Tales from the Whitebox, Session 18

In which the party...

• Travels to Stoutwall to seek opportunities in the city, and pass by some Geyser Springs on the way to the city. 
• Entering the city walls, are immediately accosted by a group of ruffians whom they manage to defeat. 
• The ruffians - thugs of Calibar, reveal that Calibar is part of the Crimson Brotherhood, a fringe cult looking to give a return to the Red Mist, an entity which was known as the "World Eater", by sacrificing the entirety of the city to it in stone.
• They learn that the Red Mist was the original goal of Helle, the ancient Ifrit who sought to awaken the entity before it's exile into an alternate plane.
• They learn the ritual is in fact ready to be underway, having been progressing steadily over the past few weeks.
• The party - with a wounded Flametongue in the last battle - heads deeper into the city, entering a storefront to see if they may get some healing.
• Unfortunately, the storefront is front for Calibar's cultists, with 4 cultist slavers who attack the party.
• The party manage to defeat the slavers, but not before Flametongue is severely wounded. 
• While searching for a healing potion for the dragon, the party realizes another cultist had been hidden within the store, as he casts an alarm spell.
• As he triggers the spell, numerous alarm spells in unison start ringing out, and it seems the plan has been set into motion - possibly because of the arrival of a party that managed to kill so many cultists.
•  The cultist them pulls out hidden explosions, and detonates them in a suicide bombing, shouting "For Calibar!"
• Thumb, Lap, Flametongue, and Murder are slammed against a wall...as a low rumbling begins deep within the city.
• Thumb, manages to stay conscious, as he goes to check on his friends. But much to his horror - Flametongue is dead.
• Lap and Murder are mortally wounded, with Murder unconscious and Lap barely conscious, and bleeding out, as Thumb tries to use whatever he can find to patch them up - but his attempts fail as Lap catches his hand.
• "The prophecy...leave Thumb...the city is gone...the Red Mist arrives...the prophecy..." Lap bleeds out and dies, Murder soon passes after him.
• All of his friends dead, and Thumb himself severely injured, he runs out, only to see massive red clouds with lightning and thunder gather in the distance, funneling over the city.
• Without looking back, Thumb limps out of the city walls and flees for his life, and leaves as the Red Mist arrives in full force, consuming Stoutwall...and slowly inching out of the city across land.

Current Characters: Thumb

Tales from the Whitebox, Session 17

 In which the party...

• Faces off against the Black Dragon - which attacks Malisha in the dark of night in a surprise attack!
• The black dragon destroys the new town hall with its new claws, as the townfolk scatter in fear.
• However, at Lap's urging, Thumb manages to reignite the hope of the townsfolk, and Thumb, Lap, and Murder lead a small army against the mighty dragon.
• Thumb manages to use a grappling hook and climbs onto the small of the dragon's back, making himself inaccessible to the dragon.
• The dragon in 1 massive swipe scatters the army, and knocks out Lap and Murder, who are badly injured and only able to crawl.
• The gathered townsfolk disperse fleeing, but in the haste, Thumb gets some strikes at the dragons vital organs.
• The dragon attempts in vain to swipe Thumb off its back, but misses as Flametongue, the much smaller drake, flies up to distract it while Thumb continues to poke at chinks in its scales.
• The dragon swipes, immediately knocking Flametongue out of the air, unconscious as well - as Thumb continues to get in more strikes, crawling around it's underside to the soft of its belly - and taunts how it can't even touch a small thief.
• The dragon, in fury to burn out Thumb, douses its own hide in smoldering acid - forcing Thumb off onto the ground...but not before he gets in 1 more vital slash that opens its innards to the outside.
• Too late, the dragon realizes this as the acid flows into its internal cavity, and it undergoes autophagy, its own acid eating itself from inside out as it falls dead.
• Thumb rushes and finds some townsfolk, and drafts them to help heal Lap, Murder, and Flametongue.
• Over the next 6 weeks, they heal slowly until finally the whole party is healed up.
• The Malisha townsfolk tell Thumb and the party - given the complete destruction of the village after the dragon's second attack, they will search their fortunes elsewhere, perhaps trying Stoutwall.
• Thus Malisha is abandoned to ruin, as Thumb, Lap, Murder, and Flametongue set out from the remnants of Malisha elsewhere.

Current characters: Thumb, Lap, Murder

Tales from the Whitebox, Session 16

 In which the party...

