Session 10 Summary

[David Roomes]

Session 10 Session Summary

The Player Characters  (aka the "Heroes")

Winlock – orc/dwarf barbarian, wearing heavy chainmail 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. Has been with the party since day 1.
Halimir, an elven archer, who has fought along side the party for several weeks now. A red shirt NPC, but a damned lucky one so far...


When we last left our plucky heroes, they were safe on the ship, the Cloud Hawk, which was anchored just off shore, within sight of the edge of the Barakose Swamp. The heroes were tired and exhausted, having just slogged through several miles of swamp in the dark of night. The eastern sky was just starting to brighten with dawn.

The lookout in the crow's nest had spotted a sail on the horizon. It was most likely the other ship, the "Ash and Fire", with the 100 or so soldiers coming as they players had requested last session. The ship was many miles away and it would take a couple of hours to reach them.

The heroes turned their attention to their prisoner. He was a big orc that had been barking orders at the other orcs during the battle, so they assumed he was some type of leader. The party asked him a number of questions. The orc was not afraid of them and not afraid to answer their questions. Unfortunately, his responses revealed a mindless adoration of Sakutha and were little help.

Who are you?
I am Kruge! Chieftain of the Skull Crusher clan, faithful servant of the one true queen. I am the terror of the swamp forest, protector of the river camp.

How many are left in the camp?
We are legion! We who serve Sakutha number in the thousands! All shall fall before us!

Where is Sakutha?
She is everywhere! She is all powerful and all knowing! Sakutha sees all!

And so it went on. Answers dripping with pride in his service to the "great witch" and so on. They checked his hand and it was branded with the symbol of Sakutha. They had seen others like this. The party had previously learned that she was wielding some serious "charm" magic and that those she charmed were ordered to brand themselves on the hand to prove their undying devotion to her. It was like some kind of extra powerful "charm person" spell. The party asked him other questions, but the same brainwashed answers came forth. They weren't getting anywhere with him.

Finally, exasperated, William cast a dispel magic upon the orc in the hopes that he could break the witch's charm spell. It had worked once before. And once again, luck was with them. The dispel proved sufficient and the charm broke. The orc, shook his head in confusion and slowly came to his senses.

"Thank you!" the big orc bellowed. "Thank you for breaking that cursed bitch's charm spell. You have freed me! I owe you a great debt."

After the charm spell was broken, he was much more cooperative and they got more detailed and meaningful answers out of him. The orc proved friendly enough, just another victim of the witch's dark magic. The conversation that followed held a number of startling revelations. Rather than type up the entire conversation (which went on for more than two hours of actual game time), I will summarize what the party learned.

First, the river camp had previously been a hidden pirate base. A couple dozen pirates had lived there and launched attacks from this base with their ship (the smallest of the three ships that the players had seen docked). It was this gang of pirates who had rebuilt the keep, built the wooden buildings and the docks. It was the pirates who had created the elaborate camouflaged gate that hid the mouth of the river. They had been prowling the seas and operating out of this hidden base successfully for several years.

However, the witch's minions had come several months ago and taken over the base. Some of the pirates has been killed, some captured. A few of them had turned on their fellow pirates and agreed to serve the witch willingly.

Sakutha, the witch, was dwelling in Doth, an ancient ruined Traxxian city deep in the swamp. There she lived with hundreds of minions that served her. All of them have been charmed or swayed or intimidated into serving her. She even had different tribes and clans, sworn blood enemies, worshiping her together and working side by side.

The pirate base on the river had served the witch's minions as an outpost in the southern swamp for a few months now. Then suddenly, a few weeks ago, everything changed. A large caravan arrived from Doth. The caravan brought more soldiers, supplies and a wizard. The wizard, a human named Belledor, brought word from Queen Sakutha that they were to begin capturing ships. And that's what they did. The saurians, in their sleek craft, had gone out into the sea and within just a couple of weeks had managed to capture two sailing ships. Both of them had been brought back to the river camp. What was left of their crews had been imprisoned.

The river camp was ordered by Sakutha to make all three ships ready to sail. Their battle damage needed to be repaired and their needed to be stocked and provisioned for a long sea voyage. Kruge (the orc that they were having this conversation with) did not know why. He only knew what the orders were.

When the caravan and the wizard had come, the wizard had also brought a teleport gate with him. Based on Kruge's description of it, this teleport gate was identical to the one they had seen in the north camp. It was composed of dozens of separate enchanted bricks with runes and glyphs upon them. The wizard had assembled the gate on the third floor of the river keep.

This was probably the most surprising revelation the party received. There was a working teleport gate in the river keep and it was connected directly to Doth. Kruge warned them that the witch had given the camp strict orders to protect the ships. When the party had assaulted the camp last night, they made quite a ruckus. They had managed to burn one barracks to the ground and also start a major fire in the workshop. They had also managed to kill more than a several soldiers (in addition to the orcs that perished in the barracks fire). All of that was a mere six hours ago.

