The Quest for Melcar's Gem

NA AI Dungeon group 3 log
Players: Knight Chase, Umouto, Hiina, Nyet

Your first party member is Knight Chase: A medieval knight with long red hair and pointy ears. His weapons are two revolvers and a sword. His plate armor is impervious to most glancing blows.

Your second party member is Umouto: A fighter with no magic affinity, sword and shield, poor morals and chaotic neutral who loves chicken tendies and ale.

Your third party member is Madrid, a wizard who lost a bet with a demon and is now inhabiting a floating, telepathic seal.

Your fourth party member is Nyet, a wizard-cat.

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You are a party of adventurers who fight men and monsters alike. You have been sent on a mission by the King of Lorian to destroy the evils that lay within the corrupt Sheghold cave. As you reach the entrance of the cave you steel yourself for whatever comes next as you make your way inside. Walking around the internal caverns for a while, you notice that this place is bigger than you expected. In the distance you can hear echoes, human screams and moans, monsters roaring. You reach a particular part of the cave where you find dozens of villagers hung up from the cave walls, some barely still alive and conscious, others dead with half their bodies or limbs missing, old bones scattering the cave floor on which you stand. You deduct that this must be some sort of monster feeding ground, you turn around to face one of the cave tunnels, when suddenly
you hear footsteps emerging from it. You and your companions prepare yourselves, torches lit and weapons ready.

You turn to see what appears to be a man wearing a dark red robe, a gnarled black staff in his hand, starring at you with eyes like coals.
"Ah, adventurers, I presume? How timely. I was just meditating on some of the creatures that roam this place, please do walk with me and we can discuss your future." He turns and walks off. You and your companions look to each other.

Knight Chase asks the robed man who he is and begins to walk with him.
 You and your other friends follow.
"I am Melcar, I am the apothecary and doctor for this town. Dealing with the undead is not an easy task, but it is a profitable one. Come, let us negotiate."
You and your companions are lead to a small tent that has potions and medical supplies laid out on shelves. It's warm inside from a fire that burns in a small brazier.

Umouto asks Melcar what his potions do and what does he want for them.
 Melcar explains that his potions can heal wounds and regenerate limbs completely. He says he wants you to recover a red jewel that was taken from the town of Kol by orc raiders.
Umouto looks at you, Chase and Nyet to see if this is something you want to pursue.

The party agrees to accept the quest.
 Melcar hands you a vial of potion, and tells you that if you get wounded you should drink it and place the vial in your belt for safekeeping. He also mentions that orcs are green, fond of axes, and weak to fire so Knight Chase's flintlock pistol should be quite effective.
He also mentions that there is another wizard in town that may help you with this quest.

Madrid scoffs and cries out "Limbs? I have lost my whole body to the demons! What potion will cure me of this ailment?"
 Melcar just says "So it goes" and changes the subject.
Umouto asks if orcs are near the town, Melcar says that they aren't but that a large number of goblins have been spotted in the area. He says that goblins are little more than annoying pests, but that you should stay on your guard.
You and your companions begin to leave when Melcar mentions that there's one more thing you should know.
 He says that there are rumors of a werewolf in the area, mauling people. Umouto bristles at the word werewolf. Melcar says that he doesn't know if it actually is a werewolf or some mage with a trick.
Whatever it is, Melcar hopes you kill it because he's sick of all the business it has brought to his doorstep.

Nyet grabs a random potion off the shelf.

Nyet
"Wazzat?" You ask, raising an eyebrow.
"Corse it's a potion you idiot, look it has a redish brown tint and is glistening." He says handing it to you. You put out your hand and almost drop it when you see that it's hot.
"It's hot." You say giving it back to him. "What does it do?"
He shrugs and puts it back.

Knight Chase decides the party will move on to search for the goblins and if the goblins cannot be found, search for the werewolf terrorizing the town.
 The party agrees and the quest begins.

