25^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

 After completing their discussion and reviewing of what they found and a tour of the tombs with the constable, the tired party wandered their way back to the Blackbutter Inn. The constable had run off to fetch his deputies to gather in the those involved and start interrogating them on what they had been doing.  As they passed near the sinkhole, they could see that most of the crowd had wandered off.

A small barricade had been built around to prevent any more mishaps with additional children falling in. Most of the preventive measures seemed to be set up ten to 15 feet from the sinkhole, obviously fearing more of a collapse.

Arriving at the Blackbutter Inn, they were immediately directed by the server to head to the back by going around the building and to wash off before entering the building.  With all the mud attacks, exploding mud devils, and having a corridor explode around them did cause all of them to far dirtier that any sane person would prefer. Gwendolyn Venelli came out with a tray of ale and offered a free meal to the team for their hard work in rescuing the children in the sinkhole.

Gwendolyn Venelli

Quickly washing up and reentering the Inn they all decided it was best to get a meal, especially since it was going to be free. Before eating, they all went to their rooms for quick clothes change. They reconvened in the main room except Dancer who wanted a warm bath in his room. Vladimir seemed a bit jealous of the individual bath and individual room that Dancer had, but he still had warm dreams of large teddy bears.  Everyone collected back and ordered food and since Dancer had not come down, Fwoosh being friendly, had ordered a large bowl of clotted cream and a spoon for the Tabaxi. Dancer’s only comment was that he liked meat too.

Vladimir started a discussion about the friends that all had escaped with Fwoosh from the Collector.  Fwoosh described their names and their specialties. Which led Dancer to ask about who was Benny. Vladimir explained more about how he knew Benny and as well as a little about the ambush that led him out of the army and eventually to Waterdeep. With the different soul baring stories coming out, ISAC explained a bit more about his awakening and that he believes that his name might be an acronym.

This brought up something that Fogo was interested in, which was if anyone belonged to any factions as he was a member of the Emerald Enclave.  Vladimir was a part of the Lord’s Alliance, Angelica was with The Order of the Gauntlet, and Fwoosh was confused if he belonged to the baker’s guild or something else.  This caused a lot of Thieves’ finger-talk with Dancer about their relationship with their faction and Dancer convincing Fwoosh to not disclose their relationship with the bakery and their faction.

With Fwoosh talking about his past and his home a clocktower, Avery noticed that there was a small clock on the mantle of the main fireplace.  This also led Fwoosh there who seemed fascinated with it. Dancer gave a little more information about his past and the source of his name and everyone shared a bit more with each other.  The group was opening a little more and becoming closer to each other.

It seemed that the party had opened enough and felt like they trusted Dancer sufficiently such that they showed him the Golden Statue and some of its capabilities.  He was enamored with the fact that once it was about ten feet away from ISAC it would disappear and reappear in ISAC’s hand. It was also mentioned that it seems to be growing in power and was awakening in some way. ISAC also explained that every time they killed an elemental type of creature the statue seemed to absorb something from them upon their death.  Dhelosk, the owner of the Blackbutter Inn is a wizard, and had identified the symbols on the statue as the four drow symbols for the elements, and that it was very old, maybe as much as 5,000 or 6,000 years old.

Golden Statue

The group continued to talk about some of their previous adventures and opened it up for Dancer to join them. He was very amenable to joining the group and adventure along with them. They did mention a little of some of the odd dreams they had but did not explain much to Dancer. He told them to consider that they had ingested something that might have caused that because it was just crazy.

Moving the discussion along, and ensuring no one was close enough to listen in, they decided to try and decipher the text they found on the door with the dwarven carving.  Angelica who had been studying Dwarven in her seminary work was able to figure out the exact words for everyone. Before working on a solution Dancer suggested that they just sell what they knew to the Dwarves and not tempt themselves with the Tomb since it was scary for Dancer since he feared the undead, curses, traps, and all the possible combinations of those.

The conversation went into circles a bit as they tried to figure out what it meant.  Fogo pushed that it could represent the four elements and might be related to the other elemental objects they had found, while Angelica suggested they might want to think about what the known attributes of Dwarves are. This seemed to have given them several new ideas.  In the next few hours, they were able to come up with a plan and items they needed to purchase the next day to enact what they thought was the solution. With what they thought to be a solid plan everyone headed up for a much-needed rest.

26^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

After rising in the morning, they found Constable Harburk Tuthmarillar waiting for them already drinking some ale.  He complained that he had not yet gotten to bed while working on the investigation and there were already issues.  It seems that someone had murdered Baragustas Harbuckler last night by dismembering him, pinning the parts on a wall, and gouging out his eyes and replacing them with some small stones.  Sometime while the sinkhole was being explored by the party, Marlandro Gaelkur had closed his shop and ran off somewhere.  This morning Elak Dornen stole all his business’s coins and valuables and snuck away leaving his very angry wife and several children behind.  The town is concerned that she will have some difficulty in being able to keep the business running without the gold to pay the workers.

Harburk Tuthmarillar

Baragustas Harbuckler

Marlandro Gaelkur

Elak Dornen

Albaeri Mellikho was arguing that she had nothing to do with it, Ilmeth Waelvur was stinking drunk and acting overly belligerent, and Ulhro Luruth was just hiding in his shop. When asked about Braelen Hatherhand and his father, Harburk explained that Rotharr had been kicked out of his house by his wife.  He had come into town, drank a bunch, and then swore vengeance on the those that did this to him before departing for parts unknown.

Albaeri Mellikho

Ilmeth Waelvur

Ulhro Luruth

All the elders implicated that were still in town were attempting to blame Baragustas for everything, but there was little evidence except a lot of finger pointing.  While Aerego Bethendur had been implicated, there was even less evidence about him participating.  What was interesting was that Aerego started helping the constable with finding some evidence and reporting in on what he knew to prove the guiltiness of the other elders.

Aerego Bethendur

While the Harburk was explaining, Dancer and Fwoosh decided that they needed to run to the bakery for some bear claws. Continuing to explain what had been happening, he finally got to Grund who just seemed guilty of being bullied into helping.  Grund was released but did not seem to be normal happy-go-luck attitude and in fact was no longer tolerating anyone stealing his pickles and had even beaten two men this morning when they came by. ISAC was curious if any of the bodies or the suspects had any tattoos, ones that matched any of the drow elemental symbols.

Grund

Arriving at the bakery and looking for Jepos, it turned out that only Mangobarl Lorren was there while Jepos was out doing something. Not waiting around, they ran back to the Blackbutter Inn.

Mangobarl Lorren

As the party described the things, they had found such as bandits having castles, the possibility of there being different four elemental cultists, that the bandits and the cultists organizations and that they might be working together, and that the elders might even be involved in all of this since the earth symbol was found in the tombs too.  Going for a stronger drink, Harburk fortified himself before asking clarifying questions about all of that. Before Harburk could depart, Vladimir suggested that the constable reach out to the military commander in Amphail. Leaving less happy than he arrived, the constable left to search for tattoos and anything else.

Jumping in, Avery went over to talk to Dhelosk before getting riled up by Fogo shortly. He purchased a spell and a lot of magic ink to allow him to copy spells into his spellbook and therefore making himself more universally useful. Once completed, it was Fogo’s turn who took advantage of Dhelosk’s kindness by getting a bunch of items identified and priced, although for some reason not the dagger with the dried blood they had found in the tombs.  Dhelosk was happy to help, especially when Fogo brought out the Lantern of Equivalent Exchange and his Ring of Free Action.  The wizard was very interested in purchasing both, but Fogo was not selling anything except a cheap magic mace, and then headed back to the table and leaving the disgruntled Dhelosk behind.

Dhelosk Quelbeard

After a small discussion with the rest of the group Fogo came back and asked about purchasing some Bags of Holding.  After admitting there were a couple available at a now premium price, Fogo relented and sold the lantern to help cover the cost of buying those useful bags.

Deciding to visit many places in parallel the party split up visiting different locations.  Fogo went to the smithy to fetch his newly made knives.  That proved to be a quick jaunt and then joined Angelica and Avery at the Allfaith’s Shrine to pick up some healing potions and fondle the dead body of Baragustas’s body to look for tattoos. Dancer, Fwoosh, ISAC, and Vladimir visited Ironhead Arms to sell all the excess arms and amor they had collected.

Laefra Tantur

At the shrine Angelica and Avery purchased a large pile of healing potions and convinced Imdarr and Lymmura to allow them to go through and inspect Baragustas’s body.  Before their search, they inquired about having Imdarr perform a remove curse if they encountered one when attempting to identify the magic dagger they had found in the tombs. They were instructed to head in the back with their discission on whether Avery would identify the dagger or not and that they should take the box with the body parts to the back of the building for their searching. Once the search was completed, the three of them headed back to the Blackbutter Inn to wait for the rest except Avery who went to his room to start copying spells.

Imdarr Relvaunder

Lymmura Auldarhk

At Ironhead Arms, the four of them sold a pile of armor and a few weapons while Dancer filled up his almost empty quivers and Fwoosh picked up some daggers. Finishing up their business they headed back to the Sundries store.

Feng Ironhead

At the Sundries store Fwoosh was surrounded by children all looking for more sweets, especially those bear claws, but they were all disappointed when all Fwoosh delivered was a pair of sourdough bread loafs. It was disappointment all the way around. Purchasing some charcoal and checking in on some better-quality rope, they were able to buy everything except the non-hemp rope. Fwoosh was able to pick up an interesting toy top that was spun using a string. Just before departing, Vladimir bought some blank books, a couple of Dwarvish books, as well getting one of the romance books (The Bard and the Rising Tower) secretly from Endrith while no one was looking.

Endrith Vallivoe

Seeking some fine wood, Dancer convinced them to head to Thelorn’s Safe Journeys so he could acquire some higher quality wood for his carving fetish. Meeting Thorsk, a large and scarred man, Dancer had a nice set of selections to choose from. Vladimir attempted to convince Thorsk to take care of his horses and wagon but was continually rebuffed. Dancer suggested they use the farm of the old woman they had rescued, but it was not something Thorsk knew about.

