NOTE: XP calculations were in error in the PCs favor last session. A mistake that was not repeated this time. I will not penalize the PCs for the DM's mistake, so you keep the XP as assigned from last time.

Travelers arrive daily in Ashtakahr from countless worlds and alternate realities. On this day two in particular arrive at about the same time:

Magluk had ingraciated himself poorly with the local thieves guild and its members were apparently out to adversely affect his health. Making a hasty departure, he made an ill prepared and hasty, albeit fortuitously handy, exit from his pressing circumstances. Sneaking surreptitiously past some inattentive wizards, he slips unnoticed into a magical portal ensorcelled to some unknown destination.

Stepping into a reality of dark, swirling mists, Magluk moves ever cautiously forward. With the exceptional luck one of his vocation often prays for, he finds himself arriving entirely unmolested in the Ashtakahr Teleport. While walking the circumference of the teleport in search of an exit, a shadowy figure steps from the mists of the teleport.

Lucius Ahrlan contracted the services of a competent wizard in Waterdeep for the purposes of transporting himself to the world of Daeoria in the hope of establishing himself as an archer of significant reputation. After acknowledging the wizard's explicit instructions to keep a straight path always forward, Lucius enters the magical portal and strides straight forward.

A gruff grumbling, as of something largish with a deep voice and low intellect, sounds from behind and slightly to Lucius' left. He hastens his pace, ever mindful to keep to his path straight ahead. As the dark mists brighten and start to clear, Lucius observes a mist-shrouded shape moving from his left toward his right directly across his intended path. Drawing his bow, he nocks an arrow and tracks the movement of the shadowy form. Taking a final step forward the mists clear enough for Lucius to see that he's aiming his arrow at a tall half-orc walking around the circumference of a large, circular chamber in which is a teleport from which he's just stepped.

Magluk spots a human, armed with a redied arrow in his bow, step from the teleport to his right. The human lowers his bow and Magluk and Lucius exchange a brief greeting. Moving out of the area of the portal and into the waiting/reception area, Magluk and Lucius are greeted by a large, hooded and robed individual with a deep, harsh voice. The figure opens a scroll and reads a brief welcome message with admonitions to follow the laws of Ashtakahr, then instructs them to leave. The two step out of the portal building into the blazing heat of the Ashtakahr sun. They spot the billboard and peruse the postings there. They then decide to go to the arena to earn a few gold, if they're lucky.

After recovering from their terror at the arrival and subsequent departure of Xox, our heroes, along with many other arena patrons, decide to leave the arena. After questioning a dignified-looking older gentleman helping his wife, who was still suffering the effects of fear at the sight of Xox, our intrepid band heads to the northeast intending to leave town and travel north along the Ashtakahr river.

While traveling south in the general dirction of the arena, Magluk and Lucius are drawn to a disturbance that sends most others running away. Up ahead they observe a very Large insectoid creature breaking its way out of a cage that was being taken toward the arena. It typical heroic fashion, they move forward and fire arrows upon the beast.

Half way to the northeast gate leading out of the city, Throm, Matt, Tomber, and Vindahr observe a loud disruption some quarter of a mile ahead. They hurry ahead and find a huge Ankheg breaking out of its cage amid the crowd of pedestrians on the main thoroughfare. The chitinous beast tears open one man who wasn't as fast as others were in vacating the vacinity.

Closing on two flanks, our six heroes bring to a gruesome end the life of the giant magical bug.
[All PCs receive xxx XP for this battle.]

Immediately thereafter, a troup of a dozen city guards circle our heroes, weapons drawn, and charge them with the crime of firing projectile weapons within city walls (other than in the arena). The judge, who travels with the troup of guardsment to administer immediate justice upon arrest, finds the heroes guilty as charged, but acknowledges the mitigating circumstances of the rampaging ankheg, as argued ably by the defendants, Their death sentence is commuted to three rounds of battle in the arena. If they survive, they will be considered to have served their sentence and will be free to go.

Upon being returned to the arena to serve their sentence, Battlemaster Glen pointedly asks the judge's clerk if the judge's sentence explicitly mandated three consecutive battles. It did not, said the clerk. The party engage the services of a cashier named Vernon, who accomodates them in placing a wager upon themselves for the upcoming series of battles they are sentenced to fight.

