Petros Lorrimor was dead, and the principals in his will were called to his funeral. The biggest surprise of the day was two women each named Miri who looked enough alike to be twins. Most people ignored that mystery, however, and concentrated on the matter at hand.
Rather apologetically, Kendra Lorrimor said that Father Grimburrow had specified that "Ovidiu the Apostate" was not to be permitted as a pallbearer. The two Miris volunteered, along with Arlyxannah and Isenwen. Ovidiu joined the procession, with Ka'kutah (a Garundi halfling), several locals, and a fancily-dressed gentleman.
Part way along, some locals stopped the procession and accused the professor of having been a necromancer. Before Kendra could explode the Miris stepped in and calmed things down. While the ringleader (an older gentleman named Gibs) seemed unrepentant, the other men all slunk off. Miri Vishki talked to Zokar, the local tavern keeper, and made arrangements to pay off Gibs' bar tab.
The reading of the will was largely uneventful. The heroes discovered that they were requested to spend a month in Ravengro, which they accepted with good grace. The spent a couple of days helping Kendra get organized and getting to know some people of the town. There were some minor mysteries, and Arlyxannah seemed convinced that the professor's accident was related to her own mother's recent demise.
There was one awkward moment, when the fancilly-dressed gentleman showed up at Lorrimor Manor the day after the funeral and letting everyone know he was available for the reading of the will at Kendra's convenience. When he discovered that his presence was not requested he left town. The group learned that his name was Adivion Adressant ("Uncle Adivion" to Kendra) and that he had paid for resurrection to be cast on Petros, who had declined to return. Adivion Adressant was bemused by the Miris, and when Miri Vishki had asked him if she could also call him "Uncle Adivion" he said yes.
A hint about a secret stash in a false mausoleum got the group out to the Restlands again, this time to break into a crypt. Ovidiu felt profoundly uncomfortable with this.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 1)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 1)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 1)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1)
Ovidiu (human cleric 1 in need of atonement)
After Ovidiu and Isinwen had departed the Restlands, the others proceeded to break into the crypt. Within the lone sarcophagus inside they discovered the items they had been expecting, but first they were forced to fight off some giant centipedes. With the items in tow but no one capable of determining whether any were magical (let alone what they might do) they went back to Lorrimor Manor to consult with Kendra.
Kendra said that she wanted to spend some time examining the objects, so the group said they'd make some lunch for her. While they were doing that, Miri V and Ka'kutah decided to play with the spirit board. They fought off a compulsion to act according to someone else's will, and then had one question answered: "Are you Professor Lorrimor?" "No." They set aside the spirit board with all due haste.
They decided to return to the Harrowstone memorial and stake it out. While there they saw a little girl bringing flowers and placing them in the fountain. She was reluctant to talk to them, but become more willing after they defended her from some very big ravens that attacked her. They helped her get home, then returned to the memorial.
When two teenagers came to the memorial and also got attacked, the group decided that it was time to involve the church. Father Grimburrow was initially skeptical, saying that what they were describing was unlikely without a major surge in negative energy, but they produced enough evidence that he came around. They went back to stay the night at the memorial, but nothing else took place.
They slept most of the next morning, then decided to do some research. They read books in Lorrimor Manor, the church of Pharasma, the town hall, and the Unfurling Scroll. They learned some things about some of the dead prisoners in Harrowstone and decided to return to see Kendra. It was getting dark, but they still managed to see someone who seemed very drunk in an alley. He turned out to be undead, so they burned him up.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 1)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 1)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1)
Castril 20 (card: Bear)
=======================
These people are pieces of work. The Professor’s journal gives one hint that he went to an ostensibly-fake Pharasmin mausoleum as part of his investigations, and they immediately insist on breaking into it themselves. Together for 48 hours and already we’re acting like the blind leading the blind. I accompanied them as far as the Restlands, where it was all I could do to convince them not to leave a pack mule conspicuously outside while they broke in. I can’t be a part of that. I don’t know what my reputation is around here, but I’ll be damned—potentially literally—if I’m going to spend my first days back in Ustalav breaking wards and trespassing. Never again. I left them to it and returned to the Lorrimor estate with Iniswen.
We arrived to find Kendra passed out with a migraine, though two of her friends waited in the living room. Morgvic is also a priest of Pharasma, but he follows a bizarre and frankly heretical philosophy, denying prophecy for anarchy. Ironic that Grimburrow would call me an apostate when this man serves in his temple. Imdlara is an elf, though not one who takes pains to hide her heritage as Iniswen does. Given the treatment we’ve been getting, I’m shocked she hasn’t been run out of town. Despite their past deeds, my time at Urion taught me that many elves are still fighting, and despite their years, many will die as quickly as we will at the Worldwound.
Our introductions were cut short by the arrival of Quess, a lady from The Silk Purse. She told us that someone had tried to pawn an artifact stolen from Professor Lorrimor, and offered us the opportunity to retrieve it. With Kendra still feeling unwell, we assented and soon joined her at the Silk Purse. The items turned out to be stones called the Sarkoris Shards, of which Iniswen had some knowledge. Three of the stones had been stolen, though the apprehended pawner, Sier, had only tried to fence one. After a brief interview with him, we set out on the trail of the other stones.
