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The Doorchime and the Troll

15 Saturday Oct 2022

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Several mercenaries and opportunists were at loose ends in the wake of the big wedding that ended the taxation dispute on the coach road between Seaview and Crosscurrent. The elves in particular felt a certain unease, a resonant disruption in the natural order of the woods.

The Scoundrels

In the walled coastal city of Seaview, several scoundrels were sheltering in a tavern as rain poured down outside. Captain Rowull of the City Watch led in some of his guards. One stood on a table and announced danger for pay, and interested parties gathered in the back corner. Of the various riff raff, five were tough enough to get hired for the job.

  • Craig (the Wick). Human fire wizard, a tough criminal.
  • Braddus Wraithbelt. Dwarven skirmisher, topsider, and alchemist with a talent for harvesting monster bits, a sky dwarf infected with gold fever.
  • Leftwin. Elven scout and oracle, haunted by a spirit guide.
  • Isildea Thelen. Elven spellwitch flesh shaper.
  • Elfas. Elven warrior, skilled in woodscraft.

Mild-mannered Craig became The Wick, a wanted bandit who profited from opportunistic violence during the recent unpleasantness, when he donned his darkened goggles. Fortunately, the wanted posters don’t get his nose right, and if he isn’t wearing his goggles he is difficult to recognize. Craig’s home was Seaview.

Braddus and Leftwin formed an unlikely partnership of grudging respect, as they were both skilled woodland skirmishers during the conflict. They fought on the side of Seaview together. Braddus was not forthcoming about his history, Leftwin came up in the Elkglades elven enclave for exiles and malcontents.

Isildea partnered with Elfas, her bodyguard. Both hailed from the haunted and barbaric Elkglades.

The Job

No time like the present! The scoundrels hefted their packs and bindles and followed the captain to the Dockside Barracks, cranking open a metal trapdoor leading down some rough steps to a former seatunnel that was blocked off from the tides. Braddus was weighed down with 90 feet of rope and a “climbing harness” just in case.

The mission was to go through a few tunnels to the Doorchime Shrine. The Doorchime was a massive enchanted battering ram, a siege weapon kept in an underground shrine when not needed. The roof of the shrine had a giant trapdoor that could be cranked open, and the chains could haul the battering ram up for retrieval. The trapdoor was barred from below, and the captain did not want to damage the door and its mechanism by trying to cut through it from above. The last two groups sent down to shoot the bolt didn’t come back.

Captain Rowull offered 50 gp each to go into the tunnels, and 500 gp for any survivors to split. The scoundrels agreed, and got 50 gp each, then they followed the captain and some guards down a long and rough tunnel to a more open cavern.

The Approach

Grim guards were bandaged and battered, working on some mantlets that could quickly barricade the tunnel deeper in. A cave entry opposite that tunnel was mostly blocked with stones, and the other side smelled of the sea. There were racks of polearms, and a rack with some shoddy firebombs.

Craig sidled over to the firebombs, considering filching some of them, but he was too closely watched. He bought one for 10 gp.

Isildea spotted a mysterious gray robed figure unobtrusively settled off to the side, and approached him, sensing he was a wizard. The one-eyed spellcaster introduced himself as Davish and said something cryptic about keeping an eye on them. He had a staff with an octopoid headpiece.

The captain gave them directions, telling them to stay to the left. They would pass the pool, and cross a channel, then they would reach the shrine.

The scoundrels formed up as the guards scraped the mantlets out of the way, and they headed down the dark tunnel as Craig brandished a torch in the middle of the marching order.

Darkness and Water

The scoundrels reached the Flickweather Sump, rainwater draining through vents high above to fall into the pool where locals came to fish sometimes. Damselflies zipped around in the shadows over the pool that faintly glowed with anemones. To cross from one walkway to the other, they had to put down a rickety and narrow footbridge leaning up against the wall; they had to hold their breaths to cross, and didn’t want to attempt it in a hurry.

They came to a dented metal door, and Braddus shoved it open; the hall beyond was redolent with troll stink. Grimly resolved, they found a narrower 5 foot corridor that a troll had squeezed through several times, smearing the walls. They followed to the left, and found a last stand for a group of guards; shattered mantlets and bits of the guards were smeared around the armory watch station, but the bodies had been dragged away.

Leaving that dead end, they followed the corridor the other way, somewhat relieved when it opened up to a wider hall. That relief faded as they came to a bridge, about three feet over a channel of still, dark water. Gathering their nerve, they crossed the bridge one at a time, intensely aware of the ripples in the still water, watchful for trollsign.

The Doorchime Shrine

The high-ceilinged shrine was clearly better craftsmanship than any area they had yet seen, columns rising into the darkness, and chains hanging from a mechanism in the columns to support the long battering ram. A statue of the god of war was braced by the head of the Doorchime ram.

Elfas watched their back trail, and Leftwin drifted over to keep an eye on the only other exit to the room. Braddus examined the mechanism and determined the controls and works were hidden behind the walls nearby. Craig started looking around for the secret access, but Isildea opened her uncanny elven senses and spotted the triggers. The secret door was worked into a shield in the shieldwall, poking the carving’s eyes opened the shield. Braddus and Isildea entered the musty works room, figuring out the mechanism to unbolt the ceiling trapdoor.

Ambush in the Dark

The troll burst out of the darkness in a wickedly stealthy ambush! Elfas had sharp elven senses, and he spotted the troll at once, snapping into action with his deadly elven blade as he called out to the others.

As the troll raced towards Elfas, arrows arced into the monster, and Elfas fought with cunning bladework to batter and baffle the creature, then leaped back out of the way with uncanny grace as Craig hurled his firebomb at the troll. Craig used his fire magic to guide the errant bomb back on course, and it burst to slather flame all over the screaming horror.

The elves rained arrows on the creature, and Craig used his fire magic to bolster the flames that ate into its regenerative powers. Elfas emptied a lantern’s oil onto the flailing troll torch. As strain took its toll on Craig, Isildea touched him, breathing the vitality of the deep woods into the flagging wizard. He rallied, and provoked an inferno from the troll fire, finishing it off decisively.

Victory and Spoils

Both Leftwin and Braddus had designs on the various troll bits they could sell or use. While the fire was dying down to manageable levels, Braddus cranked the secret mechanism to unlock the trapdoor above so it could be opened from the outside. The scoundrels gathered up some hot magical troll soot, and some of the knobbier bones, wrapping them in coats to make the heat tolerable to carry.

They followed their trail back to the entry cavern. Braddus sold his still-hot troll bones to Davish the wizard for 100 gp, and the wizard hastened off to do something with them while they were redolent with the troll’s life and the magic of its death. Captain Rowull was good for his word, and as soon as the City Watch tested the winches from above and opened the trapdoor, he paid them 500 gp that they split for 100 gp each.

  • Craig got 3 experience.
  • Braddus got 250 gp, so his gold fever granted him 2 Ledger.
  • Isildea formed an odd connection to the one-eyed wizard Davish, gaining 1 experience.
  • The other elves drifted through the episode, intrigued and contributing but not connecting.