Thorsk Thelorn

Finished with their business and shopping the last of the wayward group headed to the Blackbutter Inn and meet up with the rest. Going over their tomb raiding plan once again, they started checking to make sure they had everything that was needed. Vladimir picked up a cask of Dwarven Ale and remembering that they still needed some tobacco and a pipe, everyone except Avery ran back to the Sundries store to fetch those.

After collecting Avery, the party headed out to the northern quarry to gain access to the Dwarven Tombs and finish looting the spaces they had not done previously. Getting the name of the old woman they saved before heading down, the group all headed into the Tombs. They made their way to the locked Dwarven door and got ready to execute their plan on opening it. Reviewing the plan once again they began executing what they thought was the solution.

Starting off with putting the coals in the eyes caused an immediate reaction which almost caused Vladimir to fall over.  A loud chunking noise started coming from the door with the loud sound occurring once a second. In a more of a panic mode, they lit the coals on fire, poured ale into the saucer, dropped a gold piece into the slot, and with the lit pipe blew smoke into the mouth.  A different noise started from within the door, and it unlocked and opened itself.  Their careful planning and discussions of the solution had paid off.  The door was open.

Stone Door with Dwarf

Description of the door: The door is a dark grey granite that still has remains of faded paint upon it.  The stone dwarven warrior stare outward at those in the hallway.  Its eyes are holes large enough to fit a small hand while there is a hole leading into the mouth, the left hand is holding a stone saucer with a small hole on the bottom of it, and finally the right hand is held out as if waiting to hold something. It is at an angle that will cause whatever is in the palm to slide into what appears to be a pouch that has a slot on the top of it.

Surrounding the carving in Dwarven on the door is the following:

Aundra e eth hallanaryr wundstr avor corruption

Jert eth vjakr avor ljef

Grasp eth murmal avor temptation

Ynsta eth aldrorz anzjon

Which translated to:

Breath in the heavenly air of corruption

Drink the water of life.

Grasp the metal of temptation.

Feel the burning sight.

Wandering down the steep ramp and a turn, they came to a large domed room that had another large floating glowing stone in the middle and the room was filled with some sort of mist that obscured the vision. When attempting to see magic, the mist blocked all of it.  Going into the room, they found three 20-foot-tall statues of Dwarves.  Each of the Dwarves had a different symbol in front of them.

Symbol of the Northern Dwarf Statue

Symbol of the Western Dwarf Statue

Symbol of the Southern Dwarf Statue

Angelica was not able to discern what gods they might have been from but speculated that these might be very old representations of the Dwarven gods. Wandering around and looking for magic more closely, the floating rock was radiating as well as all three statues, but nothing more could be discovered. She was able to determine that this room must be some sort of shrine to the Dwarven gods.

The rest of the party convinced Angelica to cast Gust of Wind in the room to attempt to get rid of the mist, but it had no effect that they could see. They next all surrounded the floating stone and started turning in a circle clockwise and back to see if that changed anything, but again, nothing seemed to change or happen.

Wondering what to do, Fwoosh stepped forward to the northern statue and offered his Pick mask as an offering.  The mask vanished and a small tattoo of a mask appeared on his hand. Excited to partake of any boons, Vladimir tried by sacrificing his old personal battle axe to the northern statue, and it too was accepted.  Vladimir felt he was stronger if he faced certain types of creatures.  

Now everyone else was in a bit of a frenzy and did not want to be left out of anything special happening.  But anything they placed on the third statue’s base caught fire and turned into ashes.  Maybe they should not have started with Grund’s old grungy and beaten and bloody studded leather. They tried a couple of other items but all of those caught fire and turned into ashes.  Thinking they needed something more expensive; Dancer ran back into town to buy back one of the armors they had sold as well as a side jaunt to pick up a couple romance books (A Fairy and his Paramour and The Dragon Mounting the Knight) that attracted his attention.  But when placed at the base of the statue, the chainmail also went up into flames and then ashes.

They were going to continue when Avery offered some advice. He stated that if this was really a shrine that gave boons, they would be very limited and if you pushed too hard, you would very likely get an anti-boon. Deciding that a new curse would be bad, they moved on to the rooms where the sarcophaguses were, but leaving Fwoosh and ISAC behind so Fwoosh could keep copying the runes on the floating stone.

Deciding that they should first using Fogo’s Detect Trap since this was a tomb, and according to Dancer, everything was probably trapped.  Moving to one end to see as many of the coffins as possible he cast his spell.  While he did notice one of the coffins trapped, it also seemed that casting the spell in a firm loud voice also awoke something they were not expecting.  In the alcove at the very end, the top was tossed off and a medium sized skeleton looking much like a dead bearded dwarf holding a pair of axes leaped out and glared at them.

Dwarven Skeleton Champion

And this is where the session ended.

History Lesson

This is David Bourgh-Ettin bringing you history from around Faerûn.  Today we will be continuing form last week covering more of the history of the Savage Frontier.

This week we will start talking about Dessarin Valley.  While most of the current west coast scholars and cities call this the savage frontier, it is equally ancient as any other area on the Sword Coast.  There are many stories of Drow, Dwarves, Orcs, and the Uthgardt.  There are many ruins and old buried secrets there, most of which we still have not found, mostly due to the danger involved with the different barbaric folks that inhabit the valley.

The earliest known inhabitants are the drow who had created an underground city and temples sometime around minus 52nd century Dalereckoning, usually shorten to DR. Not much is known about them since any records are buried very deeply in those hills, and most likely into the Underdark. It was not until about the minus 43rd century that we finally have more written records, although even those are somewhat sparse from the subsequent orc invasions.

The dwarves built a magnificent metropolis and fortifications all under the Sumber Hills called Tyar-Besil.  It was said to not only completely cover the underground of the Sumber Hills, but all the way to the Sword Mountains and the High Forest.  It was a crowning achievement for the dwarves and said to have been something so stunning with its engineering and construction that artisans came from thousands of miles to see it.  It is unfortunate that it only lasted a mere two hundred some years.  Their king Torhild Flametongue was killed in one of the many battles with giants and trolls, who both still infest the Sumber Hills to this day.

We can still find many fortifications and old ruins around the valley, but these are not usually part of Tyar-Besil.  These instead belong to a much later generation of dwarf and explorers.  In the 9th century Dalereckoning a group of adventurers settled in the valley building several strongholds.  They managed to entice several groups of dwarves at the same time who also then build different settlements and defensive works to help them old out against the constant invasions of orcs and other creatures.

Campaign Notes

Some elders ran, some are sticking it out, and at least has been murdered. The party heads back down into the tombs to try and finish off what they found before Dwarves show up and take the party’s soon to be well earned loot.  The Dwarven Shrine was a nice find a couple of boons might be helpful later. Waking the Dwarven Skeleton Champion?  That was just a bonus.

25^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

Having run out of the Swinging Sword with Harburk Tuthmarillar they were greeted by the sight of a large sinkhole over 30 feet across having opened in front of some buildings across the street from them. They could hear the screaming of children in the hole and as they watched, an old woman ran to the edge, and had it crumbled further, and she slid in as well. All the screaming was quick to draw the attention of other villagers including some of the elders.

Harburk Tuthmarillar

Albaeri Mellikho, Ilmeth Waelvur, and Ulhro Luruth were attempting to push the other villagers away from the edge and seemed to be trying to keep everyone away from the sinkhole.  Dancer noticed that the three of them seemed to be nervous about something related to the situation. There were many calls for rope, ladders, anything to help.

Albaeri Mellikho

Ilmeth Waelvur

Ulhro Luruth

The three of them could be heard yelling at the villagers that everything was in control, and that they should just go home, and the problem would be handled.  Harburk went over to assess the situation. Albaeri came over to intercept the party.  She tried to push the characters away and told them simply that they were not needed and did not need to be involved.

While she was confronting the party, Dancer and Fwoosh were finger talking that they felt there was an issue there, or that she might know more about what had happened.  As the group started ignoring Albaeri, the other two elders came over and blocked the group as well.  They were saying things like.

“The Stones should not be disturbed.”

Fogo stepped forward and strongly stated that they were involved and were going to rescue those that had fallen. As they argued with the three, they noticed that there were a few more notable people were missing from the crowd.  No one from the Blackbutter Inn, but more interestingly was that Grund was nowhere to be seen. The party attached a long length of rope to a building for a secure hold and Dancer was quick to head on down to check out the situation and the room that everyone had fallen into.

Switching his position with a child, Dancer allowed a child to go up and Fwoosh came down following that.  This started them bringing the kids up while different members slowly made their way down. While this was occurring, Ilmeth stepped forward and started a much more aggressive stance and stood up to Fogo.

“The Delvers should not be angered.”

When pushed for answers, they only got more push back and that this was a town problem, and they should just go somewhere else.  The elders will handle this. This did not stop the rescuing of the children and finally the old woman who had sprained her ankle and needed assistance. Questioning her it seemed that the town, or at least many of them were not aware of this space under the town.  Harburk had come back over where the group was working on getting everyone up from the hole and stepped in and shepherd the elders further away from the group.

Those that were in the room at the bottom of the sinkhole began investigating the space finding a large stone door to the east and a narrow passageway to the north. Dancer and ISAC struggled with the stone door but did not have the physique to open it up.  It was heavy and difficult for them to open. As the details was shared with the party members, Fogo became much more aggressive and attempted to push Ilmeth for answers but becoming very belligerent Ilmeth only continued to push back strongly.

Harburk once again pushed the three away from the party so that the group would be able to do something while the elders were arguing against any action. It did not take long with the assistance of the villagers; the rest of the party was all able to get back together in the large room under the sinkhole. Analyzing the hole above them and room itself, it occurred to them that the recent heavy thunderstorms had saturated the ground and the tremors shook enough of the dirt and rock loose to have caused the sinkhole to open.

