Baron Vandemir, you know whom we represent, and as such you are aware that our patron has a long reach. While you may not be privy to his current plans, and I am not at liberty to reveal them at this time, you should be aware that events in the nation are underway that may see allies of our patron, gaining lost power and wealth stripped away by the Zealous. Know that the Dark Prince has turned his attention to Tallengarde once more and it would be wise for his faithful to pay heed. Let me say, while youth may prevent standing by one's sire, time grows the seeds of vengeance and retribution to their maturity."
My Lord, we seek your assistance in our operations in the area, and for your assistance you will be compensated once our task is completed.
The Baron regards Taeral and the group for a few moments before replying. "Taeral is it? Your words reveal much, and hold much hidden at the same time. I accept that, and I understand it. The path you travel is a dangerous one, but I find that the opportunity to repay those who have wronged my family of its birthright is now at hand. Consider me your ally in this endeavor."
"I offer you my manor as a safe, and dare I say comfortable, location from which to operate. In addition, I have had occasion to create and use a tunnel which extends from my manor to a nondescript hovel in the town. Through this, you can discretely go to and from the town."
"Additionally, while I cannot offer you complete immunity from the laws of Farholde, I can certainly protect you against prosecution for minor indiscretions. do not get caught red handed performing some heinous deed, and I can ensure your protection from the law."
"I can provide you contacts within, shall we say the 'shadier,' portions of the merchantile side of Farholde. Through them you could procure provisions, or fence any goods that need it."
"I can provide you magical assistance. My abilities to charm, bribe, and persuade are not inconsiderable."
"What I shall not do is to fight your battles for you."
"Are we of a mind on these matters then?"
Assuming no one objects, he calls in some servants and gets another round of excellent wine served around the table.
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Before you guys bed down for the night, Thiadora does appear and provide a final bit of information.
Reminding you about the clay tablet you have, she says "break it when you need to speak with the Master. Be sure not to waste his time. He can be most unforgiving about that. The Seventh Knot is already close at hand. They arrive tomorrow on a river barge named The Lucky Lady. You should probably meet them and come up with a plan for seeing our master’s will done. It matters not to me of course. Not my problem. Goodbye, dearest, and good luck.”
Gertart scouts the river barge docks after dinner. He rests well, and then makes sure to greet the Lucky Lady disguised as a porter to escort the newcomers through his 'backwater town.'
So on to tomorrow then and meeting up with your fellow comrades in arms?
The next morning, you are all out at the dock to meet The Lucky Lady as she comes into port.
Very shortly after, you spot Elise Zadaria and the rest of the “White Ravens” as they debark the ship. Elise says something to her crew, who start grabbing their gear and preparing to set off into the town, she approaches you and after giving Malleck a firm handshake of greeting, she begins, ”I tell you, that Thiadora is a b$%*@ to be around. Several weeks stuck with her on a ship, I’m glad to be on dry land, and out from under her eyes.” She looks around makes sure no outsiders can overhear the conversation before continuing, “It is my intention in the next few months to have spies set up in every inn, tavern and anywhere else adventurers and explorers might congregate. When you do find the Horn of Abaddon, contact me. For those groups I can’t personally dispatch, I’ll send a messenger with any information I can gather.”
Elise Zadaria – Human Witch
Dostan Alfson – Half Elf Barbarian
Tallus “Trak” Rackburn – Human Ranger
Titus “Trik” Rackburn – Human Cleric
They are the 7th Knot.
Malleck raises an eyebrow. But greets her anyway.
"She is easy on the eyes though. So that makes things easier" he grins
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Elise looks at Malleck with amusement, "if you're into chicks that will eat your face off, then I suppose so. Alright, off we go then."
She turns and heads to help her companions with their gear.
In a hushed voice, "We have secured the aid of Baron Vandemir. He is unaware of your Knot, and I suggest we keep it that way."
"Did she disappear for a couple of hours everynight? That made it much easier for us, and traveling with the Lady was pleasant."
To Elise the blood desecrator comments. "She did have compliments on your skills and I hope you will share the story of your recent success with us?" He offers they should not be seen together and shares our current lodgings. "We should set up a neutral meeting place as well.
ok, so on to the mission, what's the plan here villains?
