Revival of the Runelords (Inactive)

Game Master Cellion

Holding onto the scroll case for later, you settle into the magically cozy dwelling. Outside may be a supernaturally icy tomb, but the inside is nice and warm and free of horrors trying to end your lives.

Hazy, choking dreams haunt you over a long night. Endless rows of pale, insubstantial figures. Floor upon floor of shelves rising upward as you fall past them. The people you've fought alongside these past weeks and months, turned to undeath and now hungering for whoever remains. Sensations of regret and sorrow. The feeling of your own body slowly drying and desiccating. And then finally the oblivion of forgetting.

It's not an easy slumber, but you awaken rested enough for a new day. With your previous trials still fresh in your mind, a new clarity springs within you.

With the recovery of the codex and defeat of the Black Monk, you all Advance to 12th level!

Feeling far better than he had a tight to after that fight and that night, Guiness wakes up and goes to look outside the magical dwelling. He spends some time looking around the area to see if there are any unexplored secret exits or undiscovered loot while he waits for the others to awake.

Perception: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22

Having no spells to prepare, and her god being a being that values action over ritual, Ziva joins her comrade in patrolling the--tome? Vault?--they find themselves in.

Perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (5) + 17 = 22

"Are you feeling recovered, Master Guiness? We are fortunate to have found such a talented healer in our Astrid...though I admit, it discomfits me that this Karzoug person is so careless in the enemies he makes. What if his confidence is not misplaced? He cannot be as powerful as he seems to think he is, can he?"

”If he indeed is a Runelord of Legend, he embodies one of the darker flaws of our nature in mystical form. Let us hope he is not truly such an avatar, for how can one kill a sin?” replies Guiness somberly.

”Sorry for my glum attitude this morning, Ziva,” he adds, trying to add levity to his remarks, ”It seems the past few days have brought us several brushes with death, and I care not to be so groomed.”

What a wonderful turn of phrase Guiness :)

Emerging from the cozy room, you take a look around the ice-cold tomb. Ice still keeps the floors slick, but with care where you step you can make your way around the room's perimeter. Niches evenly spaced around the room hold stone slabs marking the graves of some ancient figures. The text on the slabs is mostly intact, and the Thassilonian-readers among you can make out the names and titles of monks within some ancient Order. A single stone slab, to the north, is missing.

There's no obvious undiscovered loot, but you could potentially open these graves and inspect them for anything that might be interred with their occupants.

The rope you came down on yesterday is still hanging in place, covered in a very thin layer of frost.

Guiness will focus on the missing stone slab to the north, trying to determine if there is any hidden or secret passage there, or if they have plumbed the depths of this tower already...

Perception: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23

Where the missing stone slab would have sat, Guiness sees a shallow, stone-lined grave. Other than a thin lining of ancient dust, it appears to be empty. As far as he can tell, there are no passages there. It seems you've plumbed the full extent of the Black Tower's crypt.

Perception: 1d20 + 25 ⇒ (2) + 25 = 27

Astrid, feeling significantly better after a decent night's rest, emerges shortly after the others. She looks around the room with a skeptical expression upon her face.

After looking around a bit longer, Guiness straightens up and says, "Looks like we are done here. Kellek, did you get that scroll figured out? We should get going soon if there is nothing else to find here."

As mentioned before, if you'd like to try to open the scroll case, two options are: a series of disable device checks to crack the intricate combination lock, or a series of Intelligence checks to decipher the cryptic Thassilonian messages that hint as to how to open the case. Whichever you choose to do, give me 5 of the chosen check at once.

After looking around a bit longer, Guiness straightens up and says, "Looks like we are done here. Kellek, did you get that scroll figured out? We should get going soon if there is nothing else to find here."

Looks up from his spellbook inquiringly over at Colvyn and clears his throat.

"Mouse! Level up already and let's get going. This hut only lasts twenty-two hours. Open the scroll case."

Even though Kellek doesn't have access to fox's cunning he's still smart enough to know that a +25 bonus to disable device is significantly better than his +5 bonus to Int even though the DCs are probably different. ;)

If he can, Kellek will stand over Colvyn's shoulder and aid the other. Some skill check-enhancing magic would probably be good too.

Assuming Colvyn gets a Guidance for each roll:
Disable Device w/ Guidance: 1d20 + 25 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 25 + 1 = 30
Disable Device w/ Guidance: 1d20 + 25 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 25 + 1 = 45
Disable Device w/ Guidance: 1d20 + 25 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 25 + 1 = 28
Disable Device w/ Guidance: 1d20 + 25 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 25 + 1 = 30
Disable Device w/ Guidance: 1d20 + 25 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 25 + 1 = 29

Colvyn gets in there, carefully spinning the cylinders and listening for the clicks as the internal mechanisms rearrange themselves. As you watch him however, you can tell from his expression that the sounds aren't quite what he was expecting. Only one of his movements resulted in something he was satisfied by. The rest only leave him more baffled. Worse, as he releases the cylinder you notice his eyes seem a little unfocused and his movements a little slower than before. He explains that even after he's no longer trying to unlock the device, some portion of his mind seems trapped in a loop of analyzing those strange mechanisms. (Colvyn takes 2 INT drain)

I could have Colvyn attempt it again, but depends on how you guys feel about it.

