The Crystal Dominion - Session 12 Summary

Started by avisarr, September 20, 2009, 03:51:43 PM

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avisarr

The Crystal Dominion - Session 12 Summary

The Heroes:

RedEye - A sayune darkwalker with rogue skills and a very specific set of spell abilities.
Eiran - An elven ranger and archer with a gift for communicating with animals.
N'sahd - A human wizard, born without vocal chords, who casts all his spells silently.
Sir Tristan - A knight in shining armor, man of honor and courage, and a skilled swordsman.
Alan - A human arcanologist... a magic tinkerer with a keen ability to "reprogram" spells and magic items.
Rikhaal – A human priest of Barrinor.

NPC Characters:

Koeglur – An ogre warrior, former prisoner of Boss Vorgan, now freed and serving the party.
Osh – A 12 year old human male serving as a squire to Sir Tristan.


The Story:

At the start of Session 12, our plucky band of heroes had just returned from a daring assault on the mansion of the crime lord Boss Vorgan. They had freed the imprisoned torgat there and Eiran, the elven ranger, who had a strong rapport with the beast, led it back to the Swordtongue Winery (the player's home guild and home base).

Eiran was determined to take his torgat pet back to the wildlands of the distant north near the Shard Wastelands. It would be a long journey, but the torgat could travel great distances quickly and Eiran would purchase a swift horse for the journey home. They estimated it would take him 23 days for the complete round journey. While Eiran was away taking the torgat back to the northern forests, the party had some "down time". During that time, the rest of the group stayed in the city of Drakkel. Most of them performed training with their respective guilds and churches.

Over the 23 days, a number of rumors and bits of gossip surfaced. First of all, after the first break-in of his house, Boss Vorgan had quickly hired a smaller security guild, called the Phoenix Guard, to help protect his property and supplement his own guards while his lieutenants carried out an investigation in to the theft. However, that investigation had only just begun when the very next night the party had assaulted the mansion again. In the firefight that resulted, Eiran had fired the magic Jhelquinn arrow. This was the arrow that split into 12 identical arrows as it flew. Each arrow detonated in a great ball of fire upon impact. The arrows were fired into a crowd of guards and soldiers. That single arrow resulted in the deaths of over 75 Phoenix Guard soldiers and several of Vorgan's own men. The Phoenix Guard was almost entirely wiped out with a single magic arrow.

For many days afterwards, people in the city of Drakkel were still talking about the fiery explosions that lit up that night. It became a favorite topic in the taverns. Rumors circulated that it had been a dragon. The fiery explosions in the night, the footprints of a great reptilian beast trekking across farmland outside the city – yes, it all fit. Many were convinced that some young dragon had established a lair nearby. A few Drakkellian guilds took advantage of this, selling protection services or dragon insurance. Ten days after the incident, a team of self proclaimed "dragon slayers" arrived in town and three days after that a dragon scholar from Ithell rode into town. People from all over have come to try to catch a glimpse of the dragon while others have sold their homes and left to find safer lands.
Meanwhile, Boss Vorgan's anger had only grown. He put a bounty on those responsible. There were also rumors that he had hired a seer from some neighboring kingdom to come and sniff out the guilty parties with powerful magic.

During all of this, the heroes maintained a low profile. They went about their business, training with superiors, purchasing spell components and such around town, but all the while trying not to attract attention. It's easy to blend into Drakkel. After all, it is a HUGE and bustling city. Many come here to "disappear".

During those 23 days, Guildmaster Pendarus, the leader of the Swordtongue Guild, informed that the party that several groups were beginning to catch on that the Swordtongue Guild was up to something.

First, The Company itself was beginning to make discreet inquiries about Swordtongue affairs.

Second, the Grey Guard Guild, the guild that was originally competing with the Swordtongue Guild over Baldorin and the letter, had been wiped out and taken over by a guild known as "the Centurions". It was this Centurion guild that had sent in the other team that the party had run into during the first mission into Vorgan's house. It seemed that the Centurions knew everything that the Grey Guard Guild had. Not that it changed things... the situation was the same... the Swordtongue Winery had competition. The only difference was that the Centurian Guild was much larger and had more resources. They would be a formidable opponent.

During the 23 days of Eiran's absence, the individual party members tended to their own interests as follows:

Alan was called away when a messenger from his uncle's house came. His uncle was gravely ill. Alan spent most of his 23 days with his uncle. He also spent a great deal of time studying the bones from the tomb of Mazuris. These were the bones that had arkulyte crystals embedded in them. He took the bones to one of the spell research labs at the wizards' guild to find out everything he could about them.

N'sahd spent much of his time and money at the Drakkellian Guild of Sorcery, purchasing and copying spells into his spellbook. N'sahd had a keen interest in filling his spellbook with as many spells as he could afford.

RedEye spent time wandering the markets and visiting local alchemists and herbalists. He was purchasing ingredients so that he could brew more of Thrar's Oil, which is the name of the muscle spasm poison he liked to coat his blades with. He also purchased a few ceramic balls filled with xelnoir powder, which is a potent sleeping gas.

