After resting in the lower reaches of the wizard's tower, the group climbed the stairs and located the door to the upper levels. Covered over with a thin sheet of ice and magically warded, Dora deactivated the alarm ward with an arcane focus power. Confident they could enter without danger, the pulled open the door and were met with a gust of cold air. The room was unnaturally cold and filled with various blocks of ice that seemed to contain humanoid forms. One even appeared to be a demon of some kind. Sarcophagi and tables spread throughout the room drew them in to inspect further.
What they first believed was a statue, turned out to be a blue-faced creature, caked in icicles and frost. It turned towards them, welcomed them and said, "Please stay, let us remember this moment for ever." Unwilling to simply strike first, the party asked if he was Vandomar, to which it confirmed that "He once was but was now eternal" The ice contained various invaders that entered the tower as well as several paladins that fell during the siege of the tower. They decided to leave but Vandomar simply explained they could never leave but would become permanent parts of his display. Immediately afterwards, four blocks of ice smashed open and coldspawned mummies lurched towards the party while Vandomar began blasting the party with cold spells from afar. Thorm charged at the tower's guardian while Edhas dropped a psychic zone over the area. Meanwhile, Sir Loin, Dora and Wyndham tried to hold off the mummies. In the midst of the battle, the presence of another card in the deck appeared as a glowing gem stone. After Wyndham's Dazzling Ray destroyed the wizard, the group believed it was in the clear. It quickly became obvious that the greater threat was the four mummies that pushed the party to its limit.
After clearing the room of danger, the group located a set of scrolls that contained notes about the rift in the planes caused by an item of chaos that linked the Feywild to the Material Plane. It seemed to be the proof Berrian was searching for. Additionally, Vandomar was looking at a large white tome that could only be the Winterbole Codex. Unable to read the entire book, a quick look inside seemed to focus around planar contact and more specifically the Plane of Carceri. It mentioned the fall of the Nerathi Empire and the betrayal of the Nerathi emperor, Magroth the Mad. Betrayed by his own deathguard, he was trapped in the Carceri Plane, held by the Chained God, Tharizdun.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Obtaining an Alliance with the Fey
The Band decided that helping Berrian prove his people's ownership of the Feygrove was more important to their overall goal of securing the Abbey village for Lord Pegraig. They searched the area for the Groundskeeper's cottage and after locating it, they discovered it occupied by a pair of rather territorial Owlbears. Believing themselves overmatched, they decided to draw them out and use the trees and surrounding natural features as cover. Their fears were rather quick to be confirmed when one of the creatures dropped Edhas with a pair of well-timed claw strikes. Inspired by the desire to save their friend, Monk, Dora and Wyndham struck quickly and effectively destroyed the Fey creatures. After reviving Edhas and tending to her wounds, they searched the cottage. In addition to locating a set of very old ledgers with figures about flora and fauna, they were surprised to find a baby Owlbear. Rather than leave it behind, Monk brought the small creature with them but when they returned to the Font of Ioun, Berrian insisted that the creature was dangerous and could not be raised by sentient creatures. Monk agreed of course and decided it was more fitting to slaughter the small creature and use it for a glorious feast celebrating the discovery of the records Berrian needed to prove their ownership of the Feygrove.
The next morning, they settled on scouting the Abbey orc camp as they were originally entrusted. They headed back to the Keep and met again with the Ettin, this time, they listened to the riddle and were quick to geuss the correct response, "skull" and were admitted to the outer keep. They listened at the inner door and could hear the movement of creatures. A quick discussion led them to abandon the efforts to take the keep. The Ettin told them that the orc lord Bagrosh controlled the keep, but they figured they didn't need to remove him to properly scout the village.
They decided the best way to properly scout would be to obtain the pieces of armor in the gatehouse that now seemed re-occupied by Orcs and Ogres since their last visit. Rather than confront them again, Wyndham shapeshifted in to an Orc and Edhas used her natural Drow form to walk into the gatehouse and insist that they were there to retrieve some armor for a scouting party. Without contest, the disinterested Orcs showed them the pile, and they retrieved the needed disguises for Thorm, Sir Loin and Dora.
Cleverly bluffing their way through the lower tier of the village, they noted approximately 100-150 orcs, set up in camps of 8-10 each. Along the way, they also noted Ogre, Hill Giant and Dire Wolf allies. Of note, the group passed by a large tower with dragonoid statues flanking the door that was covered up with wood and a large garrison building that was nested into the outer wall. The road continued up the tiers to the Abbey proper grounds, but they decided since the Orc camp seemed to lighten on the way up, that they had obtained the needed information.
