SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY: THE MINES OF MADNESS, 5.30.17

The Heroes:

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

Upon leaving the Old Wood, the heroes begin their day-long journey into the Black Hills towards the mining camp.  Towards the end of the day they reach the camp and find it abandoned, with doors spiked shut and forced open, an overturned cart and something that appears to be a blood stain on the ground.  While searching one of the buildings, they find a dwarf child who is hiding in a store room.  She is initially terrified, but Gruntbelly is able to get through to her and they learn that there are “bug-man” creatures in the area, one of which took her father as they rode towards the camp.  She warns the heroes that the bug-men mostly come out at night…mostly.  The heroes search the area, find no more clues, then head to the mine entrance.  There the dwarves and Mathias lower themselves into the mine via the elevator, but before Kane could go down, two of the bug creatures enter the cave where the mine entrance is located and search it, but Kane used an enchanted item to make himself invisible.  That and the noise of the elevator crane engine and the smell of oily smoke coming from it masked him from the bug creatures, which left the cave shortly after entering.  Kane joins his companions in the mines below.

The heroes begin searching the mines and spend a few hours going through the branches from the main elevator chamber.  In one they find an overturned cart with a severed bottom-half torso inside.  In a nearby vent, two of the large bug-men crawl out.  One of them is winged and seems to have magical abilities that it casts at the heroes.  The other crawls down the wall and attacks Kane, who was ready for it and strikes first.  The creature manages an attack but is quickly killed by Kane who discovers that the creature’s blood is acidic and sprays out when it dies.  Luckily, Kane dodges the worst of it, but his scimitar is damaged. The others take on the winged bug-man and they kill it in a short fight, also dodging it’s acidic blood upon its death.

The heroes continue through the passages, noting a new section of mine that seems to have recently been discovered and broken through by the miners.  When the enter to investigate they find the passage is filled with a yellow-white substance and in an alcove they find a small nest, out of which crawls tiny versions of the bug-men.  They kill those rapidly and burn the nest, but see another one just ahead in the passageway.  They stop to consider their next moves.

End of session.

SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY: MINES OF MADNESS - PT 1, 5/23/17

The Heroes:

Ecna Lubma; Dwarf priest grudgebearer

Gruntbelly: Dwarf magician sorcerer

Kane: Human warrior fighter

Mathias: Jotun jotun juggernaut

The group spends a week in Crossings, which is still in high alert due to the rumblings of orc warbands causing trouble with settlements along the Shield Mountains.  The Browncloaks train militia in the streets and extra guards are stationed at the gates, keeping watch for trouble.  Security at the gates are increased and a general feeling of unease is heavy in town.  The heroes spend their down time going through the treasure chest taken from Guccione’s chambers and find a number of strange enchanted items along with a wealth of treasure.  No longer struggling to earn a living, the heroes find themselves able to purchase better equipment, keeping an ear open for any news that may lead them to their next quest.

Towards the end of the week, while enjoying drinks at the Honored Dead Shrine and Brewery, the heroes are approached by an ogre known to both Mathias and the proprietor of the brewery, Stohk Ironbrow.  The ogre, named Rech, had given the joten his armor and weaponry in exchange for a favor, which he was now calling to claim.  The ogre explains that his employer, Grundren the Ironmonger, a well-known and powerful dwarf businessman in Crossings and other towns across the Northern Reach, has a job for them.  He explains that Grundren has a mine in the Black Hills to the southwest of Crossings that they have lost contact with and that has stopped shipping ore.  This is causing problems for Grundren, who has many factories needing the ore to produce the materials they manufacture.  The dwarf has sent one group already to investigate and they have not been heard from, so there may be trouble.  He needs the heroes to go investigate, find out why the mine has stopped production, resolve any issues and get the mine operation again.  Mathias, bound by his promise, agrees to take the job and his companions agree as well. 

The heroes spend the rest of the day preparing for their journey.  Mathias and Ecna take the crazed Lara to Mercy Hill asylum to be cared for while they are gone, and to hopefully get cured of her mania.  Dr Feldman agrees to treat her.  Ecna notices that the asylum is strangely calmer than the last time they were here and when they ask an orderly, he tells them that Dr Feldman has been using a new treatment with the patients that has been doing wonders.  Suspicious of what may be going on, but short on time, Ecna and Mathias leave the matter to ponder for another time and return to the manor to finish their preparations and to rest for the journey in the morning.

