About a month ago, my friends and I started up our very first Pathfinder campaign. The world is mostly homebrew (although I take elements from pretty much anything fantasy that sounds interesting). The campaign is an adaptation of the 3.x Dragonlance Key of Destiny, but taking place in the aforementioned homebrew world instead of Krynn, so there are a lot of differences.
For three hundred years the kingdom of Valendia spread across the continent of Daear. Then the orcs came. A brilliant, charismatic orc gathered together warring tribes to retake the ancestral home of his people. He was everything an orc wasn’t supposed to be. The human rulers of Valendia expected a brutal savage, they got something else. With overwhelming force and speed, the orcs broke through the human lines and conquered Valendia.
It took a century, and alliances with elves and dwarves, for the humans to free their lands. The Liberation War ended twenty years ago when the city of Valnain once again became the human capital, and a new human king was crowned.
The wars have taken their toll on Valendia as civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines and marauding mercenary armies turned to banditry have reduced the population by about one-half. The shadow of war hangs constantly on the horizon. The orcs aren’t willing to give up their ancestral home. Some of the human noble houses preferred life under the orcs. The armies of the elves and dwarves seek payment for their support - payment Valendia can’t afford without heavily taxing its people.
Now you have a chance to be the light pushing back the darkness. You know there are others like you, and by banding together you can help rebuild your fallen kingdom.
Welcome to Valendia.
The Heroes of our tale are:
Jack Shaftoe - a human fighter/cleric, interested in wine, women, and gold.Ezarus Stormcaller - an elven wizard/cleric, who has spent the last few centuries as a scholar
Hasdrubal Verkinatax - human wizard, from a merchant family
Kelsier Vin - human monk, from a noble family.
Session 3, in which the heroes learn of their great destiny, head for a forsaken temple, and meet returning orc invaders.
Speaking ael ura ki, the heroes opened the secret door, entering the sewer home of the elves. Looking at the shanty town, it was evident that the elves weren’t just pretending to be lepers; there was an actual sickness among them, and it appeared nothing could be done to help them. Shaylin Moonborn, the elven leader, greeted the heroes, welcoming them to her tent. She had an almost angelic radiance about her, as well as a great sadness in her eyes. She began to explain why she had summoned the heroes: she had been having dreams, dreams she couldn’t remember, but which she knew involved them. Then she slipped into a trance, drawing cards from her fortune deck as she spoke.
“You must hurry...the winds carry the voices of many spirits, and they are crying for help. You must keep the Forest’s Heart safe, otherwise all will be lost.” Shaylin’s voice was a soft monotone, almost as if she were chanting. “In the temple of the forsaken, you must find the Dawn Shard. It shall lead you on the path you have been chosen to walk.”
Jack scoffed at the idea of “destiny”. Shaylin tried to explain the vision she had just had. Near as she knew, the Forest’s Heart referred to a staff cut from a heartwood tree at the centre of the Witchwood. In fact, Jayna carried such a staff and handed it to Ezarus, hoping it would help. The temple of the forsaken, she explained, was likely the ruins of Kal-Sharok. A temple city to the Seelie Court, it had been destroyed by an earthquake centuries ago. Proof, the Cabal claimed, that the gods didn’t exist. The final part of her vision involved the Dawn Shard. Millennia ago, when the Morning War ended, the All-Father cut three shards from the sun and gifted it to the mortal races. To the humans on the plains he gave the Dawn Shard. To the elves in the forests, the Midlight Shard. To the dwarves, in the mountains, the Dusk Shard. Each were promises that the Seelie Court would never wage a war that would threaten the world. Of course the three shards of light were mythical artifacts that had been lost ages ago, if they ever existed. Yet this was the “destiny”.
Shaylin gifted the heroes with a map of the nearby area, showing them the path to Kal-Sharok as she bid them goodbye. They thanked her for her help, and prepared to leave the sewers through a secret exit to the surface. As the elves led the heroes out, they came upon a group of goblins rummaging through sewer refuse. The battle was over quickly, Kelsier and Jack making quick work of the goblins. The heroes searched through the refuse, recovering a fair amount of coin. It seemed lots of people lost silver and gold to the sewers.
Reaching the surface, the heroes breathed in the fresh air. It was good to be out in the open once more. The plains of Valendia stretched before them. Marching across the open plains, they could see a Plainsman in the distance running towards them. Close behind the Plainsman were four cloaked figures, taunting the exhausted barbarian. Orcs. Jack drew his sword and charged forward. What fun, the orcs thought, as they rushed for the mercenary. Calling upon his god, Jack used divine magic to double in size, using his increased size and stretch to cleave through three of the four orcs. The fourth quickly fell as well.
The Plainsman, Nightshade, thanked the heroes for their help. His village, Iceni, had been captured by an invading orc army. At long last the orcs had returned to Valendia. Speaking with Nightshade, the heroes learned that the orcs were searching for the heartwood staff. Apparently it was of some importance. Telling the heroes all he knew, Nightshade bid them farewell, resting momentarily before he headed to the village of Caerini. The heroes also left, continuing their march towards Kal-Sharok.
As the sun set on their first day of travel, a dreaded landshark burst from the ground. Kelsier ran forward, pummelling the bulette with a number of lucky blows. Still the beast stood, biting into the hero. It seemed the stories of the creature were true: it was truly a terrible enemy. Thankfully, Ezarus’ divine healing was able to keep Kelsier and Jack standing, and the beast fell. This seemed like a good time to camp, the heroes moving away from the beast’s corpse before setting up camp for the night.
With the new day, they continued forward. Reaching Caerini, they found the village in ruins. Tents had been razed, carrion birds flying overhead. In the centre of town, a crude gallows had been built upon which three charred orc corpses hung. Above them hung a sign, with a warning written in the orc language: any servant of General Delacroix who disobeyed orders or showed cowardice would suffer a similar fate to these three.
There was nothing the heroes could do for the town, as the Plainsmen were already dead, so the heroes followed the orc tracks east towards Kal-Sharok. Near the cursed swamp, they happened upon the ruins of an old dwarven fortress. There, three owlbears decided the heroes looked mighty tasty. The combined might of the heroes proved to be too much for the creatures. Continuing forward, the path descended into water. Wading carefully, the heroes disturbed a resting hydra, the creature hissing as it attacked.
Jack struck true with his blade, and though the creature should have fallen, it rose again, biting at Jack and Kelsier with its many heads. Jack began chopping the heads of the creature off, unaware that they would quickly regrew. Kelsier struck the beast with his Five Point Exploding Heart technique, the hydra’s heart exploding within its chest as it fell.
The water receded slightly as the heroes saw the swamp of Kal-Sharok before them. The area was dotted with small islands, rope bridges stretching between each island. Tracks suggested orcs had been through a few hours earlier. Kelsier easily moved to the next island, but the others weren’t quite as nimble. Jack fell into the water, accidentally gulping the fetid water. Fortunately his constitution was hardy, and he didn’t get sick. Hasdrubal considered his options and rather than risk falling into the water, he summoned a floating disk, letting Kelsier pull him across. Ezarus and Jack liked that idea, and so Kelsier began jumping back and forth between islands, pulling the others forward. He was not impressed with the idea of being their pack mule…
End Session 3.
Session 4, in which the heroes trek through a cursed swamp, fight the invading orcs, and get ever closer to the ruined temple.
Thick vines, woven into strong ropes, stretched like long spiderweb between two sections of land within the Cursed Swamp. Coming upon a fallen ironclaw tree, the heroes were greeted by a patrol of orc elite guards. Intending on capturing the invaders, the orcs repeatedly assailed the heroes with web and deep slumber. Kelsier was taken out of most of the battle, but Jack repeatedly shrugged off the spells. Hasdrubal also found himself captured by the webs. Ezarus cast invisibility upon himself and vanished for most of the fight, moving around and waking up his companions. Proving himself a thorn in the side of the orcs, they changed tactics, and began casting burning hands in an attempt to catch the invisible elf in the spray of flame. Eventually, Jack and Kelsier were able to slaughter the orc sorcerers.
Heading deeper into the cursed swamp, the heroes began crossing a rickety bridge guarded by two orc berserkers. Hasdrubal blasted the orcs with colour spray, allowing Jack to effortlessly execute them.
The swamp waters receded as the heroes at last reached solid land. Creeping through jungle, they could see an orc encampment up ahead. Massive ruins rose from the jungle undergrowth. Small broken towers pierced the cover of trees with their jagged points. Ferns and bushes sprouted through the flagstones in a plaza surrounded by small shacks and lean-tos. A huge bonfire blazed at the far north side of the open square. Beyond the fire, set in the remaining half-shell of a crumbled dome, a huge winged lizard stood, its wings outstretched to blot out any sunlight which fought its way through the thick jungle canopy.
The huge wicker idol could only be one thing: a dragon. Yet, dragons had been hunted to extinction a thousand years earlier. The heroes hid and listened, while an orc priest led a number of soldiers in prayer extolling the virtues of the Dark Queen, Sarya, and how she was going to lead the orcs in conquest of the human lands.
Gripping his staff, Birchcore, tightly, Hasdrubal cast fireball, instantly incinerating most of the gathered orc soldiers. Angered, the orc priest summoned a wall of fire, splitting the party in two. On one side of the wall, Kelsier stood alone, while his companions were trapped on the other side. The two remaining orc soldiers charged forward, cutting deeply into the lone monk with their great axes. They felled him quickly. Hasdrubal used his magic to protect the party from fire as Jack rushed through the wall. The flames still stung, but his protection paid off. Surprising the two soldiers he dropped one, then cleaved into the other. Only the priest remained.
Ezarus rushed through the wall as well, using his divine magic to heal Kelsier’s wounds. Together the two melee combatants flanked the orc priest. Casting blink upon himself, the priest smiled as the attacks of the fighters failed, striking just as he passed between the physical world and the ethereal. The priest’s smile quickly turned to laughter. Hideous laughter. While the priest was consumed with laughter, Jack struck again. The odds were in his favour as his blows struck true, and quick work was made of the heathen priest.
Thoroughly exhausted from their repeated battles, the heroes looked for a place to rest. Finding a suitable location, they made camp. Just as they were preparing to pack up, they were ambushed by a chuul.
End Session 4.
Session 5, in which the heroes flee from a dragon, befriend a goblin, and descend into the depths of Kal-Sharok.
Ambushed by a ravenous chuul, the party quickly broke camp and attacked. Ezarus enlarged Kelsier, making the monk a tasty treat for the chuul. Paralyzed by the secretions of the chuul’s tentacle maw, the hapless monk was taken out of the fight. Jack stepped up, drawing the chuul’s attention, while Hasdrubal kept the creature stunned with bursts of colour spray. Jack’s Duskblade cut deep, making quick work of the stunned creature.
Inspecting the area, the heroes came across the ruins of a tower. While the wooden floor had long since rotted away, the stone steps remained. A once more mobile Kelsier climbed the tower, checking out the area. Seeing the ruins of several buildings ahead, Kelsier directed his comrades forward. Crossing a large plaza, the group encountered a large well. Suddenly a large winged reptile burst from the well, hovering above the heroes. It looked to be a dragon, but that was impossible. Dragons had been hunted to extinction a thousand years earlier. Yet, this seemed to be a dragon. The creature cast darkness upon the area, but Ezarus quickly countered it. Calling out shirak, his Staff of the Morrigan illuminated the area with a daylight spell. The creature them loosed its acid breath on Jack. Just as quickly as the creature appeared, it disappeared back into the well.