Exploring the tunnel heading north a bit more, it reminded them of the escape tunnel from the Ruined Moathouse.  They surmised that it might heading upward and toward the Mellikho Quarry. The fact that Albaeri had been running interference, and the issues with the quarry workers might all be related. Finding some human sized footprints in the muddy passageway that were going in both directions.

Angelica and Vladimir were able to easily open the stone door opening to long corridor where they could see another pair of stone doors with Dwarven warriors carved upon them. All the corridors were all masoned stoned.  It was all crafted and well made. Using Dancer as the forward scout everyone moved forward. The southern passageway only went a short distance before ending in a dead-end. Having a choice of further east to another stone door, or to the north.  They decided to take the northern route.

Moving slowly and carefully via the northern route and a couple of turns they eventually got to a room that had several dead bodies and many greater giant rats.  Slaughtering the rats did not take long, although Vladimir did suffer several bites reminding him of his time in the Middens in Amphail only a few weeks ago.  Once the rats were dead, they were able to move forward and inspect the dead bodies.  These bodies were all in a rough shape, and someone had carved a symbol in all their foreheads that was deep enough to crave directly into the bone.

Symbol Carved into Skulls

The symbol was very recognizable to all of them except Dancer.  It was the Drow symbol for Earth. Moving forward again they found another room with a large floating stone.  Learning to be more paranoid Dancer was able to determine that there was something waiting for them in the next room.  Sending in Benny to fool anyone inside, Benny was quickly covered in some sort of Mud Breath revealing their opponents.  A set of Mud Mephits.

Mud Mephits

The battle only held a few surprises which was the Mephit abilities to breath out an immobilizing mud breath, but the worst part was that once killed, the Mephits would explode causing damage, restraining those in range, and healing the other Mephits close by. After taking care of three of them, the other two fly away much faster than what the party could easily pursue.

With the battle completed, they moved into the room with the large floating stone but seemed to be very reluctant to touch or have anything to do with it.  The strange runes on the stone glowed softly and to the party was only a nightmare waiting to pounce upon them. Moving down the southern corridor they found another larger room with a very life-like broken statue of a dwarf.  It had a small plaque attached to the frame holding it together.

“Petrified Ironstar (?) dwarf, found 1459 DR in Red Larch West Quarry in broken condition.”

Around the statue was a ring of gravel and between the two nearly a thousand coins and a dagger covered in dried blood.  Convinced this was another trap that could send them to one of the many planes of hell, they avoided crossing the thin and beckoning stone barrier. While inspecting the room, the noticed that there was a secret door on the southern wall. Deciding that it was safer than taking one of the two doors in the room, off they went.

What they discovered was that this door had not been opened in at least several hundred years, meaning that the current inhabitants of this place had not found it.  Excited with the prospect of unlooted treasure they quickly moved down the steep ramp that led downward. The passageway left to a tomb area with 19 alcoves, each one containing some sort of stone sarcophagus.  Lights appeared on the tall ceiling as they entered, and they were able to see the reliefs of many different images.  Dwarves fighting different creatures, from humans, orc, elves, and even dragons.

Suddenly afraid that all the dead things might get up and attack them, they decided it was best to not touch much here or pay consequences that they were not ready to face. Although a lengthy and healthy discussion about looting the dwarven tomb later came about. Deciding that since it had been previously undiscovered, they could close the door again and come back later when they had more time. Heading back up to the previous room and moved to the western room.  Getting everyone ready for combat, and a difficult door, Vladimir was surprised when it easily swung into the room.  They were greeted by a very large obelisk in the middle of the room with a small boy held down by rocks un front of it, and Grund looking through something through the west door on the other side of them, keeping his hands on a set of chains waiting for something.

Grund

Braelen Hatherhand

The sudden entrance seemed to have surprised him and the party. Grund did not seem to be very happy to see the party.  He was worried that the others would come back and punish him.  He continued to argue with the party that they should leave.  Trying to fool him, Fogo disguised himself as Albaeri which seemed to work for a bit, but as the arguments continued, he seemed to realize that something was not quite right since Albaeri who always seemed to yell at anyone and everyone, was not willing to say anything. If anything, it was the multitude of people talking that really caused the confusion and exposed them more than anything else. Even with calming and logical arguments, eventually Grund was not convinced which caused ISAC and Dancer to attack Grund.

While large, he was not a difficult foe for the party.  He was quickly knocked down and only because of Vladimir yelling about not killing him, Grund was only knocked unconscious, although heavily wounded. After removing all the stones from the boy, they attempted to chat with him, but the bloody and heavy-handed takedown of Grund right in front of him caused him to clam up and refuse to talk.  They had managed to completely intimidate and nearly frightened him to death.

Avery being the smallest and least threatening of the party took the boy away from Grund’s beaten and bloody body.  Feeding him some food and water, Avery was able to get him to start talking if the rest of the party was nowhere near them and out of sight. Braelen Hatherhand shared that he had been put here by his father as a punishment, and that his father is one of the believers that worship down here. He was able to name a few more of the believers and that they were concerned about the movement of the stones in the room to the far east and that they were concerned about the stones moving which seemed to cause bad luck and might be related to the tremors that have been happening. Convincing him to go back to the starting large room where the sinkhole fell into and wait for them there.

Again, while figuring out the caging system in the western hallway, Dancer was wandering around the room and once again found something on a southern wall.  Caging Grund in one of the ones in the hallway, the found another secret door, this one a bit different.  It still appeared to have been unfound by those here, but when the door was opened, it revealed a second door.

The door was a dark grey granite that still has remains of faded paint upon it.  The stone dwarven warrior stared outward at those in the hallway.  Its eyes are holes large enough to fit a small hand while there is a hole leading into the mouth, the left hand is holding a stone saucer with a small hole on the bottom of it, and finally the right hand is held out as if waiting to hold something. It is at an angle that will cause whatever is in the palm to slide into what appears to be a pouch that has a slot on the top of it.

Stone Door with Dwarf

Surrounding the carving and written in Dwarven on the door was the following:

Aundra e eth hallanaryr wundstr avor corruption

Jert eth vjakr avor ljef

Grasp eth murmal avor temptation

Ynsta eth aldrorz anzjon

The party was amazed and completely clueless since no one was able to read Dwarvish. After a short discussion, the closed the door and pretended it no longer existed. After getting the door closed, some of the members heard something on the other side of the door to the east.  Pushing the door open were the two mephits that had flown away with four men in stone masks.

Stone Mask Men

In melee the Mephits were not very difficult, but the four stone masked men proved to be much tougher.  After nearly a minute and surviving the exploding mephits, all were vanquished. After the combat, Angelica offered a prayer to her god and healed everyone in the party all at once.

And that was the end of the session.

Campaign Notes

They are finally in the Tomb of the Moving Stones.  They found two secret doors and were only able to open one of them.  Too bad no one spoke Dwarvish.

24^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

Evening was rolling in quickly and no one wanted to be wandering around outside while dark, however Fogo’s insistence on poking dead bodies would be causing a delay. With many skeletons and a few zombies standing up and starting the assault, it did not take long for Fogo and ISAC to run screaming for help away from the room.

Skeleton

Zombie

The rest of the party was able to respond with Vladimir taking the lead to block the hallway and bottlenecking the undead from coming further down.  Deciding that retreating and with the prisoners should be smarter than trying to fight the creatures in place.  The three former prisoners with Dancer grabbing the children they quickly ran outside the cave. When having retreated halfway outside the cave, the party back around and started engaging the undead once again.

Grafaerd Ulamoira

Alfred

Gef Rilisk

With Dancer repeatedly asking what was happening, and left unanswered, but the weak and slow undead were easily killed off and reduced to moldering piles. Reuniting outside they started making their way back to Red Larch. Halfway back to town tremors started up again shaking the ground and everything around them.  This time it was a bit more severe as they could hear the slight roar of the earthquake around them.

On the way back Grafaerd was chatting with the group.  He had been out here seeking his fortune using an old map he had found in a book hidden in a library in Waterdeep.  Realizing that he was over his head and should pursue a safer profession, he handed it over to the group as a reward for saving him.

Map from Grafaerd Ulamoira

Vladimir started briefing Dancer about some of the things they had faced, especially the Bleeding Eye group and their connection with bandits.  He included his favorite enemy, the Iceshield Orcs and that they were detestable in general.  The bandits have been preying on merchants, the orcs and Uthgardt on smaller undefended settlements, and that there were some other cult groups in the area. When Fwoosh started explaining about their golden statue, everyone, especially Angelica tried to shush him from speaking about it too much. Fogo was quick to talk about the unnaturalness of the weather and some of the odd microhabitats. Dancer was happy to let the party know that he was a bounty hunter and sent out to collect a bounty of 1000gp on Oreioth, the necromancer’s heads.

Oreioth (Necromancer)

The merchant was also forthcoming about the different vendors in Red Larch.  The Wheelworks was run by a drunkard, Grund was a great pickler, but not too smart, the Swinging Sword was the nicest Inn, and that the Helm was the place where all the locals hung out at night. Continuing their way back to town, the tremors did not seem to have damaged anything and they made their way to Harburk Tuthmarillar office. The two little girls were reunited with their parents which made the family whole once again and much happier than before.

Harburk Tuthmarillar

The group started describing what happened but once he got to the Ruined Moathouse, they decided that it might be better to talk among the party first and explain everything tomorrow to the constable, especially since Harburk seemed to be a bit frustrated and unhappy that bandits have a castle nearby.

Funding Grafaerd some gold, both he and Dancer were able to rent rooms from Gwendolyn Venelli.  The entire group sat down for a meal getting a little rest and good food before heading to bed. Delillia was as surly as usual, but it did not take much long for the food to arrive.  Fogo headed to the kitchen for his training with Xaasz.  He put on his knee pads and headed on back.  Consumed with curiosity Dancer followed into the back and was greeted by the small group of goblins in the kitchen making all the meals.

