February 20, 118
The party awake later than usual after their previous late night; it's nearly noon by the time everyone is up and moving. They decide to split up and have everyone handle separate tasks. Kaplan continues to stay in hiding, and Dark Star stays with him, continuing to read through the book he purchased from Demon's Gift. Back at Aralakk's temple, Calanon questions Aralakk about the Guild of the Twinborn, but the priest doesn't know anything about them. The rest of the group head into the city. Ash-Daughter starts making the rounds of her contacts, trying to discover if they know anything about the Guild of the Twinborn.
Ellyanna asks around to find where the biggest libraries are in Vornheim. She learns that they are the library of Zorlac, the library at the Reliquary of Vorn, and the library at the College of Celestial Thaumaturgy (an association of mages). She decides not to bother Zorlac, for the same reason they didn't look for him before - he is known to be extremely jealous of his knowledge and never lets outsiders in. She also decides against going to the Reliquary, as the party will probably be going there later once Aralakk gets them an appointment with one of Sahril's sub-prelates. Thus, she heads for the College. However, once she's there, she finds out that access is only for members of the College. She can become an associate member if she shares with them some new and interesting lore, but as the College focuses on Divination magic, and Ellyanna specializes in Evocation magic, she has nothing of interest to them.
Finally, Elvish and Grrrr Yip decide to head to the location of the Guild of the Twinborn's hideout, which they learned from Sadrith. They arrive at a busy commercial district, and find that the location corresponds to a bakery called the Decadence Cupcakery. Casing out the building, they determine that it is two stories, with a large storefront in the front, narrow alleyways on the side, and a small door in the back. Except for the large windows of the storefront, the only windows are on the second floor.
They decide to split up and watch the two doors. Elvish blends into the crowd near the front and watches the main entrance, looking for any usual customers or patterns. Grrrr Yip shapeshifts into a rat, skitters into the alleyway, and takes up position near the back door.
About an hour passes, during which time Elvish doesn't notice anything unusual, until someone arrives at the back door, coming from the opposite alleyway. He knocks, then whispers the passphrase "the chimera turns", at which point a man on the other side of the door opens it up. Seeing her chance, Grrrr Yip skitters through the opening in rat form.
However, the doorman sees the rat coming in and stomps on it. This does enough damage to knock Grrrr Yip back into her Lizardborn form, and the two men are shocked by her sudden appearance. They start shouting cries of alarm and draw their daggers, and Grrrr Yip decides to make a run for it. She takes several wounds as she flees past the two men, and as she runs out the door, one of the two men chases after her, while the other stays to guard the door.
The commotion catches Elvish's attention, but Grrrr Yip flees in the opposite direction from where he's waiting, and his short halfling legs make him a slower runner. As Grrrr Yip and her pursuer emerge onto the street, bystanders see the chase and start calling for the guards. Before Elvish can catch up, the man catches Grrrr Yip and stabs her in the back, dropping her the ground, badly wounded.
Elvish finally arrives, and he attempts to use a Suggestion spell to force the man to flee, but he resists. However, he independently decides the idea is a good one - seeing the commotion around him, he decides to flee anyway. Elvish reaches Grrrr Yip and heals her, and they decide to wait for the guards to arrive.
A squadron of a half-dozen guards arrives after about 10 minutes, and demands to know what's going on. Elvish convinces them that they were attacked by a man who came from the bakery - which is true, although he leaves out the part where they were staking out the place. He convinces the guards to let him and Grrrr Yip join them as they investigate the building.
At the bakery, the guards enter and declare that everyone inside is under arrest, and start rounding up the bakery workers. While they're doing this, Elvish and Grrrr Yip make their way to the second floor and look around. There's no one there, but they find many signs that it has been hastily vacated. The only sign of the Guild they find is a closet full of dark red robes. Acting quickly, Elvish plants a fake note in one of the robes, which reads as follows:
"Dear Sadrith,
The plan is working. The archprelate is dead and they believe Kaplan did it. We just need to tie up the loose ends and kill Kaplan before they figure out we're behind it. Take five brothers to the Undercity and take care of it."
He includes the name "Guild of the Twinborn" at the top and invents a sigil containing two daggers. His intention is that this fake note will lead the city guard to start investigating the Guild, possibly solving the problem for them.
Before they leave, the guards demand to know where they can contact the two of them in case their testimony is needed. They tell that they are staying at the Evening Shade Inn (which is actually where the elf Vaelac is staying).
Everyone regroups at the Greasy Thatcher, where Calanon informs them that Aralakk has managed to secure them an audience with Prelate Severn himself in the evening. Thus, they have only a few hours before they need to go.
Once again, the party take this time to accomplish separate goals. Kaplan and Dark Star remain at the inn as before, and Grrrr Yip joins them, recovering from her earlier ordeal. Ash-Daughter continues asking around about the Guild of the Twinborn but uncovers no new information. Calanon spends the time cleaning up and preparing himself for the audience.