No sooner were we out of the Purse, however, than the town square was attacked by large, mosquito-like creatures. Endralla managed to kill one with her crossbow before it could hurt anyone, but the other flew into the panicking crowd and attached itself to a bystander. By the time we got creature off of the man, Petros, he had lost a lot of blood, and we decided to take him to the temple. I had been hoping to start a difficult dialogue with Father Grimburrow anyway, and this seemed like an opportunity to do so. While Grimburrow was indisposed, we were able to leave petros with his attendants, along with a message from me for the good father.
During the attack, I had noted that the creatures appeared to swoop and dive in time with the music form the string quartet in the square. We stopped to interview one of the musicians, but discovered nothing helpful—he did not appear to have any conscious connection to the attack.
By the time we had finished, it was getting dark, so we returned to the manor. There we discovered something curious had appeared on the table: a divination board. Unlike those I had heard of in my time studying the Harrow, this one appeared to radiate magic, and was of fine workmanship. I wasted no time in attempting to use the board, asking a fairly conventional performance question as to whether a spirit was there with me. Immediately, I felt—
[page missing]
—around in circles. I shouldn’t have done that.
Castril 21 (card: Dance)
========================
We set out on the trail of the missing Shards. Iniswin, who is apparently a witch on top of being an elf, had her fox, Duck, lead us into a dingier part of town, where he came to a stop and refused to take us any farther. We soon realized why as a large, obviously undead boar bore down upon us from out of some rubble nearby. After a brief demonstration of Morguvic's heretical powers, we put the beast down and were back on the trail of the stones. Duck traced them to a building that looked suspiciously less rundown than those around it. With some searching and prying, Imdlara found a secret entrance, and was able to retrieve the stones from what she reported as some sort of fungal growth inside.
On returning the stones to the the Lorrimer estate, we discovered them to be something akin to spellbooks, from which a witch like Iniswin could learn some particularly repulsive spells. We resolved to return them to the University with the rest of Professor Lorrimor’s questionable texts during our forthcoming visit.
Cast:
Ovidiu the Apostate (Fallen Cleric 1)
Morguvic the Apostate (Apparently-totally-legitimate Cleric 1)
Iniswin the Elf (Non-cannibal Witch 1)
Imdlara the Elf (Rogue 1)
Castril 22 - 23
===================
One of the things you come to grips with when your god violently severs her connection to your soul it that the event itself might not be the worst of it. Watching a town fall under siege by what appears to be an army of undead and knowing I can do to stop it is, in itself, a horrible punishment. Undead sightings have become more frequent in the last two days, and I had the misfortune to be involved in two of them.
The first was at the farmer’s market. All of us—that is, the wards of the Lorrimor estate—went into town to practise our trades and purchase provisions. I took the opportunity to offer my services as a diviner, but found it difficult to attract business on a cold Calistril afternoon. At least I’m still as good a prophet as the rest of my former order—and I would like to think better than some. Ka’Kutah met another young halfling who said he had been onto the Harrowstone grounds and offered to take Ka’Kutah in through a secret entrance. To his credit, Ka’Kutah tried to talk him down, but the youth insisted he would go that night to prove himself.
The market was interrupted by screams near the outskirts of the square and we soon saw a number of shambling skeletal figures moving though the crowd. Lacking the means I may have used in another life, I charged into the crowd to disintegrate them by more conventional means. That is to say: I woke up several minutes later choking on a potion and covered with blood. I am fairly certain skeletons do not bleed.
I’m told that we prevented severe injury from befalling anyone and dispatched the undead before the priests showed up to help. Father Grimburrow wasted no time in asking if I was responsible for the attack, which I suppose indicated where I stand with the clergy. He seemed particularly worried about my exposure to the materials in Dr. Lorrimor’s books, which I find curious. The Professor kept those books secreted away with such care that I’m surprised anyone but he knew about the vile things inside them. He asked that I attend the town meeting the next day and I agreed—though I can think of few better ways to get run out of town than to explain how I lost my skane.
After the priests left, we followed the skeletons’ tracks back to the Restlands. They came from multiple graves around the cemetery—probably not an animate dead spell.
Long after dinner that evening, we realized that Ku’Kutah’s halfling friend was, to our knowledge, still planning to infiltrate Harrowstone at midnight. After much hand-wringing, we determined to stop him. We recruited Imdlara and Morguvic to watch over the house and made for the prison. On arrival, we found no evidence of the halfling or the concealed entrance he had mentioned and determined we had been fooled. We returned to bed colder and crankier.
The next day was spent mostly in libraries around town. The undead attacks led us back to Professor Lorrimor’s journal, and from there to all manner of local archives in search of information about the Whispering Way: the cabal of necromancers that the Professor was convinced had established a foothold in town. Our last stop was town hall, where we helped set up for the town meeting after completing our research.
For the meeting, Father Grimburrow asked me to sit near the front, though I never got the chance to find out why. Before things were fully underway, torches around the room exploded, setting much of the wooden structure on fire. While the citizenry was quick to form a mob and mass for the door, my fellow wards and I managed to get most of the flames under control quite quickly. After glancing outside and seeing undead, Miri Magravi barricaded the doors to keep the panicked citizenry inside and the creatures out long enough for Father Grimburrow to solve both problems with a massive influx of positive energy. The meeting was adjourned, albeit somewhat prematurely.
