the next to strike at the dwarf, and he, too, was nearly struck down in return. Alexandria could not find a way past the dwarf's defenses, but struggled gamely to keep him occupied so as to keep him from finishing off her allies.

Erf found himself under assault from the porcu-dog as his allies were too busy with the dwarf. Gandolf, who had held back, now rushed forward as the battle moved away from the fallen elf, and handed him the last healing potion they had. The draught restored the elf, who struggled to his feet and turned to help the gnome. The howler then fired some of its quills at the gnome, who barely avoided being struck.

The bigger battle raged on as the dwarf got through Alexandria's defenses with a mighty blow. Staggering, she kept to her feet and finally found a hole in the dwarf's defense, returning his blow with one that, while it was not as strong as his, nevertheless found its way through his armor and bit into his flesh. The other warriors did their best to help her, but the dwarf was equal to all three of them.

The howler sensed Arthur's approach and turned to leap at him. Thinking quickly, the elf set his spear on the ground and met the beast's leaping charge, piercing it in the chest. The shocking blow caused the creature to miss the elf with its ferocious jaws, and Gandolf peppered it with daggers, proving to be surprisingly accurate as he whittled away at the creature.

Then, they heard the sound of booted feet, and a quartet of hobgoblins entered the room from where the party had come. Assessing the situation, they threw javelins at the paladin and the half-elf. Their aim proved to be inadequate, although the sudden reinforcements made their situation even more desperate.

Reluctantly, the injured Yaervan and Jax backed away from the dwarf and rushed toward the hobgoblins, leaving Alexandria to face the dwarf alone. The dwarf grinned in savage anticipation and renewed his assault. Bleeding but defiant, Alexandria fought on, holding her own against the mighty dwarf. She struck another blow, this one strong enough to stagger her opponent, and dodged his response before nearly slipping on a pool of blood.

Out of weapons, Erf quickly moved to the post where three of the children were still chained, feverishly working to pick the locks and free them. He was successful on the first attempt, freeing the dwarven boy. But before he could do anything else, three more hobgoblins entered the room from the opposite door, surrounding the party.

Then, there was a flash of bright light, and in the midst of the group hovered a creature out of nightmare: A beholder, its baleful eyes staring at the combatants. Even the dwarf took a step back in fear as the beholder scanned the room. In a guttural voice, it spoke.

"I have come for Terrem Kharatys. That boy should not have been taken from Cauldron. I intend to see that he is safely returned to his orphanage. You can keep the others. They are of no consequence. Come, Terrem – you will be safe with me."

The boy, who had been held by the dwarf, slowly stepped toward the creature. Behind it, a woman veiled to hide her face stood in a shimmering haze. She tossed a small sack to the floor as the beholder spoke again: "This will be sufficient payment for your troubles, Kazmojen. Dispense with these others as you will, and do not return to Cauldron's orphans again."

With that, the trio disappeared in a flash of teleportation magic, and the combatants all hesitated for a moment before resuming the desperate fight. Alexandria and the dwarf continued their fight, and though the dwarf was stronger and more experienced than she, the wounds he had received from the half-elf and the paladin had taken their toll, and Alexandria finally got through the last of his defenses and brought him down. Meanwhile, Arthur Morgan and Gandolf finished off the howler, the elf suffering a few more scratches in the process.

The remaining hobgoblins renewed their assault on the weakened party, until suddenly a new factor appeared behind them: A pair of half-elves slipped into the room and attacked them from behind, striking down two of them before they had noticed their presence. With the odds shifted again, and fresh enemies in the room, the remaining hobgoblins threw down their weapons and surrendered.

The half-elves introduced themselves as Fario and Fellian. Gandolf recognized their names as the investigators hired by the Lord Mayor, which they quickly affirmed. Finding a set of keys on the body of the dwarf, the party was able to free the remaining three children. They explained that they had been tracking the slavers' movements, but had not yet discovered Jzadirune. It wasn't until Ruphus returned with the first three prisoners that they were able to find the entrance. Accompanied by the cleric, they descended into the gnomish enclave and through the secret door to the elevator, arriving just in time to assist against the remaining hobgoblins.

One of the children asked if the party was going to free the other prisoners. Learning that they were being held in the western cells, the adventurers quickly went through the door and down the hall, leaving Fario and Fellian behind to guard the hobgoblin prisoners. Searching the southern hall, they found a cell block in which four more townsfolk were being held. Further seraching led to the discovery of a torture chamber in which another prisoner, an older woman, was suffering under the ministrations of a one-armed hobgoblin. He was quickly dispatched, and the woman released. She saw her walking stick in Arthur's possession, and upon receiving it back, she unscrewed the top and pulled out a small vial. Drinking it, she instantly shed some of the wounds she had received at the hobgoblin's hands. Erf muttered that he wished he had known the potion was there, but very quietly.

The woman introduced herself as Coryston Pike, a former adventurer who had been captured a few weeks earlier. She also informed them that there were a few other prisoners in the forge and the kitchen. Upon learning that the forge prisoners had been freed, she grabbed the hobgoblin's sword and led the party to the kitchens, where they found another townsman working as the dwarf's personal cook. The three goblins that accompanied him instantly surrendered at the sight of the battered but determined adventurers, and before long, the group was returning to the city, prisoners and freed kidnappees in tow.

Upon their return, they met Corporal Skylar Krewis, who had been sent to Keygan's Locks with a small patrol in hopes of joining the party below. They greeted him and turned over the prisoners and the freed slaves to the guards, then went back to the Temple of Diulanna to report back to Jenya.

The priestess was greatly pleased at their success, and informed them that Terrem, one of the children, had already returned to the orphanage, appearing on the front doorstep a short time earlier and seemingly none the worse for wear. With the return of the other children, she paid them the promised reward and said that she looked forward to working with them again in the future.

The party split up at that point; Alexandria, Arthur and Erf went to Skie's Treasury, a shop where they could get some of their magic identified and even purchase a few magical trinkets. Upon learning that the potion Erf wanted identified did not come from Jzadirune, she readily agreed to test it and inform him of its nature in the morning. Arthur purchased a magical arrow and a scroll that she had on display, using some of the treasure they had recovered from the dwarven stronghold.

The next day, the entire party received individual invitations to meet with one of the town's nobles: Lord Vhalantru, an elf who stood high in the city's political hierarchy. On the way there, Erf stopped at Skie's Treasury and learned that the potion he had found was in fact a potion of extra-healing. She offered to take the potion instead of charging him for the identification, but he paid the fee without complaint.

At Lord Vhalantru's estate, which was only a few houses away from Alexandria's home at the top of the cauldron's bowl, the six adventurers were brought into the elf's presence. He greeted them warmly, and informed them that as one of the Lord Mayor's advisors, he was always on the lookout for adventurers who showed promise and who would be helpful in dealing with the city's specialized needs. The meeting was brief, but Alexandria and Vhalantru got along very well.

And with that, the adventure was over, the party going their separate ways for the time being. Gandolf returned to the Bluewater Academy to continue his training, while Jax went to the Temple of Thor to report to his superiors. The rest of the party returned home, except for Arthur, who was staying at the Tipped Tankard most of the time.

The campaign continues in two weeks' time.

Episode 4: Into the Malachite Fortress (conclusion)

The party pushed through the pivoting secret door into a short, angled hallway. At the end were two doors. After a brief discussion, the party split into two groups to investigate both doors at the same time. Alexandria, Erf and Jax took the southern door, while Arthur, Yaervan and Gandolf took the western one.

The southern trio found a guard room with four alert hobgoblins waiting for them. The hobgoblins were tough and ready, but no match for the three adventurers as Jax and Alexandria quickly dealt with them. Saving his final spell for later, Erf contributed with a carefully-aimed dagger that struck one of the hobgoblins down.

Meanwhile, the other group found what was basically a bedroom/trophy room, with skins and skulls decorating the walls and the chair made of monster bones. A search of the room and a judicious use of the detection wand allowed them to find a secret door in this room as well, one that led to a room filled with treasure: Three chests, three casks, a heap of armor, a gong, two shields holding coins, a bowl of gems, a horn, and a bejeweled walking stick. Eagerly the trio began looting the place, but were suddenly confronted by the gong, which shapeshifted and struck at them with pseudopods. Arthur was struck with a powerful blow and knocked unconscious. Gandolf immediately turned and ran, leaving Yaervan to face the mimic alone.

The half-elf was up to the challenge, striking hard and fast while dodging to the best of his ability. However, his ability was not quite enough as he took several blows from the vicious mimic. Nevertheless, he gave as good as he got, dealing the monster grievous wounds of its own. Still, the outcome was inevitable...until Gandolf returned with the other group in tow. Jax wasted no time in slicing the mimic down with his bardiche as Yaervan staggered back, barely conscious.

The group rested a few moments, reviving Arthur with one of their few remaining healing potions and giving Yaervan one as well. Battered and beaten, the adventurers nevertheless resolved to continue on. They searched the treasure room, looting what they could, and found a crumpled letter addressed to 'Kazmojen', warning him to not get too enamored of his thus-far successful operation lest he draw the attention of do-gooders and assorted adventurers looking to rescue the many slaves. The letter was signed only with a kingfisher symbol, which Alexandria recognized as representing Kingfisher Sendings in the town of Kingfisher Hollow outside of Cauldron.

