Heroes of Korenell Session Logs

Character Background Vignettes

Bez

It is late in the night and somewhat overcast, making it hard to make anything out in the darkness.  A young man steps outside, leaving the warm glow of a fireplace behind him as he closes the door quietly.  He waits a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, then goes forth down the road.  He crosses a stone bridge with the sound of bubbling water beneath him as he strolls to the other side, past a few houses.  He then reaches a gate where he sees a guardsman sitting in the tower.  The young priest waves to the guard as he heads into the woods for his nightly walk.

Since it was particularly dark this night, the priest stuck to the larger trails as he walked along in quiet meditation with the forest.  After a few minutes, he heard the sound of objects being thrown about.  The priest suspected it was nothing more than rodents looking for food in the town’s refuse pile.  He approached, quietly peering into the small clearing.  He then saw a small creature rummaging through the junk, seemingly looking for food.  It was quietly singing to itself in some unknown tongue.  The priest peered closer and finally could see the creature.  It was a goblin!  He gasped and the goblin turned to face him.  The two stared at each other for a moment, both in fear and apprehension.  Then the priest took a deep breath and put up a hand in peace.  The goblin then did the same, saying a few words in a sing-song voice that the priest did not understand.
                As the priest looked at the small goblin, it seemed cold and emaciated. And there was something about the young goblin that suggested gentleness.
                “Are you hungry, little one?” the priest asked, pulling forth a small cut of bread from his pocket.
                The creature said something exciting and scrambled over quickly.  The priest handed the bread over and the goblin sniffed it carefully before devouring it.  The goblin then put up its hand, eager for more bread.
                “I’m sorry, that is all I have.  If you want more, you can come with me to the chapel.” The goblin said something in response.  “And we’ll have to teach each other how to communicate.”  The priest reached over to pick up the little goblin, but the goblin stepped back. “We’ll have to sneak you into town where I have some hot stew at the chapel.”  The priest made some eating gestures.  The goblin then got very excited and leaped into the priest’s arms and scrambled into his back.  The priest threw his cloak over the goblin and the two made their way back towards town, the goblin hiding under the priest’s cloak.

Kofaer

A storm clashed against the sky and rain was pouring down like a furious assault. A wooden shutter banged against the side of the house and a muscular dwarf with a long beard reached over and pulled it in and latched it closed.  He went over to the fireplace and threw on another log. He then poured some water into a teapot and hung it over the growing fire.  The dwarf then grabbed a couple buckets to place under the few dripping spots under his thatched roof.  He kicked aside some wooden debris from his latest outburst of anger, knowing he’d have to clean up the mess eventually. He then sat down comfortably in a wide cushioned armchair.

A loud banging then began on his front door. He thought too that a faint voice could be heard yelling on the other side, but was drowned out by the storm.  He got up cautiously, he almost never had visitors, especially at night.  He grabbed an axe off the wall and approached the door.  He unlocked the large wooden door and opened it a crack.
                “Who be there?” he asked aggressively.  He could only make out a shadowed figure, no taller than he was, holding something small cradled in its arms beneath the cloak.  Rain was running off the back of their leather cloak in sheets.  Then a flash of lightning made the visitor visible. It was the dwarf’s sister, someone he hadn’t seen in many years.  She was holding something close to her in the clutch of her arm, tucked under her cloak.
                “Fissarra, what are ye doing here?!”  He opened the door and rushed her inside, out of the stormy weather.  He pulled the wet leather cloak off of his sister and hung it by the door.  The rain was still dripping from it into a small puddle.  When he turned back to his sister, he saw what she was carrying.  His eyes went wide.
                “Is that…?” he muttered.
                “Aye,” she confirmed.  She held out a small dwarven child. “Yer nephew, Kofaer.”
                “What are ye two doing here?  Where is that bastard Ukdrim?”
                “The worst has happened, me brother.  Ukdrim is dead.”
                The dwarf nodded as if this was not a great surprise, “Then ye can stay here with me, me sister. For as long as ye like. But don’t say I didn’t warn ye.  Ye knew that getting’ involved with Ukdrim would only result in tragedy.”
                “Aye, but I loved ‘em, didn’t I. But now tis only Kofaer I need to look out fer.”
                “Aye, and I can help ye with that, me sister. But ye shall never be tellin’ that boy about his dad. Tis for the best.”
                “Aye, agreed, me brother.”

Naroo

The line of wagons came to a halt and a whistle was blown twice in quick succession.  For the laborers of the merchant caravan, this meant time to unload.  They had just reached the docks of Elmo and the bustling merchant city was filled with people coming and going.  The many laborers leapt out of their various wagons, where they had been uneasily resting atop boxes and other small corners of the overfilled wagons.  A teenaged halfling leapt down with the other humans and set to work grabbing items from the wagon and placing them in the nearby warehouse.  After many minutes of work, the team of young laborers came to a large crate.
                “Step back Naroo,” a dark-skinned young man said to the halfling.  “You are too small for this one.”
The young halfling looked at the crate and his co-workers, he did not think they were strong enough to carry it either.
                “Wait, Shaja. Let us grab some of the warehouse men to help.”  Shaja only laughed at the halfling before convincing the other young men to attempt to carry the crate.  They were able to pull the crate to the edge of the wagon. They then pulled it off, their backs straining to carry its immense bulk.  The crate nearly fell from their grasp.  The young Shaja climbed under the crate with bravado, straining himself to keep it upright.  The crate then collapsed upon him and rolled to the side.
                Shaja screamed in pain before collapsing on the ground.  The crate had crushed his leg, a splinter of his bones was sticking out into the air, blood gathering around the wound.
                The young halfling ran to Shaja’s side and comforted him as the others ran to get help.  He looked at the broken bone and knew this would be the end for Shaja, the wound would likely get infected and kill the young man. Naroo could not accept this outcome, he instinctively pressed his hand to the wound, to keep the blood from escaping.  As he sat there, looking at the now unconscious Shaja, he desperately prayed that his friend would be okay. Praying loudly to any deity that would listen.
                When Naroo opened his eyes, he saw that the wound had ceased bleeding. He pulled his hand back for a moment, and saw that the bone was no longer broken.  Only a minor bruise could be seen on Shaja’s skin.  The halfling stared in amazement at the miracle he witnessed.

                “The gods have heard your plea,” a voice said behind him.  Naroo jumped, startled, and turned to look at Londora Summter, an older human woman, a known priestess of Solarus who had been traveling with the caravan.  “Do not be surprised, young halfling.  The gods do listen to those that can really speak to them.” Naroo stared at the priestess dumbfounded. Seemingly trying to still wrap his head around the miracle. “It seems they have chosen you to work their gifts.”
“Why me?” the halfling asked.
“Why anyone? I cannot tell you why you have been chosen.  But if you are interested in learning how to speak with the gods, that I can teach you.”

Qhude

The hot sun burned down upon the city, the smell of dead fish and filth filling the air with a pungent aroma.  A few scrawny teenagers sat high upon the ramshackle towers of scrapwood and debris that composed the many sprawling homes along the Old Docks district.  The youths were looking down at the many people scurrying about the wide stone bridge that connected the old city with the more bustling markets on the other side.  They were looking for marks, easy targets for pickpocketing.
                “Over there,” one of the youths said, pointing to a tall arathian woman who was reaching into a bulging sack of coins.  She seemed to be haggling with another man over the price of something.  The youths greedily watched a solid gold coin drop into the man’s hand.  The arathian pulled her coinbag’s drawstring closed and drew her cloak about herself again, leaving the man behind.

                “It’s Qhude’s turn,” one of the youths said, turning to the dark-skinned boy next to him. “If you don’t make some coin soon, Lahard will have your neck.”
          The boy named Qhude snorted and climbed down to the street, ignoring the taunts of the other youths.  He came down into an alleyway and stayed to the shadows as he waited for the mysterious woman to walk past him.  When she did, he silently stepped into the crowd and began to follow the woman into the large marketplace.  There were so many people about that it was common for people to have to push their way through the crowd. 

The youth came closer and closer towards the woman, careful to remain out of sight.  He eventually was behind her, pretending to be looking at the rows of daggers displayed nearby.  He then noticed she was engaged in conversation with another merchant, her bustling sack of coins hanging outside her cloak.  The woman was arguing with the merchant, so Qhude made his move.  He stepped next to the woman with his back to her, carefully reaching out and pulling the draw string loose.  He then pulled back the opening with infinite patience. He turned as if he had finished his fascination with the daggers, and stretched back his hand into the coin purse, the cold feel of metal on his fingertips.
                The youth immediately felt a sharp grip wrap around his wrist and yank him into the air.  He found himself staring into the dark menacing eyes of the arathian woman.
                “By law, I could cut off your hand, thief,” she said darkly.
                “Wow! How did you do that?!” the young man exclaimed.  He had never seen such quick reflexes and keen awareness.  He was mesmerized by her talents.
                “Discipline. Years of hard work and discipline.”
                “Where are your parents, boy?” she asked, still holding him by his wrist.
                “Dead” Qhude said shrugging.
                “Then you shall work for me now, or I shall cut off your arm.”
                The youth nodded. “Can you teach me how you move so fast?”
                “No, I shall teach discipline.” 

Skarvist

Stress was high and Jonark Uptal was pacing back and forth in his sitting room. Laborious screams echoed throughout the house as if a young woman was in immense pain.  Jonark continued to pace about fidgeting with various knick-knacks in the room to distract himself. The screaming then slowly died down and a strange quiet overtook the house. He then heard a small knock on the wall.
                “Sir Uptal,” a small woman solemnly spoke at the doorway. “You better come in here.”
Jonark nervously stepped down the hall into the nearby bedroom.  He stepped into the room to see his daughter laying upon the bed.  There were many bloody rags upon the floor and the old priest standing next to her looked sad and solemn, shaking his head.
                “Delia?!” Jonark exclaimed, running to his daughter’s bedside.
                “I’m afraid she did not survive the childbirth,” the midwife said to the distraught man.
              “What of the child?! What of my grandchild?!”
                “That is something we should discuss, sir,” the priest said, somewhat apprehensively.  He took Jonark with him out to the hallway. “Do you know who the father of this child is?”
              Jonark seemed a bit uncomfortable. “No, my daughter only came back to me yesterday. I do not know whom the father is.”
              “Was your daughter harmed, or traumatized at all this past year?”
              “I don’t know what she was up to.  What are you getting at?  Is the child alive or not?!”
             “Well,  that may be up to you, sir.” The old priest said, shrugging slightly.
             Jonark was quite confused, and somewhat angry.  Was the priest implying he would want the child dead?  He pushed the old man aside and rushed back into the bedroom.  He pulled the midwife away from the makeshift crib and looked down at his grandson.  The tiny baby had a slight greenish tint and a hunched, pig-like nose. The baby clearly had some orc ancestry.  Jonark was dumbfounded.
            “Do not feel pressured to keep the child, sir.  The gods do not punish those who end the life of a beast.”  Jonark went mad and furious, he immediately turned on the old priest and threw the old man into the wall.
          “That is my grandson, you foul preacher!  You will treat him with all the dignity and respect as any who hold the Uptal name.  Is that clear?!”
         Jonark then went to the crib and picked up the young child. The baby remained asleep and content in his grandfather’s arms. “Don’t worry my little green cherub, you won’t have to run with the beasts.”

Zelmar

A young elf clutched at the envelope in his hands, pushing his way through the crowd of students trying to reach their classrooms.  The elf was excited. The letter in his hand was to determine his future, whether or not he was accepted to formally study magic at the academy.  He entered the library and found a seat at the study tables.  He cautiously opened the envelope and peered at the letter.  His eyes scanned down past the pleasantries, straight to the end of the letter.