Some reflections: the players made characters together, so I had no idea what they would play ahead of time. The mix of races and abilities worked out really well! The fire wizard was spotlighted for using magic to defeat the troll that otherwise would have been a much scarier challenge. The elves used their Uncanny ability to locate the secret mechanism easily, and to stay out of the way of the troll’s massively dangerous attack, and their archery carried the day for dealing out the needed damage to stop the troll. The dwarf was a great support, doling out additional attacks with his combat ability and looking over the mechanism, as well as carrying heavy gear and taking point. The players did a fine job of pooling their characters’ racial and chosen distinctives in a successful and entertaining collaboration. I planned a shorter adventure, since we were making characters together too; we started on time and ended on time.

Return to the Pillar of Flame

15 Saturday May 2021

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  • Adil Nadhi. Knight sailor, captain of a small ship.
  • Cedvik Nightingale. Wizard criminal. Sight magic.
  • Elden. Wizard scholar. Travel magic.
  • James Thorne. Scoundrel criminal.
  • Robin. Elven Scout, Woodscraft.

Kan Vazaz. Scoundrel criminal. Remained on the boat for this one.

IRL 5.8.21

The Way In

As the scoundrels were gathering wood to build their miniature crane, they encountered Robin. The elf had his own boat and had made landfall on the island to refresh his water supply. He agreed to join them on their expedition, defeating the undead was a worthy goal. He waved off the idea of a share of treasure. Vazaz elected to remain with the ship and make sure their exit plan was secure in case they riled up something and had to leave in a hurry.

Hefting the big pulley repurposed from the ship rigging, and the support posts and parts, the scoundrels hiked back to the stone temple over the Pillar of Flame. They entered cautiously through the secret door.

Riled Up

The emberdead milled around in the entry chamber. The raiders cleared them out quickly, knocking a pile down before the energies destabilized and the rest fell apart. Cedvik once again focused his magical energies through his amulet; since his had been destroyed, he had borrowed Thorn’s amulet the day before. (Vazaz also loaned out his Simmerbrew to the active adventurers.) Once again, Cedvik miscalculated the energies, and detonated the overtaxed charm.

Moving on to the doorway, they saw another big batch in the hallway. Cedvik threw up an illusion to deflect their attention, and the raiders considered how best to proceed. Another battle, or wait for them to lose interest and discorporate or wander off? They withdrew to the jungle outside and rested for a while, recovering from incidental injuries from the fight.

When they returned, the hallway was fairly clear. They hustled to the balcony without further incident, building the crane while posting guard to get warning if another wave of emberdead closed in.

Staff Meeting

Thorn was the lucky raider who got to ride the slowly swaying tarred rope down into the heat mirage to retrieve the Emberstaff suspended in its magic, about a hundred feet below. Adil and Robin handled the windlass, and Elden used his travel magic to steady the swinging rope, while Cedvik posted lookout.

Shrugging off the rippling waves of heat that dried out the soaked and tarred rope, Thorn endured the long trip down. He managed to get the rope swinging enough for him to snatch the staff without being thoroughly cooked himself. As the tar began to melt on the rope, causing sticky problems, he struggled to climb while also holding the staff. His training as an acrobat thief were invaluable as he hauled himself up the rope, keeping the momentum going even as the windlass crew dealt with jams and delays as the makeshift equipment got gummed up by wet and tarry rope exposed to heat.

Thorn reached the balcony with the prize, only lightly toasted. Lady Urli, the scholar who funded the expedition, was eager to claim the Emberstaff on the spot. Adil hesitated, considering they were still in danger (and he was unclear on the difference between a scholar and wizard, so the stakes of her getting the staff were certainly unknown.) The rest of the raiders shrugged, and Urli insisted, so she got the staff and demanded they escort her out.

Tactical Withdrawal

The Pillar of Flame was sluggishly rousing defenses, but the raiders got clear. They carried the Emberstaff, the pulley, and enough of the steaming rope to have some insurance in case rough weather or disaster complicated their voyage home. (They abandoned the rest of the equipment used to make the crane.)

Reaching the ship, they planned their next move. Urli was done going into the Pillar of Flame, she got the Emberstaff and was keen to get to work studying it. Cedvik asked the other scoundrels to give him one of the enchanted amulets to repel the undead, but no one else was willing to give theirs up. Urli offered Cedvik her fancier, sturdier amulet in exchange for a chunk of deathbrittle the size of her head. He took the offer under consideration, accepting a bag of the proper size (but a bag made of leather only, with no protective properties; just to give him a sense of the size.)

The raiders remained interested in recovering the Ashlord’s amulets and solving the mystery of the resting place of the Lovely Three.

Scouting the Pillar of Flame

In the morning, the raiders returned through the secret passage. This time, Cedvik had a different plan. Rather than chopping their way down through the Pillar of Flame’s many dangers, he would use a ritual to project his point of consciousness. The ritual rendered him insensible to the waking world, requiring all his concentration, but he could skim through solid matter. He would not be able to see magical energies, but he could see in the dark, and pick up visual information for about ten minutes moving at high speeds. Once the raiders entered the Pillar of Flame, he arranged himself and sent his magical vision through the stone corridors.

He reported his findings with a sing-song tune; he could sing, but not hear the other raiders’ responses.

Second Level

  • He found a sacrificial table and shrine with expensive knives and jewelry, guarded by creepy statues.
  • Also, a strange table with spikes on it. A kneeling shrine for priests to prepare themselves.
  • A long hall, supported by bone pillars, where cultists could ritually complete the journey from life to death. At the end, a reflective black plate of Deathbrittle, the end of the road.
  • The blocky corridor in the center wound down around the central shaft, leading to the third level.

Third Level

  • A statue of the Ashlord overlooked a large chamber deep with crematorium dust where emberdead uneasily slumbered, forming and crumbling. To one side, a crystal chamber deeply crusted with deathbrittle.
  • Off to the other side, there was an audience hall of sorts, where someone could stand at a podium and address the gathered followers. Behind curtains, a long chamber with more reflective deathbrittle plates mounted on the wall.
  • Through an ornate door connected to that chamber, Cedvik found what appeared to be a tomb kennel for the tarry hounds, and through a connected door, the burial chamber for the Master of the Hunt. Quiescent, the undead monster was buried with a blade matching the depiction of the Sundering Blade on the first level.
  • On the far side of the level, a wide and crooked hall housed thousands of corpses stacked in standing position, waiting for the necromancers to wake them and summon an army. Another of the black wall-mounted plates was in this chamber, flanked by braziers.

Fourth Level

The duration of the spell was running out, so Cedvik withdrew hastily to his body and awoke.

Sobered by the dangers and treasures below, the raiders withdrew to form a plan of attack for their next expedition.

3 experience for the humans, 0 for the elf.

The Ember Staff

08 Saturday May 2021

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  • Adil Nadhi. Knight sailor, captain of a small ship.
  • Cedvik Nightingale. Wizard criminal. Sight magic.
  • Elden. Wizard scholar. Travel magic.
  • James Thorne. Scoundrel criminal.
  • Kan Vazaz. Scoundrel criminal.

The volcanic island of Pallspreader is studded with deathbrittle, impossible to settle because of the restless dead. The Pillar of Flame is an underground fortress from which the Ashlord, an undead warlord, ruled a modest seafaring territory with emberdead aboard blackened ships.

Urli, a scholar from Tecnica, believes she has found the location of the Pillar of Flame. The fortress was buried in stone and warded by a Tecnican warlord to assure none of the slain Ashlord’s lore or artifacts would escape the site to cause further trouble. Urli offered the scoundrels 200 gp, talismans called Amulets of the Six Sages that would help protect them from the emberdead, and a Simmerbrew healing potion each to come along. Also, she knows of the way in, and has studied. All she wants is the Emberstaff, and the scoundrels can keep anything else they find.

