Chapter 1: The Ebon Dawn
The Party
Bodwin lvl 1 human Factotum
Archibald lvl 1 Sharrikeam Duskblade
Mortimer the Mortician Lvl 1 human Cleric of Kelemvor
Percy lvl 1 human Cleric of Sharress
Part 1: Desmond’s Dale
The story begins in the small town of Desmond’s Dale. A small town in Northern Impiltur, little more than a way station really, on the major trade road to Damarra. The town has a few shops, a smithy, a stable, and one good Inn called the Galloping Maiden. Trade Caravans stop to stock up on supplies, re-shoe their horses, and perhaps spend a night at the inn. There is also a large church of Kelemvor at one end of the town. It is headed by Brother Stephan, a journeyman priest, and his subordinate Brother Mikael. They minister and tend to the needs of the villagers, and also give funeral services to those who died on the road to and from the village.
While an unimportant town, most traffic to and from Damarra eventually passes through it. As such, it is not unusual to find an adventurer or two there, on their way to bigger and better things. One such adventurer was Bodwin. The 3rd son of a wealthy Sembian merchant family, he had little hopes of inheriting the family fortune. As such, he had a much broader education than his brothers, and dabbled in many fields. His family eventually sent him to Damarra to learn the trade roads, and look for potential trading opportunities.
Thus Bodwin found himself in the Galloping Maiden, on his way to Damarra. In the Inn, he encountered an unusual individual, Archibald the Sharrikeam. The Sharrikeam are a very intelligent race that bares an unfortunate resemblance to orcs. Archie was very self conscious of that fact, and did his best to prove that he wasn’t an orc. He kept his appearance immaculate, his manners perfect, and he strove to win over the locals through good deeds. To the people of Desmond’s Dale, he was an oddity, and attracted many wary, but polite stares. Bodwin found the spectacle fascinating, and soon the two had struck up a great conversation. While they were there, they learned that some villages to the east had been sacked and burned. Most blamed it on hobgoblin raiders, come down from the Giantspire Mountains. However they rarely ever came this far west. The two new friends paid it little heed however, and soon they bought a bottle of wine, and took their conversation out to the village square. There they spent the early evening playing chess on the central fountain.
However, as the sun began to set, the peaceful village was filled with the sound of screaming villagers. Panicked towns people fled past the two adventurers and soon they were joined by a third man from the inn. His name was Mortimer the Mortician, an adventuring cleric of Kelemvor. He had been dining in the inn when he heard the screams, and came to investigate. The adventurers did not have long to wait, as soon 8 men entered the square. The term men barely described these men anymore. Their eyes seemed to radiate intense rage, and black ooze seemed to be seeping from their mouths. Their clothes were in tatters, and skin torn, as if they had run through the wilderness without paying any heed to their own safety. The three adventurers had little time to prepare, as these madman (DM Notes: These were Lost, from Magic of the Incarnum) attacked them. Archie made quick work of one of the lost, and Mortimer and Bodwin had both scored hits on their foes. Bodwin got injured on the arm, dropped his sword, and fell to his knee’s crying, “Owwwwwww! That hurt!”. Archie and Mortimer quickly dispatched the remaining men, though they also received wounds for their efforts (however they took theirs far more gracefully than Bodwin did). Thanks to the favor of Kelemvor, Mortimer healed the parties wounds.
However, the fighting was not over, and they could hear the sounds of battle coming from the far end of the square. From there they encountered more of these strange men, battling a young cleric. The party came to his aid, but were not in time to keep the man from collapsing from his wounds. They dispatched his foes, and Mortimer healed some of his injuries. The Cleric soon awakened, and introduced himself as Brother Mikael. The party learned that he was one of the two Clerics of Kelemvor who lived in this villiage, though Brother Stephan had left a few weeks earlier to investigate the villages that were being burned to the west. It turns out that not only have villages been razed to the ground, and their people dead or missing, but that all temples to Kelemvor and Mystra in or near these villages, had been desecrated and defiled as well.
The party stayed up most of the night, helping with the wounded, and patrolling the village for more raiders. They then retired, and spent most of the day resting. That evening they went back to Brother Mikael, and attempted to learn all he knew of these events. While they were conversing, they heard more villagers screaming. The hero’s quickly went to their aid, only this time encountering more of these Lost men, and a bugbear zombie. This zombie was not normal though. It’s eyes gleamed with intelligence, and its movements were swift and sure. The battle was fierce, and the party took several wounds, but soon the battle was theirs. That night, they decided to help the villagers, and track down the source of these raids.
The next morning they set out in the direction these raiders had come from. Fortunately, it had rained a few days ago, and the ground was still soft. That and the raiders had made no attempt to hide their progress. They followed the trail North East, and eventually came upon a burnt village. They searched for survivors, but all they encountered were some dire rats and a pair of ghouls, feasting on the remains. The party over came them, Bodwin, using his bow to great effect, Archie with his great falchion, and Mortimer invoking the powers of his deity upon the undead. Their investigation did turn up two clues. Firstly, there was a small shrine to Mystra in the village, and it had been defiled. Secondly, that while there were bodies, there were not enough to account for an entire village.
The party pressed on, and soon found themselves at the edge of a forest. Fortunately the trail was even easier to follow, and the men had trampled a clear trail through the underbrush. The party cautiously followed the trail to it’s source, and eventually encountered a rocky outcropping with a cave. Guarding the cave entrance were a pair of hobgoblin warriors. The party quickly consulted one another, and decided that they needed to try to take out the guards quietly. While one went down quickly, the other managed to run inside the cave entrance, and sound a thunderstone. While the party engaged the remaining Hobgoblin, several more emerged from deep inside the cave. The fighting was fierce, and while Archie dispatched several foes, he took many wounds in the process and collapsed. Mortimer was with him a few seconds latter, and after a few healing spells, brought him back around.
The party pressed on cautiously. The cave ended in a round room, with many cages crudely dug into the natural rock walls. These cages were empty, but showed signs of recent occupation. There also seemed to be a make shift barracks, obviously being used by the hobgoblins. At the far end, was a crude door, being guarded by a grim looking hobgoblin with a whip. The party easily dispatched the foe, and burst through the door. Inside they encountered a mysterious man. He wore a black cloak and tabard over a well made breast plate. His tabard was emblazoned with a purple sun, with a white skull in it’s center. Mortimer was able to identify is as the symbol of Cyric. The man’s body was surrounded by a nimbus of blue flame, and upon his brow he wore a glowing blue circlet. His gloves were covered in a murky black aura, with tendrils of darkness leaking out. Most disturbing of all, was that the party could not tell the source of these effects. They were obviously magical in nature, but seemed neither arcane nor divine.
The man was not alone either. Beside him was another of those strange zombies. Nor did the man seem alarmed by these intruders. He gave the party a wicked grin and said, “Fools! The Ebon Dawn will crush you, and all who oppose us”! With that, he and the zombie attacked. The man used no weapons, merely touching his victim with those foul gloves. With each touch, the poor victim could feel a part of his soul being ripped loose, to be replaced with the deathly chill of the grave. To make matters worse, every time some one came close to attack him, he would be scalded by the nimbus of flame. Still the party persevered. The zombie was quickly dispatched, but no sooner than the hellish glow had faded from it’s eyed, the man seemed to grow in vigor. It was if a part of his essence had been tied to the zombie, and now it was returned, making him whole.
Bodwin and Archie both struck hard with their swords, but Mortimer had his hands full tending their wounds. Fortunately for him, his spear kept him safe from the man’s mantle of flame. Archie eventually fell from his wounds, alive but only barely. Bodwin and Mortimer were able to finish off their foe, and save poor Archie. They stayed in that cave and rested. A search of the man’s belongings rewarded them with some potions, and a map. The map was of Northern Impiltur, and showed all the local villages. Most of the Eastern ones had been crossed out. With this new clue, the party headed back to Desmond’s Dale to speak again with Brother Mikael, and to try and make sense of things.
(DM’s Notes: So far so good. I was particularly impressed with how creepy and tough a 3rd lvl Incarnate was to a 2nd lvl party. It was close, and the players had a lot of fun. Not bad for not having DM’d in 3.5 before).