Pressing on, the group returned to the room with the hobgoblin guards, in which they found another door. Through it, they entered a long corridor, flanked by a pair of dwarven statues, male and female. Halfway down the corridor, they encountered a bridge over dark water that led back to the east, ending in a door. Consulting the map they had been making, they realized that it most likely led to the room they had been unable to breach after fighting the hallway full of hobgoblins. Taking stock of their situation, they grimly decided to press on, as Yaervan and Jax prepared to break through the door.

***************

To be concluded this weekend!

Episode 4: Into the Malachite Fortress (continued)

Pushing through the double-doors, the party found themselves in a wide, angled hallway. As Jax stepped around the corner, he spotted two more of the ugly hobgoblins at the other end, flanking another set of double doors. One of them banged on the door and shouted 'Croleks!', which Yaervan translated as 'Intruders!'. The hobgoblins then raised their bows, and seeing no point in attempting to negotiate, the party returned fire.

One of the hobgoblins cursed as his bowstring snapped, but the other one struck Yaervan in the arm. Alexandria and Jax rushed forward to engage them in melee, but the hobgoblins both pulled levers by the doors, and two pit traps opened up beneath the adventurers' feet. Jax was fast enough to avoid the first one, but tumbled into the second. Alexandria, a few steps behind, fell helplessly into the first pit. Yaervan skidded to a halt before the first pit even as Arthur shot at one of the hobgoblins with his own bow. Gandolf responded with another missile from his wand, while Ruphus used his sling. Erf hung back, unable to throw his daggers far enough to reach the hobgoblins, waiting for the opportune moment to cast a spell.

As Yaervan sought a way around the pits, four more hobgoblins came into view from the left-hand corridor, throwing javelins into the pits at the trapped party members. Alexandria deflected one of the javelins with her shield, but the second one sliced into her leg. Jax fared better, using his bardiche to knock one of the javelins away and ducking under the second one.

Throwing caution to the wind, Yaervan took a short, running leap over the pit, landing with such agility that he was able to strike at one of the hobgoblins. [Natural 20 on his roll to jump the pit; I gave him the bonus.] His sword quickly cut down the surprised hobgoblin, leaving him facing three by himself. Still under fire from the hobgoblin at the far end of the hall, Yaervan felt another arrow tear into the flesh of his arm. Ignoring the pain, he continued his struggle against the trio of enemies.

Then, there were two remaining, as a crossbow bolt came flying out of the pit and pierced one of the hobgoblins through the chest. Alexandria's shout of satisfaction followed the bolt, and she reloaded as quickly as she could. Jax, without any missile weapons of his own, was helpless in the pit. Arthur and Ruphus killed another hobgoblin, leaving Yaervan to face just a single enemy in between the two pits.

The second guard hobgoblin then finished restringing his bow. But before the pair could resume their firing, Erf cast a spell from the new book he had found: Phantasmal force. Suddenly, a wall appeared between the pits and the two hobgoblin archers, obscuring their view and preventing them from firing on Yaervan. Without the distraction of the archers, the half-elf was easily able to dispatch the single remaining opponent. He then reached down to grab the haft of Jax's bardiche, pulling him out of the pit while Arthur Morgan did the same for Alexandria. Just in time, as the pit lids suddenly closed up beneath them.

A moment later, the two hobgoblin archers came through the illusory wall, their swords drawn.  However, now faced with four determined warriors, they quickly fell beneath their weapons. Taking a moment to catch their breath, the party surveyed the carnage: Six dead hobgoblin guards, with their own wounds being relatively minor.

As Erf released his spell and the wall dissipated, the party now moved quickly to the double doors. However, these were securely barred from the other side, with no way to open them from this side. The party then went to some of the other doors they had seen, hoping to find another way through. Instead, they found a couple of empty bedrooms, including one with a large fire beetle trapped in one of the ceiling cages that gave off a cold, orange light.

They also found a barracks room where the four hobgoblins had clearly been staying; it was a dwarf-sized barracks, which meant the beds were too small for the hobgoblins to sleep comfortably. There was some brief speculation that the children might have been kept here, but there was no sign of their presence.

Across the hall from the barracks was another room. Just as Jax opened it up to investigate, the door at the end of the hall opened up, and two more hobgoblins came through, catching the party by surprise. Jax was struck down by two swords, his life's blood draining out rapidly. Only a rapidly-cast healing spell from Ruphus saved his life. Meanwhile, Yaervan, Alexandria and Morgan took the fight to the two hobgoblins, but to their surprise they were attacked from the side as well, as two demonic blobs of flesh came from the door Jax had opened. The hobgoblins proved to be easily dispatched, but the blobs were far more difficult, as the wounds they suffered began to heal instantly. Fortunately, Alexandria's axe and Gandolf's wand were up to the challenge, although Gandolf felt the wand disintegrate in his hands as he drained it of the last of its magical power.

Being (as they believed) so close to their goal, the party decided against resting, instead choosing to offer Jax what healing they could so he could get back on his feet. Unsteady but determined, he took his place in line and nodded grimly as the party investigated the room with the blobs. There they found a locked chest which proved impossible for Erf to open, as well as a bed and modest furnishings. There were also two fire beetles providing light above their heads, which cast a demonic glare throughout the room.

Ready to press on, the party went through the door through which the hobgoblins had ambushed them. There they found a forge with three shackled slaves, as well as four hobgoblin guards and three goblins working alongside the slaves. The goblins grabbed up their swords as the party stormed in, and before any of the goblinoids could respond, three of the hobgoblins were dead. The fourth was the next to fall, and the goblins threw down their weapons and cowered in a corner. Turning their attention to the three slaves, the party discovered they were kidnappees from Cauldron. One of them, Sondor Ironhold, said that her husband had been sold four weeks ago and had been taken into the Underdark, never to be seen again. Arthur Morgan, recalled one of the treasures they had found in Jzadirune, and pulled out a bracelet engraved with the dwarf's name. She accepted it gratefully as a memento of her lost husband.

Another slave, a halfling named Maple, informed the rescuers that there were many other kidnappees held in another part of the complex. She told them of a secret door that led to that part of the Malachite Fortress, and asked that the three of them be returned to Cauldron immediately. Unwilling to abandon any other slaves to their fate, the party refused to leave, but agreed that one of their number would accompany the three to the surface and Keygan's shop, where they could then go to speak to the authorities before returning home. Ruphus volunteered to go, casting his final healing spell on Alexandria before wishing the party good fortune and bringing the slaves back to the elevator.

To be continued...

Episode 4: Into the Malachite Fortress

 After a hiatus last weekend due to illnesses, we resumed our adventure today. We were still missing a couple of players, but we pressed on. I was wondering if we'd actually complete the adventure today, but it worked out that we had to cut things short, so naturally we are at a climactic point.

****************

At the end of the last episode, the party had retrieved and recovered Keygan's nephew (in the form of a rat), and brought him back to the surface. Having been gone three days, Jenya was both surprised and pleased at their return. She had feared that the party might have been captured or killed in Jzadirune, but their return was very welcome even though they had not yet located the children. The information received from the friendly mimic was very encouraging, and the party was given the opportunity to rest and recover at the Temple of Duilanna at no charge. As they did so, Jenya, in collaboration with a local merchant of magical repute named Skie, was able to identify the various treasures they had recovered, including a couple of wands and several potions.

[DM's note: I did this to help streamline play; I know that in 1st edition it's much tougher to ID items, but these are new players and I want to give them an opportunity to get back into the story right away without worrying about item testing and such. Also, after XPs were distributed, Alexandria and Yaervan had both leveled up, with Jax not far behind them.]

In the morning, refreshed and ready to go, the party returned to the depths of Jazdirune, hoping to find a way past the final gear door that led to their goal. It was one for which they still lacked a key, and they were concerned about the potential for traps therein.

However, their fears were for naught, as Arthur spotted something on the way down that had escaped his notice on their prior visit: On the second landing of the staircase leading into Jzadirune, there was a hidden door. Opening it, they realized that this short secret passage likely led to the very room they were trying to reach. Eagerly, they searched for another door without success. However, one of the wands they had recovered in Jzadirune was made for just this purpose, as it was capable of detecting both traps and secret doors. Arthur, possessing the wand, used it for the first time, and they were rewarded with a glowing outline of a door that did indeed lead into the room they were seeking.

Before they rushed through, however, Erf the gnome cautioned them that this seemed too easy, and he carefully examined the door for any traps. His sharp eyes spotted a slightly discolored line on the floor, and he realized that he was standing on a trap door. Reasoning that it hadn't opened yet, he surmised that opening the door would cause the trap door to fall away. The party spent a few minutes debating how to get past this final obstacle, until Gandolf suggested that they simply return up to the city and buy some planks of wood to lay over the trap door.

This last thing accomplished, Yaervan and Jax pushed on the heavy, pivoting stone door together, forcing it open. Their efforts were rewarded with a pair of javelins being launched at they by the two hobgoblin guards within. Yaervan was struck, but shrugged off the blow and returned the hobgoblin's blow with one of his own, mortally wounding it. Jax was equal to the task of dispatching the second one, and the party now found themselves in what appeared to be a room-sized elevator.