Enter the Pillar of Flame

The ship dropped anchor off the coast, and the scoundrels (along with Urli) sloshed ashore and headed through the jungle to the stone temple built to cap and restrain the Pillar of Flame. Urli conducted a ritual to disarm the entry, and they pushed their way through the big stone door. They sensed their intrusion reverberating through the place, and the emberdead began to pull together to assault them.

They passed a big portrait frieze of the Emberlord by the entrance. Further in, they found a balcony overlooking a massive 120 foot drop, a vertical shaft that appeared to only be accessible from the balcony at the top and entry at the bottom. In the center, a dome of embers radiated a heat mirage up the center of the shaft, and at the center of the mirage at the bottom hung what appeared to be the Emberstaff.

Depictions of Treasure

The heat was daunting, so they decided to look for another way down. Continuing on, they passed three works of art on the wall depicting the Emberstaff, the Master of the Pack’s Sundering Blade, and the Amulets of the Lovely Three. Urli gave them a little background on each, delighted to show off her research.

She told them the Lovely Three were undead consorts to the Ashlord who were slain beyond recall by the Witherfeather Archers, then entombed somewhere in the Pillar of Flame along with the Emberheart amulets the Ashlord crafted for them. Apparently one of the craftsmen forced to work on the Pillar of Flame escaped, and before he died of madness and injury, he whispered something about the access to the tomb of the Lovely Three being guarded by the burning blood of the slain monarchs.

Emberdead managed to shamble towards them. The slow-moving and suffering manifestations were easily dispatched.

Behind the Door

The raiders reached an intersection with two doors and stairs leading further down. The door appeared to have a chunk of polished deathbrittle in the center. They hauled it open and cautiously went inside, discovering two pillars made of bones as well as two artistic frames. The frames contained crowns on skulls embedded in the artwork; perhaps these were the slain monarchs.

As the raiders puzzled over these elements, more emberdead arrived. The raiders closed the stone door, but the emberdead were able to transport through the deathbrittle at the center of the door, entering the room and taking them by surprise. Cedvik concentrated his magic through the amulet, boosting its effect on the emberdead to damage several at once with a single burst rather than repelling them. In the fierce fighting, Adill struck one of the bone pillars, attempting to shatter it and possibly disrupt the undead.

The Tarry Hound

A horrible tarry hound slid out of the pillar’s center and assaulted the raiders, putting them in desperate peril. The wavering energies of the emberdead gave out, and they collapsed into heaps of ash as the raiders finished off the tarry hound–but before the battle was over, Cedvik lashed out at the other pillar–and another tarry hound emerged.

The horrific monsters occasionally concentrated their energies and regenerated their vitality, and also in the heat of combat they burst into flame, causing further damage. The raiders struck them with weapons, only to have those weapons tugged out of their grip by the tarry substance of the bodies. (They recovered most of their weapons.)

Battered and keenly feeling their mortality, the raiders struggled with whether to retreat or double down. As they pulled back to the hallway, Thorne tried to open another stone door, but the rest of the raiders pulled him along as they retreated down the stairs, deeper into the Pillar of Flame rather than heading for the exit.

The surviving tarry hound gave harrowing chase. They threw canteens of water at it, but the flame was only dimmed and not extinguished. Cedvik attempted to concentrate power through his amulet again and it burst, overloaded.

Despairing of outrunning the beast, they turned on it and managed to slay the foul thing. Breathless and harried, they had a rapid conference on next moves, and decided to head back towards the surface.

Consolation Prize

Returning to the skulls and crowns, Thorne and Vazaz broke the skulls and pulled the crowns free; a nice payday. Reluctant to retreat, they pushed open the other stone door and discovered a chamber with another portrait of the Ashlord–and stairs up. They discovered the interior side of a secret door built on the exterior, a way to enter and exit without disrupting the seal that was supposed to hold the Pillar of Flame inert below.

The scuffed-up raiders retreated to Adill’s ship to rest, refill their sheaths for weapons lost, and then put together a block and tackle. Using that and the tarred rope, and maybe some quenching magic to keep the rope and frame from setting fire, perhaps they could get down to the Emberstaff first thing on the next expedition…

Book Keeping

  • Thorne gave his amulet to Cedvik, so he could tune to it overnight and use it on the next expedition.
  • They got 2 crowns worth 500 gp each.
  • They build a block and tackle, and pull together about 150 feet of tarred rope.
  • 3 experience each.

Housewarming Party

12 Monday Apr 2021

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Played 4.10.21 IRL. Humans!

Adill Nadhi. Knight sailor, captain of a small ship.

Cedvik Nightingale. Wizard criminal. Sight magic.

Elden. Wizard scholar. Travel magic.

Evict the Lord of Gums from Spike Isle

Magistrate Jaron, ruler of Tecnica Isle, hired these scoundrels to go to Spike Isle and wipe out the Lord of Gums and his necromatic cult before they established a foothold. Fr. Inmon went along to confirm the Lord of Gums was actually killed; the adventurers left him with the first mate of the boat and the crew, to assure they had an exit even if things went terribly wrong inside.

An interrogated prisoner explained that there were two entrances to the underground lair; one that suckbats used to come and go, and one the cultists used (and guarded.)

Entry

The adventurers chose to enter through the suckbat vent, with Adhill leading the way after Cedvik enchanted his allies so they could all see in the dark. He spotted a resting suckbat, and took a swipe at it with his hammer–the whole swarm rose up and attacked. Elden blinked out to safety as the others managed a “fighting withdrawal” with Cecvik popping a startling flash as they retreated. They crushed most of the suckbats, and the rest withdrew.

After resting for about an hour, they made another attempt, this time pushing past the few remaining suckbats and entering the lair, following the winding unfinished stone corridors.

Home Defense

While the others lagged behind, Cedvik scouted ahead, using his magic to see in the darkness while the others relied on torchlight. As Cedvic crossed a chamber, a droprock almost impaled him. His screams of terror attracted slavering servitors, undead with massive claws and lamp-like eyes. Two of them raced out of the darkness. As Adill and Elden battled one, Cedvik hurled the droprock at the other and ran for his life.

The servitors were driven back, and the adventurers followed Cedvik, catching up. They saw lights and heard chanting, so they followed the corridor. Cedvik scouted again, but he got too close, and the robed cultists spotted him. They attacked.

Again Cedvik flashed the incoming cultists, disorienting them so the adventurers quickly won. As they knocked the last cultist down, they realized there was only a door between them and the Lord of Gums (and his slavering servitors.)

The Lord of Gums

The necromancer was tending a ritual braizer full of deathbrittle and other components, seeding the chamber to make a geode of death in this lair. He would be able to reanimate and empower a much larger force, should he succeed.

One of the slavering servitors that had been following them attacked, and some of the adventurers fought it off while Adill struggled with the servitor guarding the necromancer. Elden tried to magically hurl the brazier into the necromancer, but dark forces countered and rebuffed him. One of the cultists spasmed and became a slavering servitor on the spot, and a rush of power flowed through the necromancer and struck down Adill; reeling, the warrior tried to fight on, but the pain of his wounds overcame him.

