Session 41 22/2/1480 DR - The Zhent Portal

XP
20 Zhent Troopers killed, 1 captured: 200x21=4200
Zhent Battleguard killed: 600
Zhent Red Wizard, escaped: 350
1 Zhent trooper escaped: 100
Total: 5250/6 = 875 (EL 13)x1.5 = 1312
Level 11 Quest - Secure Zhent Fort: +600
Total: 1912+36,550=38,462
Need 39,000 for 13th level.

Magical Treasure Found
Paragon Shield of Warding (Lvl 14, PHB pg 245) - Daily Interrupt when adjacent ally hit, reduce damage by 15, v. 21,000gp(!)
Level 7 Desert Rose (AV pg 193), v. 100gp

 Consumable (Free Action)

Expend this reagent when you use a arcane or divine power of up to 5th level. You do not need to use an action on the following round to sustain that power (sustaining it for subsequent rounds does require the appropriate action).

Vanak's Book of Portal Rituals (8)
L1 Hold Portal
L4 Arcane Lock, Knock
L6 Portal Jump
L8 Seal Portal, Linked Portal, Analyze Portal
L12 Reverse Portal

Seal Portal

You close a portal between two locations safely, ensuring that nothing can come through it in the future.

Component Cost: 100 gp
Market Price: 680 gp
Key Skill: ArcanaLevel: 8
Category: Binding
Time: 10 minutes
Duration: Permanent

You sever the magical connections that bind one place to another by way of a portal. The completion of this ritual successfully shuts a currently active portal and seals it. No creature, object, or energy can pass through a sealed portal. The portal is not destroyed, though it becomes both invisible and intangible, meaning that it cannot be perceived or interacted with while sealed. If the portal would normally disappear after a certain amount of time, it does so.
    At the completion of this ritual, make an Arcana check. A sealed portal can be reopened with the linked portal, planar portal, or true portal rituals, but the creature performing the ritual to reopen the portal must make an Arcana check that equals or exceeds the results of the Arcana check you made when performing this ritual. You can remove the seal on a portal you have sealed by performing this ritual on it again.
    The magic of a sealed portal can be detected with the Arcana skill. The level of the magical phenomenon (the seal, not the portal itself) is equal to your level at the time you performed this ritual.

Published in Dungeon Magazine 160, page(s) 27.

Conduits

• There seems to be a range limit for which Portals can be linked, and not every portal can be linked. The Amarindar Southwood Portal seems to have been towards the maximum range for linking to the Darkhold portal.

  8 medium size creatures per day can use a conduit in each direction without overloading it; or 16 Small, 4 Large, 2 Huge, 1 Gargantuan. (Can replace creatures with inanimate objects of similar size, eg a 3' chest would be Small)

Session 40 21/2/1480 DR - Assault on Brooke Manor

Arkos' Vampire Spawn

Zhents Everywhere

XP
9 Vampire Spawn - 1125
10 Assault Troopers - 2000
6 Darkhold Troopers - 1200
4 Archers - 1400
3 Battleguard - 1800
6 Templars of Cyric -  3000
War Captain Arkos - 1600
Total: 12125/7=1732 (EL 17!)x1.5=2598 each
Free Brownstone - Level 13 Major Quest: +800 each
Total: 3398 + 33,152=36550
Need 39,000 for 13th level.

Postscript: You find several survivors of the Zhentarim occupation in the manor house cellars, including Halvath's sister-in-law Terriss and her children Ralf and Kara. They had been hidden by the serving maids the Zhents had kept alive to serve on them.
Halvath communes with Mielikki overnight as he seeks to resurrect Sir Halvard Brooke and  Lana Jameson. But they were killed in dedication to Cyric, God of Murder, and dark forces hold their souls in thrall. Halvath realises that if he wishes to attempt to rescue them from eternal torment, his spirit must journey into the Shadowfell - alone - and face the forces of Cyric in contest...

Zhent War Captain Arkos, vampire (RIP)

Session 39: 21/2/1480 DR - Brownstone Zombie Inferno

Quinn tried to talk her way into Brownstone.

Halvath falls out of the tree.

Arya's Fireball lands.

One shot, nineteen kills by Arya - 17 zombies, 1 Zhent assault trooper, and an unfortunate zombie dog.

Mopping up.

Quinn:
Quinn looks around the chaos left behind in the wake of the battle. Smoking bodies litter the ground around us. Halvath stands in the middle of the battle, his face a constant battle between despair and righteous fury. 

There don't seem to be anymore Zents to attend to and everyone relaxes slightly, glancing warily toward the barricaded mansion in the North Western corner of the village. 

With everyone's attentions elsewhere no one notices a handful of the undead villagers begin to stir. Three of the smoking bodies rise unsteadily to their feet and begin to shamble towards the group, Halvath's brother among them. 

It is mere moments before Jareth sees the danger and launches himself towards the trio of corpses, felling two with one swing of his giant sword. He rounds on Halvath's brother, the final one standing and prepares to strike him down. Quinn sees the stricken look on Halvath's face and steps forward, putting a hand on Jareth's shoulder, shaking her head slightly as he looks at her. 

She steps forward and waits for the zombie to approach her. When he is almost within arms reach Quinn looks him in the eyes sadly and whispers something so low that no one else hears. "You're dead."

The corpse of Halvath's brother stops and sways for a moment before crumpling to the floor, whatever dark magic that was pushing it forward evaporating. 

Quinn turns and walks back to Halvath, putting a hand on his shoulder before making her way towards the mansion, suddenly afraid of what else is going to test Halvath's resolve before the day is over.

XP:
3 Darkhold Troopers - 600
5 Assault Troopers - 1000
1 Cenobite, Kaloth - 500
4 Archers - 1400
18 Zombies & 1 zombie dog - 950
Total Kills 31
Total XP: 4450/7=635 (EL 11)x1.5=952 XP each
952+32,100=33,052
Quinn account +100=33,152
Need 39,000 for 13th level.