While the archmagi agree that Zelmar is most talented and intelligent, he has shown little effort in his studies.  His constant absences and parlor tricks suggest the young sulmar is not disciplined enough for our grand institution.  We regret to inform you that Zelmar will not be accepted at this time.

For a moment, the young Zelmar was heartbroken.  He knew his parents would be quite disappointed. They had been pushing him towards this goal for so long.  But in many ways, the youth was glad that he was freed from his parents’ expectations, perhaps now he could be free to make his own choices.  He had wanted to study magic, this was true, but he found the academy so restrictive and confining.
                “Disappointing news?” said a voice behind the elf.  Zelmar turned around and found a middle-aged human man standing there, stroking his short beard. Zelmar recognized him as Holgast, a visiting scholar who had been studying magic with the elves for a few years, he had given a few guest lectures in Zelmar’s classes.
                “Perhaps, though in some ways it is good news.”
                “Ha, that’s the spirit.” Zelmar was surprised by the wizard’s reaction. “Don’t you worry, young Zelmar. The academy is no place for a wild soul like yours.  You are a curious one, you crave the open road do you not?”
                The elf nodded, curious at how the man knew of this.
                “I was like you in my youth. Ha! Perhaps I still am.  I’m returning to my travels in a few weeks and I’m in need of a young back to help my aging body out on the road. Perhaps you’d be willing to work as my apprentice?”
                Zelmar was shocked. “Why me?”
                “Because you have a strong back,” the wizard laughed, padding the elf’s backside with his staff. “And I’ve been keeping an eye on you, young Zelmar. Your restless spirit is exactly what I could use on my travels. I’d be happy to teach you some of the magic I know along the way.  It’d be a chance to get out of this stuffy world of nobles and dusty tomes, go experience the wider world.”
                The elf smiled eagerly. This would really disappoint his parents. “Sign me up!”

Act 1: New Heroes

SESSION 1: A New Beginning [Sep 4, 2018]

On the wild, northern border of the Kingdom of Korenell, sits a small logging town called Kassen. According to town custom, every autumn the town sends a few folk to light a silver lantern from the ever-burning flame at the crypt of their town’s founder and return to a final harvest celebration before the coming of winter. This year is a special year, as a group of six young folk, who are finishing their apprenticeships will gather together in a quest to retrieve the everflame. It is midday in the town and the young adventurers gather in the town square.

The first to arrive is a goblin named Bez, a musical bard. A flash-back of his past reveals that he was found by the local priest in the town’s garbage pile and was sneaked into town to be raised by the priest.
The next to arrive is a muscular dwarf named Kofaer, a furious barbarian, possessed by a raging spirit. A flash-back reveals that his mother brought him to Kassen as a baby after his father was mysteriously killed.
The next to arrive is a small halfling named Naroo, a cleric bearing the holy symbol of Solarus upon his shield. A flash-back reveals how Naroo traveled with merchant caravans and discovered his magic and connection to the gods and how he found his mentor.
The next to arrive is a tall, dark-skinned human named Qhude, learned in various foreign combat styles. A flash-back reveals how a young Qhude used to live on the streets and pick-pocketed the wrong person. He had to choose between losing an arm or serving the woman, who would become his mentor.
The next to arrive is an able-bodied half-orc named Skarvist, a man of many roguish talents. A flash-back reveals how Skarvist’s mother died in childbirth and his grandfather fought and cared for the unexpected baby.
The last to arrive was a scholarly elf named Zelmar, learned in the ways of arcane magic. A flash-back reveals how the wizard came to become the apprentice to a human wizard after failing to pass into the academy’s magic school.

The six would-be adventurers gather in the town square as the midday bell tolls. Then the townsfolk all appear, dressed in black. A quick ceremony is performed and Kofaer takes the silver lantern to be lit in the crypt of the everflame. The adventurers put together the map from the six pieces and head out south of town into the wild unknown.

After a few hours of travel, the heroes are waylaid by a band of orcs on the trail. The orcs seem particularly viscous and angry. The surprised youths jumps into action and quickly take out the orcs with little effort, only taking a few wounds. However, Kofaer insists that the orcs are an illusion. It takes some convincing, but eventually the others see the illusion as well. Their wounds disappear along with the bodies of the orcs. The heroes notice the scent of pipeweed and some ash from an emptied pipe. Zelmar is certain that it is from Holgast, the town’s wizard and his mentor. He was known to be particularly good with illusion magic.

The adventurers continue onward travelling for the rest of the day down the forest trail. They find a spot to rest for the night as the sunlight grows thin. They chat around the fire for awhile, sharing the bottle of brandy, before going to bed for the night. Qhude take the first watch, but hears nothing but the sound of wolves in the distance. Kofaer takes the second watch, having recovered from drinking too much. He hears the sound of something near the camp, but doesn’t find anything. But later that night Kofaer is startled by a pack of wolves charging into the campsite. He jumps into action screaming in a rage. The wolves pull the dwarf to the ground and begin to tear into him. The others scramble out of their tents all trying to figure out what to do with the wolves. The battle is fierce and Kofaer, Skarvist, and Zelmar are each nearly killed by the deadly bites. In the end, the wolves are put to rest and Naroo is able to heal everyone. The adventurers then return to their rest.

The next morning, the adventurers are a bit more cautious as they head down the forest trail. Many hours pass and by midday they reach the small Gray Lake. Kofaer discovers a body in the lake. The adventurers identify it as belonging to a former villager of Kassen, named Holk Volendare. He had left town about a year ago to seek work in Namport. He had even completed the everflame quest nearly four years ago. The adventurers take a few of his useful possessions, then perform a quick funeral pyre on the rocky beach. Naroo says a few words of Solarus to guide the man’s soul to the heavens.

The adventurers then head back on the trail, the sky growing dim as they reach the top of Serpent’s Gorge. Rain begins to pour down upon them as they reach the top of the muddy hill. Kofaer ties a rope and leads the way down. Kofaer, Naroo, and Bez take some injuries as they head downward, but eventually they all make it to the muddy bottom and head towards the small valley where the entrance to the crypt resides. When they reach the entrance they find a horrible scene. The crypt’s door is ajar and a trio of ponies lie dead, still tied to the hitching post. The rain slowly dies down further revealing the gruesome scene.

SESSION 2: The Crypt of the Everflame [Sep 11, 2018]

SESSION 3: Traps, Puzzles, and Golems [Sep 18, 2018]

SESSION 6: Off to Namport [Oct 9, 2018]

The young adventurers leave the tavern and meet up with Captain Gregar Wisslo and Templar Sirin Dramor.  They explain what evidence they have found and insist that the unknown elven assassin is the key to the murder.  However, Sirin asks for more evidence before he accepts this explanation of events.  He offers the young adventurers some coin to head to Namport and look for this elven assassin and perhaps investigate what role Holk played in these events.  The young adventurers agree to head to Namport in the morning.  That evening, however, Skarvist, Qhude and Zelmar explore the Woodcutter’s Guild, trying to find clues related to Colbin’s involvement.  They break into his office, but don’t find any corroborating evidence.  Zelmar steals Colbin’s frosty mug and the others note that Colbin may be sifting extra coin off the top of the fees.

SESSION 7: Mercenaries Run Afoul [Oct 16, 2018]

SESSION 8: Assassins and Owlbears [Oct 23, 2018]

SESSION 9: Goblins in the Woods [Nov 7, 2018]

SESSION 10: The Invasion [Nov 13, 2018]

SESSION 11: Adventurer’s Reunion [Nov 21, 2018]

SESSION 12: Holy Artifacts and Missing Children [Nov 27, 2018]

SESSION 13: Ghosts, Bugbears, and Hawks [Dec 5, 2018]

SESSION 14: The Lost Monastery of the Trinity [Dec 11, 2018]

SESSION 15: Secrets of the Lost Monks [Dec 18, 2018]

SESSION 16: The Ruins of Toil [Jan 1, 2018]

SESSION 17: Disease, Death, and the Dead [Jan 8, 2019]

SESSION 18: The Children and the Knight [Jan 15, 2019]

SESSION 19: The Slave of Toil [Jan 22, 2019]

SESSION 20: Traps and Kobolds [Jan 29, 2019]

SESSION 21: The Kobold War [Feb 5, 2019]

SESSION 22: Death to the Chieftain [Feb 19, 2019]

SESSION 23: Victory at Last [Feb 26, 2019]

SESSION 24: The Perilous Journey Home [Mar 5, 2019]

SESSION 25: A New Quest Dawns [Mar 12, 2019]

SESSION 26: The Search for the Surveyor [Mar 19, 2019]

SESSION 27: The Cult of Ravenfield [Mar 26, 2019]

SESSION 28: The Ruined Farmhouse [Apr 2, 2019]

SESSION 29: The Blightspawn of Sethma [Apr 23, 2019]

SESSION 30: The Escort [Apr 30, 2019]

SESSION 31: The Haunted Manor [May 7, 2019]

SESSION 32: Dark Energy and the Hag [May 21, 2019]

SESSION 33: The Harrow and the Murder [May 28, 2019]

SESSION 34: Fugitives [Jun 4, 2019]

The End of Act II

Act 3: Heroes’ Calling

A year has passed and the heroes have continued to serve as crew-members of the Star Rudder, supporting its freedom-fighting mission. They have learned much over the year, helping rescue slaves from Arathkelsara, then bringing them to various ports in the Inner Sea. The heroes have helped out with twelve slave runs since joining up. They have also been able to enjoy the occasional shore-leave in Rizzi, Ramona, and Veracas.

They have learned that a Templar inquistor named Teldan Vermuk has been looking for them in Korenell, but so far they have avoided detection. They were forced to stay hidden when in Korenellian waters, but have otherwise been able to enjoy most of the ports the ship has visited. As far as they know, they are still wanted in Korenell for the murder of Rizak Klemocc. At times, the heroes yearn to return home and see their friends and families again.

* Diarmuid – The knight was slow to accept his fate as an outcast. He kept trying to think through the evidence and understand what happened to Rizak. Eventually, he let the matter go and fell into a calm enjoyment of his new life, finding solace and peace in each hard-working day. He took this time to step back from the mantle of leadership and just enjoy being part of the team. As the blessings of Solarus continue to flow through him, he knows his mission has been just and good.

* Skarvist – The rogue has found that life at sea agrees with him. He has proven himself to the crew, showing them how to distill rum and brandy. He also serves as a bartender to the crew during off-hours. He also started a regular dice game that has caused some tensions between winners and losers. Somehow, the rogue always seemed to be gaining the upper hand. Captain Lullaby has found Skarvist to be a great asset at the pirate ports. The rogue’s silver tongue has helped them gain information and resources that would have otherwise been out of reach.

* Bez  – The bard has become the crew’s primary entertainment and source of joy. He has spent his time at sea writing numerous new songs and melodies. In the evenings, he provides entertainment to the crew with his music. When the crew is docked at port, Bez always makes an effort to book a gig in a tavern and demonstrate his newest songs to travelers. He has found that his musical notoriety grows and many are eager to see the goblin perform. He also greatly loves sharing new ideas with other travelling musicians.

* Naroo – The healer has become an indispensable member of the crew, quickly earning Captain Lullaby’s favor. Over the year, Naroo has treated numerous diseases, poisons, and wounds, making nearly every crew-member eternally grateful to the halfling. Captain Lullaby particular likes having Naroo around to help make tough decisions, relying on Naroo’s unerring compassion to guide him. Naroo finds the mission of the Star Rudder quite agreeable, knowing that he is truly doing good in the world. He has also had opportunities to visit his family in Rizzi a couple times.