Cast:
Arlyxannah, the Sleuth
Isinwen, the Fletcher
Ku’Kutah, the Hunter
Miri, the Merchant
Miri, the Wagonmaster
Ovidiu, the Vagabond
The town hall was saved, but it there has clearly been some smoke damage and other problems caused by the fire. The residents of Ravengro came together and started doing repainting and other repair tasks. The heroes determined to pitch in, so they bought a couple kegs of beer from the Outward Inn and distributed it to anyone with a paint brush. While others were drinking they grabbed brushes themselves and started in with the work.
They also made a trip to the cat lady known locally as "Crazy Effie", taking along some fresh baking. She was reluctant to share to food, but she was happy to talk about the day that she found Professor Lorrimor's body, as well as the dwarfs who had a secret gold mine beneath Harrowstone. She also said she was suspicious of the three strangers to town who had claimed to be studying Harrowstone on behalf of some university and who had disappeared immediately before the professor's death.
The town council invited the heroes to meet in the town square a couple hours after dawn the next day. Once there, the saw that there were some backpacks lined up on a table. Sure enough, the council was giving gifts and temporarily lifting the ban on visiting Harrowstone. The heroes accepted the gifts gratefully, particularly Ovidiu who was receiving a reading of a scroll of atonement and finally having his clerical connection with Pharasma restored.
Once all of this was done most of them went directly to Harrowstone. Miri V's mule, Digger, and Ka'kutah's new pony, Snow Blossom, remained outside the prison, but everyone else went inside. Initially there were some issues with slamming doors and visions of dead faces, but a judicious use of one of the haunt siphons from the false crypt put an end to that. They saw no one else, living or dead, but they did find an awful lot of papers, some potions, and several hundred gold coins.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 1)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 1)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 2)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 1)
Ovidiu (human cleric 1 of Pharasma)
A disturbance outside send Ka'kutah running to check on Snow Blossom, his new pony. The disturbance turned out to be Miri M, arriving late from Ravengro.
The next part of Harrowstone that the group checked was the property room. Their keen insight allowed them to find a hidden section, which contained objects that seemed to them to have belonged to the five most notorious criminals to have died in the great Harrowstone fire of 4661. They debated and ultimately decided to leave the items locked in the secret portion of the property room.
They checked a theatre and moved through it into a large room open on one side to the outdoors. They examined a pit leading downward, but declined to move in that direction just yet. Isinwen's fox was sniffing at the lake when several skeletons surged out of it. The group managed to put them down before the fox (or Isinwen) was killed.
Past that room was a furnace room. The haunted fires of the furnace quickly convinced the group to look elsewhere.
Another section of the ground floor had a chapel full of webs. Ovidiu demonstrated that he had a new Pharasmin philosophy when he lit several spiders and all of the webs on fire. He explained that Pharasma wasn't actually as against cremation as everyone seemed to claim.
There were more rooms and more fights, but things got even more interesting when a woman rose out of the floor of the workshop. She said that she had lost her connection with her husband, who had been keeping the evil of the prison under control. She said that she needed his symbol, plus there were five auras of evil that needed beating down. Once these six tasks were accomplished she could get the prison's spirits back under control.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 1)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 2)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 2)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 1)
Ovidiu (human separatist cleric 2 of Pharasma)
Further analysis of the prison confirms that it is still extremely haunted.
We seem to have accepted a mission from the ghost of Vesorianna, the wife of the former warden, to rid the ruins of the prison of five, powerful evil presences. She claims to be able to hold the rest of the prison in check if these are eliminated and her husband’s symbol of authority is returned to her. Frankly, it all seems a bit suspect: many people in Ravengro believe Vesorianna may have started the fire at Harrowstone. This could all be some sort of ectoplasmic turf war, and we could be unwitting patsies—or, witting patsies at a complete loss for anything else to go on. I’m not inclined to do everything Ms. Vesorianna says without some measure of caution. It’s possible I don’t trust her because she’s a ghost. Ghosts suppressing ghosts: I’m not sure Our Lady would approve.
We’ve finished searching the first floor. We opted not to make a thorough examination of the laundry room lest we be attacked by animate wash basins, but we did check the infirmary for medical supplies. These we were able to recover after having some of them forcibly dispensed onto us by a poltergeist. I must say that among our group, myself included, Miri V is probably the most proficient ghost slayer. Her stories remind me of my time with the Aljiba family caravan. Arlyxxanah, on the other hand, appears to be some sort of lycanthrope. I don’t know much about shapeshifters, but as she seems more intent on biting into me with pithy remarks than fangs, I’ll have to assume she has some measure of … control. I’m keeping silver close at hand.
We’ve made a brief attempt to scout the second floor. As we tried to establish the “lay of the land” we began to hear eerie flute music. All at once, skeletons began breaking out of the cells all around us. I managed to destroy the first wave of them with a burst of holy energy, but they kept coming. I spent most of the battle running interference and protecting our flank while Miri V disrupted them from a distance. Meanwhile, Isinwen attempted to counter the song that animated the creatures with music from what we assume was the Piper of Illmarsh’s instrument. This was only partially effective in that, while it slowed the undead, it also caused Isinwen to bleed from the eyes, ears and nose in a manner suggestive of cerebral haemorrhage. After waking up, she seemed disoriented and far away: apparently suffering no permanent damage.
We will continue to search the second floor of Harrowstone, hoping to make as much of a survey as possible before our resources run out.