During the battle, a frightened Kelsier had run off, into a building on the other side of the plaza. His comrades joined him once the creature was gone, and they found themselves within a temple of Brighid, ancient goddess of healing. Entering the temple, which had miraculously weathered the destruction of Kal-Sharok, the heroes came upon a beautiful statue of the goddess, her hands outstretched as if they once held a thin pole. Beneath the statue, an altar rested, and in front of the altar lay the bones of a priest. Checking out the temple, the heroes found some orc looters, effortlessly dispatching them. They also found the corpse of a half-elven adventurer. The wounds on the elf made it obvious he had run afoul of the orcs.
Seeing no obvious path out of the temple, the heroes placed the Heart of the Forest in the statue’s hands. The statue closed its hands around the staff, and the grinding of stone against stone could be heard nearby. Investigating, the heroes found stairs descending in the depths of the temple - stairs that were not there previously. Descending, the heroes found themselves in the temple’s crypts - but the area had clearly been looted long ago. The floor of the crypt had collapsed, exposing much of the chamber to the depths of darkness.
Moving into a side passageway, the heroes came upon a number of goblins being ordered about by two orc taskmasters. Ezarus cast invisibility upon Kelsier, the silent monk investigating. It seemed that the orcs had a system set up using two large pots on chains to form a crude elevator system. The goblin slaves were ballast. Intending on killing the orcs, the heroes moved among the goblins. One of them, a young goblin woman named Bupu, skeptically looked at the heroes. There was no way they would be allowed to ride the elevator into the depths of the ruins. Hasdrubal showed the young goblin kindness, and Bupu responded, offering to show the heroes a secret passageway deeper into Kal-Sharok. Taking the group through side corridors, she led them to a sewer tunnel. Thanking her for her assistance, the group parted ways with Bupu, entering the tunnel.
Emerging in the ruins of an upside down room, the heroes were attacked by a large spider. One mighty blow of Jack’s sword felled the beast, and they were free to investigate the rest of the area. They found themselves in the upside down ruins of an inn, the spectres of the inn’s patrons still carrying about their business as if they still lived. Hasdrubal and Ezarus figured that if they ignored the spectres, the spectres would ignore them. Leaving the inn, they found a small library. A treasure trove of information, the scholars of the group were saddened to discover that the books were so old that they disintegrated on touch.
At the back of the library, the spirit of a researcher worked. Seeing the heroes, the spirit explained that he was bound to the ruins until he answered the question of a mortal. The heroes discussed amongst themselves and decided to inquire as to the location of the dawn shard. The spirit gave them detailed directions, but cautioned the heroes that they would have to fight for the shard. Then, the spirit faded. Following the spirit’s directions, they headed towards a nearby waterfall, making a quick stop to investigate the ruins of a treasury. Within the treasury, the spirit of a banker declared that Jack was three hundred years late on paying his taxes, and demanded immediate payment in an ancient, and quite worthless, currency.
A quick fight against the spirits of the bank guards ensued, by the spirits fell to the might of Jack and Kelsier. Checking out the rest of the bank, Hasdrubal discovered a dimensional door, teleported elsewhere in Kal-Sharok. Realizing the door was permanent on each end, he teleported back to the group. The four heroes followed him through, finding a shortcut that led them to the base of the waterfall, ensuring they would not need to try climbing down it.
Moving deeper into the ruins, the heroes entered a large plaza. At the far end were a number of goblins, cowering before an orc priest, and the mighty winged lizard. The orc referred to her only as “The Lady”, but it was clear that she was a dragon. He commanded the goblins to find an escaped prisoner. As the goblins ran off, the Lady looked about, as if she sensed the presence of the heroes. Instead, she flew away. The plaza now empty, the heroes followed the path they had been directed to follow - also the path the dragon had flown down.
End Session 5.
Session 6, in which the heroes fight Khisanth, escape Kal-Sharok, and cross the Valendian Steppes.
Broad steps led from the great plaza to a pillared courtyard. All of the pillars were cracked; some were shattered. The pillars left upright supported a sagging stone roof. A large archway led into a huge dark room to the east. At the back of the courtyard, a set of steel doors, streaked with mildew and rust, stood closed. The heroes checked out the large dark room first. Tremendous, forty-foot high statues of humans, dwarves, and elves wearing opulent clothing and jewelry stood along the north and south walls of this corridor. They were ancient rulers and nobility of the city of Kal-Sharok, from its glory years before the earth cracked and brought all to ruin. Their deeply carved features were masked in shadows, but their gaze seemed to follow the heroes. Hasdrubal and Ezarus determined there was no magic at work here. While the chamber continued into another room, Jack wanted to know what was behind the rusted doors.
With a mighty push, rusted metal cracked, and the large door opened, revealing a long corridor, ending in another set of doors. The heroes marched down the hall, but thirty-five feet from the end of the hallway, Jack heard a “click” as he stepped on a pressure plate. The click was followed by a loud gong as the alarm trap was sprung. He charged towards the doors at the end of the hall, but mere feet before he reached the doors, they flew open. There stood Khisanth, a mighty black dragon.
Khisanth roared, Jack shaken with fear. She breathed deep, loosing a line of acid down the chamber. All four heroes were struck by the acid. Only Jack and Hasdrubal remained standing. As Jack stood before the terrible creature, a voice spoke in his head. “Have courage. Present your faith boldly, strike the dragon, and all will be well.”
Jack knew the voice. Damh. The hero felt inspired by his deity, but was also keenly aware that Ezarus and Kelsier were dying, Jack fell back towards his comrades. He attempted to channel divine energy to heal his comrades when something unexpected happened. An explosion of holy light filled the chamber. Hasdrubal, the only other person standing, was blinded momentarily. When the light faded, Hasdrubal stood alone. Khisanth, fearsome black dragon, was but a pile of ash. So too was Jack. Kelsier and Ezarus stirred, unsure of what had just happened.
The explosion seemed to destabilize the ruins, as the ceiling threatened to crash in on them. In the distance, the heroes could hear the sound of rushing water. Time was of the essence, and they needed to escape. In the dragon’s lair, the heroes could see an altar to Saibhreas. On the altar rested a skeleton dressed in tattered black robes. A crystalline blade pierced the skeleton’s back, shining with an inner light. The Dawn Shard. The surviving heroes rushed quickly, grabbing the shard, and a quick handfuls of loot (among them, a spell book once used by the ancient and terrible archmage Gareth) before fleeing the chamber, and the ruined city.
Their path was clear, orcs running about in terror. Word had spread, the dragon was dead, and the invading army feared anything powerful enough to destroy the creature. The sight of these proverbial rats deserting the sinking ship hastened the heroes in their desire to escape the crumbling ruins.
Returning to the Temple of Brighid above ground, the heroes were surprised to find the stirring form of Jack, perfectly healed of any injuries, yet having no memory of what had transpired. Reunited, they left the temple, returning to fresh air (or at least as fresh as swamp air can be). Behind them, an apparition appeared, bearing the symbols of the goddess Andraste.
“You have found it,” the apparition spoke. “You must hurry, for the sands of time are slipping away swiftly...the shard of dawn is a key, a key that will allow you to find what you seek in the ruins of a city that once felt no fear, but now lies beneath a shadow of death…”. Then the apparition vanished into the ruins.
The only “fearless city” the heroes could think of was Nabreus. Once, a temple city to Andraste, it was called The City of Courage. It had not been called that in a century, though, not since the gods disappeared and the Nabreans turned from worship of Andraste to following the teachings of the Cabal. The heroes were also surprised by the spectre’s calling Nabreus a “ruined city”. Nabreus was quite well known as a trade city, fostering trade between Valendia and Arkoshia.
If they wanted answers, they knew they’d have to travel southwest, crossing the Valendian Steppes, reaching the Tsigiri city of Rannoch, and then booking passage for Nabreus Island. Crossing the Steppes, the heroes encountered, and quickly slew, a gorgon. A flight of giant eagles was also made quick work of. The only other encounter of note, was a lost elven family. Refugees from occupied Arlathan, they sought relatives in Rannoch, but had attempted to cross the Steppes without sufficient supplies. Ezarus created water for the refugees, using his curative magic to aid a young child in critical condition. The elves were grateful, and asked to travel the rest of the way to Rannoch with the group, promising compensation once they arrived in the city.
Rannoch was a coastal city of trade, rebuilt after the occupation by the Zorah tribe of Tsigiri plainsmen. The Voivode of Rannoch, Rael Zorah, was a cunning man. While not officially part of Valendia, the city was protected by Graycloaks. Graycloak guards patrolled the main gate into the city, asking travellers for identification. Seeing the twenty foot wall surrounding the city, Kelsier decided that he might like to leap over the wall. He effortlessly cleared the wall, landing on the other side, but drawing the attention of the guards.
They took him to their command centre, where Kelsier introduced himself to Lionel uth Dartan, the second-in-command of the Graycloaks in Rannoch. Kelsier name-dropped Klaudia Lorn, changing Lionel’s attitude to be more helpful. The heroes asked basic questions about the city, Ezarus most interested in finding a mage tower. They also got the name of a ship captain: Lothar Claes, formerly of the Narwhal, but now commanding the Swift Arrow.
Thanking the knight for his help, the heroes accompanied Ezarus to the mage tower of Rannoch-Tor, operated by Cabal-sanctioned wizard Zoë Left-Hand. Ezarus worked out a deal with Zoë to trade her some bracers of armour in exchange for some scrolls.
Elsewhere in Rannoch, the heroes found a crying child. Kelsier cared nothing for the mewling child, but the others took pity on her. Hasdrubal was able to calm her down enough to learn that she was Neisme Zorah, the youngest daughter of the Voivode. She had snuck away from her guards to play, but was now lost. The heroes returned her home, the guards thankful for her return, and welcoming them.
Chatomi Zorah, eldest daughter of the Voivode, thanked the heroes, offering them free room and board in any of Rannoch’s taverns for the week, as well as offering a writ of 20% off the boarding fee of sailing with Captain Turin Khima of the Perinchief.
With a week in town paid for, Ezarus took the time to craft wondrous items for his companions.
End Session 6.
Next session: The party will travel to a region inspired by the classic Hickman adventure I6.
Session 7, in which the zombie apocalypse occurs.
While Ezarus spent most of the week in Rannoch crafting magic items, Jack spent most of the week drinking and whoring. While wandering the town at night with Kelsier and Hasdrubal, the trio had a body fall in front of them. From a second story window. The body was that a foreigner, perhaps an aristocrat from the northern kingdoms, his throat cut. Kelsier’s keen gaze saw an assassin dart from the window. Moments later, the party was surrounded by cloaked assassins. “You are unfortunate,” one of the assassins spoke. “None may see our work and live to tell of it. Here in the dark, we dance in Agron’s avenging light.”
Before any blood was shed, Chatomi Zorah stepped from the shadows. She was aware of what the party was capable of, and had no desire to see anyone die needlessly. The foreigner, she explained, was selling her father’s secrets to the Blackcloaks and needed to be eliminated. She was willing to pretend her assassins, the Silver Shadows, hadn’t seen the party, if they were willing to pretend they hadn’t seen her. That and fifty gold was enough for Jack, who left to continue drinking and whoring.
Kelsier spent the next few days trying to learn if Chatomi’s story was true. While he couldn’t be certain, it was true that there were Blackcloak spies throughout the town. Perhaps her story of political assassination was accurate after all.
When Ezarus was finished crafting, the heroes headed for the docks to book passage to Nabreus. Both the Graycloaks and Chatomi had provided them with the names of captains, but Chatomi had also given them a writ promising a discount on their fare. They decided to try to book passage on the Perinchief, but a week of partying had left them short on funds.
