The Dark Hollow - Sessions - First Rotation - part 2
From Black Country Role Playing Society
Contents |
SESSION FIVE
KARLSSON
The party released the poor tortured tiefling from her manacles. Larissa ended up being chained in this cell after being caught pilfering from the Karlsson’s merchandise while doing some casual work as a porter at the docks. After some healing she joined the party in scouting the sewers to seek out Karlsson. Larissa believed he would be found at a jetty along side a small underground river that the gang uses to smuggle goods in and out of Waterdeep.
Korvo scouted ahead through the corridors and all was fine until he inadvertently stepped on a trigger plate. A section of corridor tipped up, being pushed upwards by a mechanism of cogs and wheels driving a huge stone ram. Korvo disappeared from view of the rest of the party as he slid down the tilted passage way. When the passage lowered again Korvo was not to be seen. The heroes waited. They waited some more. Eventually Korvo popped back up into view- climbing out of a pit. The tilted passage way had deposited him into the waiting pit trap that guarded the entrance to the next room. There was a thirty foot drop into the pit which had at least ten feet of water in its bottom, luckily for Korvo his fall was broken - by the spikes. The party decided the only way was forward and attempted to navigate the passageway. Larissa was the next victim of the tilting passage, Korvo tried to grab her hand as she began to drop into the pit but this act of gentlemanly courtesy was withdrawn the moment he realised that he would be pulled over with her back into the pit again unless he were to let go. Larissa disappeared into the darkness and onward to an appointment with the water covered spikes that awaited her below.
Larissa began the climb back up the side walls of the pit but before she got half way, the pit’s trap door opened once more and a dwarf plummeted passed her on the way down. Bardryn had tried to clear the pit but he was no long jumper. The rest of the party had managed to locate the trigger steps of the tilting corridor trap but there was still the matter of getting past the pit. Bardryn had already proved that maybe jumping it wasn’t the best of ideas. A more ingenious approach was called for. Several lengths of rope and a bit of teamwork later and everybody had crossed the pit and was stood in the room beyond.
The exit corridor reached a t-junction, heading north the heroes found themselves in an empty room –they searched around it for a while. Just as the party were about to give up, it was Larissa who discovered wooden boards covering a section of the floor that had been hidden beneath loose earth. Endril began a magical incantation and cleared away the dirt to reveal the boards. Removing the boards uncovered an entrance to a small cavern below – a cavern full of booty, barrels and crates. A secret store room known as ‘the hole’. Ang’elda descended first and the party ended up going through everything in the store to pocket a number of valuable art objects and precious stones including a silver chalice, silvered dagger and short sword, a gold brooch and diamond ring. They also discovered several arcane and alchemic items, including acrobat boots, viper belt, bracers, a fire beetle potion, lockbust chalk, a couple of thunderstones and a tome containing two written rituals – Enchant Magic Item and Cure Disease.
Heading back along the passageways to the south, the party reaches a hole in the ground with a ladder that descends to a lower level. Korvo lead the way. The party could hear the noise of flowing water, an underground river - they were drawing close to the jetty. Karlsson gang members were busy offloading barrels of smuggled brandy from a small skiff. The party wasted no time on subtleties, Ang’elda and Bardryn lead the charge onto the jetty.
Two of the smugglers were despatched with ease but Karlsson and his personal bodyguard proved much tougher. The bodyguard was a construct of steel, armed with a menacing glaive. Karlsson himself was not armed, it soon transpired that he required no use of weapons for his defence. After pulling a lever on the wall which raised a barred gate below the water line, Karlsson’s shape began to morph – bones cracked, muscles ripped, his eyes altered in shape and colour and a snout grew from his face above glistening teeth – werewolf. As if dealing with a werewolf and a construct was not enough, Eldrin was suddenly swept of his feet, ripped away from the jetty and plunged into the water – the tentacles of an otyugh were wrapped around his legs. Though Eldrin managed to get away by teleporting, the otyugh’s next victim would not be so fortunate to escape the grabbing tentacles. Bardryn had to rely on physical might and endurance to combat the creature underwater and hoped not to drown in the process. Eventually, Karlsson and his allies were defeated, but not before imparting horrible diseases to three of the party members.
The heroes searched amongst the crates stacked up to one side on the jetty to find what they had come here for – a crate full of totems and holy symbols amongst which was a carved wooden idol of Valkur. Ang’elda returned most of the two dozen symbols to the temples of Waterdeep. The party kept back only Gordath’s +1 Holy Symbol of Moradin, a +2 Symbol of Hope (Pelor /Amaunator) and +1 Pure Spirit Totem.