* Kofaer – The warrior has become somewhat legendary among the crew-members. He has singlehandedly defeated various sea-monsters and enemies that have threatened their missions. He always proved to be the most tenacious when facing adversary. The dwarf has also proven to be handy off the battlefield, helping Grulgos with cooking, and occasionally mending weapons and tools when necessary. The spirit of Ukdrim never visited Kofaer again, but the dwarf never stopped looking over his shoulder.

* Qhude – The monk has found life at sea quite beneficial to his self-discipline and focus. He was often able to find a quiet area of the ship for meditation and sparing with crew members to hone his skills. Qhude was promoted to third mate and found himself in a position of leadership during much of the voyage. He would often lead away missions to meet up and rendezvous with the escaping slaves. Captain Lullaby found Qhude’s practical demeanor and ability to speak easily with the rescued slaves quite an asset to the ship’s mission.

The heroes recently stopped in the Korenellian colony of Arthvera to rescue a few slaves and then set out to bring them to Gessedo, a Migaran colony. As the ship neared its destination, a great storm blew in unexpectedly. An onslaught of winds and rain buffeted the sailing vessel. The crew worked their best to keep the ship upright and afloat. Water streamed into every nick and cranny, and some crew-members and the rescued slaves had to create a bucket brigade to keep the lower-deck from filling. Then a great blast of wind threw the ship over and everyone on-board went tumbling out into the turbulent and stormy sea.

SESSION 35: Ship Wrecked [Jun 12, 2019]

A few days prior to the fateful storm, the Star Rudder was docked at port in Arthvera where they picked up a few escaped slaves and travelers willing to pay for passage to Gessedo. The heroes met with some of the passengers, including Annabella, an artist and acolyte of Venya. Gallio Menius, a hopeful minor nobleman from Rizzi, who is hoping to establish a papaya farm on his new land around the Rizzian colony. Another traveler, Mr. Blackwell, said little about himself, but based on his clothing and etiquette he was likely someone of some status. The last traveler was a Selicean explorer named Umuzu. She had explored most of the jungles in the Inner Sea, and now hoped to start charting the Jungle of Snakes around the new colony of Gessedo. The heroes help the travelers and ex-slaves on board. Much work is put into bringing all of Gallio’s farming equipment, even with the help of his dozen indentured servants. Once all were on-board, the ship set sail for Gessedo.

SESSION 36: Investigation and the Storm [Jun 18, 2019]

The heroes continue exploring Fort Braccio and piecing together the attack that felled its soldiers. The heroes head into one of the other watchtowers across the wall and discover the commander’s bedroom. Before they can examine the room, they are waylaid by numerous spiders and two large hunting spiders. They quickly dispatch the spiders, even though both Qhude and Naroo suffer some poison effects. Qhude then looks at the lump in the bed and finds the dead corpse of the commander of the fort. A strange note is attached to his chest.  It reads, in the common Nomen tongue:

The heroes find it strange that the otherwise isolationist, peaceful Sajaho tribe would attack the fort because of the river. The heroes then hear a loud bang beneath them where a trapdoor is partially hidden from a toppled bookcase. They open the trapdoor and let out a young Selicean tribesman name Muhdzuzi. He speaks with Qhude in Selicean, relaying that he and his tribesmen were assaulted by lizardfolk nine days prior and sought refuge in Fort Braccio. They were unable to speak with the colonists at the fort nor warn them about the lizardfolk, who came and attacked, killing everyone.  He then says he had to stay quiet, fearful of a lizardfolk hunter that came after the others left.  He has survived on rations and drip water for the past week.

The heroes help the young man and allow him to follow them to safety. They find two keys on the commander’s body. One of which opens the lock-box they found previously. The small box contains numerous alchemical bombs. They then find the box of rations in the storage chamber below. The heroes then explore the next watchtower, finding many dead Sajaho hunters seemingly killed by crossbow bolts of the fort soldiers. The wreckage in the room shows signs of shrines to various deities. As the heroes look about the bodies, they are possessed by haunted spirits and impale themselves on the crossbow bolts. Naroo studies the phenomenon and eventually determines that the souls of the Sajaho need to be put to rest to calm the haunting spirits.

The heroes continue searching and find some dead guardsmen, one beheaded, with some strange frostbite wounds. The heroes then find a crate of construction supplies in the next room.  The heroes then cross the courtyard and enter the armory, using the commander’s key. Inside they find various arms and armor, including the crate of weapons that the Northwind Smithy requested returned. Skarvist finds a high-quality studded leather armor set and dons it. The heroes then gather the medical supplies, construction supplies, box of rations, and armory goods and pile them onto makeshift carriers to bring them back to the colony.  They decide to sleep for the night in the protection of the fort and then set out early the next morning.

As the heroes get closer to the town, clouds have darkened the sky and a light rain clouds their views. A storm seems to be brewing out at sea as blackness can be seen on the horizon in the west. The heroes head into Gessedo and find Sheriff Praet orchestrating people to board up houses and for others to take shelter in the Countinghouse of Hermaen or the Stone Hall. The heroes offer their services to help and the Sheriff makes them all deputies for their service to the colony. They quickly discuss what happened at Fort Braccio, but the impending storm leaves little time for discussion or decision-making. They are able to convince Sheriff Praet that lizardfolk attacked the fort. The heroes leave the supplies they brought with the Sheriff and set out to help board up houses, orchestrate people, keep people’s spirits up, and moving supplies to where it needs to go. 

As the heroes finish up most of these preparations, Sheriff Praet tells them that there are three stragglers who refused to come to safety.  She gives their addresses to the heroes and they set out to try to convince them to come to shelter.  They first head over to Amal Rashid who they find the be quite agoraphobic. Skarvist, however, uses his silver tongue to convince the shut-in to head into the shelter. Qhude then escorts the nervous man up to the Stone Hall.  The others head over to Maso Pareto’s house who seems to be looking for a lost cat named Delour. The heroes convince Maso to head to shelter and that they will look for Delour.  Qhude returns to the others and they head over to find Mirya Oyin. The fussy old woman seems to believe the hurricane is her late wife reincarnated, but keeps trying to change the subject and is not eager to leave her shop. The heroes eventually convince her to go as long as they name the hurricane after her late wife.

The heroes then search about for the missing cat and hear the whining of a cat in the wall of debris that was used to build some barricades against the rising waters. It seems the cat is caught in a covered wagon buried in the barricade. The heroes go to retrieve the cat but are attacked by some wayward water elementals.  The larger elemental proves to be a powerful foe, but the heroes eventually prevail. They pull the small black cat out of the debris and head back towards the Stone Hall as the wind increases in intensity. 

As they pass one of the side streets on the upper cliffs, they see a large humanoid figure ransacking houses. Skarvist and Qhude sneak along to see what it is. It is a large virulent jungle troll. It immediately senses Skarvist and charges towards him, nearly felling the rogue with swift cuts of its razor-sharp claws. The heroes charge into action trying to do something about this monstrous troll as the hurricane rages towards the colony…

SESSION 37: The Stormcaller and the Hurricane [Jun 25, 2019]

The heroes keep striking at the vicious troll. The heavy rain and stormy weather roars around them as they strike at the large green humanoid. Bez steps in and blasts the troll with an array of scintillating colored lights. The troll stumbles blindly, allowing Skarvist to finally stop feigning death and escape its clutches. The troll still lashes out with its claws and tries to bite at the heroes. Kofaer continues to cut into hard with his magical axe. Diarmuid manages to throw an acidic flask upon the troll that reduces its ability to regenerate. Qhude then grabs a flask of acid and slams it hard into the troll’s side. The monk then tears into the troll with many brutal tiger-strike attacks.  The troll tries to flee into the rainy streets, but Qhude follows with unnatural speed, facing off against the troll alone in the street. Qhude eventually succumbs to a powerful side-swipe that tears a large gap into his stomach.  But as the monk falls to the ground, the troll falls over as well, as the acid continues to eat away at its skin. The others find Qhude and are able to save the man from death, though he will likely forever carry a scar upon his torso.  The heroes find a magical wand among the fallen troll’s stolen belongings.

SESSION 38: Jheri Rescue and the Sahajo [Jul 02 2019]

SESSION 39: Coral Capuchins and the Great Guughwa [Jul 09, 2019]

SESSION 40: The Mystery of the Lost Expedition [Jul 16, 2019]

SESSION 41: Search for the Cobalt’s Eye [Jul 23, 2019]

SESSION 42: Discovery of the Xaya Ruins [Jul 30, 2019]

SESSION 43: Xayan Treasures and Return to Kashil [Aug 6, 2019]

SESSION 44: The Tar Pits and the Lost Camp [Aug 20, 2019]

SESSION 45: The Sky Tempest Temple and Chieftain Sathva [Aug 27, 2019]

SESSION 46: The Sky Tempest Temple Ruins [Sep 3, 2019]

SESSION 47: The Storm Seed of Cold [Sep 10, 2019]

SESSION 48: The Storm Seed of Fire [Sep 17, 2019]

SESSION 49: The Stormbreeder Wraith and the Djinni [Oct 1, 2019]

SESSION 50: Daruthek, Peace, and the Pirates! [Oct 8, 2019]

SESSION 51: A Father for a Father [Oct 15, 2019]

The End of Act 3

ACT 4: The Storm Breakers

SESSION 52: Return to Korenell [Oct 22, 2019]

The heroes say their goodbyes to Gessedo and prepare to leave with the Korenellian Messenger Service. Before they leave, Kofaer takes off to do something quickly.  He heads to the many grave-sites outside of town and leaves a small emblem of Rolk, dwarven god of war. He says a quick prayer to the war god, though he finds that something doesn’t feel right. He begins to reconsider paying homage to a god of battle and considers finding a new patron deity. Kofaer then heads back to the ship and on the way he finds Qhude. It seems the monk has reluctantly decided to return with the others to Korenhold, hoping he might make some sense of what has happened to him and get more information there.  Jheri then comes over to Kofaer and Qhude and gifts them a bag of pirate loot, thanking them again for everything they had done for Gessedo.  The two catch up to the others and share the loot, finding many coins. There is a magical belt of lifting that Qhude accepts and a magical suit of stealthy armor that Skarvist accepts.  The heroes then board the ship and head out for the long two-week journey to Korenhold.

SESSION 53: The Prince and the Wraith [Oct 29, 2019]

SESSION 54: The Journey to Brong [Nov 5, 2019]

SESSION 56: Murders Most Foul [Nov 19, 2019]

SESSION 57: The Hunt and the Bronze Pin [Nov 26, 2019]

SESSION 58: Spirit of Ukfaer [Dec 03, 2019]

Session 59: Fall of the Bronkhazi [Dec 17, 2019]

The heroes continue to hold a line against the Osodaroth warriors, slowly cutting through the dwarf’s defenses. Skarvist finds a few lucky strikes and is able to fell a couple dwarven warriors. The others press in and soon the Osodaroth warriors are felled. The heroes look around the library and they find a powerful scroll that Bez takes. The heroes then find a dumbwaiter that heads down into the kitchens below. Skarvist convinces Bez to descend down the dumbwaiter who discovers some rust monsters eating the silverware down in the kitchen. The heroes decide to deal with the monsters later and head towards the main hall doors.