As they considered their options, they were stopped by a robed scholar. He introduced himself as Richter, a Cabal scholar. The Cabal had received a letter from Nabreus’ bürgermeister, Kolyan Indirovich, looking for help. Witches from Lysaga Hill had cursed Ireena Kolyana, and no one in town had the means to help her. Kolyan promised great wealth to any who could help Ireena.
Richter, not being suited for field work, was hoping the heroes would serve as bodyguards while he investigated matters. He promised them their share of the reward, as well as access to any Cabal research library they might wish to visit. He also promised to pay their fare to Nabreus.
Jack, still drunk, was surly and uncooperative, but the others were able to convince him that this seemed like a good deal. At first light, the Perinchief set sail for Nabreus. The trip was rough, the seas choppy. As the ship neared Nabreus, all aboard became aware of an eerie silence. Nabreus came into view, and instead of the bustling port, they saw two ships listing in dock, no crews visible.
The captain dropped anchor, sensing an ill omen. He was willing to let the heroes take a life boat to investigate, but he refused to dock. He would wait one day for news, otherwise he was returning to Rannoch. The party took a boat and rowed towards the dock. Nearing the listing ships, they could see blood stains on the deck. They docked, securing their boat, as they went to check on the ships.
Nearing the ships, they were assaulted by a stench of decay and the sea. They found the bodies of several dead sailors, and just beyond them a group of barnacle-encrusted corpses, dripping water and gripping great axes. Draugr.
Immediately, Richter let loose with two alchemical flare bolts from his crossbow. Both bolts landed centre mass. It was evident that the researcher had some combat training. Hasdrubal summoned an extra-dimensional spike pit trap underneath the draugr, dropping them fifty feet and effortlessly killing them.
The battle over, Richter than re-introduced himself. He was an Inquisitor for the Cabal. He was also well aware that he was traveling with apostate mages and heretic priests. As a representative of the King, he was well within his power to arrest all of them. Instead, Richter presented the group with a new deal: they would help him investigate what was going on in Nabreus, and in exchange he would give them a writ identifying themselves as friends of the Cabal. Just in case they encountered less accommodating inquisitors. Kelsier accepted the deal. He was also the only person in the party that was neither an apostate mage nor a heretic priest (unlike Ezarus who was both).
The group then investigated the ships in dock, but found nothing of interest. Foodstuffs aboard wasn’t quite rotten, suggesting that whatever happened here, it was recent. Blood stains suggested someone was crawling away, quickly. Otherwise, the ships were bare of any useful evidence. Heading towards the town itself, the heroes could hear faint groaning echoing in the distance.
Entering the town itself, they came across an overturned cart. More importantly, Kelsier noticed the crouched figures behind the cart, feasting upon a corpse. The dead had risen and were stalking the streets of Nabreus. The walkers were fast, faster than Jack was expecting, and he quickly found himself surrounded.
Two infected wolves rushed to attack Kelsier, diseased jaws snapping at the monk. With a flurry of blows, Kelsier dropped the wolves, while Jack cleaved through the walkers. With the risen dead now dead once more, Jack checked to make sure he hadn’t been bit. He was fine, but eyed his companions cautiously.
The party moved forward cautiously, making sure no walkers could circle around them. They checked out the nearby buildings, but most were burned out husks, doors barricaded, anything of interest already looted. Further into the town, they stumbled upon a mixed group of wights and walkers. One of the wights spewed black mist at Jack, blinding him momentarily. These corpses were also quickly dispatched, but this time Jack had been bitten. He said nothing, not knowing if he would become one of these creatures or not.
Reaching the town square, they saw barricades set up forming a perimeter around the square. The barricade blocking the direction they were coming from had been broken down, and walkers were assaulting an armoured human female. She called upon the Light, scorching the creatures with sacred energy. Ezarus cast fly, taking to the sky as he followed it up with a prayer. Jack continued to destroy walkers with the dawn shard, the relic’s holy powers making quick work of any undead it touched. Hasdrubal was less lucky. A revenant in the square screamed, the wizard cowering in fear. Once Jack got close to the revenant, it too quickly fell to his holy sword.
The battle over, the woman thanked them for their help. Her name was Ashlyn. She was a member of the Brotherhood of Light, undead hunters, who had come to Nabreus seeking the Sword of Andraste, a legendary blade said to have power over creatures who feared light. It had been lost for some time, but her research suggested it was somewhere on the island. Richter cooly addressed her as “heretic”, while she likewise addressed him as “fanatic”. Despite their differences, both agreed there were more pressing matters to attend to.
Ashlyn had been traveling with two companions, but they had left to investigate the town’s temple. The townspeople seemed to think that the temple was the source of the necromantic infection. The townspeople also suggested speaking to Oracles outside of town, but the other Brotherhood members (Thendrick and Mathilda) had ignored that advice. It had been three days, and Ashlyn hadn’t seen them since.
She was willing to accompany the heroes to the Oracles, if they would help end the infection plaguing Nabreus. Together the group fortified the barricades defending the town square. They also entered the Blood on the Vine tavern, wanting to tell the survivors within that they would be on their own for a few hours. The barkeep, Arik, suggested the heroes speak with Ismark the Lesser, the son of Kolyan Indirovich.
Ismark explained the infection had started after the town Cabal sister, Katja, had lost her husband to brigands. She vanished, and the walkers arose. Without her vigil over the town, evil arose. Dark days were coming, and if the infection wasn’t stopped soon, everyone in town would be dead soon.
Ismark also revealed that the letter the Cabal had been sent was not in Kolyan’s handwriting. Alas, Kolyan was dead - poisoned by the master of the castle beyond the forest. The Beast, Keldor, had been driven away by the Shield of Andraste, a powerful amulet. For turning away Keldor, Kolyan paid with his life. Now, Ismark’s sister Ireena kept herself confined to the bürgermeister’s home, watching over her father’s body to ensure it would not rise.
If the heroes wanted more information, they should speak to the Oracles. They were wiser than anyone else in town.
The party agreed, and left Nabreus for the Tsigiri encampment in the woods. There, the human and halfling Tsigiri directed them to one of the Oracles. Sorrow, a raven-haired fortune teller, explained that her sisters Mourn and Lament were elsewhere. She was also prepared to give the heroes a reading. She drew cards based on the questions. For Keldor she drew the Devil. For Nabreus, Death. For the Sword of Andraste, she drew the Sun. For the Shield of Andraste, she drew the High Priestess.
As she drew a covering card for Keldor, she explained that the master of the castle was a powerful man whose enemy was light and whose powers were beyond mortality. The heroes would seek him in the castle, and thought he might find them many times, they would find him only once. The card was the Seven of Swords. Sorrow explained they would find him when three servants of Hell were slain, in the place of their gathering. A spawn of Hell had come to the top of one of the castle’s towers, and she was served by an unholy trio. Yet, there was a good influence in this place, and the heroes would strike true and hard.
Next she drew a crossing card. The Ten of Wands. Out of darkness and chaos, this card found its reason and foundation. It showed the purpose of all things - the key to life and death and else beyond. Darkness desired a light; death desired warmth from the living. Yet, the darkness feared a greater dark, and it would strike out against those who would replace it. Sorrow explained that the lord of the castle sought a lady to reign beside him, but feared rebellion from his subjects.
She then turned to the Sun card, telling the heroes that they sought a blade of light, a weapon for vengeance. She drew the covering card, the Four of Cups. The sword would be found where paths cross and the damned lie buried. The sword’s light lay sleeping, and as Sorrow drew a crossing card, the Five of Cups, she explained that to wake the blade, they must bring it to join the ancient lore of the castle. The castle’s library would be a place of warmth, wisdom, and despair.
Addressing the High Priestess card, Sorrow told the heroes that the missing amulet was a powerful force of good and protection against the powers of darkness. She drew the Six of Coins. The amulet could be found in a place of commerce. The card spoke of money changing hands. She then drew the Six of Swords. The holiness of the amulet waited for hands of holiness to touch it once more. But that would not be enough to bring its power back to life. She saw a blazing fire protecting the place where the lord hid his wealth. There, the power of the amulet would be awakened.
Sorrow then addressed the final card. Nabreus. Death. Death walked the streets of Nabreus. Death would lead to death, all stemming from a first death. The Seven of Cups. By putting an end to the blasphemy of the death that refused to die, the plague would cease. She drew a final card, the Three of Coins. To end the plague, they must end its source - the temple - which had been desecrated.
End Session 7.
Session 8, in which the party goes after the source of the zombie infestation
Having listened to Sorrow’s divinations, the party returned to Nabreus. Jack was intent on marching straight to the temple and killing whatever undead rested (or more accurately, didn’t) within.
Nearing the temple, on the opposite side of town, the party came upon an intersection. In the middle of the intersection lay the rotting corpse of a horse. Gathered around the corpse, feasting on its entrails was a group of zombies, oblivious to the party’s presence. Ezarus’ keen elf ears heard talking.
“I ain’t eaten fresh in a week or more - I’m famished!”
“What about these here, then?”
“I said fresh, didn’t I? These rotting buggers ain’t much better then I’d turn up in my barrow.”
“I don’t know, they’re better than a dry bone any night.”
“Yeah. Enough with the jawing. Let’s have at it…”
From around a corner, two ghasts intended on making a meal of zombie meat. Like the zombies, they hadn’t noticed the party at the intersection. Two zombie wolves, however, had. They charged Jack, jaws snapping. With a swing of the dawn shard, Jack cleaved through one of the wolves, into the other. Both quickly returned to the grave.
Hasdrubal cast glitterdust, blinding zombie and ghast alike. Ezarus cast enlarge person on Jack. The brave warrior made quick work of the blind undead. The zombies fumbled about helplessly. The ghasts tried to make a show of it, but couldn’t connect.
The intersection clear, the party headed for the ruined temple. A gray, sagging edifice of stone and wood stood atop a slight rise, on the very roots of the great pillarstone of the omnipresent castle. Light flickered through holes burned through the roof shingles, and the sound of hoarse chanting was audible within.
Jack burst through the temple doors, blade in hand. The church interior was a shambles, with overturned and broken benches littering the dusty floor. A claw-scarred altar stood at the north end of the church, directly north of a gaping hole in the rotten floorboards. A hoarse voice coming from that same direction chanted the phrases of a nonsense prayer.
From a ruined confessional a huecuva burst. An apostate priest cursed to an eternity of undeath, the creature had a particular hatred for devout practitioners of faith. Jack was a drunkard, but he was also a devout cleric of Damh.
Between the huecuva’s dark powers, and Jack’s sacred sword, the sword won. At the rear of the temple, the mad priestess Katja appeared. She had clearly become undead, but was something different than anything the party had encountered before. She seemed like a zombie, yet retained her intelligence. A trained alchemist, she also retained her ability for making explosive bombs, hurling one at the heroes.
Jack charged her, but the rotted floor of the temple gave way, and Jack fell to the church understory. There he met Doru, the blaspheme. Armed with a bastard sword, the blaspheme cut deeply into Jack.
First Hasdrubal, then Ezarus, followed Jack to the understory. Loosing an empowered lingering fireball, Hasdrubal wounded Doru. Jack struck true with the dawn shard, ending the blaspheme’s existence, and the necromantic infestation of Nabreus. The moment the creature fell, all the zombies in town fell as well.