They returned to Winterhaven to find most of the place quiet at night. They visited Lord Pegraig, awakening him, but found him overjoyed to see them. He laid out a rich dinner for them and talked to them over dinner. He learned of the Orc numbers, the presence of the Fey creatures and the noted buildings in the village. Upon hearing of the Fey, he suggested that perhaps they could rely on the Fey as allies. If they could make an alliance with the Fey, they could jointly take the Watchtower on the Southern end of the Feygrove and use it as a launching point for pushing the orcs out of the village. He also paid for their rooms that night at Wrafton's Inn.
When they arrived at the Inn, they found it packed with festive villagers enjoying their night with drinking and music. Taking their seats at a table, they quickly overheard a group of people bragging about their success, scouting the Abbey. A Dwarf seemed to be the leader of a pair of humans a drow and a half-orc. They decided that confronting this group would be wisest. Saddling up to them at their table, they amiably greeted them and asked them more about their visit to the Abbey. The Dwarf identified himself as Kurik, but failed to mention the names of the rest of his group. He did ID himself as a Cleric of Tiamat and bragged that they had destroyed several monstrous spiders in the Feygrove, treated with the Orc Champion and briefly explored the Abbey proper. When asked about how they reached the plateau with the Abbey buildings they identified that a hidden stairwell was built into the West side of the hill. When asked about working together, the group seemed to have no interest. Ending their evening, the group cautiously watched their door all night expecting some confrontation but had nothing.
The next morning they found the common room occupied by only the dotting old man, Valthrun. He was excited to see them and told them he had heard about their discovery of the Wizard's Tower in the Village. He begged them to go into the Tower, once held by Vandomar the Wise. He told them that Vandomar was once in love with one of the Paladins, a woman named Elaida, but she refused to sacrifice her vows to return that love. In lieu of that, Vandomar dedicated himself to protecting her with wards and protective magic. During the storming of the Abbey, the wards were not enough and when Elaida fell, he retrieved her body in the midst of the struggle and returned her to his tower where rumor has it he transformed her into something and never emerged again. He said that Vandomar held a tome called the Winterbore Codex that he would very much like to see. It is bound in white dragon scales and if they could retrieve it for him, he would be most grateful. To prepare them, he was willing to get them some help in the form of healing potions.
They returned to the Abbey, reentered the Feygrove and located a jubilant Berrian. He told them that his group had located information on his father's last known whereabouts. Zandrian was last in the Watchtower, holding the Tower during the siege with three other Paladin guardians. Recognizing the opportunity, they pointed out Lord Pedraig's hope of an alliance, Berrian told them that if they wanted the help visiting the Tower, Analastra would join them and if they could determine the final fate of Zandrian, they would have their alliance against the Orcs.
They cautiously headed to the Tower and noted a strong aura of chaotic magic surrounding it. There also didn't seem to be a door on the tower, and Edhas noted that the Tower wasn't actually there but merely an echo of itself on another plane. Realizing they were dealing with powerful magic, Wynham decided to use the one piece of powerful magic they had to their advantage. He used the Balance card and touched it to the side of the Tower and an opening appeared that the group rushed through. On the otherside of the "door" the room was stranger than they could have imagined. The floor was membranous, the ceiling a reflection of the night sky, and a large chasm in the center of the room. The walls seemed throbbing with life and a pair of glowing "cards" provided a bridge across the chasm leading to a door on the other side, also shaped like a glowing "card" Dora crossed the chasm and immediately the cards turned out to be object mimics. The group faced off against them while a black pudding ooze climbed out of the chasm and joined the fray. After defeating the enemies. they used various black pudding spawns that were floating up out of the chasm to make their way to the upper level of the tower.
The top level of the Tower housed not only four abberant wretch creatures, dressed in armor but Bob the Beholder! The wretches briefly appeared as Paladins before warping into horrifying creatures that attacked the group. Battling the Beholder was made more difficult by the presence of chaotic, warped magic zones that constantly shifted and attacked the group. After nearly battling to a stalemate, the Beholder spoke to them in a broken form of Common and told them that it had been trapped here in this Tower since the fall of the Abbey and wanted to escape. It seemed to him that only the group had the power to get him out of the Tower. In return for letting them live, they could free Bob from the confines of the Tower. He was also give them all his possessions. Although the Band agreed, they wanted to know more. They asked about the Wizard's Tower and learned from the Beholder that Vandomar was a powerful wizard, one he had even heard of his native plane. Vandomar was still in his tower in the village and had transformed himself into an undead creature to live forever with his love for Elaida. Satisfied, they freed the Beholder and quickly the Tower returned to its original form, the Beholder's treasure hoarde appeared and the four wretched guardians of the Beholder transformed to their original forms and Analastra recognized one immediately as her father Zandrian. Surprisingly the guardians were still alive! Additionally, the Beholder possessed three more "cards" from the Deck.