Elvish and Ellyanna, however, head back into the city, hoping to find a member of the College of Celestial Thamauturgy and get a glimpse of his or her membership credentials so Elvish can forge credentials for Ellyanna. They eventually track down a member at a tavern in the New City. Striking up a conversation, they steer it towards the topic of the College, and get her to show them her proof of membership. She explains that each member who joins picks a contellation to represent himself or herself, and is given an enchanted card that is essentially a magical window that points at the constellation in question. Unfortunately, it's impossible for Elvish make a forgery of an enchanted card, so their quest ends in failure.
As the time approaches, the party once again regroup and prepare to meet with Prelate Severn.
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Session 15: Intrigue in Vornheim, Part 2
February 19, 118
The party have a few hours left before nightfall, and Elvish decides to use this time to try to get the "word on the street" about the various prelates and the election, hoping to corroborate what Aralakk told him and Calanon. The best place to chat up the priesthood is at the Eminent Cathedral, which is directly attached to the Palace Massive, where the party was imprisoned not long ago. This makes Elvish going there possibly dangerous if he's recognized.
Elvish decides that it's worth and risk, so he disguises himself and makes his way to the cathedral. He manages to avoid being recognized and gathers some information about the prelates. He learns that the main topics of conversation are Severn and Sahril - specifically, why they have yet to publicly proclaim support for anyone. In Sahril's case, many believe it's because she's generally shown little interest in politics in the past, but in Severn's case opinions are divided. Some feel that, as the head of the Inquisition, he has information that incriminates all of the candidates, making him not want to vote for anyone. Others feel that he must have information that he's using to blackmail the others.
The other big topic of conversation is Gorith. After his very public proclamation of having captured the Archprelate's killer, rumours have started to get out that the killer has since escaped, which is starting to look very bad for Gorith. Elvish begins to understand why Gorith is so desperate to find them, as Kaplan's escape will be terrible for his reputation if word gets out to the common people.
Eventually, night falls and everyone returns to Ash-Daughter's hiding place in the Undercity, except for Calanon, who stays behind at Aralakk's temple. Mindful of the fact that several groups have managed to find them already, they decide to set a watch, with Grrrr Yip taking the first shift.
Only about an hour has passed when the door suddenly bursts open, and six dark-cloaked figures wielding daggers flood into the room. Grrrr Yip is caught by surprise, and several of them run up to her and attack. She manages to regain her senses before they take her down, and she shapeshifts into bear form, letting loose a roar that immediately awakens the rest of the party.
The rest of the group pick themselves up off the ground and join into the fight; the battle quickly devolves into total chaos as a dozen combatants battle in the small hiding place. During the fight, Elvish catches one of the figures with a magical Suggestion spell, which he uses to "suggest" that the figure go stand in the corner and not fight.
Eventually the party defeat the other five figures, although not without sustaining some major wounds themselves. As the party's healers take care of these, they investigate the corpses.
The figures turn out to be a group of human men, wearing dark red cloaks over leather armor. Each is carrying two elaborate (but still practical) daggers and a small coinpurse, which they loot. Only one of the sets of robes remains in decent condition, the others mostly destroyed by magic and weapons, so they take it. The men don't seem to be carrying any sort of identifying mark.
Elvish turns his attention to the man standing in the corner. Using two Charm Person spells (the man resists the first), he magically gains his trust, and asks the rest of the party to leave the room while he interrogates him.
The man is very reluctant to speak, even under the influence of the spell, but Elvish's charisma eventually convinces him to open up. He gives his name as Sadrith, and tells Elvish that he's a member of a group called the Guild of the Twinborn, a guild of assassins. He isn't able to answer too many question about them, as he claims that the group is very secretive and lower-ranked members are only given information on a need-to-know basis. Membership apparently pays extremely well, which is why he joined.
Sadrith doesn't know where the group is ultimately based, but he tells Elvish that he personally is from the south, in the Second Empire, and that he and his companions are here on a job to kill Kaplan. He does know the location of their temporary hideout in Vornheim, which Elvish manages to wring out of him - it's a building in the New City, the middle layer of Vornheim. Elvish also convinces Sadrith to tell him the current password, which is "the chimera turns". The group change their passwords every week, but the last change was earlier this day, so this password will still be valid for nearly a week.
Finally, Elvish asks him if he knows anything about the assassination of the Archprelate, but Sadrith replies that he does not.
Having learned everything of value that he can, Elvish steps outside to discuss what to do with Sadrith with the rest of the party. While some of the group want to spare his life and let him go, they eventually decide that it is too dangerous to leave him alive, as he could report back a great deal of information about them. Ash-Daughter enters the room and runs him through with her rapier, killing him instantly.
The party next discuss where they will spend the night. Ash-Daughter's hiding place is clearly not safe, but they're not sure if anywhere else is any safer. They discuss returning to Leravith's home and seeking her protection, but they eventually decide that it's too far out of the way from the surface of the city, plus they're not sure if she would agree to take them in in the first place.
Eventually, they decide that, since their enemies seem to be able to find them anyway, there's no point in hiding down in the Undercity. Elvish and Dark Star do their best to disguise Kaplan so that no one will recognize him, and they head out to the Outer City to find an inn to stay at. They eventually settle in at an inn called the Greasy Thatcher, and Ash-Daughter heads out to the temple to update Calanon on everything that has happened.