Screeching from the upper floor, the maddened Katja hurled another explosive bomb at Jack. Hasdrubal loosed a second empowered lingering fireball, forcing the alchemist to jump down to the understory. Defeated, the former Cabal priestess regained her sanity. She thanked the heroes for freeing her mind, explaining that all of this was Keldor’s fault. Grief stricken by Doru’s death, Katja fell prey to Keldor’s promises of a chance of bringing Doru back. It was true, Doru had returned, but his return had caused the zombie apocalypse and his death had ended it.
If the heroes wanted to stop the Beast, Katja suggested they find the Liber Keldorum, a tome written by Keldor himself. Somewhere with the text would be the key to stopping him. Before her madness, Katja had asked the Oracles about the text, and was told that though it was a mockery of all that was holy, the tome lay in a place of holiness.
Since it wasn’t in Nabreus’ temple, Ezarus reasoned that meant it was in the chapel within the castle itself.
Katja then asked the heroes if they would kill her and end her suffering. Jack agreed. He sheathed the dawn shard, and instead drew the Duskblade, removing her head.
Leaving the ruined temple, the heroes headed for the bürgermeister’s home. This was, after all, the entire reason they had followed Richter to Nabreus. The bürgermeister’s daughter, Ireena Kolyana, welcomed them in. She thanked them for ending the necromantic threat.
Ezarus showed her the letter they had received, and she confirmed her brother’s response: the letter was not written by Kolyan Indirovich. Ezarus asked if she was cursed, and though she was hesitant to answer, she admitted that she was. For the last two nights, she dreamt of Keldor. The Beast chased her in her dreams, calling her “Tatyana”. When she awoke, she found a bite mark on her neck.
Ezarus inspected the bite, initially believing it to be caused by a vampire. Centuries of research, however, told him otherwise. Though it appeared similar to the bite of a vampire, Ezarus now believed that something else had bitten her. Something he had never encountered before.
He thought back to what he knew of Keldor. Five hundred years earlier, teufelings from Bael Turath had attempted to invade Nabreus, years before Andraste’s church had launched the War of Righteousness. Nabreus’ king, Miro, had raised an army under the command of his sons Keldor and Randor. While Randor was a noble hero, loved by the people, Keldor was feared. He was also willing to do whatever it took to save the town. He would capture teufelings, torture them, and leave their bodies, impaled on spikes, as warnings.
After Miro’s death, Keldor ascended to the throne and ruled Nabreus with tyranny. He fell in love with the maiden Tatyana, but she loved Randor. On the day of their wedding, Randor died suddenly. In grief, Tatyana flung herself from the top of the castle. The townspeople blamed Keldor and attempted to kill him. He was poisoned, shot, stabbed, hanged, stretched, disemboweled, drawn and quartered, and finally beheaded. Even then, he swore he would return. True to his promise, here he was.
Now the heroes had a new mystery on their hands. What was Keldor, and how could they stop him?
End Session 8.
Session 9, in which the heroes search for the relics of Andraste.
Having ensured that Ireena was not, in fact, cursed by witches and unsure of what the Beast was, the heroes decided their first course of action should be to gather the relics of Andraste. Sorrow's card reading suggested that the Shield of Andraste could be found in a place of commerce.
In the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, only one merchant's shop still remained open: Bildrath's Mercantile. The heroes entered, to see Bildrath behind the counter. Kelsier searched the store, but found nothing out of the ordinary - only the back room sat untouched. Kelsier tried to convince Bildrath to let him search the back room, but the merchant wasn't about to let any random adventurer go through his stock. Jack, however, threatened the merchant, and was able to convince Bildrath to let them in.
After some searching, Kelsier was able to turn up a majestic platinum and ruby amulet. It sat on a shelf as if it had always been there, yet was clearly out of place. After inspecting the amulet, Bildrath was willing to let it go for fair market value - fifteen hundred pieces of gold.
Checking their finances, the heroes realized they were a little short. They gave Bildrath the adamantine chain shirt they had looted off Doru, in exchange for the Shield of Andraste, with the promise they would return later and exchange the amulet for the armour once again.
The second relic they needed was the Sword of Andraste. The prophecy spoke of it being at a set of crossroads. Hasdrubal asked the survivors about crossroads, and was directed to a set in the forest. A small graveyard stood there, next to the gallows where brigands were once hanged.
As the heroes approached the crossroads, they witnessed an armoured knight fighting what appeared to be stains of darkness in the air. The heroes charged in to assist the knight. The shadow stains, murks, flanked Kelsier. Their touch brought about madness, the monk's sanity slipping. Jack had similar misfortune. Hasdrubal cast glitter dust and black tentacles on the murks, blinding them and holding them fast. All of the heroes stood back, waiting for the tentacles to crush the (un-)life from the creatures.
Once rescued, the knight introduced himself as Sir Urik, a Knight of the Raven, an ancient order of monster slayers that fought to protect the land. Alas, in recent times, he was the last surviving member of the order.
Digging at the crossroads, they uncovered a gleaming crystal sword, a dim blue light glowing within. Ezarus thought about the sword's lore, and explained to his companions that the Sword of Andraste had been forged specifically to slay the Master of the Castle, but that Keldor had sought to destroy the blade. It was stolen before it could be destroyed, and had been lost since then. At last it was recovered, but the heroes knew they must take it to the Castle's library to awaken the blade's true power.
Realizing their resources were nearly spent, the heroes decided to return to town and rest for the evening. Jack sought a widow to spend the evening with, while the others sought out an abandoned house to crash in.
Awakening the next morning the heroes decided it was time to visit the castle beyond the forest. They needed to find the library to awaken the sword, the chapel to find the Liber Keldorum and the master's wealth to awaken the amulet. Ezarus tried to remember any lore he could on the castle. He could remember only that it once had a name, a name that fell out of use centuries ago: Raven's Loft. It seemed the worship of ravens was important to the ancient Nabreans.
The ancient castle stood before them, it's rotting drawbridge lowered. Kelsier nimbly leapt over the drawbridge, landing beneath a portcullis on the other side. Green slime dripped down upon him, sapping his strength. He quickly lit a torch, burning the slime away.
The rest of the heroes, unable to nimbly leap over the bridge, cautiously walked over it. Everyone made it across without difficulty. Entering the castle's court yard, they could see the front doors of the castle were open, warm light inviting them in.
Rather than just walk through the front doors, the heroes decided to explore the courtyard first. They found a large rusted gate leading towards the back of the castle. Taking a large chug of ale, Jack gave it all he had, and lifted the gate up. The party rushed through as Jack let the rusty gate fall.
An old stable, and old servant's quarters were found at the rear of the castle. The layers of dust told them it had been some time since anyone had been this way. Rotted skeletons, once living guards, sat pinned to the wall. A staircase descended to the dark.
Jack drew the dawn shard, activating the sword's daylight power. He noticed immediately that the light was muted, not nearly as bright as it should have been. Descending beneath the servant's quarters, they found a crazed servant within. He seemed confused, thinking the master's guests should be in the South Tower, not here. He seemed amicable enough, and offered to take the heroes to the library.
Leading them into the next chamber, he explained there had recently been a great battle, as the master killed a group of adventurers. Keldor had even kept the skull of one of the adventurers as a trophy. The servant, Cyrus, was disappointed. He had hoped to have a souvenir of the battle.
End Session 9.
Session 10, in which the heroes explore the ancient castle
In Castle Raven's Loft's basement, Cyrus led the heroes towards the Kingsmen Hall. The room lay in chaos, shattered furniture piled in heaps near the walls. From the shadows, two demons emerged. Jack rushed forward, confronting them.
Hasdrubal, still at the entrance to the hall, was suddenly grabbed by a large ape-like demon that appeared out of thin air, its invisibility dropping. The wizard's touch stunned the demon momentarily, just long enough to escape from its grasp. Ezarus cast enlarge person on Kelsier, the monk's blows striking the demon hard. Both Kelsier and Jack were aware that their attacks weren't hurting their respective demon enemies nearly as much as they should have been. Nevertheless, the demons quickly fell. Jack's Duskblade was now scorched with acid from the skin of one of the demons.
Cowering in the corner for much of the fight, Cyrus suggested the heroes head up the stairs at the end of the hall. Before heading up, the group checked out a locked door within the hall. Seeing it was securely locked, they decided it best to leave it.
Leading them to the castle's second level, Cyrus seemed confused as they wandered a hallway. He was certain there was a door around here somewhere.
Ezarus' keen elf eyes noticed the outline of a secret door. The heroes opened the door and found themselves outside a bedroom. Within the bedroom where eight canopied beds, stained lace hanging from each bed. On seven of the beds rested the bodies of seven dead young women, their bodies unnaturally preserved.
The heroes gave the bedroom a wide berth, while wondering why one of the beds was empty. Cyrus led them to the end of the hall, which ended in a dead end. The heroes easily found a secret door out of the hall.
Cyrus led the heroes into the castle's audience hall. Lightning flashed outside, spilling into the room through jagged cracks in the massive windows. Otherwise, the room stood in chilling darkness. The faint sounds of music, Toccata & Fugue in D Minor, could be heard in the distance. A single throne sat on a raised platform, slightly off centre. Hasdrubal reasoned that the queen's throne was missing, and that only the king's throne stood atop the platform.
Past the audience hall, the heroes stumbled upon the castle's steward, flanked by undead. A crazed berserker, the steward grabbed a blade and charged into battle. While the others fought, Ezarus looked through the scrolls and books of the steward's office. Disappointed that most were financial records of centuries before, he nevertheless found a divine scroll containing several spells.
Another door in the hall led the heroes up into one of the towers, past the third floor. The landing on the fourth floor housed a large portrait of a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Ireena Kolyana. No more portrait, the woman began casting a spell, catching all but Ezarus in the effects of a mass hold person. Ezarus used dispel magic, freeing Jack, as two statues in the hall came to life. One, a chain golem, began whirling its chains, catching Jack and Hasdrubal. The other, a gargoyle, charged the mobile Jack.
As Jack worked on defeating the statues, the others were able to break free of the spell through sheer force of will. After destroying the portrait, they found a small safe behind it, containing antique woman's jewelry. Could these have once belonged to Tatyana?
Cyrus led them at last to the library. Or more specifically a library. A lounge with a mundane library didn't seem to be the ancient lore of the castle that the heroes were looking for. Kelsier investigated further, finding a small bedroom. A closet at the end of the bedroom burst open, revealing three warlocks. They immediately cloaked the room in darkness, and began hurling dark magic at Kelsier.
The prophecy of the Oracle came to mind. They would find Keldor, the Master of the Castle, where three servants of Hell gathered. Were these the three servants? Hasdrubal summoned black tentacles, entrapping the three warlocks. One vanished through a dimension door, but the others were trapped. Eventually, Hasdrubal ended the spell so that Kelsier and Jack could handle the captives. With one disabled by a hideous laughter spell, the other escaped through a secret passage.
The heroes prepared to follow…
End Session 10
Session 11, in which the party tries to kill each other
The heroes followed the escaping warlock through a secret passage, taking a ladder up to the fifth floor of the tower. Kelsier emerged first, appearing in an arcane laboratory. He saw the warlock across the room, but she was waiting for him, hurling dark magic at him. A nearby door opened as the warlock leader, the one who had escaped through a dimension door, blasted him with flame.
Kelsier went after her, stunning her with a fist to the face. The rest of the group climbed into the room, Jack helping Kelsier with the warlock leader, while Hasdrubal cast dominate person on the other. She tried to flee, knowing her mind would soon not be her own, but it was too late. She was now Hasdrubal’s puppet.