Arlyxxanah — shape-shifting investigator
Ka'kutah — cleric-deafening gunslinger
Isinwen — un-brain-damaged witch
Miri Magave — skeleton-bashing fighter
Miri Vishki — story-telling sorcerer
Ovidiu — ground-holding cleric
Having cleared out most of the skeletons in one half of the upper storey of Harrowstone, the group of explorers turned their attention to the smaller rooms. Initially they had a bit of trouble when a great big stirge that apparently lived on the roof managed to start attacking them, but eventually they fought it off and continued exploring. Things got creepy when they discovered a corpse with a number of symbols binding him, along with a cursed necklace. They became very suspicious, and that increased when they realized that they were gazing upon the remains of Father Charlatan. They did all they could to find him and do what damage they could do him, so that Vesorianna could keep him under control.
The rest of the upper level was much less eventful, and before long they were headed back to Ravengro. Along the way they met Crazy Bogden, who was fleeing the clerics of Pharasma. Seeing Ovidiu he expressed astonishment that he had managed to get ahead of him, and started attacking. The group made short work of him, and turned him over to the local constabulary.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 1)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 2)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 2)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 2)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 1)
Ovidiu (human separatist cleric 2 of Pharasma)
Ovidiu caught up with the others as they were preparing to head north toward the oubliette. They advanced cautiously, and so were not taken off-guard when an undead who turned out to be the Lopper began his assault. The fight was difficult, but was aided by the fact that the phantom seemed to never attack the same person twice in a row.
After defeating the Lopper they opened the door next to the portcullis, and discovered a headless flaming skeleton. Ovidiu tried to block the door so that the skeleton couldn't attack his companions, and Arlyxannah got into flank to try to destroy it. This was nearly the death of Arlyxannah, but the group prevailed.
Ectoplasmic rats were rooting through the assorted equipment that they had left in the crossroads, so they quickly dispersed them. Miri M's falchion proved particularly effective against them.
At this point the group decided to open the door to the torture chamber. Once inside they were attacked by crawling hands, but they proved not to be much of a threat. Of more concern was an iron maiden which seemed to contain Ka'kutah's kidnapped brother. This was a ruse, and Ka'kutah himself was subsequently trapped by the object. Fortunately the others were able to release him.
There was much excitement when a hidden door looked to lead to the promised gold and diamond mines. Advancing down the tunnel resulted in being attacked by some sort of ooze. Ovidiu nearly died, but in the end they were able to run away and shoot at it as they left, apparently killing it.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 2)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 2)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 2)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 2)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 2)
Ovidiu (human separatist cleric 2 of Pharasma)
The next morning saw the group waking up and making breakfast as usual, when there was a knock on the door. It was the elf known as Hedgehog, and she had some sweet pastries for Arlyxannah, baked with the recipe from Arlyxannah's late mother's cookbook. There was a letter from Nurse Auren Vrood, who had attended her deathbed. It welcomed Arlyxannah to Ustalav and wished her a happy birthday.
The group decided that the best way to celebrate her birthday would be to finish clearing out the problems in Harrowstone. They took two clerics with them, and retraced their steps down through the secret passage in the torture chamber. This took them to a large flooded room, where people kept seeing their names written in blood on the walls. They worked hard at dispelling the haunt, and eventually succeeded just as a cave-in started pelting them with rocks. At that point, a ghost rose up from the water and started giving them a rough time. Ka'kutah died in the attempt to shackle the ghost, but someone (or something) interceded for him and he was dead for only a few seconds. Eventually the group succeeded in putting down the ghost.
A visit with Vesorianna helped her succeed beyond her hopes, and all of the restless spirits of Harrowstone were ushered out of the world and into the line to await Pharasma's judgement. The group considered this an appropriate birthday present for Arlyxannah.
On the way back to Lorrimor Manor, Ka'kutah wanted to stop in at the Silk Purse to see if they would give him large amounts of cash for the cursed necklace he had left with them. Instead, he was told that the necklace had been sent to Kendra, and that he should put it on and never take it off again. He was also told that he had forty-eight hours to leave town.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 2)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 3)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 3)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 3)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 2)
The people of Ravengro were unsure of what had happened, but they all knew that life seemed better somehow. There were many parties, and much alcohol was consumed.
Miri and Miri each had a birthday, and to their astonishment discovered that it was on the same day. A caravan was passing through town, and Lacromoria (the caravan's matriarch and fortune teller) had letters for each of them from their respective families.
Finally their time in Ravengro was at an end. The town council gave several of them deeds to abandoned homes in hopes that they would return.
Heading west, the group (accompanied by Annalieza and Kendra) set out westward with the intention of staying the close side of the Bleakwall on their way to Tamrivena. They saw smoke in the distance and immediately attempted to avoid it, but they were set upon by a squad of orcs early the next morning. The combat was very difficult, but they prevailed.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 2)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 3)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 3)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 3)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 2)
Ovidiu (human separatist cleric of Pharasma 3)
Having dispatched a squad of orcs but unsure of what reinforcements might be in pursuit, the group pushed ahead with all haste. Before long it became apparent that at least two more orcs and a gorthek (that they seemed to have some trouble controlling) were following them. Untimately it came down to another fight, and fortunately for the party the orcs were unable to coerce the gorthek into joining the combat.
The group made it into Tamrivena, where Miri M and Ovidiu both had old contacts they wished to visit. The others resupplied and were curious about how totalitarian the town had become. They also heard that there was going to be a grand ball in a couple of days, so they purchased new clothes and set about finished their other business as quickly as possible.
The grand ball turned out to be a disappointment. Dancing was strictly restricted, and alcohol was forbidden. Miri M made some money by helping her contacts sell alcohol to some of the patrons, but ended up having to set the dance hall on fire in order to help someone being framed to escape alive.