Early the following day, the heroes head to the Tankards district and go to the pier that Rech told them to go to for their ride across the Dark Waters, provided by Grundren.  They find a steam boat waiting for them and their guide; a well-groomed, well-dressed dwarf named Bruk, who works for Grundren.  Bruk seems nice enough, but a bit of a control freak and his undwarf-like grooming and  cleanliness leave Gruntbelly and Ecna wondering if he is truly a dwarf at all.  The group meet the captain of the boat, Feara, who shows them their cabins and tells them they will be underway shortly.  Bruk supervises the placement of several crates into the hold of the ship, which Mathias notices later inclues two boxes of explosives and crates with mining supplies.  When Bruk is asked later, he says that the mine was expected to increase production due to a big order that Grundren had receive and so he is taking these supplies to save the time and expense of a second trip.  Bruk seems to be very concerned with budgets and time lines. 

The boat gets underway and for a couple of hours the ride is smooth and a bit dull.  The heroes divvy out their enchanted items, one of which is a strange humanoid doll that seems to radiate a feeling of menace.  For some reason, Mathias is drawn to the doll and takes it.  Then the boat is rocked by an impact and when the heroes go topside to see what is happening, they find the ship is under attack by some manner of lake creature with flailing tentacles that takes one of the ship’s crew overboard.  The heroes spring into action, fighting the tentacles with weapons and spells.  Eventually, they damage it enough that it lets the boat go and sinks back into the lake.  The captain takes the boat to a nearby island to repair damage and Bruk berates her for the delay.  She, in turn, blames the attack on the fact that Bruk insisted they take a direct route, through monster-infested waters, to save time against her better judgment. 

After repairs are made, the ship continues on its journey and by nightfall they reach a dock at the edge of the Old Wood.  The druid guide hired by Bruk, Fiona, awaits the group along with her animal companion, a great cat named Mr. Purrbody, and a cart drawn by two horses and manned by two dwarves.  The heroes are reluctant to go into the Old Wood at night, so against Bruk’s desire, they sleep on the shore and are led into the Old Wood at dawn by Fiona.  The first two days of travel are uneventful other than Mathias talking to his weird doll, who he starts calling “Annabelle”, and the group learns a little about Fiona, who seems to have fey in her bloodline, but is human; raised in the woods and has had her great cat companion since she was a child.  She worships the Old Faith, the Horned King in particular and discussed the matter at length with Kane, as she knew of his father and had worked with him before, suggesting she was older than she looked.  At night, Fiona would keep watch while the group slept, and at times they would hear sounds in the woods as though there were some kind of tussle, but Fiona never called for them and would come again for them in the morning to renew their journey.  On the final day, the trek takes a dark turn as Fiona sees signs of trouble, goes to investigate, and a beastmen warg warband attacks!  The heroes take on the group of wargs that confront them and the battle is brutal and bloody.  Mathias takes out Annabelle to unnerve the wargs, Ecna and Gruntbelly use their magic and axes to fend off the slavering wargs and Kane fires on them using his bow.  The group manage to kill or drive off all of the wargs and are rejoined by Fiona, who says the should make haste from this area to avoid further trouble with the beastmen.  A while later, the group break through the Old Wood and see the Black Hills before them.  Bruk secures Fiona’s services for their return trip and she departs leaving the group to begin their trek across the hills to the mine camp.

End of session.

SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY - THE MOON SPIRE PT 3, 5/16/2017

The Heroes:

Ecna Lubma; Dwarf priest grudgebearer

Gruntbelly: Dwarf magician sorcerer

Kane: Human warrior fighter

Mathias: Jotun jotun juggernaut

The heroes step through the portal into another level of the Moon Spire; this one appears to be the living quarters of someone.  It is furnished with various pieces of fine furniture of elven make and there are large mirrors upon the tall walls.  Windows also adorn the walls, and outside, swirling clouds float past in a well-lit but alien sky, with strange creatures flying about in the distance.  It is apparent that this part of the Moon Spire is not on Urth. 