The party meets with Elias Stone the next morning to return the Valkuryte symbol. Captain Stone is delighted and with the agreed payment of 1,500 gold pieces he confirms that the party has just secured themselves a ship and a crew. In twenty four hours time, the Siren will set sail across the Sea of Swords for the island of Tregarn.
Following the encounter at the jetty - Ang’elda and Korvo both contracted Moon Frenzy from werewolf bites and Bardryn contracted Filth Fever from the otyugh. The initial effect of Moon Frenzy mean that Ang’elda and Korvo suffer a -2 penalty to Will defence. The initial effect of Filth Fever means that Bardryn loses one healing surge. With twenty four hours to spend before the Siren sets sail you each have plenty of time to seek out a healer – and in a city the size of Waterdeep there are plenty of them. The payment to a healer or donation to a temple for healing services will cost you 150 gold pieces each if you wish to start next session disease free.
The XP award for session four is 1,000XP raising PCs to 5,276 XP and remain Level 4 (two characters have 5,376 XP)
SESSION SIX
THE SEA OF SWORDS
The group spent their last hours in Waterdeep visiting healers and gaining shiny new magical items. Just after dawn the next day they assembled at the harbour, all except Larissa who was to stay at home. Captain Stone had rounded up the majority of his crew and they were busy aboard the Siren in preparations to set sail. Stone had recruited a new member to his crew – a watersoul genasi named Sardis. As an adventuring swordmage Sardis stood out from the rest of the mundane sailors of the crew. After the last of the provisions was loaded and stowed it was time to hoist sail and set out to the open sea.
With a prevailing wind Captain Stone estimated a journey time of about three days to reach their island destination and those not feeling travel sick relaxed and enjoyed the sea air. Yana was so sick that she was rarely seen above deck – and only then when she was chucking up over the side.
On the second day at sea, the doom merchants of Waterdeep’s taverns were proven right about their tales of sea monsters. A sailor began to wail and call for Valkur’s protection as he spotted movement off the starboard bow. The greenish scaled body of some serpent broke the surface waves and suddenly great claws grabbed a hold of the side of the ship. The ship began to tilt to starboard under the weight of the huge sea dragon as it hauled its body up out of the water and roared. Its roar, though not the offensive breath weapon of a true dragon, was putrid and nauseating. Several of the party were rooted to the spot with fear and nauseated by the stench of the dragon’s breath. Adventurers and sailors advanced together upon the sea beast and though inconvenienced by the sloping deck struck several good blows. Sardis received a grievous wound and fell to the deck – he responded with an arcane blast of flame that seared the monster and threatened briefly to set the ship’s sails afire too. Eventually, the beast – severely wounded – slinked away beneath the waves from whence it had come.
This was not the only unwelcome event to befall the Siren, on the next morning land was sighted and the isle of Tregarn was seen clearly less than five miles distant, though it was enshrouded in a strange blue mist – a plagueland. And then, the clear blue sky and calm ocean gave over to sudden and unnatural change. Dark clouds rolled in and the waves began to swell, lighting flashed across the sky and a driving rain lashed against the ship and her crew. The sails bellowed in an uprising of winds. In a moment the weather had changed from a bright and clear day to a ferocious storm that threatened to blow the Siren landwards to be dashed against the rocks. The whole party set to about the ship to help the crew maintain as much control as they could to steer themselves through the storm. Eldrin, stood prophetically on the prow of the ship in defiance of the elements, he held an aged parchment in hand and began to recite aloud the arcane incantations of a ritual in an attempt to calm the raging storm. The party were found lacking in their maritime skills and without their aid the crew and the ship floundered. Waves crashed over the side of the ship as she pitched and rolled – Bardryn was swept away and lost overboard into the violent sea. By the time Eldrin’s ritual had been completed to effect, the ship had been battered and damaged – the main mast gone and holes punctured into the ship’s sides from clashes with the treacherous rocks. The storm receded and the Siren hove to off shore from Tregarn.
Bardryn awoke face down in the sand, he had lost much of his gear but at least had been washed up alive – he looked back to the surf and espied a long boat being rowed ashore by his companions. They may not have made it with dignity intact but at least they were here.
THE TREGARNII ORCS
The book imp familiar of the wizard Eldrin made a brief sojourn to scout the area. The island was approximately six miles wide and some twenty to twenty five miles long. Essentially the island could be divided into two halves – the rocky terrain of the north and the forested terrain of the south. The party skirted the south of the island until they reached the mouth of a small river that exited into the sea. They followed the river north, entering deeper into the wild forest. It was early evening when they began to encounter the first of a series of strange fetishes – hanging from the branches of trees were crudely crafted shapes of twigs and twine and bone. Ang’elda recognised them as territory markers – markers of orcish design.