After the dissatisfaction of the dance, the group retreated to Hilda's, and got very drunk. The next day was spent recovering, and the day after that they finished their business and prepared to head to Courtaud.
PCs:
Isinwen (half-elf witch 3)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 3)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 3)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 2)
Ovidiu (human separatist cleric of Pharasma 3)
After almost a full day's travel out of Tamrivena, the group came to the trestle bridge that the caravans usually use along this route. Unfortunately, age and weather had finally taken their toll, and the bridge was completely impassible. This was particularly disappointing for Miri Magravi, who knew that her family's caravan had been on this road and was looking forward to meeting up with them in Courtaud. Careful examination of the ground showed that they had started off cross-country toward Chastel.
Through careful and time-consuming efforts, the group got down the valley and across the stream, though it was quite dark by the time they finished this crossing. They were unable to properly rest, however; a vampire spawn and four gnome mercenaries attacked them during the night, looking to kill "Arlyxannah Zunaida", though they didn't know how to identify her beyond a single travel companion. The fight was very difficult, but in the end they defeated the vampire spawn and accepted the surrender of the four gnomes.
Upon their arrival in Courtaud they immediately sought beverages and entertainment. Once they had consumed enough drink, they set out to examine the twin wells known as the Living Water and the Darkling Draught. They were having a lot of fun until Isinwen decided to use magic to plumb the depths of the Darkling Draught. After several minutes of staring she started to drool, and her companions forced her to snap out of it. She kept trying to return to the well, but the group decided to leave off.
Arlyxannah was curious enough to try to break into a library. The city hall was adjacent to the Pharasmin Cathedral, and she was perplexed to see that it was boarded up from the inside. She attempted to sneak in, but stopped when she overheard people talking about tunnels beneath the building and possible ley line disruption to the south.
Though somewhat the worse for wear the next day, they nonetheless decided to leave town and head toward Lepidstadt.
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 2)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 3)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 3)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 3)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 3)
Arriving in Lepidstadt, they quickly discovered that there was a bit of a party atmosphere. Apparently the Beast of Lepidstadt had finally been captured, and the townspeople were all eagerly awaiting his execution just as soon as the trial could be finished up. The group heard that court was in session, and hurried over to watch the end of the preliminary session.
Once it was done they visited with Justice Daramid, who asked them to assist in the defence at the trial. They agreed, and went to meet with the defence counselor. He set them on the trail of the evidence concerning the Beast's three capital offences, though given that he believed the Beast to be guilty he wasn't too hopeful of any evidence being useful.
Ovidiu, meanwhile, had been at the university with Kendra and Ka'kutah, and was starting to really like the place.
The group went out to Morast, where they found a surprising amount of evidence, none of which pointed to the Beast being the serial killer. They rushed back to Lepidstadt to follow the last remaining hint. After a roundabout circuit of investigations they found themselves outside Vorkstag & Grine's Chymic Works.
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 3)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 4)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 4)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 4)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 3)
Ovidiu (human separatist cleric of Pharasma 3)
Ovidiu and Ka'kutah parted company with the group, returning to the university and leaving the others outside Vorkstag & Grine. After lengthy and insistent ringing of the bell, an upper door opened and a heavily-swaddled gnome leaned out and asked the heroes what they wanted. They explained that they had found some chirurgical tools and wondered if they might have belonged to one of the proprietors, hinting that they were hoping for a reward. The gnome identified himself as Grine, and admitted that they might belong to his partner, Vorkstag. They arranged for a viewing later that day.
The group then went to court and were just in time to present some evidence. There were some issues with legal permissions, but Miri Vishki had procured for Arlyxannah some expertly-forged documentation proving that she was permitted to practice law, and things went somewhat more smoothly from there.
After court was out, the group realized they needed to go to Hergstag. They sent their regrets to Vorkstag & Grine, and set out. They arrived in the deserted town just before sundown. Upon realizing that there were wraiths, they decided not to do much more investigating and fled back to Lepidstadt.
The next day they presented their (somewhat meager) findings from Hergstag, then decided to check out the Karb Isle Sanctuary. They ended up having to fight some ghasts there, and the encounter did not go well for them. At one point Miri V ended up calling out for help to whatever being might be listening, and as a result managed to avoid paralysis for a few more seconds. Ultimately, however, Isinwen and a lone, injured ghast were the only people capable of moving. The ghast offered to walk out of his home for an hour to allow the living to loot it, and Isinwen accepted.
A trip back to Lepidstadt gave them the chance to find out that Karl, a former employee of Sanctuary, was still alive (albeit blind). They visited him and learned a great deal, and Miri Vishki was moved to pay the temple of Pharasma a great deal of gold to cure his blindness. He cried, and promised them all of the help that he could provide.
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 3)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 4)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 4)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 3)
Deciding to postpone their incursion within Vorkstag & Grine, the group returned to the university campus. They met up with Ka'kutah and all went to the library, where Arlyxannah became rather distracted. The rest got tired of waiting for her and decided to investigate the scene of the Beast's break-in.
Miri and Miri distracted the guard posted outside and give Ka'kutah and Isinwen a chance to poke around inside. Once they had found everything they could, they signalled the Miris and slipped out a side door.