As they near the doors, Naroo and Barasus notice up on a balcony there are two Osodaroth thugs with bows. The dwarves fire down at the heroes, who quickly scatter for cover. Bez and Naroo head down side paths to avoid shots as the others charge up the stairs. Barasus draws his bow and fires back at the thugs. Eventually, the heroes charges into the upstairs and begin cutting into numerous Osodaroth thugs. They form a strong defensive wall as the thugs charge in at them. Barasus and Naroo eventually join the others while Bez throws spells from down below.

The main hall doors then open behind Bez, as an Osodaroth warrior and a skeleton clamor out. They charge at Bez, who manages to scramble out of the way and blast them with a flash of colors. Taking advantage of the delay, Bez heads up the stairs. However, then another set of doors opens and reveals another dwarf warrior and skeleton. Behind him stands an imposing dwarven knight with a dark helm. He seems to be wearing Ukfaer’s armor, from the portrait. He also wields Ukfaer’s hammer. The dark knight throws the hammer at Bez, hitting him hard. The hammer then magically returns to the dwarf’s hand.

Meanwhile, up on the balcony, the heroes continue to cut into the dwarven thugs. They then hear a muffled call for help in one of the nearby bedrooms. This surges them onward and they fell most of the dwarven thugs. Bez calls for help and most of the heroes head down to assist. Bez climbs up the stairs out of the way, where Skarvist and Barasus finish off the final thugs on the second floor. Kofaer, Braggar, and Onon all charge at the dark knight as Diarmuid tries to hold off the other dwarven warrior and skeleton. The dark knight slams them hard with the hammer, his blows quite powerful. Braggar is slammed to the ground. Naroo sends out a powerful pulse of healing magic that sends a surge of courage through the heroes. Barasus finds a perch up on the balcony and rain downs some arrows at the other dwarven warriors. Bez then prepares a scroll and charges down the stairs, throwing a powerful dispelling dweomer upon the dark knight’s hammer. The dark knight then throws the hammer at Bez, who is hit hard by its blunt end. However, with the magic dispelled, the hammer falls at Bez’s feet rather than returning to the dark knight.
Braggar, Kofaer, and Onon try to maintain their attacks while the dark knight is weaponless. Skarvist moves in to find good flanking positions. The dark knight then grabs an axe from the fallen Bronkhazi soldiers, cutting deft attacks into his many assailants. Naroo strides in and keep everyone healed. Barasus then picks up Ukfaer’s Hammer and charges at the dark knight. Kofaer then makes a mighty blow, then Onon lands the felling strike. With the dark knight defeated, the heroes tend to their wounds. Onon takes Ukfaer’s Hammer and Ukfaer’s Breastplate and gives it to Kofaer. He then shows the heroes a note that he found on the knight, who was named Keden.

Keden,
Now is the time. Strike at the Bronkhazi and fell their leader, Onon. With the last of our enemies vanquished we’ll be ready for the Ritual of Undying. Return to the Forbidden Path of the Deep Underground and join us as soon as the deed is done.
Khyber

Onon explains that the Grimdrin [Forgotten path] is a very dangerous route in the Deep Underground that veers off from the road to Brong. It used to house old mines, but they were abandoned long ago as various monsters kept turning up. It is quite a dangerous area and Onon knows that the Osodaroth were rumored to have a fortress there over a century ago, though he suspected that it was destroyed long before he was born. Onon also worries that the Ritual of Undying is the same ritual they were attempting in Brong 35 years ago. He is greatly worried about what the Osodaroth might do to Brong. He knows that an army cannot descend into the Grimdrin’s tight tunnels, but a powerful strikeforce might be able to strike at them. However, he feels the need to warn Brong of a possible attack and to take care of the deceased, tending to their families. Kofaer volunteers to head into the Grimdrin and face the Osodaroth with his friends. Onon then has Kofaer kneel and he knights the young dwarf as a Knight of the Bronkhazi. They decide that Onon and Braggar will take care of things here and warn Brong. While the heroes will head into the Grimdrin and see what they can learn about the Osodaroth’s base of operations and try and stop the Ritual of Undying [Drazhthark al Mornsli] before it is too late.

SESSION 60: The Breathless Labyrinth [Jan 7, 2020]

The intrepid heroes spend the night at the Bronkhazi Redoubt, helping them prepare the dead and clean up after the Osodaroth attack. Barasus asks the Bronkhazi smith to assist him in transferring some magical runes to a dwarven battleaxe, expecting a short-hafted weapon to be of more use in the deep tunnels.  Onon spends the night searching through the archives. The next morning, Onon speaks with the heroes and explains all he has learned through the archives left by Ukfaer, who was the expert on the Osodaroth cult.  He warns them that the Ritual of Undying harness the power of stolen souls and sends out a massive necrotic blast that instantly kills people in the vicinity, turning them into undead monsters.  He also realizes that all the “missing” persons along the Tagdrin, which many had assumed were due to monsters, may have been the Osodaroth gathering souls to power the ritual.  After three decades of activity, they assuredly have enough to cause great devastation upon Brong.  
Onon knows that the Forbidden Path, the Grimdrin, is believed to head beneath the city of Brong.  That is likely why they chose to perform the ritual there, in an old stronghold that belonged the the cult centuries ago.  Onon warns the heroes that the path down the Grimdrin will be treacherous.  He expresses the irony that they would not have even known about the Osodaroth’s ritual had they not sought vengeance on the Bronkhazi and Fessara.  Onon helps the heroes gather supplies, such as additional weapons, healing elixirs, and plenty of food rations for the journey.  He then gathers a cart and two ponies to ferry the heroes down the Tagdrin towards Brong.  After a long day of travel, Onon stops the cart at a side passage from the main road, pointing the way towards the Grimdrin.

The heroes say their farewells to Braggar and Onon before heading down the dark path. After a few hours of travel, they reach an old mine shaft that cuts into the cave fissure.  The heroes follow the mine shafts very square paths. The heroes then smell a foul decay and are accosted by a number of dwarven ghouls.  They manage to defeat them rather easily and continue searching for the natural caverns into the Grimdrin. They eventually follow a tight corridor and find the natural fissures that make up the Grimdrin.  After a bit, the heroes find a cavern with bio-luminescent fungi. Barasus studies the fungus and deems it safe and even okay to eat.  After many more hours of exploration, the heroes come across a large cavern with more luminescent fungi. Skarvist and Barasus scout ahead and discover strange grooves in the ground and fungi spores in the air.  They then find a giant flying fungus creature descend from the ceiling.  It grabs Skarvist in a long writhing tentacle, piercing him with its barbed ends. Barasus hacks the tentacle and frees Skarvist. They call for help from the others and they decide to flee from the great beast.
Bez identifies the fungus creature as a drakauthix, remembering that it has a weakness for fire.  Diarmuid throws magical holy fire at the creature as the others try to flee. Kofaer and Barasus strike the beast head on. Kofaer has to drop his grandfather’s hammer to continue the fight. Most the the heroes manage to get away, but the creature seems to be gaining on them. Naroo then cleverly uses his magical chimes to summon a gust of wind. The gust of air blows away all the creature’s spores, making it effectively blind.  This act gives Kofaer enough time to summon his grandfather’s hammer to his hand, and for everyone else to run down the corridor away from the beast.

The heroes hide in a small side-cavern to catch their breath.  They spend an hour tending their wounds before pushing on.  After a couple hours of hiking, they come across a large fissured cavern where numerous boulders have tumbled down, blocking the way greatly. Now the path is a giant three-dimensional labyrinth that involves climbing, crawling, and otherwise squeezing through very tight and uncomfortable spaces.  Naroo takes the lead for the party, hoping Solarus’s light can guide the way. Barasus helps as well. They do well at first, but soon get lost and run into areas of low oxygen. Only Skarvist seems fatigued by the lack of air, however.  Then Naroo leads them to a dead end where a pocket of deadly gas assaults them.  The heroes scramble up a cliffside, trying to get away from the low-lying gas. It dulls their senses and clouds their minds. They do their best to hold their breath as the climb up the cliff. Barasus makes it up first and helps Bez get to the top. Skarvist slips and falls to the ground, where Naroo cannot seem to get any progress. Diarmuid and Kofaer then make it up and throw a rope down for Naroo and Skarvist, who are just barely able to make it up before they pass out from lack of oxygen.  
Now, most of the heroes are light-head and hazy from the toxic gas as they sit huddled on a cliffside, only four by ten feet in size, lost in the very center of the breathless labyrinth, miles beneath the surface of the world…

SESSION 61: Goblin’s Fall [Jan 14, 2020]

The heroes gather themselves a bit after their near brush with suffocation and death. They decide to continue on despite their exhaustion and fatigue, knowing that they cannot rest in these tight caverns. Naroo continues to lead the group onward. They encounter another pocket of stale air and become more fatigued and spend another couple of hours seemingly lost and disoriented. Kofaer decides to take over leading the exhausted group and after a few more hours they finally exit the breathless labyrinth and reach the larger caverns.  The heroes catch their breath and decide to set up camp immediately in the large cave.  They set up in the corner and Bez takes the first watch. The time goes by smoothly until Skarvist’s watch. The half-orc hears the faint sounds of scurrying in the cavern and moves to wake up Diarmuid. However, before he reaches the knight, he sees a little blue gremlin charging at him.  Skarvist calls out and a short skirmish takes place with the little mitflit gremlins.

The heroes vanquish the gremlins and the last two run away to the south.  The heroes continue resting and sleeping off their fatigue with no more interruptions. Feeling emboldened and coherent once more, the heroes continue onward along the caverns. They eventually come to a large cavern with a huge central pillar of crystal with thick red bands of rust and hematite. They find four rust monsters eating at the iron in the stone. When the heroes approach, the creatures immediately turn to face them, sensing the delicious steel in their hands. The battle is quick and fierce, and the heroes successfully slay the beasts.  However, Barasus’s axe is nearly destroyed by the monster’s oxidative attack and Diarmuid’s armor is quite rusted over.  After the battle, they heroes take a break as Kofaer does his best to repair the armaments.

The heroes continue onward for many more hours, passing through tight corridors, narrow fissures, and wide caverns filled with phosphorescent fungi. The heroes then come to a large cavern with a gushing waterfall coming out of a set of stalagmites and stalactites the make it appear as if the water flowed out of a giant sharp-toothed mouth. The waterfall flows down into a small pond before gushing down into a 10-foot diameter tube in the ground that seemed to go on forever downward. The heroes continue down the winding cavern, eventually coming to a point directly below the waterfall cave. The near-endless fall opens in this chamber with the waterfall flowing down the center of the chamber. There is a slick, narrow walkway around the waterfall to the continuing path. 
The way ahead looks dangerous, so Skarvist goes first with a rope attached to his waist.  He makes it easily. Bez then volunteers to go next. The goblin holds tight to the rope and head down the slick ledge. He then slips and grasps the rope tightly. However, Barasus loses his grip and the rope goes loose for just a second. Bez barely manages to grab the slick ledge, but then as he tries to pull himself up he slips again and falls down the endless shaft into the surging waterfall. His comrades scream his name. But it is of little use. Bez is lost. The rest of the heroes manage to make it past the waterfall, with Naroo nearly falling, but managing to climb up the ledge. The heroes take a moment to lament the loss of Bez. They then continue on, knowing that all of Brong is depending on them.

After following the caverns for another hour or so, the heroes come to another glowing chamber. Barasus and Skarvist scout ahead and find a rainbow garden of fungi, complete with a cobblestone road to various side passages. The two scouts then see a pixie flying among the mushrooms and a couple dog-faced gremlins in the corner. They decide to head back, but Barasus makes an unfortunate noise that attracts the pixie’s attention. Skarvist tries to parley with the fey creature, but she doesn’t seem interest. Skarvist rushes towards his friends as the pixie summons the fungi to stretch long mycellia to wrap at their feet. Skarvist manages to get away, but Barasus is held firm by the fungi’s grasp. The others come charging in after Skarvist tells them what happened and they find a number of mitflits joining the fight as well.