Time drew on and darkness enveloped the group. Without the aid of light movement through the forest was becoming hazardous and so lanterns and light spells were employed to guide their way. After a while the unmistakable sound of drums was heard, beating out in pulsing tribal rhythms. The party dowsed their lights and approached the source of the beating drums. From their positions in the darkened tree line, the party spied upon an orc village set into a large clearing. A large fire marked the centre of the village upon which was being roasted a whole carcass of hog. Orcs danced with wild abandon to the rhythm of the beating drums. Approximate numbers were estimated at least fifty orcs sighted in the tribe - possibly many more. Away to the right, between two huts was a wooden cage with a silhouetted form contained within. The book imp flittered unseen across the camp to investigate. The prisoner was a human male with long blonde hair and adorned with indigo tattoos – religious symbolism of the sun god: Pelor. He was slumped in a cage not big enough to move in.
Korvo used his considerable skills of stealth to slip through the perimeter guard and approach the cage. Though he remained unseen, the guard had reacted to a noise inadvertently made and they were now more alert. This wasn’t going to be as easy as first thought. Eldrin decided to divert the guards’ attentions and suddenly heightened the effect of the natural flame of the large camp fire. As if this wasn’t enough, Ang’elda decided to add to this by tossing a thunderstone into the fire – the explosion rocked the entire camp. Flame leapt thirty feet into the air, orcs threw themselves to the ground and the drums stopped (queue guitar solo). Panic infected the whole camp and as some orcs showed away the children and the infirm others reached for their weapons – the party had been spotted and the first dozen orc warriors charged forwards with axe wielding berserkers leading the way.
Korvo had by now released the prisoner from his wooden cage and was helping him away from the affray and hoped not to be spotted. The prisoner had obviously been kept by the orcs for many days and was in a weakened and semi-conscious state. Korvo laid him safely in the tree line before joining his comrades in combating the orcs. Though the first wave of orcs was defeated, our heroes were yet far from being victorious as many more orcs began to bear down on the party…….
The XP award for session six is 1,250XP raising PCs to 6,526 XP and rise to Level 5 (two characters have 6,626 XP)
SESSION SEVEN
TROUBLE ON TREGARN
The orcs continued to fall in great numbers upon the party or more succinctly they begin to fall in great numbers upon the party's swords. One tribal hero stood resolute - Hurgurd the Mighty refused to yield ground and orcs repeated their hero's name with warlike chants. And then a loud voice called out and quietened the orcs - the fighting stalled and combatants stood away from each other. The tribe's chieftain stood at the front of a host of orc warriors and beside him stood the tribal shaman and some of the fiercest of the chief's personal guard. Chief Gurush issued a challenge to the party - he wished to end the bloodshed of the many and invited one member of the party to volunteer as champion to decide the combat on a one-to-one basis. If the party's champion was to win Gurush would allow them to ask something of him and immediatley the terms were set - the human cleric held prisoner by the orcs was to be the prize.
Ang'elda took up the challenge to the great cry of cheering orcs - the bloodsport arena awaited. To the north of the village was a great fighting pit which provided great spectacle and entertainment for the tribe - this is where all disputes were decided. Gurush took his seat upon his pit-side throne behind which was draped a large animal skin upon which a great eye was embellished in dried blood - the gross symbolism of Gruumsh. Ang'elda stood in the pit as the party champion and he awaited the entrance of the champion of the tribe. He might have been somewhat dismayed when a great wooden cage was dragged to the edge of the pit and the creature within was spilled into the arena - a creature of slime and scales and writhing tentacles, its great beak snapped in anticipation of biting into flesh. Ang'elda and the grick engaged in a fight to the death. Though the grick inflicted injury upon Ang'elda it ultimately proved to be no match for the avenger's martial prowess. Ang'elda swept his axe with majestic grace to sweep away some of the grick's tentacles which were cut from its body and one final telling blow brought the creature down in defeat. The orcs cheered wildly with every attack that drew blood and seemed not to care which combatant was to win. Ang'elda dropped to one knee before the chieftain and presented his axe. Gurush approved of the avenger's attitude and immediately presented him with the prize - Avellis, Cleric of Pelor was released to the party.