The campus security man had mentioned that there would be a mob forming soon, if the young ladies were looking for something to do. Rushing on ahead, the group got to the courthouse barely ahead of everyone else and took up defensive positions. The fight was difficult, but the heroes prevailed and even managed not to kill any of the rioters (though one of the instigators died).
The next day was the final one of the trial, and the group was ready. Miri M presented the bulk of their evidence with others pitching in as appropriate, and eventually the verdict came down: not guilty! The people of Lepidstadt were not happy to hear this.
Back on campus, the group saw the gnome who was the sole instigator of the fight to escape. She was accompanied by some hired thugs, and a fight ensued. The gnome was killed and the thugs surrendered. Ka'kutah put on a pair of goggles she had been wearing, and saw an invisible raven nearby watching them. They tried to capture it but failed.
Isinwen declared that the only possibility was that the raven was the gnome's witch familiar, and she claimed it for her own. Since they had determined that she worked for Vorkstag & Grine they hastened back to the chemical factory. Once there they entered and had a very loud fight with a contruct hound.
PCs:
Isinwen (half-elf witch 5)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 4)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 5)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 4)
After the very loud fight against a guard construct, the group took a ten minute break to retreat around a street corner, reassess, cast some spells, and just generally take a breather. Upon returning to Vorkstag & Grine's they first entered through the front door then shimmied up to a second storey loading bay after seeing that there was armed resistance prepared against them inside.
Things did not go well for the assault team. With the entire staff alerted to their arrival they faced a running battle in their attempt to scour the building for the presumed raven familiar. Things looked dire until Miri V remembered that they had a magic item that would allow them to call in a demon to assist them. After a hasty bargain they set him loose on the inhabitants. Even so, at the end of the fight only one of them was even conscious.
They never found the raven.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 4)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 5)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 5)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 5)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 4)
Collecting and sorting the loot from Vorkstag & Grine's took quite a while, then the group headed to Judge Daramid's townhouse to drop off further evidence. She thanked them, then requested that they head out northeast after the Beast to make sure that a) he was safe and b) he posed no further threat. They agreed.
Partway there they saw that a mob was heading toward the Schloss as well. They determined that the mob's purpose was to kill the beast, then they were recognized as his lawyers and forced to flee.
They made much better speed than the angry mob, and arrived at Schloss Caromarc only to discover some trolls looting the gatehouse. They attacked the trolls but were driven away. After a night's rest they decided to use Miri V's (rather expensive) scroll of planar binding to get the help of Dark Lord Bartrir (the horned demon) once again. He helped them kill the trolls in exchange for some of their spoils from previous exploits.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 4)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 5)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 5)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 5)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 5)
The boss troll assaulted the mob, and Bartrir set after the troll with a roar. As the fight ensued, the group spent some time studying Schloss Caromarc. After conferring with the Beast of Lepidstadt, who was worried about his foster father, Miri V received a sending from her cousin Marta saying that the family caravan would be arriving at the Schloss soon. Miri warned them off and suggested an alternate meeting spot. When she connected with the Vishki caravan she told them about the situation, and her grandparents liked her idea that the people in the mob probably needed help back to Lepidstadt badly enough that they'd be willing to pay. The Vishki caravan therefore set out and offered its assistance to the mob, all for a reasonable rate.
Once back in Lepidstadt, they received a visit from an elf reminding them of a favour owed. She said that her boss was very interested in an ancient holy site of Desna that was somewhere in the Sudderwood. She handed the group a scroll of sending and said that if they encountered the site they should send her boss a message so that he could scry on the site and see it for himself. No one found this unreasonable, and they accepted the scroll.
Various housekeeping tasks were accomplished in Lepidstadt, including the sale of old equipment and research into bits of interest. After a couple of days of this, they went back to the Karb Isle sanctuary and killed the last ghast remaining there. In the aftermath of this fight and in preparation for travelling with the Vishki caravan for a short stretch, Miri Vishki and Miri Magravi each acquired a kitten.
They all left Lepidstadt together and spent several days on the road. They arrived back in Courtaud during the full moon.
PCs:
Arlyxannah (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 4)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 6)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 6)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 5)
Courtaud was concerned, given that the Shudderwood (aka "Werewolf Forest") loomed right outside town and the full moon shone ominously in the sky. The weaponsmith stayed open all night and gave free beer to anyone who bought a silver weapon. Other than that, the streets were deserted. Once the Vishki Caravan was safely ensconced in the Silver Goblet Inn, everyone settled in and waited for morning.
The only excitement was a poster offering a reward for a certain "Arlyxannah Zunaida". Arlyxannah Thanh, the party's investigator, was somewhat concerned that this might have something to do with her, and set about investigating. Upon discovering that this wanted person might be a werewolf, the party bought a dog and set out into the Shudderwood to exchange him for the reward. The group was met by a certain amount of scorn, but while there they were able to discover that "the boss" (someone named Marvamo) would be returning after nightfall. The group promised to return, and set out deeper into the Shudderwood.
Following what they decided was the trail leading to Marvamo, they discovered a structure set into a hillside. Inside they met a werewolf (in hybrid form) who was furious with Miri M and Miri V for stealing their face, a face that apparently no one (even her) was allowed to use in public. There was a bit of a fight, but it was interrupted by two people who may have been vampires. The group (aided by the werewolf) fought them off, after which they turned into mist and disappeared underground.