Gwendolyn Venelli

Delillia Quelbeard

Xaasz

While at dinner, the party began describing more about themselves and they got a little more information about Dancer himself. He explained that he was tired of adventuring alone and waking up on top of zombie piles.  Giving some background information of each other Dancer as he shared a little more about his history. Heading up to bed, Dancer left for the night.  Gathering everyone in one of the rooms, Vladimir had an internal discussion with the party about Dancer and how to have him involved.

The discussion veered toward some of happened in the caves.  That the statue seemed to have swallowed a ball of light that had flown out of the image of the eye after the vision they all had.

25^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

With everyone in bed, Dancer made sure he got up before sunrise and head to the bakery in town.  Knocking on the door he was able to gain access with a certain amount of finger talk with Mangobarl Lorren.  Bringing him back and having him speak with Jepos, dancer informed them of his task completion. Requesting his reward, Jepos suggested that Dancer come back at sunrise to collect the reward. Jepos also offered a chance to shop at the black-market store that they were running in the bakery.

Mangobarl Lorren

Jepos Copperhand

Departing for a few hours Dancer went back to the Blackbutter Inn.  In the morning, Dancer went back and collected his bounty as well as a dozen beaver tail buns.  Passing Fwoosh heading to the same direction to purchase some bear claws, they all eventually met in the dining room of the Blackbutter Inn. A struggling tired Fogo wandered down still wearing his knee pads and his apron, which was covered with blood and fruit juice. He decided to head out to the bath at Haeleeya’s and then come back once clean. When Angelica came down, it seemed that she was a bit out of sorts since she had been disturbed by a dream that consumed her.

You stand at the edge of a vast, tempestuous sea. Dark clouds loomed overhead, casting an ominous shadow upon the horizon. The air crackled with electricity, and the sound of distant thunder resonated through the air. Istishia, appearing as a colossal figure wreathed in stormy clouds, reached out to you with a hand that sparked with lightning.

“Angelica,” the deity’s voice boomed, carrying a sense of urgency. “A tempest approaches, a tumultuous storm of great magnitude. It gathers strength, threatening to engulf all in its path. Heed my words, daughter of the tempest, for you are chosen.”

You feel a mixture of awe and trepidation, your scales tingling with anticipation. You bow her head, showing reverence to your deity.

“Seek shelter, Angelica,” Istishia commanded. “Gather your friends, those who have stood by your side in times of trial. Together, you must weather the storm that looms on the horizon. Trust in each other’s strength and find solace in the unity of your bond.”

As your deity’s words faded, the vision shifted, revealing Angelica standing among her loyal companions, their unwavering support evident in their eyes. They stood together, backs against the wind, bracing themselves for the impending storm.

“You are not alone, Angelica,” Istishia whispered, his voice gentler now. “Harness the power of water and ice that flows within you, for they shall be your shield against the coming tempest. Stand firm, weather the chaos, and emerge stronger on the other side.”

With those final words, the vision dissipated, and you awaken from you dream. You knew that your path was set before you, and that your destiny intertwined with the approaching storm. Determination surged within your heart as you vowed to gather your companions and prepare for the challenges to come. For in their unity, you would face the storm and emerge victorious, guided by the whispers of the storm god, Istishia.

She relayed parts of it to the rest of the party. Given that still had time before needing to visit Harburk, Avery was able to go through and identify all the different magic items they had collected but were just using a baggage until now.  The most interesting item was the Lantern of Equivalent Exchange.

Lantern of Equivalent Exchange

Once all of that was complete, it was time to go see Harburk at the Swinging Sword to meet breakfast so they could explain what has happened more leisurely and in greater detail. The constable was waiting for them with his six heavy-set part-time deputies and butchers sitting nearby.  As they approached Harburk they were greeted by Kaylessa Irkell the owner of the Swinging Sword. Ordering some drinks, they settled down to finally have their conversation with Harburk.

Kaylessa Irkell

Taking time to describe and explain that they had discovered a swamp southeast of here and as they entered, it started to freeze over.  In the middle was an old dwarven fortress, the Ruined Moathouse.  Within were many bandits and other creatures allied with the bandits even including an ogre. There were some thoughts considering the possibility that the necromancer and the bandits were working together since there were zombies in the Moathouse, although there were also bandit zombies in Lance Rock.  Their story only got stranger when they described the Ice Hag, and finally that there were what appeared to be soldiers in the Moathouse.

Harburk started to describe that there were stories, rumors that there was a giant dwarven city complex underneath the Sumber Hills, but there was not any proof. They also informed him that they still had not visited all the possible bandit locations and that there might be more. They also updated the constable about the changes in Amphail, and that there was now a Lord Warder in charge who had brought a unit of soldiers with him. They also expressed their concern about the hippogriff riders they had seen. He mentioned to them that there was something about a place called Feathergale Spire in the hills somewhere, but he did not know exactly where that was.

It was then that the building began to shake.  A loud roaring could be heard with creaking and groaing of buildings here and around them.  Harburk jumped up and ran to the door.  They could hear all the screaming outside, and people panicking.  A giant sinkhole had opened out outside in the street.

“The children, they fell.  Someone please help us.”

And this is where the session ended.

Campaign Notes

They thought that with the rescue of the children their adventure was coming to a point where they might get some rest, but now there was a sinkhole in town and more children to rescue.

Maps

24^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

“You dare to pit yourselves against the Lord of Lance Rock? Death is your reward!”

Necromancer

As the party stared horrified, the hooded figure looked up with its sunken and rotting features and shambled toward them when the two large buckets erupted with a mass of hands and limbs and swarmed to the party.  

Zombie

Swarm of Limbs

The robed figure in the back with the four skeleton archers waited for the group to move further into the cave before ordering the archers to start firing and he retreated further into the depths of the caves. One interesting point was when Avery ran to the front of the combat to unleash his burning hands on the undead and incidentally included Vladimir within the area of effect. Vladimir was able to enjoy the pinching swarm of hands all over himself.  It seems that he is becoming more comfortable being swarmed by creatures and chewed upon. The rest of the combat did not take very long for the party to finish off the dead creatures and make their way to the end of the large cave.  Waiting for them at the end of the cave was a large armored ogre skeleton.

Armored Ogre Skeleton

It did not seem inclined to move from its guarding position and seemed like it was waiting for the party to make the first move.  While this was going on, some of the others explored the remainder of the cave.  There was a long set of stairs to the east that led up a wall to a peephole and a lever.  Behind that peephole was a small room that contained a pair of stone boxes.  Not being able to resist the urge, Avery pulled the lever which turned out to completely collapse the room behind the peephole.  There was some concern that the little girls might have been hidden in the boxes and that their mission might have already ended in failure.

Deciding to not worry about it, they moved forward and Fogo engaged the giant skeleton without much preparation which caused a lengthy and almost deadly combat since the large skeleton was one of the toughest foes they had faced and was able to do tremendous damage knocking our Angelica bounding her away from it.  But once again, once the party was fully engaged, they were able to take it out suffering only a little more than normal.

Before heading deeper into the tunnels, a tremor started shaking the grounds, nothing severe, but enough to make everyone concerned. Worried the lever at the peephole might have done something to the cavern, everyone prepared for the worst, but nothing more occurred.  Finally moving forward down the corridor to pursue the necromancer, they finally arrived at a room.  It contained a couch, several chairs, a bed, and what appeared to be a dining room table and chair.  The necromancer was pacing back and forth muttering expletives about the intruders and how they did not give him his proper reverence.

Moving in to start the attack, Fogo placed a spike growth in the room to attempt to lock down the necromancer and allow everyone else to attack.  Most of the group moved into the room preparing to engage, when their opponent cast a spell.  A spell that created a spinning jagged crown on top of Vladimir’s head.  As everyone tried to get some sort of advantage on their foe, Vladimir started attacking and pursuing Fwoosh. Shortly afterwards, the necromancer pulled back the curtain at his back and misty stepped away from the fray leaving the party to deal with the charmed Vladimir.

It only took a few rounds before everything was sorted and Vladimir came back to his senses.  Chasing after the wizard, they found a secret door with a corridor that headed down and south of their location.  It led to another larger room which had a huge stone slab as a table with what appeared to be a dragon skeleton upon it.  Once the necromancer saw the party he yelled.

“ARISE!”

Incomplete Dragon Skeleton

Which caused the skeleton to stand up and begin to attack the party.  ISAC and Vladimir moved into to attack the dragon while everyone else stuck to the north side of the room to continue chasing the wizard into the last room. The wizard gave them another point to consider.

“Can’t you see it? It’s the Eye! It sees your every move! Don’t you fear it?”

Within the room at the center stands stone covered in runes and a pedestal fashioned of severed arms arranged to clutch one another in a cone. Cradled in the uppermost hands is a glowing crystal sphere. A dark sigil with an eyelike slit floats above the sphere.  Bloody script covers one wall.  It is messy and difficult to read.

Evil Sigil

Again, combat was quick, the necromancer was a wizard, wizards are like tissue paper, he died quickly, but when he died, he burst into a black flame completely consuming him causing his to scream in great agony as he vanished. Fwoosh being ever inquisitive and no longer having a target, poked the eye with his rapier. This immediately caused the entire party to fall into darkness and all saw the following dream.

You see before you a bountiful field rich with wheat. A Bird’s cry startles you then is silent, the bubbling of a nearby brook babbles secrets you do not understand, the earth beneath your feet groans in protest and gives way. You fall deep beneath the field, the rich warmth of flame reaching out to embrace you.

You are standing on a hilltop staring at the clear night sky, a cool breeze nipping at your bare chest. There is a thunderous roar as the sky rips itself apart and the stars fall to the ground. In the skyless night the stars plummet into a nearby ocean and its water turns scarlet and still. Other stars fall on an unsuspecting town, but no one notices. The mountain erupts in black fire and silver smoke, but no one notices. A Voice calls out for them to flee, to seek shelter, to fend for their lives, but no one notices.

