A few days earlier, during the immediate chaos following the slavelord's defeat, Dame Gold and her party were rescued by a mysterious man named Ko, and thus avoided the horrific fate of the other slaves that were sacrificed to summon the Tarrasque. As the party was trying to escape the beast themselves, they ran into Ko who introduced himself as a member of her party and led the heroes to where they were hiding. They didn't spend very long before the tarrasque came crashing down the street and Dalec Clay, the heirophant druid that Cadwin had been seeking, revealed himself and, through an awesome display of power, opened a fissure in the ground, sending the beast into the magma below. Warning the party that this would not stop the beast for long, he urged them to be on their way.
Cadwin, having spent the last several months searching for this great mythic druid, did not want to leave. There were so many questions he wanted to ask. He wanted to stay and help Dalec on his mission, and learn his great secrets. "You must help your friends," he said "we will see each other again some day."
With that, the party hurried on their way, and they can see that time was running out. The earthquake did more than just open a fissure. The volcano that overshadowed Suderham, Mount Flamenblut, erupted with a gigantic explosion that was causing fiery meteors to rain all around. Sarril sent his familiar up in the air to investigate and received a report that the road up ahead was clogged with people rushing toward the docks trying to escape. Several fishing boats were tied up on the docks and some were starting to capsize as masses of people rushed to overload the boats. Fights were breaking everywhere and, to make matters worse, some kind of gray-skinned humanoids were crawling out of the water and attacking people, dragging them into the waters below. On the west end of the docks was a walled off and gated area behind which was a long dock with a large galley. This must be the Water Dragon as it was heavily guarded by town guards and elite soldiers in gold scale armor. The party decided to go as far as they could down the main road until they hit the crowds, then start cutting through side streets and around buildings. The had the following people in tow:
Cadwin, having spent the last several months searching for this great mythic druid, did not want to leave. There were so many questions he wanted to ask. He wanted to stay and help Dalec on his mission, and learn his great secrets. "You must help your friends," he said "we will see each other again some day."
With that, the party hurried on their way, and they can see that time was running out. The earthquake did more than just open a fissure. The volcano that overshadowed Suderham, Mount Flamenblut, erupted with a gigantic explosion that was causing fiery meteors to rain all around. Sarril sent his familiar up in the air to investigate and received a report that the road up ahead was clogged with people rushing toward the docks trying to escape. Several fishing boats were tied up on the docks and some were starting to capsize as masses of people rushed to overload the boats. Fights were breaking everywhere and, to make matters worse, some kind of gray-skinned humanoids were crawling out of the water and attacking people, dragging them into the waters below. On the west end of the docks was a walled off and gated area behind which was a long dock with a large galley. This must be the Water Dragon as it was heavily guarded by town guards and elite soldiers in gold scale armor. The party decided to go as far as they could down the main road until they hit the crowds, then start cutting through side streets and around buildings. The had the following people in tow:
1. Dame Gold - Noblewoman and leader of the Town of Safeton
2. Thaddeus – A
person with a dangerous reputation as a thief, never proven. Charming and
witty.
3. His Excellency,
Derish of Safeton – High cleric of Safeton (St. Cuthbert)
4. Bruthas Badenson
– A merchant of some repute
5. Jack Knob – A
dwarf who specializes in locks and safeboxes for the rich
6. Hammish of Drone
– A sage, specializing in ancient lore, given to pessimistic musings
7. Mitgan – An
artist of wide repute whom Dame Gold had commissioned to perform some work.
8. Ko - the man who rescued the group, and the party would soon learn is a monk, follower of Zuoken, who was investigating the Scarlet Brotherhood's dealings with the Slavelords
DMs Note: This session was setup as sort of a timed mission for the party to "get off of the island." Each turn, I rolled randomly for where a meteor would fall within the town, creating some risk for the party (they had a couple of close calls). Each turn I also rolled for each of the boats on the dock, including the Water Dragon, to see which boats would capsize (for the smaller boats) and which would leave. The longer the party takes, the less boats there would be. The party wanted to get to the Water Dragon, but if that wasn't possible, they would still need to find a way off the island.