They returned to Berrian, who was equally delighted to see his father. Agreeing to the alliance with the humans of Winterhaven, he was deeply troubled by the news of the rift in the planes that caused the Tower to be in both Planes at once. He told them that if further information existed anywhere it would be in the wizards tower. So the group decided that before returning to Winterhaven, they would investigate Vandomar's tower, since Valthrun had already given them another reason to visit.
They headed back through the (If you have read through this LONG summary, text me the word "Codex" and add a +3 Cloak of Resistance or another 12th level neck slot item to your character) the Orc village relying on disguise to the tower. Prying off the boards to the door, they observed an inner room lit by chaotic flashes of fire, lightening and acid. The room was dominated by a large obelisk that had falled. On top of it lay a large white blood-soaked sheet. Clearly a body lay beneath the sheet, but on top of the sheet was a rolled up scroll. Wyndham grabbed the scroll and found a ritual to remove a glyph of warding but immediately after the sheet moved and a large female flesh golem ripped into the group. The door to the tower slammed shut behind them and trapped them in the room of books, tables and ritual items. They gradually wore down the golem until they could defeat it. Inspecting the room for the Winterbore Codex, they discovered a set of Magical Hide Armor +3. They assumed it once belonged to the Flesh Golem, Elaida, but no trace of the Winterbore Codex. A large stairwell dominated the fringes of the tower room. At the top of the stairs, there was a large wooden door.
The next morning, they settled on scouting the Abbey orc camp as they were originally entrusted. They headed back to the Keep and met again with the Ettin, this time, they listened to the riddle and were quick to geuss the correct response, "skull" and were admitted to the outer keep. They listened at the inner door and could hear the movement of creatures. A quick discussion led them to abandon the efforts to take the keep. The Ettin told them that the orc lord Bagrosh controlled the keep, but they figured they didn't need to remove him to properly scout the village.
They decided the best way to properly scout would be to obtain the pieces of armor in the gatehouse that now seemed re-occupied by Orcs and Ogres since their last visit. Rather than confront them again, Wyndham shapeshifted in to an Orc and Edhas used her natural Drow form to walk into the gatehouse and insist that they were there to retrieve some armor for a scouting party. Without contest, the disinterested Orcs showed them the pile, and they retrieved the needed disguises for Thorm, Sir Loin and Dora.
Cleverly bluffing their way through the lower tier of the village, they noted approximately 100-150 orcs, set up in camps of 8-10 each. Along the way, they also noted Ogre, Hill Giant and Dire Wolf allies. Of note, the group passed by a large tower with dragonoid statues flanking the door that was covered up with wood and a large garrison building that was nested into the outer wall. The road continued up the tiers to the Abbey proper grounds, but they decided since the Orc camp seemed to lighten on the way up, that they had obtained the needed information.
They returned to Winterhaven to find most of the place quiet at night. They visited Lord Pegraig, awakening him, but found him overjoyed to see them. He laid out a rich dinner for them and talked to them over dinner. He learned of the Orc numbers, the presence of the Fey creatures and the noted buildings in the village. Upon hearing of the Fey, he suggested that perhaps they could rely on the Fey as allies. If they could make an alliance with the Fey, they could jointly take the Watchtower on the Southern end of the Feygrove and use it as a launching point for pushing the orcs out of the village. He also paid for their rooms that night at Wrafton's Inn.
When they arrived at the Inn, they found it packed with festive villagers enjoying their night with drinking and music. Taking their seats at a table, they quickly overheard a group of people bragging about their success, scouting the Abbey. A Dwarf seemed to be the leader of a pair of humans a drow and a half-orc. They decided that confronting this group would be wisest. Saddling up to them at their table, they amiably greeted them and asked them more about their visit to the Abbey. The Dwarf identified himself as Kurik, but failed to mention the names of the rest of his group. He did ID himself as a Cleric of Tiamat and bragged that they had destroyed several monstrous spiders in the Feygrove, treated with the Orc Champion and briefly explored the Abbey proper. When asked about how they reached the plateau with the Abbey buildings they identified that a hidden stairwell was built into the West side of the hill. When asked about working together, the group seemed to have no interest. Ending their evening, the group cautiously watched their door all night expecting some confrontation but had nothing.