The heroes quickly take out some of the mitflits, but find the pixie’s magic to be potent. She sends Diarmuid to sleep with a magic arrow and soon has Kofaer and Skarvist charmed to not hurt her. Additioanlly, the heroes seem to find constant bad luck as they fight against the fey creatures. Then, a red cap comes out and starts slashing at them with his little scythe and kicking at them with his pointed iron boots. Naroo comes in a summons a mighty wind with his magic chimes, sending the pixie slamming into the back wall of the cave. She then disappears from the rest of the fight. The heroes eventually surround the red cap and cut away at the little bastard until he falls. Naroo also locates a hidden pugwampi gremlin that was causing all the bad luck. After felling the fey creatures the heroes try to figure out where to go next…

SESSION 62: Assault on the Osodaroth Fortress [Jan 21, 2020]

The heroes look around the remains of the fey creatures they felled. They find little of use. However, they notice a small cave where the redcap likely resided. Skarvist and Kofaer check out the tiny cavern and find a number of magical trinkets. They find a magical fear gem, a potion that can turn one’s skin to hard tree bark, and beautifully constructed lute, that appears to be made of fungalwood and uses various jewelry bent into position for the tuning knobs. The strings are composed of rainbow colored pixie hair.  The sight of the lute only make the heroes long for their lost companion, Bez. However, they decide to press onward. Naroo ponders a moment to consider where the waterfall likely leads and sets a path to the northeast down a sloping tunnel.

Meanwhile, Bez awakens and finds himself on a rocky beach near a roaring waterfall. The water rushes down into a wide subterranean lake in a large cavern. He finds that his bag had spilled open and his items are scattered about the shore. He grows saddened when he finds his favored lute shattered on the nearby rocks. He gathers his things and uses a magical scroll to heal some of his many bruises. He then sees a small fleck of light enter the cavern through a side tunnel. He peers at it and finds it to be a tiny fey pixie. She seems to be hiding from something and catching her breath.  Bez introduces himself and manages to calm to pixie who seems to fear for her life. He quickly learns that his friends may have killed the pixie’s allies and unwittingly freed her from the redcap that was a ruthless boss. The pixie, named Liza Willowclove, eventually agrees to escort Bez back towards his friends.

Soon Bez runs into his friends in the tunnels. They are overjoyed to see him. They give Bez the lute they found and Liza admits that she has been making it for the past couple decades. She is overjoyed that a mortal would want to use it to create music. Liza also admits that she knows the way to the dark dwarves, the Osodaroth and that her former redcap boss liked to prey on them and try to steal things from them. She leads the heroes down into a massive canyon that is at least a half-mile wide and untold miles long and deep. In the far distance there are some massive, building-sized stalactites that house lights. There is also much phosphor-luminescent fungus providing a pale glow to the cavern walls. The heroes then see some strange fey creatures fighting with Osodaroth dwarves.

The heroes rush into to help, finding that the dwarves are attacking a small group of deep gnomes. The battle is quick and fierce and the heroes manage to save a couple of the gnomes. The gnomes promise to lead the heroes to safety and escort them to their secret village, hidden in one of the many fissures that connect with the massive canyon cavern. They have the heroes cover their eyes as they open a secret door. The heroes are then escorted into a small gnome village. They are greeted by the village elder, a gnome named Patamot the Sage. Patamot offers the heroes a place to rest, but says they cannot leave until he decides if he trusts them. He leaves them for the night, giving the heroes plenty of time to rest and recuperate.

The next morning, Patamot meets with the heroes. He says he trusts them and shares everything he knows about the Osodaroth. He informs them that the leaders of the Osodaroth dwell in a massive stalactite that hangs over the canyon, called Brongar’s Fall. To reach it, the heroes will need to enter into the Osodaroth fortress on the north side of the cliff and find the mobat stables. They can then use the bats to fly over to the Inverted Tower where the leaders dwell. He cautions the heroes about using direct force and suggests they use subtlety and stealth to reach the stables.  The heroes are then escorted back to the cliffside canyon.  The heroes spend some time debating their move and eventually head over to the entrance of the Osodaroth fortress.

They enter the fissure and find a small entrance to the side and a wide fissure the continues onward. They decide to check out the small entrance where they hear running water.  They come into a large cavern where a waterfall gushes down from the west. An ornate stone bridge stretches before the falls in front of a massive door beset in the mouth of stone dwarf visage. Half the dwarven visage appears skeletal.  The light of the heroes is seen by a number of dwarven thugs guarding the entrance.  Soon a battle breaks out as the heroes dodge arrow fire from across the bridge.  They then charge across to meet their enemies head on. One of the dwarven thugs manages to flee into the massive door. Soon he returns with the dwarven beastmaster. The beastmaster brings in a trio of powerful beasts: a cave drake, a cockatrice, and a giant scorpion. Naroo manages to temporarily passify the drake for a moment, but the beastmaster strikes it to break its trance. The heroes take out most of the thugs quickly, but now they must contend with the mighty beasts…

SESSION 63: Tomb of the Fallen Knight [Jan 28, 2020]

The heroes continue to strike at their enemies, standing at the entrance-way to the ancient Osodaroth fortress. Kofaer is picked up by the giant scorpion as it tries to crush him. However, the enraged dwarf, filled with the spirit of his grandfather Ukdrim, slams his axe upon the best and fells it in a wild swoop. He then lands on his feet and slices the cavern drake’s head cleanly from its long neck. The heroes then surge upon the final dwarven warriors as Skarvist lands his rapier cleanly into the cockatrice’s eye. The heroes then decide to climb to the high stone ledge above the door as Naroo and Diarmuid tend to their wounds. After a short break, they find that the entrance is still quiet and the explore other options to gain entry into the Osodaroth fortress.

After much searching around, the heroes determine that the main entrance is the only likely way to enter. So they head down the long dark tunnel into a large circular room. It appears to house many side chambers where the beasts they had recently slain likely dwelled. The heroes search through the area and find a few trinkets in the beastmaster’s room. They then find what appears to be the lair of a possibly quite large dragon. They steal the dragon’s small horde of coins, gems, and jewelry. They then find the dragon’s stash of corpses in a nearby room.  The heroes then find their way back into a grand fissure that seems to have cleaved through the center of the fortress. The follow the fissures narrow cavern to an ornate door with dwarven runes of death and undeath upon it.  The heroes then head south into a natural cavern where they find that the waterfall continues onward into a carefully carved channel. The water is about 2 feet deep, but the heroes are reluctant to try and cross the water. Bez notes a strange, eerie green glow coming from where the water flows.

The heroes then follow the fissure farther eastward where they see a large stone bridge, high overhead. It had broken and crumbled but may have connected a passageway above. Skarvist decides to try his grappling hook and climb up to the bridge. However, he finds that his hook fails him halfway up and he lands with some pain. Stones and pebbles make a bit of a noise as he fell and the heroes decide to flee the scene back to the natural cavern. They then wait for some time until they are sure no one has come looking for them.  The heroes then decide to enter into the ornate door to the north. They find a small chamber with a door covered in dwarven runes for death. It is flanked by two statues of dwarves in the process of transforming into undeath. There are also two stone carvings in the side walls depicting dwarves returning from death as undead creatures. Naroo decides to look closely at one of the murals and discovers a secret door.

The heroes follow the secret door into a untouched burial chamber. The room is in tatters and ruin and contains many stone sarcophagi. The dust on the floor suggests this chamber has remained undisturbed for many centuries. The heroes climb inside and find that dwarven skeletons rise to attack them. However, the heroes quickly dispatch these undead enemies. They search the room, but find little of use. The heroes then head eastward where they find a very ornate door covered in many finely detailed scenes of undeath and conquering. Kofaer points out in the center is a dwarven figure wearing heavy-set armor and a black-horned helm. He seems to be leading an army of undead. The door tells a story of a fallen knight of the Lindain [Steel Warriors] of Kalavar who became a champion of undeath and created the order of the Osodaroth.

The heroes step into a recently excavated cavern where they find a large pile of gnomish corpses piled around a central pillar. The pillar is covered in green glowing runes that quickly animate the gnome corpses into giant zombie-like aberrations. The heroes leap into combat and hack away at the zombies. They many to fell most of them, cutting the large disjointed abominations apart. Then Naroo blasts the pillar with positive magic, cutting off the zombies from the necrotic source. The rest of the zombies collapse immediately. The heroes examine the pillar and Bez learns that the pillar is drawing powerful necromantic energy from some other, likely nearby, source.

The heroes continue, following the excavated tunnel, into a massive tomb. It appears to be the tomb of the fallen Lindain knight and his loyal followers. Soon these warriors arise, showing themselves as undead ghasts, hungry for the flesh of the living. The heroes try to hold their own at the entrance to the chamber as the ghast claw and bite at them. They leap over the front-line warriors and try to get at Naroo and Bez. Then the main sarcophagus opens and an armored ghast emerges. It wears the same armor and helmet depicted on the door. It is the fallen knight, arisen as a ghast. The heroes try to hold their ground as this abomination of pure evil stalks towards them…

SESSION 64: The Children of Thulugoth [Feb 4, 2020]

The heroes continue to strike at the ghasts, cutting them down one by one. The armored deathknight ghast then strides forward clawing at Kofaer. Barasus, Skarvist, and Diarmuid then surround the ghast as Kofaer is able to cut it down. The heroes explore the ancient tomb, trying to find any remnants of the ancient dwarves. Bez and Skarvist find small bits of jewelry as Diarmuid and Naroo examine the ancient armor of the dwarven deathknight. He appears to have been wearing the ancient armor of the Lindain, a noble order of dwarven knights from Kalavar. Bez identifies many ancient protective magics on the armor and Diarmuid happily dons the knight of a former champion of good.

The heroes leave the crypt section of the fortress, heading towards the high, broken bridge again. Skarvist makes another attempt to throw his grappling hook, but again cannot make a firm purchase on the rock face. The heroes then think they hear some movement and rush back to the caverns. Kofaer heads forward to see in the darkness. He sees three Osodaroth warriors coming towards him near the bridge. They spot him as he tries to flee the scene. Kofaer then pretends to be his father Ukdrim, returned to flesh. He learns that the Osodaroth leaders await for Keden’s return to begin the ritual. After Kofaer admits that Keden is dead, the warriors ask Kofaer to fetch Khyber from the Inverted Tower so that the ritual can begin. Kofaer pretends to agree and leaves the dwarves.

Kofaer returns to the others and explains what he learned. The heroes then decide to head past the broken bridge and see where the warriors might have gone. They find a fortified drawbridge to the south and a reinforced arch to the north. They head northward where they quickly battle with some fire elementals that rise out of a magma fissure. The heroes then find a large mining cavern where the Osodaroth have recently dug into an iron ore vein. The heroes then continue along the natural cavern towards a hot spring. Beyond the spring is a cracked stone bridge over some boiling magma. They see a small gemstone in the distance beyond the fog of the bridge. Kofaer determines that the bridge is too dangerous to cross and they send Liza to retrieve the gemstone. It appears to be a well-sized ruby.