You decide to head towards the mountains in the distance to do some mountain climbing and wilderness exploring.
Umouto asks if you are sure that's a good idea, as Melcar mentioned that's where the goblins are. You tell her not to worry and lead the way.
As you begin your journey you notice that the path is getting narrower and over grown with long grass.
 At one point you have to get off your horses and put your hand down to feel around because you cannot see in front of you.
You trip and fall. You reach out and feel something soft and squishy. You hold up your lantern and are horrified to find the severed head of a young girl staring emptily back at you. You jump up and back away from the head.
"Wasn't me!" Umouto exclaims.

Umouto then asks the head if it's alive and if it is hungry.

You push Umouto aside and continue on.
Eventually the lanterns light reaches a fork in the path. The long path leads back to town, the other, deeper into the wilderness. You choose the longer path, hoping it goes back to town, and are disappointed to find that it doesn't. You decide to turn back and see something red on the ground. It's an apple.
The trio silently eats the apple as you all think of what to do next.

Madrid curses "This is no way to hunt orcs!" and then illuminates the path with his magic.\

"Ah, the long cut through the field." Umouto says.
You turn and head down the long path. You look up at the night sky. It's filled with stars that are barely visible in the city because of all the lights blotting them out. There are so many more here than you ever thought could exist.
"Wow..." Umouto says, stopping to stare at the sky as well.

"Hey, stop daydreaming and keep a look out." You say.
"I'm not your mom!" Umouto yells.
"Well you're acting like her..." You mutter.
While you're walking through the field, Umouto sees some sheep in a fenced in area to the left.
"Hey! There's the sheep! We can get some wool for Zana's mom!" Umouto says.
You stand there dumbfounded.

Nyet begins to shear the sheep with his knife, grabbing fistfuls of wool with his bare paws.
 You find this oddly comforting, seeing as he is helping with no ulterior motive and just acting like a normal cat.
Umouto finds a wooden club that was left by the fence and begins using it to hit the sheep.
"Come on! I dare you to do something!" Umouto yells at the sheep as she hits one. It fails to move.
"Hey guys, I found a dead body in the grass over here." You hear Madrid yell from up ahead.

Knight Chase investigates the dead body to see if it is also decapitated like the young girl earlier on the path.

"It's not a headless girl." He says dejectedly.
Before you know it, Umouto is attacking the sheep with his new club. You join him in the fun. Madrid sighs and then begins swinging the decapitated body back and forth, hitting the sheep repeatedly.
You and Umouto beat four of the sheep into submission when one leaps over the fence and runs away.

Umouto leaves the sheep and moves to the track to investigate if there's any sign of who left the body there.
 You follow him.
"I don't see any tracks." You say.
"Me neither..." Umouto says with a sigh. "Well I guess we gotta kill it anyway."
You hear a whizzing sound overhead. A shriek is heard followed by a meaty thud. Umouto runs over to the dead body and sees that the creature was hit by some sort of arrow.

Madrid screams "We must return fire!" and with another magical shout "Magic missile!"
 sends a volley of glowing projectiles at the attacker.
You run over to Umouto who stares at you blankly.
"We...we gotta kill it!" Umouto stutters.
You sheathe your sword and look for cover before firing arrows back at the attacker, hoping none of them hit Umouto.
Your arrows miss their mark.
Your only hope is that the killer has terrible aim like you do...and he does.
 One of his arrows hits Umouto in the leg.
Umouto falls to the ground and begins whimpering. You can't even make fun of him for being a big wuss because you're too busy trying to hide from the attacker's barrage of arrows.
You pull out your short sword and shield and prepare yourself for battle. The only problem is, what do you fight? You don't see anyone there...
"Magic missile!"
 You hear Madrid shout; he casts a volley of glowing projectiles right at the attacker.
A ghostly apparition appears, so transparent that you can nearly see right through it. It's carrying a crossbow of some sort. On its belt you see a quiver with several glowing bolts.
You run up to it and swing your sword but pass right through it; it's completely intangible!
"Damn it!" You yell and slash at it again to no avail.