The next morning they found the common room occupied by only the dotting old man, Valthrun. He was excited to see them and told them he had heard about their discovery of the Wizard's Tower in the Village. He begged them to go into the Tower, once held by Vandomar the Wise. He told them that Vandomar was once in love with one of the Paladins, a woman named Elaida, but she refused to sacrifice her vows to return that love. In lieu of that, Vandomar dedicated himself to protecting her with wards and protective magic. During the storming of the Abbey, the wards were not enough and when Elaida fell, he retrieved her body in the midst of the struggle and returned her to his tower where rumor has it he transformed her into something and never emerged again. He said that Vandomar held a tome called the Winterbore Codex that he would very much like to see. It is bound in white dragon scales and if they could retrieve it for him, he would be most grateful. To prepare them, he was willing to get them some help in the form of healing potions.
They returned to the Abbey, reentered the Feygrove and located a jubilant Berrian. He told them that his group had located information on his father's last known whereabouts. Zandrian was last in the Watchtower, holding the Tower during the siege with three other Paladin guardians. Recognizing the opportunity, they pointed out Lord Pedraig's hope of an alliance, Berrian told them that if they wanted the help visiting the Tower, Analastra would join them and if they could determine the final fate of Zandrian, they would have their alliance against the Orcs.
They cautiously headed to the Tower and noted a strong aura of chaotic magic surrounding it. There also didn't seem to be a door on the tower, and Edhas noted that the Tower wasn't actually there but merely an echo of itself on another plane. Realizing they were dealing with powerful magic, Wynham decided to use the one piece of powerful magic they had to their advantage. He used the Balance card and touched it to the side of the Tower and an opening appeared that the group rushed through. On the otherside of the "door" the room was stranger than they could have imagined. The floor was membranous, the ceiling a reflection of the night sky, and a large chasm in the center of the room. The walls seemed throbbing with life and a pair of glowing "cards" provided a bridge across the chasm leading to a door on the other side, also shaped like a glowing "card" Dora crossed the chasm and immediately the cards turned out to be object mimics. The group faced off against them while a black pudding ooze climbed out of the chasm and joined the fray. After defeating the enemies. they used various black pudding spawns that were floating up out of the chasm to make their way to the upper level of the tower.
The top level of the Tower housed not only four abberant wretch creatures, dressed in armor but Bob the Beholder! The wretches briefly appeared as Paladins before warping into horrifying creatures that attacked the group. Battling the Beholder was made more difficult by the presence of chaotic, warped magic zones that constantly shifted and attacked the group. After nearly battling to a stalemate, the Beholder spoke to them in a broken form of Common and told them that it had been trapped here in this Tower since the fall of the Abbey and wanted to escape. It seemed to him that only the group had the power to get him out of the Tower. In return for letting them live, they could free Bob from the confines of the Tower. He was also give them all his possessions. Although the Band agreed, they wanted to know more. They asked about the Wizard's Tower and learned from the Beholder that Vandomar was a powerful wizard, one he had even heard of his native plane. Vandomar was still in his tower in the village and had transformed himself into an undead creature to live forever with his love for Elaida. Satisfied, they freed the Beholder and quickly the Tower returned to its original form, the Beholder's treasure hoarde appeared and the four wretched guardians of the Beholder transformed to their original forms and Analastra recognized one immediately as her father Zandrian. Surprisingly the guardians were still alive! Additionally, the Beholder possessed three more "cards" from the Deck.
They returned to Berrian, who was equally delighted to see his father. Agreeing to the alliance with the humans of Winterhaven, he was deeply troubled by the news of the rift in the planes that caused the Tower to be in both Planes at once. He told them that if further information existed anywhere it would be in the wizards tower. So the group decided that before returning to Winterhaven, they would investigate Vandomar's tower, since Valthrun had already given them another reason to visit.
They headed back through the (If you have read through this LONG summary, text me the word "Codex" and add a +3 Cloak of Resistance or another 12th level neck slot item to your character) the Orc village relying on disguise to the tower. Prying off the boards to the door, they observed an inner room lit by chaotic flashes of fire, lightening and acid. The room was dominated by a large obelisk that had falled. On top of it lay a large white blood-soaked sheet. Clearly a body lay beneath the sheet, but on top of the sheet was a rolled up scroll. Wyndham grabbed the scroll and found a ritual to remove a glyph of warding but immediately after the sheet moved and a large female flesh golem ripped into the group. The door to the tower slammed shut behind them and trapped them in the room of books, tables and ritual items. They gradually wore down the golem until they could defeat it. Inspecting the room for the Winterbore Codex, they discovered a set of Magical Hide Armor +3. They assumed it once belonged to the Flesh Golem, Elaida, but no trace of the Winterbore Codex. A large stairwell dominated the fringes of the tower room. At the top of the stairs, there was a large wooden door.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)