As the party moved through the Scumslum toward the docks, I had random encounters I would roll for, as well as some planned encounters depending on where they decided to go. If the party spent enough time, they had the potential to get back all of their lost stuff, and a lot more of the the slavelord's personal treasure. But doing everything *and* escaping was unlikely, not that I actually expected this party to do that. That's not their way. When they have a goal, they go straight to it. They do not pass go. They do not collect $200. That's pretty much how this session went.
The party managed to simply avoid most encounters, making judicious use of the Sleep spell and other means. They were almost to the docks when they passed a warehouse with two Scarlet Brotherhood monks standing outside guarding, while others were inside gathering up crates of goods. Cadwin cast Charm Person on both of them and waved as the party walked by, content with avoiding a fight. It worked on the first one, but not the second, and a fight soon erupted. The two out front were soon joined by four more from inside. The monks, who were too unimportant to have magic items, were no match for super-strong Jarrus with double-longsword specialization. But they did slow the party down and do some damage. Cadwin asked the charmed monk what was going on in the warehouse and he answered that they needed to get out of town and were grabbing all of their goods. The party decided they didn't have time to search through crates (DM: It turned out to be a good decision because while some of their stuff and the the dead slavelord's stuff, was in those crates, had they spent the time to look, they would have missed the Water Dragon).
DMs Note: This session was setup as sort of a timed mission for the party to "get off of the island." Each turn, I rolled randomly for where a meteor would fall within the town, creating some risk for the party (they had a couple of close calls). Each turn I also rolled for each of the boats on the dock, including the Water Dragon, to see which boats would capsize (for the smaller boats) and which would leave. The longer the party takes, the less boats there would be. The party wanted to get to the Water Dragon, but if that wasn't possible, they would still need to find a way off the island.
As the party moved through the Scumslum toward the docks, I had random encounters I would roll for, as well as some planned encounters depending on where they decided to go. If the party spent enough time, they had the potential to get back all of their lost stuff, and a lot more of the the slavelord's personal treasure. But doing everything *and* escaping was unlikely, not that I actually expected this party to do that. That's not their way. When they have a goal, they go straight to it. They do not pass go. They do not collect $200. That's pretty much how this session went.
The party managed to simply avoid most encounters, making judicious use of the Sleep spell and other means. They were almost to the docks when they passed a warehouse with two Scarlet Brotherhood monks standing outside guarding, while others were inside gathering up crates of goods. Cadwin cast Charm Person on both of them and waved as the party walked by, content with avoiding a fight. It worked on the first one, but not the second, and a fight soon erupted. The two out front were soon joined by four more from inside. The monks, who were too unimportant to have magic items, were no match for super-strong Jarrus with double-longsword specialization. But they did slow the party down and do some damage. Cadwin asked the charmed monk what was going on in the warehouse and he answered that they needed to get out of town and were grabbing all of their goods. The party decided they didn't have time to search through crates (DM: It turned out to be a good decision because while some of their stuff and the the dead slavelord's stuff, was in those crates, had they spent the time to look, they would have missed the Water Dragon).
The party then moved up to the wall surrounding the far end of the docks. They approached far away from the gate and Cadwin cast Obscurement, which fogs a ridiculously sized 300 ft. radius. This created more chaos as neither the guards at the gate, nor the crowds of people trying to storm the gate could see more than four feet in front of themselves. The wall was short enough to allow Pontus to climb up and pull up the others from down below. It was at this point that Ko revealed his true nature as a follower of Zuoken and stated that his mission required him to go in another direction - to the Scarlet Brotherhood's boat. He wished the party well and then ran along the wall toward the east, taking out the guards on his way. The party then ran to the end of the long dock only to find loose moorings and no boat. (I had just rolled that round for the chance for the boat to leave and it did).
There was a moment of confusion before the DM reminded the players that they can only see four feet in front of themselves due to the Obscurement spell, so they really don't know where the boat is. Cadwin then dismissed the Obscurement spell, revealing the rear of the boat a mere 6 feet away and slowly drifting toward the center of the lake. This is where having a thief/acrobat and a barbarian in the party really came in handy. Both were able to make the leap to the boat, ropes in hand, and quickly tie off the ropes to the boat. Dame Gold's group was able to start reeling the boat back to the dock while the rest of the party jumped over.