The party immediately returned to Desmond’s Dale, and consulted with Brother Mikael. At the temple, the party was introduced to a new volunteer. Before them stood an extremely corpulent individual. His once fine clerical robes bore a multitude of food and wine stains. Barely noticeable under the ample number of chins, was a holy symbol of Sharess. In a wheezy, breathless voice, the man informed the party that his name was Percy. Evidently in exchange for his help in protecting the village, Brother Mikael had promised to take care of his outstanding tab at the inn. The party welcomed their newest member, and Brother Mikael jokingly dubbed the new adventuring group, “The Fancy Lads”.
Once the introductions were done, Bodwin showed Brother Mikael the map. He confirmed their suspicion that the crossed out villages matched up with the villages that had been burned. Brother Mikael had never heard of the Ebon Dawn before, but the news greatly disturbed him. Brother Stephan had gone out to investigate the raids several weeks ago, and never returned. He was concerned that the Ebon Dawn had something to do with his disappearance. And while he could confirm that there were some refugee’s from the raids, they were not enough to constitute the majority of the missing villagers. Bodwin asked Brother Mikael if he knew of anyone who could help them get more information on the Ebon Dawn, and possibly how to stop them. Brother Mikael thought long and hard, and then his eyes lit up. He did know of a seer that was rumored to live in the mountains. Bodwin asked him to mark on his map where the Seer was, and Brother Mikael complied. He was supposed to have lived in small valley between the 3rd and 4th peaks of the western end of the Giantspire Mountains. Armed with this knowledge, and with a new quest; the party set out… after much searching for a mount strong enough to carry Percy. In the mean time, Brother Mikael set about organizing the villagers into a militia, and fortifying the town as best he could.
For several days, the journey was uneventful. The fields of Impiltur were well tamed and cultivated. However as they neared their destination, the lands became wilder. One evening the party encountered a pair of wolves, but the party quickly dispatched them. They made camp out side the edge of the Rawlinswood, not wanting to venture into the woods at night. Their rest was disturbed by a great winged beast with leathery wings. “A vargoyle!”, cried Bodwin, “Whatever you do, don’t kiss it”. (DM Note: It was a dire bat, and Bodwin had correctly identified it. However, he wanted to give false information to the party, and no one beat his bluff check, lol. So to them, it WAS a vargoyle). Though it’s size, and reach posed some initial problems for them, the party soon dispatched the beast. It should be noted that Percy remained asleep through the ordeal. The next morning they entered the woods.
The dense foliage prevented them from taking their mounts, so they turned them loose, and proceeded on foot. It was slow going, with Archibald having to clear a path through the brush with his falchion much of the way. Eventually they stumbled into a clearing. At the center of the clearing was a magnificent oak, towering up over the canopy. Near the enormous trunk of the tree, stood a beautiful, yet strange woman. She seemed almost elven, but her skin seemed to be bark, and her hair leaves, both seemed to match the great tree whom she rested an almost tender hand against. She saw the party and glared at them. In strangely accented common, she hissed, “Leave this place!”. Mortimer spoke up, and said, “Dear lady, we have been travelling for hours, and this spot looks like a great place to stop and rest. I think we will camp here”. With a mischievous expression, the Dryad replied “Oh…? You wish to sleep?”. Suddenly, the entire party felt a wave of magical sleepiness wash over them. All but Percy were able to over come the effect. The fat cleric curled up on the mossy ground, and was soon snoring contentedly. The rest of the party burst into action, and attacked the fey creature. It tried to magically charm the party as well, but was soon cut down. A quick search of the clearing revealed some coins and some minor trinkets located in a hollow between some of the great tree’s roots.
Percy proved difficult to rouse, so they decided to follow his example and camp there. They risked a fire and set the watch. Their nights rest was disturbed however, when the party was attacked by a group of strange men. They seemed to be partially plant like, and suffering from terrible rotting blight. They attacked without hesitation, and the party sprang into action. Archibald, Mortimer, and Bodwin all laid into the enemy. Hacking and piercing them for all they were worth. Percy, for his part conjured an obscuring mist to hide in, and cast a charm to protect him from evil. The party prevailed and attempted to salvage what rest they could.
The next day they found a small game trail, making their progress much swifter. They did run into another patrol of the rotting plant men (DM Note: Blightspawn Voldoni), but having faced them before, they were easily dispatched. The next day proved uneventful, and on the following day they broke through the tree line. Before them they could see the Giantspire Mountains. And off in the distance they could see smoke coming from one of the foot hills. The party decided to investigate, and cautiously skirted the edge of the forest, keeping under the cover. They found the source of the smoke to be a crude fort, with 4 bugbear sentries standing guard at the main gate.
The party wanted to investigate, but Bodwin and Archie argued over tactics. Finally, in frustration Bodwin stated that he was going to get the guards attention, and try and lure them out. Mortimer and Percy stayed near the tree line, and Bodwin and Archie walked up closer to the fort and started yelling. (DM Note:
WTF? I had expected them to scout and use stealth. I wanted them to witness a transaction between an NPC and the goblinoids, and face the NPC latter. This was their brilliant plan? Oh well… they asked for it). Their clever ploy worked, and the Bugbears shouted an alarm. The gates swung open, and 2 of the four guards rushed in side, while the remaining two rushed at the party. Bodwin plied his bow to great effect, and managed to down one and wound the other. Archie quickly finished off the second. Just in time too, for out of the fort rushed out 20 hobgoblins, the two bug bears, an Ogre, and a man who was dressed similarly to the Ebon Dawn member they had met before. :D Bodwin started a slow retreat to the trees, working his bow as he went and with Archie by his side. The foliage slowed their progress, but it would do the same against their enemies. After getting a ways into the woods, the party decided to stand their ground. Archie took the point, with Bodwin and Mortimer behind him. Bodwin’s bow and Mortimer’s spears reach would help give them an advantage. Percy of course, brought up the rear. The trees would give them some cover, and hinder the enemy from easily surrounding them and flanking them. The hobgoblins burst through the foliage, and the party was ready. Bodwin used his bow, sending out arrow after arrow into his foe, until the press was too great, and he drew his sword and desperately hacked away. Archie swung his great falchion tirelessly, imbuing his attacks with arcane energy. Mortimer plied his spear at all enemies that came into reach, and valiantly tried to keep his companions healed. Percy cast protection from evil, and then waited.
The run from the fort and the thick trees had some what spread out the hobgoblins, so only half a dozen or so were able to attack the party at one time. Thus the party took fewer wounds than it might have. Still, Mortimer was hard pressed to keep the party on it’s feet. Percy kept waiting for the right time to act. Eventually, the Hobgoblin ranks had thinned enough for the Ogre to get into the mix. Bodwin, Mortimer, and Archie all focused their efforts on the beast, and he eventually went down. The few remaining hobgoblins were a simple matter to dispatch after that.
Tired, bleeding from a dozen wounds, and their spells spent; the weary party saw their last opponent step forward. He was dressed in much the same way as the man in the cave, though his aura’s were different. And in his hands he wielded a great axe. The man had been waiting for the party to be softened up, and now was the time to strike! (DM Note: I was cringing at this point. I just knew that I was going to kill off some one. The party was only 3rd lvl, spent, and were about to face off against a 5th lvl NPC. Oh well, to late to back down now. I went easy enough on them already by granting them some cover in the woods). The man let loose a bellowing cry, seeming to invoke a berserker rage. His razor sharp axe hefted high over his head, he charged the party, roaring his fury as he went. He leapt high, over the fallen Ogre, and barreling directly at Archie. The mighty blow from the axe would surely cleave Archie from stem to stern, but then a wheezy voice cried out, “Charm Person!” (DM Note:
). The man could not resist the magical compulsion, and landed without delivering the killing blow. Percy had come through, and saved the party! Not only that, but also provided them with a valuable source of information. They questioned the man extensively. They learned that he was indeed one of the 13 members of the Ebon Dawn (he did not yet know of his companions defeat). The Ebon Dawn was a militant order devoted to Cyric. Each of the 13 had undergone a magical ritual, that bound them to Cyric, and bestowed upon them strange new powers. Those that failed the ritual were turned into near mindless madmen that they called the Lost. The Ebon Dawn was lead by a mysterious man named The Patriarch. He was a peerless warrior, and was fanatical in his devotion to Cyric. The second in command was a cleric, and high priest of the order. It was he, who oversaw the ritual. Now that they knew who their enemy was, they decided to learn it’s purpose. Under Percy’s magical compulsion, the man told them everything he knew.