The heroes then climb the stone stairs in the mining cavern where they find a recently used magma forge. They then find a locked door that Skarvist is able to expertly unlock. Inside is a small armory. It appears that most of the items have been taken, however, the heroes find three magical armaments. The first is an ancient Arathian rapier called Goldsting. The second is a leaf-shaped glaive called Razorleaf, made by the elves. The final item is a dwarven hauberk covered in protective runes once owned by a dwarf named Ekelgi, Naroo dons the hauberk, as Skarvist takes the Rapier, and Barasus takes the glaive. The heroes then look across the upper portion of the broken bridge, but decide it is unsafe to try an cross the gap.

The heroes return to the natural caverns to explore the eerie light they saw. They work together to cross the fast-flowing waters and head into a large natural cavern with a small pond. Barasus discovers some strange mucus-like substance that numerous fungi feed upon. The heroes then discover a large column covered in ancient occult runes. Bez and Skarvist piece together some of the story, learning that a being named Thulugoth dwells beyond the stars and wishes to snuff the stars out into darkness.  The heroes then see two giant amorphous blobs, covered with eyes and mauling mouths. The blobs move towards them to feast on flesh.

The heroes mount a defense, the creatures soon start gibbering loudly. The sound distorts their minds and they have trouble telling friend from foe. Then creatures then engulf both Diarmuid and Barasus into their bodies to eat them. Diarmuid blasts the inside of the creature with fire, but eventually falls unconscious and begins dying.  Barasus manages to eventually force himself out of the beast. It then engulfs Skarvist, but he manages to escape as well. During the fight, Kofaer bashes the creatures with his mighty hammer, as Naroo summons Solarus’s morningstar to strike at them. Bez throws powerful stones.  Eventually the beasts are slain, and Diarmuid is saved from death.  The heroes then decide that they need to rest if they are to proceed to fight more of the Osodaroth’s minions, but question if they have enough time before the Osodaroth perform the dark ritual…

SESSION 65: The Nueggrimnur [Feb 11, 2020]

The heroes decide that they must rest if they are to continue their fight with the Osodaroth. They debate over the best place to do so: should they return to a safer place near the entrance, or to the small hot spring? They eventually decide to hide in an offshoot cave not far from the cavern where they fought the monstrous children of Thulugoth. As the heroes look about the dead-end cavern, they notice that there is an entranceway on the high wall, a small alcove into a hidden chamber. Skarvist and Barasus climb up there and find an ancient dwarven skeleton, long rotted out. They also find a few magical trinkets in the skeleton’s possession. They call for the rest of the heroes to climb up into the hidden alcove and they rest for the night. Over the night, the tunnels are silent and they feel assured that the Osodaroth have not been overly active while they rested.

The heroes then pack up and head back down the caverns towards where they found the pillar dedicated to the dark being known as Thulugoth. However, while crossing the fast-flowing stream, Kofaer slips and falls, sending Naroo sprawling down the waterfall. The halfling falls about 15 feet into a large cavern where he manages to grasp the stony edge of a little island. Kofaer follows him, sliding down the waterfall and landing on his feet in a heroic display. The two then notice a magnificent stone monument in the center of the chamber, on a small island within the flowing waters. The stone is covered in glowing arcane and dwarven runes. Within the framework is a large glowing, green crystal. Naroo is unable to understand the device, but knows that it is a profoundly evil artifact connected to necromancy magic. Kofaer is able to read the name of the device, “Nueggrimnur” [The Dark Crystal].

The other heroes climb down past the waterfall and join their allies. Bez examines the Nuegrimmnur and determines that thousands of captured souls are imprisoned within the crystal and can be used to project a powerful necrotic blast upward towards Brong, killing everyone in the city and turning them into undead. It is just as Onon had warned from reading Ukfaer’s notes on the Osodaroth’s Ritual of Undying. Bez also determines that a keystone is missing that allows the user to access that power.  After much debate, the heroes decide to continue exploring to find the key to the mobat stables so that they can confront Khyber, whom they believe has the Nuegrimmnur’s keystone.

The heroes explore the area around the dark monument where they discover a much weaker knock-off of Nuegrimmnur built into a stalactite. Bez is able to find a small amount of soul-energy trapped within. He is able to use is magical skills to release the souls trapped inside and absorb some of the latent spell energy for his own use.  The heroes then discover a small vestibule with numerous writings about Nuegar the Dark Mage, treatise of necromancy, and tomes on the Unknowable Thulugoth. Diarmuid decides to burn the books, not wishing such dark knowledge out into the world.

The heroes then decide to head into the main Osodaroth lair. They decide to climb up the side of the cliff-side, up to the broken bridge’s south side. With some effort, they all make it up the shear wall and creep into the dark halls of the Osodaroth fortress. They discover a small guard room and an overlook to the main drawbridge. They also overhear some dwarves talking about growing impatient waiting for Khyber to return for the ritual. They also learn that Ukdrim was Khyber’s apprentice. The heroes manage to sneak into a small alchemist’s lab, though it had been unused for many years. They then discover a dwarf named Grimdur Blackbane with some guards sitting in a dining chamber. They manage to avoid them and head back around into a broken stairwell. Skarvist and Barasus then explore down the western hallway, which unfortunately leads to Skarvist accidentally setting off a fire-spray trap. 

With the trap sprung, the nearby guards charge out of their room with Grimdur. However, the heroes are well-placed and ready. They strike on Grimdur and slay him quickly. They then charge into the dining room and fell the other guards. Diarmuid then leaps upon the final guard and wrestles him to the ground, where others help restrain, tie, and gag him.  After they clear the bodies from the halls, the heroes interrogate the guard. They learn that the leader of this fortress is a dwarf named Khulzon who is waiting for Khyber to return from the Inverted Tower. They also learn that the mobat stables are north of the beast-master’s lair and they now have a key from Grimdur. However, the heroes decide to stay and take out Khulzon the Dread Knight. 

The heroes knock out the guard and explore the chamber nearby.  They decide to direct a pincer attack on the guards in the main hall, so Kofaer, Naroo, and Skarvist take the southern door, as Barasus, Bez, and Diarmuid strike out of the secret panel door. Soon the heroes charge into the outer hall and strike at the guards. Naroo releases a powerful blast of calmness that incapacitates one guard into the corner to rethink his hostility. The heroes cut down the guards, with Barasus, Skarvist, and Kofaer slaying them with fury. Diarmuid charges in, but is dropped by a few axe cuts and arrows that sends him near death. However, Naroo revives Diarmuid quickly and the two hold firm as the formerly incapacitated guard charges at them. The others charge into the main hall to finish off the final archer.  The battle continues…

SESSION 66: Khulzon and the Shadow Dragon [Feb 18, 2020]

The heroes quickly finish off the last two Osodaroth warriors in the grand hall of the Osodaroth fortress. They then sneak back into the secret chamber connecting the main hall with the dining room, where they spend half an hour tending their wounds and preparing for the battle with Khulzon the Dread Knight. The heroes then head down to the large ornate door, which Skarvist unlocks using a key taken from Grimdur Blackbane. Inside the large door, they find a massive grand hall with a skeletal dwarven head carved into the far wall. A massive throne sits in the skull’s mouth where it’s jaw would be.  Sitting on the throne is a large dwarf in heavy plate armor. The armor is dark black and designed to resemble a skeleton. He wears a large horned helm and wields a massive warhammer.  Standing beside Khulzon is two dwarves in dark robes, with naught but their beards protruding out of their hoods. Another guard stands between the heroes and the Dread Knight.

Khulzon stands and charges at the heroes, with his hammer held high. The heroes charge in at him, with Kofaer striking at him head on. Barasus fires a few shots at the Osodaroth necromancers before Bez covers them in an impenetrable darkness. Diarmuid and Skarvist charge in to strike as Naroo holds back to prepare healing spells. The Osodaroth necromancers then summon large daggers of pure force to strike at Diarmuid and Skarvist. Barasus is forced to drop his bow and strike at Khulzon with Razorleaf. Bez dispels the magical darkness, finding that the dwarves see through its shadows with ease. Diarmuid and Skarvist move around to fell the necromancers, but are both bespelled by a powerful necromantic curse. Both Diarmuid and Skarvist are then nearly killed by the necromancers and Khulzon seems to grow in strength off their dying breath.

Naroo is able to revive Skarvist and Diarmuid, who then fell the necromancers. Then the heroes surround Khulzon and try to breach his armor. Khulzon tries to convince Kofaer to join their cause, as with Ukdrim deceased, Kofaer could be Khyber’s next apprentice. Kofaer rejects the offers as he summons Ukfaer’s spirit to aid his strikes. The mighty warrior Khulzon fends off the heroes’ attacks for many moments, but eventually succumbs to their strikes and falls. The heroes feel quite drained after the battle with Khulzon and the necromancers. They search the area, but discover that there is little left to explore in the Osodaroth Fortress. They head back to their secret cavern and rest for most of the day, keeping an eye on the path to the Nueggrimnur. After the day passes, the heroes head out.

They make their way through the beast-master’s door to the mobat stables. They find a round cavern with numerous spikes of rock protruding out into the void of Brongar’s Fall. Ten mobats sleep on the ceiling of the cavern, perched above them. Bez is able to sing a song to get the mobat’s attention. He soothes one of the creatures and mounts it. Soon, everyone else is able to calm a mobat and mount it. Then the heroes set off flying through the dark cavern towards the Inverted Tower. The faint lights through the windows of the giant stalactite shimmer in the distance across the cavern’s expanse. As the heroes fly through the air, a warm wind blows through the cavern. All around them, sparkles of star-like lights glitter on the edges of the cavern walls where phosphorescent fungi glimmer.

The heroes then hear a deafening roar across the chasm and a black shadow flows towards them. As it gets closer, it is clear that it is a large black dragon, with shadows on the fringes of its wings and tail. The dragon charges straight at them as the heroes attempt to get their mobats to fly towards the Inverted Tower.  Many of the heroes manage to get their mobat’s to the tower’s landing bridge, however, Diarmuid is struck by the dragon and nearly killed by it’s slashing claws. His unconscious body manages to stay upright in his saddle and Naroo heals him before he falls. The dragon then sprays a line of poisonous gas that sears Diarmuid and Naroo’s skin. They fly towards the others as Kofaer keeps trying to lure the dragon towards him. Barasus lands on the tower’s bridge and fires a few arrows at the dragon. The dragon the strikes at Skarvist and Kofaer. As the dragon circles for another attack, the rest of the heroes manage to land on the tower’s bridge and brace themselves as the dragon veers towards them with a mountainous fury. 

SESSION 67:  The Inverted Tower [Mar 3, 2020]

The heroes hold the line as the dragon charges forth, spraying  a line of poisonous gas that causes some of the heroes to cough and gasp for air. The dragon then slashes and claws as it hovers in the air over the pit. The mobats scurry to the furthest reaches of the chamber to avoid the dragon.  Berasus keeps firing at the beast, his bow now glowing with Naroo’s holy magic. Kofaer keeps throwing Ukdrim’s hammer at the beast, knocking off scales for Berasus to target. Diarmuid and Bez are nearly killed by the poisonous gas, but Naroo is able to patch them up. Skarvist heads out the doorway onto a wide open space where the wooden walkways extend to the other giant stalactite of the Inverted Tower. He sees numerous cages with dwarves in various states of decay. A few seem alive, but unwell, while others are no more than skeletons. 