On the boat were four elite Gold Scale militia, the Gold Scale Commander, and the dark-elf slavelord known as Edralve. Although Jarrus had a longsword in hand, the rest of the party had only clubs, and Sarril and Cadwin had only a limited number of first and second level spells. This was shaping up to be a tougher fight than the six slavelords a few days ago, and only two party members stood at the end of that one.
On the boat were four elite Gold Scale militia, the Gold Scale Commander, and the dark-elf slavelord known as Edralve. Although Jarrus had a longsword in hand, the rest of the party had only clubs, and Sarril and Cadwin had only a limited number of first and second level spells. This was shaping up to be a tougher fight than the six slavelords a few days ago, and only two party members stood at the end of that one.
The commander sent the four guards from the bow of the boat to the stern to intercept the party. This gave Edralve time to prepare and watch the fight from a distance. If the party survived, she would be able to deal with them in a weakened state. Using Prayer and a few other clerical spells, she was able to boost the fighters. The fight took a long time, partly because the logistics of the boat only allowed for two on two fighting, keeping Jarrus and Pontus engaged while the spellscasters provided what little aid they could, and partly because these elite soldiers were 9th level fighters with 54 hit points each.
While the fighters engaged, Cassius jumped overboard and swam to to the bow so he can sneak aboard and backstab Edralve. Cadwin cast Faerie Fire on all enemies to increase everyone's chance to hit and Sarril cast Silence on the bow of the boat to stop Edralve from casting. Unbeknownst to Sarril, even with her innate magic resistance, Edralve had cast Spell Immunity on herself to inoculate her against the Silence specifically, as she knew that was a common tactic by Sarril to shut down spellcasters. She responded with a Faerie Fire of her own, ensuring that, between the Prayer and Faerie Fire, the Gold Scale guards would be unlikely to miss with any of their attacks.
Still, Jarrus was dealing 22+ damage with every swing of his sword. And while Pontus and Jarrus were taking a lot of damage in return, Sarril was standing behind them casting healing spells every round. When it looked like the last of the Gold Scale guards was about to fall, the commander started to move up to join in the fight while Edralve worked on stepping up her offensive casting. That was when Cassius snuck up behind her, delivering 40 points of damage from a critical roll on a backstab (remember, this first edition AD&D, where damage is multiplied without limit). While this move didn't kill Edralve, it did stop her from focusing on the party as she turned around to cast Slay Living on Cassius. He made his save and was able to dive back into the water to escape the remainder of her wrath. Still, taking her out of the fight for two rounds was enough for Sarril to cast Hold Person on the commander and for Jarrus and Pontus to finish off the last of the gold scale guards.
While the fighters engaged, Cassius jumped overboard and swam to to the bow so he can sneak aboard and backstab Edralve. Cadwin cast Faerie Fire on all enemies to increase everyone's chance to hit and Sarril cast Silence on the bow of the boat to stop Edralve from casting. Unbeknownst to Sarril, even with her innate magic resistance, Edralve had cast Spell Immunity on herself to inoculate her against the Silence specifically, as she knew that was a common tactic by Sarril to shut down spellcasters. She responded with a Faerie Fire of her own, ensuring that, between the Prayer and Faerie Fire, the Gold Scale guards would be unlikely to miss with any of their attacks.
Still, Jarrus was dealing 22+ damage with every swing of his sword. And while Pontus and Jarrus were taking a lot of damage in return, Sarril was standing behind them casting healing spells every round. When it looked like the last of the Gold Scale guards was about to fall, the commander started to move up to join in the fight while Edralve worked on stepping up her offensive casting. That was when Cassius snuck up behind her, delivering 40 points of damage from a critical roll on a backstab (remember, this first edition AD&D, where damage is multiplied without limit). While this move didn't kill Edralve, it did stop her from focusing on the party as she turned around to cast Slay Living on Cassius. He made his save and was able to dive back into the water to escape the remainder of her wrath. Still, taking her out of the fight for two rounds was enough for Sarril to cast Hold Person on the commander and for Jarrus and Pontus to finish off the last of the gold scale guards.