Pulling the lever on the wall (after Erf's inspection to determine there were no traps present), the party began to descend rapidly into the darkness below. As they reached the end of their vertical journey, they found themselves in a room no longer walled with the hewn stone of Jzadirune, but by walls covered with pure malachite.

Opening the single door in this room, the party found themselves in a large, vaulted hallway in which stood a strange sculpture that resembled modern art produced by a deranged mind. They quickly discovered that the sculpture was actually alive when it attacked, striking Jax and sending him spinning to the floor. The stony creature proved stubbornly resistant to their weapons, but they soon found a vulnerable spot as Alexandria finally shattered it with a blow from her axe.

Before they could regroup after the brief but intense battle, a door in the wall opened up, revealing a huge, filthy ogre that bared its fangs in a hideous grin as it said, 'More carrion for my larder! Very nice.'

With their weapons still drawn, the party prepared to face off with the horrible monster. But Erf quickly stepped up and blasted it with a magical color spray, stunning it momentarily and allowing the party's warriors to quickly strike down the creature before it could recover and attack them.

Searching the room the ogre had come from, they found a treasure-filled chest in a room that looked like a shrine to absolute filth. While profitable, there was no exit from the room other than the one they had come through, and they saw no other doors here.

Reasoning from the room's shape that there must be another secret door in one of the corners, they quickly searched it and were rewarded for their efforts. This door opened into a large, square room in which stood a tall, majestic statue of a dwarf. There were also four hobgoblin guards standing before two sets of double doors, and the battle was joined.

Gandolf used his own newly-acquired wand liberally, spraying magic missiles at the hobgoblins as the opportunity presented itself. The rest of the party were more than equal to the challenge of the hobgoblins, taking them down in short order.

Looking around the room, they decided to look at the doors to the northwest, which were barred shut. Jax and Yaervan easily lifted the heavy iron bar, and the doors slid open with only a little effort on their part. On the other side, they found a bridge over a water-filled chasm, which lead to a rough, natural cavern from which a tunnel led steadily downward.

Since this was obviously not part of the fortress itself, they returned to the dwarf statue room and prepared to try the other set of double doors.

To be continued...

Sleeping Dogs: Enterprise Retrospective

I find that Enterprise is at its best when it's tying into the greater Star Trek universe. I mean, obviously every episode has connections thanks to having a Vulcan on the bridge, but I'm talking about the rest of the story, the plotlines that hint at the future that is to come. Sleeping Dogs is the third episode to involve Klingons (after Broken Bow and Unexpected), but the first to truly feature them and give us our first hints at what their culture is like.

Here's the plot synopsis from Wikipedia:

After Enterprise drops out of warp near a gas giant, the crew detects an unexpected power signature and bio-signs in its lower atmosphere. Sub-Commander T'Pol, Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato take a shuttle to investigate and discover a Klingon vessel, Somraw, close to being crushed by the planet's atmosphere. On board, T'Pol finds three dying Klingons on the bridge, and further scans detect residual elements of a carbon dioxide-based neurotoxin. Bu'kaH, a surviving Klingon crewmember, escapes in the away team's shuttlepod. Enterprise traps it, but not before she broadcasts a distress signal. They then attempt to descend to rescue the away-team, but the pressure is too high.

Meanwhile, Sato finds the captain's log, which states that the ship was damaged in a skirmish with the Xarantine, and that the Klingon captain ordered his ship into the gas giant's atmosphere to effect repairs. Sato also locates the port fusion-injector on a schematic, and the away team make their way to Engineering to attempt repairs. On board Enterprise, Captain Archer talks to Bu'kaH in Sickbay. Doctor Phlox learns that the toxin was bonded to a molecule in Xarantine ale, which Bu'kaH confirms was part of their spoils. He convinces her to help them, citing the dishonourable deaths of her crew-mates.

On the Somraw, Reed uses shock-waves from photon torpedoes in an attempt to raise the ship and lower the hull-pressure. This allows Archer and Bu'kaH, in a reinforced shuttlepod, to reach them. Archer tells Bu'kaH that his team risked their lives for her ship, and that they are not leaving until it is safe. Archer arrives back on Enterprise just as the recovered Somraw hails. The now-revived captain orders Archer to surrender as punishment for violating his ship. Archer faces him down, noting that his ship is damaged and freshly out of torpedoes. Powerless to argue, the Klingon snarls and ends the transmission.

***************

It's important to note that these Klingons look like TNG-era Klingons, not TOS-era Klingons. This was a question that people had been debating since the first Star Trek movie back in 1979, which was the first appearance of the ridged forehead version. Speculation got even more intense when DS9 did the TOS crossover episode with the Tribbles, in which Worf states that the Klingons don't discuss how older Klingons look the way they did. It took the Enterprise series to finally answer that question, but it won't be answered until Season Four.

In the meantime, we meet the Klingons of the 22nd century, and they are a very ornery bunch. Crude, hot-tempered, and always ready for a fight, they make quite an impression in the Enterprise era. And this episode is the first real chance to see how these earlier Klingons are compared to what they would eventually become in Worf's time.

So, how is the episode? Quite good, actually. The initial mystery of just what happened to the ship is good, and the problem of getting them out of the planet's atmosphere before it crushes is worthy of this 'primitive' Starfleet era. The technobabble of later eras still exists in the 22nd century, but it's much less random and feels more believable. And lacking the technological prowess of even Kirk's time, Archer's crew is forced to work within the limits of not only their technology, but that of the Klingon scout ship as well. And while the Klingons are great at weapons, the rest of their tech is actually a bit lower-level than that of the Enterprise.

Archer's moment of realization when he finally accepts that he can't be so human around Klingons is worth mentioning. He tried to persuade Bu'kaH to help in his usual style, which of course a Klingon would perceive as nothing but contemptible weakness. It's when he finally starts to speak her language (figuratively; Hoshi is on the Klingon ship and unable to translate) that he gets through to her and she agrees to help prevent the dishonorable deaths of the entire Klingon crew. It's an important moment for Archer, learning that aliens really don't think the way humans do.

I'm going to rate this episode a 7 out of 10. Better would come, particularly in the Klingon part of the Star Trek protoverse, but this is an excellent beginning. Next time, however, we get back to the nascent building blocks of the eventual Federation. I can't wait.

Episode 3: Jzadirune's Darkness (Conclusion)

After resting and recuperating, the party left the illusory forest and headed back north to the room where they had fought the floating jellyfish. There was another wall blocking the other exit to the room, and they broke it down to explore the northwest corner of the enclave. They found themselves in a corridor with several large machines. Jax pulled the lever on one of them, and the machine began to whirr and move, although they saw nothing happening nearby. Moving along, they came to a room in which another automaton was stationed, motionless. In the ceiling were a pair of fans, one of which was moving. the party realized that the machines in the hallway controlled these fans.

Under a large tarpaulin in the center of this room, they found a deactivated automaton in working condition. Written on it were some gnomish words that Erf identified as command words to control the automaton. He was right, although the automaton was limited in its capabilities. Erf climbed atop the automaton and ordered it to head into one of the tunnels it had already dug out. Following it, they came to a room filled with fog. Jax and Gandolf went back through the tunnel to the corridor with the fan machinery, and turned all of them on. By the time they got back to the foggy room, the fan was already working to disperse the mist. As it dissipated, the room was revealed to be an old library, now emptied of any valuables. It also held a quartet of enormous centipedes which attacked with ravenous hunger as the party explored. The centipedes were no match for the party's warriors, and no one was injured in the brief battle.

They returned to the automaton room and went down a flight of stairs; the automaton couldn't descend, so Erf deactivated it and left it behind. Following the stairs, they came to another 'Z' door, which opened easily with their key. Inside they found a workship for the construction of automatons, and a half-built automaton, long since abandoned and nonfunctional. But there was something else in this room, a creature that looked like a 'tall one' covered in rags. The creature tried to run past them into one of the automaton tunnels, but its way was blocked, and the battle was fierce. The creature was surprisingly tough, but it fell to Alexandria's axe. As it did, the rags that covered it suddenly separated from the tall one, gathered themselves together and flung themselves toward Jax. The paladin dodged the attack, and his bardiche cut into the mass of threads with razor sharpness. before long, the rags stopped moving.

Having explored almost the entire complex, the party returned to the forested room where they sought to enter the one area they had not yet encountered. An 'N' door blocked the way, but Erf was able to overcome it. He and Jax were once again the targets of the door's trap: a cloud of poisonous mist that made them dizzy, but both of them were able to hold their breaths and escape the cloud before it affected them any further.

Inside, the party saw empty weapon racks and a solitary chest, atop of which was a cage holding a rat. The rat squeaked excitedly as the party entered, and Ruphus observed that the rat was likely Keygan's nephew, captured and polymorphed into his current form. Eagerly, the party tried to take the cage, but as they approached the front of the chest split open into a toothy grin, addressing them in a blend of the Dwarven and Gnomish tongues. Erf, Arthur Morgan, and Yaervan were able to understand the talking chest (which Erf correctly identified as a mimic). After bribing the mimic with their remaining rations, Yaervan translated as Erf and Arthur Morgan conversed with the friendly creature. They learned that the 'tall ones' were called skulks, and were the ones who raided the surface for slaves, handing them off to hobgoblins working for a slaver named Kazmojen.