A few of the others come out onto the walkway as Berasus and Kofaer try to hold off the dragon. Bez sings a mighty song that echoes song the walkway. The goblin and half-orc then notice that a few of the seemingly dead dwarves in the cages are trying to escape. Two of the undead wights escape and try to get at the few living dwarves. Diarmuid and Skarvist charge around the walkway to protect the remaining caged dwarves. Meanwhile, the dragon falls below the tower and swoops back up to release more poisonous gas upon Kofaer and Bez.  However, Naroo blasts the dragon with his Chimes of Wind, sending the dragon sprawling beneath the walkway again. The dragon then flies beneath the walkway and returns to strike at Naroo. It slashes at the halfling, knocking him to the ground. The injured shadow dragon then steps down to eat the halfling when Naroo blasts it with a holy lance. The magical bolt tears through the creature’s jaw and blows its head off. The dragon’s form topples over the side of the walkway.  Naroo then blasts one of the wights to oblivion as well.

The heroes then continue fighting the wights, with Berasus holding a fight against one on the north end of the walkway. Kofaer throws his hammer across the divide felling one of them. Berasus fells the one attacking him. Then Diarmuid and Skarvist finish off the last wight.  The heroes pull the last three living dwarves out of the cages. They learn that the are dwarven merchants who were heading to Brong, likely many weeks ago. They say that the Osodaroth cultists have been trying to get them to eat their brethren and turn them into ghouls. Their names are Hodd, Zagg, and Ugra.  The heroes treat their wounds while Bez finds a large number of alchemical items to forage from the makeshift garden on the walkway.  The heroes then cautiously enter the Inverted Tower.

Inside the door, the heroes find a lavish sitting room with an adjoining dining room. It appears to be quiet. They explore the area and find a lavatory with a invisibility potion inside. The heroes contemplate taking a longer rest, but soon hear some gaurds coming up the stairs towards them.  They hide in the lavatory as the guards come in. The guards seem to find everything in order and sit down for a meal. During this time, Skarvist and Berasus sneak up towards the guards and ambush them. Kofaer then charges out of the lavatory. Soon the two guards are killed and the heroes throw their bodies off the walkway. They dress up two of the dwarven merchants in the Osodaroth armor to help disguise them. However, soon the heroes hear more sounds and prepare another ambush. This time an Osodaroth mage steps into the room and is immediately killed by Berasus and Skarvist.  It seems another dwarf down the stairs hears something amiss and runs off, fearful of trouble.

With their stealth finally exhausted, the heroes head down the stairs carefully. Skarvist comes to a door and discerns that there is someone trying to be quiet inside. Berasus and Diarmuid pretend to be a loud group which causes a dwarven alchemist to step out of the door to throw something at them. However, Skarvist leaps out and stabs the alchemist. The alchemist panically throws the bursting alchemist’s fire and rushes back into the room. Skarvist persues as the others head down the corridor. Soon another mage appears and blinds Berasus with a spell. The warrior, however, drinks a powerful elixir to try and restore some of his sight.  Skarvist finishes off the alchemist and everyone charges at the mage. Naroo looks around the rooms as he joins them. Soon the heroes are cornered in the corridor trying to fell the mage. The Osodaroth mage casts a powerful spell upon Diarmuid, furthering his change into a ghoul. Berasus then cleaves the mages head clean off with his Bronkhazi axe.  The heroes catch their breath…

SESSION 68:  The Dark and the Light [Mar 10, 2020]

The heroes catch their breath and search the rooms nearby.  Bez moves to check out a glowing crystal skull, but it unleashes a magical trap that sprays a poisonous gas into the air. The heroes are greatly weakened by the gas and only Diamuid and Barasus managed to avoid it. Naroo does his best to heal everyone but he knows his resources are exhausted. The heroes then discover a few alchemical formulas and a secret wine cellar. They decide to head back to the Osodaroth Fortress with the three merchant dwarves. They feel that if they rest and guard over Nueggrimnur they may be better suited to take out Khyber.  So the heroes return to the mobat stables and take their six mobats along with the two additional creatures that were already present.  They return to the secret cavern in the Osodaroth fortress and rest for the night.  

Over night, Naroo tends to Skarvist and Diarmuid who are both inflicted with ghoul fever. Diarmuid is on the verge of dying and becoming a ghoul. The next day, Kofaer, Bez, and Barasus escort the three dwarven merchants to the gnomish village, where Bez is able to secure them lodging and safety in case the heroes cannot return. Naroo spends the entire day treating Skarvist and Diarmuid.  After another full day, both Skarvist and Diarmuid recover from ghoul fever. The heroes then rest for that night so Naroo can get the sleep he needs. As the heroes head out early the next morning, they decide to check on Nueggrimnur.

As the heroes approach the flowing water towards the glowing crystal, they overhear numerous dwarven voices chanting in ritual.  The heroes rush down the waterfall, with Barasus and Diamuid just tumbling over the side. Bez and Kofaer climb along the sides and Naroo simply slips and falls his way down. Skarvist expertly flips and lands on his feet, slashing his rapier at the nearest dwarven guard.  There is Khyber along with two of his apprentice necromancers and two Osodaroth guards.  The heroes move in to stop them and the necromancers break their ritualistic chant.  Khyber tries to convince Kofaer to follow his father’s footsteps and join the Osodaroth. However, this only sends the spirit of Ukfaer out in full force, possessing Kofaer and giving him a ghostly strength. Khyber blasts the heroes with a powerful lightning bolt, which nearly kills Barasus. Kofaer then charges at Khyber as the others try to fight of the guards. Bez revives Barasus and Diarmuid fights over him. Skarvist cuts at the necromancers and Barasus eventually moves in to help. 

Skarvist is then touched by both necromancers with a powerful ghoulish curse, giving him ghoul fever again. The half-orc drops to the ground fighting off the necrotic death. Naroo stabilizes the rogue, but know she cannot heal him as his flesh becomes more like the undead. The heroes charge at Khyber who is throwing powerful spells at them. The mighty necromancer nearly kills Kofaer, but fails to drop the enraged dwarf. Diarmuid then approaches from behind as Barasus cuts at him with his glaive. After a few deft attacks by both Barasus and Kofaer, Diarmuid moves in a cuts Khyber down with a fell swoop of his sword. 

With the Osodaroth defeated, the heroes turn their attention to Nueggrimnur, which is pulsing with bright energy. They notice that the keystone has been placed and Bez determines that there is no going back now. Nueggrimnur will release its energy with or without the heroes’ intervention. Bez is able to steer the device to point straight down into the earth. Naroo, Bez, and Diarmuid begin praying to Solarus and channeling positive energy into the crystal, hoping to reduce its overall power. In the meantime, Kofaer and Barasus grab Skarvist and rush their way away from the fortress.  After channeling what energy they can, Naroo, Bez, and Diarmuid prepare to unleash the remaining energy straight into the earth. Naroo feels the blessing of Solarus within him as he does so, an orb of light surrounds him and he feels the unfiltered glow and infinite kindness of his goddess.

Nueggrimnur shatters and a great blast of green necrotic energy surges into the ground, leaving a small crater that quickly fills with the flowing waters. The three heroes head towards the cliffs to find the others. Bez begins writing a new ballad in his head to commemorate the occasion. They find that Solarus’s miracles has somewhat revived Skarvist and the heroes all head to the gnome village. They spend a couple days with the gnomes to recuperate where they are celebrated as heroes. The gnomes explain that they found the secret passages that the Osodaroth used to quickly reach the upper abandoned mines. They gnomes escort the heroes through these tunnels and after a couple more days, the heroes return to Brong. 
The heroes head to the Brong courthouse to meet with three Judicators in an effort to restore the good name of Clan Lingrimdug. After much explaining of their story, citing Kofaer’s knighthood in the Bronkhazi, and Bez singing of ballads of Kofaer’s deeds, the heroes are able to convince the judges that Kofaer’s family’s honor should be restored. This restores Kofaer’s right of citizenship to Brong and allows his mother to be buried with her ancestors in the Halls of the Dead beneath the Temple of Lagmud.  The heroes take another few days to shop and sell their treasures in Brong before they prepare for the long journey back to Kassen.

ACT 5: Civil Unrest

SESSION 69: Respite and Murder [Mar 20, 2020]

The heroes gather together in Brong, shopping in the grand markets, selling off their treasures and purchases runes and items. The heroes then head back towards Kassen with Braggar. The twenty day journey is mostly uneventful, as many stories of the past few weeks are told and Bez perfects numerous songs and ballads about the grand quest. Bez and Liza become more acquainted and Bez finds that the pixie is a great musical muse. The two work on some songs together over the journey, much to the annoyance of some of the others. The heroes then reach Kassen and find the town seems somewhat unfamiliar after their long absence.

Barasus heads to the tavern and chats with Jimes about the news in Kassen and shares some stories with the Storm Breakers. Bez heads to the Temple of Baldur and talks with Shalee. The young priest seems lost on what to do with the chuch, seemingly mourning for Father Prasst as much as Bez. She seems to be torn between preserving Rantal’s memory and the church with the financials and needs of the local Baldurians. Naroo meets with Londora and Holgast and learns about the goings in town. He seems to think that a temple devoted to all the Eastern Pantheon might serve the region better and allow Shalee to keep the church operational.  Diarmuid meets with Stalbod and they discuss his new position as Knight-Errant. The aged knight alludes to a new quest, but insists that Diarmuid rest and write his report of his doings in the west. Kofaer and Braggar find the empty home to be a silent grave to Fessara, his mother, and they discuss selling things off and starting a new business in Brong. Skarvist meets with his grandfather and spends some quality time fishing.

Over the next few weeks many things occur.  Naroo, Bez, and Diarmuid help Shalee arrange a grand feast for the town where the Temple of Baldur will be rededicated as the Prasst House of Worship, dedicated to all deities of the Eastern Tradition. Diarmuid meets with Stralbod again and learns that a powerful terrorist group within the Trinity Church and Templars seems to be causing trouble in the west. They seem devoted to a very strict and ancient interpretation of St. Aedin’s teachings. They have been burning shrines dedicated to other deities and threatening those that do not swear allegiance to the Trinity Church.  Stralbod asks Diarmuid to keep this a secret from his friends for the moment.  Skarvist heads to Namford to meet with Shel, but finds that she is engaged to a dockworker in town and is pregnant with his child. He spends the evening hanging out with the couple, but it just makes him more depressed as he see that she has moved on without him.

The heroes gather to celebrate Kofaer’s birthday, where Braggar had secretly stored numerous kegs and foods for the occasion. A grand surprise party is held at the smithy and the two dwarves share the news with their friends about leaving town for Brong after they can sell off their goods and lands. A couple weeks of relaxation and monotony go by, then the feast begins. Londora has arranged for Kassen to declare a holiday for the feast and all the townsfolk, Trinity soldiers, and stonemasons gather in the town’s square to celebrate the temple’s re-dedication and re-purposing.  Shalee, Naroo, and Bez all give grand speeches for the occasion and the Temple’s dedication to Father Prasst. Additionally, there is games, music, and much food and drink as everyone enjoys the holiday.

After another week, the heroes seem to be enjoying their return to normalcy. Barasus has taken more scouting work for the Trinity soldiers, tracking the region north of Kassen for signs of danger. Bez helps Shalee with setting up all the new shrines to other deities in the church. Diarmuid trains with other Trinity soldiers and gains some renewed camaraderie. Kofaer and Bragger finish off their orders and begin packing up the smithy. Naroo spends much time working on Solarus’s shrine within the new church. Skarvist spends much time with his grandfather, fishing, baking, and talking about old times and new stories of adventure.