Rikhaal spent his time at his Church. His attempts to "convert" the evil mace had failed resulting in the destruction of that mace. However, he was praised by his superiors at the Church for his success in destroying the evil artifact.

Koeglur, the ogre slave and cook who had been freed from Vorgan's service, spent his time training and equipping himself from the armory at the guildhouse. Koeglur was determined to prove himself in battle and repay his debt to this group of heroes that had freed him.

After training, Tristan traded in his suit of plate armor for an enchanted suit of full plate. He also visited a local horse ranch outside of the city. He had heard that this horse ranch had a few Koryn chargers, a magnificent breed of horse from the north. They did indeed have several. The charger was expensive, and even though Tristan traded in his current warhorse, it still cost him many hundreds of gold. As his charger was being groomed and prepared for him, a knight rode up, dismounted and approached him. The knight introduced himself as Sir Damodoth, Twelth Knight of the Order of the Celestial Blade. He indicated that he was a friend. He had been searching for Reena, the slave girl, since she went missing nearly 2 years ago. This was the slave girl that the party had rescued from Vorgan's estate. When she had returned to the city of Drakkel, he found her, heard her story and how she had been freed. He had heard that Tristan was the one who had returned for her in the midst of battle. Most of this had been related to him by the other members of the party. Damodoth thanked Tristan profusely for saving the woman and swore that if Tristan ever had need, he could call on Damodoth for service. Tristan thanked the knight for the generous offer, but assured him that no debt had been incurred. The two knights parted on good terms.

Throughout all of this, Baldorin had been working on the map. When the stained glass pieces were combined with the canvas painting and illuminated, the colored glass blocked specific colors from the oil painting in specific areas. The effect was that hidden colors were revealed forming a map and cryptic poem. The map showed a route into a mountain range, but referenced several towns and mountains by name, none of which were recognizable.

The poem was as follows:

The Crystal Mine of Kalrothis
May Be Found With the Red King's Crown
Plainly Seen, but Deftly Hidden, The Doorway is Veiled in a Dream
To Wake the Dream, Stand Before the Weeping Rock
And Play the Notes of Udelph's Last Rhyme at Sunset


Several party members aided Baldorin in research. N'sahd consulted the library at the wizards' guild and so on. They were searching for information on who the "Red King" was, what the Weeping Rock might be and what Udelph's Last Rhyme was.

After several days and nights of searching through ancient musty scrolls and books, they found information that shed some light on those questions. The Red King was the name of a mountain in the Sentinel mountain range although it now went by the name of "Bloodspire".

Udelph was a bard that played at various courts centuries ago during the decline of the Traxxian Legion. His last piece was something called Flowerfall that had a particular melody which was quite popular during its day.

Nothing could be found about the "weeping rock".

So, with this information, the party now knew WHERE the legendary Kalrothis mine was located. It was located in or beneath the mountain that now goes by the name of Bloodspire deep in the Sentinel Mountains.

N'sahd acquired a copy of the song Flowerfall in the original Traxxian and also a copies translated into Drakkelin and Southern. He also obtained a copy of the notes of the melody.

Clearly the melody had to be played for the hidden entrance to be opened. And this entrance was most likely in or near the "weeping rock", whatever that might be.

Alan returned with news. He confessed to the group that his uncle was not merely ill, but suffering from severe arkulyte addiction. His uncle's health was fading and he would certainly die in a matter of months. Alan believed that the only hope of saving his uncle from this malady was to find the cure that was mentioned by Mazuris in the letter. According to that letter, Mazuris had discovered a cure for arkulyte addiction and put it in the book, the Arkulythe Grimoire. This book, along with all Mazuris' other research, was still hidden in the mines of Kalrothis, supposedly protected by traps and wards and who knows what else. Alan had studied the crystal infused bones and had learned much about arkulyte addiction.

Alan renewed his commitment to the quest and the party assured him they would finish this quest together. For the sake of Alan's uncle, the party MUST find a way into Kalrothis, get past whatever traps or monsters they may encounter and find the book.

After 23 days, Eiran returned. He was riding a magnificent Koryn charger, similar to the type of steed that Tristan had recently purchased.

That night, Guildmaster Pendarus and Captain Moldower held a meeting with the players and other officers of the guild.

"Gentlemen,

We have much to discuss... first, congratulations on a successful series of missions. You have recovered the stained glass art and the painting – all the parts of Mazuris' secret map. The now assembled map shows the legendary mine of Kalrothis lies beneath that mountain that was once called Red King.

The Red King mountain, now known as Bloodspire, is located in the Sentinel Mountain range... on the border of Coalition territory. It is not claimed by the Coalition... nor is it claimed by any Drakkellian guild. However, all that will change when the truth is unveiled about what lies beneath it.

