SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY: TEMPLE OF SHADOWS PT 2, 04/25/2017

The Heroes:

• Ecna Lubma: dwarf priest grudgebearer
• Gruntbelly: dwarf magician sorcerer
• Kane: human warrior fighter
• Mathias: jotun jotun juggernaut

The heroes find the hidden lever that opens the wall in the cellar that leads to a stair leading down.  The strange, green mist eerily flows up the stairs from below.  The heroes descend, followed by Inquisitor Randolfus and his enchanted box.  They find a room filled with the green mist that seems to be emanating from a stone object that appears to be broken and laying in the center of the room.  The room is thick  with the mist which burns the lungs.  Mathias braves the fumes and picks up the pieces of the object, which has strange runes engraved upon it’s stone surface.  Inquisitor Randofus calls it the Enigma Stone and tells Mathias to place it within the enchanted box.  Despite the Enigma Stone being much larger than the box, when Mathias places it above the opening, the box draws the pieces of the stone in and Randolfus seals it.  This stops the mist from forming and allows the air to clear after a few minutes.  Randolfus then proclaims that he must take the box to secure it, but asks that the newly deputized heroes (Kane the Mighty!) to continue onward and stop the cultists from completing whatever vile ritual they have in progress.  The inquisitor then departs.

Below where the stone was laying, a large section of floor is painted with the same stylized demonic head symbol that the heroes have seen in various places now, and tattooed on the backs of peoples necks, like the Master Dreen’s daughter Candace and Delia.  On the walls hang two tapestries depicting humans and either demons or devils performing unspeakable sexual acts, such that even briefly studying them damaged Mathias’ mind a bit.

There are also two hallways leading off in opposite directions and a large set of double doors with an elaborate set of locks.  The heroes check out both passages and find two rooms.  The first is smoke filled and has several women in various degrees of undress and apparently high on whatever substance they are smoking from the hookas in the room.  The woman try to lure them in, and though Kane tries to question them about how to get through the big door, the only useful information they impart is that beyond the doors is where they’ve been taken to “give blood” by the nobles.  In the other room the group finds a library with all manner of books on various subjects, but in particular some demonology books and they find some incantations with demonology spells, including one to summon demons.  They take the incantations and go back to the large double doors.

Kane uses his lock picking skills to open the complex lock and upon opening the double doors the heroes find a circular room with a large well in the center.  Bodies of cultists and the eel-headed creatures known as “hoods” that they encountered up in the manor lay about the chamber as if they fought each other.  These hoods also bear the amulet of the vampire called Lucretia and were apparently fighting these cultists for some reason.  Another large door leads out of this room, but before the heroes could check it, a creature that resembles a giant blob of black tar emerges from the well and attacks them.  The fight is difficult as the creature’s body seems to splatter and absorb much of the damage the do to it, and also seems to corrode armor and weapons, but Mathias eventually charges the creature with his shield and smashes the thing back into the well, causing it to fall and splatter along the bottom.

The heroes open the large door and find an even larger chamber beyond dominated by a circular recessed area that has a dead body laying upon a demonic summoning symbol.  Standing above the body, enshrouded in shadows and yet still horrifying to behold is a demon.  Outside the summoning circle the heroes recognize the nobleman called Katandramus, who was conversing with the demon when they entered.  The noble holds a metallic sphere that glows.  All around the chamber, dead cultists lay, their bodies damaged in horrendous ways, apparently victim to the demon.  When the heroes enter, the demon moves to attack and they respond in kind.  They try to get to Katandramus, but the nobleman, apparently well-versed in the arcane ways, opens a magical portal and disappears, commanding the demon to destroy the interlopers.  The demon gleefully complies, attacking with pseudopods and magic.  The heroes, now having encountered many horrors, are better prepared to deal with the abomination and after a few minutes of trading attacks with it, they manage to put the demon down.  They inspect the body from which it emerged and find that it is Candace Dreen, who was possessed by a demon that apparently was helped out by Katandramus. 

