Session 12 Summary

[David Roomes]

Session 12  Summary

The Player Characters  (aka the "Heroes")

Winlock – orc/dwarf barbarian, wearing heavy chain mail armor and wielding a big war hammer
William – the party's wizard, human male, robed and armed with a broad array of spells
Belkor – the dashing human swordsmen/mariner wielding twin scimitars
Listig – the elven thief/archer equipped with several different enchanted arrows

The Current Non Player Characters

Dathelar, a human priest of Imarus (a civilar to be precise). Mostly a healer/priest, not much of a fighter, but has a few good spells. Has been with the party since day 1.
Halimir, an elven ranger, who has fought along side the party for several weeks now. A red shirt NPC, but a damned lucky one so far...
Kruge, an orcish captain, former minion of the witch, but once the charm spell was broken, became an enemy of the witch and ally for the party...


When we last left our heroes, they were holed up in the River Keep. They (and 64 soldiers and 3 NPCs) had managed to infiltrate the River Keep through the sewer system, kill the guards and capture the keep all without raising the alarm. There are still many enemies alive in the River Camp, but they are outside the keep, over at the other buildings – repairing the workshop, protecting the three ships and so forth.

The party and the soldiers conducted a search of the keep and found a lot of stuff. There were weapons, armor and general supplies, of course, but also a few other, more interesting things.

They found a Drakkellian letter of credit worth 500 gold pieces. Stolen, most likely. Belkor snatched this document up as soon as they found it and claimed it. He wants to go to Drakkel and trade it in for the cash.

The party found a few valuable baubles, including a lady's ornate silver hairbrush and hair pin.

They found several magic items as well. William gathered the items together and cast identify on several of them. Here are the magic items, with their functions:

•   On the body of the archer on the roof they found a Winterfang arrow (the same type of "cold arrow" that Listig had found before).
•   A bottle with a label on it that said "Deathsleep Potion". This is a very powerful sleep potion.
•   Three small bottles labeled "Elixir of the Unseen". Each of these is a single use, fairly basic invisibility potion.
•   A pair of dice enchanted to always roll sixes (Belkor took these as well).
•   An enchanted flask with will, once per day, upon command do one of the following: fill with water, fill with wine, fill with a minor healing potion or neutralize any poison in a liquid placed in it.

They also found a scroll with a spell on it, Misty Step, a short range teleportation spell, which William took. He'll add it to his spell book later.

Now, the party was all set and ready to go. Thanks to both Belledor, the wizard, and Kruge, the orc captain, the party knew a great deal and had a plan, which was to go through the gate, stealthily make their way through the ruined city of Doth, make their way to the arena where the witch was going to perform this ritual, wait for her to be at her weakest point and then slay her. Belledor told them that her death would result in all of the charm spells being broken. And since many of her minions were from different tribes, many of them blood sworn enemies, they would fall to fighting among themselves.

The party decided to send Listig through alone, invisible, to do a very quick recon and just see what was on the other side of the teleport gate. The elven thief activated his ring and walked into the gate.

Listig used his stealth ring to go invisible. It only had a bit of power left. He stepped through the gate. It was a strange sensation... like stepping into a tunnel of twisting light. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he could feel the air charged with arcane energies around him. He walked through the tunnel and poked his head through on the other side.

On the other side of the gate was a huge chamber. High stone walls rose up on all sides. Overhead was a wooden roof with holes in it. Dark clouds were overhead and it was raining. Around the room were groups of orcs and saurians standing around three huge bonfires. The humanoids were drinking, singing and generally seemed to be celebrating.

Listig's ring had very little power and every second counted. So he quickly returned to the group to reported his findings.

Because they had three potions of invisibility now, the group decided to make as many of them invisible as possible. Between Listig's ring, the 3 potions and Williams magic, they were able to make 5 of them invisible. Everyone but the two orcs. Winlock and Kruge (orcs) would go through as themselves, adorned with orcish armor and trinkets, looking very much the part.