The Grey Guard was recently wiped out by the Centurian Guild. We believe the Centurians now have all the information that the Grey Guard did. They sent a team to recover the painting. They know we have all the pieces. I believe that they may be planning a move against us. Rodell  believes that they will trail you and attempt to follow you as you travel to

In any case, once we find Kalrothis, we are going to have to be able to defend it against a variety of other... interested parties. We are a small guild, numbering only 54. But we want to send a troop of guards with you to support. They will follow your orders.

Perhaps it would be best if our soldiers went by another route. A single large group would attract too much attention. If we sent the soldiers in several small groups by varying routes, they could rendezvous with our lead team (he says gesturing to you) at the mountain after they have already gained entrance.

That would be better. Do you agree?

You may take as few or as many soldiers with you as you see fit. We will send the rest by other routes. We can muster 20 men and 3 officers. You may consider them under your command.

Your mission is to travel to RedKing mountain, climb it, follow the clues to open the entrance and then secure the mine. We have no information on what you may find there. Historical records do mention automated traps and magical defenses. Beyond that, your guess is as good as ours. Baldorin might be of some use in this regard and you can take him with you if you so desire.

The journey will take 10 days, possibly more. The terrain for the most part should be an easy road to travel, though the mountains and the climb at the end of your journey could prove a challenge.

You should be able to restock your supplies at Garrison, the last civilized place before you plunge into Coalition territory. We have no agents in Garrison, but it's a safe place and you should be able to purchase whatever you need.

We have obtained funds from the recovered loot you've returned on your previous missions. This, in addition to your regular pay and other funds, has given us a sizeable amount of wealth to work with. We have a total of 15,400 gold pieces we can devote to equipping you. Use this to purchase whatever supplies or equipment you need. You also have full access to anything we have here at the winery."



The party decided that they would take all of the soldiers the guild could send, but wanted them to travel separately. The guild would send twenty soldiers and three officers. The soldiers and officers would travel by a different route and then make camp at the base of Bloodspire mountain and provide additional support in holding the mine once the party has cleared and secured the mine. But it would be up to the party to enter the mines, clear it of danger and secure the facility.

The party equipped themselves and took the communication mirror with them (which is linked to a larger mirror back at the guild hall and allows the party to communicate with the Swordtongue guild).

N'sahd suggested that Baldorin be taken to a secure location away from the guild and protected by bodyguards... a secure house in the city somewhere. That group would also have a communication mirror. That way, Baldorin is protected from rival guilds, but still available to the party should a question arise.

The party left the next morning, traveling north on the Lady of the Water, a river barge that transports people and cargo up and down the Merchant's Highway river.

They disembarked a day later at the town of Price and continued west by road, heading toward the city of Garrison. Along the way, they encountered various traveling groups, caravans and so on.

At the city of Garrison, Tristan discovered that the Order of the Celestial Blade had a presence there. Damodoth, the knight who had thanked Tristan for saving the slave girl, had sent word ahead that Tristan, should he ever visit, was to be treated as a honored guest, using coins from Damodoth's own coffers. The Knight's of this order were impressed by Tristan and the entire party was given very nice accommodations. Tristan asked why this common slave girl was so important. One of the older knights told Tristan that Damodoth loved the young woman and had been searching for her for some time. The old knight indicated that Damodoth was one of the most powerful knights in the entire order and that Tristan must have acted heroically in order to gain the favor of so great a knight.

Upon leaving the next morning, a stable boy from the Order, by the name of Osh, asked Tristan if he could be his squire. Tristan accepted and asked the Order to outfit the boy with appropriate equipment, which they did.

The party left Garrison with Osh and headed into the deepest parts of the Stench Bog. That night, they heard orcish drums in the distance and maintained a vigilant guard throughout the night. No encounters that night.

The following day, they encountered an orc, badly wounded and dying. They questioned him and discovered he was a former member of the Brotherhood of the Serpent Tongue. The Brotherhood of the Serpent Tongue was a large, loosely organized collection of orcish tribes and mercenary groups that patrolled the vast stretches of wilderness and mountains that make up the Coalition. This orc had fled the Brotherhood and was being hunted as a traitor. The party healed him in exchange for information. He warned them of a large orc encampment just a few miles to the east. The party thanked him for this information and headed north to go around the orc camp.

That night, their camp was attacked by a small group of 5 orcs led by an ogre. Apparently, this small group was tracking the wounded renegade orc. They must have thought he was with the party. The battle was quick. Although the orcs hid under cover of darkness and fired arrows in, the party was quick to dispatch them. Only Osh was seriously wounded. Rikhaal healed him.

The party searched the surrounding area and studied the tracks left by the orcs. This small band was operating alone and there were no other orcs in the immediate vicinity. The party, however, maintained a guard throughout the night. Although they were in no immediate danger, they were still camping deep in Coalition territory and they had to be vigilant.

And so ends Session 12.

Next session - the party will continue their journey to Bloodspire Mountain, climb it and hopefully find the entrance to the mines of Kalrothis.