Session 35

LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE

Thistleburn 5, 4433
A few hours passed during the session.

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 5
Robert the Swift, fighter 5
Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 4
Salzige Brauen, necromancer 2
Xénos, spy 2
Lord Fesgate, fighter 4 (NPC)

The party continued their talk with the Carrion King. It explained a few more details about the moon-headed giant Kucmalog & discoursed on his magical items. A flaming sword and a magical mirror, apparently one of many that exist in the kingdom. Then it gave a dire warning about a dangerous location in the moonlit zone. The creature also offered to trade any one of his magic items in exchange for Salzige's hideous, nightmare-inducing idol.

The group moved on, following the Carrion King's directions. They came upon a guardpost with moon-gnolls who were willing to negotiate and were interested in the group's plan to open up the prisons. The leader of the gnolls agreed to take the party to the prison towers in exchange for eating anybody they found inside!

Gnarg the gnoll and five of his troops accompanied the group, with one needlebeak. They ran into another gnoll patrol at a circle of standing stones, and there was a standoff. A few of these gnolls joined the group looking for easy food, but the others wouldn't come along - they declined to attack their comrades, letting the group leave after a tense moment.

The Prison Towers

After Gnarg helpfully relieved the gnoll patrol that was circling the towers,  the group had the run of the place. The front doors could be easily opened, but the group used the Four Winds Bar to fly up to the floating mini-tower. 

They saw a symbol & altar of Uthummaos and an investigated an old stone coffin, decapitating a corpse in there and taking some treasure. Then they were accosted by a terrible wraith, demanding they swear fealty to King Wakelinus and Lord Uthummaos! Gorr was having none of that, and struck the altar with a mace.

Gorr: "Fuck Uthummaos and fuck You!"

For his defiance, the ranger was blasted by yellow laser-beams from the sinister wall carvings!

As the guardian spirit attacked, Daqqa-Jin spoke the command word "Azerix" to activate another power of the Four Winds Bar, unleashing a blast of deadly lightning in every direction! It did terrible damage to the insubstantial creature but harmed the group as well: Xénos, Salzige and Lord Fesgate were all knocked flat! Gorr managed to grit his teeth through the pain (and pass his WIS check, keeping a tight hold on sanity for the moment) enough to splash the monster with holy water.

The creature was defeated, but at serious cost: Lord Fesgate got knocked unconscious but was alright with a bit of healing. Xénos barely survived a lightining-induced heart failure, and would be near-useless in a fight from now on. And Salzige lay in a coma, totally unresponsive...

The party unlocked the nearby cells, rescuing many shades from the time-prisons. They met a nobleman Lord Almery IV and his entourage: Hamon, Ranulph and their quarry, Reymund the Pale! They had to battle some giant snake-creatures called Jaculi to rescue some of the rebels, who suffered a handful of casualties. They threw down the Jaculi's corpses for Gnarg and his friends to eat.

Lord Almery was overjoyed at the rescue. He suggested they clear the tower in case more rebels were imprisoned further below.

Inside the smaller tower, Daqqa-Jin destroyed mounds of crystal with his horn of blasting, which shivered and broke apart from the stress. From the remnants of the crystal formations crystal golems emerged, blasting at the barbarian with scintillating energy beams. The whole group retreated back up the stairs, pouring lamp oil to cover the retreat. 

The situation as it stands:

7 crystalline men inside the tower are chasing after Daqqa-Jin
8 gnolls and 1 needlebeak led by Gnarg wait on the ground for more food
a handful of rebel troops have weapons, the rest are unarmed

Rebels Rescued:

40 rebel soldiers (5 died)
Hamon, the Unbreakable
Ranulph, the Silent
Lord Almery IV
Reymund, the Pale

Monsters Defeated:

13 Jaculi (247 xp)
1 Uthummaos' guardian (300 xp)
9 giant moths (342 xp)

Treasure Obtained:

2 topaz "eye" gems
robes embroidered with gold thread
ornate mace of strange aspect

Session 34

I SURVIVED A MOONLIT ZONE...