Once again the warlock leader escaped certain death through her dimension door, but the heroes at least had a captive they could get information from. The warlock captive, Afina, explained that she and her friends served a devil named Khyristrix. They had sold their souls for power, and here at Raven’s Loft, they had power. She also explained that Khyristrix had some sort of deal with Keldor. He gave her a base, while she protected something called the Dayheart.
The three servants of Hell now defeated, prophecy was fulfilled, and Keldor appeared. The Master of the Castle was angry, he had summoned the heroes to deal with the Witches of Lysaga Hill, and yet they instead broke into his home, killing his servants.
Ezarus noted Keldor’s pale skin and red hair. He was familiar enough with Nabrean superstition to realize that Keldor was strigoi.
Keldor gave the party a choice: leave now, and stop the Witches, saving the island from doom; or fight him and die. Ezarus agreed, on the condition that he could study the history of the island. Keldor, himself a student of history (if not a maker of it) was willing to allow Ezarus access to his study, unaware that the heroes sought a means of awakening the Sword of Andraste.
Jack had serious concerns about dealing with a monster allied with Hell, in order to defeat monsters allied with the Abyss. His companions didn’t want to fight, so he begrudgingly accepted this course of action.
From the secret passage, Ireena Kolyana emerged, having been covertly following the heroes. She was enraged that they would consider dealing with the monster that had killed her father, and terrorized her. Drawing a sword, she charged at Keldor. The Master of the Castle commanded her to stop, and instantly Ireena dropped her blade, becoming docile. Hasdrubal immediately recognized the telltale signs of dominate, while Ezarus responded by casting protection from evil on the girl. Despite the protection, she was unable to shake off Keldor’s mental dominion over her.
Keldor glared at the heroes, but did not attack. He still needed them to defeat his enemies. He dismissed them, telling them to hurry as there was but one more night before the witches would complete their ritual and summon forth a demon. He would remain here, protecting Ireena. He vowed no harm would come to her. Jack attempted to use the dawn shard’s magic on Keldor, but the Master proved immune to the sun’s effect.
Rather than take the secret passage, the heroes left through the door. The next room was in disarray, couches torn and scratched. An emaciated white cat appeared before Jack, warning him that his companions had been subverted by Keldor! Kill them quickly!
This seemed quite reasonable to Jack, unaware that he had fallen victim to a suggestion. He took a swig of ale, drew his great sword, and attacked Hasdrubal. The enchanter, skilled in taking control of other’s minds, cast his own suggestion, telling Jack that the cat was tricking him. This also made sense to Jack.
Kelsier, meanwhile, knew that cats couldn’t talk, and this was clearly something unnatural. Punting the creature against the wall, he witnessed it change shape into an imp, before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Two other imps in cat form appeared, trying to attack Hasdrubal. The mage, protected by stoneskin, was unharmed. Quickly, these two other imps were sent back to Hell.
The door leaving the chamber was securely locked. Kelsier tried to use his skeleton key to open it, to no avail. Hasdrubal then cast knock, but still the door would not open. Channeling his inner Nicholson, Jack broke the door down.
They entered the stairwell, tripping a word of chaos trap. Jack, already predisposed to chaos was unaffected, but Hasdrubal and Kelsier were left stunned, deafened, and confused. Realizing that a confused Hasdrubal was a dangerous enemy, Ezarus used binding ties, taking the effect of the confusion spell onto himself. At once he began babbling incoherently, explaining third century elven tax law. Jack held his ground behind his shield, distracting Kelsier.
Hasdrubal, now able to think clearly, cast unadulterated loathing on Kelsier, forcing the monk to keep his distance. With Ezarus unable to shake the effects of the confusion, the spell returned to Hasdrubal, and the enchanter was once again and dangerous foe. Jack immediately set to work putting the wizard down, while Ezarus frantically tried to stop him, explaining he could take the effect onto himself again.
Once Hasdrubal was able to think clearly again, he summoned a stinking cloud, figuring it was better to everyone to wait out the confusion, while vomiting repeatedly for the next ten minutes.
Once both spells had ended, they were able to continue down the stairs.
End Session 11.
Session 12, in which the heroes awaken the Sword of Andraste
Arriving on the third floor of the castle, the heroes headed for the library. Two armoured statues flanked the hallway, Jack thinking it would be funny to put the statues in inappropriate poses. To his surprise, however, the statues were haunted, two cursed spirits emerging, and attacking the party. Armed with the dawn shard, the party no longer feared the risen dead.
Defeating the spirits, they carried on, entering a dining room. It looked as if a great wedding feast had been prepared here long ago, but the feast had been left to rot. Could it be that this room had not been touched since Randor and Tatyana's ill-fated wedding day?
Another spirit stood in this room, wailing a mournful song. The lament weighed heavily on the party, but they were able to resist the magic in the melody. As with the cursed spirits, the crypt chanter quickly fell to Jack's blade.
Two doors exited the dining hall, so the party split up. Kelsier went west, finding himself in a large bathing room, and from there moving to a bedroom. To his surprise it was occupied. To his further surprise, the occupant was alive!
Gertruda, a young woman from Nabreus, claimed to be in love with the Count, painting an image of Keldor as the perfect romantic gentleman. Gertruda was also quite upset that Kelsier would just barge into her bedroom while she was sleeping. It was quite rude!
While Kelsier chatted with (while mostly ignoring) Gertruda, the rest of the party headed north, into a large study. Some might call it a library, but Ezarus was disappointed that there weren't more tomes. The walls of the study were lined with books on Clotharia's wars. One whole section was dedicated to the Daemon Wars.
On a desk, was also the most curious thing. A clockwork puzzle box. Ezarus recognized the child's toy as an elven construct. One aligned the gears of the box by turning the sides, and then music would play. Typically these music boxes were found in the hands of the elven aristocracy. A note, stuffed between the gears, called this box Quinari's Key. He pocketed the music box, wondering what an elven artifact would be doing here.
Jack explored further, seeing that a door heading north continued down a hall. Kelsier came and got Jack, having found a secret door within Gertruda's room. The girl was even more upset that there were now two strange men in her bed chamber. Helping Kelsier move a bureau out of the way, the two discovered another hallway.
The party split up, two heading north from the study, the other two heading north from the bedchamber. Both hallways emerged in the same room, a hall filled with ruined statues. The room had collapsed, crushing many of them.
A spirit appeared, but raised a hand wishing to speak with the heroes. She was Lady Vey Rallen, once a Knight of the Raven that sought to free Nabreus from Keldor's grip. Instead, her spirit was bound to the castle, fighting an endless war against darker spirits that were likewise bound. The party asked the spirit which enemy they should confront first: the witches and their Abyssal allies, or Keldor and his Infernal allies. Lady Vey stood in silence, thinking. If one side was defeated, it would create a power vacuum, allowing the other to grow stronger. The best solution for Nabreus would be to defeat both. Which side they should confront first, however, she could not answer.
She warned the heroes that they would not be able to truly kill Keldor until they removed the various magical protections he employed. She knew that his Infernal allies were granting him some protection, but knew little beyond that. She suggested that Hasdrubal's thrall might know more. The dominated warlock could only give the party basic information, not truly knowing the details of the arrangement between Keldor and Khyristrix, or what the Dayheart was.
The heroes asked Lady Vey if she knew where the castle's treasury was, knowing that they needed to take the Shield of Andraste there. The spirit suggested there was a secret passageway behind the hearth in the study, and to investigate there.
Thanking her for her help, the party returned to the study. Ezarus extinguished the fire, while Kelsier searched for a secret door. Opening it, the party entered the castle's treasury. To their disappointment it contained no more than five hundred gold pieces and a single treasure chest. A skeleton, clad in full plate rested against the far wall, clutching a torch. Higher up on the wall, rested two sconces, but only one held a torch. Taking the torch from the skeleton and putting it in the sconce, the party opened another hidden door.
The chamber beyond was filled with spiderwebs. Taking flame to the webs, Kelsier burned a path through the chamber until he found a rope hanging in the middle of the room. Attempting to climb up the rope, to see where it headed, he rang a large bell. The melancholy wail of the bell affected Kelsier, the monk's reactions slowed. Two large spiders, alerted by the bell, attacked the party. One webbed Ezarus while the other attempted to bite Kelsier. The spiders were no match for Jack's mighty blade, and soon the heroes were alone once more.
Beyond this chamber rested the actual treasury of the castle, which contained more coinage than the heroes could carry. Jack's attention was immediately drawn to a ghost touch sword. He quickly grabbed the blade, adding it to his collection of blades. He was beginning to wish he had more hands.
Having found the treasury, Ezarus realized he didn't actually know how to awaken the Shield of Andraste. He suspected whatever ritual he required would be found within the Librum Keldorum, in the castle's chapel. Instead of seeking the book out, however, they returned to the study. Ezarus had gleamed enough information from the texts within to figure out what ritual would awaken the Sword of Andraste. The heroes figured it was better to awaken the sword now, and rest, before going anywhere else in the castle - it seemed as if every room contained something that wanted to kill them.
Though he didn't believe in the gods, Kelsier agreed to spend the night praying to Andraste, while the spell casters rested. Deep in thought, roughly two hours passed before Kelsier was interrupted. Keldor stood across the room, enraged. He had invited the heroes into his home, and here they were with the Sword of Andraste, a blade he had sought destroyed centuries ago. The strigoi ruler of the castle summoned dark flame, blasting Kelsier, Jack, and Ezarus.
Awakened, Jack grabbed his Duskblade, swinging at Keldor. He missed. Keldor cast enervation on Kelsier, draining the monk's strength. Jack swung again, this time connecting. Drawing his own sword, Keldor attacked Jack and Kelsier, burning each of them with his flaming sword. Hasdrubal opened up an extra-dimensional pit beneath Keldor's feet, but the Beast stepped out of the way.
Jack tackled Keldor, pushing him into the hole. The Beast fell one hundred feet into a pool of acid, Keldor turning into a cloud of mist as soon as he hit the bottom. The mist quickly dissipated. Ezarus informed his companions that it was unlikely they would see Keldor again for at least a day. He wasn't dead, but he would return after recovering.
Returning to their rest, and Kelsier's meditation over the blade, they were uninterrupted the rest of the night. As morning came, about three things was Kelsier absolutely positive: 1) Edward was a vampire. 2) the Sword of Andraste was, in actuality, a daemonsword forged during the Third Daemonwar to combat Toth's draconic armies. 3) Whoever had forged the Sword had used the Midlight Shard, the shard given to the elves by the All-Father as his promise to never destroy the world.
A nimbus of light formed between the two shards of light, forming into the spirit of a beautiful elven woman. She smiled, congratulating the heroes on overcoming great darkness to awaken the sword. This would be the next part of their destiny that they would need to embrace.
End Session 12.
Session 13, in which the party finds the Liber Keldorum
With the Sword of Andraste awakened, the heroes decided their best course of action would be to find the castle’s chapel, and find the Liber Keldorum. While they weren’t certain where the chapel was, Afina was still dominated and led them to the first floor. Passing through the front foyer, Kelsier noticed that the stone gargoyles were anything but stone - they were living gargoyles. Jack tried out the daemonsword, the holy blade making quick work of the stone guardians.
Their path to the chapel now clear, they began searching through the ruins looking for the tome. The corpse of a dead priest lay before the altar, wearing magical armour and carrying an unholy mace. The Icon of Raven's Loft rest on the altar, and Ezarus could tell that it was a potent holy symbol for banishing the undead. Odd to find such a thing in the castle of the risen dead. Removing the icon, they found the tome resting underneath.