The skulks worked with the 'dark ones', the shadowy 'short ones' that the party had encountered in the enclave, under the direction of someone called Yuathyb. Ruphus identified Yuathyb as the tall, shadowy figure they had slain the day before. Finally, the mimic told them that he had once had a companion, a meaner, larger mimic that had been hired by Kazmojen to go down into the Malachite Fortress and guard the slaver's treasure. The talkative mimic also told the party that the way to the Malachite Fortress was just beyond the door behind him.

A quick discussion ensued, and the party agreed to take the nephew-rat back to the surface and report what they had discovered the Jenya. Hopefully, she would be able to break the enchantment on the young gnome-rat and return him to his proper form. After that, they would return and go down to the Malachite Fortress, continuing their search for the missing children whose lives hung in the balance.

As they began the return journey, Erf was finally able to unlock the mysterious book discovered under the theater stage. To his delight, it was a spellbook of gnomish design, and he eagerly perused its contents as he learned the new magics within. These new spells would serve him well in the unknown realm of the Malachite Fortress...

The next episode will be in two weeks' time. I hope you're enjoying the adventure!

Episode 3: Jzadirune's Darkness (continued)

Taking a few moments to allow Erf to recover from his ordeal, the party continued on south. Although their map showed no door or wall at the end, there was indeed a stone wall blocking their progress. There were also a couple of gear doors, and Erf attempted to pick the eastern 'R' door. This time, he was successful, and as the door slid open, a trio of enormous rats attacked. Alexandria panicked at the sight, having a fear of rats, and accidentally fell into the wall at the end of the corridor...and through it, disappearing from sight. While the rest of the party fought off the rats, Jax followed Alexandria through the wall, which turned out to be an illusion. Beyond it, they found a glowing map of Jzadirune that matched the one they had received from Keygan.

Outside, the rats were quickly dispatched, and the party joined Alexandria and Jax in the map room. There were two more gear doors, and since they had the 'Z' key, they opened the eastern door. This led them into a corridor which in turn led to a large hall, lit with dancing lights that floated near the ceiling. This hall included a freshwater pool, but they found nothing of interest within. Continuing on to the west, they found a room that looked like a theater, and in fact it was as an illusion began to show a play of an old gnomish fairy tale. Soon realizing the illusory nature of the show, the party explored the theater and found a trap door on the stage. Arthur Morgan was the first to descend, and found himself under attack from a creature with very long arms and horrible fangs. The crawlspace beneath the stage was too low for anyone, even Erf, to stand up straight, and in these cramped quarters it was difficult to fight the creature. Fortunately, even as the creature began to strangle the elf, Alexandria descended and fired her crossbow, striking the creature with sure accuracy and causing it to loosen its grip on the elf. It was not long before the creature was dispatched, and the party found a chest of treasure, including a locked book and another key, this one with a 'J' rune on it.

Now with three keys in their possession, the party had more options; leaving the theater, they found a 'J' door which opened easily to their key. in here was an abandoned art gallery, and in a secret room near the entrance they found several valuable paintings which they carried with them. They returned to the large hallway, hoping to pass into an area they had been unable to reach earlier. On their way through the hall, however, they were ambushed by no fewer than four of the 'tall ones'. Battle-tested and hardened by their experiences, the party were able to overcome the ambushers, though not without some injuries of their own. Yaervan and Jax both suffered from stab wounds, though neither was yet unable to continue.

Heading east from the southern end of the hall, the party climbed a flight of stairs leading to an octagonal room on the map. At the top of the stairs, Yaervan spotted a hidden door, and determined that it could be opened by turning a torch sconce. However, he turned it the wrong way...and the landing at the top of the stairs flipped up, sending him tumbling down the stairs and back down to the hall. Bruised and battered, he tried again, and this time was successful in opening the door. Inside, they found the remains of an eight-foot long green worm with multiple tentacles and legs. Investigating the body, they found two small coffers had been hidden inside, containing some treasure. Finding little else of value, they continued on toward the octagonal room.

This room turned out to be a bathing chamber, with a steady bubbling of water pouring into a large basin. Hanging above the bath was a mass of webs and a webbed corpse hanging down. Investigating it, Jax peered into the water, only to be suddenly attacked by a huge spider that leapt, completely dry, out of the tub. Before he could react, the spider had bitten into him, and he felt the deadly poison coursing through his veins. His companions immediately went to his rescue, striking down the spider as swiftly as possible, but it was too late; the spider had done its work. In desperation, Ruphus prayed to Diulanna for succor, and force-fed some vile-tasting herbs to the paladin.

The herbs' effect was swift, and Jax soon coughed up both blood and mucus. Terribly weak and barely alive, the paladin survived only through the judicious application of one of their few remaining healing potions. Unable to do anything else and needing rest, the party brought Jax to the room with the illusory forest, where they camped out and gave Ruphus a chance to tend to the paladin's needs.

To be continued...

Episode 3: Jzadirune's Darkness

Back to the game today, and here's what went down:

As they looked around the room full of glass shards, Arthur Morgan spotted the outline of a door on one of the walls. Curious, he went to examine it. A shouted warning from Ruphus warned him, and he ducked aside as a nearly-invisible creature cloaked in shadows tried to stab him from behind. A second, smaller creature also attacked, and the party found themselves hard-pressed against these foes, enemies that were almost impossible to see and just as difficult to hit. The battle was fierce, but ended with a victory as the two creatures of darkness fell beneath their blades. On the larger creature's body, they found a couple of unidentified potions, as well as some coins...and another key to the gear doors (this one a 'D').

After the battle was over, the party investigated the strange door, eventually finding the way to open it and discovering a small treasure hoard. A suit of gnomish armor filled with silver coins, and an urn with a mix of coins and jewelry was their reward, the first significant treasure they had found thus far.

They continued exploring northward, finding an empty forge before exploring a new section. They came upon a makeshift wall, not impossible to break down but sturdy and solid. After a few minutes' effort, they came to a large room set up like a clockwork factory. A bright light hung suspended in the ceiling, and two balconies beckoned them onward. Jax the paladin went up one flight of stairs, and was rewarded for his efforts by being attacked by a horrible, floating jellyfish-like creature with a huge beak. The creature's tentacles stung him, but he shook off the momentary paralysis and tried to fight back despite his wounds. The rest of the group attacked with missile weapons, trying to buy time for Jax to escape. Unfortunately, he was unable to do so in time, and the creature hungrily bit into his flesh.

All seemed lost, but Gandolf launched a magic missile at the creature, and a well-placed arrow from Arthur Morgan's bow caught the creature right between the eyes. Rushing to the fallen paladin's aid, the elf poured a potion of healing down his throat, reviving him before his soul had departed this mortal coil.

Cautiously, they continued to explore the room, and Alexandria discovered the bones of a fallen creature wearing a torn and tattered cloak; a 'short one' that had fallen victim to the creature. It carried little of value, and no clues as to the whereabouts of the missing children. Gathering themselves, the party tried the double doors to the south, which opened easily at their touch. This led them to an atrium of some sort, with the name of the place emblazoned in a mosaic on the ground: Jzadirune.

Across the room was another door, which they easily opened. On the other side, however, Yaervan found himself in a precarious position as the floor suddenly fell beneath him. Only his quick reflexes saved him from falling into a pit. The door of the pit slammed shut, and the party heard the sound of gears shifting and turning beneath their feet. They carefully but quickly picked their way across before the grinding stopped. At the end of the corridor they found another door, this one leading back to the very first room at the base of the stairs leading to Keygan Ghelve's home.

Taking stock of the situation, the party recognized that they had not yet explored the western half of the complex. They headed west down the corridor, and came to a hallway with a series of gear doors, two of which they were able to open with the keys they had discovered. They found nothing of interest or value in these abandoned bedrooms, however. As they approached the southern end of the corridor, the gnome Erf, leading the way, felt the floor suddenly shift under his feet. His desperate lunge for safety and Jax's attempt to grab him and pull him out of harm's way both failed, and the gnome found himself lying at the bottom of a pit with spiked walls, next to a translucent body that had been repeatedly impaled.

Recognizing this sort of trap, he braced himself for what was about to happen. Sure enough, he heard the rumbling of gears even as his companions tried to open the door to free him. As the pit began to tilt, threatening to impale Erf on the spikes, he deftly placed his body in the best position to avoid the deadly spikes. To his own amazement, he succeeded, and as the pit began to tilt back, Jax and Yaervan were finally able to wrench open the trap door. Alexandria lowered a rope, and the terrified gnome was pulled to safety.

To be continued...