• Is visited by one Tom Hickathift, a fae emissary of Alphame, one of the fae kingdoms adjacent to the Alvanrealm.
• He is the servant of one Queen Mab, and requested audience with the emperor of the Alvanrealm, with no response.
• Hearing that Murder, one of its children, was away, he had come to New Malisha at once to request aid with a task that required - the touch of an elf, as the fae pixies were unable to go and acquire it themselves.
• Murder is initially reluctant, but Lap is happy to help. Thumb manages to convince Murder to go along, and the trio are taken through a strange light filled portal.
• They initially arrive in Alphame, as an island river shimmers in the distance, with an island in the middle and a light across the river leading deeper into the ever shifting fae realms.
• Quickly exit their foray from the fae realms through another portal, as chimes ring out, in Neverland. 
• Tom explains to them they have 12 hours, as the chimes ring once more at 6 PM - and it is now 6 AM - when the portal will reopen. If they don't make it, they are on their own at night in Neverland.
• They quickly head east through thick jungle after their quarry - a strange, magic infused spiral branch that may only be retrieved by an elf in the physical realm, and transferred to fae within Alphame alone.
• The branch was located in the Iron Mines - where the pirates of the Jolly Roger were making camp!
• The part heads through the jungle and run into a strange green horse with algae mane that climbs onto the bank - a kelpie - which they avoid.
• They continue, and encounter a group of Lost Boys chattering with a couple of pixies, laying out pranks in front of the Iron Mines, which they also stay hidden from until they leave.
• Finally, they enter the iron mines - with luck finding no pirates - and discover the spiral branch resting with knick knacks on a table in the entrance, clearly being studied.
• Thumb sneaks in, grabs the branch, and they hightail it back.
• On their way back, they encounter a Fachon - a one eyes, flat creature discussing with gnomes. They are unable to sneak past, but the creatures pay them no mind as they move past them quickly.
• They manage to hide from a strange, black oozing parasite ridden tiger on the banks below the bridge.
• Just as the chimes ring, they arrive at the portal to Alphame, where Tom waits for them.
• Entering the portal, they give the fae creature the branch, as its eyes glint and it thanks them. 
• They are lead back through the ever changing land of Alphame, which now presents strange glowing algae pools, with the golden light yet in the distance.
• Finally, they enter a portal back to New Malisha, with Tom letting them know should more help be needed in Neverland or elsewhere, he may call upon them once more!

Current Characters: Thumb, Lap, Murder

Tales from the Whitebox, Session 15

 In which the party...

• Travels east from Goalshine to Malisha - or whatever is left of it.
• On the journey, encounter a giant snake fighting with a bear and giant spiders, and hide in the brush avoiding the battle.
• At night, camping discuss whether the giant snake was the one which the Goalshine Malisha wanted dead, and decide to trace their steps to locate the battle.
• Are unable to find the location in the mountains where the battle occurred, and decide not to stray too far from the path to avoid getting lost. 
• Continue west into the plains and arrive at the smoldering ruins of Malisha, the town's keep and much of its infrastructure in shambles, with the few remaining survivors living out of ramshackle huts.
• Learn that the Thieves guild had moved on, heading to the city of Stoutwall, where the mage Calibar was still on the throne of the kingdom.
• Learn that the townsfolk were cowering in fear from the black dragon, which, despite not being seen for days, was a constant threat.
• Thumb goes to the town square, and gathers the Malisha survivors and appeals to them, encouraging them to band together and rebuild. His message hits true as spirits are lifted.
• Thumb funds the building of a wooden town hall, with much of the villagers helping out while others keep watch for the black dragon.
• Spend 2 weeks rebuilding the town hall, a now humble wooden structure, without disturbance by the black dragon, all funded by Thumb, and his party.
• Lap contributes happily and notes that he feels Thumbs actions are the right thing to do, but Murder grumbles, his opinion dropping as he calls the enterprise "a waste of time".
• Thumb, over the two weeks, plants the seed of the idea that he should be temporarily the mayor of New Malisha to various citizens as they work on rebuilding.
• At the end of the endeavor, the town has a meeting, and Thumb is nominated and elected as mayor of the town, at least temporarily.
• As his first decree, Thumb says they will have to start getting back their standing in the realm by contributing to farming and trade, but for now - no taxes for the first month back as New Malisha.
• Thumb, Lap, and Murder start discussing on how to deal with Calibar and how to negotiate with the situation in Stoutwall, as well as plans for what to do if the black dragon returns...

Current characters: Thumb, Lap, and Murder.

Tales from the White Box, Session 14

 In which the party...