Most of the pages were ruined, but there was a long section intact. It told of Keldor’s rise to power, spending his youth building a kingdom, while his younger, more handsome brother got the glory. It told of selling his soul to darkness in a bid to win the heart of Tatyana. It also told of Keldor binding himself to the forest, the mountains, and the swamp, making himself as eternal as the land. Only by reconsecrating the fanes to the saints that once protected them would Keldor’s power be stripped.
As well, Ezarus was able to piece together the ritual to awaken the Shield of Andraste. Returning to the treasury, the heroes prepared to spend eight hours in prayer. While they waited, they were attacked by a ferocious dire bat. They couldn’t be certain, but they thought perhaps the bat was a shapeshifter Keldor. Whatever the creature was, it was easily dispatched by the awakened daemonsword, turning to mist as it vanished.
Now armed with another weapon to combat Keldor’s evil, the heroes prepared to stop the witches of Lysaga Hill.
End Session 13.
Session 14, wherein the heroes finally head to Lysaga Hill.
Afina led the heroes through the woods to Lysaga Hill. As they approached, they came upon ancient ruins. Ezarus had read enough about the area to guess that these were the ruins of a monastery built by St. Ekaterina, one of the earliest centres of worship for Andraste in the region. Within the ruins, a coven of witches worked dark magic. Confined within a magic circle was a towering demon. From the cover of the woods, Ezarus studied the scene. He suspected the only way to stop the demon from invading would be to slay it. Fortunately, Jack was equipped for just that task. The only issue would be deciding which of his magic blades to use.
More troubling, however, was Ezarus' suspicion that the summoned demon was more than that. By all appearances it appeared to be Chernovog, an Abyssal lord once worshipped by ancient Nabreans. His cult had been nearly wiped out by Ekaterina centuries earlier.
With the coven distracted by their ritual, the heroes knew now was the time to strike. Hasdrubal cast cloudkill, killing most of the coven immediately. Chernovog's aspect still stood. Though unable to see the heroes through the poisonous fog, he could sense them. He spoke telepathically in Abyssal, promising to rape them to death, eat their flesh, and sew their skins into his clothing. And if they were very, very lucky, he'd do it in that order.
Chernovog loosed eldritch bolts at the heroes as they moved to circle around the ruins, keeping out of the fog. Hasdrubal sought to incapacitate Chernovog with a stinking cloud, but the demon resisted the spell, taking to the skies. Unable to see Hasdrubal, who was protected by standing wall, the demon lord instead targeted Ezarus. A wizard was a wizard.
With the aspect's attention drawn to the spell casters, Jack used the opportunity to climb one of the walls, putting himself in striking distance. Sword of Andraste in hand, he made quick work of the fiend, dispatching it back to the Abyss.
An examination of the witches revealed that most of them had fiendish flesh stitched to their own. Afina, herself a servant of dark masters, remained silent. The leader of the coven, now dead, was clearly not human at all. She appeared to be a hag, warts and all, yet some sort of magic made her appear to be a young, beautiful, human woman.
The wizards inspected the magical circle Chernovog had appeared in. Once, long ago, it had been a focal point of sacred energy. Now, it's power had faded, and it could no longer discern between the sacred and the profane. It was evident that someone, or something, had corrupted the monastery.
While the wizards worked, Kelsier noticed a trap door, partially buried by rubble. He worked at clearing it, finding a ladder that descended beneath the ruins. Investigating the caves below, the heroes discovered a reliquary upon a shrine, containing crushed bones. If their understanding of the Liber Keldorum was correct, this reliquary had been desecrated, and only by reconsecrating the shrine with an intact bone of St. Ekaterina could they sever one of Keldor's connections to the land.
Inspecting the rest of the chamber, the heroes found two demons skulking in the shadows. The fiends were quickly slain. The ruins clear of monsters, the heroes now needed to find out where St. Ekaterina had been buried…
End Session 14.
Session 15, wherein the heroes investigate the Nabrean Fanes.
Ezarus reasoned that if St. Ekaterina was a hero to the ancient Nabreans, than she was likely interred beneath the Raven’s Loft. The heroes considered returning to the castle to search for Ekaterina’s remains, but worried that the other Fanes might require the bones of other saints.
Suspecting that the fane beneath Lysaga Hill was the Mountain Fane, that meant they still needed to locate the Forest and Swamp Fanes. Considering how much of the area was forest, they decided to investigate the Swamp Fane first. Traveling down the Ivlis River, the group entered the Ivlis Marsh. The trek was difficult, and it wasn’t long before they encountered a swarm of vampiric mosquitos. Kelsier quickly learned that punching mosquitos wasn’t exactly effective. The shambling mound that emerged from the water, on the other hand, could be punched.
Through magic and brawn, the heroes were able to defeat the swamp guardians, moving deeper into the swamp. As the water deepened, Kelsier’s keen eyes noticed several large eel-like creatures just beneath the water surface. Hasdrubal summoned writhing black tentacles to hold the eels in place, allowing Jack and Kelsier to make quick work of them.
Returning to solid ground, the heroes found an ornate tent set up. It certainly looked out of place in the swamp. Within the tent was a beautiful human woman, drinking a dark red beverage. She explained that there were two beverages in the world the colour of red wine, and that what she was drinking was not red wine. Ezarus corrected her and listed off fourteen other beverages the same colour as red wine.
The woman laughed and introduced herself as Lament, one of the Oracles of Nabreus. The party had met her sister Sorrow at the Tsigiri encampment, and had slain her sister Mourn at Lysaga Hill, though they didn’t realize the maddened hag was an Oracle.
The party explained they were looking for the Swamp Fane, and Lament offered her aid. She’d tell them where the fane was, and what they needed to do to consecrate it, if they’d promise to kill Keldor and free her from imprisonment. She was a prisoner of the swamps, and so long as Keldor drew power from the Swamp Fane, she would eternally be trapped here. Lament also agreed to tell the heroes where the Forest Fane could be found. The heroes already planned to kill Keldor, and quickly agreed to Lament’s terms. To their surprise, the Forest Fane could be found outside the Tsigiri camp, guarded by Sorrow. Lament also told the heroes to find the remains of Saint Bogdan within Raven’s Loft. The saint’s finger bone would be needed to reconsecrate the fane.
Realizing that both Ekaterina and Bogdan were buried in the crypts beneath the castle, the heroes decided to visit Sorrow to find out the third saint’s name. Chances were that all three saints were buried in the crypts, possibly together. Returning to the Tsigiri encampment, the heroes found Sorrow in her tent. Explaining their plans, and their agreement with Lament, the heroes also enlisted Sorrow’s aid. After centuries of being imprisoned, she welcomed a release. Her cards had suggested that the heroes might actually be able to succeed. Deep beneath Raven’s Loft, Sorrow explained, the heroes would find the remains of Saint Markovia. The saint’s thighbone was the relic they needed.
Now knowing what relics they needed, the heroes returned to the castle. They headed for the rear entrance, descending back into the basement they had originally entered the castle through. Knowing where stairs up could be located, they instead looked for stairs down. The first room they searched looked to be the castle’s kitchen. One of Keldor’s zombies stood over a large caldron, digging through the muddy, green liquid within as if searching for something. Quickly killing the zombie, the heroes investigated the pot. A mohrg emerged from the pot, grabbing Jack and trying to drown him. The heroes rushed in to free Jack from the undead’s clutches. Returning the mohrg to the grave, the heroes resumed their search of the area. They found stairs up, but ignored them. Adjacent to the kitchen were quarters, likely for one of the castle’s servants. The room was filled with junk, much of it looking like it had come from the many slain adventurers who had fallen victim to Keldor. Anything of value had likely been looted by Keldor himself.
As they continued their search of the floor, the hallway began to fill with webs. Kelsier was able to see what appeared to be a humanoid construct made of webs seconds before it began filling the room with even more sticky webs. Avoiding the webs, Kelsier was able to venture deeper into the chamber, discovering several large spiders, and humanoid spider creatures hidden within the webs. With the rest of the party cut off from the room by webs, Kelsier was the clear target for the other monsters. Even though his monk training afforded him an immunity to disease, poison was another matter. The venom from the spiders and the ettercaps was beginning to drain Kelsier’s strength and ability to react.
Jack was able to cut his way into the chamber, helping Kelsier out. Hasdrubal summoned a stinking cloud, hoping to force the spiders away from Kelsier. The tactic was successful, and the spiders and ettercaps were easily defeated. The web golem proved to be immune to the wizards’ spells, but not to Jack’s sword. To Jack’s surprise, the golem was covered in a powerful adhesive that managed to rip his blade from his hands. Fortunately, he had many more swords, and suspected the golem would die before he ran out of blades to use.
The golem defeated, Ezarus began casting restoration spells on Kelsier to try and undo the spiders’ venom. The heroes knew they’d need to rest soon…the numerous battles they had been through were taking their toll…
End Session 15.
Session 16, in which the party finally finds the stairs down
Searching through the webs for any fallen coins or items, the heroes were able to find half a key. Ezarus believed that it had been magically separated, and cast a locate object spell to find the other half. The spell revealed that the other half of the key was in one of the castle's towers. Making a note of its location, the heroes continued investigating the current floor.
Finding only stairs heading up, they were left with one locked door they hadn't yet searched. Using Kelsier's skeleton key to open it, they entered an office, currently occupied by what appeared to be an angel. The celestial introduced itself as Fandromar, a paladin of good. He was currently seeking one of Keldor's allies, a powerful being named Lucian.
The heroes had their concerns that this might be a trap, since an angel seemed so out of place. Hasdrubal used his magic to investigate Fandromar's thoughts - and discovered he was being possessed by Lucian!
His identity discovered, Lucian attacked the party. The battle was over quickly, and ended with the demon vanquished. The party investigated his office, and found documents revealing the identities of Lucian's agents and spies within the area. Most troubling was that Bildrath, the shopkeeper in Nabreus, was a spy.
Kelsier was also able to find a secret door in the room, at last revealing stairs down. Realizing that this room was relatively secure, the party decided to rest first. Kelsier and Jack were still weakened by spider venom, and required magical healing from Ezarus.
Sufficiently rested, the heroes packed up, and headed down the stairs. A locked iron door barred their way, but was easily opened with a knock. Within, the party found a laboratory. A great vat sat in the centre of the chamber, filled with roiling pale mucus. From their alcoves to either side, bloated giants stood pulsing and heaving. Two walls of the chamber were lined with tome-stuffed shelves, and a stained desk was shoved into the southwest corner. Behind the vat, a slender figure in pale leather armor and hood yelled at the party in consternation.
The figure immediately suspected the party of being agents of Keldor's, but they were able to convince her otherwise. She introduced herself as Thredra Aranax, a former servant of Keldor's who now questioned his slipping sanity. Seeking freedom from her mad master, she offered to aid the party - for a price.
In exchange for the tongue of a villager - a living villager - she would tell the heroes where to find the relics of the saints. She also gave the party information on Keldor's allies within the castle - Lucian, the Shadow Demon, and Khyristrix, the Devil.
Kelsier immediately agreed to Thredra's request. Within two weeks, they would give her a village to work her necromantic arts upon. If not, one of the party members would sacrifice their own tongue.
Satisfied, she gave them a ring to protect from Keldor's draining touch, and directions to the castle's crypts. Kelsier thank her for her help, and led the party down a long, fog-filled chamber.