(Guiness would be happy for Colvyn to try again, but perhaps he has a feel for how tough the try was or an idea of if he needs to get 5 successes in a row or just 5 total...That could affect the choice.)

Seems tough, and needs 5 in a row.

Placing a hand on Colvyn's shoulder, Ziva gently but firmly takes the case from him. "It's clearly affecting you, and we don't know enough about it. Like you said, it's kept for many centuries--a little longer won't hurt. We can study it and try again when we're better prepared."

No sense hurting ourselves over it right now, we all need to be in tip top shape in case of further danger. Let's check in with Conna but otherwise I think it might be time to head back to Sandpoint!

When you climb back up the rope you find the doors in the upstairs chamber closed, and glowing with dark violet runes that skitter across their surface. When you try them, you find that they're sealed tight and don't budge.

”How much time do we have before the giantess restores the wards and traps us in here?” asks Guiness, ”Should we send a message that we are still alive and require more time to continue our explorations?”

Guiness thanks Astrid for the healing, offering them all some stout Dwarven ale after the battle for those that partake.

”It seems like the giants were not overly patient for our return,” says Guiness, ”We need to get back to the people we rescued and escort them back to Sandpoint.”

Indeed, how would you like to attempt to do so?

"Given what lurked within I can't say I fault them for their caution," Ziva shrugs at the sealed door. "First, let us escape this tower. As for our new charges--unless we wish to risk an overland trek we must rely on Master Zaderan's talents, I think."

Do we still have the adamantine longsword, or did Kargas keep it?

"Given what lurked within I can't say I fault them for their caution," Ziva shrugs at the sealed door. "First, let us escape this tower. As for our new charges--unless we wish to risk an overland trek we must rely on Master Zaderan's talents, I think."

"Ooor perhaps our replacement cleric or woodland rodent could use a spell like grace of the feline to increase Colvyn's chances of success? Unless you want me to to take the time to research an arcane version of the spell as anything a god can bestow a wizard can (with time) emulate." says the wizard.

"As for leaving I would assume that whatever keeps the spirits in probably forestalls teleportation as well."

Kellek would want to check the walls for magic auras to see if there were any abjurations, and then bore a hole in the wall to see if it is lined with metal before trying to teleport out.

Secretly at this point, Kellek assumes that whatever haunts the place still does, and they are not done here yet. Though since he had no real interest in coming in here in the first place, and even less interest in helping the marauding giants with their ghost issues, he would be content to spend a week or so here crafting scrolls and researching spells in his secure shelter, at least until the ghosts reform. ;)

Seeing the effect of failing to open the scroll case on Colvyn, Kellek has no interest in trying it himself unless it is at uttermost need.

"I suggest we get comfy. We may be here a while."

Kellek goes off to make some more that acrid black stuff he's always drinking over the fire in his magical shelter. When he returns with his steaming mug, he checks the walls for auras.

Don't remember exactly on the longsword, except I seem to dimly remember Kellek having it at one point.

Kellek finds that the interior walls of the Black Tower are now reinforced with auras of abjuration that seem self-sustaining in some fashion. This abjuration is clearly designed for the containment of ghostly entities, blocking their passage and also reinforcing the physical strength of the existing structure (improved hardness!). It may be possible to suppress the ward with dispel magic for a few seconds to allow someone to start smashing through the heavy stone, then repeat until a way out is formed. More practically however, while the space is well designed to trap ghosts, it does nothing to prevent teleportation.

Astrid frowns, hesitating before she actually says anything.

"There is a spell that could aid our escape from this place, but it's risky," she says, "and would involve traveling the border of the Boneyard."

Since it takes us to another plane, I think Open the Dead Roads counts enough to bypass the wards sealing us in here.

”If teleportation works, we could just teleport to the cave where we left the Sandpoint citizens and lead them home from there,” suggests Guiness.

Open the Dead Roads would work, if you'd like.

In interest of keeping us moving, I'll assume you do so... BTW, you've already brought all the people you rescued back to Sandpoint.

Astrid draws on her magic, casting the whole group of you out of the Material Plane and through the mists until you arrive with an unpleasant lurch upon the ancient cobblestones of an unknown road. Fog stretches in all directions as cold, clammy air seems to reach out to grip your flesh. Up ahead, directly above the road, hangs a glowing disk, somehow both obscured by the mist and perfectly clear. It's ominous presence is the only thing that seems to light the scene as it watches you unceasingly.

Your trip on the Dead Roads is mercifully short, less than an hour's walk before Astrid suggests that it is time to disembark to allow her spell to return the group to the realm of the living. When you step off the road and into the fog, hand in hand, you feel a sensation of falling, like waking from a nightmare. Then abruptly, you're free.

The warm sun shines down on you from your perch at the base of the Old Light, looking out into the sparkling waves of the Varisian Gulf. You turn and see the town of Sandpoint behind you, safe from the threat of the giants, but perhaps soon to be at risk from a far more dangerous foe in the form of this Karzoug you've learned about.

