Murder in Vodymsira

Session 10 Part 2

PCs

Talos Redwand, 5th level Conjurer
Lutien, 5th level Fighter (Myrmidon)
Brendel, 5th level half-elven Fighter (Swashbuckler)
Eswin, 6th level elven Thief
Kieren, 6th level Druid
Shaw Ashcroft, 5th level Ranger (Justifier)

NPCs
Klaus, a wererat
Hourmaster Orlock, Priest of Troentad

From the Private Journal of Hourmaster Orlock

 

Monday, 16^th Eleventhmonth 606AT

Hourmaster Orlock

The city is in turmoil. Reaction to Valthun Redwand’s murder was swift and brutal. Rialtan de Montefort, regent of Perrinwall has outlawed sorcerous magic within the city and has begun rounding up known wizards. The archwizard Amathor however, will not be so easily secured. All guardsmen sent to his tower to arrest him have been turned to stone! Priests of Ysma have been traveling to Amathor’s tower with blindfolds to try and return the guardsmen to their fleshly state, but many of the stone statues of the former guardsmen have been smashed to bits. The Thieves’ Guild has also been targeted and known associates of Cornelius Flynn have been hung by the score in gibbets daily. Those who call the city home – the ordinary folk – are living under a dark shroud of fear. The priests of the Cult of Felorian have risen in power swiftly, their mysterious protector god offering succor to those most vulnerable. Word comes that the Duke’s son may yet march on the city from Westguard. I fear civil war looms on the horizon. I pray to Troentad that the Duke gets wind of events here and returns to restore order, but I fear that his overwhelming sense of duty to the King of Beltigost will keep him away for many a moon.

 

 

Wednesday, 18^th Eleventhmonth 606AT

 

Was approached by a most motley crew of scallywags and ruffians today. One identified himself as the Redwand’s son; de Montefort has made it clear that this one, Talos by name, is under suspicion, but I sense no malice in him. The group claims to want to solve the mystery of who murdered the Redwand. They have planned to find his body and speak with his spirit so that he may name his killer. That’s where I come in. They need a priest capable of casting such a spell. Though my eyes would tell me not to trust these grim travelers, in my soul I believe that they seek to do good, so I have agreed to accompany them.

 

Night has fallen. We met some seedy looking chap by the name of Klaus at a tavern by the docks. The companions showed him a strange symbol and he reluctantly agreed to help us. He led us to an entrance to the sewers and then promptly turned into a wererat! What evil have we gotten into bed with? Once in the sewers however, we were at Klaus’ mercy, for none of us knew the way to the secret entrance to the Ducal Palace. The path was long, narrow and smelt so awful I had to cover my face with a cloth. At one point we were assaulted by a pair of shambling creatures comprised of vegetation and refuse. They were nearly the end of me, as one of them enveloped me whole and began suffocating me. With the help of the warriors Shaw and Lutien and Troentand’s blessing, I was pulled free. We knew we were outmatched, so once I was free of the creature, we escaped. They were too slow to follow. There are many more rumours about those how dwell in the sewers beneath the city like Father Nightmare, and the half-men, and serpents large enough to swallow a family whole; I pray that we don’t come across any of these other foul creatures.

 

After another hour of fumbling about in the fetid sewers, we finally reached the secret entrance. Klaus claimed that he had fulfilled his bargain and quickly left. I hope that when our task is done in the palace we can find some other means of egress.

From a History of the Lords of Westmarch - Volume XIV

Session 10 Part 1

PCs

Talos Redwand, 5th level Conjurer
Lutien, 5th level Fighter (Myrmidon)
Brendel, 4th level half-elven Fighter (Swashbuckler)
Eswin, 6th level elven Thief
Kieren, 6th level Druid
Shaw Ashcroft, 4th level Ranger (Justifier)

NPCs

Skiznit, the Wererat Priest and his two henchmen

 

By Lady Myrs Kratys

After resting up in the extra-dimensional prison and preparing themselves for their assault on Mullahey, the heroes returned to the lower chambers of Malgen’s Keep. Awaiting them in the circular chamber, hiding behind the pillars in the room were 12 diseased gnolls and their Grueshach leader. Their ambush proved little more than a nuisance for the companions however, and they were dealt with in quick order.

The companions then found Skiznit and his wererat associates waiting for them on the spiral staircase. Brand went to the stables to await the heroes, while the wererats showed them the secret passage into Mullahey’s audience hall. Lutien, Talos and Eswin formed a distraction and agreed to assault Mullahey and his cronies head on through the front doors of the chamber, while the others waited in the secret passage to attack from the flank. Before entering, Talos summoned his Hell Hound companion using his staff and sent it to hide in the secret passage with the others.

Talos Summons his Hell Hound

Lutien kicked down the doors to the main chamber with one of his armoured boots and screamed a challenge at the huge half-orc priest, who was seated on his throne. Talos under cover of an invisibility spell, and Eswin using his elven cloak, slunk into the chamber unnoticed. Ten diseased gnolls, two Grueshachs, a human noble and the carcass of Mullahey’s bride stood defiantly, waiting for Lutien to act. The burley armoured warrior unslung his great musket and fired it at Mullahey. So true was his aim that it blew off half of the corpulent half-orc’s face. The priest screamed in pain and the battle was joined.