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 4)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 6)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 5)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 6)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 5)
September 5, 2015
Desperate to finish off the vampires before they had a chance to heal, the group scoured the base. Semiya admitted that she had some magic boots within her lead-lined wardrobe that would give them passage, but her father had forbidden her from going into the basement. They convinced her that this was an emergency, and she relented.
Three of them plus Semiya therefore teleported down. The vampires were in makeshift coffins created out of some sort of containers. When intact, the five containers would have been the right size to contain a creature about the size of a cat. The four women made short work of the dormant vampires.
They looked around the basement while they were there. They saw the bottom half of some sort of dumbwaiter as well as the sealed off staircase. One wall had a mural of a sailing ship sailing straight up, with letters across the top: M.I.R.I. (This was somewhat confusing to Miri Vishki.)
There was also a locked office, which they unlocked. A safe within contained some magical rituals, which they left, and a set of journals. Arlyxannah took the journals for further study.
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 5)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 6)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 5)
As the group journeyed through the Shudderwood (known as "Werewolf Forest" to some of the less-imaginative locals) they soon realized that they had stumbled into an ambush. The fight was against some three-foot-tall mushroom men. Their spores caused some initial concern, but it quickly became clear that they were no match for the heroes.
That night the group camped by a river. Soon after midnight Miri M (who was on watch) spotted several werewolves, including one that was nearly ten feet tall. Reluctantly, she woke up the rest of her group just before the werewolves were upon them. Miri V spoke up quickly and struck a bargain with them. She would deliver to them a string of mules, starting with her very own Digger who was accompanying her on her journey, and in exchange they would turn around and go away. All but the big one agreed, so most of the werewolves left (taking Digger with them) as the group fought (and eventually killed) the big one.
The next day they were heading south along the Silent Path when Ka'kutah saw a coin a ways off the track. When he ran to grab it he saw another further into the woods, and ran to get it. Then he heard a faint call for help. The group conferred briefly, decided that this was probably a trap, and ran toward it. Sure enough, a weaverworm and some ettercaps were waiting for them, but the heroes managed to dispatch them.
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 5)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 6)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 5)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 6)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 5)
The Glowing Carrots returned to Ascanor with Duristan, but were not permitted to enter the lodge proper at such an ungodly hour. They therefore camped in the courtyard until the morning.
At some point after dawn, they were welcomed by Estovian Lozarov, the lodge warden. He accepted that they were waiting for Adivian Adrissant and assigned them three rooms. He seemed to be expecting something else from them, but gave no indication what it was.
Miri V tried to befriend Corvin Tergsfor, but only ended up listening to dull poetry. He made it clear that he felt that the group was beneath him, and left.
Arlyxannah determined that the book she needed to reference in order to discover the location of the ancient temple of Desna was missing from the general library. She snuck into Esrovian's private library, where Estovian himself was working on some sort of arcane ritual. She invisibly grabbed the book then lept out the window, floating harmlessly to the ground.
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 6)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 7)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 6)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 7)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 6)
While Arlyxannah busied herself reading her new book, the others continued to investigate Ascanor Lodge. After some poking around they ended up fighting an enormous spider within the lodge itself. After defeating it they determined that it was from a menagerie housed in secret caverns beneath the lodge. They were uncertain how it had gotten loose.
They also discovered that three men and a strange thing that looked like a tiny winged person had been by a couple weeks previous. They learned that these people had spoken with the lodge warden.
The warden himself was interested in recruiting Isinwen's assistance in an arcane ritual. Some ingredients were needed, so the group made themselves useful and did what they could to gather what was necessary. Five people could be affected (other than Estovian) and since Arlyxannah was busy they decided to include Marta Vishki in the ritual. Things did not go completely smoothly, but nonetheless there was some animal-type magic imbued into each of them.
After all this had ended, they had a chance to speak to Adivian Adrissant again, as he was arriving at the lodge for a reason that was never made clear. He was delighted to see them, particularly Miri and Miri, and gave them some money and told them to get themselves something nice. He indicated that he knew where Berek the Smooth was (and in fact that Berek was working for him) but declined to volunteer his location.
After this the group set out from Ascanor, accompanied by Duristan. Things didn't get extremely difficult until they actually reached the lost shrine of Desna. Ka'kutah used his new magical ability to scout ahead and learned that some sort of undead wolf-shaped creature guarded the airspace around the shrine. Isinwen took flight and everyone charged into the clearing. There was a very difficult fight, particularly when some werewolf reinforcements arrived. After many loud howls, the enemies fell.
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 6)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 7)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 6)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 7)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 6)
The howls of the fight had attracted the attention of some of the werewolves inside the shrine. The heroes quickly found themselves being targetted by a number of werewolf archers. Speaking for the archers was a werewolf named Cybrisa. She explained that another werewolf named Mathus Mordrinach was seeking the heart of the packlord in order to secure political power over the tribes. She promised the group that they would be free to go if they agreed to track down the heart and return it to her. They agreed.
Setting out in an attempt to track, the group soon found another group of werewolves, these led by Rhakis Szadro. A fight inevitably ensued, and the heroes were able to rescue both Digger the mule and Berek the smooth, who had been accompanying Jirithan and who was apparently in some sense the father of Miri and Miri. There was an awkward conversation, and then he went his own way.
Almost immediately after this they were nearly eaten by a quickwood tree. Exhausted and feeling like the ridiculous day needed to end, they pushed on into the night. Early the next morning they arrived at the town of Chastel, a wall-less town that was proud of how many monster attacks it had endured. The weary travellers managed to secure inn rooms, and fell into bed.