Retreat

As the Lord of Gums channeled more dark power into his servitors to increase their unholy armor, the two wizards snatched up their fallen warrior and managed to stagger out of the lair, collapsing once to catch their breath before finishing the mad rush to the ship. Once they had some water between the haunted shore and the ship, they took stock of the situation. With Adill badly hurt, it seemed best to retreat and reconsider their tactics.

Experience: 3 each.

The Gathzar Stash

20 Saturday Mar 2021

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Played 3/20/2021 IRL, 12/11/2122 IG.

Clan Rumbleseed Dwarves

  • Thoreson Grimeater (Anders) Berserker, Chef, Healer.
  • Vanmil Glowhide (Kriss) Vanguard, Adept, Jeweler.

Clan Caskbound Dwarves

  • Devron Leveller (Mark) Berserker. Chosen, Mason.
  • Korvask Wyrt (Michael) Vanguard. Enchanter, Scholar.
  • Dandel “The Dan” Deeptunnel (Simon) Berserker. Carouser, Miner, Brewer.

On the Way

Ivo got clipped by shrapnel from the imploding Void ship, and some kind of residue on it knocked him out, sinking through his resistances and endangering his life. The dwarves were determined to get him to safety in Stoneshadow. Also, The Dan was challenged to a drinking contest with some of the Void sailors, and they gave him something with some cosmic blood or something in it that knocked him right out. Meanwhile Captain Del thanked Vanmil for protecting her during the battle by giving her some sun-infused honeymead.

Neeveedia, the sorceress, gathered the dwarves for an update on what they were about to do. The captain agreed to detour to pick up the dwarves because they would be useful as “marines” for the upcoming assault on the Gathzar Stash. The captain was after some magical throne within the stash that would allow her to flush the life out of someone and bring someone dead back to life, and doing this would let the captain break one of the four curses she carried (placed by the daughter of a dead man, broken by his return to life.)

Lord Zularia pursued them; a champion of law and order, devoid of compassion or respect for nuance, the zealot had acquired Blokka Wedge (a member of the Coven alongside Neeveedia) and planned to revive the Angel of Vengeance that had been destroyed. He was determined to get to the throne, and since it only worked once per century, whoever reached it first would be the only one to use it. Neeveedia shared a map of the interior of the stash, showing them where they could get into the forest of pools, and warning them about the mysterious Guardian of Veins.

Angel Assault

With a jolt, the Void ship came under fire from Zularia, in hot pursuit. Vanmil and Korvask assisted the helm, Busaris, in coaxing more speed from the Void ship. Zularia released an angel to attack them, first trying to force them from their path and then assaulting the helm. The commotion of its landing woke the Dan, who joined the fray as the dwarves battered the angel. It was defeated and recalled to a magical shield Zularia carried. Redoubling their efforts, the Sunspinner pulled ahead, sure to reach the stash first. Devron led a brief service to remind the dwarves of their strength and history, bolstering their Resolve.

The Gate

They arrived at the gate, which appeared open and undefended until an energy maze manifested around it, complete with stalking guardians. Vanmil and Kovask combined their resources to touch the maze and sense the mind directing it. Vanmil shared the image with Neeveedia, who told them the wizard was Father Siski, a cultist dedicated to protecting darkness and mysteries.

The adventurers divided into four teams. With Siski running the maze, Neeveedia preferred to stay back and guard the ship and crew. Captain Del and Busaris and some crew headed into the maze to flank Siski. Vanmil and Korvask concentrated through the maze, preventing Siski from shifting and adjusting the modular maze protecting the pulpit and the gate. Devron led the rest of the Fellowship through the maze, closing in on Siski.

Vanmil and Korvask baffled and defeated Siski, preventing his full control of the maze, polluting him with horrific thoughts and marking the dwarven trail with runes. Devron’s infiltrators kept up steady progress towards the center, eventually ambushing him before any of the maze guardians could catch up to them. Devron’s massive attack with his mace drove the wizard apart into a swarm of bats that swirled away as the maze broke up.

Zularia’s ship boomed into view as Busaris took over the pulpit and generated a new maze to keep the zealot back. Dragging Ivo’s unconscious form, the Fellowship joined with the captain and headed into the tunnel that accessed the stash.

Guardian of Veins

As they passed through the stash, they found a mass of dead intruders that were arranged sitting, waiting. Witch lights settled into them, beginning to wake the corpses, so the Fellowship moved on fast.

As Zularia burned through the maze protecting the gate, Del’s map key artifact and Vanmil’s helm control opened the gate; the Gathzar ghosts liked the air of killing that hung around Vanmil. Elsewhere in the compound, the Guardian of Veins was forming. Hustling in to find the throne room, they were ambushed by the Guardian of Veins. Korvask barely survived a massive bite by sacrificing his enchanted shield (which he willed to re-form before they left.)

The Guardian of Veins began to rise as soon as it was defeated, so the Fellowship moved fast. As Del finished the resurrection ritual and Zularia burned through the last of the gate defenses, the Fellowship collected a magical ring crown, enchanted orcish polearm, magical garrotte, and magical axe as well as some arm-loads of expensive trophies. They raced to the balcony overlooking the Stone Forest of Pools, leaping down and using Korvask’s connection to the Mind Shard Nexus to look for home.

As Zularia was bogged down fighting the reanimated dead and his angel was ambushed by the Guardian of Veins, Captain Del’s curse triggered monsters rising from the gates, so she ran to take another exit and abandon ship. The Fellowship found the synched portal and jumped through, headed back to Stoneshadow at last.

Veinsluice Forge

At last the Fellowship returned to familiar lands, reaching the Forge by tumbling out through the Mind Shard Nexus that coated its inner walls. They met with the sub-archon of Clan Caskbound, in their clanhome Whiskey Forge, finally telling their tale.

3 Ledger.

Into the Void

02 Saturday Jan 2021

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Played 1/2/2021 IRL, 12/10/2122 IG.

Clan Rumbleseed Dwarves

  • Ivo Flynt (Imre) Support, Gunsmith, Engineer, Delver.
  • Thoreson Grimeater (Anders) Berserker, Chef, Healer.
  • Vanmil Glowhide (Kriss) Vanguard, Adept, Jeweler.

Clan Caskbound Dwarves

  • Devron Leveller (Mark) Berserker. Chosen, Mason.
  • Korvask Wyrt (Michael) Vanguard. Enchanter, Scholar.
  • Dandel “The Dan” Deeptunnel (Simon) Berserker. Carouser, Miner, Brewer.

Awakening

The Dan boarded the corpse of the giant sea monster, adrift in the Void and petrified. Following the light of the Nexus of the Mind Shard, he found the Fellowship that had been banished when the Sea Thresher fell out of the world. The shard melted as it shone into Korvask, and resonated through him to wake the others, transforming their petrified state back into living flesh. Vanmil was dismayed to discover her samples taken from the Seathresher were not thawing as well as she was, and might lose their potency.

Busurus was a dwarf, and the pilot for the void ship Sunspinner, and she accompanied the Dan in. She carried a keg of his award-winning brew, to help the Fellowship rouse. Once most of them could walk (Ivo was slow to thaw, and Korvask was deeply involved with the Nexus) the Fellowship hauled their gear and companions along as they returned to the skiff, and from there, to the void ship.