There was no doubt that word had been sent back through the gate to Doth, informing Sakutha of the attack. Kruge told the party that she likely had sent scores of soldiers through the gate to reinforce the camp and protect the ships. Furthermore, it was highly likely that, once the camp was secure, they would send out scouting parties to try to find those who had attacked. They would search the swamp tirelessly. Eventually, they would come to the river mouth and see the ship. Kruge advised them to move the ship away from the river mouth.

The other ship, the Ash and Fire, was just arriving at this point. The Cloud Hawk hoisted anchor and they told the Ash and Fire to follow them. Both ships sailed south a few miles until they found a small bay. They couldn't sail out to sea as they would be visible to any saurian or orc that came to the coast along the edge of the swamp. The hope was that by putting some distance between themselves and the river mouth, but staying close to shore, they reduced the chances that they would be discovered. The two ships would only be spotted if one of the witch's minions happened to come out of the jungle at that particular bay. It wasn't a perfect plan, but it did greatly reduce the chance of the two ships being spotted.

The party continued asking Kruge questions. They asked about the Talisman. Kruge was only able to tell them that she acquired the talisman in a tomb in the northern part of the swamp. He had not been there, but he had heard others talking. From what he had been able to piece together, the witch had entered the tomb and found a subterranean maze filled with riddles and traps. She was terribly injured by one of the traps. However, with the power of her spells, she managed to reach the center of the maze and found the Talisman there.
Ever since her encounter with the tomb, she had been terribly scarred and also suffered a profound limp. She was also old and her body was weak.

For all these reasons, she had been preparing to perform a powerful ritual to restore her youth and health. Her preparations had stretched over months. She was planning on using the power of the Talisman to transfer her mind into the body of another. This is why she had her minions capturing villagers. Those who could fight well were charmed and added to her soldiers. However, the youngest and fairest of the maidens were taken to Doth for Sakutha to inspect. She would choose one to be the victim of her ritual.

At this point, the military commander from the other ship came on board. His name was Commander Darkayne. He gave the party a brief summary of the battle at the tower in the middle of the swamp. They had been successful in repelling the witch's counter attack, but he had lost good men. He had eighty one men left who were still in fighting condition.

The party and Kruge and Commander Darkayne adjourned to the captain's cabin to discuss their next move. Kruge was able to fill in a lot of gaps, but he didn't know much about magic or the Talisman or the ritual. Kruge suggested that, if the party wanted to know more about such matters, they should ask the wizard at the river camp. His name was Belledor and he knew all about the Talisman, the teleport gate, the ritual and Sakutha herself. He also knew a great deal about her plans.

After a long talk, the party decided that the best move was to sneak into the river camp, capture the wizard and learn more about the Talisman. After that, they planned to sneak into the keep via the sewer and destroy the teleport gate. Kruge drew the party a detailed map of the camp, the sewers connected the various buildings and the swamp region around the camp. In addition, they decided that he would come with them to help navigate and fight. Kruge gladly accepted as he wanted revenge on the witch who had enslaved his mind for months.

The party rested the entire day to rest, recover and allow William to replenish his spells.

Before they left, they gave orders to the two ship captains. The army was to retake the river gate (it would most likely be surrounded by enemy soldiers) and open it. The ships were to then carry the army up river and deploy them on either bank near the river camp and attack the river camp. They were to begin the attack at dawn.

That evening, the party took the three sarlang beasts on to the shore. They stealthily made their way to the river, crossed it and circled around, approaching the camp from the north. With Kruge's knowledge of the area and the use of the sarlangs, they made good time. The wizard was using a smaller two story stone and wood house near the edge of the camp.  This house once belonged to the pirate leader, but was claimed by the wizard when he came.

According to the map, there was an entrance to the sewer north of the camp and connected to the camp sewers through a long tunnel. Kruge led them to this northern sewer entrance. Whatever building had stood here centuries ago was long gone and the pirates had barricaded it with rocks and dirt. The party eventually found it, cleared the rocks and went down into the tunnel. After a few hundred yards, it connected with the camp's sewer system.

They encountered some giant rats, which were quickly dispatched. Further in, they ran into a trio of sewer zombies, which proved more difficult. Disgusting slime covered humanoid things, sewer zombies heal through necromantic magic. The party hacked at them, but the things kept healing. Dathelar, remembering an old story about such creatures, tried a healing spell on one and it destroyed the creature. Healing magic was like poison to them. Another pair of healing spells destroyed the other two.

The party reached the sewer chamber under the wizard's house around midnight and climbed up through the garbage chute. They snuck into the wizard's house, dispatched two saurian guards and then snuck up to the wizard's bedchamber. The wizard awoke during a grappling attempt, stunning both Kruge and Winlock with some sort of dazzling electrical spell and leapt out of bed. The rest of the party rushed him, but he cast a spell and vanished, but Belkor heard a grunt of pain from outside.

Guessing that the wizard had used some sort of short range transportation spell, Kenner ran downstairs and dove through a window on the first floor. The wizard was on the grass a few yards away, limping on a twisted ankle as best he could. Belkor ran after the wizard and tackled him. The others came running downstairs as well. They quickly bound and gagged the wizard and dragged him back into the house. They peered through the window toward the camp to see if anyone had heard anything, but all seemed quiet.