 Nyet casts a trap spell on the ghost.
 Blue lightning forges its way up from the ground, through the ghost's feet and jolts him. He drops his crossbow and falls to the ground.
"DIE!" Umouto screams and runs up to the ghost and begins hacking at it with his axe.
The ghost reels backwards with each blow, finally falling down. Umouto raises his axe to strike the final blow...
...and misses!

Knight Chase executes the ghost with a shot from his flint-lock pistol and says "Sayonara motherfucker!"

You and Umouto approach the ghost; it's beginning to turn into smoke. You notice a strange amulet around its neck, you grab it before it disappears completely.
"I think that just might have saved our asses!" You say.
"No shit!" Umouto says. "What the hell is that thing?"
You inspect the amulet: It's some sort of medallion with a weird symbol on it.
"I think it's an Amulet of Protection."

Umouto snatches the amulet and puts it on, declaring it as his own.
"This will go great with my ring" he says.
"I don't think..." You start to say but Umouto cuts you off.
"Shut up! I'm in charge of looting shit now!"
You shrug, who cares? You have all the loot you need.

Madrid looks down the path with a dark look in his eyes. "Well a ghost was good but what about that damn goblins?"

"Goblins?" You ask.
"Yeah, the trigger-happy little green bastards shot at us on the way here."
"I didn't see them..." You say looking around.
"You didn't see them because they've run off."
"Oh...well that's not good then." You say. "Should we go after them?"
"Of course!" Umouto says, "I'll get my revenge for this!"

Nyet uses his magical power to bring a dead sheep back to life as a pet zombie sheep.
 "We could use another pet to fight the goblins" he says.
You're not sure if Nyet is brilliant or mad...or both.
"Okay men, we move out!" Umouto orders. You have a feeling that this is going to be a pain in the ass.

You walk down the path and into the woods, Umouto leads the way, sword drawn.
"I hope these goblins didn't go too far." You say.
"Oh, I imagine they're not too far." You hear a voice say from above. You look up and see a man sitting in a nearby tree...well not entirely a man...you can see the bark through his chest.
"A ghost!" You exclaim.
"Not quite."
 The man says. "I am Will Tree, and I'm no mere nature spirit. I am a dryad."
You've heard stories of dryads, half-woman, half-tree creatures with great magical power.
"Oh shit!" Umouto says, dropping his sword, looking like he's about to piss himself.
"Relax mortals, I am not your enemy, in fact I'm glad you came along."

Knight Chase says "Will Tree? That is an interesting name. Have you see orcs or goblins in these woods?"

The dryad laughs. "I don't even bother with those green morons anymore. They're too easy to kill, and they desecrate my wood with their presence. They've even been using it as a shortcut to the Goblin City, which I also don't appreciate."
"Then why help us?" You ask.
"You're not desecrating my home." Will Tree says.

Umouto asks Will Tree if they'll heal the arrow wound in his leg.

"I can assist you with that." He replies, "but I doubt you'll like the price."
"What could you possibly want from us?" You ask.
"I want you to kill three orcs that have been using my home as a shortcut to the Goblin City. I don't like the goblins either, but they haven't done anything to offend me, unlike the orcs.

Madrid lets loose a loud belly laugh and exclaims "Orcs? I eat them for breakfast!"

Umouto isn't so sure. "I'm still healing up from a goblin attack, I don't think I'm ready to fight orcs."
"You don't have to come." You tell him, "Will Tree, I'll do it, but I want your word that you'll heal my companions arrow wound."
"Very well," He replies.

Nyet asks Will Tree "Where are the orcs?"

"The easiest way to reach them is to keep going down this path until you see a red moss covered boulder on your right, then turn right and go towards the large oak tree. The orcs have been sneaking through the woods to the Goblin City, they should be relatively easy to find."
With this, the dryad disappears back into his tree.