The Sunspinner

The Fellowship boarded, meeting Captain Del and Neeveedia, a wizard. The Sun Spinner was eager to get underway, as they were in something of a race with other ships, all pursuing access to the Gathzar Stash, a void pirate treasure vault.

Neeveedia chatted with the Fellowship as they rested, helping them get an idea of what was going on. Yaru, a wizard known to the Caskbound dwarves, sent an amulet of the sea with the Dan. If they entered an astral pool, Yaru might be able to sense their signal and pull them back to Stoneshadow.

Neeveedia proposed they help the Sun Spinner break into the Gathzar Stash. Within was a famed Forest of Pools. The pools were portals that opened to many worlds, and that would be a safer way to return home, rather than trusting to Yaru’s vigilance, skill, and commitment. Plus, treasure. The Dan confirmed that Caskbound and Rumbleseed kicked in a lot of treasure to mount this rescue, and it might be nice to compensate them somewhat. The Fellowship decided to pursue the Gathzar Stash, their homesickness could wait.

The Spiral Current

The Sunspinner reached the Spiral Current. It was an energy twist that ran through space, assisting fast travel. Those on the deck of a void ship would have to face their fear, and if they held firm, they would exit the current near their destination. Those who failed would be hurled into the deeps of the Void, and it could take weeks to travel back to traveled routes.

Since Captain Del was under 4 curses, she didn’t ride on the deck; too much feedback. Busrurus needed to run the helm, and some of the Fellowship volunteered to ride out the trial. Korvask and Vanmil weathered their fearful visions, only Thoreson shivered in the face of his; they exited somewhat near their destination.

The Eyedrinker

Before they could refocus, the Spiral Current pulsed, and another void ship sailed out. It was the Eyedrinker, a horrible vessel with a tattooed elf at the helm and a horned demon captain screaming encouragement as the helm belched out waves of undead to board the Sunspinner.

The Fellowship acted quickly, with the Dan working with Ivo to weaponize the last of his brew, firing it as an incendiary to set the side of the Eyedrinker aflame. Korvask painted a multiplying rune on the ballista spear, so it split and jammed many spears into the side of the oncoming void ship.

Boarding Action

The Eyedrinker fired out a cloud along its whole deck, launching a wave of undead through the Void to board the Sunspinner. Battle was joined, with shadowy wraiths zooming across the gap between ships first and tangling with the berserkers. Ivo raced up to the helm deck to get a better line of fire on the helm of their attacker. He sniped the elf at the helm, so the captain had to stand in.

Vanmil tried to take on the helm, but overloaded, unprepared to direct its intricate energies. She fought the undead clambering up the side of the ship, closing in on the helm, protecting Busurus. As the berskerers Thoreson and Devron battled waves of undead, the Dan managed a running start and a heroic leap, clearing the distance to land on the deck of the Eyedrinker, blasting out a gust of flaming alcohol and torching some of the undead.

Scuttling the Eyedrinker

The Eyedrinker shuddered when its helm-elf was shot down. With the helm absorbing the captain’s attention, a shadowy elf ambushed the Dan and stabbed him with a barbed dagger that forced him to be silent. The Dan was about to be overrun, but Vanmil and Ivo combined fire on the helm and sniped the captain. Rudderless, the Eyedrinker began its implosion.

Korvask won free of his attackers, scooping up a grapple line the captain tossed him. He leaped up on the railing of the Sunspinner and bet it all on a long shot, hurling the grapple towards the Dan–and hooking him! The Dan fell off the Eyedrinker, badly injured, just before the Eyedrinker imploded with helm feedback.

The embattled Fellowship managed to hold out against the last attacks of the boarding undead before the corpses lost their animation with the destruction of the helm that spewed them out. Vanmil charged to the captain’s rescue and diluted the hostile focus on her long enough for her to survive the rush.

Captain Del thanked the Fellowship for their assistance, and the Sunspinner set a course to continue their race to breach the Gathzar Stash.

The Fellowship received 3 Ledger they can redeem when they tell the tale. The Dan received 4.

The Meat Mine (part 1)

14 Saturday Nov 2020

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Played 10/24/20 IRL, 4/20/2122 IG.

Clan Rumbleseed Dwarves (Last adventure 1/19/2122 IG)

  • Ivo Flynt (Imre) Support, Gunsmith, Engineer, Delver. (Apprentice, Tella)
  • Thoreson Grimeater (Anders) Berserker, Chef, Healer.
  • Vanmil Glowhide (Kriss) Vanguard, Adept, Jeweler. (Fleshpacter, Fishel)

Clan Caskbound Dwarves (Last adventure 9/10/2121 IG)

  • Devron Leveller (Mark) Berserker. Chosen, Mason.
  • Korvask Wyrt (Michael) Vanguard. Enchanter, Scholar.

Control the Meat Mine!

The Seathresher, a mythic sea monster, washed up on the shore of a distant island. The dwarves wanted to secure control of the beach grave to harvest as many of the rare and wonderful materials from the corpse as possible, but there was sure to be competition.

Rumbleseed Background

Torala Dunn (Clan Rumbleseed, House Dunn patriarch) sent Ivo to lead Rumbleseed agents, including Thoreson and Vanmil. The group had to be small, as they could only reach the site quickly if they traveled by airship. Dunn sent Master Delter, a human wizard who could take on the form of a crow, to find a nearby Clan Caskbound airship that was searching the coast for something. Delter returned with word the Caskbound dwarves agreed to a joint venture.

The dwarves were in the Shallows, away from the Various Garden expedition, because some of the expedition leaders were worried about Thoreson’s increasing irritability and morose disengagement, and the fights he picked with locals (friends, foes, and concerned healers) were becoming a problem. Vanmil agreed to go with them, haunted by memories of the sky (which she had not seen before she went out into the winter snow.)

Caskbound Background

Yaru, the dragon wizard, reached out to Korvask almost 3 months ago. She was worried because the sea witches used her life force and Crossroads magic to open a portal big enough to drag an epic monster into this world’s seas, and they sent it against the elves, who slew it with their navy.

Five weeks ago Yaru hired them to look for where the monster corpse washed up on the beach, to make sure it died. While the Sea Scout airship (piloted by Nymeer, a Caskbound topsider who captained the craft) was scouting remote island beaches, they were intercepted by Master Delter, a human wizard who could crowshape. Keen to confirm the monster was dead, the dwarves agreed.

Thorn Peak

The Sea Scout airship would meet the Rumbleseed dwarves at a local mountain peak, distinctive from a distance. Ivo, Thoreson, and Vanmil packed up plenty of containers to harvest magical and culinary material from the corpse, and Ivo brought his granddad’s trusty long rifle as well as a big load of explosives. Ivo’s apprentice Tella brought porters along to help carry the gear, and took responsibility for getting them home safe; she wouldn’t go along. Vanmil didn’t bring Fishel, who was not keen to visit the surface in violation of treaty (and common sense.)

The airship couldn’t easily land at the meeting site, so the dwarves struggled to manage getting the gear up to the ship (especially the explosives, that swung wildly in the wind at one point). There were also some embarrassing falls, but no one toppled too far down the mountain, and everyone made it up into the airship.

Thoreson shared out some exquisite nibbles, specialties of his style and his clan, and the Caskbound dwarves shared The Dan’s award-winning Beetle Back brew. With proper gifts and etiquette out of the way, they headed for the Grave Beach.