The Ebon Dawn exist to enforce the will of Cyric, to spread murder, deceit, and chaos throughout the land. Impiltur was ripe with opportunity for this. Between the year of rogue dragons, the rain of fire, and constant Zhent incursions along the moonsea, the Impiltarian military was stretched thin, and focused in the south. This allowed them to make rapid gains in the North. Dozens of towns and villages were taken in weeks before anyone knew what was happening. The villagers were captured, and forcibly changed into Lost and helped to build their army. To bolster their forces, he was sent to negotiate with the Hobgoblin tribes of the Giantspire Mountains. They were practically swarming with them, and all eager for a fight. Bodwin asked the man to mark the location of the Ebon Dawn’s base of operations on his map. It turns out that Ebon Dawn was based on the other side of the Giantspire Mountains, in an ancient Narfellian ruin. Deeming that they had received all the information that they needed, they quickly dispatched the poor sap, and looted their foes and the fort of all the valuables to be had.
After resting in the fort for the night, they burned it to the ground, and set off towards the peak they were after. In the foot hills, they encountered an Owl bear. The foe was dangerous, but by working together, it was quickly dispatched. Soon they found a trail leading in the right direction, and started to scale the mountain. As they progressed, the trail narrowed. Still things were going well until they rounded a bend, and encountered a troll. The party sprang into action. Bodwin working it with his bow, and Archibald hurt the creature greatly with one of his attacks. The Troll lashed out with it’s wicked claws, and greatly hurt poor Archie. Mortimer ran to his friend and helped heal some of his wounds. Percy cast obscuring mists on himself. The attack continued, with Archibald scoring another terrible hit, severely wounding the creature. Bodwin continued to fire at it. Still, the troll was not out of the fight, and it’s regeneration was already starting to heal its wounds. It let loose a vicious attack and rended poor Archie to pieces (DM Note: Dang it, I crited and rended). Bodwin cried out for his fallen friend, and continued to fire arrows at it. Mortimer attacked the creature with his spear, but his haste threw his attack off. Percy cast protection from evil on himself.
Mortimer was the next to fall to the savage trolls claws (DM Note: I was rolling waaay to good tonight). Bodwin drew his sword, and attacked the troll. Finally, Percy peeked out of his mist, and managed cast a spell to slightly bolster his sole remaining companion. The troll attacked Bodwin, but the wounds were not enough to kill him. In a final desperate attack, Bodwin managed to fell the troll. Quickly, he rolled the body over the edge of the trail, and let it tumble down down the mountain. They could afford to spend scant time burying their comrades. The troll was not dead, and would soon be back. Some rubble from the hillside would have to suffice. They worked quickly, and offered a few quick prayers that their bodies would be undisturbed.
Tired and crestfallen, the remaining party members soldiered on. They were able to rest in a small alcove in the mountain side, though it did little to lighten their spirits. The next day they were attacked by a pair of creatures that seemed a cross between man and ape (Taer’s). The party managed to survive, and flee. After another day’s travel, they finally saw their destination. The Seer’s valley.
It was small, but lush with hardy mountain shrubs. A pristine creek ran through it, from some mountain spring. A well made, yet modest cottage graced the valley’s center. Smoke wafted from the chimney, so it appeared that the Seer was home. The spent much of the rest of the afternoon climbing down to the valley floor, and warily made their way to the cottage. Bodwin raised his hand to knock on the door, but it swung open of it’s own accord. An stern, strong voice greeted them, “Welcome master Bodwin, please come in. I know that your journey has been long, and filled with pain and loss”. The voice belonged to a man in his early forties. He was dressed in loose comfortable robes. He was fit, and firm, though the streaks of white had begun to play at his hair and beard. Around his neck was a holy symbol of Saavras.
“Please, make yourself at home. You must be tired from your ordeal. Perhaps some refreshments?” The man said. Percy enthusiastically helped himself to the tea and scones the man offered, and even Bodwin couldn’t help himself from joining his friend. The Man waited for them to settle in a bit, and then continued, “I am Mathieu, and I believe that you have come to me seeking answers. In doing so, you have learned many of these answers yourself. You know your enemy, and where you must go. But there is another mystery that has presented it’s self. Your enemies posses a strange power. One that is foreign to the magic’s of the arcane, the divine, and the mind. It is an ancient power, newly awakened by the followers of Cyric. It gives them a great edge in the battle that is to come. To defeat it, you must first understand it. If you are ready, I would like to take you to some one who can help”. When the party nodded their accent, the man placed a hand on each of their shoulders, muttered an arcane incantation, and world blurred as they were whisked to another place.
When they could finally orient themselves, they found themselves standing in front of another cottage. Only the surrounding mountains were completely different, and the sound of a hammer striking metal rang clearly through the air. Mathieu ushered them through the door, and greeted the dwarf who was working the forge inside. Upon seeing the Seer, the dwarf rushed up and gave him a hearty clap on the shoulder. Wincing, the Seer introduced his companions to the Dwarf, who’s name was Dorn. Dorn eyed the party up and down and gave a little sigh. “This is not normally something I speak about to outsiders. But Mathieu is a friend of mine, and he asked me to teach you about Incarnum. To put it bluntly, Incarnum is the energy of the soul. Not just an individual soul mind you, but all souls. All those who have gone before, all those living now, and those who have yet to be. The souls of every living thing, everywhere. That is the source of Incarnum. My people believe that Mordian, the Soulforger, created the dwarves. He takes each of our souls, and forges them into the person we are meant to be. My people have always had a deep connection to our ancestors, but some of us have a stronger connection than most. It is rare, but some of us are able to become one with the souls of our people. Letting us draw upon their knowledge and power. We call these people the Soulborn, for they are born with a powerful connection to the very souls of our people. As a Soulborn, I can draw upon the energy of my ancestors, and fashion it into objects that allow me to tap into their power”.
A blue glow started to build around the dwarfs hands, and he expertly began molding and shaping it until a pair of glowing blue gauntlets adorned his burly fore arms. “That is the power of the Incarnum”, replied Dorn. Mathieu stepped forward and continued “Now, picture this power in the hands of Cyric. All the murderers, and madmen of all time fueling his followers. Whispering dark thoughts into their minds, guiding their actions. It takes a strong mind to withstand that constant barrage. It is only their absolute devotion to Cyric that gives them focus, and keep their tentative grip on sanity. I believe that Cyric ultimately wants to use this power as a hedge against Mystra. Shortly after the time of troubles, Mystra had cut off Cyric and his followers from using the weave. Cyric has never forgotten that slight, and now has found a form of magic that Mystra cannot take away from him. In a way, it mirrors the divine power of the gods themselves, as they in turn are fueled by the souls of their followers. So know you know what your enemies represent, and what terrible devastation they might cause. Time grows short, and they must be stopped. And to do that, you must replace the companions that you have lost”.
Mathieu called out, and two figures came out from another room in the cottage. One was a stange man, dressed in dirty and well worn clothes of simple rough spun cloth. His body bore many scars, and he wore an antlered skull cap. He introduced himself as Quincy, a simple Narfellian hermit who lost his home to the Ebon Dawn, and wanted to make them pay. The second was a buxom woman of middling years who introduced herself as Bellarojo. She said that she lost a loved one to these Cyracist, and wants to put a stop to them. She was more then happy to help these fellows on their noble quest. Dorn also cleared his throat, and informed the group that he would like to help them as well. He offered to improve their weapons and armor at a discounted rate. Bodwin and Percy readily accepted.
The party rested a few days while Dorn worked. They acquainted themselves with their new companions, and tried to put the last few days behind them. Soon, Dorn presented them with their improved gear, and Mathieu told them that it was time to go. They bid goodbye to Dorn, and left the cottage. Mathieu then presented each of the party with one final gift. Each member was gifted with a small perfectly round crystal with the holy symbol of their patron diety engraved upon it. To Bodwin a symbol of Lathander. To Percy, the symbol of Sharess. Bellarojo received the symbol of Mystra. No one saw the symbol that Quincy received, for he quickly snatched from the Seer before anyone could see. When asked what they were, the Seer simply said “A key… a key to the soul”. When pressed for more information, he simply said that they would know when the time came, and that now he had to take them where they needed to go. With that, he had the party grab on to him, and the world blurred away once more.