A Feather. A Scale. A Golden Mask. A Wicker Doll.

The village is silent and still, smoldering in the skyless night sky.

Laughter. Unrestrained laughter echoes across the silent scene, pure and guttural. A single lidless eye stretches across the sky from horizon to horizon, staring down at you as the laughter builds on itself, as though you are part of a great cosmic joke.

Once the sequence was complete everyone awakened stunned briefly, but not sufficiently to stop the destruction of the dragon skeleton.  With all immediate danger gone, they moved back to the room where the eye had been, and all that was left was some sort of floating blue globe.  It was stashed in Angelica’s vault shield and everyone started reading the bloody writing on the wall.  It read.

In the realm wh’re destiny int’rtwines,

a bodement f’retold, through ancient signs,

of elemental l’rds and prophets four,

at which hour chaos awakens, the w’rld to expl’re.

The elemental l’rds, fi’rce and unbound,

earth, air, fireth, and wat’r, profound,

with allies by their side, prophets of might,

seeking dominion, to vanquish the lighteth.

Air l’rd’s prophet, with partisan hath raised high,

earth l’rd’s prophet, war picketh to defy,

fireth l’rd’s prophet, dagg’r ablaze,

wat’r l’rd’s prophet, trident’s gentle gazeth.

Togeth’r those gents gath’r, darkness their guideth,

their weapons, unknowing, holdeth secrets inside,

keys to the gateways, wh’re chaos is b’rn,

to saveth the w’rld, a quest might not but beest sw’rn.

But h’roes shalt riseth, their spirits untamed,

to visage the prophets, their destiny unclaimed,

with courage and val’r, those gents’ll hurlyburly the odds,

to reclaim the keys and confronteth the gods.

Through treach’rous battles, those gents’ll striveth to succeedeth,

to slayeth the prophets and fulfill the decree,

to seize the weapons, the keys those gents conceal,

unlocking the pow’r to mendeth and to healeth.

With each fallen prophet, a key is revealed,

a grise clos’r to vict’ry, the darkness repealed,

sealing the gateways, wh’re chaos runs deep,

rest’ring the w’rld from et’rnal catch but a wink.

The h’roes, chosen, their hearts int’rtwined,

unit’d those gents standeth, their purpose defined,

harnessing the weapons, the keys yond ignite,

those gents sealeth the gateways, rest’ring the lighteth.

And so, the bodement shalt cometh to passeth,

a testament to the h’roes’ val’r and class,

f’r those gents possesseth the strength to defy,

to safeguard our w’rld, until the endeth of timeth.

Rememb’r this bodement, etch’d in l’re,

a tale of triumph ‘gainst the elemental roar,

embrace the h’ro within, alloweth thy spirit ignite,

to protecteth our w’rld, pres’rving its lighteth

Blue Floating Globe

As they pondered the meaning of these words, ISAC reminded them that they were here to rescues some little girl, not ponder the odd things written in blood on a wall by a necromancer madman. Moving on to the last hallway to the west, they came to the prison.  There were four men chained to the wall, and they could see the two girls huddling and tightly gripping a bundle of fur.  Within the room, was a half-elf ranger, a human merchant, a human guard, and an Iceshield Orc.

The half-elf was named Grafaerd Ulamoira, the merchant Alfred, the Mirabaran Guard Gef Rilisk, and no one cared about the orc.

Grafaerd Ulamoira

Alfred

Iceshield Orc

Gef Rilisk

It turns out that the guard had been part of a caravan coming from Mirabar and he had gotten separated some place to the north of Red Larch.  The merchant had been kidnapped by zombies, and no one really cared how the orc got there.  The child clutched bundle of fur turned out to be Dancer, a Tabaxi.  All the prisoner’s gear was in a large box near the entrance where everyone except the orc gathered up their stuff.  The orc?  Vladimir had private business with him with his weapons.  A quick one-sided duel had Vladimir coming out of the prison area covered in orc blood.

Wanting to get the girls back home, the larger group retraced their steps back to the entrance where they realized there was a short corridor that they had no yet explored.  Fogo and ISAC went forward leaving the rest in the bloodstained front room.  There was a combination of over 20 corpses in both skeleton and full body condition.  Not satisfied with their state, Fogo decided it was best to start poking dead bodies in a necromancer’s cave complex. Several of them stood up and started engaging the two in the room.

And this is where the session ended.

Campaign Notes

The Lord of Lance Rock has been killed, the girls rescued, the new party member Dancer has joined the party, and not willing to leave anything behind, a small beehive of undead have been awakened on the way out.  The Prelude is quickly coming to an end, but not quite yet.

Map of Lance Rock

19^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

After winding up at the Ammakyl store and saying their goodbyes to the merchants they rescued, Sky suddenly spoke up.

“Hey guys.  I just remembered something my mother had told me about where to look or what to do if she ever disappeared. I am going to run back to Waterdeep and start there.  I am hoping to not end up naked again.”

And with that, Sky ran off with small amounts of dust following his heels.  Tina Ammakyl escorted Fogo, Fwoosh, and Angelica to Wescott’s Saddlers to help them purchase a new ride.  With Tina helping, the group was able to get a used wooden covered wagon and four draft horses.  There was not really much negotiation, but Fwoosh was quick to make a friend of Nesbis and accepted the prices offered.

Tina Ammakyl

Nesbis Westcott

 While one group was purchasing the wagon, the second group of Vladimir, ISAC and Avery went to the Stone Stallion to get a room for the night for everyone.  After ringing the bell on the counter for over 15 minutes someone finally came to serve the ones waiting. For a small fee they were able to rent a medium room on the top floor again.  The floor that was the most damage and set aside for mercenaries and those most likely to cause troubles. Signing in as “The Watchers” which only caused a serious eyeroll from the girl serving them. Going up the room, the only thing that was new were several deep scars in the wall of the hallway of the sixth floor.  Which was a bit amazing since all the surfaces were protected by magic.

Avery rushed to the bath while ISAC rested on one of the couches within the room not watching Avery, nor paying for it.  Vladimir headed downstairs to wait for the others to arrive so they would all know where the room is and be able to go to dinner together.  Eventually the rest of the group arrived with Vladimir asked if they had also acquired any wagon fluid, which confused and concerned Fwoosh. It was then Vladimir explained that it was just a joke which Fwoosh was not at all happy about and did not understand.

Vladimir stayed behind for his bath while the rest went to the Stag’n’Flag for a late meal.  Upon entry, the inside had not appreciably changed except the middle of the room had been emptied with an eight-foot woman standing there encouraging any burly man available to wrestle with her. The group made their way to a table ordered some food and drink.  The mix of patrons within the Stag’n’Flag was a bit different from normal.  There were far less nobles within than any of the previous visits.  There were more merchants and even soldiers from the Iron Terminal, the new fortification being built on the edge of town.

Stag’n’Flag Waitress

The large woman was able to talk the muscled guard into a wrestling match which took more time to talk about it than the actual bout.  She picked him up by the top of his head, spun him around and slammed him into the ground.  She then one-handed picked him up and dropped him into a chair at the table he had so recently vacated.  It did not take long for the large woman to make her way over and started talking to Fog, who was also over seven-feet tall. It seemed she had found her newest opponent.

Dlara

Fogo was willing and was able to last an entire three rounds before a quick suplex laid him out flat and unmoving. He was carried by the large woman back to his table and introduced herself as Dlara and a friend of the owner. After being offered a bottle of fine wine, she opened and answered many questions from the party.  She revealed that she was a wizard and wrestling was just a fun pastime for her.

She talked about having moved here from Waterdeep with her friend. Dlara specifically researched planar activity and movement.  She was interested in the wider multiverse, but was not that familiar with the elemental plans, there were not an area she had interest in.  When asked about the odd things happening further north, she did admit that it was odd, and smelled like the elemental planes were somehow intruding on this plane.  She explained, it could be gods, demons or devils, artifacts, wizards, planar holes or portals, elemental lords trying to push their way into this plan, or even any or all those possible combinations.  It could even be something she knew nothing about.

She also talked about the rumors of a set of ruins hidden under Horse Pond.  The tomb of a barbarian maiden queen buried hundreds of years ago.  Her tomb hidden inside some sort of pocket or plane under the water.  She has been searching for it but has of yet not found anything.  The Horse Pond is almost 800 feet deep at the deepest and is artificial.  When the tomb was built, the pond was dug up and then the whole thing filled with water burying the tomb and any secrets under the water.

Avery took advantage of her good will and had her determine what the scroll was that they had found in the Ruined Moathouse.  Looking for the coin and not adding these to his spell book in the future, Avery sold the scroll to her for a small amount of gold. It was with that entry that Fogo wanted to know more about arcane magic, and she briefly spoke about the Tapestry and how wizards pull the threads of it to create their spells.

It was then that Vladimir entered the tavern. It was at that point that Fwoosh decided that he should also joke with Vladimir.  She convinced Dlara the body slam Vladimir to the ground, which she happily responded with a smack down that almost knocked out Vladimir. It was at that point that the party started discussing what a practical joke really was. With that she departed and wandered over to the bar counter.

Before everyone split up, there was a quick discussion for the plans in the morning, and then Angelica and Avery headed back to the room, with Fogo and ISAC headed to Horse Pond to have a location to have a quiet chat, leaving Vladimir and Fwoosh behind with some partially empty bottles of wine and another order of biscuits.  The two left behind at the tavern drank a little more and then also headed back to the room.

Fogo and ISAC had a lengthy discussion on the naturalness or unnaturalness of what ISAC is. It was a long and somewhat esoteric conversation that covered a lot of subjects about what is alive, what makes a person, their shell or their inside, and just what seems to make sense between them.  Nothing was fully resolved, but Fogo did admit while still feeling somewhat uncomfortable, was willing to support ISAC still fully in the party and would still do everything he could to support and protect him.