The Approach

They closed in on the site, seeing the smoke from several campfires rising into the afternoon sky. Nymeer let Korvask peer at the site through her spyglass, and Korvask persuaded her to let Ivo use the treasured device too.

The dwarves spotted a mass of human warriors who apparently dismantled a couple ships and built scaffolding to support efforts to harvest materials without touching the toxic corpse any more than was needful. Cannons from the ships were mounted on platforms and towers, guarding the site. The bloody waters around the corpse were thick with poisoned and crazed sharks.

There were also two ships from the Desell Glade’s elven navy standing off a ways. Boarding parties took a couple of the platforms, pushing the humans back, and the situation looked tense.

The dwarves agreed to pursue a closer look, so the Sea Scout buzzed the site as fast as possible, evading the cannonfire from the platforms and the magical and ballista attacks from the elven ships. Even from a good height, the stench was nearly unbearable.

As they zoomed closer, Ivo spotted his target. Torala warned him the elven assassin Lady Sann was expected to be supporting Lady Litiska, and instructed him to kill Sann if possible for the honor of the clan. The elves had wraith-like shadow warriors, led by Lady Sann! Before the elves could reposition, the keen-eyed dwarf swapped the spyglass for his rifle scope, and used his granddad’s monster hunting rifle to pull off an exquisite shot from the swaying airship that exploded the elf’s head before she knew she was in danger–Lady Sann was no more.

Vanmil picked up elemental conjuration magic of an unfamiliar type from the central platform, strange flaming constructs haunting the site. Also, the humans seemed to be ensorcerelled somehow. Korvask recognized the amplified work of the wizard Iskavol, member of the secretive Keyin Protectorate, a loose and secretive network of mages (and sometime-partner of the wizard Yaru, who was also a member.)

The Sea Scout circled around to drop off the Fellowship for a ground approach. Nymeer stayed with the ship.

Under the Influence

The Fellowship approached the head of the mighty beast with caution. Ramps and platforms had been placed there, and tough-looking pirates guarded the entry. They were led by Darveen, previously a bandit who clashed with Rumbleseed and was driven out of a lair. His partner was a wizard, Carroway, that the dwarves though they slew, but he looked healthy enough now. Darveen met them at the platform.

He was not himself. Vanmil could see the nimbus of influence that saturated him and his pirates. The Fellowship name-dropped Iskavol, and Darveen took them to her. On the way they passed mounds of harvested flesh, and big barrels full of explosively flammable bile and secretions.

The horned wizard Iskavol had a powerful enchanted gem she was using to control the pirates, and a brazier to summon and control the flame constructs (flamejekts) she was using to keep the elves back and root around in the monster corpse.

Negotiations Begin

Her ability to maintain control of the situation would apparently last until sundown, as the shadow-jumping elves would easily dispatch the pirates in darkness. Still, the dwarves negotiated with Iskavol, who granted them access to the top half of the monster if they helped her maintain control.

Ambush!

During negotiations, a handful of shadowbounder elven skirmishers attacked the humans. The dwarves knocked them down ruthlessly, but didn’t score any kills on the retreating attackers.

Negotiations Continue

Iskavol pulled back into the ship cabin lodged in the corpsemeat, and the Fellowship geared up to approach the elf-posessed platform connected by walkways.

Vanmil humbly apologized to Thoreson, who still resented the interference that tore the Conqueror Worm from him in the Gilded Tower. Thoreson was not ready to accept an apology.

The Fellowship approached the shadowbounders, and a confident shadow-stepping commander agreed to speak with them. Captain Demros was confident in his position and unimpressed by the interlopers; he would claim the Grave Beach for his glade. The Fellowship contested his claim, but he did not recognize they had any rights in this situation.

Negotiations End

Talks deteriorated to the Fellowship attacking, but the uncanny elves were nimble and evasive. A counter-attack pounced at them from the shadows, but the Fellowship fended the elves off.

Captain Demros pushed off in a boat, headed back to the ship with a handful of his people and some meat treasure from the platforms. Ivo knew the tense captain could dodge a bullet–so he took aim at a barrel of explosive bile. His aim was true, blasting the elves at point blank range and scattering their boat to kindling, so they could only fall into the waters boiling with enraged sharks.

Misdirection

The pirates were groggy, coming out from under the influence, and the suspicious dwarves returned to Iskavol’s throne area. After there was no response to knocking, they opened the door to find she had a burned escape route into and through the corpse. She took the things she wanted the most from the find, and retreated, leaving the pirates and dwarves on their own. The flamejekts started to wane and flicker, soon to extinguish.

Chasing her energies, the Fellowship headed to the beach, where there were traces of a big teleportation spell. The wizard had likely escaped some distance, enough to be out of reach for now.

Not Over Yet!

As the sun sank towards elven domination, the Fellowship had to act fast.

Vanmil and Thoreson got to work checking the eyes for Everlamp, a mystical substance generating an eternal shine. Iskavol had drained the big eye, but there were other smaller eyes–Vanmil found one that had enough Everlamp for her purposes, and she harvested it successfully.

Devron was quietly looking for something specific. He prayed to his mysterious god, trying to sense whether there were any traces of recognizable energy in the corpse. If there were, the impressions were too faint to be detected in a quick look. He wanted to stay for a deeper dive.

The Fellowship wiped out Lady Sann (for sure) and Captain Demros (probably) but they also “chased off” Iskavol and “liberated” the pirates led by Darveen and Carroway. If they were going to get more treasure out of the site, they would have to deal with murderous humans and elves, knowing more treasure-hunting factions could arrive at any moment.

Ledger

The Fellowship banked Ledger they could redeem when they tell the tale.

Thoreson and Devron banked 3. Ivo, Vanmil, and Korvask banked 4. (They succeeded in additional objectives in service of the clan.)

Beyond the Firescreamer

08 Monday Jun 2020

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Played 6/6/20 IRL, 12/22/21212 IG.

  • Thoreson Grimeater (Anders) Berserker, Chef, Healer.
  • Ivo Flynt (Imre) Support, Gunsmith, Engineer. (Apprentice, Tella)
  • Vanmil Glowhide (Kriss) Vanguard, Adept, Jeweler. (Fleshpacter, Fishel)

Roachseat

Thoreson and Ivo represented the Dunn family, and in Roachseat they met with Vanmil, a local representative from the Grimeater family who was also working with the expedition into the Various Gardens. While they waited in Roachseat for the council leading the expedition to hand out assignments, they were supervised by Cerise, a local Sithic assigned to watch them and make sure they got everything they needed. A Rustad family team led by Lady Jeet was also waiting for an assignment.

Confronting the Firescreamer

Word came in that the Dunn team was assigned the task of clearing out a monster on the road into the Various Gardens, while the Rustad family team was assigned local errands. Triumphant, the Dunn team (Thoreson, Ivo, and Vanmil) met with their guide, a fungaloid named Sypert. In order to get the full story, one or more dwarves would have to breathe in Sypert’s spores to meld communicate, as the little fungaloid could not talk. Vanmil had experience communing with fungaloids, and handled the briefing.

The mission was to travel through the Golden Vent, an area controlled by the local fungaloids. The Golden Vent was troubled by attacks from a firescreamer and its victims, sporehounds it corrupted to become fog breathers. They target those who breathe, so the fungaloids and Sithics were relatively safe.

A year ago the fungaloids agreed the expedition could pass through their lands, and the Sithics agreed to allow the expedition a few months ago. In the last week the fungaloids withdrew their approval, so the whole expedition was impereled.