Dear Doctor: Enterprise Retrospective

Ah, here we go...the first really controversial episode of Enterprise, the one that introduces the concept of the Prime Directive. Here's the synopsis, per Wikipedia:

Doctor Phlox receives a letter from his Interspecies Medical Exchange counterpart, Doctor Jeremy Lucas, who is serving a term on Denobula. He begins to compose a letter back, describing his experiences with the crew, and the ways in which humans are different. Meanwhile, on the Bridge, the crew are discussing a pre-warp vessel they have encountered. The alien they speak with, a Valakian, begs them to assist with a medical emergency their species is facing. Sub-Commander T'Pol reveals that the Vulcans are unaware of the species, but she agrees with Captain Jonathan Archer to help them. Phlox continues his letter, describing the challenges of treating the disease – with over fifty million lives at stake.

Enterprise arrives at the Valakian homeworld, where they are met by Esaak, the Valakian director of a clinic, and Larr, a Menk orderly. T'Pol, Phlox, Archer, and Ensign Hoshi Sato make a tour of the medical facility. Sato discovers that there is a second lesser-evolved yet unaffected race, the Menk, who live alongside the Valakians. Phlox makes the startling discovery that the Valakians are slowly dying out, not from an easily curable medical condition, but because of a genetic disease which is experiencing an accelerated rate of mutation. He also believes that the answer to a cure may lie in the Menk.

Archer, meanwhile, is debating whether to provide the Valakians with Warp drive, ultimately deciding against it. Upon further investigation, Phlox learns that the Valakians suffer from the illness because their gene pool has reached a "dead end" and that the Menk are undergoing an "awakening process." He also finds that the Valakians have been stifling and underestimating the Menk. He has found a cure, but does not believe it would be ethical to administer. Archer considers how a "Prime Directive" would be helpful, and provides the Valakians with medicine that will diminish the symptoms for a decade, anticipating the Menks' natural evolution and new levels of understanding between them.

****************

Okay...this one is tough. The debate about this episode boils down to this: Did the Enterprise crew, particularly Dr. Phlox, do the right thing in basically leaving the Valakians to die off and be replaced by the Menk? For some, the answer is yes; for me, I would say no. Saying that the Valakians are going to die off anyway because of evolution doesn't preclude the necessity of helping them in the here and now. More to the point, there is no 'Prime Directive' at this point in the Star Trek universe; Archer even laments that there isn't one, meaning he has to make the decision on his own.

And he made the wrong one.

It's fine to theorize about future genetic evolution and such, but in the here and now of the Valakians, millions of them are dying, and Phlox found a cure. And Archer, who in the second episode, Fight or Flight, tells T'Pol that humans have developed of code of behavior, and that code included helping people in need. Suddenly, he's looking for a way out of following that code and condemning an entire species to a slow, painful, genetic death and asserting that it's not humanity's problem. I have a really hard time accepting that, and I know I'm not the only one; this episode was panned and brutally reviewed by several online reviewers when it came out.

I'm not giving this one a numeric ranking; as a stand-alone story, it is pretty good for the most part, right up until the end. And yes, the seeds of the Prime Directive are sown here, but the important thing to remember about the PD is that sometimes it needs to be broken. And if it had existed in this time frame, this was one of those times.

Detroit Rock City

I've never talked about sports on this blog, although I've been a sports fan for as long as I can remember. I fell away from pro sports for a few years due to the infusion of political activism into what was supposed to be escapist entertainment.

I follow a few teams, though. For hockey, of course it's the Montreal Canadiens, the greatest franchise in the sport's history. I grew up in Eastern Canada, and for the first decade of my life the Hockey Night in Canada feature was almost always Montreal. I moved to Ontario in the early 1980s, where suddenly I was exposed to the Maple Leafs all the time. And for those who remember, the Leafs in the 1980s absolutely SUCKED. And I couldn't see the team I wanted to watch, which made things even worse.

In baseball, I'm still a die-hard Montreal Expos fan, but they're not in the league anymore. So, it's the Blue Jays. And it's been a frustrating few years of playoff futility after sky-high expectations.

I don't follow basketball or soccer; for the World Cup, obviously I cheer on Canada, and if the Raptors are doing really well I might catch a few highlights, but basketball really isn't my thing.

Then, there's football...

There are two pro leagues for me to follow: The CFL, and the NFL. In the CFL, I'm going to cheer for either the Montreal Alouettes (who just won the Grey Cup!), or the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. If they're playing each other, it's the Alouettes. The first Grey Cup I remember watching starred Montreal and Edmonton, and it was a blowout (41-6, if I recall correctly), but I spent a few years living in Hamilton and got to catch a few games at the old Ivor Wynne Stadium, so the Ticats are a soft-spot for me.

Then there's the NFL. For the longest time, I was a Steelers fan (and I absolutely loved the Steelers-Cardinals Super Bowl), but after moving to Wallaceburg to be with my Honeybunny, I got a steady dose of the Detroit Lions on the radio, and I started following them quite a bit. I was there for the 0-16 season and the playoff heartbreaks (and all the ridiculous ref calls that cost the Lions at least a dozen games over the years), and I was intrigued at the hiring of the new regime of Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell.

And now, after decades of futility and one playoff win in 65 years, the Lions are one win away from making it to their first-ever Super Bowl. We don't have cable or satellite, so I can't watch the games live (I'm not paying for streaming services either), but I do listen to them on radio broadcasts or through YouTubers streaming the game (shout-out to Mr. Tom Grossi of Packast, who is streaming all the games this year). I listened to the Lions-Bucs game yesterday, and while it wasn't quite the same as listening to a radio broadcast, it was exciting enough, and the highlights afterward were sweet to see.

The Lions are a team that has been snake-bitten for decades, and now they are finally overcoming the stigma of being the 'Same Old Lions' that has plagued them for longer than I've been alive. For perspective, Toronto Maple Leafs fans pining for their twelfth Stanley Cup after 55 years of waiting need to remember that the Lions' last championship was ten years earlier (1957). That city has been waiting a LONG time for this, and it's great to see.

Here's wishing the Lions the best in the NFC Championship game, and hopefully they can stun the San Francisco 49ers and do what Detroit's been dying to see for decades.

An Ultimate Collection

Oh, yeah...

I completed this collection today; I have all four boxed sets of the James Bond Ultimate Edition with all 20 pre-Craig movies. I might add Casino Royale to the collection, but that's the only Craig movie I'm interested in. But this...this is a sweet, sweet set. Yes, they're DVDs, not Blu-Rays, but they're still great to have in hardcopy.

The only real issue with the set is that they aren't in chronological order; each set is a mixed bag with at least three different Bonds in it. I can see the logic; get one box, get a taste of multiple actors in the role. But since it's my collection now, I'm going to sort them out in the proper viewing order, because that is how I roll.

All four sets have the full set of discs and booklets, which is nice. They're all in good shape, so now it's just a matter of putting them up on the shelf all pretty-like.

And yes, Dalton is still my favorite Bond, and if you disagree with me, you're wrong. Connery was cool, Moore was urbane, Lazenby was...well, he was there, and Brosnan was the modern, suave Bond. But Dalton's Bond was a beast, a no-nonsense guy who truly made me believe that he was as deadly as a man could be, and while all of the Bonds were badasses when they needed to be, if Dalton's Bond came up to me and informed me in a quiet voice that I had overdue library books, I would not only pay the fine on the spot and apologize profusely, I would return a couple of other books along with them just to be safe. Because I don't ever want that man to be mad at me.

These Little Piggies...

...are growing, slowly. Very slowly; it's really, really cold out, so they're using a lot of energy to stay warm rather than channel it into growth. But I noticed that they are a wee bit bigger today, so there's hope. Thankfully, they are in the barn where the wind isn't an issue, so it's just cold, not biting. Delilah is being an extra-good mama to the piglets, which is good. She's getting all the treats I can get her, whether it be produce scraps from the grocery store, leftovers from our fridge, whatever.

The problem, of course, is that we didn't separate the happy couple back in September, which is when they were old enough to recognize that there were differences between boars and sows, and began exploring those differences. Since pigs have a gestation period of 3-3-3 (3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days) that means that Samson got his freak on around mid-September. So, we get the joys of trying to raise six piglets in a cold winter in an unheated barn. Yay.

They aren't on solids yet, so they're just feeding off of Delilah for now. We'll work them up to drinking water and eating mash, but for now we're going to let Delilah do the Mama thing. Like I said, she's good at it. Thankfully.

Not much else to say today; the chickens are still laying lots of eggs, which is a nice bonus in the winter. The trick is figuring out where the heck they're laying, and finding them before they freeze and crack. Winter farming in PEI is no joke.

Hopefully, there will be more to talk about tomorrow, but it's late.

Episode 2: Jzadirune (continued)

After the piggie detour, we're back to the game recap from the weekend.

The party entered the abandoned kitchen, where after some brief exploring they were once again ambushed by a couple of camouflaged beasties. These were the 'short ones' described by Keygan, and they were very elusive and difficult to hit. Alexandria again did the lion's share, getting through the shadowy defenses and crushing the first of the short, hooved monsters. Yaervan was able to finish off the second one, his sword just finding its way into the monster's gullet.

After the fight, the party explored the room. Erf got curious about the cabinet in the corner, and discovered that curiosity not only killed the cat, it also almost killed the gnome. The cabinet, decrepit and barely standing, didn't survive having the door opened, and the contents crashed down. Erf was able to avoid the worst of the accident, but it was close. As a reward, he found a small device with a gnomish rune on it, and quickly determined that it was a key to the gear doors. This one had a 'Z' on it, and he hung onto it for later.