Now left in a chamber of death and gore, the heroes must decide what to do next.

End of session.

SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY: TEMPLE OF SHADOWS PT. 1, 4/18/17

The Heroes:

• Ecna Lubma: dwarf priest grudgebearer
• Gruntbelly: dwarf magician sorcerer
• Kane: human warrior fighter
• Mathias: jotun jotun juggernaut

The heroes entered the Purse district as night fell and the strange green mist that hangs over the ground makes this part of town look like it is dead and haunted by spirits.  They move down the main strip towards the Katandramus House when they encounter a group of citizens that appear to have been wounded, but on closer inspection, they are covered in blood and gore of their victims.  The heroes attack the citizens-turned-zombies and two more appear from another street, attracted by the sound of battle.  The heroes manage to put the zombies down for good when Master Dreen opens his manor door and bids them to enter quickly. 

Inside Dreen’s home, the heroes catch their breath as Dreen tells of how he was awakened by the sound of an explosion and looked out his window to see the strange lights and mist coming from the Katandramus House.  Then people emerged from the house and began attacking on the street, seemingly infected with some kind of disease that turns them into ravenous, walking dead creatures.  The heroes question Dreen about his daughter and, sadly, he replies that the day after they brought her back to him, she ran away with her beau – a commoner lad named Phinneas – to elope.  He hasn’t seen her since. No mention of her state of possession.  The heroes ask about Inquisitor Randolfus and Dreen says that he arrived with a brute squad and told the people to stay in their homes while he and his men take care of the situation.  That was earlier in the afternoon and he hasn’t come out of the Katandramus House since.  The heroes tell Dreen that they will go find the Inquisitor and help him solve this situation and Dreen says that the people of the Purse district, the town council and the mayor will all be indebted to them if they can do so. 

The heroes leave the manor and go to the Katandramus House, finding dead brute squad along the way, killed by bite wounds, but also each one was stabbed in the head – probably to keep them from rising as a ravenous walking dead creature.  They find the doors to the house wide open and they enter in time to hear a loud, authoritative voice shouting, “Stay back, foul demons of the night!  You’ll not feast upon my soul this night!!!”  The heroes go investigate the sound and find Inquisitor Randolfus at the end of the hall shouting into a doorway.  The Inquisitor carries a lead box that glows brightly.  He sees the heroes and tells them to keep back, seemingly believing them to be cultists, but he succumbs to his wounds and faints.  The heroes go to see if they can help him, but are attacked by strange dwarf-like men wearing oversized hooded cloaks.  These men fight the heroes and when they are killed, the heroes find that they are not men at all but dwarf bodies with a dome of liquid for a head with eel-like creatures swimming within the domes. The eels are killed after the bodies drop.  In their studies, the heroes had heard about a cult that operated in the Empire cities to the south of the Shield Mountains and this cult created creatures such as this to act as spies and assassins, and were called “hoods.”  Upon inspecting the bodies, the heroes find that they both hoods have an amulet bearing a thorned rose.  They recognize this as the symbol that Ecna recently told them about when he was recounting various grudges he had studied when going through Stohk Ironbrow’s vault of grudges.  One of the grudge books had an offense documented about a grudgebearer priest that had found a dwarven outpost slaughtered and wherein he encountered a female humanoid with white hair and pale skin.  The woman had drained the blood of the occupants of the outpost and the priest and his men managed to drive her off.  His description of her included an amulet she wore with the same thorned rose symbol.  He called her the Lady of Sighs and Sorrows.  So, somehow, these two hoods were both affiliated with an ancient vampire and a cult operating out of the empire.  What they are doing here is a mystery.