The party have a few hours left before nightfall, and Elvish decides to use this time to try to get the "word on the street" about the various prelates and the election, hoping to corroborate what Aralakk told him and Calanon. The best place to chat up the priesthood is at the Eminent Cathedral, which is directly attached to the Palace Massive, where the party was imprisoned not long ago. This makes Elvish going there possibly dangerous if he's recognized.
Elvish decides that it's worth and risk, so he disguises himself and makes his way to the cathedral. He manages to avoid being recognized and gathers some information about the prelates. He learns that the main topics of conversation are Severn and Sahril - specifically, why they have yet to publicly proclaim support for anyone. In Sahril's case, many believe it's because she's generally shown little interest in politics in the past, but in Severn's case opinions are divided. Some feel that, as the head of the Inquisition, he has information that incriminates all of the candidates, making him not want to vote for anyone. Others feel that he must have information that he's using to blackmail the others.
The other big topic of conversation is Gorith. After his very public proclamation of having captured the Archprelate's killer, rumours have started to get out that the killer has since escaped, which is starting to look very bad for Gorith. Elvish begins to understand why Gorith is so desperate to find them, as Kaplan's escape will be terrible for his reputation if word gets out to the common people.
Eventually, night falls and everyone returns to Ash-Daughter's hiding place in the Undercity, except for Calanon, who stays behind at Aralakk's temple. Mindful of the fact that several groups have managed to find them already, they decide to set a watch, with Grrrr Yip taking the first shift.
Only about an hour has passed when the door suddenly bursts open, and six dark-cloaked figures wielding daggers flood into the room. Grrrr Yip is caught by surprise, and several of them run up to her and attack. She manages to regain her senses before they take her down, and she shapeshifts into bear form, letting loose a roar that immediately awakens the rest of the party.
The rest of the group pick themselves up off the ground and join into the fight; the battle quickly devolves into total chaos as a dozen combatants battle in the small hiding place. During the fight, Elvish catches one of the figures with a magical Suggestion spell, which he uses to "suggest" that the figure go stand in the corner and not fight.
Eventually the party defeat the other five figures, although not without sustaining some major wounds themselves. As the party's healers take care of these, they investigate the corpses.
The figures turn out to be a group of human men, wearing dark red cloaks over leather armor. Each is carrying two elaborate (but still practical) daggers and a small coinpurse, which they loot. Only one of the sets of robes remains in decent condition, the others mostly destroyed by magic and weapons, so they take it. The men don't seem to be carrying any sort of identifying mark.
Elvish turns his attention to the man standing in the corner. Using two Charm Person spells (the man resists the first), he magically gains his trust, and asks the rest of the party to leave the room while he interrogates him.
The man is very reluctant to speak, even under the influence of the spell, but Elvish's charisma eventually convinces him to open up. He gives his name as Sadrith, and tells Elvish that he's a member of a group called the Guild of the Twinborn, a guild of assassins. He isn't able to answer too many question about them, as he claims that the group is very secretive and lower-ranked members are only given information on a need-to-know basis. Membership apparently pays extremely well, which is why he joined.
Sadrith doesn't know where the group is ultimately based, but he tells Elvish that he personally is from the south, in the Second Empire, and that he and his companions are here on a job to kill Kaplan. He does know the location of their temporary hideout in Vornheim, which Elvish manages to wring out of him - it's a building in the New City, the middle layer of Vornheim. Elvish also convinces Sadrith to tell him the current password, which is "the chimera turns". The group change their passwords every week, but the last change was earlier this day, so this password will still be valid for nearly a week.
Finally, Elvish asks him if he knows anything about the assassination of the Archprelate, but Sadrith replies that he does not.
Having learned everything of value that he can, Elvish steps outside to discuss what to do with Sadrith with the rest of the party. While some of the group want to spare his life and let him go, they eventually decide that it is too dangerous to leave him alive, as he could report back a great deal of information about them. Ash-Daughter enters the room and runs him through with her rapier, killing him instantly.
The party next discuss where they will spend the night. Ash-Daughter's hiding place is clearly not safe, but they're not sure if anywhere else is any safer. They discuss returning to Leravith's home and seeking her protection, but they eventually decide that it's too far out of the way from the surface of the city, plus they're not sure if she would agree to take them in in the first place.
Eventually, they decide that, since their enemies seem to be able to find them anyway, there's no point in hiding down in the Undercity. Elvish and Dark Star do their best to disguise Kaplan so that no one will recognize him, and they head out to the Outer City to find an inn to stay at. They eventually settle in at an inn called the Greasy Thatcher, and Ash-Daughter heads out to the temple to update Calanon on everything that has happened.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Session 14: Intrigue in Vornheim
February 18, 118
Having struck a deal with Leravith, the party decide to head back to Ash-Daughter's hiding place in the Undercity and plan their next move. The tiefling leads them back through the winding corridors of the Undercity, and eventually they find themselves back at the hiding place's entrance. However, before they open the door and step through, Kaplan spots a trickle of blood running under the doorway.
