The Crucible of Freya (Inactive)

Game Master Grimmy

Kevezyat stands still, breathing deeply, watching her friends search the fallen priest and his acolyte.

Taking a handful of the priest's robes , she cleans orc and priest blood from it's blade, then once clean returns it to it's scabbard.

She wiggles her fingers, the tingling sensation of the holy purpose she'd invoked against the priest slowly draining from her body.

Turning at Damien's suggestion, she kneels and produces a flask of oil, "A sound precaution, Lieutenant, considering what happened to the acolyte downstairs."

She looks to Janna after Damien asks her for her opinion...

At Kevezyat's word's Vhillish allows himself a prideful twitch of his 'tache.

"Indeed Mistress Faen. Dead and buried should stay dead and buried whot!"

The stalwart gnome produces a tindertwig from his service bandoleer, offering it to Janna.

After the healing Sam rise to chech on Knotty.

"We got him?"

Standing in the hallway, Damien's doubles slowly dissolve back into a singular person. He sighs, "Yeah son, we got 'em. Should have bought us a sliver of peace. Though reserves are running low."

Our 10 min per level buffs should be wearing out any time now too, yeah? My heroism having about two or three min extra over the barkskin.

The cracked bowl, Jerrid puts out of the way in his backpack when he notices it. Jerrid sorts through the books and anything to do with spells is put into one pile. Anything to do with Orcus another. The gnome also goes through the scrolls he had already taken from the library.

Our 10 min per level buffs should be wearing out any time now too, yeah? My heroism having about two or three min extra over the barkskin.

Jerrid has had time to get downstairs and start going through books, so a few more minutes have passed. The buffs will expire soon but nothing is attacking you now.

Janna breaths a sigh of relief at the conclusion of all the fighting.

Looking to Villish, don't suppost you could spare some of that stuff for me as well? indicating the flask of whisky he had offered to Damien.

eventually the topic of burning the bodies came up. before giving any answer she goes to Vortigern's remains. checking through everything for something a little more that just a magic item or coin. something that may be more personal. She had known him for some time. and with his demise a burden was lifted. but it also felt like she had lost an old friend.

Make dem listen, shoulda listen. Dem magic she whispers in her old childhood language, the language of the streets.

Standing up having found all she could from his corpse. Flame for dem, I mean burn them

The imp could have carried something too. -

Leoven Read the books to see if some info in there complements his knowledge about the stuff related to the shard.

Janna accepts the ring Thank you. though, If I find what I am looking for, then maybe someone else can take this ring. Janna trying to be modest in her taking some of the treasure.

Finally Janna made it past the door. her first trip into the vault area.

she seems a bit lost in everything in there. she immediately starts to browse through the books, recalling the time she first met Vortigern, the library of his old master.

Damien shrugs at her offer to share the ring, "Either way, hang onto it for now. I'd rather not be the one obligated to get set on fire just to show off.", he says dryly.

Moving over to the cultist, Damien picks up the mace, wincing slightly as he feels it's imbued evil travel up his arm. Considering for a moment, he cuts a piece of cloth from the cultist's clothes and uses it to wrap the mace with a mildly disgusted expression, "Miserable thing but it'd be a shame to just leave it." If nothing else, the former soldier knew there were always those willing to buy such things, if you knew how to ask the right questions. Or perhaps Shandril would want it as a trophy?

Stowing the unholy weapon, Damien grabs the unconscious cultist's heels and drags the man towards the nearby kitchen with the fireplace, "Kev, give me a hand with the others..."

D7 in the room with the fireplace, yes? Man it was all the way back on page 74 when we were first in here. So much has happened!"

Once out of sight, he grabs the dagger from his belt and slices the man's throat with little ceremony. The obvious choice or not, cold killing took a toll, best it rest on as few shoulders as was needed.

Cleaning his knife quickly, Damien puts it away and shoves the corpse into the large fireplace. The way Eralion had gone in the last years, he couldn't help but wonder if this was the first body burned here?

Okay so once the bodies are dealt with, I would ideally like to take a quick check of the second level of the donjon before heading back downstairs. See if the cultists kept anything up there?

Correct! D7 is the Kitchen with the chimney that goes up to the roof.

Was that the priest or the acolyte you just killed? They were both stabile and unconscious.

Who is going with Damien to cruise the donjon? This whole level was cleared previously he is just looking for clues.

Downstairs Leoven and Jerrid begin the long job of going through books. Jerrid remembers the words the crypt thing said.