Thistleburn 5, 4433

7 subjective days passed inside the Forest of Dreams

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 5

Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 4

Robert the Hard Pressed, fighter 5

Salzige Brauen, necromancer 2

Xénos, spy 2

The party fled from the disastrous attack on Fort Behringer [last session], pursued through the moonlit zone by a pack of gnolls led by a half headed moon-giant! After several gambits and tricks including some airborne hijinks with the Four Winds Bar, the group escaped the gnolls' pursuit and reunited with the lake men and the bandit Rauffe, who was sad to hear of Eric's demise.

They returned to the Forgotten Village, where things seem to have declined. Arlen the magistrate was slowly degenerating, Baran the guard-captain was nowhere around and Lauriel the paladin had fallen in combat. Shandril the priestess of Solaris was the de facto leader of the village now. 

They held a sad funeral ceremony for Eric Withakay. The last original member of the party, the silver-tongued orator (or maybe he just got lucky) who had rallied the citizens of Drydale against the witches [yep, all the way back in session 1, three years ago] was dead. A crusader for good who had sworn his oath to a deity from this strange realm and championed its people. After being poisoned in Issachar Dimorites' mansion months ago, death held no mystery for him anymore. At the end of the ceremony, a blinding light flared from the Crucible of Solaris, and Eric's body was gone - transported to the arms of Solaris for his final repose.

After reuniting with their shifty pistol-wielding ally Xénos, the group rested, re-supplied and turned right around towards the moonlit zone, not even stopping to chat in the Night Wolf Inn.

They entered the forest through a different route, passing over a swift-flowing river of fog. They fought some giant carnivorous flies, and progressed towards a ruined tower nearby.

Outside the ruined tower, they spoke to a strange sickly-looking bird with a glowing white aura, like the ones the moon-gnolls kept caged. It called itself Ip-Ip, asking for food. It explained that the tower was the domain of the Carrion King, who lived there with a swarm of giant flies. The party fed it more and told it where to find some giant fly carcasses to feed on further, and it hopped along.

Daqqa-Jin entered the tower, and met the Carrion King himself.

This bizarre and unsightly creature was friendly & civil, eager to talk and bargain. He offered to trade with the party for gems, magic items, living captives, or secrets. The group traded him two secrets:

1 - The story of the magical book Pheldrazash, carried by their old friend Lothos who is being unduly influenced. Lothos is now a member of the Gloaming Tower.

2 - The story of Magrometh the Piper, and how the group released the horde of undead on top of the sacred mountain above the dwarven village Mishell.

For these secrets, the Carrion King told the party where to find Reymund the Pale in a nearby prison, and began a discourse on the kingdom's moonlit zones...

Monsters Defeated:

3 giant flies (87 xp)

Treasure Obtained:

none

Session 31

INTO THE DARK

14 Sunstrong, 4433
A few hours passed during the session

Characters:

Gorr, ranger 5
Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 3
Robert the Adequate, fighter 4
Eric Withakay, cleric 5

Clearing the Shrine

The group continued exploring the old shrine of the six-armed god Karttekeza. They fell upon the remaining mud-men, still distracted by Salzige's skeletal servant, and wiped them out with ease. They found another lever and attempted to get the water turned back on to clear out the muddy lower section. This they were not able to do, but they did reset the two trap-levers after Daqqa-Jin burned off the yellow mold covering them. 

Clearing away pieces of the macabre mosaic in the fountain, underneath there was an original painting of six-handed Karttekeza. Pressing all six hands at once revealed a secret stairway downwards into a hidden treasure room. Inside they found many oddities:

- an old robe of indistinct faded colours, hanging on a brass mannequin
- eight worn scrolls in a wood & glass display case
- a metal quiver of 13 arrows made of stone & crystal
- two bricks of crimson incense, redolent with a peppery smell

They explored the flower-garden and reached a domed structure where two gargoyles lurked. The group's fierce initial attack drove them off, flying for their lives! Daqqa-Jin climbed up the dome and examined the painting on its underside, including a massive shiny moon rendered in silver foil.