The party went through. The orcs in the front and the other five, invisible, right behind them. William's raven flew through the gate and found a perch on the other side.
Kruge and Winlock were challenged on the other side by a quartet of guards at the gate. They weren't expecting any more arrivals that night. Kruge took the lead and said "We're delivering a message to Ashikar from Belledor. I've got orders to hand it over personally or Belledor will skin me alive." The head guard grunted and waved them on.

Within a few seconds, the two orcs were marching across the floor to the exit. Their five invisible companions followed closely behind. As they crossed the great hall, they realized that the rain was bouncing off them and creating a faint silhouette, betraying their invisibility. One particularly big drunk orc seemed to be eyeing them, as if trying to determine if he was actually seeing something strange. He followed them out through the exit, for a few staggering steps, but then fell over in a drunken pile.

The party headed out into the streets. This great ruin was Doth, the once might capital city of the Traxx Legion. It was huge. Much larger than they had expected. Empty streets stretched out in every direction. Many of the buildings had collapsed, little more than a few standing walls and a lot of rubble. It seemed as if this magnificent city of stone had been hit by many tremendous land quake. Rubble was everywhere.

Above them were dark clouds and the sun was setting. They could not see any stars to navigate by. Listig scanned the horizon and saw, above the buildings in one direction, a faint glow of light on the underside of the clouds. They decided to head in that direction. William' raven followed them, flying overhead. William was able to see through the raven's eyes and got an aerial view of the city around them.

Most of the city was deserted. Although the witch was served by hundreds, they filled only a few small sections of the city.

The party quickly discovered that Doth once had a system of canals running through the city. Now, these canals were dry, empty trenches. The trenches were about 50 feet across and 25 feet deep. They decided to get down into one of the canal trenches. Perhaps by following the maze of canal trenches they could stay out of sight. As they made their way through the canal system, they passed a sewer gate every hundred yards are so. As they traveled for more than an hour and it got dark.

Eventually, they came to a particularly large canal. Long ago, the city of Doth was split down the middle by a river. The river provided water to the canal system in both halves. The riverbed, now, was just a wider, deeper trench for them to cross. The players peered out across the vast empty dark riverbed before them. Nothing was out there but boulders, rubble and weeds.

Further up stream, the orcs had a sort of crude cable car strung across the river and a wooden watch tower was on the far side. The party saw another canal entrance downstream aways and out of sight of the tower. They decided to head that way. They tried to be stealthy, but Kruge slipped and sent rubble cascading down a slope. The sounds of the rock slide echoed around the dry riverbed.

Instantly, the watch tower came to life. The party could hear movement at the top of the tower and a moment later, a bright light was beamed down into the empty river bed. The party dropped to the ground, ducking behind boulders and other cover. The beam of light probed the shadows and crevices. Eventually the light winked out. The party stayed hidden, until they heard the sounds of an orc patrol approaching from the watch tower.

At that point, they got to their feet and quickly and quietly continued downstream, toward the canal entrance on the far side. Behind them, they could hear the crunch of boots on rubble. It sounded like a small group. The party made it to the far side and headed into another canal hoping to shake the patrol.

They stopped short, however, when they saw something huge slither out of a sewer gate. It rapidly approaches the party, flowing smoothly over the ground. It was as big as a wagon, with a half dozen tentacles and eye stalks protruded from its disgusting body.

Listig fired one of his winterfang arrows. The arrow hit its mark and ice flowed over the creature, trapping it. They knew the ice wouldn't hold long though and the party rushed past the creature. As they made their way further down the canal, they heard the creature break free from the ice.

The raven found a good perch and kept an eye on the situation. The orc patrol that had been behind the party ran right into the creature from the sewer and found themselves quickly on the defensive as the creature attacked. As the party continued on, they could hear the dying screams of orcs behind them.