(DM Notes: Ok, this part was full of surprises. First off, I was never intending for the party to take on that entire fort at once. However they managed to pull it off by the skin of their teeth. After that, it was a shock to see half the party fall to that troll. If I hadn’t had critted, if Archie had gotten in one more attack, if Percy had contributed at all…. Things would have been different. It sucked, as the group had such great chemistry together, and now that was being changed. Oh well, if the players can take it in stride, so can I. So now the party was all lvl 6. They were so close to it, that I gave it to them, and allowed the replacement characters to start at the same lvl and xp. Quincy being a 6th lvl monk, and Bell being a 6th lvl psion).
The spell ended, and the party found it’s self just outside Desmond’s Dale. Mathieu immediately began chanting again, and disappeared. So the party headed into town. Brother Mikael had been busy in their absence. A crude picket wall surrounded the town, and roughly carved wooden pikes had been driven into the ground at the base of the wall. The town was closed off except for where the trade road ran through it. There a large wooden gate was under construction. Two crudely armed villagers greeted them at the entrance. Recognizing Bodwin, they allowed him and his companions in without question. At this point, Percy decided that he had had enough of adventuring, and left the party to spend his new coin in the inn (DM Note: Percy’s player had stopped showing up for games, so I decided to park the character in the inn).
As the party headed towards the temple, Bodwin felt a magical tingle as a spell failed to take hold of him. This was followed by the party being attacked by several lost. The party quickly dispatched the lost, and caught sight of a cloaked figure pointing a wand at the party from the second story of the stables. The spell failed to take hold, and the party rushed into the stables and up the ladder. They were attacked by two more lost, and the man tried one last time with his wand, to no effect (DM Note: it was a wand of charm person). The man was dressed the same the other Ebon Dawn members, except he had a strange bracer strapped to his wrist. He two was surrounded by magical auras, but some were different from the others. Most noticeably were a pair of glowing azure spectacles that he wore. The rest of the party finished their accent. Bodwin harpooned the man, causing a grievous wound, and hampering his movement. Bell also surrounded the man with an entangling ectoplasm, further hindering his movement.
The man flicked his wrist, and a wand shot into his hand. He then struck Quincy with it, and discharged it into him. Quincy moved to help dispatch the lost, leaving the man to his companions. Bodwin also helped dispatch a lost, and bell pummeled the man with energy bolts. The man responded by firing magic missiles from his wand. The lost were soon dispatched, and the party turned to finish of the man. Seeing his end drawing close, he let loose a mad cackle and taunted his enemies. He told the party that his death was meaningless, for soon his brothers would arrive and raze the village to the ground. The party dispatched him, and then hurried to find Brother Mikael. That is, after Bodwin looted the man’s bracer of wands.
They found Brother Mikael in the temple, oblivious that the Ebon Dawn had infiltrated the village. He was shocked to hear the news, and quickly summoned the head of the watch. The Ebon Dawn member’s body was brought to the temple, and the various members of the watch were asked if they recognized him. Two did, and stated that he was a friend… but that for some strange reason they couldn’t recall his name, or how they knew him. Deducing that they were the victims of a charm spell, they were dismissed. The party quickly filled in Brother Mikael about the details of their journey. He grieved the loss of Archie and Mortimer, and helped the party plan the defense of the village.
The next day was spent furiously preparing the village for an assault. A cry went out at Sunset on the Eastern Gate. The party rushed out, and saw a mounted figure in the distance. He was armored in black plate, and wore the tabard of the Ebon Dawn. He rode up just out of bow shot, and plunged a sword with something skewered on the blade into the ground, and rode away. The party cautiously investigated, and discovered that it was a human head, with a holy symbol of Kelemvor stitched into it’s mouth. When Brother Mikael saw the grisly object, he let out an anguished cry. For the head belonged to Brother Stephan, and it was skewered on his own sword. Brother Mikael removed the head from the sword, and set about making proper funeral arrangements for his friend.
At dawn, the enemy forces appeared outside the eastern gate. At least 50 hobgoblins, some bug bears, 8 lost, and a member of the Ebon Dawn. The village had 6 militia stationed on the Eastern gate, with a few more keeping watch along the other walls. The lost moved to the front of the forces, and up near the gate. These lost seemed different, for instead of being overwhelmed with rage, they seemed to radiate intense hate. They spewed a foul spray of bile from their mouths, and the wood on the gate started to smolder. The militia started firing crossbow bolts at the enemy, trying to whittle down their numbers. Bell fired bolts of energy at her foes as well. Bodwin took aim at the Ebon Dawn member and managed to fell him with his bow (DM note: frigging double bow crits!). The party and the militia continued to whittle away at the attackers, but finally the main gate fell, eaten away by the lost’s acidic bile.
Quincy and the militia rushed to the gate, and started holding off the remaining attackers. The agile monk managing to evade the majority of the enemies blows. Eventually, though exhausted, the party managed to finish off the attackers.
As the village recovered, the party once again consulted with Brother Mikael. Brother Mikael suggested that the party go and warn the local garrison, a few days west of Desmond’s Dale. They needed to be warned about the Ebon Dawn, and they should request some troops be stationed in town. So the next day the party set off towards the garrison. Two days latter they heard the sounds of a great battle taking place. The party cautiously approached and found the garrison to be under siege. An army of hundreds of hobgoblins, bug bears, and Ogres surrounded the garrison, and were assaulting it’s walls. The party waited till after sunset, and explored the perimeter of the camp. They were able to find the Ebon Dawn commander, and set about a plan of attack.
The bulk of the army was assaulting the garrison, leaving the camps with a minimum of guards. Quincy and Bell served as a distraction, drawing out most of the guards around the commander’s tent. The monk focused everything he had on defense, and fought a retreating battle against perhaps 20 hobgoblins and 4 ogres. Bell aided him by blasting away at them with her psionic abilities. Meanwhile, Bodwin made use of the distraction to attack the Ebon Dawn member in his camp. This one had a glowing construct around his boots and throat, allowing him to walk on the air, and spew acid. The Ebon Dawn member would walk between the tents, spewing acid, and then taking cover behind them. Bodwin’s bow was some what compromised by this, so instead he took cover himself, and used the wand of magic missiles from his bracer. Though it took several charges from his wand and he took quite a bit of acid damage in the process, Bodwin came out victorious. The Ebon Dawn member fell, and after quickly looting the body, Bodwin started setting fire to the tents. By this time, Quincy and Bell had dispatched the remaining guards, though Quincy was seriously wounded, and Bell was completely out of power points, and had been forced to dispatch the last hobgoblin with her dagger. The party quickly retreated into the night, and hid themselves to admire their handiwork.
The besieging army began to notice that their commander’s camp was on fire, and it caused confusion in their ranks. When they found their leader dead, they became panicked. Noticing their enemy’s confusion, a horn pealed out from the garrison. The gates were thrown open, and the soldiers mounted a fierce counter attack. Leaderless, and now caught between their burning camp, and the savage attack from the garrison soldiers, the hobgoblin army crumbled. Their ranks disintegrated, as the goblinoids fled into the night. The garrison had been saved, and the party decided to wait till morning to introduce themselves.
(DM Notes: These were a couple of really fun sessions. I had always wanted to try and incorporate some large scale battles, and it was fun to watch the players faces as they see all the mini’s get piled up on the mat. It was close, and it drained the party of every spell they had, and most of their hit points, but that is what made it so much fun! From this point on, my player were hooked.)
The party went up to the main gate at the garrison, and were hailed by the sentries. The gates were opened, and the party was politely, yet warily allowed inside. They were asked to remove their weapons, and were ushered into a spartan room, who’s main feature was a large table covered in maps. There they were introduced to the head of the garrison, Commander Bresnan. The Commander politely inquired if he had the party to thank for setting his enemies camp on fire. The party told him of their actions, and the Commander gave them his heart felt thanks. He was most impressed that such a small number of people had done so much. The party then told him their tale, and he listened intently. The Commander thanked them for the information, and revealed to the party what he knew. It turns out that the main Impiltarian army was in a pitched battle with the Ebon Dawn, far to the South.