They found a ruined church with a grand mural on the back wall, labeled King Wakelinus & Queen Purah. It showed a young, regal-looking king in rich robes & a chest full of medals marrying a woman with a green dress, red hair & an elaborate seven-pointed crown. Oddly, the queenly bride wears an expressionless white mask. The wedding is officiated by two high priests: a man attired in robes of Solaris and a woman who bears a close resemblance to the Sage of Lune. The only other distinctive clue was charcoal graffiti around the building, saying "The Carrion King Lives!"

They explored an ancient long-hall decorated with heraldic shields & rusted weapons, some of which they recognize as symbols of the land's noble families. Daqqa-Jin sat on a strange throne that echoed with the sounds of ancient celebration. He was possessed by the spirits of the kings of old, who spoke from his mouth in ominous tones:

Spirits: "Two questions we will answer with the wisdom of old, and then we would walk in the world of flesh once more!"

Eric: "What caused Solaris' light to leave the land?"

Spirits: "Wakelinus entered into a traitorous compact with the Moon! In the days of old, a perfect symmetry was kept between sun & moon, each taking their allotted time in the heavens. The Mad King, in service to Uthummaos, convinced Lune to ally herself with him, betraying this age-old balance. Now darkness covers the land, and the moon's gaze lies heavy everywhere, with no sunlight to be seen."

Robert: "Where is the demon Varthatov?"

Spirits: "Below Wakelinus' Folly, the monument to the Mad King's hubris. The demon lairs in a darkened temple of Uthummaos underneath, where wafts the cold breath of dark chasms!"

Meanwhile, Daqqa-Jin experienced a vision of the hall as it was of old, a roaring fire in the hearth and many knights & lords at a grand feast. Three shadowy figures surrounded him, their eyes only glittering pinpoints of light. They reached forward hungrily for his life but he resisted with some effort, throwing himself off the throne and regaining his normal senses.

They found an old shrine of Solaris, now thoroughly trashed. The altar-stone was dragged away, all the metal fixtures & pieces were pried out and the statues were defaced. Daqqa-Jin followed the trails away from the shrine, and they led towards pathways in the forest where perhaps these pieces were taken. Many corpses of colourful forest-jellyfish were strewn about, and more graffiti about "The Carrion King" was scribbled around. 

The final structure of interest was a grand, unfinished building, perhaps intended at one point to be a temple of Uthummaos. A large mural of that dark god's sigil was painted on the back wall, and a smooth black glassy statue stood in the center. Unmindful of possible curses, Robert pried out the two purple gemstone eyes, the statue's only distinctive features.

The ruined city explored thoroughly, the group headed into the forest through the southward path, where some of Solaris' looted shrine must have been taken.

Entering the Moonlit Zone

The group met a pack of unicorns on the path, but they were skittish and fled quickly.

The party came to a clearing with a few ruined buildings and a mostly-intact old public house. A few dozen ragged shades, their volition totally gone, milled around the area helplessly. The group ignored them and was ignored in turn.

The party explored a locked wine-cellar and were set upon by three wights, each one missing its left hand. The creatures were dispatched with enchanted steel, but not before one drew Robert's life-force out, leaving him perilously close to death [only 2 CON left].

In the cellar were three intact wine kegs: one sour & vinegary, the second a magical healing draught and the third filled with the sparkling shadow-wine the group has seen before. Daqqa-Jin availed himself of the second keg's healing properties, and the group saved some for later.

Behind one of the empty casks was a hidden room. A tiny shrine littered with brittle bones & debris held a great golden idol of the feared demon lord Ahmon-Ibor! The group built a makeshift sled to help carry this heavy piece of loot and looked towards leaving the forest, returning to Viridistan to sell off all their treasure.

Monsters Defeated:

5 mud-men (235 xp)
3 one-handed wights (330 xp)
2 gargoyles, chased off (1000 xp)

Treasure Obtained:

potion (faint glowing blue)
faded robe (magical)
quiver of stone arrows (magical)
box of scrolls (magical)
2 purple gemstone eyes
golden demon idol
healing wine

After experiencing the horrors of the restless dead one too many times, Gorr's hold on his sanity has become tenuous!