Further down the canal trench and around a bend, they come across a trio of huge rats eating the corpse of a fourth rat. The creatures were quite large, nearly the size of a horse. The three rats charge and the party fought. As they fought, a wounded and terrified orc came running around the corner from behind them. He was fleeing blindly and stumbled into the party, stopping abruptly. It was clear that he had just fled from the battle with the sewer creature.

Dathelar quickly cast a spell and raised a wall behind them, blocking any more orcs that might be fleeing the creature.

The orc, startled and wounded, attempted to run around the group, but was quickly cut down. The rats were also quickly dispatched, but just as the last rat died, the sewer creature came slithering over Dathelar's wall and began lashing out with tentacles. The party turned to face the monstrosity. It was a fierce battle. One of the tentacles ended in a tube shape which sprayed a sticky green acidic slime. Both Kruge and Halimir were badly wounded by this acid spray, but the party managed to beat the creature. The party expended a fair amount of healing magic to get both men back on their feet.

The party continued through the canals. They used the raven to help navigate their way and eventually made it to their goal. The arena was a large oval, tiered and open to the sky. Next door to it was a large three story stone building.

They sent the raven to investigate. Through the raven's eyes, William was able to get a good look at everything inside the arena and he described what he saw to the group.
It was a large oval arena with steeply tiered seating and several exit tunnels. Overhead, there were several huge wooden beams spanning the arena top. Huge chandeliers hung from these wooden beams on ropes. Each chandelier had several lit wicks and a central oil reservoir. Through the raven's eyes, William noticed that one of the chandeliers was leaking and the stone flagstones beneath were slick with a puddle of oil.

At the far end of the arena was a raised wooden stage on which were two tables, a stone throne and a small table. A young woman was bound and gagged and laying on one of the tables. This was Myra... the twenty year old daughter of farmer Ulrich that the party had talked to WAY back in Session 2.

On the main grounds of the arena was a large crowd of people. It was a mix of saurian, orcs, boglings and humans. Most of the humans seemed to be brigands and bandits, most likely mercenaries serving the witch for the promise of gold and glory. Other humans were likely charmed.

As they watched, they saw the witch entering the arena, accompanied by a small entourage. Two hulking ogre guards flanked her carrying enormous tower shields. She was also accompanied by an big armored orc who had many battle scars, a tall harothi saurian, an orc shaman and a small human man dressed in dirty, but finely cut suit. The small man was clutching a large book to his chest.

The witch and her entourage took the stage. As the William watched through the raven's eyes, the witch took out a bejeweled triangular piece of metal from her robes and placed it on the table. Based on the descriptions the party had heard, this metal triangle was the Talisman. She also set a pair of crystals on the table and a number of potions.

The old orc with all the battle scars stepped forward and addressed the crowd.


"Today is a great day for we are witness to our Queen's great rebirth. With a single mighty spell, our Queen casts off infirmity like a worn cloak and adorns herself in a new body, one of health and beauty befitting of her glorious self. We lucky few are blessed by Fate to be present at the making of history. From this day forth, we no longer raid and pillage a few paltry border villages. No! A far greater adventure awaits us. This is the hour that changes all that follows. From this day forth, we cross the great sea together. We seek battle with our Queen's enemies. We seek the glory due to those who faithfully serve her. We seek those mighty treasures which are, by divine right, hers and hers alone. Now, behold our Queen's greatest triumph!"


The orc took a position at the corner of the stage. All eyes in the arena followed the witch. She stood and began to chant, waving her hands over the Talisman and the crystals.
William did not know for certain, but he guessed that it would take some time to prepare the spell and, after the preparations, she would be vulnerable.

The raven returned to the party and the heroes huddled in the shadow of the great arena and discussed their plan of action. After about 5 minutes, they had a plan. Belkor had a "bottle of wind", a magical item that the party had picked up many sessions earlier. They had never found a use for it until today. Today, their attack would begin with this bottle.