Knight Chase and the party follow the directions that the dryad gave you.

"So what do you think?" You ask Umouto.
"I dunno, orcs are big and strong. I've never faced one before."
"Neither have I, but we have an advantage: There's three of us and one of them."
"Maybe" Umouto says.
Soon you reach the red moss covered boulder that Will Tree mentioned.
"Let's go this way." Umouto suggests, "The path is easier to maneuver on."

"No, we should stay on the main path, so that way if the orcs come through here they won't see us coming." You say.
Umouto and Knight both look at you.
"What? Do you think I'm wrong?" You ask.
"No, it's just that when we get out of this forest and into enemy territory you're gonna have a hard time commanding people around." Umouto says.

In the distance Umouto sees a campfire with three large figures sitting around. They look like orcs...

"SHH!" Umouto says, pointing to the figures.
"Do you see them?"
"Yes." You say. "Three of them and three of us. Let's do this."
You take out your sword and creep up to the campfire. You can feel your palms getting sweaty already.
You slowly approach the campfire while making sure all of the orcs have their backs towards you.

Madrid says "Fuck I am tired of not being a part of this party" and with a loud roar summons a great lightning bolt, crashing down upon the orcs.

The orcs are all shocked by this and jump up to attack.
They are tough, but you manage to take one out, while Umouto manages to take another out. The third orc jumps on Umouto from behind and begins choking the life out of him.
You rush over and kick the orc off of him. You grab the orc's wrist and break it causing the orc to let go of his club, then you stab the orc through the chest.

And then suddenly a goblin that was tied up pops out of nowhere and runs off.

"HEY! THAT FUCKING ESCAPED!" You shout.
The orc you just killed falls over, and then all of the sudden it stands back up.
You look at Knight and he at you, then you both look at Umouto.
"That wasn't an orc." Umouto whispers.
You turn around and see that the goblins have truly been playing tricks on you.
The goblins shoot arrows at the three of you.

Knight Chase shields his party members with his armored body and starts shooting at the goblins with his flint-lock pistols.

You pick up one of the orcish weapons and shoot it at the closest goblin.
The orcs are taken out, but there's still three goblins left.
You run towards a nearby tree while dodging arrows from the goblins.
You look around for something to kill the goblins with and you find a bow on the ground next to a dead Wood Elf.

Umouto hides behind Knight Chase and uses his Amulet of Protection on himself.

You see the goblin that escaped earlier running off into the distance.
You decide to target him first, and you let an arrow fly...
It hits the goblin in the back of the head, killing him instantly.
"Wow, I've never hit a moving target so perfectly before!" You say to yourself.
The other goblins close in on you and while they're distracted you run over to stab one through the stomach.

Madrid stares down the last goblin as it cowers in fear. With a smirk Madrid says "You're fucking dead kiddo" and snaps his fingers.
 A bolt of lightning from the sky strikes and kills the goblin instantly. You stare at him in confusion while he shrugs.
"What? I didn't wanna get his stinkin' blood on me is all." He says.
Later that night, the 5 of you decide to camp out. Umouto prepares some food for everyone while you sit to discuss future plans.

While everyone is camping, Nyet looks over the wood elf's corpse and finds a letter from the elves concerning the red gem you were sent to find.

Nyet reads the letter out loud. It states that the gem causes dwarves to go insane, and that it was stolen by Wood Elves in the first place.
You find this news very suspicious given that both Melcar and now the Wood Elves seem to be trying to get you to harm the other. You decide to hide this information from the group until you can sort out who you can trust.

Knight Chase calls out for Will Tree to join the party at the camp fire. Knight Chase says "We were sent on a quest to find the red gem after killing this orcs and we still haven't found it; where do you suggest we go, Will Tree to find this mysterious red gem?"