• Travels back into the dungeon to continue exploring.
• Discover a room with a large bas relief of a strange being - an Ifrit - towering over an army of helmed creatures as humans in chains are marched into caves, with an engraving in elvish.
• Lap translates the engraving that this ifrit being was Helle, and ifrit who enslaved much of mankind 200 years prior - but with no other information on the creature's fate.
• Continue to explore and Thumb discovers a secret door leading to another room with a chest in the middle, and large pulley systems on each wall.
• Manages to explore the room and get to the chest after again using his rope and grapple to tie himself to the entrance.
• Discovers nearly 4300 gp in the chest - but just as he is about to start filling his pack with loot, the entire room shudders and starts lowering into the ground.
• Thumb manages to home onto his rope and grapple, getting to the wall as the treasure sinks down into the depths, out of reach of his 25' rope and out of view of torchlight. 
• The party backtracks to the entrance and lets the guild know of the trapped secret room with treasure, suspicious of its nature as a trap - possibly a mechanism to feed the dragon on a steady diet of foolhardy adventurers.
• Getting some more torches, they explore the remaining third of the dungeon level.
• Discover a hallway with an elevator - seemingly functional - also leading to level 2.
• Discover another forking hallway leading to what seem to be dead end stone walls - only to reveal a secret door to a cave like laboratory.
• The lab has stained tables, and scraps of cloth, torn and shredded strewn about, with no other tracks or traces, and is otherwise empty.
• Finding no other rooms, head back to inform the Malisha Thieves Guild.
• The guild sends down operatives, finding both the pit room and the elevator as traps that kill thieves, but the secret stairs that Thumb's party found as a safe passage to the second level, likely from ancient construction before the dragon's arrival.
• Discover the entire bottom lair is filled with large piles of gold and gems - nearly 30,000 gold in value!
• Thieves guild start carting up the gold - and with some luck, as they load all their profits onto carts without any sign of the dragon.
• Thumb and the party are given a 10% cut - 3000 gp, with Murder attempting and failing to negotiate a higher fee.
• Nonetheless, Thumbs party gets 1,000 gold a piece, a good haul as they and the thieves guild take leave of the ransacked dragon's lair, the guild slowing carting away to Malisha as Thumb and party return to Goalshine.
• Start resting up with their new wealth in Goalshine for a week while preparing for their next adventures.

Current characters: Thumb the Thief, Lap the Dwarf, Murder the Elf

Tales from the Whitebox, Session 13

 In which the party...

• The party continues exploring the black dragon's lair.
• Discovers an armory leading into a hallway with the dead bodies of an orc and human, and another hallway which smells of human waste.
• As they explore, Thumb learns from Lap that he and Murder are part of the Alvanrealm, an isolated Elvish land where Murder was nobility before being exiled and maimed (hence Murder the Maimed) due to a prophecy that he would bring ruin to the realm. 
• Lap of the Dun Cloak was Murder's loyal companion and part of the Dorvenguard, who joined him as Murder searches for a way to avert the prophecy of ruin - though the prophecy is quite vague.
• Discover at the end of that hallway after their discussion, a trap room with a chest in the center. 
• Observe the room and see that it rotates in all directions, by 90s degrees.
• Thumb uses his grappling hook, securing himself to the door, and traverses the room to the chest to discover 600 silver.
• Successfully makes 3 trips and grabs all the silver pieces from the chest without dropping any, even as the room rotates to and fro.
• Coin gathered, they leave the trap room and return back to the thieves guild camp with their loot.

Current characters*: Thumb the Thief, Lap the Dwarf, Murder the Elf

*Of note I switched the game over to Cairn RPG (despite keeping the White Box name) so I'll be using Cairn's diegetic growth for advancement instead of levels.

Tales from the Whitebox, Session 12

 In which the party...

• Enter into the black dragon's lair caves, with the entrance hall created as a sort of mess hall for the Malisha thieves guild, with the whole cave giving a damp feeling.
• Enter a southern door and come into a crumbling former barracks of sorts, where 4 orcs crouch among rusted armor and weapons guarding a chest. They turn and shout for the intruders to "be gone" brandishing their weapons.
• Manage to kill 3 of the orcs, and take the survivor Grubz as a prisoner, learning from him that the orcs were lackeys of the Black dragon and kept an eye on his place while he was out hunting, and in return, they used his presence to lord over other monsters in the nearby mountains.
• Learns that Grubz knows the layout of the caverns and where the dragon's lair is - and promises to show the party there if his life is spared. 
• Thumb searches the room and discovers a secret door leading to a set of stairs leading down to a second level of the dungeon. 
• Retreat back and discover another door which leads to a dead end with a musky odor. 
• Return to the mess hall, and search there for any secrets without any luck as well.
• Torches running low, retreat for now with the rest of the guild, with Grubz being taken for further interrogation and information about the dungeon and its layout.

Current levels: Thumb 4, Lap 1, Murder F1/M1