DM Zyren's Heart of Light

Game Master Zyrenity

An epic search for the Amethyst heptagon leads a party of fresh graduates through the northern reaches of Ustalav. Based in Karcau, the party visits places like the dark Castle Jarovich or the dangerous alleys of Carrion Hill.


Party:

Johenric - Human Wizard

XP:
51000

Solaric - Half Drow Paladin

XP:
51000

'Countess' Victoria - Tiefling Witch

XP:
51000

Flofer Nighthawk - Human Bard

XP:
51000

Kirk Spearborn - Half-Orc Assassin

XP:
51000

Cairn Stern - Human Ranger / Gunslinger

XP:
51000

Dramatis Personae:

Allies

Ferenc St. Just-Master of Pettoria Academy
Boris Fanalio-Master of Kiavelak Academy
Elena Caliphvasos-Mistress of Noriski Academy
Gregori Dumitru-Captain of the Nightscarfs
Adreanu Salvator-Sczarni leader
Wilbur Vintra III-Barrister
Tanor Veredan-Knight Commander of Karcau
Gorian Damasco-Former Inquisitor of Sarenrae
Sadoran Winterspur-Victoria's former arcane mythologies teacher
Reindeer Ricca-Scout and old friend of Gorian
Vicenzo LaMotte - Pitr's father and jack of all trades.
Swan - Varisian prophetess and daughter of Samara.
Sasandra Livgrace - Countess of of Karcau and the surrounding Demesne
Mayor Heggry - Mayor of Carrion Hill
Sergeant Joskul - Sergeatn of the Crows, the elite city guard of Carrion Hill
Murna, Merca and Terissa - Vicky's three witch friends.

Deceased or missing

Georgiu Alistrada-Murdered ambassador and priest of Nethys
Tatyana Dvorzca-Murdered aasimar starlet
Alon Weatherby-"Fiance" of Tatyana
Severino Velasco - Long time opponent of Ptr's father, was killed by Kirk and Victoria before he could do any harm.

Others

Russo Locano-Owner of the Shrieking Harpy
Danor aka 'Golem' - Foreman of the woodcutters north of Karcau
Samara - Varisian diviner and harrower.
Mr. Hassard - Shop owner and secret poisoner.
Aramis de Voisseur - Knight
Stephen Livgrace - The countess' cousin

Enemies

Count Alexandru Jarovich-Master of Vizyalesh Academy
The Rag Man-killed by the party in Karcau

Journal:

4th of Calistril 4708

- Day of the great Graduation Ceremony.
- Meeting of the PCs in the "Snickering Madman" tavern.
- Secret meeting with the masters of the four academies.
- Mission to solve the murder of Caliphas' ambassador.
- Besides the ambassador a woman (aasimar) was murdered.

5th of Calistril 4708
- Map of Karcau
- Victoria and Pitr found a letter in Tatyana's cloakroom from Wilbur & sons barrister chambers.
- On their way back to the academy Victoria and Pitr were attacked by thugs probably hired by a priest of Nethys.
- Zahur, Kirk and Solaric found a priest of Norgorber in the mansion of the murdered ambassador.
- As the party arrived at the Wilbur's residence they noticed that a fire had been set.
- Besides the Wilbur library also the Irori shrine and the observatory have been attacked.
- Solaric was able to be accepted as a Neophyte of the Iomedae Temple.
- The party was told that the former inquisitor of Sarenrae, Gorian Damasco might know where the Norgorber cult is situated.
- At the docks the party was told that Alon was caught by the Rag Man.
- Gorian assumes the cult could have hidden in the sewers or a ruined ship at the lighthouse.
- The party went for the lighthouse on an islet in Lake Prophyria and found the keeper murdered.
- The party found the cultist's hideout at the beach: a shipwreck.
- The Rag Man was able to flee, but lost a treasure of books in the burning shipwreck.

6th of Calistril 4708
- The party returned to Karcau aund split up to find:
a) a master of arcane lore
b) report to Gregori Dumitru
c) search for a hideout of the cult in the sewers
- After thorough investigations the party found out that Jarovich is maybe somehow involved in the murders - that's at least what St. Just pretends to know.
- The bodies of the missing children were found at Mermaid's Quay. Hereupon the Sczarni swore revenge and helped the party hunting down the Rag Man.
- The party found out that the main sewer entrance is next to the dilapidated residence of the Weatherbys.
- After solving a riddle in the sewers the party was able to access the Rag Man's lair and confronted him, his gaurds and an invisible stalker.
- The party was able to bring an end to the doings of the wretched Rag Man.
- The party reported back to St. Just and he told them that Jarovich has fled to his castle with the strange shard the Rag Man had obtained for him.
- Tanor Veredan tells the story of the twin trumpet archons that once fought over the power of a lost deity. Legend says that the shards of the heptagon may free one of the angels.
- Karcau Hinterlands

7th of Calistril 4708
- On the morning of this day, Solaric was ordained as a priest of Iomedae.
- All party members have different things to organise for their travel.