The heroes find an elf laying in a large bed at the rear of the chamber and the elf awakens from a slumber, apparently pleased to have company.  He introduces himself as Guccione, master of the tower, and he offers the group his hospitality.  The group, anxious to find Lara and get out of the tower, simply want to know the way out, but Guccione has other plans for them.  He insists on them staying a while to keep him company, but when the heroes insist that he show them out, he tells them that they may only depart by his leave and he doesn’t want them to go.  They start to threaten the elf, but he says that any attempt to harm him will be pointless as the tower restores him – here, he is immortal.  The group then try to bargain with him, but the elf only wants their company and says he has no need of their trinkets.  Then Gruntbelly produces Circe’s ring, which they acquired from the fey shrine a few weeks earlier.  Guccione’s eyes light up and he immediately agrees to let them go in exchange for the ring, whom he claims belongs to his sister and who trapped him in this accursed tower long ago.  Taking the ring, the elf disappears and leaves an open portal for the heroes to depart from. 

The group grabs a treasure chest that the elf left behind and goes into the portal, arriving in a new part of the tower.  This room contains three swirling red portals that create a turbulent wind within the chamber.  In the center, a pentagram is etched in blood upon the floor and in the center stands the Oracular; the device the elf Guccione told the heroes they need to destroy in order to leave the tower; but he also warned them that it would tempt them and would try to control them.  Indeed, they see that their quarry, Lara, found the Oracular first and was now on her knees before it, seemingly in a trance or otherwise befuddled by the relic.  Angered by having to chase her and her master Nareesh across the Northern Reach, Mathias begins firing his crossbow at her, hitting her twice, but she seems oblivious to the wounds, continuing her strange rocking and muttering, which the heroes cannot hear due to the winds in the chamber. 

Besides the Oracular and the three portals, there seems to be no other way out.  The group is leery of entering any of the portals.  There are three large gongs in the chamber and the heroes decide to test to see what would happen if they ring the gongs.  When they do, various spirits begin to materialize and attack the heroes.  Their weapons do little to the spirits, but Gruntbelly’s magic manages to do more harm and between his magic and the other’s efforts, the spirits are dispersed.   Mathias approaches Lara and finds that she is muttering strange things over and over again, such as, “I didn’t know…it’s so vast, so empty… such evil within…I didn’t know…how could I know…He will consume us…there is no hope…”  and so on.  Even when addressed directly, she becomes almost maniacle in her ravings, which is apparently about the Void.  So Mathias turns to the Oracular and raises his maul to strike it, but the relic speaks to him, saying that it can show him where his greatest enemy is or where the object of his desire may be found (referring to the jotun relic, the Fang of Ages, which was stolen by Nareesh, and why Mathias is here in the Northern Reach).  The joten recalls the elf’s warnings and sees the affect that the relic had on Lara and resists the temptation, striking the Oracular hard with his maul several times until it shatters.  When he does so, the three red swirling portals converge upon the center of the room where the Oracular stood and merge to become a swirling blue portal.  The heroes step into it and find themselves returned to the entry level of the tower.  Apparently, they never physically left the first level of the tower, but it was their spirit forms that departed to the other parts of the tower.  Regardless, they return to their bodies, along with Lara and the chest that their spirits retrieved, and leave the tower.

In Carbunkle, they find their carriage driver and return to Crossings, but have no further leads on where Nareesh has gone or what the Brotherhood of Shadows next move may be.

End of session.

SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY: THE MOON SPIRE PT 2, 5.9.17

The Heroes:

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

When last we left our heroes, they had just entered the Moon Spire in search of the relic-hunter’s minion, Lara, who had gone into this ghostly tower to acquire a relic called the Oracular.  The heroes go into the front doors and find a mostly empty chamber with a fragile-looking stair leading up to a blue light in the ceiling.   Dirty footprints from a small foot suggest Lara entered and went up the stairs.  They climb the stair and touch the blue light and are transported into another chamber with a circular stair spiraling up the wall of the tower to a grey portal near the ceiling.  A column of magical, heatless blue flame rises up from the floor in the center of the room.  The heroes toss a sling stone into the flames to see what would happen and it disappears.  They decide to try the stair, and it appears Lara did too according to the footprints, but she stopped and wiped her boots midway up leaving no further tracks. 

