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…