Impiltur had been hit hard over the last two years. It’s forces spread far to thin. Crazed Dragons taking out whole platoons, and wounding hundreds more. The rain of fire had destroyed much of last years crops, which has led to hunger, and an increase in banditry. Zhents, seeking to capitalize on their misfortune, have been striking hard for control of the Moonsea. What forces they could afford to spare, where now fighting a large invading force of hobgoblin tribes, and lost. The Impiltarians had superior numbers, but many of the lost had strange abilities that evened the odds some what. That and the Ebon Dawn were fighting a retreating battle over ground that they had already conquered. This made the Impiltarians have to fight hard for every inch of ground, while their enemy was constantly being reinforced. The Commander feared that unless the reinforcements were cut off, the invaders stood a good chance of eventually breaking the army.
At this point Bodwin informed the Commander that they knew the location of the Ebon Dawn stronghold, and showed him it’s location on the map. The Commander studied the map intently, and suddenly hope shown in his eyes. He informed the party that he believed he knew the route that the Ebon Dawn was bringing in their reinforcements. There was a pass through the Giantspire Mountains, with an old Narfellian fort guarding it. It was likely that the Ebon Dawn had taken that fort, and were using the pass to move troops from Narfel into Impiltur. If the fort could be taken, it could hold the pass. The Ebon Dawn would have to take much longer routes, and through much more dangerous terrain to bring anymore forces to bear. Then the Impiltarian army should be able to eventually destroy the invaders.
The Commander grimly looked on at the party. He once again thanked the party for their help, and asked if they could aid him once more. The fort made excellent use of the natural terrain, and the pass narrows where the fort straddles it. An invading force would be bottlenecked, and a few defenders could hold out against a much larger force for a very long time. However a smaller force might be able to infiltrate the fort, and create an opening for it to be taken. The party had already proved their resourcefulness, and he asked them if they would be willing to try. The party agreed, and the Commander promised them that each would get 1,000 gold pieces as a reward, and his highest commendation to the crown. The party rested, and then set off. The Commander would send a few men to help defend Desmond’s Dale, and the rest would set off a few days latter and follow behind the party.
The party set out, traveling once again towards the Giantspire Mountains, and the Rawlinswood. A few days out, while traveling through a field of tall grass, they encountered a large creature. It was far bigger than a normal human, and had two heads. Though ugly in the extreme, the party was able to tell that it was female. Bodwin believed that the creature was an ettin. The ettin was crouched over something, though the tall grass prevented the party from seeing exactly what. It saw the party, and glared angrily at them. Creepily, both heads bellowed in unison, “GO… He MINE!”. Fearing the worst, the party attacked the creature. When Quincy got close enough, he saw that the Ettin was crouched over an unconscious man. To his great shock, he saw that the man was Percy! (DM Note: The player actually showed up, lol). Quincy, having some idea about what happened asked the party to subdue the creature, and not kill it. Soon the ettin was rendered unconscious, and the party set about reviving their former companion. He reeked of ale, and his clothing showed signs of the ettin trying to remove them. Bodwin poured some wine from his wine skin onto Percy’s mouth. After some initial sputtering, he awakened, smacking his lips. He was surprised to see the party, and had no idea where he was. The last thing he remembered was that he was roaring drunk, and had road out of town. Then he met this wonderful girl…Twins actually. The party did their best to shield the ettin from view, however Percy more concerned about his hang over. He asked if the party had anything more to drink. Bodwin handed him his wine skin, which he promptly emptied.
Reunited, the party continued on. Soon the Rawlinswood came into view. They skirted the edge of it, until they were the shortest distance between them and where the pass was said to be. Then they headed in through the woods. They traveled along a game trail, when suddenly a mound of plants seemed to come alive, and a tendril lashed out, and wrapped around Quincy’s throat. The party sped into motion, attempting to help their struggling companion. They hacked, and blasted at it, and Percy managed to heal their friend as the vines continued to constrict him. Eventually the shambling mound collapsed, and the vines grip loosened. Quincy was quickly freed, and the party pressed on. Though they had several more encounters with the local wild life, nothing else came so close to taking one of them down. Eventually, they stumbled upon a well worn trail. This must be were the Ebon Dawn had been moving their troops through the woods! Their progress greatly increased, and they soon made it through the woods, and found the pass!
They camped at the foot hills, and started up the mountains the following morning. As they were following the path along the mountain side, they once again stood face to face with a troll. While there was no way of knowing if it was the same troll or not, Bodwin cried out for vengeance for his fallen friends. This time, the party made short work of the creature, having become much stronger from their ordeals. Bodwin finished off the troll with several vials of alchemists fire that he had saved for an opportunity just like this. The troll was burned to ash, and Bodwin said a prayer to his fallen friends, relieved that he had finally gained some small measure of vengeance for them.
The party continued up the pass, becoming more and more cautious as they did so. Soon, their caution was rewarded, for the fort came into view. The party quickly came up with a plan. Bodwin would dress up in one of the Ebon Dawn uniforms that he had kept, and distract the fort. The rest of the party would attempt to sneak over the walls, and into the fort. The party buffed up, and Bodwin marched up to the gates. He was immediately hailed by the hobgoblin guards, and an Ebon Dawn member stationed on top of the walls. Bodwin identified himself as the Ebon Dawn member that Percy had charmed, told them that he had an urgent message for headquarters. The gates were opened, and he was ushered inside. The hobgoblin guards wanted to immediately take him to their commander for debriefing, so to stall, Bodwin asked to use the bathroom, lol. So while he was on the throne, figuring out his next move, the rest of the party sprang into action. Using magic and stealth to scale the wall, Percy (DM Note: Percy’s player didn’t show up…AGAIN, so he was being played by Quincy’s player) cast obscuring mist, which caused confusion and provided the party with cover.
There were several hobgoblin guards on the roof, and the Ebon Dawn member. This one seemed to favor a long bow. Percy’s mist, however, foiled the man’s aim. Quincy and bell made short work of the Hobgoblins, and the Ebon Dawn member only managed to land a single shot on Percy before he breathed his last. Several of the Hobgoblins that were guarding the lou Bodwin was in left to investigate the commotion. Bodwin used this opening to leap out and dispose of the remaining guards. He then fought his way to the roof, and rejoined his companions. Together the party went room by room, fighting wave after wave of hobgoblins, and a few lost. Finally, they had made their way back to the main hall, when a large pair of double doors opened (DM Note: At this point I cued up the Darth Maul intro music), and out walked….. a gnome! This gnome was unarmed, and unarmored, but wore the tabard of the Ebon Dawn. The gnome appeared to be covered in shadows, and seemed to gather them up in his hands. He quickly flung the shadows at Percy, and they seemed to wrap around his neck, choking him. The party continued to attack, but the gnome was an elusive target. He grabbed Quincy, and threw him to the ground, and then proceeded to kick him in the head. The party continued to batter the gnome, and this time the gnome missed his attack. Finally the party managed to knock the gnome unconscious. The party then tied him up and brought him back to consciousness. The shadows coalesced around the gnome, and he disappeared, the ropes suddenly going limp and falling to the floor. Fortunately, Bell had tremor sense up, and “saw” that the gnome had teleported a short distance away. One blast of psionic energy slew the gnome, and he was once again visible to the rest of the companions (DM Note: hehe, I had just gotten tome of battle at this point, so I really wanted to try out a judo gnome build I had thought up. To tie it in to incarnum, I gave him a few levels of Umbral Disciple, which proved interesting).
The party continued to clear out the fort of the remaining hobgoblins, and found a strange man locked away in a cell. His body was oddly pocked and marked, and the man demanded that he be referred to as “The Inquisitor”. The party debated what to do with the man, and considered leaving him locked up in the cell, but the man’s pleas and promises to aid them eventually won them over (DM Note: Since Percy wasn’t showing up, we brought in another player. He was playing a mind blade). With the fort cleared out, the party set about disposing of the bodies and securing the fort. Quincy in particular was rewarded with a monks belt and an amulet of the mighty fists that he found on the gnome.