Will Tree stares blankly into the fire for a while and then points in a random direction and says "That way".
"Are you sure?" You ask.
"Yes." Will Tree answers, while looking elsewhere.
You all sit in silence unsure of what to do.

Umouto tries to sneak up on Will Tree to knock him out and search his belongings.

Will Tree spots him and runs into the forest. Umouto chases after him but gets lost in the dark.
You wake up the rest of the group to help you find Umouto.
"He's probably dead by now" Madrid suggests.
After a few minutes of searching, Umouto stumbles out of the darkness and collapses at your feet. He's covered in cuts and is bleeding heavily.
"Oh shit! What happened?"

Madrid snaps "Enough of this nonsense! I will use my magic to lead us to this gem!"

You hear a roaring sound and turn to see a four legged, feline creature behind you. It has tiny horns and is much bigger than Umouto.
"What the fuck is that thing?! A kitten?" Umouto yells as he backpedals nervously.
"Oh, Nyet, why didn't you tell us you'd tamed a Liger?" Chase asks sarcastically.
The liger roars and Umouto screams as he turns to run.

Nyet tells the ligar to roll over.
 The liger complies and spins in circles, playfully.
You turn to see Umouto running around trying to avoid the liger.
"Oh shit! He's going to get himself killed!" You panic.
Will tree suddenly says "I thought as much...I see what you're doing Nyet."
You watch in horror as Umouto is grabbed by the liger.
Nyet orders the liger to stop and it complies immediately.

Knight Chase asks Nyet if he can use the ligar as a mount.
 Nyet says he can.
"Sweet! Now all we have to do is get that red gem and we will all be rolling in gold!"
You press Nyet for more information and he reveals that the gems are an optional objective that Melcar gave you. He never expected you to succeed and as such didn't bother telling anyone about them.
Will Tree points out that it would be better if the group stuck to the original plan and ignore the gems.

Umouto tells Will Tree he better tell us where the gems are or he's going to kill the ligar.

Will Tree is silent.
You tell Umouto that if he hurts the liger, you'll hurt him.
Umouto tells you to go ahead and tries to pet the liger. It bites his arm off and the rest of the group runs away in terror as Umouto screams in pain.
"It was an accident." Nyet points out.

Madrid mutters under his breath "Christ why am I always working with amateurs..." and begins to mutter cryptic phrases as his eyes glow red.

Umouto screams as the liger sets him alight with blue fire. Will Tree runs in and tries to put the fire out but instead gets burned himself.
You watch as Umouto burns alive and then let out a sigh of relief that it wasn't you this time.
You find the red gem where Melcar said it would be and take it back to him.
"Interesting, it doesn't look like much but it should be worth a fair bit."

Nyet grabs Umouto's burned body and severed arm and you all head back to the cave turn in the gem to Melcar.

Melcar tells you your payment is in the usual spot and that you should leave.
Nyet is angry at Melcar's tone and points out that he didn't even offer to heal his burn. Melcar simply says "Get out of my cave!"
After a short staredown, Nyet heads out with you all following.
Umouto's body is tossed over the liger and Nyet comments that it's a shame.

Knight Chase douses Umouto's body with the healing potion that Melcar gave the party.
 It brings Umouto back to life, and you're glad it did because you wouldn't want to be the one who killed him.
Umouto is very happy to be alive and gives everyone a big hug, he then gets back on the liger and rides ahead of the group.
The rest of the trip is uneventful, a few small beasts try to attack but the group makes short work of them.

Madrid trolls "I guess the true treasure was the friends we made along the way"
 on the forums and since everyone got back safe and mostly sound, there's a massive cheer that you all succeeded.

Nyet gently pets the zombie sheep and says "good boy"
 before releasing it back into the wild.

Umouto puts his Amulet of Protection on the ligar and says "he's not so bad after all"
 before mounting it. The group members all mount their own animals and ride off on their next adventure.
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