SOTDL CAMPAIGN DIARY - SESSION 14: NESSUS PT 2, 8/20/19
The Cast:
- Brother Aron: Human priest/cleric/healer of the New God
- Calista: Ferren rogue/thief/acrobat
- Perry Flaxseed: Halfling hunter/fighter/sharpshooter
- Nilolai Petrechko: Human veteran/fighter/weapon master
- Unit One: Clockwork companion
The heroes recognize the stranger that appeared in their room only after healing him and studying his torn robes. This is the Black Wizard of the Tower Arcane; the one who had enabled their escape from Caecras so many months ago. Upon healing him, the roused the mage to learn why he had come to them again.
The Black Wizard told the group a tale of another time, many hundreds of years ago in a far-off land known as Ys. The group had heard of Ys, of course, as most people had - a fantastic land of magic rainbows and unicorns, the basis of many children's tales. But the Black Wizard describes it as a real place, where his order of wizards originated. It was in Ys that the wizards master the many traditions of magic that are known today only because of their arcane research. In the land of Ys, the wizards performed miracles of magic, creating wonders not known of now. But that was when the arcane orders of Ys were at their peak. At some point within the last millennia, the wizards had a vision of a world-wide cataclysm that would destroy all of Urth. The wizards greatly desired to avoid that fate, so they sought a new world to which they could relocate Ys, and eventually they found one in a far off reality. The various orders of wizardry came together to craft their most powerful spell ever, one that would take all of Ys from this doomed world and into the safety of another. But something went very wrong and instead of transporting Ys to another world, a rift opened from another dimension that infused Ys with it's monstrous qualities, making the fantastic land a monster-infested wasteland. Unable to reverse the damage to their beloved Ys, the wizards packed up their lore and left their home in search of a new home where they may re-establish their arcane might and try to escape the doom of Urth again.
The Black Wizard describes how the arcane order came to Rul and convinced the emperor to allow them to raise the Tower Arcane in exchange for tutoring select people of the empire in their magical lore, which was mostly unknown on Rul. The emperor accepted and the Tower Arcane has been dominating the skies of Caecras ever since. But the wizards never intended to stay long, only long enough to find a way out of this universe and avoid the Demon Lord's wrath. And also, they realized that the damage that they did on Ys, would eventually spread, and they wished to be gone before this happened as well.
The Black Wizard spent many years studying the mistake of his order and the dimension that they accidentally released onto Ys, and he came to the conclusion that the dimension is the prison of Ragnora, the Mother of Monsters; a rogue genie that was imprisoned in the dimension by her brother and sister djinn for warping their creations into monstrosities. The Black Wizard knew that it was only a matter of time before Ragnora escaped from her prison, and when she did, the world would be overwhelmed by her monstrous brood. That time has now come - Ragnora has escaped from her prison and made a lair here upon Urth. Her children, the Gargantua, have appeared in many places thoughout Rul and her hordes of lesser children are spreading like a cancer from her womb in the Low Country.
The Black Wizard beseeches the heroes to aid him in stopping Ragnora before it is too late.
The heroes are skeptical, not knowing how to take this outlandish story, and ask how they could possibly stop something that the Black Wizard described as a veritable god? The Black Wizard says he has a plan. He has already scouted where Ragnora's lair is, which is how he ended up in his current state, and has determined that it is deep underground and only accessible from one entry point. His plan is to entrap Ragnora deep within the earth, either crushing her or trapping her forever. The heroes ask how that is to be accomplished and he states that there is a weapon that his order has developed that has the power to do this. It is called a Void Bomb, and with their help, they will steal it and use it against Ragnora. To steal it, they will need to access a portal that is in the floating tower here in Nessus.
Still skeptical, the group discuss this crazy plan. Calista asks the Black Wizard about the totem she's been carrying all of these months - the statuette of Ragnora. The Black Wizard studies it and says there is power in the totem, power to hide them all from Ragnora's children, and he seems amazed at their fortune for having such a relic.
The Black Wizard leaves them to ponder the plan and says he will return in the morning to get their answer. He then disappears as rapidly as he appeared.
The group spend the rest of the evening unwinding, then they bed down for the night. But in the hours just after midnight, they hear the Ruin Watchers calling their members up to arms, saying a threat is invading Nessus. When the group shout out to the men in the street, they say it is hordes of monsters flowing down from the mountains. The group gear up and leave the inn to get their clockwork company, but when they arrive at Zanthar's shop, they find the artificer dead and the Emancipator's graffiti splayed out on the walls in his gore and blood. The heroes realize then that Unit One was possessed by the Emancipator and the key was only the conduit. They search the artificer's shop, gathering whatever useful equipment they can find, then leave to track their rogue clockwork companion down. But the trail goes cold as Unit One's tracks end amidst a series of wagon tracks that spread in many directions. Assuming the clockwork plans to leave the city and return to Lij, the start heading out of Seaside, when they hear a commotion at the edge of the district.
Calista goes to see what is happening and finds waves of small creatures emerging from the ruins and attacking the ill-equipped militiamen. She goes to help, easily slaughtering many of the creatures, amazing the Ruin Watchers with her skill. But her companions call to her to leave Seaside and so she departs with them to make their way to the floating tower where the Black Wizard said they'd go to do his crazy heist. Hoping to spot signs of Unit One, they make it to the area of the floating tower without finding any more signs of their clockwork. They wait there a bit, then decide to try to make it up to the tower themselves instead of waiting there to get ambushed by monsters.