At that moment, those waiting in the secret tunnel emerged off to the gnolls’ left, taking them by surprise. The Grueshachs tried to move to intercept as well, using their fell magic. Eswin used his newly won gauntlet to cast a fear spell over half of the gnolls and the human noble, effectively taking them out of the fight. Mullahey responded by casting a stinking cloud spell centred on Lutien, who was immobilized by retching fits for a while. Talos tried to creep up unseen, but tripped a latch for a pit which opened up revealing a greenish slime that attacked him, disintegrating one of his daggers.

The battle on the right flank was furious, as Shaw, Brendel, the Hellhound, the dread wolf, and the wererats struggled in hand-to-hand combat with the gnolls and one of the Grueshachs. Shaw, Brendel and the wererats were caught in an icy cone of cold summoned by one of the Grueshachs and Skiznit’s two companions were frozen to death. Kieren cut a swath through the Grueshach with his flame tongue scimitar and Talos managed to summon six goblins to distract Mullahey. It was touch and go for a while and several of the heroes were nearly slain. Talos threw his last ice bomb severely wounding Mullahey, but destroying his Hell Hound and sending it back to the elemental plane of fire. The battle itself was in doubt, but in the end Lutien recovered from the stinking cloud and used his magical batte axe to slice open Mullahey’s throat, toppling the huge half-orc from his pedestal and sending his carcass to the ground. Once that was done, mopping up the others was easy. One of the Grueshachs managed to escape however, using his magic to turn himself into gaseous form. And with that, the reign of Mullahey came to an end, and the men of the Westmarch retook Malgen’s Keep, something they had been unable to do for 500 years.

 

In the aftermath of the battle, the companions managed to interrogate the human noble, one Lord Draven, a disgraced nobleman from Vodymsira who hadn't been seen in the capital in years. Unfortunately, they could discern precious little more from the noble, who had been the victim of a forget spell.

After gathering up Brand and three war horses in the stables, the heroes returned to Kratys’ Keep to report on their success and hand over the outlaw Lord Draven.

From A History of the Lords of Westmarch - Volume XIV

Session 9 Part 2

PCs

Talos Redwand, 5th level Conjurer
Lutien, 5th level Fighter (Myrmidon)
Brendel, 4th level half-elven Fighter (Swashbuckler)
Eswin, 5th level elven Thief
Kieren, 5th level Druid

NPCs

Shaw Ashcroft, 4th level Ranger (Justifier)

By Lady Myrs Kratys

Skiznit and his kin agreed to wait for the heroes in the lower level and guide them through the secret passage to Mullahey's Audience Hall when they were ready. Once again, the companions ascended the spiral staircase and once again, luck was on their side as they encountered no resistance.

The Dread Wolves of Mullahey

On the fourth floor of the castle the companions entered a room which contained several raised platforms. On three of these platforms, secured in cages, were large wolves. Green saliva dripped from their toothy maws as they paced back and forth. On the fourth platform stood Mullahey's bride, a corpulent half-orc, preparing a cauldron of troll stew. Eswin tried to creep up behind her and stab her in the back, but she caught wind of his approach and roared defiantly. Brendel let fly with his daggers, trying to prevent her from opening the cages with the wolves in them, but his aim was off and they clattered against the stone wall of the chamber and she managed to release the ravenous beasts. Brendel and Eswin engaged the half-orc while the others prepared to deal with the wolves.

Lutien used his magic ring to try and tame the wolves, but he only managed to charm one of them. Kieren used his magic cloak to fly towards the half-orc, but she beat him from the air with her massive clawed hands and then tossed him bodily to the floor below where the two remaining wolves waited. Using his new wolf ally, Lutien took on the alpha male and managed to cleave it in two with his mighty ax.  As Eswin and Brendel sliced up the half-orc, Talos and Kieren made quick work of the remaining she-wolf.

When the battle was done, the group made their way to Mullahey's private chamber. Within the priest's quarters they found the key to Brand's extra-dimensional prison as well as a note addressed to Mullahey from a certain RDM in the capital city of Vodymsira. The note spoke of a coup about to take place in the capital of the Duchy and encouraged Mullahey to make war on the Westmarch during this time. In exchange for his cooperation, Mullahey would be granted rulership of the Westmarch when the capital fell. Eswin guessed that the RDM in the note referred to Rialtan de Montefort, the Duke's Minister of Coin. The companions quickly decided that once their adventures in the keep were at an end, that a trip to the capital was in order to confront the Minister of Coin.