The party spent an hour or two amongst the orc tribe and were invited to join in with a feast. Roasted hog - at least the party hoped that it was hog - was shared and the party set about extracting information from the tribe. The tribe tell stories to their younglings about how there is a a secret valley on the island where a black mirror gobbles up inquisitive little orcs. Nobody knew how to find the black mirror or even if it truly exisited; it would seem this age old story was enough to prevent orcs ever wishing to find out if the story has any truth. The island was seemingly divided between the orc territory in the forested south and the territory of the giants in the rocky terrain of the north. The giants turned out to be fomorians. Before the evening reached a point where they would have outstayed their welcome, the party left the village and returned to the forest to make camp.
The next morning the party managed to talk with Avellis who was becoming more coherent although it would still be a while before he began to show a recovery from his ordeal at the hands of the orcs. He was part of the initial expedition despatched from Everlund to investigate the source of evil in Mordigan's dreams. One of five members of the party, he is the only survivor after being defeated in battle by the Treganii orcs. he knows that his party were no the only visitors on the island. During his days of capture in the village he witnessed a small group of humans enter the village to talk with the orcs. The fact that the meeting seemed to have a relaxed atmosphere about it suggests that this wasn't the fist time that the humans had visisted the orcs. There was obviously another mysterious party somewhere on the island. On this second morning Sardis and Gordath both awoke with dreadful headaches and an incessant buzzing noise in their heads. The noise and the headaches were quite maddening and seemed to get worst as the day wore on and the party moved ever deeper into the island. Avellis stated that Biraan his party's warlock had suffered a similar condition and had felt compelled to move toward the island's centre.
The party who had retraced their steps to locate the river followed the river north and soon encountered a rolling mist with a pale luminescent blue tinge to it. They continued into the mist which limited their range of vision. After continuing for several hours in the heavy going terrain they began to hear sounds of movement up ahead and suddenly silhouetted against the mist was a huge shadowy figure. the figure stepped out of the blue mist. A fomorian lurched forward and raised its great club to attack. The fomorian proved to be a dangerous opponent but eventuially was felled by the combined efforts of the party.
After a while the party came upon a waterfall - this was where the river descended from the high rock plateaus and began its journey south through the forest and onward to the sea. The party made camp for the night. Next morning Gordath's headaches were even worse than the day before and to add to that he was beginning to feel strangely affected in other ways too - affects synonymous with the onset of the spellplague.
The party discovered a natural fissure behind the waterfall and decided to investigate - the passage was very narrow and required the party to squeeze through its tight gaps and turns but eventually it began to widen by a few feet and became exposed to the sky above. The walls of the canyon were some 200ft high and the sky appeared as a narrow strip whose natural light struggled to pierce the gloom of the narrow canyon floor. Before long the party reached a point where the natural passage reached an open area. The area was occupied by tents and Korvo decided to sneak forward and investigate. Inadvertently he set of a trip wire alarm - little bells sounded in the tents and their occupants were made aware of the approach of intruders.........
Player characters earned 1,100XP for the session raising PCs to a total of 7,626XP each (without bonuses). Ang'elda earned a bonus 200XP for defeating the grick.
SESSION EIGHT
THE CULTISTS
I
Korvo had set off the trip wire alarm and it didn’t take long for the camp’s occupants to ready themselves to meet the intruders. Five cultists in black garb and their guardian beasts engaged with the party. The beasts were four legged critters with sharp teeth and claws and horrifying visages – krenshars. The combat was hard fought but eventually the cultists and their foul beasts lay dead.
The party pressed onwards along the narrow canyon. After a walk of some fifteen minutes their progress was halted as the canyon came to an abrupt end but a cave entrance was set into the bluff. The entrance was a long passage that soon came to be lit by torchlight that was somewhere up ahead and the sound of a chanting or murmuring voice could be heard uttered in some unintelligible language. As the party pressed onward the headaches and nosebleeds suffered by Gordath and Sardis were becoming intolerable.
II
Korvo snuck ahead to take a peak. The passage opened up into a cavern. The cavern chamber was lighted by burning torches held aloft on iron stakes that have been posted around the chamber. At the centre of the chamber stood a large round black-in-black portal framed by a carved stone rim. Around the cavern was a circle of standing stones, each at least 10ft tall. To one side of the portal there was a humanoid figure dressed in black robes, with grey skin marked by the shimmering blue lines of a spellscar. He was laughing manically and as the forward members of the party watched, the black surface of the portal rippled and a tendril of dark energy reached out from it towards the manic figure. Astonishingly, a large gauntlet began to materialise out of the energy – presenting itself to the figure’s grasp. The gauntlet was far too great a size for a human to wear and maybe even too large for the likes of an ogre or a hill giant. Suddenly, the figure turned to face the party as he became aware of their presence and uttered more unintelligible words of a foul and ancient language.