The fungaloids were concerned that additional traffic would draw more predators, and they needed a sign the dwarves could handle themselves and not suffer predation. They must confront the firescreamer, behead it, and present the head as a trophy to an elder of the fungaloid circles in the Elefrangy Stretch. The elder would then decide whether they could proceed with the overall expedition or not. Only a few dwarves could go; they didn’t want to scare the firescreamer off. Sypert would serve as guide.

Preparing to Go

Before heading out, they handled some business. All three visited a few alchemical and enchanter workshops in Roachseat, collecting magical fragments and chemicals. Ivo retreated to build several fragmentary explosives, tutoring Tella in constructing explosives.

Thoreson and Vanmil asked around for an invitation to a scheduled hollowing, a community event where a crowd showed up to butcher one of the massive beetles in the herd below the city, hollowing out the towering bug and preparing a feast to feed the town for days. As a visiting chef, and a Grimeater from the Shallows, Thoreson was eager to share the experience and demonstrate his skill. Thoreson also purchased some climbing harnesses and supplies, and secured a grubbly as a beast of burden.

Vanmil checked in with the local Sithic elders, arranging a meet with a shaman to see what she could find out about the sporehounds and the firescreamer and the fog breathers. The shaman told her the firescreamer’s flames were fire, but not fire; fire turns physical material to heat, light, energy, and motion, and the firescreamer burned memory and connectedness to this world instead. Vanmil thanked them for sharing some information on the threat.

Into the Golden Vent

They traveled in relative safety, attentive to Sypert guiding them around hazards. They didn’t breathe the “snowfall” of spores from the giant fungus, they didn’t get too close to big wet holes full of predators, and they avoided the local wildlife on their way into the Golden Vent. Vanmil attuned to the life force of the place so she would be better able to pick out anomalies in the teeming ecosystem.

Ambush!

They reached the Golden Vent Passage, and fog billowed in as the fog breathers attacked. The fog triggered panic and deadened the ability to see life and motion in the combat site. Ivo’s gunfire blew one of the tough fog breathers away as they closed, and he also shot a second one as the Fellowship finished off the third.

The Firescreamer attacked, but was backed off by more gunfire and mystic assaults from Vanmil. Relocating, it sprang out to tear her face off, but she drove it back. It withstood a pounding from the berserker before Vanmil managed to shove the mighty creature back further, demanding Ivo hurl his explosive. He did, and the grenade exploded in the air, showering everyone with enchanted shrapnel.

The firescreamer tried to escape, but somehow Vanmil wrested it into position so it could not, then her chitinous fist weapons shattered its jaw and she twisted its head, snapping the neck.

The Fellowship removed the head altogether as the fog breather corpses dissolved unpleasantly; Vanmil memorized the energy flavor in their skulls as they smoldered out, and Thoreson removed some spicy glands from the firescreamer’s throat to spice up the upcoming hollowing party.

Elefrangy Stretch

The Fellowship followed Sypert to the Elefrangy Stretch, and he led them to one of the conscious elders that was not melded deep and unable to communicate. The elder was a mystic called Funderbunk. (The fungaloids don’t bother with names, they have a deeply rooted sense of identity and don’t need titles, so the name was assigned at some point by a dwarf.)

All of the Fellowship melded with Funderbunk, whose thoughts were somewhat inscrutable. The main takeaway was that the fungaloids approved the expedition going forward, and the dwarves were successful.

They returned to Roachseat without incident, earning 5 Ledger each.

Guardians of the Nest

25 Saturday Apr 2020

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Clan Rumbleseed, played 4.25.20 IRL (in real life) and 10/25/2121 IG (in game).

  • Miraeg Dunn (Jonathan) Leader, Performer, Mechanic.
  • Ivo Flynt (Imre) Support, Gunsmith, Engineer.
  • Cagroot Hopstrider (KC) Skirmisher, Brewer, Delver.
  • Thoreson Grimeater (Anders) Berserker, Chef, Healer.

Loaded for Bear

The Fellowship left the vent in the hillside and returned to Lebrim Manor’s construction site, performing battle haka and armoring up. They equipped themselves with the best climbing gear they could, including a climbing harness Ivo was experimenting with that could support a human. Ivo asked Justicar Trays to go with them, and he agreed.

As the Fellowship was grimly headed out of the camp, they were met by Magistrate Lyrin. The dwarves swore they were going to prove there were monsters under the hill; the magistrate agreed they would do just that. Unfortunately, that proof wouldn’t shift the growing human conviction that the dwarves were perhaps responsible for the monsters. Frustrated, the dwarves went to take out their feelings on the nest below.

Down Below

They found the vent, following it to the chasm, then to the pit. Cagroot, the best climber, anchored the rope so Miraeg could climb down first. Halfway down, Miraeg was ambushed by a cave pouncer. Thoreson leaped to his aid, rappelling down fast, and Ivo supported with gunfire. The pouncer was slain, and Thoreson and Miraeg reached the bottom of the shaft to face off with more cave pouncers–after the fear drinker psychically assaulted them and left them vulnerable. Concentrated fire from above, blades and brawn below, and the timely intervention of the justicar won the day.

Ivo earnestly persuaded Cagroot and Miraeg to arm themselves with his pistols. Then the Fellowship pursued the fear drinker further in.

The Sprawling Lair

The Fellowship and the justicar came to a more open area with a vent to the sky far above, and some faint bioluminescent nesting filth. The cave pouncers hung back, and a massive “breathless” monster charged the Fellowship as the fear drinker redoubled their panic. A combination of Ivo’s explosive bullets and Thoreson’s massive sword brought the breathless down, and Thoreson dug deep with the blade, imbduing it with the breathless’s dissipating life force.

Cagroot scrambled up the uneven slope towards where the fear drinker lurked, fighting his terror. Miraeg joined him, and was inspired to fire the killing shot that took the fear drinker down. Cagroot climbed up to verify, and he was spotted by the queen of the nest.

Yaas Queen

The hideous bulk reared and hissed, and Cagroot snapped off a couple hollowpoints and blew it away. The Fellowship surveyed the mounds of jelly with basketball sized eggs embedded within, feeling some trepidation. Fortunately the dying queen vented chemical signals that didn’t enrage the cave pouncers, a symbiotic species, so the opportunistic predators began eating the jelly and eggs and ignoring the dwarves.

Thoreson enlisted Cagroot’s help to harvest the queen monster glandular tract to make rare spices, avoiding the gut parasites filling the torso cavity. Miraeg plucked the golden orb eyes from the breathless to keep as glassy trophies. Ivo contemplated how best to bring down the cavern with the few explosives he had on hand; there was a fissure, high up, and he climbed towards it to wedge the grenades in just the right spot. His climbing skills did not match his engineering analysis, and he took a bad tumble, banging his way down the craggy slope to squash into a wad of egg jelly.

Deeper Still

Cagroot noticed a hole behind one of the egg wads, and he had a waking vision where the ghost of the baroness hiding in his life energy retreated to him, begging for help, as the wavering meat forest trembled with the approach of a predator. The echo fever infection in him was nearing a merging point once again with a corrupt psychic field like the one that the baroness’s ghost escaped from in the first place. Cagroot could eject the ghost into that starving field, or shelter her in his own life force. He chose to shelter her.