The heroes revive the inquisitor and upon healing him they learn that he speaks very loudly, even in his weakened state.  He tells them that he had been investigating cult activities in Crossings for months and had long suspected the noble Katandramus as being a ringleader in a cult called the Brotherhood of Shadows, but the noble was powerful, had many influences in town and had confounded his attempts.  The inquisitor bided his time and this incident afforded him the opportunity to get to Katandramus.  He had learned that the cult was attempting a series of rituals using powerful relics and had prepared an enchanted box with which to contain such evil power.  He entered the district that morning ready to arrest Katandramus and his cultists, however, he and his men had been attacked by the zombies and also two creatures of shadow that block the way into the cellar form which the mist emanates.  The heroes mention the symbol of the Lady of Sighs and Sorrow and fear crosses the inquisitors face as he asks if Lucretia is here as well?  The heroes explain the hoods attack and Randolfus is now even more determined to get into the cellar, so he follows the group down and they encounter the two shadows, which attack and attempt to drain the heroes’ souls, but are ultimately destroyed with the aid of Randolfus’ enchanted box.

The heroes catch their breath before and consider how to get through the false wall that the mist is filtering through.

End of Session

SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY: INTERLUDE IN CROSSINGS, 4.11.17

The Heroes:

• Ecna Lubma: dwarf priest grudgebearer
• Gruntbelly: dwarf magician sorcerer
• Kane: human warrior fighter
• Mathias: jotun jotun juggernaut

The heroes spend three days in Crossings, awaiting the meeting date that the relic hunter known as Nareesh is supposed to have with the hirelings that the group rescued from the beastmen camp.  Mathias has been searching over a year for a jotun relic that Nareesh's people stole from a sacred place in the jotun homeland.  The group learned from his hirelings that Nareesh had been hired himself to find certain relics for an unknown client for some kind of ritual.

While relaxing at the Honored Dead Shrine and Brewery, the heroes are introduced to Elder Fobb; a halfling noble that serves on the town council.  Fobb is the uncle of Theodore, whom the heroes had rescued from Farmer Ham's farm and the noble wanted to thank and offer a reward to the heroes for their bravery and service to his family and to the people of Hamlet.  The heroes, skeptical of strangers, cautiously accept the money and Fobb's gratitude.

When Fobb departs, Stohk Ironbrow informs the heroes that the wounded priest they rescued, Father Gregory, had been released from the local asylum where Sgt Alise had taken him.  However, nobody knows where the priest went.  Later, the heroes hear that Sgt Alise had been brutally murdered in her home.  These are two things that the heroes investigate during these days, but individually the heroes also care for some personal needs.

Mathias: The jotun asked Stohk Ironbrow where he might find a suit of armor to fit one of his stature.  The priest directed him to an ogre named Rech, who works in a factory in the Smokestacks district.  The ogre, an apparent retired warrior with a metal prosthetic arm and leg, agrees to give the joten his old gear provided he not use them to cause trouble and that he do a favor for the ogre at a later date.

Kane: The young warrior goes to his father's home and finds his step mother and younger brother (apprenticed to a master mason) and sister (a secretary to a noble of the town council) visiting.  After an uncomfortable discussion about his disgraced older sister, who, it seems, is living in a neighboring town.  Kane goes to see if his father needs any assistance, but finds his shop closed, his father out with a client.  Kane spends time in his manor, learning that he can allow those whom he chooses to see through the fey glammer that disguises the house as a burnt ruin.  Kane does some shopping as well.  Kane also goes to The Guild to try & find Nareesh, but learns that a woman matching the description of Lara cancelled the meeting room reservation that Nareesh was supposed to use.

Ecna: Having revealed to Stohk that he wished to take up the mantle of "grudgebearer", the priest took Ecna into the vaults below the shrine/brewery, equipped him with proper gear befitting a grudgebearer, and showed him the Vault of Grudges, containing the books of grudges from other grudgebearers of the clan that Stohk had rescued from their fallen stronghold.  He presented Ecna with his beginner book of grudges and challenged him to equal or exceed the offenses documented within that vault.  On day 3, Ecna is in the Honored Dead when an acolyte from Father Gregory's comes over to borrow some bread when a wounded citizen the acolyte was caring for, and who had come from the Purse district, suddenly attacks another acolyte in the street.  The citizen had somehow turned into a zombie and was trying to eat the acolyte.  Ecna emerges from the brewery/shrine, fires a warning shot at the zombie from his new pistol, then proceeds to behead the undead creature when it attacks him.