They stop to listen at the door, but hear nothing. Elvish cautiously opens it, and inside he sees three corpses. One, right next to the door, is a cleric of Vorn, while the other two, a bit farther away, seem to be guards or soldiers of some kind.
A quick inspection of the hiding place reveals nothing else out of the ordinary, and no living people hiding in wait for them. They investigate the bodies as well as they can in order to try to determine what happened.
They deduce that the guards and the cleric fought, as the cleric has wounds from the guards' swords and the guards have wounds from the cleric's mace. It seems the cleric fought and killed the guards, but then succumbed to his wounds. The guards bear the insignia of Prelate Gorith, while the cleric has no particular identifying marks. He does, however, have a rolled-up scroll.
Dark Star takes the scroll, and upon unrolling it he discovers that it contains a short message preceding instructions for a magical ritual. The message is addressed to Kaplan, so Dark Star passes it to him. There is no signature or other clue regarding who wrote it, but the writer indicates that they are not necessarily displeased with Kaplan's killing of the Archprelate, and in fact wish to hire him. The message claims that Kaplan's escape from Gorith's men's custody has been a serious setback to the Prelate's chances of becomes Archprelate, and that he will spare no expense in tracking Kaplan down. In return for Kaplan's services, the writer offers to provide Kaplan with protection from Gorith's men.
Ellyanna studies the ritual underneath, which is some sort of spell of communication apparently intended to contact the writer of the scroll. The party decide that Ellyanna should study it thoroughly before they consider using it, since they need to know exactly what the spell does.
Discussing the implications of this, Ash-Daughter points out that she's most concerned about how these three people found her hiding place, as she never revealed it to anyone. No one is able to give a clear answer, and the possibility that someone is using magic to track them is brought up.
The party decide to head back up to the city, leaving Ellyanna behind to study the scroll and leaving Kaplan behind because it's too dangerous for him to go up. Dark Star and Elvish head to Demon's Gift's occult shop to respond to his message from the morning, while Calanon and Grrrr Yip head to the markets to sell their accumulated treasure. Ash-Daughter waits at the entrance to the Undercity to guide them back.
It's nearing nightfall as Dark Star and Elvish reach the shop, arriving just before Demon's Gift closes it up. He tells them that he was visited by an elf, hiding his face beneath a hood, who was asking about Zargon. When he told the elf that he had recently sold his only tome containing information about Zargon to someone else, the elf asked to arrange a meeting with this person. Not wanting to give out Dark Star's personal information, he asked the elf to leave some contact information then magically contacted Dark Star.
Demon's Gift tells Dark Star and Elvish that the elf is staying at the Evening Shade Tavern and Inn, located nearby. They head there immediately, and a bit of coin persuades the innkeeper to call down the elf to meet them.
The elf, after identifying Dark Star as the person who bought the book from Demon's Gift, invites the two adventurers up to his room. There, he introduces himself as Vaelac. Removing his hood, they see that he is a White Elf from up north. He explains that, until recently, he was the shaman for his tribe, but about two months ago, he began experiencing strange dreams and visions. Eventually, he grew to understand that the visions were from a being called Zargon, and that it was commanding him to free it (from what, he is not sure).
Along with the visions, he began to develop strange powers, similar to those possessed by Dark Star, and eventually this was noticed by his tribe. He was forced out, and decided to come to Vornheim to see if he could learn more about Zargon and find anyone else who had experienced the same things. While Dark Star had a broadly similar experience, he never had any sort of dreams or visions, instead learning of Zargon through a book he found. Vaelac tells Dark Star that he hasn't had any visions since coming down to Vornheim.
Knowing that the White Elves live to the north, and that the undead army went somewhere northeast from Frosthaven, Dark Star and Elvish ask Vaelac if he saw any unusual activity before leaving his tribe. Vaelac relates that he did see a mysterious, black-robed figure visit the tribe's chief shortly before he was driven out, but he was not party to the meeting and does not know who the figure was or what he wanted.
Vaelac tries to convince Dark Star to sell or lend him the book, but Dark Star is adamant that he wants to study it himself. The only concession that Vaelac manages to wring out of Dark Star is that the half-orc will report in to Vaelac if he discovers anything of use.
Their business concluded, the party members meet up with Ash-Daughter and she guides them back to her hiding place. There, Ellyanna has finished studying the scroll. It does indeed seem to be a spell of communication, and she cannot detect any harmful magic woven into it - it seems to do what the message claims it should. Regardless, the party decide not to risk using the scroll for now. Instead, they settle in to rest for the night, setting a watch in case the hiding place is attacked again.
February 19, 118
The next morning, the party split up once again. Kaplan stays back in hiding place for his own safety, and Ellyanna stays as well so that he isn't alone. Calanon and Elvish head into the city and try to find Aralakk, the priest who met with Calanon while he in jail, to learn more about the various prelates from him. Dark Star and Grrrr Yip head into the city to investigate their various options for retrieving the bed and an undead sample from Frosthaven for Leravith. Finally, Ash-Daughter acts as a guide back to the city once again, then waits at the Undercity entrance for everyone to return.