Lutien Arrives in the Extra-Dimensional
Prison

With the key to the extra-dimensional prison in hand, the companions once again descend the staircase to the lower levels of the keep. Using the key, they passed through the portal and into the prison. They found themselves in a darkened chamber lined with cell doors. Two huge, ugly guards awaited them. A giant-two headed troll wearing a black gauntlet and his companion, a smaller one-headed troll. A furious battle ensued in the tightly packed chamber. The companions hacked away at the trolls, but the beasts seemed to recover quickly from their wounds, dealing several blows back at the heroes in turn. Having heard of the weaknesses of trolls from a tome he had read, Talos related to his companions that they needed to burn the foul beasts in order to defeat them. With spell and oil, the companions managed to light the trolls aflame. Just before the giant two-headed troll fell however, he unleashed a powerful spell from his gauntlet. Bolts of lightning issued forth, searing the companions each in turn. Kieren fell motionless from the attack and was brought close to Troentad's doorstep. If not for his quick thinking, Brendel too would have been laid low, but at he last moment, he managed to block the bolt with his main gauche, frying it in the process. Using Ysma's Rod, Talos managed to revive Kieren and the group put an end to the trolls, burning their remains.

After the battle, they freed Brand from his prison. The lord's son was in bad shape however; his hand had been severed and he had lost much blood. The companions bound his wounds as best they could and settled down to recover from their own recent travails. As they huddled closely together in the safety of the prison chamber, they hatched their plans to put an end to Mullahey for good. Talos wanted to claim the magical black gauntlet for his own, but Eswin contested him and in the end the glove went to the sly elf.

From a History of the Lords of Westmarch - Volume XIV

Session 9 Part 1

PCS

Talos Redwand, 5th level Conjurer
Lutien, 5th level Fighter (Myrmidon)
Brendel, 4th level half-elven Fighter (Swashbuckler)
Eswin, 5th level elven Thief
Kieren, 5th level Druid

NPCs

Shaw Ashcroft, 4th level Ranger (Justifier)

By Lady Myrs Kratys

The companions awoke from some strange shared dream within the armoury of Malgen’s Keep. Eswin, who had been wasting away from some sickness was standing watch and awoke the others when the door to the room came under attack. The travelers quickly roused and armed themselves as the door was splintered from its hinges by a group of patrolling gnolls. Once the confusion died down, they made quick work of the guards.

 
Having gleaned information from the shade of Malgen himself as to the whereabouts of certain magic items in the keep, the companions then descended back down to the dungeon level. Luckily they encountered no resistance on their way, but they did hear the cackling war cries of bands of gnolls who were scouring the keep in search of them.
 
The first place they went was the Chapel of Ysma, where in a small recess at the base of a statue they found a minor artefact known as the Rod of Ysma. They were able to use this device to cure Eswin of his poisoning and to relieve the madness which had recently afflicted some of those who had experienced the shared dream.
 
After that, they headed to Malgen’s Feasthall. Inside was an ornate table with carved oaken chairs and silverware set for twenty six. On the walls hung some of the magic they sought, including a shield, a helm and a shortsword. At the southern end of the room stood two stone guardians, fashioned like large twelve foot tall dwarves with hammers and picks for hands. Having been warned that the guardians had thus far prevented Mullahey and his cronies from absconding with the magical gear, the companions were wary. They were busy thinking of ways the extricate the treasure when Talos the Conjurer grew impatient and started loading the silverware from the table into his magical bag of holding.  As soon as he did this however, the stone guardians came to life and began moving towards the group.  Eswin deftly grabbed the shortsword and Lutien managed to free the shield from the wall, but not before the big warrior was hit savagely by the hammer arm of one of the guardians. Brendel slid down the table between the two guardians and grabbed the helm. Unfortunately, he was also on the receiving end of a vicious blow from one of the guardians. Not wanting to stay and fight these terrible constructs, the group quickly exited the room.

Next up was Malgen’s bedchamber. The room was adorned with statues of the great warrior and put the companions on edge. They were worried that the statues would come to life and attack them, but in the end they were simple statues. Floating on a pedestal in the room was a scimitar. Having heard of this mighty weapon from his mentor Goran Shae, Kieren the druid claimed it as his prize. The moment he touched the weapon however, he was aware that it was imbued with the spirit of an Efreet Pasha from the Elemental Plane of Fire. The Pasha agreed to let Kieren use the weapon for now and claimed that if he proved himself worthy, the Efreet would unveil further powers to him.
 
On their way from Malgen’s chambers to Zelligar’s, the group was ambushed by a gnoll patrol led by a Grueshach sorcerer. They made quick work of the pack however, but not before the Grueshach managed to teleport himself to safety. Inside Zelligar’s room they found two spellbooks and a magical ring which Talos claimed.

Further searching of the dungeon brought them to Carmella’s bedchamber, which was now overrun with refuse. Behind the large piles of trash they encountered three wererats who had been summoned to the keep to aid Mullahey. Their leader, one Skiznit, was not happy with this arrangement and agreed to show the companions a secret passage into Mullahey’s grand audience chamber and help them defeat him. All they required in return was Mullahey’s sceptre. Eswin was suspicious and didn’t like the idea of partnering up with such foul creatures, but in the end the group decided it was their best option for defeating the diseased half-orc priest. Before they confronted him however, they wanted to find and free Brand Kratys. Skiznit told them the key to the extra-dimensional prison was in Mullahey’s chamber at the top of one of the towers of the keep. It was there that the companions headed next.

Continued…