The room had a single gear door, marked with an 'E' rune, and Erf was able to pick the lock and slide the door open. He walked out into the main dining hall, now abandoned and mostly destroyed by the new tenants. Jax followed him, and was nearly burned to death by the jets of fire that suddenly filled the doorway as he passed by. Realizing that Erf, being a gnome, was likely to be the only one unaffected, the rest of the party rushed through the door, one at a time, as fast as they could. Only Arthur was too slow to avoid the jets, though it was only a minor burn compared to what Jax had suffered.

The dining hall had four doors, two on either side, and a pair of archways, one at each end of the long hall. The other three doors were a 'J', a 'U', and a 'Z'. Eagerly, Erf tried the small key, and it worked as the 'Z' door slid open with no issues, and no traps. Unfortunately, all they found was an abandoned pantry with some old, molding bread and some dried, worthless herbs. Still, the key worked, so Erf kept it close.

Unwilling to risk the other gear doors yet, they searched the archway to the south, where they found more gear doors ('A' and 'R', and a couple of 'D's at the ends. Unable to unlock any of them, the party returned to the dining hall, where Erf tried the 'U' door, and finally the 'J' door, which he was able to unlock. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to disarm the trap, which shot some corrosive acid at them. If you've ever seen the Mummy (Brendan Fraser, not Tom Cruise), you'll remember the salt acid trap in the sarcophagus. Same thing, and this took down both Erf and Jax, wounding some of the other party members as well. The gnome and the paladin were pulled to safety, and the party retreated to the abandoned pantry, closing the door behind them.

Having expended his healing on the party earlier, Ruphus was able to do very little for the dying party members, until Arthur remembered the healing potions that Jenya had given them before they embarked on the mission. Jax was able to drink his on his own, while Yaervan and Alexandria forced the gnome's potion down his throat. It was enough for them to both recover, and the party resolved to rest and recuperate their spells and resources in the safety of the pantry.

After the magic-users recovered their spells, the party once again went back to the dining hall, where they saw the 'J' door had closed on its own. Unwilling to risk it, they tried the archway to the north. Here they found something very unexpected in an underground gnomish enclave: A room that looked like an outdoor forest, complete with filtered sunlight from the ceiling and the sound of birds. Yaervan suffered flashbacks to a past life and had a bit of a panic attack.* Erf reminded the party that this was a gnomish enclave, and gnomes are good at illusions, and they moved through the forest. They found another gear door (another 'D'), and after a failed attempt to open this one, they found the descending staircase at the north end of the room and continued on.

When they reached the bottom, they saw an empty room with a passage and a couple of the dug-out tunnels. As they entered, they heard a voice that shouted 'Attack the intruders!' in Gnomish. Suddenly, a monstrous contraption emerged out of nowhere that looked like a blacksmith's nightmare. Made of metal and with two deadly-looking pincers on the end of stubby arms, it advanced on the party.

Thinking quickly, Erf shouted out an order of his own, which caused the apparition to halt before it could attack them. After some experimenting, Erf recognized it as an automaton, a gnomish device that, while it wasn't technically alive, could still move and accomplish tasks if ordered by someone who could speak Gnomish. It was limited in what it could do and had no ability to communicate with them, so they settled for ordering it to return to wherever it came from, and it turned around and walked away, only to vanish as suddenly as it had appeared. Erf followed, and also disappeared from view even as he saw the automaton stop and assume a guarding position. The automaton was inside an invisibility sphere of some sort, as was anyone who entered it.

At the end of the passage, they found another 'J' door, which they avoided. Instead, they went down one of the tunnels leading out of the automaton room, and found themselves in another room behind the 'J' door. This was a glass workshop of some sort, with shards everywhere and tables rearranged haphazardly around the room with no discernible pattern. Seeing nothing else in the room, they moved in to explore it more carefully, unaware of the danger that was hiding from them almost in plain sight...

To be continued next weekend...

* To find out why, check out my book on Amazon, The Devil's Playground, which my son read and enjoyed (but also made him really scared of underground forest rooms).

So Far, So Good...

After our unexpected additions to our animal farm yesterday, we kept a pretty close eye on the piglets today. We tried to build a crush rail to prevent the risk of Delilah squashing any of her babies, but the logistics of it didn't work. If we'd had some warning and time to build it earlier, it would have been fine. But as it is, we're pretty much stuck with things as they are, and we're going to have to hope and pray that she is extra-careful. So far, she has been. So, it's going to be more monitoring for the next little while, to see if the piggies can survive. We've got an extra heat lamp over them now, but it's not doing much more than cutting the edge off the cold.

Unfortunately, we found two more dead piglets this morning. Not from the six; all of them are still okay. But she gave birth to ten, not eight, so we lost four before we even knew they were there. These two are in a tough place to reach, but we'll have to get them out tomorrow to avoid any risk of disease. With the cold, the bodies are definitely frozen, and I'd rather not spend any more words or thoughts on that topic tonight.

We also had a fun little time when the Kitchen Goddess went to to the vet to pick up some iron supplements for them. We had to inject the piglets, and Delilah was not happy with us as the piglets squealed and screamed at the unfamiliar touch. Two of them had a rough reaction, and were struggling; we thought one of them was paralyzed because it couldn't stand up. When it looked like Delilah was going to write them off because they wouldn't follow her to the warm spot, my wife and I brought the two piglets into the house to see if they could calm down, get warm, and stop squealing. Eventually, they did, and we debated whether or not they would be welcomed back into Mama's loving embrace. Since these are pigs and not birds, we gave it a try. And it worked; the piglets are behaving normally, and Delilah is caring for them again. Crisis averted; we thought we might have to separate them permanently, which would have meant they would be pets, because my wife is constitutionally incapable of holding a small animal without instantly falling in love with it and wanting to keep it. We've gotten two dogs and countless chickens that way.

So, here's hoping and praying that they make it through the night, and tomorrow is a fresh start with more opportunities to help them get through the cold. It sucks, and the timing couldn't have been much worse, but it is what it is. God's got this, and we'll trust in Him.

Unexpected II: Not an Enterprise Retrospective

So, I was planning to post the rest of the Shackled City recap from yesterday's session, but we have some breaking news from the Sprigg farm. This morning, I went to feed the animals like I do every day. There were 53 chickens, 3 rabbits, and 2 pigs. This afternoon, I went out to feed the animals like I do every day. There were 53 chickens, 3 rabbits, and 8 pigs.

Say what?!

This was Samson and Delilah back in June after we put them outside in their pen. Below we see Samson and Delilah's current situation this afternoon in the barn pen:

Yeah, that's six little piggies cuddling up to Mama. She was expecting, but we weren't. That was a bit of a panic moment, because it's the middle of January. Thankfully, today was a relatively warm day (above zero, at least), which is a relief considering there's a polar vortex going on in the rest of the continent. PEI is always behind the times.

We set up a heat lamp tonight since the temperature is dropping, which is the reason for the odd lighting in this picture and the next one. Assuming the babies all survive the night, we'll be building a mini-wall to keep Mama from crushing them while they can still get the heat.

Sadly, Delilah actually had eight babies, but two of the boys were already dead when I found the new family. I'm told that's pretty normal for a first litter, especially since Delilah is still pretty young; she's not even a year old now. Still, it sucks to lose them.

The toughest part of the day was getting Samson to move outside and then blocking the doorway so he can't put the babies at risk. We'll be doing some more work to separate them more thoroughly going forward, although for now just keeping him outside will have to do until we can get something done in the spring for a more permanent solution.

It's ironic, because we were talking about getting six piglets to raise for meat while we waited for Samson and Delilah to do their business. Well, God has a sense of humor, because there are six piggies sitting in our barn now. It takes about a year for them to grow up to butchering size. We're debating whether to sell some of them young and raise the rest for meat. We'll have to consider it carefully, although we do have some time.

And yes, these are the only pigs we have now; the other three (including Bob) are freezer-bait and have been there since November. It's the circle of life, farm-style.

The Shackled City, Episode 2: Into Jzadirune

Okay, so we had our second session today. I printed out copies of the 'spellbooks' for the magic-users and illusionist, so they know exactly what spells they have available to them. I also printed out a list of suggested names for the region, and asked everyone to pick a name (or make one up) and put it on their sheet. As a result, we have the following PCs (still all 1st level, of course):

Alexandria Taskerhill, human fighter
Jax Deveron, human paladin
Arthur Morgan, elf fighter/magic-user (spells are charm person, find familiar, read magic, and spider climb)
Yaervan Amazanth, half-elf fighter (bard-to-be)
Erf Lund, gnome illusionist/thief (spells are audible glamer, color spray, and detect invisibility)
Gandolf, human magic-user (spells are detect magic, jump, magic missile, and read magic)

They are also accompanied by Ruphus Laro, 2nd-level cleric of the Church of Diulanna. Gandolf's player wasn't present, so he became a DM-run NPC for the adventure.

And now, the story continues...