It takes a great deal of searching for Calanon and Elvish to track Aralakk down, but eventually they find the mid-sized temple where he is head priest, and he agrees to speak with them in private. They request a run-down on the prelates of Vorn, which he provides. He tells them of the five prelates:
- Prelate Severn heads up the Inquisition of Vorn, whose task it is to monitor the clergy and keep them in line. All of his agents are secret and ostensibly serve under one of the other prelates. He does not seek to become Archprelate, as he feels he is too young and is not ready. Aralakk is an agent of Severn.
- Prelate Gorith is in charge of all temples of Vorn outside of Vornheim itself. He is also in charge of the outer gates of Vornheim, and it's his men who have been pursuing the party. Aralakk tells them that he has a reputation for being ruthless and cruel. He seeks to become Archprelate, but currently has the support of none of the other prelates.
- Prelate Eljarn commands the military wing of the church of Vorn, including its paladins and crusading clerics. He currently supports the bid of Prelate Thaalia to become Archprelate, but Aralakk tells them that rumours say that he actually wants the position for himself and could change his allegiance if he thought he had a chance.
- Prelatess Sahril is the Loremaster of Vorn, in charge of relics, rituals, and research. She is in charge of the various religious scholars who study the nature of Vorn, and set and updates the rituals used in religious services. She does not publicly support any of the other prelates, and Aralakk doesn't know much about her ambitions or loyalties.
- Prelatess Thaalia is in charge of the temples of Vorn inside Vornheim itself, and therefore has the most influence inside the city. She was the runner-up in the last election for Archprelate, and feels that she is clearly the best choice to rule. She is also the only prelate who currently has the support of another prelate; if she can secure the support of one more, she will most likely win the election.
After discussing the various prelates, Calanon and Elvish eventually decide that they'd most like to speak with Sahril, as she seems most likely to know something about the undead threat they faced in Frosthaven. Aralakk tells them he'll attempt to get in contact with one of her sub-prelates. In order for him to be able to contact the party, Calanon decides to stay at the temple.
Meanwhile, Dark Star and Grrrr Yip are considering how they will hold up their end of the bargain with Leravith. A trip to Frosthaven and back in winter conditions will take nearly three weeks, which is time they don't necessarily have. They investigate several possible solutions, before realizing that they already know a way to instantly contact Duskveil - through the same magic that Demon's Gift used to contact them.
At Demon's Gift's shop, they ask him about the spell, and he tells them that it will indeed work over any distance, but the caster (in this case, Demon's Gift himself) must be personally familiar with the recipient. It turns out they're in luck - Demon's Gift does have an acquaintance in Duskveil who he can contact. The spell is limited to 25 words, so after paying him a 90-gold fee, Dark Star and Grrrr Yip compose the following message:
"Tell mayor - urgent: send soldiers to Frosthaven crypt through coffin staircase, bring many undead and the bed to Salty Locust, Vornheim - Elvish Parsley, reply immediately"
The "Salty Locust" in the message is the Salty Locust inn, a small establishment that is located on the very outskirts of Vornheim, which they feel will make an ideal meeting place. Demon's Gift receives a one word response - "okay".
Having struck a deal with Leravith, the party decide to head back to Ash-Daughter's hiding place in the Undercity and plan their next move. The tiefling leads them back through the winding corridors of the Undercity, and eventually they find themselves back at the hiding place's entrance. However, before they open the door and step through, Kaplan spots a trickle of blood running under the doorway.
They stop to listen at the door, but hear nothing. Elvish cautiously opens it, and inside he sees three corpses. One, right next to the door, is a cleric of Vorn, while the other two, a bit farther away, seem to be guards or soldiers of some kind.
A quick inspection of the hiding place reveals nothing else out of the ordinary, and no living people hiding in wait for them. They investigate the bodies as well as they can in order to try to determine what happened.
They deduce that the guards and the cleric fought, as the cleric has wounds from the guards' swords and the guards have wounds from the cleric's mace. It seems the cleric fought and killed the guards, but then succumbed to his wounds. The guards bear the insignia of Prelate Gorith, while the cleric has no particular identifying marks. He does, however, have a rolled-up scroll.
Dark Star takes the scroll, and upon unrolling it he discovers that it contains a short message preceding instructions for a magical ritual. The message is addressed to Kaplan, so Dark Star passes it to him. There is no signature or other clue regarding who wrote it, but the writer indicates that they are not necessarily displeased with Kaplan's killing of the Archprelate, and in fact wish to hire him. The message claims that Kaplan's escape from Gorith's men's custody has been a serious setback to the Prelate's chances of becomes Archprelate, and that he will spare no expense in tracking Kaplan down. In return for Kaplan's services, the writer offers to provide Kaplan with protection from Gorith's men.
Ellyanna studies the ritual underneath, which is some sort of spell of communication apparently intended to contact the writer of the scroll. The party decide that Ellyanna should study it thoroughly before they consider using it, since they need to know exactly what the spell does.
Discussing the implications of this, Ash-Daughter points out that she's most concerned about how these three people found her hiding place, as she never revealed it to anyone. No one is able to give a clear answer, and the possibility that someone is using magic to track them is brought up.