Eralion leaves you this message. He swears fealty to prince Orcus. He looks forward to an eternity of unlife for his service. The Shard of Corruption is installed. It was smelted from the Heart of Innocence on the Brass Anvil. The water is spoiled. The dead drink, and soar in the shadows. Let no one living or dead disturb this great work.

As Janna enters, the surroundings do indeed remind her somewhat of Feriblan the Mad in Reme. But Feriblan was scatterbrained and eccentric. This is the room of someone with a purpose. A wizard who loved Thyr, but wanted to live forever so badly he became consumed.

Jerrid finds the volumes on Orcus and Necromancy outweigh the other schools of magic, and have been more recently used. It seems before turning to necromancy Eralion was an elementalist. The rumors of demons helping him build his keep were obviously false, it would have been elementals he summoned to do that work.

Searching under "B", Jerrid finds many references to brass, some relating to the elemental plane of fire. He seems to be getting somewhere.

At Janna's request for a drop of the good stuff, Vhillish nods dutifully and recovers bottle and cup.

Using his innate magicks (Prestidigitation) he cleans the tin mug, making it gleam.

"There. Befitting of a Lady such as yourself Mistress Janna..."

He tips a little of the spirit into the shining mug with a wry smile and wrinkle of his moustache, then hands it to Janna;

"There you go Mistress... Will warm your soul that drop! Whot!"

Vhillish will accompany his former CO (of course) unless otherwise required to serve more nips of Scotch ;)

You two want to take ten on perception or roll?

They can take 20 I would guess

I suppose you're right.

When Vhilish and Damien reach a personal chamber in the room east of the stairwell D iv they both notice something... the wall is false. There is a seem at the edges of a section of flagstone. It appears it can be rotated. A secret door.

Oh right, that was the cultist. For some reason I'd assumed the acolyte was dead. In that case Damien would follow suite with the acolyte. Even the kindest among us seems to draw the line at demon worship.

Once the three corpses are piled into the fireplace, Damien douses them in the oil provided by Kevezyat, as well as any other flammables that might be found in the kitchen. Striking Vhillish's tindertwig on the mantle, the former lieutenant sets the lot ablaze, "Good Riddance..."

Wrinkling his nose, the veteran ushers the others out of the kitchen as the fire takes hold. Hardly unfamiliar, the stench of burning flesh was never the less something you never got used to.

Nodding to those remaining, Damien hefts his hammer, "The Deputy and I are gonna do a little reconnoitering upstairs. We'll holler if we run into trouble."

Assume you mean Vhillish and Damien, yeah? I was prepared to take 10 but Leo is correct, we have a good deal of time here. The reading downstairs is likely to take a while.

Upstairs, the two veterans toss the rooms with practiced efficiency. A small smile touches the corner of Damien's mouth as they spot the seam, "Well well. Arbalest at the ready Deputy, never know what might be within."

Putting up his hammer Damien draws his shortsword before carefully tracking the length of the seam, looking for anything that might betray the presence of a trigger for some nasty surprise.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

If he comes up with nothing, he nods once more to the Deputy before putting shoulder to panel and slowly pushing it open.

fixed!

When the secret door creeks open, Damien and Vhillish are peering into a small hidden room, 5' x 10'. The light spills in from behind them to show a very narrow stair spiraling downwards into darkness. Thick dust cloaks the ground and thin spider webs hang down from the low ceiling.

The stairwell is steep and 3' wide. Not too small for a human to use, but very restrictive.

Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

Staring into the darkness below, Damien sighs, "Hasn't been disturbed in ages. Probably predates the old fart's undead fetish but who know's what's down there. Better grab Kev and a few of the others..."

Leaving the Deputy for a few moments, Damien heads back down to the ground level and gathers whoever still on that level, "Hidden passage upstairs, could use some backup. Kev, care to take point?"

Damien will lead whoever wants to help back upstairs to investigate the passage. He'll follow behind the first one down with shortsword and shield. He'll use Dancing Lights as a light source if we don't have another.

Vhillish dutifully accompanies his former lieutenant; the dynamics when the two reconnoiter is defined by familiar movements and drilled practices.

"Secret door indeed sah. Ready to proceed on your orders sah!"

The doughty veteran nods sage-like at Damien's summary, and he maintains an overwatch while the duelist calls on reinforcements.

Vhillish also conjures Dancing Lights if necessary - need to remember he has that innate majicks!

Kevezyat help load the priest and acolyte into the fireplace and stands watching them burn.

Shaking her head, "That such men, talented, would waste their lives with such evil...A terrible shame.." she comments, more to herself than anyone else.