After a day spent relaxing in town, Ka'kutah arranged for a barge trip upriver to Ardis. He purchased several kegs of beer, and the group set off on its "river cruise".
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 6)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 7)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 7)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 7)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 6/eldritch knight 1)
All the drinks along the river necessitated a day off for recovery. This dovetailed nicely with some leisurely shopping, and by midday the next day the group (minus Duristan, who had family in Ardis and stayed with them) was departing eastward over the plains.
Their first night after leaving Ardis was quite eventful. First, some pumpkin-headed constructs shambled up to them, not stopping until they were burned. Second, some goat-suckers made an appearance, further disturbing everyone’s rest. Finally, a leaping fey on its way to Langitheath made a stop at their camp, apparently for nefarious purposes. All in all, it was not as restful a night as it could have been.
They found Langitheath themselves the next day, and in fact several of them were compelled to walk toward it while some tiny fey sniped at them. They managed to fight off the fey, beat the compulsion, and turn around in time to escape the black cloud and the flying swarms approaching them from the tower. They journeyed as far away as they could before setting up camp.
The only company they had during the night was a group of farmers who were dismayed that one of their wagons had gone just a little too close to the tower and had disappeared inside. The cure for this seemed to be an abundance of beer.
The next day was another late start.
Their travels (leaving the farmers behind) through the Furrows finally brought them to Feldgrau. They noticed a woman spying on them, and used their Charisma to their advantage. She introduced herself as Eugenie, they gave their names, and a friendship was started. (Ka’kutah tried to assert his rank of “King of Porridge” in hopes of preferred treatment, but was quickly shushed.)
They asked Eugenie if she could take them to her boss, and she agreed. She led them through the town (with sounds of fighting in the distance) and brought them to a tower. She left them in the care of a wight manservant, who showed them up a flight of stairs. The man at the top was unhappy to see them and started to rant, right up until he saw Arlyxannah. Once he removed his mask she recognized him as Nurse Auren Vrood, the man who had watched over her mother at the time leading up to her death in Kaer Maga. When questioned, he admitted that this was an assumed name and that his real name was Jiri Thanh, and he was Arlyxannah’s brother.
He cast protection from chaos on her to make sure that she wasn’t mind-controlled, then explained that he was part of a group of people who wanted to save all of existence. He told her about the evil god Rovagug who was imprisoned within Golarion, and how erosion and activity were constantly weakening the cage. He said that the only way to keep all of existence safe from Rovagug was to remove Golarion’s atmosphere and oceans. He expressed his hope that Arlyxannah would join him in two hundred years when it was time to make it happen, and told her that the group needed someone to spearhead the evacuation of the planet between now and then.
In the meantime, however, it was clear that her biological cousin (the vampire Evgenya Zunaida) was hot on her tail, and between her and the werewolves she was in a lot of danger. Jiri told her to take her friends and wait in a nearby root cellar while he fought off both sets of invaders. He said that if anything happened to him she should know that he held no hard feelings toward her for their mother abandoning him as a toddler so that she could raise Arlyaxannah.
The group declined to run to the root cellar. The howls of the werewolves grew closer.
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 6)
Isinwen Whitefeather (half-elf witch 8)
Ka'kutah Manneh (halfling gunslinger 7)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 7)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 6/eldritch knight 1)
Some werewolves crashed through the front door of the ruined tower where Jiri had been staying. He attempted to subdue them with a circle of death, but they laughed off his attempt. They were members of the Prince's Wolves, and they seemed to want something that Jiri had. Still unsure if they should trust Arlyxannah's brother, the heroes turned to face their new foe.
Things became a little more concerning when the distinctive sounds of Isinwen's lightning bolt was duplicated from the roof above. Their fears were confirmed when a vampire and her attendants descended from the tower rooftop. She looked similar to Arlyxannah, and they soon identified her as Lady Evgenya Zunaida. Her attendants seemed uncomfortable flying, and landed immediately.
More werewolves piled in the front door, and it soon became apparent that the Prince's Wolves had been joined by the Demon Wolves. After the heroes had reduced the Prince's Wolves numbers down to a single survivor he attempted to lead them in an assault on the Demon Wolves. He did not survive the attempt.
Ka'kutah's magical firearm (armed with silver bullets) was formidable against Lady Evgenya, tearing through her much more quickly than she had thought possible. After a tough fight she was reduced to mist, and disappeared into the fog. Her dominated human attendants were swiftly dispatched by Isinwen via black tentacles followed by a fireball.
The Miris kept killing werewolves, one with magical rays and the other with a falchion. Arlyxannah's studied strikes helped to keep combat focussed. In spite of all this, Adimarus Ionacu (the leader of the Demon Wolves) was laughing off most of the attacks. This changed dramatically when he fumbled his attack catastrophically. The heroes swiftly moved in and dispatched him while he was helpless.
Sadly, Jiri did not survive the fight. Eugenie, one of the local priestesses, recovered his body. Before she took it away, Marta cast speak with dead and determined that he was indeed the man responsible for the death of Arlyxannah's mother, and that he did it to save the world.
PCs:
Arlyxannah Thanh (werewolf-kin skinwalker rogue 1/investigator 7)
Isinwen (half-elf witch 8)
Ka'kutah (halfling gunslinger 8)
Miri Magravi (human fighter 8)
Miri Vishki (human fighter 1/sorcerer 6/eldritch knight 1)