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Gertrart is fine waiting for a day before exploring the forest. First he sets up a regular meeting time with the Seventh Knot, including a secret signal to meet at other times. Turning the yellow dog dish upside down.
While speaking with Elise, he makes sure to give her the rumors we have heard. Though he is more interested in trading talk of shop, including their story since last we met at that archbishop's. He charmingly share the successes in the north especially the discredited knight, and the golem made of ice.
Gertrart spends the rest of the day finding out about Halleck. Maybe join him for a mid morning bender.
Is there anything specific you want to seek in the town, otherwise we can dive off into the wilderness in search of the Horn!
If it's searching for the Horn we're doing, then it's Perception checks daily, until she's found.
You can all roll separately, or have a main with assisters, or any combination thereof.
Bring plenty of food, who knows how long this will take!
Xeram is your best perceiver, so I'll use him as your base.
Let me try it this way?
22
17
30!
Three days of searching finds it.
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The northern Caer Bryr is a temperate rainforest richly blessed with rain fall and broadleaf trees. The trees here are tall and broad. The thick-trunked baobab tree, unusual in such a wet clime, is common here and grows to enormous size. It is not uncommon to see trees hundreds of feet tall with trunks twenty feet across. To walk into the deep Briar is to enter the domain of giants.
Every flat surface is covered with brilliant green moss and lichens in every hue. Mushrooms of a million sorts proliferate and crowd every fallen log. Small animal life is dense -- squirrels, voles, mice and white-faced ghost monkeys. Birds dwell here in endless variety and dazzling panoramas of plumage are everywhere on display. It is a bountiful place rich and thriving with nature’s splendor.
The Lake of Skye, rarely seen by civilized eyes, fractures into a thousand streams that course through the forest floor. These streams eventually stagnate and fail near the coast becoming the Salt Brack.
The Salt Brack is also blessed with life -- crocodiles, fish, lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, salamanders and birds teem there. The blue-cray, a particularly delicious and rare swamp lobster, can be found hidden in the mud of the Salt Brack if one is brave enough to hunt it. A good
sized live blue-cray can command a 30 gp a head back in Farholde. The Salt Brack is also home to great number of boggard tribes each more loathsome than the last.
Perhaps the single most famous feature of the northern Briar are the great stone spires. They proliferate everywhere in this jungle rising hundreds of feet above the forest floor. Often covered in foliage, they are the home to countless small animals. These are natural spires though the Iraen are full of stories about how they were carved by ancient giants. The beauty of these spires has drawn more than natural creatures. Fey and spirits dwell in and around the stone spires in great abundance.
After three hard days of trudging through unforgiving terrain, you finally arrive at a location that just feels "right," or rather "wrong" which is probably "right" to you. Anyways...
The Horn of Abaddon lies squarely in the middle of the brutal topography and you now understand both its name, and how it was so difficult to find something that was right out in the open all the time.
As you stand around marveling at the Horn, you hear a noise, as if something exceptionally large was approaching through the woods. As you move to hide, a huge tree emerges.
The tree looks you over and declares, "You have happened upon the Horn of Abaddon, a cursed place once of great corruption. It is my sacred charge to see that evil never again takes root here. Who are you and why have you come here?"
Malleck puts his arm across his chest. Bowing low to the great tree.
"Great protector. We are honored by your presence. It is for this very reason we are here. We aim to make sure nothig ever disturbs this unholy ground ever again. We are here to seal it forever."
He doesnt look up as he says this. Keeping his face looking at the ground
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"Indeed? It has been some time since there have been any but plunderers and ne'er do wells that have come here seeking the Horn. Having a stalwart lot such as yourselves here would be beneficial. There is a tribe of boggards that have infested the lower caverns of the place, and with my size, I have been unable to get in there and root them out." He chuckles briefly at his pun. "Best of luck to you, and be strong in the service of Mitra, dark times are coming."
With that, the guardian moves back into the forest, and it is as if he had never come by.
Malleck waits, making sure the piece of firewood is gone before he turns to the group
"You heard him. We may have allies in this place. If we can convince them to help us"
He grins, his elongated teeth showing
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Ok, with those perception checks, the group manages to survey the outside of the Horn and identifies four levels of the complex and four methods of ingress, one per level.