8th of Calistril 4708
- The party goes on with their errands.

9th of Calistril 4708
- The party left Karcau and rode northwards.
- At about noon they reached a lumberjack camp and met Danor, the foreman.
- He told them about the sheriff of Belfurth (Atoine de Saville) and a group of monsters nearby.
- The party ambushed the ogre twins and their goblin minions and killed the whole band without a scratch.

10th of Calistril 4708
- The party rode on and found Reindeer Ricca's cabin, south of Belfurth.

11th of Calistril 4708
- After having spend the night at Ricca's cabin, the party and Ricca organized trapper equipment to travel in disguise.
- Before leaving Belfurth to Castle Jarovich, the party made a short side trip to Belfurth.
- After a strange incident with a farmer's daughter and a cthulhu-like mega monster, Pitr gets to know that there is something wrong with his family. A man with the name Lamotte has paid the girl to spy on Pitr.

12th of Calistril 4708

- The party leaves Belfurth and on the road to Jarovicha the party witnesses a strange sight: a revenant is killed in an ambush?!
- As the company reaches the lake a Night Wyvern attacks them. With luck and fortitude they are able to drive the beast away.
- From the frying pan into the fire: The party stops at an inn which is run by the very strange three sisters Merca, Murna and Terissa.
- Besides them, there are three other guests...that don't look very well and report of a strange storm that has kept them at the inn during the last four days.

14th of Calistril 4708

- The party reaches Jarovica and finds out that the inhabitans suffer under the Count's rule.
- The party decides to attack Jarovich's nephew during an audience.
- Pitr has killed Sasha the spy.
- Before the party was able to sneak into the castle Jarovich attacked them with a horde of zombies!
- The party is able to kill Jarovich and his minions and is furthermore able to secure the amethyst shard.

15th of Calistril 4708

- Solaric and the party gather the villagers of Jarovich at the courtyard to judge upon the captain and the nephew.
- Solaric and Pitr have an argument about Sasha's fate.

16th of Calistril 4708

- After the party has executed the nephew and restored order, Captain Dumitru arrives and reports that there are again strange cases of children abduction in Karcau.
- The party decides to leave the captain in Jarovicha and heads back to Karcau.

19th of Calistril 4708

- On their way back to Karcau, the party bids Ricca farewell.

20th of Calistril 4708

- The party reaches Karcau at midnight.
- Pitr finds out his father is really someone else than he thought.
- Zahur finds out his sister shared a room at Vizyalesh with Baran Jarovich
- Victoria meets the sisters, who tell her she should check the singer's chronicles, to find the children abductor.

21st of Calistril 4708

- Gorian tells the party that he assumes that no ghouls but frogmans roam through the streets at night.
- Vizyalesh academy is used to harbour a group of visiting Nethys priests.
- Victoria finds out that a Lady Mashja and her puppet theatre was expelled by a group of patricians, among them Victor Vintra.
- Victor Vintra's great grandchild Wilbur hands the party a letter,in which a Jerome Halvergan is revealed to had an affair with Mashja.
- Swan's mother Samara went to the swamps searching for herbs, but didn't return in time. The party decided to search the swamp themselves.
- In the swamps they found tracks of Samara and a boggart village, yet still no sign of the woman.
- The party gets closer to the mystery of the village: The balck dragon lord of the swamp was cursed by a hooded figure and his followers and forced to search for an amethyst shard. To manage this the dragon has commanded to abduct diviners who could help searching.
- The party rescued Samara and Johenric and is being accompanied by Harl on their way to the hoard of the dragon where they are ambushed by the hooded cultists.
- After a bloody battle the party enters the catacombs that contain the dragon's hoard.
- Inside the caverns, the party finds the dragon's hoard and a mighty minion of the Ragman, who had just waited for the party to clear the dragon's traps.