When they reach the top of the stair, they enter the portal and are transported to another room.  This chamber is filled with earth, which is fills the floor, walls and ceiling.  The earth has various types of mushrooms growing out of it and a few large mounds.  In the center of the room is a giant mushroom, it’s cap nearly touching the ceiling 10 yards up.  The heroes see footprints in the earth leading around the edge of the room, which they follow to a mound.  Mathias digs into the mound and finds the rotting remains of an elf.  As they exhume the body, the group spot a large, roughly man-shaped fungus moving behind the large central mushroom.  Seeing that it was spotted, the fungal hulk interposes itself between the heroes and the central mushroom.  Mathias cautiously moves along the edge of the room, the fungal hulk following, seemingly protecting the large mushroom.  Kane moves around the back and a patch of smaller fungal creatures uproot and shadow Kane, who spots a hand-sized chunk of the central mushroom’s cap was apparently torn off, perhaps by Lara?  The group attempt to communicate with the fungal creatures, but they seem to have some strange form of communication involving the release of spores from various orifices and the group finds communication to be impossible.  They find no portals or stairs in the room and are unsure of how to leave it.  Gruntbelly grows tired of the fungal creatures and casts a spell at the fungal hulk, who angrily responds by attacking Mathias.  The smaller fungal mites attack Kane and a battle ensues.  Ecna tries firing his pistol at the fungal hulk, but misses, tearing a large chunk off the cap of the central mushroom.  Mathias and the fungal hulk trade blows and the jotun finds the hulk to be a dangerous opponent the spews a cloud of corrosive spores when hit. Kane is ganged up on by the mites when he uses his grappling hook and line to tear a chunk of the mushroom cap off. 

Gruntbelly tries to fight the fungal hulk with his axe, but is incapacitated by the hulk’s blows and the spore cloud.  Mathias and Kane are also hurt and don’t seem to be doing much to the fungal creatures.  Kane decides to risk taking a bite of the mushroom cap he tore off earlier and when he does he disappears.  Ecna shouts to Mathias what happens and that he shot off a chunk of the cap, which lays next to the fungal hulk.  Mathias skirts the room, rushes in and grabs the pieces of mushroom cap, while the fungal hulk assumes a defensive position before the large mushroom.  The joten then grabs the inert body of Gruntbelly , moves over to Ecna and they all eat the mushroom and disappear from the chamber.

The heroes find themselves in a mostly empty room that contains only a large black obelisk in the center and small, fist-sized black spheres around the base of it.  Mathias goes to check the obelisk, but when he nears it, the spheres unravel into a swarm of scarabs that attack. The jotun touches the obelisk and disappears.  The rest of the heroes follow suit and they all disappear before the scarabs can do them harm.

The heroes now find themselves in a large room containing a large stone creature in the center and three pools formed by liquid draining from the ceiling and floor.  Two of the pools are a pink liquid that flow down from the ceiling and the last pool is a thick orange which flows up from the floor, seeming defying gravity.  The large stone creature begins to move when the heroes approach the pools.  Kane dives into the orange goop and disappears.  The others follow suit before the stone creature can get to them and they all disappear from this chamber.

The heroes find themselves in yet another room, this one having a circular curtain draping down from the ceiling, obscuring a statue in the center of the room.  Mathias opens the curtains and finds the statue to be that of a nude elf, and wrapped around it is a strange two-headed giant serpent, which attacks.  The heroes kill the serpent and try to figure out how to leave this chamber, as there are no doors or portals.  The statue and curtains are the only features, so they try various things with the statue until Kane touches it’s outstretched hand and disappears. The others do the same and they, too, disappear. 

Where they went to next will be revealed in the next session.

SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY: THE MOON SPIRE – PT 1, 05/02/17

The Heroes:

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

At the end of the last session, the heroes had just defeated the demon that had been formed from the creature possessing Candace Dreen, the daughter of councilman Master Dreen.  The heroes didn’t have much of an opportunity to rest when they heard explosions coming from above and then the entire temple of shadows began falling down around them!  The heroes rushed out, dodging falling debris and making their way back to the stairs going up.  They stop to rescue the drugged women they found in the harem room, which cost them precious seconds, making the journey out even more treacherous!  Crawling over the fallen chunks of stone they make their way up to the cellar and find it, too, collapsing!  They continue to make their way through as the entire house above them seems to be on the verge of collapsing in on itself and they finally get to the ground floor when it does.  With a final rush, the heroes burst out of a broken window to collapse on the front lawn as the house collapses completely.  The group move further away from the structure and as they rest against the fence bordering the Katandramus property, Ecna notices motes of energy in and around the destroyed house, suggesting that powerful magic was at work to bring the structure down.

The heroes, beaten, dirty and tired, pull themselves up and start making their way back through the Purse district.  The strange green mist that had caused the zombie outbreak was now gone and the ones that had been moving about the streets had collapsed.  A short way from the Katandramus manor, one of the heroes notices a figure standing atop the nearby fey spire, apparently looking down at them.  Unable to discern any more than a silhouette, the figure did appear to be female, but as soon as she was noticed, her form shifts into a large bat and flies off into the night. 

Continuing on through the streets of Purse, the heroes pass the Gygax Coach Company and Gruntbelly recalls that this was the company that owned the carriage he saw Nareesh and Lara get into the day before.  They tuck that away for now, heading to the gate separating the Purse district from the rest of Crossings, when they are stopped by the crowd of Brown Cloaks wanting to know what had happened.  They say that the Inquisitor had passed through about an hour earlier but he said that his agents were caring for the cause of the plague.  Too worn to deal with the questions now, the heroes say they will talk to the Brown Cloak leader, Jon Crawley in the morning.  Gruntbelly excuses himself to go rest in his former master’s tower while the rest of the group go to the Honored Dead to get some food and healing.  There, Ecna updates his Book of Grudges, cataloguing the events from that night and opening up a big-time grudge on Katandramus.  They heroes then head to the Moore House for some sleep.

The following day, after a good rest, the heroes clean up and head over to the Offices of the Inquisition.  The find the grounds strangely empty and when they knock on the front doors the Inquisitor himself opens them and hurries the group in the building, locking the various locks and bars behind them.  He takes them to his study and questions them about what happened after he left.  They fill him in on Katandramus and the demon he summoned which disturbs the inquisitor greatly.  He tells the group that he has been investigating the Brotherhood of Shadows’ activities for some time now and has learned that they have deep roots in this city with various cells operating and powerful and influential agents, such as Katandramus.  He has discerned that the cult has been collecting magical relics and destroying them in rituals that seem to be connected to some higher purpose.  They have performed 3 such rituals to date, that he is aware of.  The first was performed over a year ago, which is what drew the Inquisition to Crossings.  The second was used to summon a demon, which the Inquisitor now knows possessed Candace Dreen.  Mathias asks if he knows whether the jotun relic known as the Fang of Ages is one of the relics that has been destroyed, but the inquisitor says he has not heard of such a thing.  The relic destroyed in the Katandramus house, the Enigma Stone, caused the zombie outbreak, but that was just a side effect.  The power released in destroying the relic was used to form the body for the demon that possessed Candace Dreen; something that is very difficult to do and only an accomplished demonologist could perform such an act.  The inquisitor looked concerned and scared and told the heroes that his staff has been decimated by the zombies in Purse and the hood attack in the Katandramus house and he needs them to be Agents of the Inquisition until this cult can be rooted out and destroyed.  He gives them an official Writ of Authority, giving them the power of the Inquisition in matters concerning investigating the cult’s activities.  The heroes agree and leave the inquisitor to continue his investigation.