Eventually everyone made it back to the room and they settled in for a rest they all felt they deserved.

20^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

Starting early the next morning, Vladimir went to the saddlers by himself to get everything ready for their trip, while Avery visited a poorly managed egg and poultry store purchasing a dozen eggs. 

Murial Maerlbar

Angelica, Fwoosh, and ISAC headed to the sundries store. Purchasing as many healing potions they could find as well as some random gear that they hoped would help them more in the future.  They were offered and mechanical canary but only Fwoosh was a little interested but was talked out of the purchase.  They did discover that a gnome had been by that they through was probably Jepos. ISAC found an interesting little cat pendent that seemed to be interesting enough for him to purchase. Once completed, they headed to the saddlers.

Saul Blockgnasher

Cat Pendent

While everyone else was occupied, Fogo headed to the Dwarvish Smith’s forge.  He arrived at loud banging and pounding as the forge was active and busy. Meeting one of the young female dwarves inside he attempted to negotiate for some ratty reptile skins he had, but finally settled on giving them a very large pile of cash to have the chiton of the Ankheg turned into a breastplate for himself. Heading to the saddlers to meet everyone else, the group was once again together.

Akrosz Ulvinhand

For some reason, Avery seemed to know about the cat pendent to which ISAC gave it to him. When Avery found out that there were mechanical birds available, he ran off to the sundries store and bought the canary as well as a mechanical owl.  He rejoined the group and all of them got on to Long Road and headed to Red Larch. Only Fwoosh was unhappy since he had wanted to purchase the mechanical canary but felt that ISAC had talked him out of it.

By the time they finally got on the road it was midday, the farthest they would be able to reach would be the fortified outpost to the north. During the trip Fogo concentrated on the magic ring they had acquired from Lareth and Avery seemed focused on his new cat pendent.  Only an hour later Avery dropped out of the back of their wagon, stroked gently and with care and yelled out the following.

“Felis Volans”

And a medium sized hairless cat appeared with a saddle and seemed to be ready to be ridden by Avery.

Hairless Cat Mount

Hopping on, Avery took a ride on his new acquisition. 

It shrunk back down into its pendent for with which Avery put it back on and hopped back on to the wagon. They eventually arrived at the fortified outpost just before dark.  They were once again greeted by the guards, a different set from previously.  With some conversation with the sergeant that met them at the gate some additional information came to light about their commander back in Amphail.

“So, you met the commander; he is a hoot.  Every man here would die for him. It would have been better off if they had not told him to retire. There is not a better man you could have guided you or driving you. None of us would be here without him.”

After a quick inspection of the people and wagon, the party was allowed to camp near the outpost for the evening. Avery yelled out as they set up camp.

“Felis Absconditus”

And his hairless riding cat disappeared back into its pendent form. Fogo continued to strive to make a meal for the group, it was not horrible, nor was it great, but it was edible and somewhat tasty. Deciding that this camp site was most likely safe being adjacent to the outpost, everyone slept as if their lives have never been in danger.

21^st of Mirtul of the year 1492

Morning arrived without anyone being stolen for a snack, no surprise attacks, just another normal morning, one of the first in the last two weeks for them. As they were getting ready and with a quick move Vladimir seemed to be able to see behind his back and saved Avery from being kicked in the head by one of the horses named ‘William”.

It was at that point, that Vladimir requested Fogo to look for any additional magic around the wagon. It seemed that most of the party members had been hearing a voice of an old man in their heads.  ISAC pointed out he had talked about this before, that he had a friend Kieran that was around.  Everyone suspected that he had been communicating with them for some reason.  When pressed for more information, ISAC explained a bit more about his friend.

After a quick meal they got their wagon and horses ready and after an hour or so managed to get back on the road again. The day progressed without any issues, but at some point, Fogo noticed a pair of hippogriffs flying parallel to the long road for a period and flew off to the north.

Hippogriff

The afternoon rolled by, and evening was approaching the party find a camp site near the road for the evening. As they started setting up, the weather began to change once again.  Black clouds have continued to grow further south.  Lightning was frequent and the roar of thunder could easily be heard as the storm was moving toward them.  While not raining on them, it was only a matter of time before it reached their location.

When looking around and seemingly directed to a location, ISAC found a pile of large dung.  Calling Fogo over to identify it, it seemed to Fogo that it came from some sort of bear, but not quite.  Bears are omnivores whereas this stool came from a carnivore of some type, but still resembled bear feces.  This news only concerned the party that they might have a large creature in the area.

Approaching Lightning Storm

The group headed to bed attempting to have some sort of watch at night to try and keep the camp safe. It was during late at night that the storm arrived.  The lightning was blinding for those on watch and the loud thunder not only made all the horses nervous, but also prevented everyone from getting a full night’s rest leaving everyone fatigued.

22^nd of Mirtul of the year 1492

With everyone awake far too early with the storm pounding the outside of the wagon, everyone was feeling tired and not just a little irritable.  Working together to get the wagon and horses ready they were ready to get out of the storm and get to Red Larch.  The storm kept away any creatures that might have attacked them, but at the end of the day they were still a half day away from probably safety.

Deciding to push on and further exhaust themselves and their horses even more they attempted to make the remainder of the trip to Red Larch.

23^rd of Mirtul of the year 1492

It was early morning, and prior to sunrise, the storm finally broke several miles away from Red Larch allowing them to reach the town in rough condition with everyone filled with exhaustion and the horses ready to drop.

And this is where the session ended.

Campaign Notes

It was a long trip, but they made it safely back to Red Larch.  With everyone with several levels of exhaustion, the group will not be able to do much for a couple of days.  They are very close to the conclusion of the Prelude and only have a few things left to find and accomplish. Maybe then they can take a small rest, much like the calm before the storm.

17^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

Starting the morning on the edge the swamp, the weather was remarkably warmer than the previous several days.  It took only a day to reach the Long Road where they decided to camp on the side of the Long Road.  It was a nice change to have the merchants take care of the camp and everything related to setting up the camp.  While not stated, it was evident that the group needed some camp nannies to help them out.

At some point of the day, Angelica noticed that one of the merchant drivers kept looking up confused. When asked about it, she was told.

“I saw something weird flying above us not long ago. It seemed like a horse with wings or something.”

Later in the day one of the other drivers also noticed something flying in the sky. The report was basically the same as he first description. Deciding that if someone were on top of the wagon, they might be able to get a better view of whatever might be flying around.  Fwoosh and Sky decided that they would be the ones to watch from on top of the wagons.

Later during the afternoon, Sky was able to notice far away some creatures flying.  It was not horses with wings, but a creature with an eagle in the front part and a horse in the rear part. After discussing it between themselves, they were able to figure out that it was a hippogriff. Now that they were more aware of what might be flying, they were able to watch more carefully.

Hippogriff

The hippogriffs seemed to be flying parallel to the road and occasionally there were more than one flying, and looking closer, they noticed that people were riding these creatures. Vladimir was able to remember that there have been some military forces that have used flying creatures in some of their more elite units. He vaguely remembered a former Waterdeep unit that had all quit together and moved somewhere else.  They were called “feather-something”, he could not remember the entire name.

The group finally reached the Long Road as night approached.  The merchants quickly set up camp and took care of the horses and wagons. At some point Fwoosh looked for Jepos and noticed that he had started putting together some new clothes to replace his rags, some new shoes, and even started tailoring some of the clothing from the dead bandits to fit him. The rest of the night was uneventful If not a little fearful with the thought of those creatures flying above them somewhere.

Jepos Copperhand

18^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

The morning was simple, and everyone worked together to take the camp down, the party, the former prisoners, the horses, and the remaining two wagons all headed south toward Amphail.  Nothing happened on the route south, however, ISAC stopped everyone to look at where they had been ambushed two weeks ago.  It was very puzzling and alarming.  All the bodies were gone, the fallen trees gone, the ground seemed to have been repaired.  It was like the ambush had never happened.  Fogo pointed out that it must have taken a druid, or powerful magic to have fix everything like it was.

While still on top of the wagons, Fwoosh and Sky kept an eye on the sky but instead of hippogriffs, they instead saw that the sky north of them was no longer a dark orange, nothing unnatural, there were only a few dark clouds.  It was toward the late afternoon Fwoosh was able to see faintly four things flying in the sky.  Something to the east of them. Four creatures flying in formation.

The last few hours of the day passed, and they began to reach their camping site, they saw a fortified outpost sitting on the side of the road.  As they approached, ten soldiers came marching out, soldiers that were all wearing Waterdeep uniforms.  The same uniforms as the soldiers in Rassalantar.

Waterdeep Soldiers

These soldier unlike the ones in Rassalantar, these were all older me, scarred and much more serious. Vladimir was able to recognize their specific unit. They were a well decorated and were veterans of many wars.  While he did not remember their commanders name, he did remember the two nicknames he had, which was “The Law Giver”, and “The Butcher”. A strict man, one that kept the law very rigidly.

Stopped and queried by the sergeant they were instructed to park and camp next to the outpost.  After an inspection by the solders and the group sharing some information about the Ruined Moathouse, the party was told that they would be escorted to Amphail the next day and brought to the Commander, who now was the Lord Warder of Amphail.

Getting the camp set up, the group rested with a contingent of guards wandering around their camp during the night. Another uneventful night passed them by.

19^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

With the soldiers coming to the camp before daylight and attempting the roust the group, the merchants managed to get the party together and on the road with the soldiers jogging beside the wagons as everyone else road them.  Arriving at Amphail another surprise greeted them as they could see a large Motte and Bailey being constructed by several hundred workers.  The wooden walls were already constructed, a 70-foot hill sat in the southern part and a stone tower was being constructed.  The small fort would easily be able to hold at least a hundred men.