22nd of Calistril 4708

- After retrieving the "Chronicles of the Heptagon" and slaying the Ragman's by now mightiest minion, the party returns to the village and find out that the curse has been lifted.
- The dragon awards them with some treasures and let's Samara join them.
- A strange dream, dreamt by a portion of the party members shows them visions of a gigantic undead army in the north and a fortress in the Kronstein Ridge.
- Back in Karcau the party meets a member of the Order of the Raven who is riding north to scout for Countess Sasandra Livgrace.
- The party decides to do some errands, but Pitr has to help his father in a vendetta against a Severino from cassomir and Solaric tries to solve the mystery around the children abductions.
- After analysing the Chronicles of the Heptagon, Johenric finds the following passage: Where sun and moon collide, water forms fluids to solid stones and mist enshrouds the slopes of a crowned stone.
- Severino is assassinated by Kirk with Victoria's help.
- Harl and Solaric find an old portrait with a strange blot on the back. They assume it is somehow connected to the children abductions.

23rd of Calistril 4708

- While Johenric works further on the tome, the others investigate the abudctions.
- They find out that all families had strange blots at some of their belongings.
- While the night is still young, the party decides to search for further clues at some old guest houses, probably the place where the puppeteer once stayed.
- There they are attacked by a group of attic whisperers which they are able to fend off.
- Pursuing the small undeads leads the party to a storage hall where Mashja has assembled the lost kids to watch her last play.

Mashja's Tale:

Suddenly the stage transforms and instead of curtains and a wooden podium you can now behold an ice-crested landscape with dark fir forests, where wolves large as cows dwell and trolls hide behind snow banks. The view then changes again and a city is zoomed in that consists entirely of palaces made of ice and small wooden houses with colourful ornaments.
You see a group of men clad in typically, while old-fashioned, garments worn in Karcau, who walk down a street entirely paved with skulls.

You watch on and behold how the group of Karcauians participates in several banquets and exercises - and you notice one among them that reminds you of Wilbur Vintra. He is mostly together with a beautiful woman with platin-blonde hair and eyes, the colour of an iceberg.

The vision now leaves the large group of men and mostly stays with the couple. They spend joyful days at the shores of a steaming lake surrounded by ice, on the hunt in the hinterlands or strolling through the streets of this strange enchanted city.

But after maybe a week or so, the foreigners have to depart and you can virtually feel the woman's sadness as her lover - which he has become over the corurse of the week - has to leave her. And while he vanishes from the vision for now, the "movie" stays by her side , showing her crying for several nights, until she decides to depart also from her homeland.

The next day she ventures to the largest of the icy palaces and meets a very majestic white-haired woman, wearing a crown of ice. A short talk ensues with a bitter exchange of words and it seems that our protagonist has to leave her home without kind words of farewell.

For many days the fragile beauty now rides southbound, evading snow goblins and even a frost giant, until she reaches lands where there is snow no more.

The vision continues and after exhausting weeks of travel the white-haired woman finally reaches Lake Prophyria and Karcau. She seems to be lost in the large city and even though most people are friendly to her, it seems that they regard her as some kind of opera star, which she does not understand. After a series of misunderstandings she really talks to someone at the opera, who after giving her something to eat tries to make advances...the vision blurrs here and returns to the city weeks later. Our protagonist has lost much of her dignity, she must have sold her valuable clothes, her hair is chaotic and she has some some bruises on her arms and face.It seems like she works as a charlady in the catacombs below the opera now. The time she's not at work she spends searching for her lover. Knocking at every house's door, being rudely sent away most of the time.

Yet in the end, on a sunny Starday, she finds the right house. As the man, for whom she has suffered so much, opens the door, she nearly breaks down. He seems utterly shocked, steps out and closes the door directly behind him. As she tries to embrace him, he pushes her away, looking nervously to the neighbour's houses. It seems like she raises her voice, not understanding what is going on, and he decides to slap her in the face...once, twice, then pushes her away like she was some sort of annoying beggar.

After being rejected by Wilbur's ancestor, the poor woman from Irrisen hides in the area nearby his house. Whenever he leaves it she tries to speak to him and each time he is very concerned that no one, especially not his wife, sees them together. After several of such incidents, the vision shows him meeting some of his friends in his library. They seem to debate something and after some heated exchanges, they have agreed on something.

The vision blurrs again and the next time you see the protagonist, she sells a pendant, a large blue saphire with a white gold chain. You feel that this must have been her last keepsake from her homeland. In exchange for that she buys a small wagon with a white pony. Over the course of the next days she puts a lot of effort into the remodelling of the wagon, in the end its side can be opened to build the stage of a puppet theatre.