Gruntbelly: Visiting his former master, Caribdus, to inform him of his learnings, Gruntbelly learns that the daughter of Master Dreen, Candace (whom the heroes had rescued from the Rude Boyz gang and who was possessed by a demon) had apparently run away from home to elope with her beau Phineas.  This happened before Caribdus could warn his friend of his daughter's state and her current whereabouts are unknown.  Gruntbelly then takes advantage of his time in the wizard's tower to visit his library's restricted section to read up on Demonology.  He learns that the green blade that warns of demonic presence was created hundreds of years ago by the Tower Arcane order of wizards, which serves the Emperor.  Gruntbelly also learns of a demon prince known as the Destroyer of Worlds, which once threatened Urth many thousands of years ago.  Afterwards, Gruntbelly makes his way through the streets of Crossings when he spots Lara, the hireling of Nareesh that they set free.  He follows he and sees her meet a tall, cloaked man.  Gruntbelly uses his magic to eavesdrop on their conversation and learns the man is Nareesh himself, who knows the heroes are after him and is still interested in the fey relic that Gruntbelly still carries.  The two leave town on a commercial carriage.

On the 3rd day, early in the morning, something strange happens in the Purse district, which draws the attention of all of the Brown Cloaks in town, and Inquisitor Randolfus.  The event was an explosion of sorts that came from one of the manors in that part of town.  The heroes learn that the inquisitor entered Purse shortly after the event occurred and ordered the district quarantined until his return.  The Brown Cloaks learned that people within the district were becoming ill, dying, then becoming a walking dead.  The heroes decide to check into this, but before they do, they go and investigate Sgt Alise's house.  As they look around they determine that some bat-like creature entered via the chimney and killed Alise.  They also found her journal which indicated that she was trying to find out who released Father Gregory from the asylum, with the only clue being the doctor's description of a white haired, pale young lady being the one to gain his release, though they were unable to tell her how or why they let her release him.

After this, the heroes go back to the gate leading to the Purse district, now early night, are allowed entry by Mathias' contacts in the Brown Cloaks, and they start heading towards the manor at the far end of the district - that belonging to the noble Katandramus; the one with the weird mist emanating from it...

End of session.

SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY: HUNTING BEASTMEN – PT 2, 4.4.17

The Heroes:

Ecna Lubma: Dwarf priest grudgebearer

Gruntbelly: Dwarf magician sorcerer

Kane: Human warrior fighter

Mathias: Jotun jotun juggernaut

The battle with the beastmen warband continues as their warg leader emerges from the cave and joins the fight.  The huge creature drags a massive flail behind him as he moves in to attack the jotun, but the beast’s rage makes its attacks clumsy and the flail misses its target multiple times.  Gruntbelly moves into position and unleashes his magic, and his newfound sorcerous skills results in some barely contained residual magic blasts that hurt the beastmen but also endangers his allies.  Kane and Ecna take on the fomor and wargs and together the group manage to kill the beastmen.  The warg leader is felled by Mathias’ axe and falls off a short cliff to die on the ground next to Gruntbelly.

The group then free the prisoners and find that two of them were from Delia’s expedition group.  Franz and Lara tell them that their group was attacked by beastmen and Delia ran off, abandoning them.  Lara was glad to hear that she died.  The heroes pressed the two for information regarding Nareesh and initially both are reluctant to talk but after a sound thrashing by Mathias, Franz begins talking, saying they were hired by Nareesh to locate Fey Relics from these sites they’ve been exploring.  Before he could say more, Lara stabs Franz in the back, killing him.  She then strikes a bargain with the group, saying she will tell them what she knows if they allow her to leave unharmed.  The group agrees and she tells them that Nareesh has a client that requested the Fey and other relics.  Her group was hired to find Fey Relics, but Nareesh has others collecting more relics.  Who his client is Lara does not know as Nareesh does not share his business dealings with his hirelings.  Her group had until the end of this month to find a relic and then meet Nareesh back in Crossings at The Guild.   Having told them everything she knows, the group allows her to leave.

