Wednesday, May 3, 2017

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.

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