She remains at the fireside as Damien and Vhillish industriously search the donjon , resolutely muttering prayers to Freya for the safe conduct of the souls of the evil priest and his acolyte. Though certain they'd made their way into the foul pits of the Abyss, she felt it her duty to at least try.

Her rituals are interrupted by Damien's call.

Finding the two standing before the small staircase, she says, "Ah, you've found a secret... well done! I will take the fore..."

Sizing up the entranceway to the stairs and the descending spiral itself, she pulls her flail from her belt, and edges into the stairs, Valkyria scraping along the wall.

"A tight fit..." she observes, before looking downward and descending...

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

As Kevezyat descends the stairs, she catches the flicker of torchlight below.

A 10' wide passageway stands at the bottom of the narrow stairway. After 15' a stout wooden door bars further progress. Above the door, a carving of a dwarf-like creature with a beard and mane of flames.

I feel ignored D:

Oh no! I can tell what you find in the books, but I thought we were saving that for after the football game.

Kevezyat steps out of the stairway and makes way for Damien and Vhillish to exit.

She looks up at the figure curiously, then to the others, "Is that familiar to either of you?"

Oh no! I can tell what you find in the books, but I thought we were saving that for after the football game.

I'm south american, I would understand it if it were a soccer game :P

At Janna's request for a drop of the good stuff, Vhillish nods dutifully and recovers bottle and cup.

Using his innate magicks (Prestidigitation) he cleans the tin mug, making it gleam.

"There. Befitting of a Lady such as yourself Mistress Janna..."

He tips a little of the spirit into the shining mug with a wry smile and wrinkle of his moustache, then hands it to Janna;

"There you go Mistress... Will warm your soul that drop! Whot!"

Vhillish will accompany his former CO (of course) unless otherwise required to serve more nips of Scotch ;)

Janna takes the mug and smiles at the way Villish takes the time to clean the mug and treating her in such a polite way.

she sniffs the drink and trys to drink it down "like one of the guys" but that is very short lived as the obvious signs appear that she has never had anything like that before.

She quickly hand the mugs back trying to get her voice, Thanks, just like my younger days

Her face betrays that little lie...

Janna began looking through the books more interested in what Eralion had worked on before the undead fascination.

While Damien and Vhilish are sweeping the donjon, Leoven is searching the library for more info about the shard of corruption. He finds out that the shard can corrupt water, and any soul that perishes while in contact with the water, or having drunk the water, is absorbed into the shard, to be released as a shadow.

The heart of innocence is a reference found in the books, but it is never fully explained. It seems it has something to do with a sacrifice made by a mortal arcanist in order for the shard to be forged. The cult can not make the shard themself. They need to tempt a follower of the light who also has arcane knowledge.

Jerrid finds the volume on the Brass Anvil. It seems whatever the heart of innocence was, it had to be smelted on an anvil from the elemental plane of fire to make it sturdy enough to contain the dark magics to become the shard of corruption.

posting this from mobile, more to come soon

Vhillish allows his own conjured lighting to close to the doors and their carving.

His moustache wrinkles as he surveys the image;

"Not one I'm familar with Mistress Faen... whot..."

@DMG: Presuming Knowledge (Local) won't cut it in this case?

nope this one would be knowledge: planes

I'm in a similar boat :P

Damien frowns, "Me either, god, elemental, I know not. Wouldn't touch it though. I'd rather have the scouts give it a once over first. I'll fetch some of the others."

So you said there was torchlight. I'm assuming everburning torches?

Backtracking and then heading downstairs, Damien makes his way to Eralion's study where the others are pouring over the wizard's books, "How's progress? Something's definitely hidden upstairs, the sort of thing likely to be trapped in fact. Need someone with the expertise to check out the door."

"There's a statue too, dwarf with fire for hair and beard ring any bells with anyone?"

Damien will lead back anyone wanting to check out the door.

The torches are in sconces on the walls, flickering despite the stillness of the air and burning strong despite the great span of time since they have been tended to. Definitely magical.

don't know anything planes: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

sorry never heard of anything like that. I do know other planes exist but I don't think we learned that. heck I don't think I learned much of anything really.

Janna gets back to trying to decipher some of the older tomes.

Oh as far as traps, yeah, they don't like me either.

BTW, my dice rolls will always betray anything my character probably should know. I don't think I made any knowledge checks this entire adventure

Planes: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16

It could be an Azer, a creature from the Elemental planes of fire.