Cagroot told the Fellowship to face what was down the hole, and he retreated to protect his refugee ghost. Linking up with the justicar, Cagroot found the man babbling non-stop as his stoic silence was shaken apart by supernatural fear.

The Corrupter

Meanwhile, fresh terror tore through the rest of the Fellowship as something in that hole trembled the earth. While Miraeg resisted, and Ivo clamped down on his sanity using his resolve, Thoreson embraced the inexorable sensation and retreated into his berserker fury, diving down the hole.

He confronted the corrupter worm writhing below, noting its bite radius matched the victims in the wreck of Lebrim’s Manor. He charged the foul thing, and the world went red.

When Thoreson regained his senses, seven minutes had passed and he was climbing out of the pit covered in blood not his own. He announced the thing was slain. All of the Fellowship felt the echo fever evaporate. Cagroot saw a dead gleam in Thoreson’s eyes, once again reminding him of the stare of a cave moray.

The ecology of the underground could be complex, and the echo fever projected by the fear drinker had been flavored by the worm thing in the pit. Their fields had interacted, probably boosting each other. It was not a surprise that the two forces had reached some kind of uneasy chemical truce, and settled near the queen nest and the cave pouncers attracted to her service. Still, knocking apart the alliance greatly diminished the threat of the nest.

Return

The Fellowship returned to the surface and hefted their monster trophies back to Lebrim Manor’s construction site. They had a terse exchange with the magistrate, then loaded up the wagon and prepared to leave.

Baron Lebrim came to see them off. He assured them they could come back anytime. The teeth in his smile seemed much too sharp. With that, the Fellowship departed.

Legendary Weapon: Breathless Blade

This two-handed blade can be activated by its bearer by spending a Resolve and a defend action. All foes in melee range count as being targeted by a successful defend action.

The Dragon in the Tower

25 Saturday Apr 2020

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Clan Caskbound, played 4.24.20 IRL, 9.10.2121 IG.

This adventure was a Strange Mission, with shared GM duties, classified as History (it really happened!)

  • Devron Leveller (Mark) Berserker. Chosen, Mason.
  • Dandel “The Dan” Deeptunnel (Simon) Berserker. Carouser, Miner, Brewer.
  • Korvask Wyrt (Michael) Vanguard. Enchanter, Scholar.
  • Zuuker (Andrew) Support. Topsider, Brewer.

Return to Ryvolko

The Fellowship returned to Ryvolko and The Beetleback Brewery. They met with Magistrate Plaxton, who dropped in for a drink. He was salty that they withdrew directly overseas and did not check in with Ryvolko. Still, their return was well timed, as the city faced a strange threat. Constructs of water had appeared in the city, and when fought back, they glowed with an arcane sign that belonged to Yaru, a local wizard. Another local wizard, Iskavol, went to check on her tower on a nearby island about an hour away by airship. She left yesterday, and since then three more water constructs have emerged and menaced the city. Would the dwarves take a look?

Roll Tide!

Three massive water constructs converged on the brewhouse, and the Fellowship leaped into action. They broke two down, and narrowly saved the magistrate as the third blew through the wall and targeted him; Korvask defended him as only a vanguard could, and the magistrate struck the killing blow with his hidden prosthetic forearm cannon.

To the Tower

The Fellowship packed up and headed out at once. Nymeer let them take the Sea Scout airship, with Zuuker at the helm (as he was a topsider trained on the controls.) They were well underway when the airship started spraying smoke.

Outside, goblins mounted on bats swirled around the airship, hurling smokebombs, queuing up fire bombs. The Fellowship fired the Sea Scout’s new deck guns at them, then the goblins formed up to all hurl bombs at once and Zuuker fired a heroically aimed shot, blasting one bomb and triggering the others, spraying fire all over the goblins and their bats. They retreated in disarray.

The Portraits and the Door

They reached the lonely tower, and inside they found a foyer with a massive spell set into the floor connected to two portraits of children on the walls. Devron tried to lead the way across the spellwork, but he was repulsed, and the aspect of the portraits darkened and twisted towards something evil.

The Fellowship flanked Devron and charged at the opposite door, hurling him into it with his full berserk momentum, smashing through the door and going deeper into the tower.

The Crossroads Chamber

The other side of the door was stairs going down, and as Devron toppled painfully down them, the rest of the Fellowship followed to discover a chamber with walkways over a central pit with a shaft in the center, supporting an orb. The room got colder, and they spotted Iskavol trapped in the orb.

They approached, and Devron reached through the magical crystal somehow, from his center to its center, bypassing the surface; he could led the Fellowship in, or pull the wizard out. He pulled Iskavol out of the orb to rejoin them, and as he did, the central column cracked and released foul magical waste wraiths that flowed up at the Fellowship, who dispatched them swiftly; Korvask repelled the mystic assault with his Shard Shield, and only Zuuker succumbed to the corrupted monsters harvesting insecurity and fear and armoring themselves with it.

A Net of Orbs

Iskavol earnestly explained that there were ten orbs in the extradimensional interior of the tower, forming the Crossroads, and she knew where the Crucible of Waves was–that would be the one causing these water construct problems. The temperature continued falling in the Crossroads Chamber, so they headed for an exit as the exits were magically iced over. The ice repelled a few attacks, so the Fellowship rammed Devron into the barrier and broke it enough for them to slip through. Iksavol quoth the command word “YehBASsik” and calmed the ice defenses down so they could continue to the chamber with the Crucible of Waves.

A Dragon, Chained

The orb was on a stand, and a 30 foot dragon chained to the floor was dazed and somehow draining its blood in crystal drops, its essence pinning the orb open. The Fellowship examined the situation, and Korvask’s enchanting and scholarly lore combined to reveal that the markings on the orb base were those used by the sea witches; they had somehow infiltrated, and were keeping the portal open using the dragon’s life force. The Fellowship considered trying to go through, but peering through the orb suggested that the other side was crush depth. As they looked through, something on the other side spotted them.

Flood and Fighting

The portal released a column of high-pressure water, with a massive tendril and some horrible sea creatures included. The room began filling with water at an alarming rate, and the dwarves retreated far enough to form a plan.

Iskavol dove into the pool and used her magic to free the dragon from its chains. As it reared up, the tendril from the deep grappled it, and the dragon bit out chunks of its flesh so its acid blood flavored the water. An eel-like swimming nightmare closed with Devron as the rest of the Fellowship dragged Korvask to the stand, where he used his knowledge of mystical writings to dislodge the orb and snap the portal shut.

The severed tendril thrashed around the room, and the flood of water dragged the Fellowship out of the chamber and down the hall towards the deep shaft in the Crossroads Chamber.

A Dragon, Revealed

The injured dragon leaped over the chasm to the central column and sagged down, weakly calling for help. The Fellowship and Iskavol cautiously approached, and the dragon revealed she was Yaru; she asked them to keep her secret, and they agreed.

Iskavol helped Yaru resume her wizard shape, and Yaru explained that the sea witches had somehow infiltrated her tower and caught her unawares, trapping her and draining her life force to hold theCrucible of Waves open. She did not know why they did this, or what they accomplished in addition to sending some water constructs through the streets of Ryvolko (and possibly targeting the magistrate specifically.) The danger was now past, and it was time for the Fellowship to leave the two wizards alone in the tower.

The Fellowship earned 3 Ledger, and this tale is historical.