While she entertains the children of Karcau with her puppet shows, there are now always some of the men from the library-meeting hiding nearby, spying on her from hideouts.
It's a winter evening when Mashja does her last show of the day inside a small storage hall. Outside the wind is howling, but the seven kids sitting in front of the wagon watching her show, seem totally spellbound by the small colourful puppets.

Outside, four dark figures sneak along the walls of the hall. Then suddenly they take out orange vials and pour their contents over the hall's walls and light them. Even though it must have been very cold on that night, the walls are conflagrant in no time.

Inside Mashja notices the danger far too late. She takes the children by their hands and runs with them to the door, but as she pulls it open, she faces the four men, masked and with swords drawn. They force her back into the hall and barricade it...the last "shot" of the vision is the burnt-down hall. Only black scorched ruins remain, Mashja and the children must have died in that fateful night. In front of the building the men from the library can be seen amongst many other spectators, without saying a word they nod to each other and leave the scene.

24th of Calistril 4708

- The party prepares everything to send Mashja's bones back to Whitthrone and lay the children to rest.
- In the afternoon Sasandra Livgrace, Countess of Sinaria arrives in Karcau.
- After Victoria has asked some favours, the party accompanies the countess to the opera in the evening.
- At the opera strange things happen! The opera is changed without notification and the Ragman turns up again!
- He must have created some kind of illusion that should convince the party that they are kept imprisoned in a dimensional pocket.
- Victoria proves that this is all a ruse and the party is able to drive the Rag Man off.
- Solaric has a short and heated debate with Aramis de Voisseur.
- The countess dcided that a tournament will be held soon to find out who is the more heroic knight of the two.

25th of Calistril 4708

- The party meets the countess at Swansong House to speak about a possible mission in Carrion Hill.
- The countess explains that in Carrion Hill, the mayor has problems he is unable to solve and so she asks the party to help.

29th of Calistril 4708

- After a three days ride the party reaches Carrion Hill and is informed by mayor Heggry that a terrible monster haunts the town.
- It's invisible and has killed already the town's paladin and several citizens.
- As the party reaches the house where the monster first surfaced, they find an entrance to some old ruins underneath the house.
- Down there they encounter a band of dark creepers and they find out that some people from Carrion Hill who called themselves the Keeper of the Old ones have summoned a monster in the depths.
- Two of the keepers are found dead down there, but three are still missing.
- The party recovers an ancient tome - the Pnakotic Manuscripts - from the underworld ruins.
- The city is meanwhile in a state of riot as everyone tries to flee.
- At the Elm Way Church the party find the third keeper, Arelend Hyve who tells them that they have summoned the god Yog-Sothoth. Only if the party kills all keepers before the god can kill them, they have a chance to defeat the monster.
- The party reaches the vat-house and after a wild fight with a group of zombies is able to kill the second keeper.
- Then they venture to the asylum, hoping to get the third keeper Crove also before the Yog Sothoth does.
- After another close race against time, they meet Crove in the depths of the Asylum. He turned out to be the leader of the cult!
- After killing Crove and his chaos beast the party battles the spawn of Yog Sothoth and manage to kill it in a titanic battle!

Until 4th of Pharast

- After a joyful feast at Carrion Hill the party rides back to Karcau. They are accompanied by a new member - Flofer, the mayor's nephew.
- On the way they meet a knight and his sons who speak of a darkness gathering in the north and that troops from all of Sinaria are assembled.
- An innkeeper tells the party of a shortcut on which they encounter an old monastery which they are unable to enter.
- Pitr leaves the group and plans to lead a life with Swan in the south.
- Back in karcau the party notices that the city is preparing for a great siege. Troops are sent north and the tension is palpable.

5th-15th of Pharast

- Back in Karcau, Kirk leaves the party and ventures south to learn the secret ways of poisoning.
- The countess holds a tournament to find her new count. During a night at the opera, Solaric and she fall in love, but there is also Aramis, who wants to win her heart.
- In the following days Aramis always tries to manipulte the tournament - only Vicky's quick thinking rescues the situation.
- A hellknight called Narumek also takes part in the tournament and especially his musical talents will be remembered.
- While most of the party tries to help Solaric during the tournament, Johenric accidentally manages to get teleported back to Castle Jarovicha.
- On his way back he finds another riddle.