When Edralve was able to focus back on the fight, she immediately dispelled the Hold Person enchantment on the commander, allowing him to engage Pontus and Jarrus while she spent the next few rounds healing herself. The commander was an interesting fight. He had exactly 100 hit points, and a special helm that allowed him to cast a full Heal spell on himself once per day. That's almost like having 200 hit points! As a 12th level fighter with specialization and a magic longsword (though no strength bonuses), he was striking twice per round for 1d8+4 per hit. Not a lot for someone like Pontus, but after being worn down by other Gold Scale fighters, it was quickly adding up.
Possibly the most insane part of the fight came next, when the Gold Scale Commander had only a few hit points remaining and spent his next round action activating the Heal spell in his helm, restoring him back to 100 hit points. The party surely thought this was the end, but then they pulled out a miracle. First, Cadwin transformed into a Badger Mole, giving him a claw/claw/bite attack. Second, Cassius had climbed up out of the water and snuck up behind the commander to perform a backstab. Once again, he rolled a critical roll on the backstab, taking him down to half of his hit points. Cadwin the badger mole dealt a series of significant blows, followed up Jarrus and Pontus really laying the hammer down with two attacks each. The entire team dealt 102 hit points worth of damage in a single round, dropping the commander where he stood.
Possibly the most insane part of the fight came next, when the Gold Scale Commander had only a few hit points remaining and spent his next round action activating the Heal spell in his helm, restoring him back to 100 hit points. The party surely thought this was the end, but then they pulled out a miracle. First, Cadwin transformed into a Badger Mole, giving him a claw/claw/bite attack. Second, Cassius had climbed up out of the water and snuck up behind the commander to perform a backstab. Once again, he rolled a critical roll on the backstab, taking him down to half of his hit points. Cadwin the badger mole dealt a series of significant blows, followed up Jarrus and Pontus really laying the hammer down with two attacks each. The entire team dealt 102 hit points worth of damage in a single round, dropping the commander where he stood.
DM's Note: It is worth mentioning that, other than Jarrus and Cassius, who had picked up a plain longswords earlier, all of the other party members, including Pontus, were armed with only clubs.
The party quickly raced toward the bow of the boat to face Edralve. Cadwin unleashed a Dust Devil spell on her, which he expected would prevent her spellcasting. Unfortunately, her innate magic resistance cancelled the spell. Edralve knew she would have to remove Jarrus from the fight quickly and cast Hold Person on him, which he was able to shrug off. In desperation, she cast it again, targeting only Jarrus in order to improve her chances for success, and again, he shrugged it off. At this point, Pontus, the fastest of the group, was up on the bow of the ship ready to attack her. She responded by levitating Pontus 80 ft. into the air, taking him out of the fight.
At this point, Edralve was surrounded by the entire party, who were landing blows on her already. In response, she cast Blade Barrier in a circle around herself in order to catch everyone in melee. (DM's Note: I think I've mentioned this in previous blogs, but the spell Blade Barrier does not have a saving throw associated with it because it states that anyone who passes through it takes damage. Yet is also gives the cleric flexibility over where to cast it and the shape that it takes, so it is reasonable to cast it in a place where PCs are already standing. In this case, it would no be unlike a Wall of Fire spell, which does provide a save to jump out of the way - with PCs landing on one side of the wall or the other. So I have allowed a cleric to cast Blade Barrier in a circle or semi-circle around themselves, catching anyone in melee, but giving them a save to jump outside of it. If they jump outside of it, they take no damage, but are then unable to re-engage in melee). The entire party made their saves, and were now outside of the circle, unable to re-engage in melee. But Sarril had an answer for that - casting Dispel Magic and rolling below the percentile score needed to negate the effect.
At this point, Edralve needed to execute her escape plan. She had a Ring of Swimming and a Ring of Spell Storing on her. The Ring of Spell Storing had Magic Missile, Invisibility and Lightning Bolt in it. Her plan was to go invisible and then jump overboard and swim away, but the party was expecting such a move and tightly surrounded her to prevent her escape. She had to kill Jarrus in order to make her move, so over the next two rounds she hit him with both the Lightning Bolt and Magic Missiles. He made his save against the Lightning Bolt and the Magic Missile wound up being some bad rolls, so Jarrus managed to live long enough to return the favor with two vicious hits that ended her life.