It takes them several hours to climb the various floating rocks to reach the tower, but they eventually succeed and then make their way up the wall of the tower to the only entrance they see, which is a gaping hole in the side of the tower 2/3 of the way up. Once inside, they find strange magical effects, such as an anti-gravity room, and they also find a construct guarding the stairwell. They attempt to reason with the construct, unsure if it is intelligent like clockworks are, or if it is just an automaton, but they eventually just fight it and manage to destroy it, freeing them to use the stairs to descend into the level above or below.
End of session.
The Black Wizard told the group a tale of another time, many hundreds of years ago in a far-off land known as Ys. The group had heard of Ys, of course, as most people had - a fantastic land of magic rainbows and unicorns, the basis of many children's tales. But the Black Wizard describes it as a real place, where his order of wizards originated. It was in Ys that the wizards master the many traditions of magic that are known today only because of their arcane research. In the land of Ys, the wizards performed miracles of magic, creating wonders not known of now. But that was when the arcane orders of Ys were at their peak. At some point within the last millennia, the wizards had a vision of a world-wide cataclysm that would destroy all of Urth. The wizards greatly desired to avoid that fate, so they sought a new world to which they could relocate Ys, and eventually they found one in a far off reality. The various orders of wizardry came together to craft their most powerful spell ever, one that would take all of Ys from this doomed world and into the safety of another. But something went very wrong and instead of transporting Ys to another world, a rift opened from another dimension that infused Ys with it's monstrous qualities, making the fantastic land a monster-infested wasteland. Unable to reverse the damage to their beloved Ys, the wizards packed up their lore and left their home in search of a new home where they may re-establish their arcane might and try to escape the doom of Urth again.
The Black Wizard describes how the arcane order came to Rul and convinced the emperor to allow them to raise the Tower Arcane in exchange for tutoring select people of the empire in their magical lore, which was mostly unknown on Rul. The emperor accepted and the Tower Arcane has been dominating the skies of Caecras ever since. But the wizards never intended to stay long, only long enough to find a way out of this universe and avoid the Demon Lord's wrath. And also, they realized that the damage that they did on Ys, would eventually spread, and they wished to be gone before this happened as well.
The Black Wizard spent many years studying the mistake of his order and the dimension that they accidentally released onto Ys, and he came to the conclusion that the dimension is the prison of Ragnora, the Mother of Monsters; a rogue genie that was imprisoned in the dimension by her brother and sister djinn for warping their creations into monstrosities. The Black Wizard knew that it was only a matter of time before Ragnora escaped from her prison, and when she did, the world would be overwhelmed by her monstrous brood. That time has now come - Ragnora has escaped from her prison and made a lair here upon Urth. Her children, the Gargantua, have appeared in many places thoughout Rul and her hordes of lesser children are spreading like a cancer from her womb in the Low Country.
The Black Wizard beseeches the heroes to aid him in stopping Ragnora before it is too late.
The heroes are skeptical, not knowing how to take this outlandish story, and ask how they could possibly stop something that the Black Wizard described as a veritable god? The Black Wizard says he has a plan. He has already scouted where Ragnora's lair is, which is how he ended up in his current state, and has determined that it is deep underground and only accessible from one entry point. His plan is to entrap Ragnora deep within the earth, either crushing her or trapping her forever. The heroes ask how that is to be accomplished and he states that there is a weapon that his order has developed that has the power to do this. It is called a Void Bomb, and with their help, they will steal it and use it against Ragnora. To steal it, they will need to access a portal that is in the floating tower here in Nessus.
Still skeptical, the group discuss this crazy plan. Calista asks the Black Wizard about the totem she's been carrying all of these months - the statuette of Ragnora. The Black Wizard studies it and says there is power in the totem, power to hide them all from Ragnora's children, and he seems amazed at their fortune for having such a relic.
The Black Wizard leaves them to ponder the plan and says he will return in the morning to get their answer. He then disappears as rapidly as he appeared.
The group spend the rest of the evening unwinding, then they bed down for the night. But in the hours just after midnight, they hear the Ruin Watchers calling their members up to arms, saying a threat is invading Nessus. When the group shout out to the men in the street, they say it is hordes of monsters flowing down from the mountains. The group gear up and leave the inn to get their clockwork company, but when they arrive at Zanthar's shop, they find the artificer dead and the Emancipator's graffiti splayed out on the walls in his gore and blood. The heroes realize then that Unit One was possessed by the Emancipator and the key was only the conduit. They search the artificer's shop, gathering whatever useful equipment they can find, then leave to track their rogue clockwork companion down. But the trail goes cold as Unit One's tracks end amidst a series of wagon tracks that spread in many directions. Assuming the clockwork plans to leave the city and return to Lij, the start heading out of Seaside, when they hear a commotion at the edge of the district.
Calista goes to see what is happening and finds waves of small creatures emerging from the ruins and attacking the ill-equipped militiamen. She goes to help, easily slaughtering many of the creatures, amazing the Ruin Watchers with her skill. But her companions call to her to leave Seaside and so she departs with them to make their way to the floating tower where the Black Wizard said they'd go to do his crazy heist. Hoping to spot signs of Unit One, they make it to the area of the floating tower without finding any more signs of their clockwork. They wait there a bit, then decide to try to make it up to the tower themselves instead of waiting there to get ambushed by monsters.
It takes them several hours to climb the various floating rocks to reach the tower, but they eventually succeed and then make their way up the wall of the tower to the only entrance they see, which is a gaping hole in the side of the tower 2/3 of the way up. Once inside, they find strange magical effects, such as an anti-gravity room, and they also find a construct guarding the stairwell. They attempt to reason with the construct, unsure if it is intelligent like clockworks are, or if it is just an automaton, but they eventually just fight it and manage to destroy it, freeing them to use the stairs to descend into the level above or below.
End of session.
posted by DM Nel @ 6:02 PM
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