The heroes step out upon the arena floor to confront 4 reptilian humanoids. Big, ugly, scaley, and wielding clubs and javalins, the four lizard-like creatures close in on the heroes. In the course of this altercation, our erstwhile Librarian casts Color Spray which incapacitates two of the opponents, and effectively outing himself as a Wizard. After several minutes of vigorous battle, and with a minimum of injury to themselves, the heroes leave the field victorious. [All PCs awarded xxx XP for this battle.]

After a brief rest, the heroes are called back out onto the arena to face a large ogre. Perhaps slightly smarter than the average ogre, this one came equiped with a skin of healing potion, and he adorned himself with fake bandages to get the heroes to underestimate him. In the long run, it made little difference. The heroes used their considerable facility with ranged weapons to even things up before finishing the ogre in close combat. Once again, to the loud cheers of the audience, our heroes leave the field of victory. [All PCs awarded xxx XP for this battle.]

Following another round of rest our heroes are called out upon the field for what is intended to be their last time. From the other side of the arena opens a very tall double-door and out steps a four-legged beast looking very much like a dog, and standing 16 feet at the shoulder, with three heads sitting upon those shoulders. Each pair of eyes glows the fire of a malevolent orange radiance.

Observing that there is an extremely tight collar around the center neck, the heroes read a partial name on the metal tag: "Pe...hes". Suspecting that this might be the name of a lost "puppy" advertised on the billboard outside the teleport, Lucius calls out to the massive Multi-headed mastiff, "Here, Peaches. Here, Peaches, Peaches, Peaches." Two of the three heads perk their ears up and the bright orange glow in their eyes dims considerably. Lucius, encouraged by this, persists, "Here, Peaches, Peaches. Here, boy." Now the center head is also intrigued, its fiery eyes no longer glowing bright orange. After only a few moments more, the monsterous beast tears up the ground running full speed straight at the fighter. Leaping into the air the huge hound lands upon Lucius knocking him flat on his back and all three heads proceed to slobber all over the fighter.[Lucius reveives xxx XP for getting Peaches out of combat mode.]

The crowd at the arena is understandably outraged, since this is not the kind of bloody brutality they have come to expect in battles at the arena. Equally angered is Battlemaster Glen, who hastily evicts our heroes and their over-sized puppy from the arena to replace them with combattants of a somewhat less affectionate nature. Before leaving the arena, they find Vernon and collect the winnings from their wager with only the briefest argument about the outcome of the last battle that was not actually won by fighting. Vernon seemed to decide that it's not worth arguing the point with people walking a 16-foot tall, three-headed dog on a slender length of rope for a leash.

Determining the address which to return "Peaches" our heroes set out to do just that. They encounter little or no challenge, and on those rare instances when someone asks about their large mutt they simply point to the handbill with the name and address of the dog's owners, and state that they are returning him home. This seems to stop all discussion and open the way for the party to pass unobstructed.

Once reaching the address our heroes knock upon the large, ornate doors. After waiting several minutes an older man named Vincent answers the door and is obviously outraged that Peaches has been returned home. When his daughter, Sara, shows delight at seeing her long-lost puppy, daddy-Vincent lowers his tone with the apparent intent of keeping his sentiments from his young daughter. Daughter-Sara suggests, insistently, that the heroes be rewarded with double the posted reward, so pleased is she that Peaches has finally been returned to her. Obviously unhappy about it, Vincent pays the heroes who then leave. [The PC are awarded xxx XP each for returning Peaches home.]

Upon leaving the gated community of wealthy residents where Peaches was returned, our heroes find the Ashtakahr City Guard waiting to arrest them for having an uncontrolled dangerous creature on the streets of Ashtakahr. The little blonde girl to whom they so recently returned Peaches shows them a partially open grate providing access to the underground tunnels and sewers of Ashtakahr. With the combined effort of several, they are successful in opening the grate enough to enter the tunnels. Tying one end of a rope to the massive grate, they climb down. With some two dozen members of the city guard hot on their trail, our intrepid heroes venture courageously into the darkness and stench of the Ashtakahr sewers.