As the heroes gather in the tavern in the evening, a pallid man stumbles into the tavern. Skarvist recognizes it as the gravekeeper in Namford. The old man tells of an attack at the church.  The heroes gather their belongings and take a boat to Namford. They arrive late that night to find a group of people gathered at the docks. They meet with Drollen Hass, the dockmaster, who tells them to head to the church. He is trying to keep everyone from fleeing town.  The heroes head up to the church and find Chaplain Dekshure Abigar murdered upon the floor. His blood drawn into a Trinity symbol. They also find Shel Lupesco crucified upon the statue of Korrond and her pregnant belly slashed open. The heroes learn that the Crimson Crusaders likely attacked the church and killed Dekshure for being a heretic and Shel for her “impurity”.  They also find a teenage girl who was hiding under the pews during the attack. Skarvist is able to learn all about the attack.  The heroes the find the body of Javin Grubb, Shel’s fiance in the next room.  The heroes learn that some Trinity soldiers were seen leaving town by boat after the attack.  The heroes discuss their next actions, trying to figure out how to hunt down these so-called crusaders and get revenge….

SESSION 70:  The Second Sunrise Circus [Mar 24, 2020]

The heroes leave the Church of Namford, knowing there is little else they can do there. They head to the docks and speak one last time to the dockmaster, telling the heroes again that the raiding knights seemed to head west up the river. The heroes row hard west against the currents of the Feyreach River, deciding to stop in Ravenfield. They grow worried that the town of devoted Pelaria worshipers might also be targets for the Crimson Crusaders. The heroes reach the wet and muggy village as the dawn light crests over the eastern horizon. They find that most of the village is burned and destroyed and discover a few charred corpses in the buildings. They cannot see anyone around who survived the attack. Based on the flames, the heroes suspect that the village of Ravenfield was burned before the Crimson Crusaders went to Namford to accost the Church. 

The heroes row the long way back to Kassen, reaching the town close to noon. The guards that greet direct the heroes to Stralbod Kain, who wishes to see them immediately.  The heroes head up to Stralbod’s office where they find the Knight-Lieutenant pacing in a restless fervor. His eyes bear the dark patches of a sleepless night. He tells the heroes that the province of Seveland to the west has been attacked and held by the Crimson Crusaders. He has learned through spies and messengers that Baron Casper Sevelius is being held hostage in Sevel Keep. The Crimson Crusaders have many numbers that seem to swell with new recruits as existing Templar soldiers and knights switch their allegiance to the terrorist group.  He asks the heroes to head to Seveland and try and rescue the Baron. He believes that the Baron can then unite the remaining loyal soldiers and civilian militia to retake the Keep and stop the Crimson Crusaders.  

Stralbod also expresses his worry about who he can trust in the Templar hierarchy and the Trinity Church. He does not know who is loyal to the Crimson Crusaders. He does inform them that Baron Sevelius was a known supporter of Princess Nirea, the King’s daughter and so-called false heir to the throne. He was also known to be a worshiper of the Eastern gods and supporter of reducing the power of the Trinity church and restoring the power of the monarchy. Given that the Crimson Crusaders are so well armed, Stralbod suspects that another Baron or the Trinity church itself is financing the terrorist group to push out Baron Sevelius’s power.

The heroes head over to Barasus’s house and spend the day discussing their options over a keg of ale. They speak with Aranma the ranger, who informs them that she did find tracks of armored soldiers moving south near the Gray Lake east of Kassen. Jimes brings over another keg of ale and shares his disguise box with them.  The heroes decide to pose as a troubadour circus group called the Second Sunrise Circus. Naroo poses as “the Ringleader”, Barasus is the blind archer, Wingo the Wind. Bez is Gibblesnarf the Goblin Bard with Diarmuid as Reynard the Rugged a singing and musical pair, Kofaer is Grunji the Strongman, and Skarvist is Orkrest the Singing Acrobat.  The heroes load up their weapons and armor beneath their belongings in a cart pulled by an old draft horse. They then set out for Seveland.

After a long five-day journey during a particularly wet season, the heroes arrive at a checkpoint outside Albridge. They manage to talk their way past the Templar soldiers and make way to Albridge. Before reaching the village proper, they find a woman is being harassed at her farmhouse where Crimson Knights are trying to break in.  The heroes fake a broken wagon wheel and try to get the knights to help. Soon a battle erupts and Naroo throws a great blast of Solarus’s fire upon the blasphemous knights.  The other heroes charge in bravely as Skarvist sneaks around the side. Kofaer slams the wagon wheel against the nearest guard and summon Ukfaer’s hammer to strike with. Diamruid holds the soldiers at the gate, but they soon see two soldiers drag the woman outside and stab her for her “sins”.

Skarvist rushes into the farmhouse from a side door and the heroes fell the remaining knights quickly before the can flee. Naroo heals the woman before she dies from blood loss. The heroes pile the bodies of the crimson knights into the nearby workshed. Naroo speak with the woman who is saddened by her husband, who was just killed by the knights.  The heroes convince her to run to her cousins house as they prepare the farmhouse.  They find a signet ring of the Kahara family on the leader of the knights. The Kahara family is known to dwell in the Wellspring Valley to the south.  Naroo takes the ring, finding it is imbued with great magic.

The heroes return to their troubadour disguises and continue into Albridge proper. They find the town mostly deserted in the perpetual rain and head into the Freckled Dog Tavern. They find the tavern is quiet with a few townsfolk on one end and five Crimson Knights on the other end. The heroes are able to gain the appreciation of the crimson knights through their troubadour antics and earn the right to perform in the tavern. The soldiers are led by a knight named Halbridge. After the soldiers leave, Naroo shows his Solarus symbol to the barkeep who then invites them all upstairs to their quarters. The barkeep, Ansan, reveals himself to be a a spy of Baron Sevelius and informs them that an agent of the Baron named Catten Vaas hides in the town of Sevel and is looking to mount a rescue mission to free the Baron.  The heroes accept their quarters and begin to decide their next course of action…

SESSION 71: Rizak is Kizar [Mar 31, 2020]

The heroes spend the night in the Freckled Dog tavern. The next morning, they decide it would be best to head to the town of Sevel and try to find a way to rescue Baron Sevelius. As they head out, the barkeep, Ansan, tells them to ask around for Catten Vass at the tavern in Sevel. She is an agent for the Baron and may be leading the resistance. The heroes prepare their wagon to leave, but run afoul of a few crimson knights heading into the tavern. It is the same group that was present the night before, led by Halbrigg. Diarmuid and Bez concoct a plan and give a show to distract the guards by singing the Ascent of St. Aedin. This seems to ease the knight’s worries and they allow the heroes to head to Sevel town.

Along the journey to Sevel, the heroes come across more Crimson guards. However, the heroes are easily able to dissuade the guards from examining their items. The heroes also learn that their weapons will be confiscated at the entrance to town. The heroes then reach the outskirts of Sevel. Bez and Kofaer construct a hidden rope attachment to a cache of weapons under the wagon. When the heroes roll up to the checkpoint, they find four guards. They are able to mostly deal with the inspection by maintaing their ruse as the Second Sunrise Circus.  However, the guards then notice the hidden cache of weapons under the wagon. Bez pulls the rope and the weapons are released as combat breaks out.  Bez charms one of the guards with his persuasive magic as the other heroes fight and defend against the other guards.  Soon the guards are slain and the final guard, Jared, is sent to fetch Halbrigg in Albridge.

The heroes realize the carnage at the entrance likely alerted guards high on the keep’s walls.  The heroes rush into the forest as two more guards come towards them. Bez and Diarmuid remain out in the carnage. Bez is crying while Diamuid pretends to tend the dead. Diarmuid is able to convince the guards that the attacker headed eastward. One of the guards charges to the east as the other heads north to the keep to gather reinforcements.  After the guards leave, Diamruid and Bez hear a whispered voice shout at them. They see a leather-clad woman hiding among the bushes. She tells Diarmuid to gather his friends and follow her. The heroes listen, believing she is a friend of the resistance fighters. 

After circle around the town, the mysterious woman brings them into a small encampment hidden in the woods. She reveals herself to be Catten Vass, the leader of the resistance and a loyal agent to Baron Servelius.  She informs the heroes that the resistance has been forming a plan to infiltrate the keep and rescue the Baron. After some discussion, they agree that the Stormbreakers, the heroes, would be best equipped to infiltrate the keep while the resistance fighters stage a disturbance in the town square. The heroes agree and go over the plan with Catten.  The heroes then head back towards the keep and sneak their way past the new guards at the checkpoint. 

The heroes then head through the woods outside the keep to find the secret sewer entrance.  They find the entrance and are able to sneak across the lawn without drawing too much suspicion. They are then able to unlock the sewer grate and sneak inside.  They then find a trapped secret door. After some failed attempts to disable the trap, Diarmuid is able to bash the deadly spears. The heroes then head up into the castle’s cellars. They easily bypass a few locked portcullises and make their way up a trapdoor into the Baron’s counselor’s office.  From here, the heroes need to sneak past the hall towards the stairs. Most of the heroes are able to make it, but Naroo and Bez nearly draw an attack from the guards. However, Diarmuid is able to diffuse the situation and the heroes are able to ascend to the second floor.

The heroes then cross a long hallway, avoiding the guard patrols by pretending to be a prison chain-gang led by Diarmuid and Barasus. On the third floor off the keep, the heroes cross the castle’s battlements and head into a nearby tower. Skarvist is able to quickly fell the solo guard and the heroes head towards the prison. In the prison chamber, Diamruid and Kofaer rush the two guards. Diarmuid struggles with his guard, but Kofaer is able to knock them both out quickly.  The heroes then find Baron Sevelius and many of his loyal subjects locked up.  The Baron is quite grateful for the rescue. The heroes then escort the rescued prisoners back the way they came and out into the forest.

When the heroes return to the resistance camp, they find it somewhat destroyed, but they hear sounds of combat in the town square.  The heroes rush into the square with the Baron at their side.  In the square they find numerous Crimson Knights felling the remaining soldiers of the resistance. Kizar Melcock, the leader of the Crimson Crusaders, stands there with his high helm. He taunts the heroes, speaking of their blasphemies as the heroes charge in at the Crimson Knights. A great battle erupts on the town square as the heroes cut down the knights, working their way towards Kizar.  Barasus quickly makes for the nearby stage and pelts Kizar with a few arrows. Naroo and Bez throw powerful spells at their enemies as Skarvist, Diarmuid, and Kofaer cut down the guards in their way.  

In the end, the heroes face Kizar. Diarmuid managed to trip the mighty knight and his helmet bounces off his head. It reveals that Kizar Melcock is really Rizak Klemocc, he wears the Star of Righteousness upon his neck, it now glows with magical power. Kizar throws powerful spells at his enemies as the heroes try to strike down the knight. In the end, they manage to defeat Rizak and Barasus stabs him with his spear. However, Rizak then disappears with the magic of the amulet, promising revenge on the Stormbreakers and the corruption of Korenell.

The heroes help the Baron restore his barony. They find many of the crimson soldiers come out of a spell and apologize for their misguidance. Other soldiers have run off, still swearing allegiance to the dark power of the Crimson Crusaders. The next day is a mighty celebration in Seveland where the Stormbreakers are greatly celebrated. Skarvist finds it to be a quite enjoyable birthday.

EPILOGUE

The Stormbreakers then find themselves pledged to help the growing problems in Korenell. There are whispers of invasion from the north and the growing civil war between Princess Nirea and the Trinity Church to claim rulership over Korenell.  Bez separates from his friends, saying his farewells. He heads out on the road to go on tour, using his fame as “the Bez” and a Stormbreaker to keep tavern and inns stocked with avid fans from Sonvera to Rizzi.

In the dark, hidden reaches, deep below the earth, miles below the city of Brong a creature stirs. A blast of necrotic energy surged through the dark caverns a moment ago. Now, a single, massive skeletal eye socket appears in the darkness as a feral red light ignites it with mockery of life, with undeath…