This broad open cave is the only visible entrance to the lower caverns. The many stalactites, stalagmites, and columns of wet living stone resemble nothing so much as fangs contained inside a large loathsome grin. The cave is covered by countless pools of standing fetid water and ubiquitous slicks of mud that make the entire surface of the maw count as difficult terrain.
Of the four conventional ways into the Horn, this is the easiest to get to. You simply walk up a wide set of stairs a hundred feet and arrive at the landing.
The entryway to the second level is accessible via a small winding stairway that hugs the side of the Horn. This small stairway rises almost two hundred feet and is covered in places with thick ropy vines. The entire stairway counts as difficult terrain.
No stairs rise to this grand archway. Instead, to enter here you must either fly or climb. To climb is no simple feat. This entranceway rises more than two hundred feet above the cavernous entry (C1) far below. The easiest way is to climb from the entrance to level 2 (2-1). This still involves a ninety foot angled ascent (adequate handholds, DC 15 Climb skill check). It is far easier to fly or levitate to the entrance.
"I suggest we work our way up. Start at the bottom, do a complete search of the entire place. We have enough food to last us atleast one more week. We make sure we comb through the entire Horn. Leave nothing to chance"
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Sounds good to me. If the group said "we're doing a left hand search" or right, whatever, I could give you the descriptions of each room in sequence, only stopping when some challenge needs resolved.
It's a big dungeon!
"Bapho, why don't you and Xixik handle the scouting here? Flying invisible, you should easily avoid anything that lurks here. Provided you two can keep your mouths shut long enough..."
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So I'll just slowly move you through the dungeon, invisible imps out front taking 10/20 etc?
Gertart touches his brow and adopts a boggard disguise.
Sounds good to me. If the group said "we're doing a left hand search" or right, whatever, I could give you the descriptions of each room in sequence, only stopping when some challenge needs resolved.
It's a big dungeon!
Following Gartrart lead, Taeral disguises himself as a boggard also.
"'Answer the call, and guide the mankind to evil', they say... 'Prepare a harvest of souls for the Dark Prince'. And do I get to perform great deeds for Asmodeus? Do I cause men to Fall? Noooo... Bapho gets to scour dark tunnels while these so-called 'masters of evil' sit on their fat arses, picking their noses... I ought to - "
" - What's that? Oooh, shiny!"
I have posted up a map of the Lower Caverns, so I can just give you location information based on the room numbers.
C1 - This broad open cave is the only visible entrance to the lower caverns. The many stalactites, stalagmites, and columns of wet living stone resemble nothing so much as fangs contained inside a large loathsome grin. The cave is covered by countless pools of standing fetid water and ubiquitous slicks of mud that make the entire surface of the maw count as difficult terrain from the entrance to the dotted-line more than forty feet in.
C1a – the two imps report back that there are a pair of seemingly bored boggard sentries in this area.
So what's the plan?
"Time to go say hello. Best not kill them if we do not have to. They could be useful" he grins as he heads to where the imps direct him
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"Greetings sentry' bogertrartgerd says. "This one just slayed a big treeman outside. The one that keeps complaining about not being able to clean us out of our tunnels. he fakes a froggy laugh & points at malleck.
The two boggards look, and act, very confused, as one of them responds in Boggard.
"This is inconvenient... who here can speak this language, I sure cant" he grumbles
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Not knowing the language Gertrart makes his best effort to mimic the words said to him; lightly slower; slightly jumbled while gesturing how awesome Malik's fight with the tree man was.
Not knowing the language Gertrart makes his best effort to mimic the words said to him; lightly slower; slightly jumbled while gesturing how awesome Malik's fight with the tree man was.
The two boggards shrug at each other, turn and run back towards C4.
"I hope they went to fetch their common-speaking cousin, and not call the whole tribe to arms..."
"Same here, i am in no hurry to be swamped by these... things"
Taeral casts message on the group and relays what he remembers about the creature to the group.
"Taeral, I will let you do the croaking." Gerboggart finds a place near the door to conceal himself.