The party decide to head back up to the city, leaving Ellyanna behind to study the scroll and leaving Kaplan behind because it's too dangerous for him to go up. Dark Star and Elvish head to Demon's Gift's occult shop to respond to his message from the morning, while Calanon and Grrrr Yip head to the markets to sell their accumulated treasure. Ash-Daughter waits at the entrance to the Undercity to guide them back.
It's nearing nightfall as Dark Star and Elvish reach the shop, arriving just before Demon's Gift closes it up. He tells them that he was visited by an elf, hiding his face beneath a hood, who was asking about Zargon. When he told the elf that he had recently sold his only tome containing information about Zargon to someone else, the elf asked to arrange a meeting with this person. Not wanting to give out Dark Star's personal information, he asked the elf to leave some contact information then magically contacted Dark Star.
Demon's Gift tells Dark Star and Elvish that the elf is staying at the Evening Shade Tavern and Inn, located nearby. They head there immediately, and a bit of coin persuades the innkeeper to call down the elf to meet them.
The elf, after identifying Dark Star as the person who bought the book from Demon's Gift, invites the two adventurers up to his room. There, he introduces himself as Vaelac. Removing his hood, they see that he is a White Elf from up north. He explains that, until recently, he was the shaman for his tribe, but about two months ago, he began experiencing strange dreams and visions. Eventually, he grew to understand that the visions were from a being called Zargon, and that it was commanding him to free it (from what, he is not sure).
Along with the visions, he began to develop strange powers, similar to those possessed by Dark Star, and eventually this was noticed by his tribe. He was forced out, and decided to come to Vornheim to see if he could learn more about Zargon and find anyone else who had experienced the same things. While Dark Star had a broadly similar experience, he never had any sort of dreams or visions, instead learning of Zargon through a book he found. Vaelac tells Dark Star that he hasn't had any visions since coming down to Vornheim.
Knowing that the White Elves live to the north, and that the undead army went somewhere northeast from Frosthaven, Dark Star and Elvish ask Vaelac if he saw any unusual activity before leaving his tribe. Vaelac relates that he did see a mysterious, black-robed figure visit the tribe's chief shortly before he was driven out, but he was not party to the meeting and does not know who the figure was or what he wanted.
Vaelac tries to convince Dark Star to sell or lend him the book, but Dark Star is adamant that he wants to study it himself. The only concession that Vaelac manages to wring out of Dark Star is that the half-orc will report in to Vaelac if he discovers anything of use.
Their business concluded, the party members meet up with Ash-Daughter and she guides them back to her hiding place. There, Ellyanna has finished studying the scroll. It does indeed seem to be a spell of communication, and she cannot detect any harmful magic woven into it - it seems to do what the message claims it should. Regardless, the party decide not to risk using the scroll for now. Instead, they settle in to rest for the night, setting a watch in case the hiding place is attacked again.
February 19, 118
The next morning, the party split up once again. Kaplan stays back in hiding place for his own safety, and Ellyanna stays as well so that he isn't alone. Calanon and Elvish head into the city and try to find Aralakk, the priest who met with Calanon while he in jail, to learn more about the various prelates from him. Dark Star and Grrrr Yip head into the city to investigate their various options for retrieving the bed and an undead sample from Frosthaven for Leravith. Finally, Ash-Daughter acts as a guide back to the city once again, then waits at the Undercity entrance for everyone to return.
It takes a great deal of searching for Calanon and Elvish to track Aralakk down, but eventually they find the mid-sized temple where he is head priest, and he agrees to speak with them in private. They request a run-down on the prelates of Vorn, which he provides. He tells them of the five prelates:
- Prelate Severn heads up the Inquisition of Vorn, whose task it is to monitor the clergy and keep them in line. All of his agents are secret and ostensibly serve under one of the other prelates. He does not seek to become Archprelate, as he feels he is too young and is not ready. Aralakk is an agent of Severn.
- Prelate Gorith is in charge of all temples of Vorn outside of Vornheim itself. He is also in charge of the outer gates of Vornheim, and it's his men who have been pursuing the party. Aralakk tells them that he has a reputation for being ruthless and cruel. He seeks to become Archprelate, but currently has the support of none of the other prelates.
- Prelate Eljarn commands the military wing of the church of Vorn, including its paladins and crusading clerics. He currently supports the bid of Prelate Thaalia to become Archprelate, but Aralakk tells them that rumours say that he actually wants the position for himself and could change his allegiance if he thought he had a chance.
- Prelatess Sahril is the Loremaster of Vorn, in charge of relics, rituals, and research. She is in charge of the various religious scholars who study the nature of Vorn, and set and updates the rituals used in religious services. She does not publicly support any of the other prelates, and Aralakk doesn't know much about her ambitions or loyalties.
- Prelatess Thaalia is in charge of the temples of Vorn inside Vornheim itself, and therefore has the most influence inside the city. She was the runner-up in the last election for Archprelate, and feels that she is clearly the best choice to rule. She is also the only prelate who currently has the support of another prelate; if she can secure the support of one more, she will most likely win the election.