We should not be exposing ourselves more than necessary, we are down in resources and we should concentrate in reinforcing a position in case of an unexpected attack.

The trio studying the books will eventually turn up the following facts:

a journal entry in Eralion's log:

".... The shard has not been activated by their ritual yet and already I have observed it's power. I sacrificed the servants lives.... It was nothing compared to my first sacrifice... I did it without a second thought. The shard drew their spirits out of them when they died. They flew into shadow as the cult promised. I thought it was only poetry or riddles but they actually fly in the shadows. Walls do not contain them. Only the glyphs on the great door confine them to my crypt. They harm me not, though I know they are hungry. They sleep now inside the shard.. The cult promises a great trembling of the earth that shall awaken them. It could be generations from now. Next I must create guardians, to protect the shard, until the time is right for the ritual. Then the cult will come to retrieve it. I will send my key, my amulet, to Feriblan for safekeeping. He is mad. He will give it to them when they come to call."

Janna finds a reference to a treasure vault, somewhere in this keep, behind "The Azer door".

Arcane: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18
Planes: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29
Religion: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

Just an "aid other" away from all the info

Arcane: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Just an "aid another" away from an "aid another".

The deep gnome yawns and follows Damien with a nod. "Too many books spoil the trapsmith."

I agree with you 100% Leo, but for the moment I'm just wanting to keep busy as the research happens. I'm sure Janna can make that aid another, but at the moment the rest of us are pretty short on information. Since we have the info ready, might be best if we all go check out the Azer door together and share what you've learned as we go?

Damien considers Leo's reply, "Plane of fire...lot of talk of otherworldly fire and forges lately. Might be important. Not part of the crypt though, unlikely to be anything as sinister as Eralion was capable of. We've enough strength left for this yet. Grab your gear, shouldn't take long but we should have all hands on deck before unsealing anything new."

Once we all know about that journal entry at least, we should be able to make a more coordinated plan.

Janna Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20 aid another for Leo

"This means we get to explore another exciting place. Let me go in first!!"

Damien leads the way to the secret stair. At the bottom of the cramped stair the 10' wide hall leads to the Azer door bathed in flickering light from the magical torches.

Janna, Leo and Jerrid can all read the knowledge spoilers, call it a group effort. One or more of you should fill in the rest of the group I would think.

Everyone let me know what you're doing.

Vhillish eyes the door with vigilant interest;

"So what are we dealing with here... Weal? Woe? Whot-whot?"

I added this area on the map, it's D15 on the "ground floor donjon" level.

Leoven Frowns.

This seems to be quite big. That shard have to be destroyed... - Eitylen make a pause to check his companions responses.

Kn about Fey lines?: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Ley-lines are mana lines... paths of magic energy running through the land... where they criss-cross you can open a portal to other planes more easily. Eralion's notes say he did this somewhere in the foothills of the stoneheart mountains, but there is no map in the library to show the location. This is how he accessed the brass anvil to forge the shard.

It seems the cult was here to take the shard and use it to poison the water near a major city like Bard's Gate or Endhome. The crypt thing is guarding the shard.

The cultists are doing a ritual far away in the mountains, and that has something to do with the earthquake. It might be making the shard stronger, or releasing souls that the shard has trapped. It seems when the earthquake started, that is when the water turned foul.

Damien leads the way to the secret stair. At the bottom of the cramped stair the 10' wide hall leads to the Azer door bathed in flickering light from the magical torches.

Janna, Leo and Jerrid can all read the knowledge spoilers, call it a group effort. One or more of you should fill in the rest of the group I would think.

Everyone let me know what you're doing.

easiest knowledge checks I'll ever not roll...unless there is a chance to get extra info?

ok I tried to move Janna into the room but she is buried under the main map.

Janna carefully steps into the hallway, mutter some arcane word that carry magic like a feather in the wind. soon aura's of magic are revealed to her.

detect magic centered on the door

spellcraft just in case: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

yeah, might as well not bother casting that, I am not sure if she knows what magic is with that roll

Kevezyat had watches curiously over the scholar's shoulders, trying to glean for herself some little knowledge of the cultist's endeavours.

Ultimately, as they all stand before the strange door, she nods to Leoven, "Indeed, Leo, destroyed. This was a labour a long time in thought and deed by these vile cultists. It will be a considerable blow to their efforts if we can destroy their work. "

She pauses, thinking, "If we can somehow determine where in the mountains the others lurk....but that can wait, let us see what is within this 'treasure vault', perhaps something to aid our efforts to find the brass anvil..."