Obscured by fog, Kelsier was unable to see a pit trap. While he was able to avoid it, and Hasdbural was able to float above it, Jack and Ezarus were not so lucky, and fell down a long slide into a flooded dungeon. They barely had time to figure out what had happened before they were attacked by two undead monstrosities.
Jack tried to hold the monsters off on his own, while Kelsier tried to quickly find the relics of the saints and then help his friends. Hasdrubal floated down to the dungeons to lend his aid as well.
Finding the first of the crypts, Kelsier realized he didn't have the skill to unlock the crypt door. He also realized he had sprung another trap - as undead descended upon him! The nimble monk didn't even try to fight. He ran, and quickly dove down the pit trap to rejoin the rest of the party.
End Session 16.
Session 17, in which tragedy befalls the heroes.
Jack had managed to slay one of the undead horrors as Kelsier dropped down from above to assist. Reunited, the heroes were able to kill the second monster, as well as a wraith. Slowly moving through the flooded dungeon, they found a heavy iron door. Unable to pick the lock, they instead turned to brute force and opened it the hard way.
The dungeon exited into a hall, but before they were able to investigate it too far, Kelsier vanished in an explosion of water. Ezarus inspected the spot where Kelsier had once stood, and reasoned that there was a teleportation trap. He would need to study the trap further to discovered where Kelsier had been taken.
In fact, Kelsier was nearby, in a cell in another part of the dungeon - with a zombie trapped alongside him. Quickly killing the zombie, he unlocked the cell and checked out the area. He realized he wasn’t alone - a villager was also trapped. The villager introduced himself as Elim. He was a hunter from Nabreus that had gone looking for treasure in the ruined castle, before becoming trapped down here.
Kelsier realized that Elim’s tongue would be perfect for Thredra’s request. Kelsier was also loud enough that Jack realized the monk was behind a door opposite the dungeon they had fallen into. Breaking down this door, the party was (once again) reunited.
Carefully making their way through the hall, avoiding any further teleportation traps, the heroes broke down a third door. This door opened up into an audience chamber. Two large thrones on a balcony overlooked the flooded chamber. The chamber was filled with rusted torture equipment. Upon one of the thrones sat Thredra. Upon the other, a spectre sat. Within the chamber, a number of undead and aberrations fought each other. Seeing the intruders, the spectre screamed and attacked, drawing the attention of the rest of the chamber.
Thredra said nothing, content to watch the events unfold. The spectre seemed fixated on Ezarus, darting through the walls, draining his life. Jack and Kelsier were busy fighting the aberration prisoners, and were unable to aid the wizard. At last getting an opening, Jack drew his ghost touch blade, and dispatched the spectre - but it was too late. Ezarus was dead.
The party didn’t have much time to mourn before Ezarus himself rose as a spectre. Fixated on Elim, the spectre that was once Ezarus attacked. Panicking, Elim’s form changed, becoming more wolf-like. The werewolf ran, the spectre in pursuit. Rather than hunt down their former companion, they let him go.
End Session 17.
Apparently I haven't updated this thread in a while. Oops. The party began Spectre of Sorrows last night. We're almost to the farthest point we've ever gotten while trying to get through the campaign. I look forward to actually succeeding :D
Catching up...
Session 18, in which the heroes gain new allies
Session 19, in which the heroes find the Shroud of St. Ekaterina.
Session 20, in which the heroes confront Keldor.
Session 21, in which the party discovers ancient Deep Roads
The Beast was slain. An confused Irina Kolyana stood at the back of the throne room, her mind free of Keldor's domination. She could remember only fragments, and asked the heroes to take her back home.
By the time the party returned to Nabreus, it was night. A large bonfire burned in the centre of town, the last of the zombie corpses committed to flame. Richter and Ashlyn greeted the returning heroes. Ashlyn immediately knelt in reverence before Jack, sensing the holy aura of the Sword of Andraste. Richter was more dismissive of the possibility of the divine, instead suggesting that the Cabal might be interested in learning the weapon's secrets.
Richter then explained to the heroes that while they were dealing with Keldor, he was busy finding a way off the island. It was unlikely that any ships would approach the island any time soon, and any that made the trip would likely require a lot of gold. Instead, he had discovered that, back in the days of Elvhenan, the dwarves had an outpost on the island. This outpost was connected to the mainland via the dwarven underground highway, the Deep Roads.
After the Second War of the Archdaemons destroyed the dwarven kingdom, the highways were sealed and forgotten about. Richter couldn't even begin to guess what they might find underground, but it was their best chance at getting home. The heroes debated other options - overland flight, teleportation, but eventually agreed that the Deep Roads were the best option.
They rested in town for the night, and then headed for the ruined outpost, and the Deep Roads beneath it. The air was stale, but Hasdrubal's life bubble ensured that environmental hazards would be of no concern. The dawn shard provided adequate light as they entered the depths of the dwarven highway.
After walking for several hours, Entii stopped the group. They weren't alone down there. Skittering from behind rocks were a pack of sinspawn, humanoids that had been twisted and corrupted by the foul magics unleashed by the archdaemons. It had been centuries since they had seen light, and they could smell the wrath coming from the barbarian.
The sinspawn were strong, but Hasdrubal's stoneskin spell offered enough protection for Jack and Entii to slay the creatures. With the monsters slain, the heroes continued on their journey. Occasionally they would hit sections of tunnel that had collapsed, but side caves allowed them to skirt around. While none of the surface races had been down here in centuries, the Deep Roads weren't empty.
The heroes rested, secure in the extra-dimensional pocket of a rope trick. When they awoke, they continued on. They stumbled upon a group of ogres who had become trapped underground after a cave-in. Starving, and angry, the ogres attacked the heroes. Hasdrubal cast confusion on the ogres, and let the brutes kill each other.
The heroes had crossed roughly forty miles of tunnel when they could hear approaching footsteps, and could see a light in the distance. In time, they were able to make out the standard carried by the approaching group - Blackcloaks. The two groups greeted each other warily. The Blackcloaks had recently discovered the Deep Roads beneath their fortress city of Darkhaven and were scouting them out. They were surprised to find adventurers wandering about.
Jack introduced himself as "The Slayer of Keldor" and "Cleric of Damh". The Blackcloaks didn't react. The presence of a Cabal inquisitor may have helped the issue. The Dark Knights made note of the encounter, the heroes doing the same. Each group continued in opposite directions.
As the heroes continued, they could tell they were starting to ascend. A roof collapse forced them to enter a large cave. Shining their light around, they couldn't see the ceiling above them. They did manage to catch a flash of light. There, one hundred yards away, was a group of winged orcs. The leader shouted out in anger that vengeance would be his. Hasdrubal cast repulsion, hoping to keep the half-dragon orcs at bay. Clearly Onyx wasn't the only dragon to reappear in the world.
The leader of the orcs, unaffected by the spell, charged towards the wizard. Rather than attack Hasdrubal, the barbarian sundered the spell. Apparently trained at fighting spell casters, he was able to dispel the repulsion effect, allowing his comrades to enter the battle. The rest of the orcs surrounded the heroes, attacking. Once again, stoneskin saved their lives. Hasdrubal cast a suggestion, suggesting that the orcs should focus their attacks on anyone with red skin. His spell succeeded, and the orcs began attacking each other, dogfighting in the upper reaches of the cave.
While the heroes considered their next move, they were interrupted by a horn blast. The calvary had arrived - and it was Blackcloaks. The Blackcloak commander looked between the human adventuring party and the half-dragons fighting above them. She gave the order to kill the dragons.
Jack realized this would be the perfect opportunity to escape, and with both enemy groups distracted, the heroes quietly ducked into another tunnel. Moving as quickly as they could away from the combat, they were interrupted by two figures stepping out from the shadows.
Dressed in simple clothing, and carrying little in the way of weaponry besides crude spears, the two young men appeared to be half-elven: too stocky to be full-blooded elves, yet bearing the distinctively pointed ears of an elven heritage. They were both coated with a dusting of grey powder, yet, despite this, the vivid red hue of their hair blazed brightly.
One of the two stepped forward, holding out his hands as he spoke, “We mean you no harm. Please, you must come with us if you wish to get out of here alive. There are forces moving against you that you aren’t even aware of.”
The other figure, looking around nervously, spoke up in a low voice, “We must hurry. It’s not safe here.”
The heroes were wary, but if it meant a way out, they were inclined to follow. The two elves led them above ground, into a secret encampment nestled in the mountains. They were greeted warmly, offered milk and goat meat. After the long journey, it was the best tasting goat they had ever eaten.
The elders of the village revealed that they were Phaëton, servants of the Phoenix, Arduinna. The elders also revealed that the heroes had a great destiny. The puzzle box retrieved by Ezarus from Keldor's library was a key - or more specifically, the tune it played as the puzzle was solved was a key. They would need to travel to the Dragon's Graveyard in distant Nordmaar. They would also require the Tears of Dierdre, gifts given to the elves after the First War of the Archdaemons, named for one of Brighid's exarchs, the beatified saint Deirdre. Together the tears were powerful tools of healing - but one had been corrupted by darkness and was now held beneath Darkhaven. The Phaëton begged the heroes to go to Darkhaven, retrieve the corrupted tear, and then take it to the city of Flotsam to learn how to purify it.
Entii, new to all this talk of "destiny" asked a simple question: What if she said 'no'? The Phaëton elder seemed saddened, and spoke of a coming darkness. A possible Fourth War of the Archdaemons that would threaten all of the World. That was enough incentive to get the heroes to agree.
End Session 21.
Session 22, in which the heroes infiltrate a Blackcloak fortress
While the Destined camped with the Phaëton, Jack decided that the best course of action was to commune with Damh. Drinking as much alcohol as he could find, Jack found himself (or at least believed he found himself) before the Lucky Drunk. Jack asked his patron a simple question: should they pursue the quest the Phaëton’s had given them?
Damh answered in the affirmative, and that was good enough for Jack. He’d go to Darkhaven, retrieve the corrupted Tear and save the world from evil.
The Phaëton advised that the best way to reach Darkhaven (or at least the safest way) would be to follow a network of goblin tunnels that just happened to reach underneath Darkhaven. According to the fey, it would allow the Destined to sneak into the fortress without drawing too much attention.
Entii liked this plan. Sneaking in and avoiding guards played to her strengths. The heroes entered the goblin tunnels, moving slowly. The tunnels were small, and armoured Jack was slow moving at the best of times. They emerged in a larger tunnel, but Hasdrubal warned that the tunnel wasn’t structurally sound and could collapse at any moment. Sure enough, the group had just passed through the tunnel when it collapsed behind them.
Eventually they emerged in a cavern beneath Darkhaven. They could see a couple humanoid corpses, scattered like discarded children’s toys. The corpses appeared to have fallen from the pathway above. The heroes moved forward, but the corpses revealed that they were anything but. Rising as wights, the undead were quickly cut down by Entii’s dawn shard and Jack’s daemonblade. Searching the defeated wights, the heroes were surprised to find keys, presumably to the fortress above.
Following the path up, the Destined reached a hidden door. Entii listened at the door, and could hear voices talking on the other side. Jack decided the he would quickly force the door open, allowing the two of them to make quick work of any Blackcloaks. He lowered his shoulder into the door - but it didn’t budge! He tried again, and this time it opened, but the two Blackcloaks had already reached for their weapons, and were reaching for a horn in order to sound the alarm.
Jack moved to block one of the guards while Entii flanked the guard, making quick work with her blade. The second fell just as quickly. The Destined began searching the room for anything of note. They found no treasure, but Entii was able to find a secret passageway in the privy. An unusual place to hide a hallway. Sneaking through the passage, she emerged in a large, vaulted hallway. A long table on the western wall contained a logbook of prisoner transfers. Stairs led up. The group decided it was better to continue searching this floor before they headed up to another floor.