Yaervan cried out in surprise and pain as a heavy weight struck him from above, and he felt the sharp pain of a sword in his side. Struggling with the nearly-invisible assailant, he shoved hard and threw his attacker into a wall. Arthur, the only other party member in the room, stabbed out with the butt of his spear and felt the satisfying weight of battered flesh and bones as he pinned the attacker against the wall.

Outside in the shop entrance, Keygan began sobbing and gibbering in terror as the sounds of combat came through the heavy black curtain. Jax and Erf immediately ran to help their companions, while Alexandria, Ruphus and Gandolf stayed to watch over the hysterical gnome. They saw Yaervan swordfighting with a nearly-unseen opponent, while Arthur tried to position himself to stab the enemy properly with his spear. Before Erf could bring a spell to mind, Yaeravn and Jax had dispatched the creature as the paladin's bardiche swiped its head off.

Stunned, the party examined the creature's body. Hairless, genderless, and with skin that seemed to change to blend in with its surroundings, it remained a mystery to their untrained eyes. Keygan identified it only as a 'tall one', and after some prodding, finally spilled the beans to his new friend, Arthur (who had cast a charm person on him in the previous session) and Jax, who is just that friendly and easy to talk to (paladin with an 18 Charisma, everybody). The party soon learned the following information:

The 'tall ones' had surprised him and his nephew Kerren late at night about three months ago, taking Kerren prisoner and somehow turning him into a rat. They forced the locksmith to make skeleton keys for them, and have used his shop as an entry point into the city from the abandoned gnomish enclave of Jzadirune. The only remaining entrance to the surface is here in Keygan's shop, although he has not been down there since the place was abandoned 175 years ago. Now, he has been down only to the very first room below, where the 'short ones' bring his nephew in rat-form in a small cage to ensure Keygan's continued co-operation.

There are also 'short ones' that look like deformed gnomes with soft black hooves and who go about in the city on their own. Both the 'tall ones' and 'short ones' carry out the kidnappings, bringing them through the shop late at night. Keygan has never seen them bringing the victims, but he has heard them, and he has felt helpless to do anything for fear they would kill Kerren.

Jzadirune was abandoned long ago when a strange disease called the Vanishing swept through the enclave, causing its victims to slowly turn translucent and eventually disappear. Jzadirune is protected by a number of trapped doors that only the gnomes could safely open, though Keygan doesn't know how to do so himself. He did provide them with an old, worn map of the enclave, which they looked over before descending through the secret door. Before leaving, Ruphus told Keygan to go to the Church of Diulanna and speak with Jenya before turning himself in to the town guard.

The seven adventurers slowly descended into the abandoned enclave. There they found an empty entrance hall, and saw the first of the strange doors that looked like gears. If you've ever seen Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, that's pretty much what these doors look like. One of the doors was jammed open, and had large teeth surrounding the central wheel. Both doors had a rune inscribed on them: The closed door had the gnomish rune for 'J', the jammed door an 'A'. Being the only gnome in the party, Erf took the lead and went through the jammed door into a old barracks room. There was a glowing rod on the floor, and two tunnels that didn't appear on the map. Rubble was piled up before both tunnel entrances, suggesting that they were a recent addition to the complex.

The others followed, although Jax and Yaervan stayed behind. Erf, Arthur, Gandolf, and Alexandria squeezed through, and after Alexandria had followed the others, she was suddenly attacked by two more of the near-invisible 'tall ones'. Fortunately, some sixth sense warned her (I literally rolled a 6 on the surprise die) in time, and she was able to interpose her shield to stop the first blow. The second did get through, though without the devastating effect of the intended backstab. Alexandria, being an expert in the art of the battleaxe, immediately struck back, although the enemy's camouflage made it very difficult to see well enough to fight them effectively.

Erf, unable to cast his color spray without risking catching his ally in the spell, tried to come to her aid with a dagger. Unfortunately, he tripped on the glowing rod and dropped his dagger, which skittered along the floor under a bed. Meanwhile, Arthur struck out at one of the attackers, nicking it with his spear-tip. Gandolf simply spoke a few words of power, and a glowing bolt of energy struck the second creature, knocking it back.

The two creatures attempted to run, but by this time Jax had entered and recognized the situation well enough to strike back, killing the already-damaged 'tall one' with a swipe of his bardiche. Alexandria, meanwhile, adjusted her attack and killed the second creature with a single blow, thus preventing them from escaping and warning the complex of their presence.

There were two exit tunnels, about five feet in diameter. They chose the eastern one to explore. It led them quite a distance before branching off to the north and south. After a quick consultation, they went south. Erf was the only one able to walk upright as the rest were forced to slightly duck to get through the short tunnels. They followed the southern tunnel until it opened up into an abandoned kitchen.

To be continued...

Feeding the Critters

It turns out that feeding a bunch of farm animals gets expensive when you buy bags of feed. At almost $30/bag, it adds up in a big hurry, particularly when you have a lot of animals. Right now we have over fifty chickens, and they eat a lot. Particularly in the winter, when there isn't much for them to forage.

Fortunately, there are bulk options, and that's what we'll be doing next year. Bulk feed is a lot cheaper, averaging out to the equivalent of about $4 per bag, a significant savings. And since we plan to do a much larger meat chicken flock this summer, that is going to be a very important shift in costs. Because meat birds eat one hell of a lot of food, especially the kind we get (Cornish Cross). They grow to about six  to seven pounds in about three months, and they don't do it by exercising and taking steroids.

The nice thing about buying someone else's old farm is that it comes with a silo to store all this grain. We can expect to fit about ten tons in the silo, which is roughly $1,000 or so. It's hefty, but considering the amount we'd have to pay for the equivalent bags? Yeah, that's not a hard call to make.

Maybe we can even afford to get some turkeys this year as well. That would be fun.

Silent Enemy: Enterprise Retrospective

Here we go with another episode of Enterprise, this one the premiere episode to the second half of Season One. We begin, as usual, with the plot recap from Wikipedia:

In September 2151, while deploying subspace amplifiers to improve their ability to communicate with Starfleet, Enterprise is approached by an alien vessel. Captain Archer hails them, but the vessel returns to warp. He wonders why: Ensign Sato points out that the Universal Translator is far from perfect; and Sub-Commander T'Pol says that some species have motives that cannot be understood in human terms. Soon, the mysterious ship returns and scans Enterprise, sending a high pitched screech through the com systems, and firing on them before again jumping to warp.

Archer notes that Enterprise is now encountering more aggressive species than anticipated, and sets course for Earth so that Jupiter Station can finish the weapons refit. Commander Tucker and Reed ask to be allowed to complete the work themselves, but Archer disagrees, though he gives them permission to begin the procedure. While doing so, the alien ship returns and disables Enterprise's warp drive and main power. Strange alien bipeds then board the ship, and assault two crew-members. They return to their ship, damaging a warp nacelle before departing again. Mayweather suggests contacting the Vulcan High Command for help, but both subspace amplifiers have been destroyed.

Two days later, Enterprise locates an uninhabited planet for a weapons test, which produces a blast yield 10 times the expected output, due to an unexpected surge. T'Pol traces the anomalous reading to Launch Bay 2, to a device tapped into internal sensors and comm channels. Archer then sends the aliens a message: he does not want a fight but will protect his ship by any means necessary. With that, he destroys the device. T'Pol detects the alien vessel again, which uses a re-edited version of Archer's earlier message to demand surrender. After the new cannons are ineffective against their attacker, Archer asks if Reed can intentionally repeat the previous overload of the cannons. Reed complies and damages the alien vessel, knocking out their shields. Reed follows up with two torpedoes before the aliens depart.

******************

There's a subplot in here about Hoshi trying to find a way to surprise Reed for his birthday, but it seems a bit out of place considering the nature of the ship's crisis. Surely the comm officer and Best Linguist in the Galaxy should be focusing her time more on figuring out how to communicate with these strange aliens and find out what the heck they're up to. Still, it does provide a bit of character development for Reed, although it's more like a 'negative' character development, in that we find out that he really doesn't have much of a character. No friends, no special somebody in his life, even his own family doesn't know what he particularly likes. He is a cipher, outside of his duties on board. She eventually finds out through Phlox and some clandestine medical records research, and in the end Reed gets his favorite cake: Pineapple.

As for the main plot, I really liked it. Enterprise is traipsing around in some very dangerous territory, totally on their own with no chance of calling for timely help from anyone. That premise is starkly portrayed here, as the aliens clearly outmatch the Enterprise. This isn't the first time this has happened, either; the second episode, Fight or Flight, had a similar premise, although at least then they had the Axanar to help them out of a jam. This time, the Enterprise crew are on their own.

The aliens are suitably mysterious, never revealing anything about themselves, and they are never seen again after this episode. The tension mounts as Enterprise tries to find a way out of this mess, their communications buoys are destroyed, their weapons are ineffective, and the aliens finally use their own message against them to order Archer to surrender.

Malcolm might suck at interpersonal relationships, but he's an expert at figuring out new ways to blow things up. He and the engineering team manage to assemble the first of the shipboard phase cannons rather than leave it for drydock workers to install, and it works even better than they had planned. In the end, Enterprise gets to drive off the aliens and resume its mission of exploration. And Reed gets cake.