Pontus, on the other hand, didn't fare so well. Edralve's death ended the levitation and he fell 80 ft. to crash onto the deck of the ship, dropping him down below 0 hit points, though not outright killing him. Sarril was able to stabilize him and, between the three healers on the boat (Sarril, Cadwin and the high priest of Safeton), Pontus was soon back up and moving.
Most importantly, since Pontus was prevented from killing the captain of the boat, Cadwin was able to cast Charm Person on him and get him to take them safely away from the burning volcanic island. This was especially important since navigating the river down the mountain to the Wooly Bay required not only knowledge of how to operate a boat, but specific knowledge about this waterway and how to navigate an intricate system of locks and magical contraptions along the river that allowed only certain boats into and out of the secret mountain lake. The slaves attached to the oars were set free, and those that were strong and willing volunteered to row the boat to Safeton - about a four day journey by sea. Cadwin, however, had other plans and decided to transform into a bat and fly back into the volcano in the hopes of speaking to Dalec Clay, whom it turns out he had been searching for when he was originally captured by the slavelords.
At this point, Edralve was surrounded by the entire party, who were landing blows on her already. In response, she cast Blade Barrier in a circle around herself in order to catch everyone in melee. (DM's Note: I think I've mentioned this in previous blogs, but the spell Blade Barrier does not have a saving throw associated with it because it states that anyone who passes through it takes damage. Yet is also gives the cleric flexibility over where to cast it and the shape that it takes, so it is reasonable to cast it in a place where PCs are already standing. In this case, it would no be unlike a Wall of Fire spell, which does provide a save to jump out of the way - with PCs landing on one side of the wall or the other. So I have allowed a cleric to cast Blade Barrier in a circle or semi-circle around themselves, catching anyone in melee, but giving them a save to jump outside of it. If they jump outside of it, they take no damage, but are then unable to re-engage in melee). The entire party made their saves, and were now outside of the circle, unable to re-engage in melee. But Sarril had an answer for that - casting Dispel Magic and rolling below the percentile score needed to negate the effect.
At this point, Edralve needed to execute her escape plan. She had a Ring of Swimming and a Ring of Spell Storing on her. The Ring of Spell Storing had Magic Missile, Invisibility and Lightning Bolt in it. Her plan was to go invisible and then jump overboard and swim away, but the party was expecting such a move and tightly surrounded her to prevent her escape. She had to kill Jarrus in order to make her move, so over the next two rounds she hit him with both the Lightning Bolt and Magic Missiles. He made his save against the Lightning Bolt and the Magic Missile wound up being some bad rolls, so Jarrus managed to live long enough to return the favor with two vicious hits that ended her life.
Pontus, on the other hand, didn't fare so well. Edralve's death ended the levitation and he fell 80 ft. to crash onto the deck of the ship, dropping him down below 0 hit points, though not outright killing him. Sarril was able to stabilize him and, between the three healers on the boat (Sarril, Cadwin and the high priest of Safeton), Pontus was soon back up and moving.
Most importantly, since Pontus was prevented from killing the captain of the boat, Cadwin was able to cast Charm Person on him and get him to take them safely away from the burning volcanic island. This was especially important since navigating the river down the mountain to the Wooly Bay required not only knowledge of how to operate a boat, but specific knowledge about this waterway and how to navigate an intricate system of locks and magical contraptions along the river that allowed only certain boats into and out of the secret mountain lake. The slaves attached to the oars were set free, and those that were strong and willing volunteered to row the boat to Safeton - about a four day journey by sea. Cadwin, however, had other plans and decided to transform into a bat and fly back into the volcano in the hopes of speaking to Dalec Clay, whom it turns out he had been searching for when he was originally captured by the slavelords.
As for the rest of the party, they spent the next four days resting, talking to Dame Gold and her crew, and going through the many chests that Edralve had loaded in the cargo hold. They recovered a number of their own missing gear, and even acquired some new gear - like Gauntlets of Ogre Power
that Pontus had been dreaming of since he was neck-high to winter wolf. They also found a letter to Edralve, which could be an adventure hook. The letter reads:
"Our spies tell me that Stalman Klim has secured the artifact. Our plans are falling into place. Do all that you can to ensure that Klim is successful but be prepared to leave Suderham as soon as he starts the ritual. Do not take part in it. The brotherhood must believe the lords were brought down by the interlopers without suspecting your involvement. Klim is not to be trusted and will shift the blame to you in the event of failure, so be prepared for this possibility.