The two elven archers climbed up to get on top of the wooden beams above. They were well concealed in the darkness above and the night sky.

William cast an invisibility spell on Dathelar and Belkor. who snuck in through the main gates. Dathelar blended into the crowd invisibly. Belkor climbed up onto one of the wooden beams overhead with the goal to position himself as close to directly overhead the stage as possible.

Kruge and Winlock simply walk in, just another two orcs.

Since other humans were here, it would not look out of place for William to walk in... just another charmed villager. He would, however, go in with his cloak hood up.

Belkor found that there were two skeletons, armed with bows, standing on the wooden beam that he wanted to go out on. He managed to sneak past one of them with stealth (the wooden platforms overhead were like catwalks, about eight feet wide). Just enough room to invisibly sneak past the skeleton.

All of the players positioned themselves where they wanted to be and waited. The witch's muttering chant went on for some time. While she worked, vaporous energy continually streamed from the Talisman into the two crystals.

After some time, her chanting stopped and she lay down on the empty table. The orc shaman took one of the crystals and placed it on the forehead of the bound girl. He placed the other crystal likewise on the witch. An arc of bluish lightning connected the Talisman to the two crystals.

This was the moment. Belkor wasted no time. He aimed carefully and then threw the bottle of wind down, aiming for the center stage. His aim was good and the bottle landed near dead center. The bottle shattered and immediately there is a tremendous explosion of wind outward in all directions. All of the witch's guards and captains that had surrounded her on the stage were blown outward in all directions. They landed on the ground, momentarily stunned. The girl and the Talisman both landed near Dathelar. The witch landed in front of the stage just a few feet in front of the crowd, very near to Winlock's location.

As soon as the wind bottle shattered, Halimir and Listig fired pyrotechnic arrows down. Halimir hit the puddle of oil on the ground and ignited it. Listig hits another lamp, causing it to explode and shower fire down onto several in the crowd.

Chaos erupts. Both Winlock and Kruge rushed the witch and began attacking. Belkor used his magic boots to leap down into the fray. Kruge missed, but both Winlock and Belkor brought weapons down on her. Belkor noticed that the witch's skin glittered like diamond and her flesh seemed hard to his blades. No doubt, a defensive spell of some kind. Twice the diamond hard skin turned the blade, but the third stroke cracks through the spell and bit deep.

Meanwhile, William rushed forward from the crowd toward the girl and pulled the crystal off of her forehead. It seemed to be stuck there by some magic, but he managed to wrench it free. William smashed the crystal into the side of a big saurian, hoping for some magical effect, but nothing happened. The crystal fell to the ground, still connected to the Talisman by a churning stream of lightning.

Listig and Halimir fired another volley of arrows, causing another chandelier to erupt in fire. The guards and captains who had been blown off the stage struggle to regain their feet. The two shield guards charged toward the witch. One managed to almost make it to her and flung his shield over her prone body just before Winlock brought his hammer down.
The crowd surged forward, trying to get around huge puddles of fire, attempting to get to the witch.

Cursing the shield, Winlock altered the grip on his war hammer and knocked the shield aside and then brought his hammer down again. His hammer hits her in the shoulder and chest. Bones crack under the two massive strikes and her eyes roll up in her head. At that precise moment, the lightning bolts began to flicker. Unsure if she is unconscious or dead, all three continue to attack her. Swords and hammer blows rain down on her.

Dathelar reached down and picked up the Talisman. Instantly, a bright aura of light enveloped him. He cried out suddenly in pain. There was a bright flash of light and suddenly Dathelar is gone, only ash and sparks and embers remained. The Talisman drops to the ground.

Winlock swung his great war hammer again and this time, delivered the killing blow. His hammer comes down on the witch's chest and crushes her chest to the ground. Instantly the lightning bolts wink out, the three zombies collapse. Two skeletons up on the catwalk collapse, falling to the ground below.