After discussing the various prelates, Calanon and Elvish eventually decide that they'd most like to speak with Sahril, as she seems most likely to know something about the undead threat they faced in Frosthaven. Aralakk tells them he'll attempt to get in contact with one of her sub-prelates. In order for him to be able to contact the party, Calanon decides to stay at the temple.
Meanwhile, Dark Star and Grrrr Yip are considering how they will hold up their end of the bargain with Leravith. A trip to Frosthaven and back in winter conditions will take nearly three weeks, which is time they don't necessarily have. They investigate several possible solutions, before realizing that they already know a way to instantly contact Duskveil - through the same magic that Demon's Gift used to contact them.
At Demon's Gift's shop, they ask him about the spell, and he tells them that it will indeed work over any distance, but the caster (in this case, Demon's Gift himself) must be personally familiar with the recipient. It turns out they're in luck - Demon's Gift does have an acquaintance in Duskveil who he can contact. The spell is limited to 25 words, so after paying him a 90-gold fee, Dark Star and Grrrr Yip compose the following message:
"Tell mayor - urgent: send soldiers to Frosthaven crypt through coffin staircase, bring many undead and the bed to Salty Locust, Vornheim - Elvish Parsley, reply immediately"
The "Salty Locust" in the message is the Salty Locust inn, a small establishment that is located on the very outskirts of Vornheim, which they feel will make an ideal meeting place. Demon's Gift receives a one word response - "okay".
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Session 13: The Undercity, Part 4
(Apologies for the vague first half; I forgot to take notes during the game)
February 18, 118 SE
The party awaken after having rested for the night in Ash-Daughter's secret hiding place. As everyone is going about their morning tasks - eating, cleaning, studying spells, and the like - Dark Star suddenly feels a magical presence in his mind, which delivers a message for him. It's from Demon's Gift, who informs him that during the previous day, an elf came to his shop asking about Zargon. This elf wants to meet Dark Star, and Demon's Gift urges him to come visit his shop as soon as possible. The magic allows Dark Star to respond briefly, so he tells Demon's Gift that he will come when he can, but together the group decide that finding the necromancer is a higher priority.
Once again following Ash-Daughter's lead, the party return to the section of the Undercity where the necromancer is supposed to be and continue searching through the rooms and passageways. They begin by backtracking and checking out several doors and passages that they previously skipped. Behind one door, they find a treasure chest hidden underneath a floor stone, which contains a variety of coins and valuable objects, such as a fur-trimmed sash and a box of perfumed candles. Additionally, it contains a saddle which Ellyanna discerns is magical in some way, and an unlabelled flask containing a potion of some sort.
Throughout their explorations they also encounter several monsters. They make short work of a bizarre, grotesque creature known as a Grick, and they encounter a second pair of minotaur skeletons, which give them some trouble but are ultimately defeated. Injured after fighting the skeletons, they make use of a new spell that Ellyanna has recently mastered called "Rope Trick", which creates a short-lived extradimensional space at the end of a rope. Climbing inside lets them rest for an hour with almost no chance of being disturbed.
During further exploration, they come across a stairway leading downwards, but they decline to investigate for now. Nearby, they encounter a pair of orcs resting in a room, but fortunately it is Dark Star, a half-orc who can speak Orcish, who enters first, and he makes a favourable impression on them so they are willing to talk. Most notably, Dark Star asks them if they know anything about the necromancer, and they mention a room, found at the end of the nearby stairway down, containing several undead creatures that appear to be guarding a door.
The party backtrack to the stairway and head down, and soon enough they arrive at the room described by the orcs. The Undercity is a mish-mash of different constructions and architectural styles, and the far wall of the room appears to be High Elven architecture, complete with an elaborate, finely-crafted door. Standing in front of the door are three figures - two, armoured from head to two in armour of High Elven make, and a third, an elven man dressed in servant's clothing.
All three appear to be completely motionless, but when the party approach, the servant addresses then in an even, emotionless tone, asking them what their business is. The party explain their circumstances and ask to speak with the necromancer who is rumoured to live here. The servants responds that he must first confer with "the Lady". He enters the door behind him and to the armoured figures step closer together to block the entrance.
A few minutes later, the servant returns and tells them that the Lady will see them, provided they disarm themselves of any weapons and magical implements before entering. They agree, and are admitted through the door.
Inside, they find themselves in what appears to be an elven palace, somehow transplanted into Vornheim's Undercity. Everything is of the finest make, tended to by more emotionless elven servants and guarded by more armoured figures. They are led through into a sitting room, where the Lady awaits them.
The woman inside introduces herself the Lady Leravith, and motions them to sit while calling for refreshments. As with most elves, her age is impossible to say, and her extravagant attire, hairstyle and makeup make her seem more like an elven noblewoman or courtier than a necromancer. Yet, she informs the party that she is indeed the necromancer that rumours speak of.
The party explain their story, and ask her every question they can think of. She cannot answer all of them, but she does provide some information. She tells them that the mage they defeated is almost certainly not the one who created the undead creatures, as a mage weak enough to be defeated by them would not be powerful enough to control such a large number of undead.