As they slowly road into town, they were also able to smell the Middens.  It seems that someone had burned it to the ground since they were here last.  The sergeant led them into the fort and had them park while he ran up the staircase up the hill to the tower.  There were also two stone fortified buildings being built inside.  The entire fort would be completed before the end of the month.  It was at this point that the party realized that Jepos was gone and no longer with them.  They were not sure at what point he had run off.

They with the sergeant waited to be called by the commander. When they told him about the missing gnome, the sergeant seemed to be confused since he and his men had not seen the other gnome, nor had recorded his presence.  They gave a description and what little details they had about him.  After an hour they were finally called up to meet the commander.  Sky and Fwoosh used this opportunity to rush and run to the top of the stairs.  Only through their excellent dexterity allowed them to get up those uneven and treacherous steps and not fall and seriously injure themselves.

They were escorted into the commander’s office and seated in chairs fanned out around his desk.  There sat the commander, Briiathor Alogarr.

Briiathor Alogarr

A tense discussion then took place, mostly tense for the characters and much less so for the very stern commander. They explained about themselves and how they managed to rescue the Ammakyl merchants with most of the details of what they had found and faced. They gave him their map from the Constable and later during the conversation the letter they found in Lareth’s room.  He was also surprised by the varied weather and temperature changes in the swamp, and even that there was a swamp in the valley.  After being told about the bleeding eye tattoos, he seemed to recognize it and told them that the name of the commander of those bandits was called Lucius Morgan.

He was also apprised of the possible water cult using the drow water symbol. The Lord Warder asked a lot of clarifying questions and pushed for answers in several different ways.  While asking questions, he also revealed more information about the different forces in the valley and their distribution. He was curious about what had been encountered, how many of different types, and how skilled each group they encountered might have been.

They had also mentioned that they had seen several hippogriffs with riders in the area as well.  Briiathor remembered about a unit from a few years ago called the Feathergale Knights that had been serving in Waterdeep under the command of Thurl Merosska.  There was some sort of scandal with nobles and their leader led them all away to somewhere else.  It was assumed they had become mercenaries of some sort. He also expressed his admiration for the Knights of Samular, and that they are considered very trustworthy.

He did query into all their circumstances and reasons for being in the valley and specifically Red Larch.  As a final part of their discussion, they also mentioned that there had been a gnome with them but had disappeared. The party was requested to tell them if they encountered this gnome again. He also requested that they seek and destroy any remaining bandits since they had not yet killed all that were around.  It would take many more bandits to have taken out the Ammakyl wagon train than they had encountered so far.

Before departing they were given a small, silvered coin with a gauntlet with lightning bolts on it.  It represented this military unit and would allow them to make contact and request assistance sometime in the future.

With the merchants, the group headed down to the Ammakyl store to settle accounts and deliver the freed merchants.  The once again met Tina Ammakyl and other shopkeepers.  There were a lot of sad stories told as the merchants talked about who was missing.  In the end only eight came back out of the over 40 that had left with the merchant train.  Tina rewarded them and even bought the contents of the wagons and any else they wanted to sell no matter the source.

Tina Ammakyl

And it was here where the session ended.

15^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

After finishing a short rest, Fogo did a quick Detect Magic to see if any of their ill-gotten gains were magical, and it turned out that one of the maces and the breastplate the priest had been wearing were both magical.  Stashing them away and cleaning up their impromptu camp the group was ready.

The party decided to finally look at and attempt to open the last heavily fortified door.  It was not locked and proved to be the priest’s office and bedroom. The room looked like it had been ransacked.  All the furniture had been beaten up, a table and desk bashed with a hard blunt instrument, a bookcase tossed over, and finally, a large pile of burnt documents sitting by the door.

It seems that the priest before running out to engage the characters had paused to burn anything important to ensure no information leaked in case the combat did not go their way.  Avery stepped over to the desk to see if he could find anything remaining while Fwoosh dug through the ashes hoping for a remnant piece of paper.

The desk proved to be completely empty, and secret compartments in the desk had been opened and dumped, and the desk itself bashed enough times to break it in half. The ash pile was not even warm anymore.  It was evident that the hour-long waits gave the small fire sufficient time to burn down anything that was there and to cool completely.  As he continued to dig through them looking closely, he saw a sheet of paper under a chair nearby.

While in a hurry, the priest seemed to have missed something.  Fwoosh scooted over and grabbing the paper. It was clear that it had been in the fire, and through some means had escape before burning completely.  Most of the message was obscured by the burnt hole in the middle.  If they had only gone into the room sooner, more might have been recovered.

There was one passage that seemed to stick out for them:

“I have contacted our spies in Red Larch to keep an eye on them and remove their presence if needed.”

Otherwise, the room was empty of anything else.  In fact, it seemed overly empty.  The room had been almost completely cleared out of anything.  There were not any clothes, knickknacks, or anything, it was bare except for smashed furniture and a burnt pile of documents.  When everyone examined the rest of the space, it looked like the soldiers had completely emptied out the areas only leaving their packs.  They were ready to depart in just minutes before the characters had arrived and interrupted their exit.

Knowing there was nothing else to find everyone convened in the main room. A lengthy dialogue occurred about what their exact plans should be. It was decided that securing the exit would be the best plan before gathering the prisoners.  They also remembered that there were supposed to be ghouls somewhere in the ruins that they had not yet met.  There were only a few areas they had not visited, but they felt the urgency of needing to get the prisoners away to be the most important.

Heading down the tunnel, they were finally able to reach the end of it after over 500 feet.  The tunnel was straight and in the last 50 feet the ground started becoming frozen as well as the walls until they reached the4 end where the walls, floor, and ceiling were sheathed in a thin coat of ice.  Looking out into the open area they could see a damaged wagon just outside of the opening, and two wagons with horses tacked up and ready to go.  They also heard voiced.  Rough and ruff voices to the right and left of the opening as well from one of the wagons up ahead.  Voices speaking in a language that only Avery could understand.  Goblin.  There were bugbears waiting outside with the wagons needed for the escape.

Huddling around further back in the tunnel, the party started making plans.  It was good that the bugbears were further away and were not expecting invaders since the group were not speaking in hushed tones.  There were several close calls as the bugbears are well known for their ambushes, assassinations, and capability to hear very well.

Deciding on a path of action, Fogo used Disguise magic on himself making him resemble the priest exactly.  Moving out through the exit it did not take long for the bugbears to notice the characters.  Avery split off from the rest in anticipation of hostilities, which made the bugbears much more suspicious because none of the party was recognizable except the priest to them.

A larger bugbear began speaking loudly at Fogo, unfortunately Fogo did not speak goblin.

“Lareth, is everything ready to go? Where is Sar?”

At which point Avery answered:

“Sar is dead.”

“Who are you? Lareth, what is going on?”

It was at this point, that Fogo interjected in the common tongue since he did not recognize any of the previous conversation.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. We found these guys, and everyone has a price. We were able to convince them to join our cause and we are bringing them with us. The rest of the people are back and are almost done packing up. They will be here in just a couple of minutes. In fact, it would very helpful if someone could give them a hand.”

“The wagons are already packed.”

“There were just a couple more things that they needed back there.”

“Can we get two or three guys going back there?”

The bugbear boss started yelling at some of the other ones and four of the six splits off and started running down the secret passage. It seemed that Fogo’s persuasion worked and most of the bugbears departed.  Fogo continued.

“We got into a bit of a scuffle with these guys before they decided there was a better option them.  I wonder if we have any healing potions, we can give them so they can be at full strength for the journey.”

The bugbear boss responded in goblin.

“Only if you packed something, only you would know what is in there.”

Not understanding, Fogo just kept nodding his head in agreement, but the conversation continued in goblin.

“Why did the gnome say Sar is dead? Where is Sar?”

Using that opportunity, Avery decided that the jig was up and let off with a Ray of Frost missing the bugbear, but fully alerting him that something was not right.  Yelling for the last remaining bugbear they attacked the party.  It did not take too long to finish the two of them off, but their constant yelling did attract the other four who made it back just as the others died.  The combat continued until all the bugbears had been killed except one that they captured to question later.

Finally having time to start inspecting the wagons they found enough arms and armor for at least 20 to 30 people and food for a 100.  There were two small chests and a single large one.  There was also a particular long box full of black cloaks.  Avery took a cloak, one of the small chests while ISAC took the other small chest.  It was getting very late, and darkness had already descended, and the cold was biting into them a fair amount. Untacking the horses attached to the wagons, they moved those 12 horses into the hallway to prevent them from freezing, abandoning the two lame horses outside as well as the two warhorses that would not allow them to get too close.

Moving the horses about 150 into the tunnel they left ISAC and Fogo to guard the horses while the rest began shuffling the merchants down to the soldiers’ barracks room. The merchant who had been hanging in chains and heavily tortured had died at some point not been healed. As the time neared midnight, the party started their watches relieving those guarding the horses every two hours and keeping the heavily fortified doors locked.  It was before the first watch ended that Fogo realized that his bugbear prisoner was imminently about to escape.  Not wanting to deal with it, he just bashed in its skull killing it.

During Sky’s watch he allowed the horses to move forward deeper into the warmer tunnel until the lead on was stopped by the closed door in front of the barracks.  There was some consternation with the next group having watch as the horses were occupying all the open space.

Sometime during the night as ISAC was resting, he lost focus and began dreaming again.

“Your body feel light and gently floating.  As you open your eyes, you see an open void.  The inkiness of the void is very stark, but at the same time you do not feel lonely.  You feel companionship nearby.  Something familiar is close to you.  Your body slowly spins around, and you can see the golden statue.  It seems much larger that you are, it feels like you could fly around it.  It is transparent, as if it is not fully there, or that it is only partially represented in this space.

As you close in on the item, the four blocks of the bottom split out and start making a slow orbit around the top part. As you watch, you realize that the top part is really an eye.  A closed eye, but it is attempting to open, but cannot.