The crowd, who were rushing forward to protect the queen, stop mid stride and halt their advance. A number of them grabbed their heads in pain as their minds were suddenly wrenched free of charming magic. Dozens of them stood stunned, blinking in confusion and looking around, momentarily dazed.
William ran over to the Talisman and grabbed it. Nothing happened. He thrust it into his satchel.

Belkor yelled out to his companions "We are leaving!"

Two of the biggest minions, an orc captain and a saurian tribal leader, were still fighting. Kruge and Winlock continued trading blows with them. The saurian fell, but the orc captain managed to stab Kruge through the chest before he himself was struck down.

At this point, all remaining members of the party began rushing for the stairs that lead to the bleachers. A few people swing at them with weapons, but most are in a daze.

The small man with the big book was still kneeling in the corner of the arena where the wind had blasted him. Seeing chaos and battle rage all over the arena grounds, he fled back toward the stage and attempted to run behind him. William ran to the stage and intercepted him around the back side. William quickly cast a charm person spell and the spell worked. The man was charmed. "Follow me if you want to live!" yelled William. The man nodded and followed.

As Belledor had said, once the witch was dead, her charm spells would collapse and her minions would fall to fighting with each other. And that is exactly what happened. It was total anarchy in the arena. More than a dozen people were burning from the ruptured lanterns. Dozens of the witch's minions were now fighting each other.

Belkor ran over to the bound girl on the ground. He paused only a brief second to look her in the eye and say "We're here to rescue you". He then threw her over his shoulder and ran.
The party ran up the bleachers of the arena and reached the top. From up here, the party could see over the edge to the city streets below. They wanted to see if anyone was blocking the exit and see what was happening outside the arena.

As they had expected, many of her minions were fighting each other – orc against saurian, bogling versus goblin. A few were standing around confused.
Something else caught their attention. In the far distance, the party could see the huge hall that held the gate. It was being lit up by numerous flashes of light. They could hear the distant boom and rumble of explosions. Faintly, they could hear the cries of battle and hear the clash of steel.

The party discussed their exit strategy. Should they run toward the hall that held the gate and hope they could slip through in the chaos of battle? Should they follow the canals out of the city and head into the swamp lands? Should they look around for a stable and make off with a few fast steeds?

Listig also argued that there might be a fortune in the stone keep next to the arena. Kruge had told them that that was where the witch's private quarters were. And, Listig argued, there might never be a better time to try to ransack it.

William asked the little man with the big book (who was still under the influence of William's charm spell) about the big stone house. The little man, whose name is Dorraman, confirmed that great stone hall had served as the living quarters for the witch and her guards and servants. Listig asked about treasure. Dorraman said that many things had been brought back from various raids... tapestries, rugs, coins, jewelry, the occasional statuette or vase. Listig argued in favor of raiding the witch's treasure room.

The party decided that William would cast invisibility on Listig and Belkor and those two would go into the stone house briefly to investigate and see if they could steal some of the witch's treasure.

The two went in (invisible). What they found was that the place was full of orcs. They all seemed to be the same tribe (as they were not fighting each other and they had similar armor and markings). Finally, it seemed that the orcs were already looting the witch's chambers! Dozens of orcs were rampaging through the upper level, taking everything of value. Listig and Belkor decided it wasn't worth it. Far too many orcs.

Listig and Belkor fled the house, but both managed to swipe a couple of valuable looking items on their way out. They regrouped with the party.

The current situation is this:

The party has successfully acquired the Talisman AND they rescued the girl! However, the party is still in Doth, currently standing outside the arena. They are staying out of sight by a big boulder and some small trees. All around them is combat and chaos. The ruined city is filled with hundreds of minions (orcs, saurians, boglings and humans) who are no longer charmed by the witch. Many of them are fighting.

We ran out of time and this is where we were forced to end the session.

Next session we are having two guest players... two old friends (brothers actually) who used to play with us many years ago before they moved to California. So, next session should be interesting.