When they ask why only the ancient dead, and not the more recent corpses buried in the cemetery, were animated, she surmises that the spell which raised them must also be ancient, and only triggered recently. This is consistent with the ancient weapons and armor that the creatures were using. When they ask who could have cast the original spell, she is unable to answer them, as she is not familiar with ancient human history.
Leravith tells them what she really needs is an example of one of the reanimated creatures, preferably but not necessarily still moving. Of course, she tells them that she will require payment for her efforts, and suggests that in return, they can promise her Calanon's body after he dies. Calanon absolutely refuses these terms, and the party wrack their brains trying to think of something Leravith might want. Eventually, they recall the bed they found in the ancient shrine underneath the cemetery, enchanted to prevent time from passing for the sleeper. Leravith is intrigued by this, and agrees to perform an examination of a subject from Frosthaven if they will bring her the bed.
February 18, 118 SE
The party awaken after having rested for the night in Ash-Daughter's secret hiding place. As everyone is going about their morning tasks - eating, cleaning, studying spells, and the like - Dark Star suddenly feels a magical presence in his mind, which delivers a message for him. It's from Demon's Gift, who informs him that during the previous day, an elf came to his shop asking about Zargon. This elf wants to meet Dark Star, and Demon's Gift urges him to come visit his shop as soon as possible. The magic allows Dark Star to respond briefly, so he tells Demon's Gift that he will come when he can, but together the group decide that finding the necromancer is a higher priority.
Once again following Ash-Daughter's lead, the party return to the section of the Undercity where the necromancer is supposed to be and continue searching through the rooms and passageways. They begin by backtracking and checking out several doors and passages that they previously skipped. Behind one door, they find a treasure chest hidden underneath a floor stone, which contains a variety of coins and valuable objects, such as a fur-trimmed sash and a box of perfumed candles. Additionally, it contains a saddle which Ellyanna discerns is magical in some way, and an unlabelled flask containing a potion of some sort.
Throughout their explorations they also encounter several monsters. They make short work of a bizarre, grotesque creature known as a Grick, and they encounter a second pair of minotaur skeletons, which give them some trouble but are ultimately defeated. Injured after fighting the skeletons, they make use of a new spell that Ellyanna has recently mastered called "Rope Trick", which creates a short-lived extradimensional space at the end of a rope. Climbing inside lets them rest for an hour with almost no chance of being disturbed.
During further exploration, they come across a stairway leading downwards, but they decline to investigate for now. Nearby, they encounter a pair of orcs resting in a room, but fortunately it is Dark Star, a half-orc who can speak Orcish, who enters first, and he makes a favourable impression on them so they are willing to talk. Most notably, Dark Star asks them if they know anything about the necromancer, and they mention a room, found at the end of the nearby stairway down, containing several undead creatures that appear to be guarding a door.
The party backtrack to the stairway and head down, and soon enough they arrive at the room described by the orcs. The Undercity is a mish-mash of different constructions and architectural styles, and the far wall of the room appears to be High Elven architecture, complete with an elaborate, finely-crafted door. Standing in front of the door are three figures - two, armoured from head to two in armour of High Elven make, and a third, an elven man dressed in servant's clothing.
All three appear to be completely motionless, but when the party approach, the servant addresses then in an even, emotionless tone, asking them what their business is. The party explain their circumstances and ask to speak with the necromancer who is rumoured to live here. The servants responds that he must first confer with "the Lady". He enters the door behind him and to the armoured figures step closer together to block the entrance.
A few minutes later, the servant returns and tells them that the Lady will see them, provided they disarm themselves of any weapons and magical implements before entering. They agree, and are admitted through the door.
Inside, they find themselves in what appears to be an elven palace, somehow transplanted into Vornheim's Undercity. Everything is of the finest make, tended to by more emotionless elven servants and guarded by more armoured figures. They are led through into a sitting room, where the Lady awaits them.
The woman inside introduces herself the Lady Leravith, and motions them to sit while calling for refreshments. As with most elves, her age is impossible to say, and her extravagant attire, hairstyle and makeup make her seem more like an elven noblewoman or courtier than a necromancer. Yet, she informs the party that she is indeed the necromancer that rumours speak of.
The party explain their story, and ask her every question they can think of. She cannot answer all of them, but she does provide some information. She tells them that the mage they defeated is almost certainly not the one who created the undead creatures, as a mage weak enough to be defeated by them would not be powerful enough to control such a large number of undead.
When they ask why only the ancient dead, and not the more recent corpses buried in the cemetery, were animated, she surmises that the spell which raised them must also be ancient, and only triggered recently. This is consistent with the ancient weapons and armor that the creatures were using. When they ask who could have cast the original spell, she is unable to answer them, as she is not familiar with ancient human history.
Leravith tells them what she really needs is an example of one of the reanimated creatures, preferably but not necessarily still moving. Of course, she tells them that she will require payment for her efforts, and suggests that in return, they can promise her Calanon's body after he dies. Calanon absolutely refuses these terms, and the party wrack their brains trying to think of something Leravith might want. Eventually, they recall the bed they found in the ancient shrine underneath the cemetery, enchanted to prevent time from passing for the sleeper. Leravith is intrigued by this, and agrees to perform an examination of a subject from Frosthaven if they will bring her the bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)