You may want to reflect on what you learned in the library of the Therassic Monastery and discuss what you want to do next.

”So is this structure what remains of a Hellstorm Flume, or did I not fully understand what you found in the library, Kellek?” asks Guiness.

”We should probably head to the tavern to learn what has happened in our absence—and perhaps get some proper food and beverage,” he adds.

Eyeing the lighthouse ruins skeptically, Ziva shrugs and moves to follow Guiness to the Rusty Dragon Inn. "It does not look especially hellish, to me." After checking on how their rescued charges from Jorgenfist, she sends a youth to alert the town's leaders so they can be brought up to speed.

Though the mission against the giants had taken only a few weeks, it seems as though it's been far long since you've been back, having experienced all you've had recently. You swing open the doors of the Rusty Dragon Inn to be greeted by a warm, wafting smell of spiced bread and stew cooking. Within, you find Ameiko, who urges you all take a seat before you can even ask anything, and makes sure you each have a full mug and bowl before she answers.

"Don't you worry, the folks you rescued are all on their way. Some caught a wagon out toward Galduria and Nybor. Our own, well, they're back at their manor, for better or worse. Titus was the worst of those Scarnetti family, and from what Delarah and Elisse have said, he was the first to get chosen by the giants. So we can take that as a little blessing." She gives a half smile "Not to say you weren't doing the right thing in going to rescue them, but there's plenty of people around town who were feeling rightly relieved when they were kidnapped."

She shakes her head "Anyway, that's old news. Did you see the sinkhole in Tower Street on your way into town? Right next to the Garrison. Now that's an enigma and a half, and not a pleasant one. The first set of guards they sent to investigate disappeared. Rig and Kargas led another group down after that, most of which managed to make it back." She scowls, looking off into the distance for a moment "He said he found fresh sinspawn, yeth hounds, and some kind of horrible ooze. The sinkhole sounds like it opened up to those chambers some of you explored back when, well, when Tsuto did what he did."

She's quiet for a moment as she remembers the unpleasant experience before adding "Kargas said the collapse breached an even deeper part of those Catacombs. Since we weren't sure if you would make it back, he went down to Magnimar to see if he could hire some skilled adventurers to brave the depths with him and Rig. Rig's been keeping an eye on things in the mean time. Other than the noises, nothing more dangerous has come out... at least for now."

She laughs "Considering all the existential threats we've had this year, I think I'm starting to get used to them. At least it's not a dragon this time."

"Perhaps the Scarnettis' experience will be a catalyst for personal growth?" Ziva shrugs and turns her attention instead to the sinkhole report. "You have explored part of this complex before? Whatever's in there is very interesting to the enemies of Sandpoint, we should have a look right away instead of waiting for Master Stormscar to return."

”Aye, little enough rest for the weary,” says Guiness, ”Let’s be about the next step in our journey.”

(Any loot distribution we need to do? Guiness is sorely feeling the lack of mobility when it comes to flying foes—he could use some powerful thrown weapons or a magic item to grant him flight.)

Ameiko pours herself a couple fingers of wine and responds dryly "Kargas and Rig explored it without me. At least the upper level, the part Kargas, Rig, Cade, Flo and Colvyn had cleared out before." (Interestingly, between folks who left OOC or IC, only Colvyn was part of that original team!) "Since you're here, I'm sure the Mayor and Father Zantus would be happy to have your help with the investigation. And with clearing out whatever horrid thing is down there."

the Adventuring Party of Theseus is holding on by its fingernails!

The corner of Astrid's mouth curls upward into a smile, imagining the huge half-orc trying to round up an adventuring party of his own in the big city.

So what's the plan first?

”I’d rather not leave for a shopping trip while a gaping wound in the earth leading to danger unknown threatens the town. Let us replenish what supplies we can swiftly here and go investigate this hole,” suggests Guiness.

"Agreed," Astrid says with a nod. "In the meantime, I'll consult my charts and see if there's any clues to be gleaned from them."

Gonna cast commune, we get 12 questions. Anyone want to help think of some?

Hmm…Maybe ask what preparations we should make before heading down into the hole. Ask what manner of creatures await below?

Astrid takes out her charts and begins to study. As she does, she ponders this mysterious fissure that has opened, the complex that lies below, and the Hellstorm Flume in general. As the fog clears, the reedy, echoing voice of one of Pulura's divine servants surfaces in her mind.

Alright, so with commune you get questions answerable with a yes or a no. We've got 7 total questions, but they're not yes/no style. Want to reword them?

Also, happy holidays all. We'll be slow rolling through the next few days, but I hope we pick things back up as we approach the new year!

Ziva's first few questions quickly yield results thanks to Astrid's divine connection...

1. Is the complex below a Hellstorm Flume?

Yes and No

Are there still active wards within the site?

Yes

3. Is the site's original purpose still functional?

No

4. Are there constructs within the site?

No

5. Are there there evil outsiders within the site?

Yes