You feel it drawing something from you, some sort of internal essence.  You feel weaker as it draws from you and while that happens, you are slowly becoming more transparent, while it seems more solid.  As it becomes more solid you can feel the eye attempting to open again, but still cannot, something is preventing that.

A shape pain strikes your head, your brain, your being, and you awaken with a severe headache and the dream fading with the morning.  The golden statue rests in your hands.

Upon awakening, the statue was truly in his hands and Fwoosh did not have it. While somewhat disturbing, Fwoosh seemed to be happy that it did not seem to be attached to him any longer.

16^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

Early the next morning the party, the merchants, and the mysterious gnome all headed out. It took them to nearly noon to get the horses back out of the hall, tacked up to the wagons, and get everything ready to go.  While working outside, the four horses that had been left outside were all dead.  It was not sure if it was because of the cold or some large creature since the two warhorses had large bites missing from them, one of the lame horses clawed into pieces, and the second lame horse missing, and clearly dragged off into the frozen swamp somewhere.

Before departing the gnome insisted that they burn the last remaining wagon to ensure they were not leaving anything for the bandits.  Putting the Ruined Moathouse behind them, the group all traveled forward.  The small trail they were able to follow first headed to the east, then made a turn to the north until they exited the swamp.  The closer the got to the edge of the swamp the warmer the weather was becoming, and the muddiness of the trail and swamp more prevalent.

Reaching the edge, they could see the trail then headed directly west.  Nighttime had already arrived, and they set up camp for the night. Fwoosh put on a little show to entertain the merchants and the opening of one of the barrels of brandy helped the night pass well for everyone.

As the evening moved on, ISAC had Fwoosh investigate the two chests.  The small one was opened and contained a large amount of gold coins, probably some of the bandit payroll. The larger chest was heavily trapped with poisonous darts and difficult lock but was nothing in front of Fwoosh.  Contained within was a multitude of wealthy goods.  It looked like all the expensive goods from the priest.

Theories and ideas were shared, and that perhaps the cold was related to the water group, and maybe the heat was related to a fire group. It generated many different hypothesizes and directions, but without any evidence they could only guess what it all meant.  But as more pieces of information came it started creating a larger and complex picture of what was happening.

With some input and arguments for what direction to go, the group decided to head to Amphail the next day since they would be halfway between Red Larch and Amphail.

Deciding to revisit the statue, ISAC was able to demonstrate that it did have additional powers that it did not have previously.  In fact, it now had some offensive power to compliment the previous defensive powers.  The new attacks where of the four different elements, each one new and different from any magic any of the arcane casters have heard or seen of previously.

17^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

Morning came and the camp was packed up with everyone starting to head in the direction they believed was toward the Long Road.

And that is where the session ended.

Campaign Notes

The Ruined Moathouse comes to an end.  They encountered a new group, ones that seemed to worship water as a source.  This is now two of the four elemental symbols they have come across.  The merchants rescued and they are near the road, safety is near, or at least they all hope so.  The Gold Statue has changed, it has more power, what else does it have?

15^th of Mirtul of the year 1492

The mid-morning started off some serious dialogue among the party.  ISAC had to get some information off his chest about what had been happening to him.  He explained that he is never asleep nor has ever needed to breath, but when the giant bug had ambushed him, his thoughts vanished for a period time, and then there was the dream.  A dream that made him feel suffocated and unable to breath, a unique experience for him.  And he too heard a voice speak out.

“I shall tear the breath from all of you, I will give you unending agony of being torn asunder and spread your blood and flesh over the wind”.

It was clear that the party had now dreamed of the four different elements, and something dire at the same time.  The conversation then veered around different tactics that they might want to employ the next time they got into combat, especially trying to control Sky’s need to run forward, something he himself did not seem to really understand why he did that.  Something deeper within him was the cause and anxiousness of that.

The discussion also covered the need to start using the members of the party to take care of the actions that they were best at, such as searching, trap finding, and other aspects of general exploration and adventure. Once the talks were complete, the group began moving forward again.

Sky was able to notice that the eastern most doorway seemed to have had the most amount of traffic.  Working carefully to not set off another alarm Vladimir and Fwoosh worked together to ensure a smooth and quiet entry into the area behind the door.  No trap, nor alarm was found, but a long corridor that went south and had a branch that went southeast just a bit passed the door.  They could feel cold air come from the southern passageway.

Hoping that this would lead to the exit, they skipped the southeastern passageway, but Avery did notice that it went about a hundred feet and ended in a door. As they creeped south, they found another junction in the corridor, this time one heading straight west into additional hallways. They were also able to see a staircase that would take them further down and south. Fwoosh was able to hear the faint sound of water splashing coming from the southern direction.

Wanting to be more thoughtful and careful with their actions and movement, Vladimir and Fwoosh headed down the stairs leaving the rest of the group further up the corridor and safely out of the way. Just past the stairs to the west, the passageway opened into a room.  It was not too large, but it was mostly filled with a large pool of water.  The pool was large enough to almost reach all the walls of the room.  The more horrifying sight was that there were 30 to 40 skeletons scatters around the room.  All in different positions, none had any remnants of clothing or belongs, as if they had been tossed into the different limited open spaces around the pool.

Thinking that whatever that was in the room, was not going to be pleasant, Vladimir decided that retreating was the best option.  While coming to that conclusion, Vladimir was able to notice that something very large was swimming in the water.  As he attempted to look closer, he noticed that it seemed to be a person on the top part and a long fish body on the bottom.  Nothing he had ever seen, nor heard of before. The swimming figure seemed to be chained to something in the water.

As they both turned around and began to depart, they heard a young woman’s voice calling out to them.

 “Can you not leave; I am trapped here. I am afraid they will come back and kill me. Can you please help.  I can help a little bit, but…. I am chained here by magic and cannot escape.”

“What are you?”

“I am a mermaid; these water worshipers summoned and trapped me here.”

“What is with all of these skeletons here?”

“There is a priest here, he sacrifices people here to his water god.”

Vladimir was strongly doubting her words and determined that there was just something wrong with her and what she had been saying but was not able to figure out anything specific, the mermaid seemed to be honest with him.

“Hold on, we will be right back”.

“Don’t leave me, you are the first non-worshipers I have seen here.”

“We will be back in just a second.”

Moving somewhat quickly, Vladimir and Fwoosh rushed up the stairs.  Discussing the issue with the group, Angelica was able to remember about other primitive god worshiping that might have had sacrifices like what was described.  The green glowing chains that held her there were an interesting point. Maybe if they could be removed, she would be able to return from wherever she had been summoned from. As a result, Vladimir pulled out his broken dagger to ask it for an Augury about trusting the mermaid.

“WOE.”

Getting an answer that did not bode well, he suggested they just leave her there. With the rest of the party ready to drop her like a bag of dirt, they began discussing where to go next, when they heard another different voice behind them, from down the stairs. A haggard, creaky, and just old sounding female voice.

“Oh, my little lambs, you could have made this so much easier.”

What Vladimir and Fwoosh were able to see was an old woman approaching them. She looked like she was covered in ice, and as she approached, a freezing cold mist spread out over 30 feet from her decreasing the already cold temperature to something well below freezing.  Cold enough to start causing them pain and damage.

As battle broke out, anyone that entered or stayed in the misty area took damage.  The battle raged further up the stairs with the hag first engaging them with different ice spells and finally closing in to attack them with her claws.  With a fair amount of effort, the party was finally able to kill her.  Upon her death, the freezing area dissipated, and she melted into a pool of water.

Exploring the now unoccupied room, they were able to find a fair amount of coin, and using his innate Detect Magic, Fogo was able to find a magical stone lantern as well as what appeared to be a scroll case.  Avery looked at the scroll inside, and it was evident that what was contained on the scroll was some sort of arcane writing, but Avery would still require a fair amount more training and experience to be able to read or utilize that scroll.

Moving on to the southeastern angled corridor the party made their way to the door at the end of it.  While all the doors in this basement had been replaced with new and reinforced door, this was the first time they came across one that was so heavily banded in iron.  Even though there was a locking mechanism, the door itself was not locked.  Taking a cautious method of opening it, they group could see another door immediately to the north with the same reinforcements as this door, and a very long somewhat straight corridor heading directly east.

After a quick listen to the door, the party decided that going down the long corridor was a much better idea.  They began walking down that hallway, but it proved to be much longer than they expected.  After traveling over 400 feet and a slight slope upwards they stopped.  The party could feel that the further they walked the colder the temperature became.  Figuring that this was probably the exit, they then went back to that last door to ensure no one would be ambushing them from behind.

After preparing for entry, they opened the door to a group of soldiers who all immediately opened fired with their crossbows.  Attempting to position themselves more intelligently and tactically they cast several spells, while the group hoped that the soldiers would advance, but that would be in vain.  The soldiers, much better trained in tactics compared to the bandits, kept their distance and moved in and out of the far room for cover and only exposed themselves to fire their crossbows.

Knowing that they needed to close, the party rushed forward and engaged in melee with the men.  A slaughter ensued except for one brave soldier that managed to hold out for well over a minute.  The men in front were replaced as quickly as they were killed, and then the sergeants replaced them, finally a lieutenant entered the fight, and finally their boss who stood in the back tossing out damaging spells at the party.  At one point, he even managed to Banish Angelica to some remote realm.

But, even the heavily armed, armored, and spell casting boss was defeated but not before causing most of the party to have been wounded and several to be knocked out. Angelica at some point transferred back to this world without any difficulty except for falling on a large pile of dead soldiers.

With the battle over, the bodies looted, and everyone gathering in the room at the end of this hallway, they were faced with another heavy door to the east.  After a lot of chatter, they decided to start resting right here and not open that beckoning door.

This is where the session ended.

Campaign Notes

The group managed to get to the local boss in time before he departed this base for the next one.  If they had spent just a little more time and they would have missed out on a lot of things.  The ice hag was obviously feeling under the weather and did not fully execute all her powers but made for an interesting encounter.