Entii listened at one of the two doors out of the hallway, but heard nothing. She carefully opened the door, and moved into another hallway. She listened at each door she came across, opening any doors that were silent. She first found an “interrogation” room. “Torture” was a better descriptor. Dropped behind an iron maiden was another set of keys, though what the keys opened, Entii wasn’t sure.
Her search through the halls found a room with a summoning circle, and an array of crystals and spell foci. Hasdrubal inspected the chamber, and pilfered a handful of arcane scrolls. They found a second research lab, a foul smelling chamber piled with various preserved body parts of tables, jars with embalming fluid, and worse. The entire group made sure to avoid that room.
Entii’s search found the dormitories were Blackcloak acolytes were quietly studying, learning their black arts. She snuck in, carefully grabbing their horns, ensuring they’d be unable to alert to whole keep. The heroes split up, Entii and Hasdrubal readying themselves to attack one group of acolytes, while Jack and Kelsier attacked the other.
When the Blackcloak acolytes revealed their spell casting prowess by using hold person on Entii, Hasdrubal responded by summoning a cloudkill. The acolytes quickly succumbed to the noxious vapours. The cloud drifted away from Hasdrubal, towards Jack, and what remained of the acolytes he was cutting down. Fortunately, the heroes were protected by Hasdrubal’s life bubble and needn’t worry about the rolling cloud.
Finding another set of stairs up, the party split up again. Jack and Hasdrubal headed up to investigate, while Entii and Kelsier investigated the other side of this level. They found another torture chamber, as well as two prisoners. One was a Graycloak aspirant who had intended to spy on the Blackcloaks but had been captured. The other was a blacksmith who had crossed his masters. Kelsier gave them a choice: swear allegiance to him, and he would free them. Both prisoners readily agreed, glad to be out of the prison.
Above them, Jack broke down the first door he could find. Within he found the commander of the Knights of the Lily, Sir Klavier Ettel. Sir Klavier demanded to know what was going on, and Jack answered with his blade. The two locked in combat, sword against glaive, before Hasdrubal interrupted with a dominate person. Immediately, Sir Klavier was Hasdrubal’s thrall. Jack demanded to know where the tear was, and the dominated Klavier explained that it was just down the hall.
As the party reunited, Hasdrubal cast aura of the unremarkable on the group, allowing them to move around relatively unnoticed. The Destined prepared to head for the tear, but Jack wanted to look for more treasure first. He asked Klavier where the other officers were quartered. Conveniently, their quarters were just down the hall from Klavier’s. The heroes entered the quarters of the commander of the Knights of the Thorn, Sir Witmar Dagdel. Thanks to the aura spell, he thought nothing of the interruption. Hasdrubal cast kiss of unrequited love on the knight. Consumed with despair, Sir Witmar drove his own blade into his heart.
Next door, the Knight of the Skull commander, Sir Goran Hedegast had his quarters. Again, the aura prevented him from finding it unusual that a group of adventurers was breaking into his room and searching for treasure. Rather than force him into romantic suicide, Hasdrubal cast a simple charm person, nicely asking Sir Goran to hand over his magical equipment.
With Jack satisfied, the Destined were lead to the tear chamber by Sir Klavier. The cloister outside of the tear chamber was the site of an unhallowed spell. Hasdrubal realized that it had the potential to disrupt the enchantment spells he had cast. Entii listened at the chamber doors but heard nothing. The doors to the Chamber of the Tear were opened, revealing the dark temple within.
The smell of death and decay was almost overpowering in this vaulted chamber. Shadowy reddish illumination was provided by four, large, coal-burning braziers, one in each corner. Hideous pillars made of polished black and red marble flanked both the entrance and an altar on the far wall. In front of the altar, resting on a wrought iron stand and glowing with a malevolent green light, was a gem the size of a child’s fist. The corrupted tear of Dierdre.
Seeing no resistance, Entii headed for the tear. One of the shadows peeled itself off the wall, draining the rogue of her strength. She quickly grabbed the tear and tossed it to Kelsier. The shadow moved for the monk, but Hasdrubal cast undeath to death, a spell he had been waiting to use ever since the problems in Raven’s Loft. The arcane spell forced the shadow back into the gem.
Knowing their aura could end at any moment, the Destined hurried back to the goblin tunnels. They knew their next destination: Flotsam.
End Session 22.
Session 23, in which the heroes play with red tape.
The Destined emerged from the goblin tunnels, exiting the mouth of a small cave overlooking a barren stretch of land. Grayish snow covered the ground, doing little to conceal the twisted, blackened husks of the trees that must have once covered this area.
They had heard stories that the Black Prince had razed the area during the War of Liberation, part of his scorched earth policy. Clearly those stories were true. In the distance, they could make out battered walls and snow-covered buildings clustered at the edge of the Gwaedllyn. This must be the infamous town of Flotsam.
Flotsam lived up to its name, the town created from detritus washing up on the shores of the Gwaedllyn after Godfall. The people in town were much of the same, outcasts ending up as just more flotsam.
Rumour had it that Flotsam’s governor, Thoril Wolfswift, had been a Highmaster installed by the tuefelings during the War of Righteousness. That meant he had to be at least three hundred years old - far older than any half-orc was known to live.
Wolfswift was also known for his bureaucracy. If the Destined hoped to meet with him and learn how to purify the corrupted tear, they’d have to navigate his maze of bureaucrats.
Kelsier was glad to deal with city hall. Now that he had his own blacksmith, he hoped to set up a shop and put Ivor to work. Stopping by the merchant quarter to scope out the competition, and sell off some treasure, Kelsier headed to city hall with Hasdrubal. The two former merchants were more “talky” while Jack and Entii were more “stabby”.
They learned they would need to meet with a subordinate. The subordinate would then refer them to an underclerk. The underclerk to a clerk, the clerk to a senior clerk, and finally the senior clerk to Lord Thoril himself.
Kelsier randomly chose a subordinate, and settled into the office of Endess Umeur. Umeur scoffed at the sight of Hasdrubal. Kelsier got the impression that the subordinate didn’t trust magic-users, and Hasdrubal clearly looked the part of the mage. While Kelsier then met with Endess, Hasdrubal tried his luck with another subordinate.
After an hour, Jack and Entii got bored with waiting, and decided that they were going to march up to the front doors of Wolfswift’s manor. They were on a quest from the gods to save the world - why would anyone stand in their way?
Seeing Nessian warhounds patrolling the grounds, the two began to reconsider their initial plan, and headed back to city hall to gather the rest of the group.
Hasdrubal decided he had had enough of bureaucrats, and planned to use aura of the unremarkable to bypass the entire process upon which Flotsam was built. With the aura in place, they marched straight up to Lord Thoril’s throne.
Normally, the lord would have been quite annoyed by adventurers bypassing the maze of bureaucracy, while impressed by their tenacity. Instead, enchanted by the spell, as far as Wolfswift could tell, the Destined had done everything by the book, and they were greeted warmly.
Meeting Lord Thoril at last, the heroes could easily tell that the rumours of his longevity were true. In fact, the aged half-orc looked like a drooling, white raisin. He spoke in murmurs, his majordomo repeating everything.
The Destined explained their mission. The Chamberlain informed the heroes that while Wolfswift had one of the largest libraries on the continents, and was one of the foremost experts on rejuvenation magic, he would be unable to aid them unless they ventured into nearby ruins and confronted a group of bandits who had stolen a set of dragon eggs.
Jack was annoyed at the prospect of needing to run an errand, particularly with the fate of the world at stake. Wolfswift’s Chamberlain explained that the bandits were hiding in the nearby ruins of Micah, remnants of an elven city destroyed by the archdaemon Zazikel.
Hasdrubal summoned phantom steeds to expedite the journey to the ruins. Entering the ruins, they came across a torn carapace, and a dead goblin. Venturing deeper into the ruins, they entered a spectral garden - truly an unusual sight. Not knowing what dangers lurked before them, Hasdrubal cast cloudkill, sending the noxious vapours forward, deeper in the Micahn ruins.
Kelsier and Entii scouted ahead of the cloud, protected by a life bubble, when a spectral treant appeared before them, moaning. The frightful moan sent Kelsier running in the opposite direction, but Entii stood her ground, alerting her (remaining) companions. Sword of Andraste in hand, Jack’s skill with the holy blade drove off the spectre.
The heroes moved further ahead, entering the ruins of Micah’s market district. A large chasm bisected the area. Kelsier effortlessly bounded across the void. Entii was also able to leap across. Jack was another matter. Weighed down by armour, he climbed the 30 ft down the chasm, intending to climb out the other side.
To Jack’s surprise, the pit wasn’t empty - but was home to three mustard jellies!
End Session 23.
Session 24, in which the Destined search for the missing dragon eggs
Jack sheathed his sword. Experience had taught him that creatures such as ochre jellies and black puddings were notorious for splitting in two when cut with a blade. Instead, fisticuffs would be the order of the day.
The acidic secretions of the jelly burned Jack's fists, but he ignored the pain. The jelly was otherwise unable to hurt the sell-sword, its pseudopods bouncing harmlessly off his armour.
Kelsier and Entii leapt down to assist their companion. Unaware that some oozes were known to be unharmed by cutting or stabbing, Entii thrust her rapier into one of the creatures. The acid burned her, but the ooze seemed hurt by the attack.
While the jelly had no luck assaulting Jack, one was able to wrap its pseudopods around Kelsier, constricting around the monk, burning him with its acid touch.
Hasdrubal floated above the battlefield, courtesy of his overland flight spell, and cast a protective communal resist elements spell. Now protected against acid, the tide of battle quickly turned, and the jellies were quickly slain.
Kelsier effortlessly climbed up the cavern wall, taking a few moments to laugh at Jack's difficultly climbing.
The Destined began to cross a ruined highway when they came across a group of scouts. Instead of the bandits they were expecting, these creatures were something else. They were aberrations, dripping slime, almost looking like anthropomorphic insects.
Entii charged forward, cutting into one of the creatures before it could act. She found herself quickly surrounded, half the scouts attacking her, the other half moving to attack the rest of the group.
Jack and Kelsier shouted for Hasdrubal to aid Entii with his spells. The wizard floated over towards the rogue. Using a selective metamagic rod, he crafted a glitterdust around Entii, blinding the disir scouts. Her enemies blinded, Entii struck true with her rapier. The creatures seemed able to smell her, but she was quick enough on her feet to keep out of their reach.
The disir attacking Jack and Kelsier were quickly slain by the heroes, the two moving forward to aid Entii. The scouts were unable to withstand the assault, and fell. Inspecting the creatures, the heroes could tell that one of them was involved in the battle with the goblin earlier.
The roadway continued deeper in the ruins. There, at the base of the ruined pillars of Micah, was a disir nest. A larger disir, one the heroes assumed must have been a queen, instructed her guards to kill the intruders.
Hasdrubal cut the guards off with a stinking cloud, throwing a glitterdust in for good measure. The disir soldiers spread out, vomiting from the noxious vapours of the cloud. One soldier was able to fight off the fumes, but fell victim to one of Hasdrubal's create pit spells.
With most of the guards disabled by the stinking cloud, the rest of the Destined had no problem cutting them down. Jack and Entii moved into position on either side of the disir queen, slaying her before she was able to fight back.
Victorious, they took a moment to catch their breath, seeing that the ruins extended deeper.
End Session 24.