Inside, they questioned the wizard. Belledor (the wizard) was not branded (and therefore not charmed by the witch). He was merely won over by the promise of gold and magical power. With a sword point at his throat, Belledor was more than happy to exchange information for his life.

The party asked about the witch and her Talisman. What is the thing... exactly? He told them the true nature of the witch's Talisman. He said it is one of the eight Talisman's of Anquar. Specifically, Belledor called it "the Talisman of Dreams". Each Talisman has a name and a specific nature. The Talisman of Dreams was capable of charm and divination magic.
Belledor confirmed what Kruge had already told them... the witch was going to conduct a magical ritual using the talisman that would transfer her mind into the body of a young maiden. Belledor said that the witch was going to perform the ritual tonight (this conversation was happening around 2am). He also told them that the ritual would leave her greatly weakened.

After some discussion, the party decided that perhaps going through the gate, rather than destroying it, was the best course of action. If the ritual would leave her greatly weakened, there might never be a better chance to kill her.

They asked about the witch herself. Belledor, was able to confirm something that William had long suspected... Sakutha was a talented witch, but not very powerful without the Talisman. It was the Talisman that gave her the ability to sway hundreds of minds. It was the Talisman that had elevated her to rule the humanoid tribes of the swamp and demand their worship. Without it, she was no god.

They asked about Doth and her minions there. Belledor was able to give a good description. It was a large ruined city of stone in the middle of the swamp. It covered several square miles, but was mostly overgrown. A tribe of saurians had ruled there before Sakutha came and the saurians had cleared away many of the larger buildings in the center of the city. But there were many empty and abandoned buildings. In other words, lots of places to hide. The teleport gate itself was in a large covered building, but only a few guards would be around it. If invisibility magic was used, it might be possible for the party to go through the gate undetected and hide in the city.

The witch has a "throne room" set up in an open air arena. This is also where she plans to cast the ritual to transfer her mind into the body of a young captive woman. The party showed Belledor the pendant that farmer Ulrich had given them (way back in session 2) that held the tiny portraits of his daughters. Belledor confirmed what the party suspected... the victim of Sakutha's ritual was Ulrich's elder daughter.

Finally, they asked what else he knew of the Talisman. He told them of the immense power of the Talisman and confessed that he had been bidding his time in service to Sakutha, waiting for the opportune moment when he might seize the Talisman and take it for himself. However, she had sent him here, to the river camp, to make preparations. Perhaps she had sensed his plans.

Belledor told them the history of the Talisman of Anquar. He told them about eight pieces of an artifact that had maintained a golden age of peace for almost two thousand years in the Kingdom of Anquar. However, a betrayal had led to a civil war that had engulfed the kingdom for years. In the end, one man held four pieces of the Talisman. The other four had vanished – lost or stolen or hidden.

The mad demi-god Dalmoran, a brutal dictator, now rules Anquar. He holds four pieces and will stop at nothing to acquire the other four. Belledor had warned Sakutha of this, but she was blinded by power.

This information changed everything and the party decided on a new plan.

The new plan is to halt the two ships coming up the river with a sending spell to the mind of one of the captains. And tell the commander to bring as many men as possible by stealth to the northern sewer entrance in the forest.

The party is planning to charm the giant and then take all the soldiers they have (including the party, that's almost 90 men) into the keep from below (through the sewers) to take control of the keep and secure the gate. They will then hold the keep. The witch's minions in the other buildings of the river camp might try to get in, but the keep is designed to withstand a siege. The party and their men will only have to hold two entry points – the main gate and the garbage chute. Meanwhile, they can put bowmen on the roof to shoot at enemies. They will also have the (charmed) giant who can kill their enemies. They only need to hold the keep for a few hours.

Once they have complete control of the keep, a small team – the party of player characters – will go through the gate to Doth. This is dangerous since Doth is a large ruined city in the swamp and the witch is there along with hundreds of minions. The party will be, essentially, walking into the enemy's main camp.

Several ideas were discussed. Winlock could shave his beard and pass for an orc. Kruge is a full blooded orc. So those two could walk right into Doth without raising suspicion. They might even bluff their way in with a few prisoners (the old Star Wars "wookie in chains" plan). Listiq could go through invisibly and use stealth and the invisibility ring to stay out of sight.

Once inside Doth, the party would stealth their way to where the witch has her throne and the ritual is set up. Belledor said that the ritual will leave her weak. They are going to wait until she is in the middle of the ritual and then interrupt it. They hope to catch her at a moment of weakness, kill her and save the farmer's daughter.

They also know, from Beledor, that if the witch dies, all of her charms will collapse. Kruge told them that her minions consist of blood enemy tribes of orcs and saurian and boglings that are being forced to work together because of the charm spells. If the charm magic fails, the various tribes would likely fall to warring with each other. It would be mass chaos and might provide the party with an opportunity to escape... either back through the gate or into the swamp.

That's the plan...

This is where we left off. It's early morning (about 3 am). The party is still in the wizard's house, with the wizard tied up. The witch is going to conduct the ritual in approximately 18 hours. We have a deadline and the clock is running...