Inside the cave they find many farmers and townfolk from Hamlet that the beastmen were using for food.  The people were terrified, but when the heroes freed them they were grateful and appreciative.  Within the cave there were rations and a number of items the beastmen had taken from their raids, which included mundane items, but also a few enchanted ones including a mummified hand and a pistol.  The heroes gather the items and begin their journey back to Farmer Ham’s farm, bringing the survivors along with them.  But as they traveled through the Sentinel Wood, they are beset upon by a tribe of centaur, led by a white-maned female who orders the group to leave the humans behind so that the centaur may take their revenge for the wrongs they believe humans have done to their kind.  The group try to negotiate, but then Ecna decides to turn the tides by invoking the power of the Friendship Coin found in the shrine.  The centaur suddenly has a change of heart and decides not to hold these people accountable for the crimes of humans, so they allow the group to take these humans out of Sentinel Wood with the understanding that if they return they will be trampled.  The group takes the refugees and quickly leave before the coin’s influence wears off.

Once outside Sentinel Wood, they make their way back to Farmer Ham’s and rest for the night.  The next day, many of the famers take their leave to try and salvage their raided homes.  A poor couple whose farm was destroyed by the beastmen were granted Farmer Ham’s home by the heroes and were very grateful. The group packs up the wagon bearing the ham shanks they were hired to get and head back to the remains of Hamlet.  There they find all but a few buildings were destroyed by fire, which according to the townfolk occurred when their resident alchemist’s shop was attacked and the beastmen inadvertently destroyed pots of Dragonfire that the alchemist had stored, resulting in the blaze that destroyed most of the town and killed much of the beastmen’s warband.  The heroes decide to leave for Crossings and a few of the townfolk decide that there is nothing left for them in Hamlet and ask to accompany the team back to Crossings to start a new life.  The group agrees and the spend the next two days on the road back to Crossings.  On the way, they encounter a merchant wagon and hear news that the town council has called a state of general alert due to reports that orc warbands from the south have crossed the Shield Mountains that separate the Northern Reach from the Empire of Caecras.  This lends credence to the rumors that the emperor has fallen and the orc armies are revolting against their masters. 

When the group arrives in Crossings, they do find that the walls are being fortified and that security was being increased.  Searches were being done at the gates, but with Mathias and Kane’s familiarity with some of the people at the gate, the group is allowed in with minimal difficulty.  Inside the gates they find militia being trained in the streets by the Brown Cloaks and that there is a tension and air of fear in Crossings.  They take the refugees to Father Gregory’s mission and then head to the Honored Dead Shrine and Brewery, where they hand Theodore the comatose Halfling over to Stohk Ironbrow’s care and start planning their next few days as they await the date that Nareesh was to meet with Lara’s expedition at The Guild.  The group have a few drinks and go to their respective dwellings agreeing to meet daily.

Kane heads home and is informed by his mother that a lovely woman with striking eyes left a package for him.  Kane eyes the package suspiciously and reads the card with says, “My last favor to thee, mortal, as thanks for cleaning my shrine.”  The card is signed with a very elaborately scripted “A”.  Kane opens the package and finds an ornate key and a scroll.  The scroll is the deed to the Moore House.  Curious, but tired, Kane puts aside these things and goes to bed.  The following day he makes his way over to where the ruins of the Moore House were and finds that the manor appears to have been completely restored.  When he asks a person on the street when the house was restored, the person looks at him like he’s crazy and says the house is a burned ruin.  Apparently, some magic is hiding the fact that the house has been restored from all but Kane and those he chooses to know.  Kane enters his home and finds the interior also restored, including the basement that is now free of rotting corpses, and that the key opens every door and gate in the place.  Later, he informs the group of this favor in their daily meeting.

End of session.