Two days latter the party saw a column coming up the pass from the North. As they got closer, the party could see that they were Ebon Dawn reinforcements. Perhaps 20 or so lost, and twice as many hobgoblins formed the bulk of the ranks, led by an Ebon Dawn member and two Ogre bodyguards. The party had prepared for this, and had fortified things as best they could. On top of the walls Bodwin, Percy, Bell, and the Inquisitor manned the two catapults, while Quincy had barricaded the gates to the fort and waited inside incase any broke through (DM Note: Lol, Percy showed up, and Quincy didn’t). The Catapults were fired, and flaming balls of pitch tore through the ranks, and rolled down the pass. Jugs of oil were thrown over the walls, and set ablaze, preventing the enemy from attacking the gates directly. Percy prayed for divine aid, and began summoning creatures to fight their foes. The creatures took a heavy toll on the enemy. Bell blasted the opponents with psionic attacks, and the Inquisitor manifested a blade of pure mental energy and hurled it at the attackers. For his part, Bodwin took out his wand of Magic missle, and began conducting, as if for a symphony, occasionally pausing and discharging a bolt into his enemies.
The numbers of the enemy were swiftly depleted. Soon, all that was left were the Ogres and the Ebon Dawn member. As a summoned creature was engaged in a struggle with the last Ogre, the Ebon Dawn member began to flee. Not wanting to let their quarry escape, the inquisitor leapt from the walls, tumbling as he landed, and took off after him. Bell transformed herself into a whisp like creature and flew off after him. Percy was far to corpulent to try to leap from such a great height, so he and Bodwin made their way down through the stairs (DM Note: Percy left to get some pizza’s. He didn’t get back till after the action, and this ended up being the last time he showed up to game). Bell caught up with the Ebon Dawn member first, and blasted at him. The Ebon Dawn member was able to evade the worst of it however. Next the Inquisitor engaged him directly. The two dueled, mind blade vs the Ebon Dawn’s falchion. Bell summoned an astral construct to help try to flank the enemy, and continued to blast away at him. The Ebon Dawn member had the upper hand however, and Bell was forced to sacrifice some of her own health to heal her comrade.
Still, the Ebon Dawn member was getting the better of the inquisitor, so Bell flew in close to attack him directly. With the annoying whisp finally in reach, the Ebon Dawn member attacked it, his mighty falchion splitting it neatly in two. Seconds latter, it reverted back into human form, and Bellarojo was dead. (DM Note: This death kind of upset me. There was no reason for Bell to get in melee. If she was that low on hit points, she should have stayed out of reach and let her construct do the work. I asked the player why, and he responded that he was out of power points, had a high ac, and figured he didn’t have to worry about being attacked. Lol, I told him, that if a whispy thing was flying around, blasting you, summoning constructs, and healing your enemies, wouldn’t you attack it when you had the chance? The fact that I critted didn’t help either). With his companion dead, things looked bleak for the Inquisitor. However as the Ebon Dawn member advanced upon him, and arrow streaked out of the Sky. It was Bodwin, having just caught up. However, as the arrow was about to plunge into the enemy, a gust of wind swirled up around the Ebon Dawn member, and batted it harmlessly to the side. The Inquisitor retreated, while Bodwin drew his sword and engaged the enemy. The Ebon Dawn member had sustained many wounds himself, and between Bodwin’s swordplay, and the Inquisitor’s hurled mindblades, he finally was defeated (DM Notes: I really liked this Incarnate build, he had a counter for most of the parties tactics. They essentially had to get up close, take damage in the process, and melee him to death). Mourning, Bodwin and the inquisitor carried their fallen friend back to the fort.
The next morning, the contingent form the garrison arrived. The Commander was amazed that the party had been able to take and defend the fort by themselves. The troops quickly set to work fortifying the fort, and taking up positions. They also brought with them a Calishite merchant whom had met up with them on the way. His name was Yoseph, and he was a Calishite merchant. It turns out that he had been a friend of Bell’s years ago, and had heard that she had gotten caught up in this battle, and was coming to her aid. He grieved terribly when he was informed of her death, just one day before. The took him to her body, and he helped the companions bury her (DM Note: This was Bell’s replacement character, a wizard/psion/Cerebramancer). He vowed to help the party, and gain vengeance for his friend.
The next morning, the fort awoke to the sound of a loud banging on the Southern Gate. To the Parties astonishment, it was Dorn, the dwarf that the Seer had introduced them too. Dorn was ushered in to the fort, and informed the party that Mathieu had thought that they could use some help. He told the party that he would once again help improve their gear for the final battle, and that he had something for Yoseph and the Inquisitor. He gave each of them a blue crystal, much like those the Seer had given the others, and a note cryptic note for each. When the party was ready, they set out to enter Narfell, and find the Ebon Dawn Stronghold. The Commander’s plan was that the party find it, and report back to the fort with it’s location. In the mean time, he would leave a force to hold the fort. With the reinforcements cut off, he would take the rest of his troops and help the Army to the South. Once victory was achieved, he and the army would return, and finish the Ebon Dawn once and for all.
So the party set off. They encountered a few challenges along the way, including a pair of hill giants, but nothing that they couldn’t handle. The fortress it’s self was easy to find. Scores or troops had worn a well made path from the fort. It was a crumbling Narfellion ruin, which showed signs of recent repair. Hobgoblins patrolled the upper walls, and lost guarded the main gates. The party quickly came up with a plan. They timed the watch, and bodwin cast a flight spell, and flew up and secured Quincy’s troll gut rope. They quickly climbed up, and quietly dispatched the sentries on the walls and in the courtyard. Then they entered the fortress. Room by room, they slew dozens of hobgoblin’s. Then they made their way to the second floor. The party had cast silence on themselves to keep the sounds of battle from alerting the others. The second floor was devoid of hobgoblins, and seemed to be the quarters for the Ebon Dawn themselves. In one room they found a great altar devoted to Cyric. A cleric, dressed in formal robes was surprised to see the party, and started shouting at them when the magical silence over took him (DM Note: Great tactics on the party’s part. This was a cleric/incarnum theurge that I had tweaked to allow evil alignments. The silence nullified his clerical casting, but fortunately, he had some nasty incarnum tricks). With magic being some what nullified, the cleric moved in and engaged the party. Like the Ebon Dawn member in the cave, he too had an aura of flame about him, that scalded the party when they attacked him. Every time they were damages, he seemed to gain a little strength. Though it was a tough, brutal battle fought in eerie silence, the party was victorious. They quickly cleared the upper floor, and then decided to explore the lower levels.
In the lower levels, they encountered a small dungeon, with cages filled with lost, and an Ebon Dawn member standing guard over them. This Ebon Dawn member was similar to the one they fought in the cave, and also had a zombie. This time it was a gorrillion zombie. The Ebon dawn member set his zombie after the party, and began to open the cages, letting the lost loose to attack the party. The lost and the Zombie proved no great challenge to the party, thought the Ebon Dawn blasted them with rays of dark energy. The Ebon Dawn member was soon dispatched, and the party pressed on. In another room they found an ancient Narfellian summoning circle, with a Vrock still trapped inside it. He demanded that the Party finish the ritual, and release him, but the party wisely decided to leave him be. In the final room, they encountered one final Ebon Dawn member. He lashed out at the party with Psionic attacks, but the party was able to resist most of them. Once they got within melee range, the battle was short, and the Ebon Dawn quickly slain.
The room they were in was strange. It’s main feature was a series of polished brass plates overlapping each other in a circle. A small hole in one of the plates allowed a beam of bright blue light to shine forth. Investigation revealed that the plates surrounded a glowing blue crystal. The plates were positioned in such a way as to reflect and intensify the light into the single beam. That beam was directed into a container that contained a small blue crystal, with the symbol of Cyric carved into it. The crystal caught the light, and reflected the symbol down onto a stone altar. The altar had restraints on it, leaving evidence that some one had been tied down upon it. The Symbol shone right were a person’s head would be.