Overall, I like the episode. Chronologically, it actually happens before the previous episode, Cold Front, dated September 1st, 2051 (Cold Front was dated September 12th), and I think this one would have made a better mid-season finale than the prior one. But this one doesn't talk about the Temporal Cold War, which made it unfeasible for what they were trying to do with the series. Anyway, I'll give this one an 8 out of 10 for the creep factor, the genuine alien-ness of the antagonists, and I even like the loose ends: We never find out why these aliens were doing this, which is fine. We aren't always going to understand the rest of the galaxy, and now is as good a time as any to learn that lesson.

If outer space action gets your juices flowing, you might want to check out my own foray into space opera science fiction, Bard Conley and his Adventures Across the Solar System. It's pulpy, it's fun, and there are lots of explosions. Available now in ebook or paperback at an Amazon website near you.

Epic Fantasy is Derivative

That's a strong statement, I know. But it's true; the vast majority of epic fantasy published in my lifetime falls into two categories: Tolkien derivative, or (since the turn of the century) Rowling derivative. It's unfortunate, because fantasy comes in a lot of different flavors than epic trilogies. Some of the best fantasy ever written is contained in books that by today's standards aren't long enough for a prologue. Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, for example, is only 167 pages, and it's got more action, excitement, and fantasy than entire bookshelves of modern fantasy writing.

Tolkien was breaking new ground in fantasy fiction when he wrote The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. First, the heroes weren't humans; he had elves, dwarves, and hobbits running around taking up lots of screen time, and the elves and dwarves weren't anything like the ones from Norse mythology. Second, his heroes didn't work alone; they worked in large groups (fifteen or nine), working together to overcome obstacles and complications in their quests. Third, his story was spread over three books rather than being self-contained in a single volume as most fantasy writing was. The seminal Barsoom books of Edgar Rice Burroughs were all self-contained, where you could stop the story at the end of any book (although there are cliffhangers sometimes), and the next book would be another self-contained story. But Tolkien was writing something massive, and it took three whole books to get it all in.

The Hobbit was published in 1937, and the Lord of the Rings in the mid-1950s (one volume a year). And while it was widely recognized as an epic story and worthy of inclusion in any fantasy reading list, it was only one example of the genre. Other examples included Lovecraft, C.A. Smith, Burroughs, Merrit, Howard's Conan, Lieber's Lankhmar stories, Dunsany's whimsical tales, Fletcher Pratt, L. Sprague de Camp, and dozens of other writers with their own unique visions of what fantasy could be.

So, what happened? Well, in 1977 Terry Brooks released his own version of Lord of the Rings, The Sword of Shannara. In this story, a mysterious sorcerer (the druid Allanon) takes an unlikely commoner on an epic quest, with a motley group of companions including an elf and a dwarf. In Shannara, elves and dwarves were good friends, which was one of the few things that distinguished the Four Lands from Middle-Earth. The main hero gets separated from his companions and has to complete the quest on his own, while his companions fight an epic battle to buy him some time. It was an obvious and blatant pastiche (or, more unkindly, a total rip-off) of Lord of the Rings.

And it was a smash success, selling a whole lot of copies as people ate it up with a spoon. I admit, I was one of them; I read Shannara before I read LOTR (out of order, too; I read Elfstones first and had no clue about some of the characters), and I enjoyed it. It was one of the first fantasy novels I had read, outside of younger fare such as the Oz books, or Greek mythology.

So, with the near-instant success of Shannara, suddenly publishers saw epic fantasy as the gateway to big profits. After all, when someone is willing to buy three books to get the whole story, that's three times as much money in the bank account. Shannara and the really awful Thomas Covenant books were the gateway, and the flood began by the early 1980s. The other fantasy genres vanished almost overnight, except in reprint compilations and the like.

For my generation, LOTR and its copycats WERE fantasy literature. Dungeons & Dragons, we all thought, was based almost solely on LOTR, because that's all we knew. The legendary Appendix N? Never heard of it. Tolkien was the ur-text, and there was nothing else.

Thankfully, I found out later in life that yes, there are other fantasy books, and those are the ones that inspired the world's greatest game. Tolkien's trappings (non-human protagonists, hobbits/halflings, orcs, epic underground complexes, etc.) were cool, but they were only a part of the game. Gandalf certainly didn't read like a D&D magic-user; he hardly ever cast any spells, he used a sword, he spent a good chunk of the books dead (but got better)...it just didn't mesh well. But we didn't notice, because we didn't know about the alternatives.

As time went on, the trilogies became much longer. The Wheel of Time was the most ridiculous, spanning fourteen volumes by the time it was finished by another author, since the first one didn't live long enough to complete it. It started off well, but by the fifth or sixth volume it was a slog. I finished it through sheer tenacity, but it's not something I'm ever going to read again. Game of Thrones was unreadable, and apparently it will never be finished. I can't say I'm disappointed. Or surprised.

Now, though, independent writers have rediscovered the joys of self-contained stories. Shorter volumes at an affordable price that can be just as entertaining as the multi-volume epics. I happen to have some of this very kind of book available at Amazon right now. Check it out, and see how 'short' doesn't mean the story is lacking.

Winter is Coming...

Technically, it's already here, but we're getting a real treat tomorrow: Gale-force winds with a snowstorm. Yay. I can't wait.

So, today was a day for preparing. My son and I put some plastic and plywood over the chicken coop, hoping to give the chickens a fair chance. We only got three sides fully covered; the uncovered side is the one with the least wind exposure, so here's hoping it works. We've also got the generator ready to go, and plenty of snacks ready. And blankets. Warm, fuzzy blankets.

There's not much else to say, really; winter storms tend to suck, and I'm not really looking forward to it. Hopefully we still have power tomorrow; if not, then I guess I won't be blogging. We'll see.

Cold Front: Enterprise Retrospective

Yes, I still have a lot of these episodes to review. I actually got the first season on Blu-Ray for Christmas, which is nice. Three more seasons to go...

So, Cold Front was the 'mid-season finale' (although they weren't called that back in 2001) for the first season of Enterprise, and it brought back the Temporal Cold War that was introduced in the pilot, Broken Bow. It wasn't very popular with fans, adding an unnecessary complication to the prequel series and one that obvious never reappeared in any other Star Trek show. But it's here, and we have to deal with it.

Here's the plot recap from Wikipedia:

Enterprise investigates a stellar nursery with several ships inside. Hailing one, they encounter a group on a pilgrimage to the Great Plume of Agosoria. Every eleven years, one of the protostars emits a neutron blast that the pilgrims consider a sacred event. Captain Archer invites the pilgrims to visit Enterprise. In Engineering, Commander Tucker explains the Warp 5 engine to the pilgrims. One alien discreetly disconnects an antimatter junction, and his arm morphs, revealing him as Suliban.

As Enterprise tries to go around a plasma storm, a bolt strikes the ship and causes an antimatter cascade that almost reaches the reactor, but is stopped by the disconnected junction. Tucker detects the sabotage in the junction, but does not suspect any of the crew. Crewman Daniels informs Archer that he believes one of the pilgrims is Silik, the Suliban whom Archer previously encountered. In his quarters, Daniels tells Archer he is not Starfleet but from the 31st century, commenting that the people who command Silik in the Temporal Cold War are from an earlier century. He comments that he has been sent to capture him, and asks for permission to tie his tracking technology into the ship's internal sensors.

Silik appears to Archer in his quarters and claims that Daniels' group was responsible for the antimatter cascade, and that the Temporal Accord is a lie. In Engineering, Daniels detects Suliban bio-signs, but is surprised and vaporized by Silik. T'Pol and Tucker summon Doctor Phlox to revive the now unconscious Archer. Archer asks Tucker to use Daniels' sensors to locate Silik while he and T'Pol visit Daniels' quarters to study the database that Archer saw earlier. It is gone. Silik escapes to Shuttle Bay 4, and refuses to surrender the device, so Archer shoots it from his hand. Silik opens the bay doors and freefalls to a waiting Suliban shuttlepod, and Archer asks Lieutenant Reed to seal off Daniels' cabin and any temporal secrets it may hold.

*************

So, there's some shipboard action in this episode, and more questions than answers about the Temporal Cold War. Is Silik telling the truth? Of course not, because he's the bad guy, but it's not always obvious, particularly when dealing with someone like Daniels, who is from nine hundred years in the future and most definitely has an agenda of his own.

There are some amusing bits in this episode, such as when Trip tries to explain the Warp 5 engine in extreme layman's terms, only to have one of the aliens ask him direct and points questions about technological sophistication and making him look like a bit of a fool. The reveal of Daniels' 'archive' device is pretty neat, and the ominous ending when the cabin being sealed off suggests that there will be more to this later on.

I liked this episode, although it didn't really jump out as anything special. The alien cultures were interesting, having their own motivations and understanding of the universe. Archer gets to be heroic again, T'Pol gets to be very skeptical, and Silik gets to save the ship. I'll give it a 6 out of 10, and let's see what the second half of the season brings us.

I wrote my own far-future science fiction, Bard Conley's Adventures Across the Solar System, which is available in e-book and paperback format at an Amazon website near you. Check it out, and see another view of the far future.