The heroes charged into the chamber to join combat against the lone dark figure. His chanting continued and the portal rippled again – two horned and hoofed demonic creatures stepped through the portal, one holding a strange creature on a leash. The creature was blue-scaled and its dominant feature was its huge gaping maw which divided into four so that it might grasp its enemies. The creature was let of its leash and it charged into the party. The dark figure – a shadar-kai – chanted again until the huge gauntlet that was in his grasp was spirited away – dematerialising, to appear again who knows where?
Ang’elda sought out the shadar-kai to engage him in a one-to-one duel, whilst Korvo, Sardis, Bardryn, Gordath and Avellis fought with the demons and their terrifying pet – a dimensional marauder. It soon became apparent that the evil creatures that had stepped through the portal were incapable of crossing the threshold of the standing stone circle – as if the circle had been constructed around the portal to deliberately hold them in check. This provided a small advantage. Bardryn was quick to charge into melee and was just as quick to realise that the demons were not going to be easy foes – and that they were capable of dealing out severe damage. Sardis wielded his sword to channel his arcane abilities and was astonished to find that his power was raging out of control – sometimes dealing heightened effects or damage and at others detrimental effects. To a lesser extent Gordath was to realise this too as his arcane power seemed less effective than they normally should.
The heroes exchanged blows with their evil adversaries and continued to deliver terrible wounds upon one another. But all stood resolute. The demons were masters of the great axe and proved to be unusually light on their feet as they shifted and feinted in melee through the ranks of heroes arrayed around them. Avellis stood outside of the stone circle until one demon held forth his great axe and a tendril of fire reached out from the axe head and lassoed the cleric to drag him into hand-to-hand combat.
The marauder had managed to cross the threshold of the stone circle by phasing out of the material plane and it then engaged in a game of teleporting grasped victims around the chamber- displacing them and delivering terrible biting wounds.
Ang’elda continued in his duel; trading his axe blows with the sweeping strikes of the shadar-kai’s life stealing sickle. Ang’elda managed to twist and turn until finally he pinned his opponent in place – however, he was in for a surprise. The features of the shadar-kai began to change and suddenly, instead of a robed shadar-kai, a fearsome creature like a bear made of dark shadows was stood before the avenger. A creature primed for melee.
The combat continued, Gordath and Avellis were called upon to cast healing spells in the midst of battle to shore up the fighters. Each combatant endured more and more injury until finally the cumulative damage began to tell- first the marauder and then one of the demons fell. Ang’elda delivered the final killing blow to the shadar-kai druid and the last demon was surrounded and overwhelmed. The fight had been long and arduous, the victorious heroes were breathless and bloodied – some with serious injuries.
III
Bardryn stepped up to the portal at the centre of the standing stones and destroyed it as he had done with the portal in the goblin chamber beneath Ironhold Mountain. All that remained was the stone circlular rim that had framed the portal and before taking their leave, the party copied the ancient glyphs that were carved into it. The druid had upon him his life stealing sickle which no divine character could bear to touch and so Ang’elda set about destroying it. There was also a magical cape (Cape of the Mountebank) claimed by Sardis and two glass stopped vials (Potions of Vitality) and one other curious item – though not magical it was none the less desirable. The shadar-kai druid’s wooden totem – an old, maybe even ancient design, carved from dark wood and etched with ancient glyphs that matched those of the circular stone rim that held the portal.
IV
So, who were the cultists? To whom do they devote themselves? Why did they come to Tregarn to seek out the portal? To where was the portal connected? Why were the portals only brought to the attention of Mordigan’s dreams now, after what might be centuries or even millennia of being in the world? What was the large gauntlet that materialised from the portal and where was it now? What do the strange glyphs of the totem and the portal’s stone frames mean?
Two months ago, the Temple of Everlund despatched two parties to locate and destroy two sources of evil. In discovering the portals and destroying them our heroes have completed this quest – but in doing so they have also brought about so many unanswered questions.
Leaving Tregarn to sail back to Waterdeep aboard the Siren (now hopefully seaworthy again) the party will then return to Everlund in order to report to Morning Lord Latimer at the Temple of Pelor.
The XP award for session eight is 2,500XP raising PCs to 10,126 XP and rise to Level 7 (two characters have bonus XP)
Voni played Korvo the gentleman adventurer in Andy’s place. Andy, Mel and Viggi were unable to attend the session. Richard played his own character in conjunction with running Avellis, the NPC cleric of Pelor rescued from the orcs last session.