Quincy had an idea, and replaced the crystal of Cyric, with his own crystal. One that had the symbol of Bane carved upon it. He then placed himself upon the altar. Immediately, his mind was flooded with an intense feeling of evil and chaos. It was so strong, and overpowering, that he had to struggle to keep from loosing himself in it. Eventually he was able to tame the energy, and master it. Slowly an image of Bane formed in his mind, his cruel glare seeming to see right through him. Finally, Bane gave the slightest of nods of approval, and Quincy was flooded with new power and understanding. He felt connected to all the Tyrants and dictators that ever lived, and ever would live. He felt their cold cruel strength become a part of him. Knowledge flooded into him, and before he knew it he was shaping that knowledge and power into physical form. When he was done, a pair of cruel gauntlets adorned his hands, much like those of his god. (DM Note: I had him make a DC 15 will save. Failure would give him the lost template. Success rewarded him with the Shape Soul meld feat as a bonus. In his case I chose the Mauling Gauntlet soul meld. Not only were they useful to him, but fit in with his deity perfectly).
In awe, Quincy hoped off the altar, and informed the party that they had to try. Each one replaced the crystal with their own, and each one was rewarded with a soul meld. Quincy then tried it again, but it had no effect. Nor did it work again with the crystal of Cyric. Just in case though, he took it with him. The Ebon Dawn’s stronghold was theirs. They had found the source of the lost, and had ensured that no more reinforcements would be coming. Most wonderous of all, was that they were each gifted with a new found power, and a deeper connection to their deities, and the ideals they served. The party secured the fort as best they could, tended their wounds, and rested.
(DM Note: The adventure reward was my way of giving the players a taste of magic of the incarnum, without requiring a large character investment in it. My plan, if they wanted to continue the campaign, was to keep rewarding them with little incarnum bonuses, allowing them to experience it a little at a time without overwhelming them. Sadly, at this point the group broke up for a while. Percy left and never came back. The Inquisitor disappeared (possibly called in to Iraq), Bodwin gave up D&D, and Yoseph got a new job that didn’t allow him to play for a while. Fortunately many months latter we were able to get back together and go forward. I’ll post the next part of the campaign soon).
The Party
Yoseph, Human Wizard 3/Psion 3/Cerebromancer 3
Adrin, Spellscale Warmage 8/Wildmage 1
Umbra, Elf Beguiler 8/Mindbender 1
Part One: The Patriarch
(DM Note: Well at this point, my gaming group had pretty much disbanded for a while. Yoseph had a new job and a new work schedual, Bodwin had stopped playing D&D, Percy had left the state, and the Inquisitor might have been deployed in Iraq. Eventually though, Yoseph’s schedule settled down, and we decided to start gaming again. Quincy’s player very much wanted to continue on with my campaign, so I agreed to keep going. However, since only Yoseph and he would be returning and that it had been so long, I decided that we would start up with a fresh new chapter. I told them to level up their characters to lvl 9, and that the campaign would start one year after our last session. Quincy then informed me that he wanted to change up his character, and roll a Beguiler. I knew I was in trouble. He was the power gamer of the group, picture Brian from Knights of the Dinner Table for a general idea of what he is like, lol. My mind immediately started going over the carnage he could create with a Beguiler. Oh well, I told him that if he could find a good way to integrate him into the story, I’d go with it. We also had a new player joining us, so I’d introduce him at the same time).
Introduction: So when the party was last together, they had just cleaned out the Ebon Dawn’s stronghold. They identified the source of their power, and how they had created their army of lost. They then returned to the fort, and recuperated. There they told Dorn about their experience. Dorn confirmed that the party had indeed gained the ability to channel incarnum. He went on to inform them that he had once heard of a similar crystal in an old legend. Supposedly an old dwarven mining colony in the great glacier had stumbled upon such a crystal deep in the earth. The Crystal had a strong connection to incarnum energy, but was also a powerful beacon of evil. Calamity after calamity befell the colony, and the colony was eventually abandoned. The party listened intently to the story, and decided that they should try and learn more about what had happened to them, and their new power.
Soon, word came from Commander Bresnan that their plan had worked, and the Ebon Dawn army had been defeated! Pockets of fighting remained, but for the most part the hobgoblins had been content to flee to their mountain homes. He asked them to meet him in Lyrabar, and receive their award. When the party arrived, they were received as heros. The people all came out to cheer them, and they were given a royal escort to the palace. There, they were welcomed by the lords and queen herself, and declared heroes of the realm. There they received far more reward than was promised, and each given a royal decree that named them a friend to Impiltur, and granted them free passage throughout the nation and the ability to call upon aid when needed. Then followed several days of celebration, and the heroes got to retell their tales many times over. Eventually things died down, and it came time for the party to part ways.
However, before they left, they vowed to meet again at an in Lyrabar a year latter. In the mean time they would attend to their personal affairs, and try to find out what they could about their new incarnum powers. That is… all except Percy. His soulmeld blessed him with immunity to nausea and disease. This meant that he could eat and drink whatever and as much as he wanted, and sleep with whomever without any fear of consequences. As a devout cleric of Sharress, he took this as a direct blessing from his goddess. He now had enough coin to ensure that he won’t be single or sober for a very long time, and it was his sacred duty to indulge himself to the fullest. For now, his adventuring days were behind him.
A year latter, Yoseph arrived early at the designated inn. He got himself a room, and waited patiently in the tap room. The designated hour came and went, though Yoseph patiently awaited his former companions. Eventually, two hours late, Bodwin came rushing in. Spotting Yoseph, he sat down, and hurriedly ordered a drink. He apologized for being late, and told him that a business meeting had run late, and that he was already going to be late for another. He seemed to be very anxious to leave. (DM Note: Yoseph failed a sense motive check, otherwise he would have learned that Bodwin had lied, and was very shook up over something). Bodwin then informed Yoseph that over the last year, both his brothers had died, leaving him the sole heir of the family estate. As such he has been taking over the family business, and brokering trade deals. As a hero of the realm, he has found a great deal of opportunity in Impiltur. Due to his new obligations, he could not join Yoseph on the adventure. However, he did find some information on the dwarven settlement that Dorn had told them about. Looking back through ancient trade records, he believes that he found an ancient map that showed it’s location. Giving Yoseph a copy of the map, he asked for him to please return it to him when he was done, with all the paths, hazards, and details of the journey marked down on it. With that, he excused himself and left the tavern.
This exchange was not unnoticed. Several tables away, an elf woman and a male spellscale watched intently. The elf’s name was Umbra. She has a devoted follower of Leira, and was desperately searching for a way to bring her back. She had learned of the details of the parties’ adventures from Percy, whom she had seduced to learn about his strange power. Incarnum was an interesting form of magic, one that could have a great impact on her quest. So she learned the details of the party’s intended rendezvous, and their descriptions. Two people matching the party’s descriptions had just met, and one had just left. There were supposed to be two more. The hours dragged on, and still no one showed up. Eventually, they decided to introduce themselves. They went to Yoseph’s table, and told him that they would like to join his quest. Umbra also let on that Percy had been the one to tell her about it. Her spellscale companion’s name was Adrin, and he had been her traveling companion for some time. Yoseph reluctantly agreed to let them accompany him, but insisted that they first wait and see if any of his other companions had been delayed.
As the night stretched on, Umbra noticed a hard looking old man watching them from the corner of the room. She eventually resolved to see what he was up to, and using her mental powers to speak in his mind, waved and said hello. A look of surprise and fear crossed the man’s face, and he quickly fled the tavern. The party followed, and Umbra used her magic to try and locate him, but he was already out of range. With a new mystery on their hands, the party decided to retire for the night. Adrin and Umbra both acquired rooms next to Yoseph’s, and soon they were all asleep.
In the middle of the night, Yoseph’s familiar woke him up. It turns out that a thief had broken into his room, and was going through his belongings. Yoseph sprang into action, and blasted the thief, knocking him unconscious. He then went to his companions rooms, and woke them up. Seeing as they were safe and unmolested, he brought them back to his room and told them what had happened. The party decided to interrogate the thief, so Yoseph used his psionic powers to heal the thief at the cost of some of his own health, and Umbra cast charm person on him. It turns out that the thief had been hired to steal the crystal that the seer had given him, and while he didn’t know the name of his employer, the description he gave seemed to match the man the party had seen earlier that night. He told them the rendezvous point where he was supposed to drop off the crystal and pick up his payment.