The group heads back over to the Purse district where they find that the cleanup is well underway.  Bodies are being taken out and the streets are being cleaned of the blood and gore from the various zombie attacks.  In the district’s gathering area, Mayor Katrin Edgerton is speaking to the people, assuring them of the city council’s plans to investigate what happened and to prevent further tragedy from occurring.  The heroes move on to the Gygax Coach Company and use the Rit of Authority to get the manager to tell them where their coach had taken Nareesh.  The manager told them a man and young woman matching their description took a carriage to the small town of Carbuncle and that the drive returned last night and should be out at the company’s departure point outside the main gate.  The heroes then split up, with Mathias and Gruntbelly heading to the front gate and Kane and Ecna going to the Dreen manor to tell the noble of his daughter’s fate.  They find that the noble is attending the speech in the district’s gathering area, so they head over there, catch the last few words of the mayor and approach Dreen and his wife as the crowds disperse. 

Master Dreen introduces the heroes to his wife and to the mayor, who thanks the heroes for their bravery in dealing with Master Dreen’s kidnappers.  Ecna tells Dreen that they have information regarding his daughter and insist that they talk back at his manor.  The mayor excuses herself and the group go back to Dreen’s manor, where Ecna has Dreen read his entry in the Book of Grudges to help the noble understand his daughter’s fate.  They excuse themselves afterwards to allow the nobleman and wife to grieve.

Kane and Ecna head to the front gate and find Mathias giving a coachman hell.  Apparently, the driver of Nareesh’ coach had been paid to keep silent, but he starting singing when Mathias applied a little pressure on him.  The driver says that he took the two to Carbuncle and overheard some of their conversation.  The man told the woman to enter some magic tower that appears only on the full moon and to find something called the Oracular for him.  The driver dropped them off at Carbuncle, overhearing the man say that he was moving on to his next “score” and lost track of them after that.  The heroes decide to go to Carbuncle next and after gathering their gear they hire a coach to take them there. 

It is around 8:30 at night when they arrive in Carbuncle, and the full moon peaks through the clouds illuminating the small town.  The carriage driver drops them off at The Stump; the local gathering hall/tavern, and tells them that he’ll be leaving at around 8:00 in the morning if they need a ride back, then goes and checks into the local inn.  The group immediately notices the strange nature of the inhabitants of the town.  Everyone there, from child to adult and the various domesticated animals milling about, all have physical abnormalities.  But the people seem to be regarding the group as the odd ones, snickering as they walk by, pointing and staring. 

The group enter The Stump and ask questions about Nareesh and Lara.  They find that Nareesh left town shortly after arriving.  The woman, Lara, asked for a guide to take her to the Bitter Heath, a nearby field where the Moon Spire appears.  A man named Crushal Verg took her last night to the field and they haven’t returned since.  The group get directions to the Bitter Heath, which is about a 10-15 minute hike from town, and are warned of the ghosts that come out on the full moon, which is why most of the town is huddled in The Stump that night.  The locals say the tower appears every full moon cycle.  On the first night it takes on a ghostly appearance.  On the second night it is a solid structure, which is usually when the evil spirits come out, and on the third and last night it is ghostly again.  Gruntbelly recalls having heard about this place from one of his master’s lectures.  The Moon Spire is said to be a leftover fey structure from when they inhabited the lands, before the Troll Wars and their exodus into the Hidden Kingdoms.  The wizard Caribdus speculated that the tower’s magic was apparently failing, as it was moving back and forth from wherever the fey went to this world.  Some research was attempted on the structure, but those who entered never came back out, so Caribdus decided further investigation was not worth the risk.  The heroes ask why Lara would ask for a guide if the tower was so easy to find, and the locals just assumed she was too dumb to find it herself.

The heroes take their leave, hikes in the direction they were given and see an open field with a tall, opalescent tower glowing in the light of the full moon.  They see a lone figure standing in the moonlight outside the tower and as they approach, the figure warns them away.  Apparently it is the guide, Crushal Verg, that is standing guard and prior to approaching him, Gruntbelly used his magic to eavesdrop on him.  The man was muttering to himself about having to kill something to stop the curse but his ramblings were not making much sense.  When the group get near, Crushal’s form begins to change into that of a large hybrid wolf and they heroes realize that he is a skinchanger.  They fight the monster in the moonlight and defeat him, but realize that he can only really be kept down with silvered weapons, so Gruntbelly spikes silver shillings in the creature’s eyesockets to keep it from coming back to life. 

The doors to the Moon Spire open as if anticipating their entry, and the session ends here.