Know also, that if Klim succeeds, the way home underground from Suderham will be closed to you. You must travel overland on the surface world. Seek out Viconia in the west.
Aunrae failed at the temple. Much depends on you now now.
- Eclavdra of House Eilserve "
The party also learned from Dame Gold that the slavelords kept her and her party alive because they wanted information about an alchemist's potion she was trying to acquire from an alchemist named Black Kerr. Dame Gold told the tragic story of her brother who became infected with the Red Death after a recent visit to Elredd. The Red Death is a terrible disease which is unaffected by any divine magic. Clerics are helpless against it. Only one man has ever been known to have discovered a cure. He was a half-elf bard named Diambeth who is rumored to have cured an outbreak of it about one hundred year ago. Diambeth died around 50 years ago, but he had an apprentice named Black Kerr. Dame Gold tracked down Black Kerr and invited him for the Feast of Edoia. Unfortunately, Black Kerr was not able to help her brother before the slavelords attacked and captured everyone. The slavelords did not know they had the alchemist and, assuming he was one of Dame Gold's servants, they placed him on a slave ship to row while talking Dame Gold and the more important-looking members of her group to Suderham.
At this point, Sarril informed Dame Gold that Black Kerr was placed on the same boat they were, and that he died of exhaustion and his body was thrown overboard. Dame Gold broke down in tears, believing her last hope to save her brother was truly gone - though, she soon composed herself, recognizing that enough time has passed that her brother was likely already dead. Nonetheless, the hope for thousands of people across the Flanaess was now also dashed.
"Maybe not," replied Derish, "there is still that strange man, Joseph. If there is any truth to what he had to say."
Curious, the party inquired about this man named Joseph. Dame Gold explained that, just before the party, a man came to Safeton who called himself Joseph of the Light. Joseph claimed to be a messenger of Pholtus, but did not look like any cleric of Pholtus she had ever seen. He wasn't decked out in bright plate mail and gold trimmings and silk tabards as is common for clerics of Pholtus. He was dressed only in the simplest plain rags. On his forehead was branded the symbol of Pholtus, and he carried only a simple club for a weapon. Her description fit that of some fanatical Pholtus worshipers that some members of the party had previously seen in Greyhawk and elsewhere.
DM's Note: Yes, I was inspired by the Sparrows from G.R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series - or Game of Thrones for those who watch the show.
Joseph of the Light claimed to have the cure for the Red Death. While Dame Gold was skeptical, she was also desperate, and allowed him to stay for the party so she can talk to him and find out what he knows. Unfortunately, she doesn't know what happened to him after the attack. If he was taken, he wasn't with her group.
"Maybe not," replied Derish, "there is still that strange man, Joseph. If there is any truth to what he had to say."
Curious, the party inquired about this man named Joseph. Dame Gold explained that, just before the party, a man came to Safeton who called himself Joseph of the Light. Joseph claimed to be a messenger of Pholtus, but did not look like any cleric of Pholtus she had ever seen. He wasn't decked out in bright plate mail and gold trimmings and silk tabards as is common for clerics of Pholtus. He was dressed only in the simplest plain rags. On his forehead was branded the symbol of Pholtus, and he carried only a simple club for a weapon. Her description fit that of some fanatical Pholtus worshipers that some members of the party had previously seen in Greyhawk and elsewhere.
DM's Note: Yes, I was inspired by the Sparrows from G.R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series - or Game of Thrones for those who watch the show.
Joseph of the Light claimed to have the cure for the Red Death. While Dame Gold was skeptical, she was also desperate, and allowed him to stay for the party so she can talk to him and find out what he knows. Unfortunately, she doesn't know what happened to him after the attack. If he was taken, he wasn't with her group.
This is about where we left off. We agreed to do some online continuation of the story so that the next session can start with the party in Greyhawk. I will likely do an interim blog update to fill in the story between Safeton and Greyhawk before blogging about the next session. In game, they party will arrive in Safeton late on the 9th Day of Goodmonth, CY 580.
No comments:
Post a Comment