Having learned all they wanted to from the man, Yoseph crouched over him and said, “You have something that belongs to me, and I want it back”. With that he cast vampiric touch, and killed the poor thief. He then stuffed the body into his bag of holding to be disposed of latter. The party then decided to go to the rendezvous point, and confront their mysterious foe. The next morning they left Lyrabar, and proceeded North. Their destination was several days North along the trade road, where it was intersected by a narrow, yet deep ravine. A small bridge traversed the ravine, and that was where the meeting was to take place. They arrived near the bridge just before sunset, right on time. While still some ways away, Umbra cast Clairvoyance, and saw that there were people waiting for them. The man they had seen at the inn was there, surrounded by 4 rough looking thugs. Also behind them on the bridge was an imposing figure. Clad head to toe in black plate armor, he wore a tunic with a skull surrounded by a purple sun emblazoned upon it. In his hands he bore a wicked spiked chain. His mount was just as intimidating. A huge, zombified horse, with bare spots where it’s tail and mane should have been. (DM Note: Yoseph was able to identify it as a Necrocarnum Zombie Cauchemar, lol).
The party quickly debated their plan of action, and decided on a flat out assault. A fog was cast upon the group on the bridge, obscuring vision, and hampering movement, and then a massive fireball was dropped upon them. The old man and his thugs were incinerated instantly, the rider and his mount however seemed unphased. On top of the mist, evard’s tentacles were cast, further hampering movement. The mount was strong however, and slowly tried to escape out of the spells range. The spell scale continued to lay down blast after blast on top of the fog, and the mount was taking serious damage. Umbra, created some images of the party across the ravine as well. Finally the rider broke free of the spells range, and came into view. The mount was severely damages, but the rider seemed untouched. The party continued with spells that delayed movement, and Adrin pounded away with his most damaging spells. Finally, the mount went down, but it’s rider continued on, and started attacking and destroying the illusions on his side of the bridge.
Seeing that spells had little effect on the man, Umbra used her mage sight to pinpoint the magical aura’s on the man, and started to dispel them. Once the man’s shirt was dispelled, Adrin’s spells started to have an effect. Umbra attempted to take control of the man’s mind, but it failed, something else was preventing it. Saving her dispels for the shirt, the party continued to pound away at him. Seeing that the battle was turning against him, the man turned to flee, but his movement was slowed to a crawl. Umbra offered to spare the man, if he would surrender, and explain why he was attacking them. With a mirthless laugh, the man reached into a bag, and hurled out a head at the party. Yoseph was able to identify it as belonging to the Inquisitor, his former companion. The man identified himself as the Patriarch, and evil villain monologue ensued. Long story short, he was going to rebuild the Ebon Dawn, starting by regaining the crystal that was stolen from their strong hold. He had hunted down the heroes. Slaying one, and nearly slaying the Sembian fop. Neither one possessed the crystal he was looking for. Yoseph laughed at the man and informed him that he didn’t have the crystal either. The party continued their assault, keeping his shirt dispelled and eventually he went down. Yoseph cut off his head to keep him from being resurrected, and stuffed it in his bag of holding. With that, they decided to loot the corpses, head back to Lyrabar to re-supply, and then head out on their quest.
(DM Note: Wow… this didn’t turn out at all like I expected. The Patriarch was a lvl 18 Soulborn, riding on a zombie Cauchmar with a base movement of 70ft. I had massive spell resistance, and a back up meld that hampered mind control. My plan was to let them kill off the minions, ride out and subdue the party, and have them wake up captive in a bandit camp. I severely underestimated the effectiveness of their movement hampering spells. Oh well, live and learn. The party was stunned when I told them what they had done, lol. Adrin had was down to his 3rd level spells, and had dished out well over 300 points of damage, though most of it was resisted by the Patriarch.
I was going to have the Patriarch as a re-occuring villain, and still might. However, they have only killed 12 of the 13, so there is still some one out there… The Ebon Dawn may very well rise again! Mwuhahahaha!)
The party returned to Lyrabar, and supplied themselves for the journey. Having learned about the crystals, Umbra wanted to track down the Seer, and try and obtain one for herself, and her companion. They decided that the shortest route would be to take a boat up river. So they found a small ship that would take them along the coast, up the Great Impras river, and get them much closer to their destination. There was one other passenger on the ship, a man in his early forties. He was dressed in loose comfortable robes. He was fit, and firm, though the streaks of white had begun to play at his hair and beard. He began chatting with the party individually. He seemed to know far more about the party than he should have, and made several very cryptic statements. Umbra in particular was frustrated, as she couldn’t seem to read his mind, and his statements seemed fairly circumspect. She was used to getting more direct answers. At the end of the day they all turned in, and Umbra and Adrin woke to find that they had each been left with a blue crystal much like Yosephs (DM Note: I didn’t want to derail the campaign with a side quest to go meet up with the seer, so being that he was a seer, I figured he knew they were coming and decided to save everyone some time). With their mission accomplished, the party decided to continue their journey north.
With only some minor mishap, the party safely reached the Damarran border, and came to the town of Trail’s End. They checked in to one of the nicer inns, and soon Yoseph was presented with a sealed letter. It was an invitation from Baron Donlevy, the ruler of Trail’s End. It turns out that they had arrived on the Baron’s Birthday. Being on the border of Impiltur and Damarra, the Baron keeps abreast of what goes on in Impiltur. Learning that Yoseph, a great hero in Impiltur was in town, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to invite such an esteemed guest to his party. Yoseph decided to accept, and his companions agreed to accompany him. So they put on their best outfits, except for Umbra. She decided to go naked, only wearing the illusion of an impressive dress. They then headed out to the Baron’s manor. The Baron’s manar was the largest building in Trail’s End. It was surrounded by a high wall, and had several guards stationed around the grounds. Tonight though, the gates were wide open. A pair of guards met the guests, confiscated their weapons, and viewed their invitations. From there they were escorted by a servant to the main house. Servants were bustling and the house was decorated extensively for the festivities.
The party was ushered into a large feasting hall, and when the party was announced, the Baron himself came to meet them. He welcomed them to his home, and said that it was an honor to have such esteemed guests at his party. He bid them to have a seat at his table. There they met the Baron’s Son Edmund, and his niece and nephew Ginny and Adin. Yoseph was soon asked to retell his adventures, to the applause of the crowd. As the evening progressed they made polite conversation, while Umbra read the thoughts of most of the guests. There was lots of business being discussed, and Umbra learned that Edmund and his father had been quarreling. Evidently the Baron didn’t approve of some of his new friends. They also learned that the Baron and his brother had a bit of a falling out, though it didn’t seem to apply to his niece and nephew. Suddenly a new guest was announced Devron Taim, a well known Bard. He greeted his host, and thanked him for the honor of the invitation. He then began to play, and the room was soon in rapt attention. After singing and playing his lute for quite a few songs, he was also invited to sit with the Baron. He was sat next to Ginny, much to her delight. Devron was handsome and charming, and a hit with the guests, and with Ginny in particular. He had been traveling the area, and was working his way South, eventually to Sembia. He seemed fascinated by Yoseph’s tale, and said that he may one day write a song about it.
Eventually, the hour grew late and the Baron excused himself to go to bed, citing that aged types like him need their rest, much to the mirth of the remaining guests. Edmond soon excused himself as well. After many more drinks, Devron and Ginny snuck away, their intent obvious. The party was then left with Adin, who then pressed them with an inexhaustible supply of questions. It turns out that he had long thought about becoming an adventurer himself. After some time, screams of horror and angry shouting erupted throughout the house. Eventually a guard told them that the Baron had been killed, murdered in his sleep by his own guards. The party was escorted to a room with Adin. There they waited under guard, until they were met by a distraught Edmund. Then they were questioned as to where they were at the time of the murder. Adin and Edmund exchanged some heated words, but he and the parties stories were verified by some servants. Edmund then apologized, telling them that he had sealed off the house, and was attempting to try and find out what exactly happened to his Father. Yoseph offered to aid him in the investigation, to which Edmund seemed grateful.
The Baron’s two guards had been detained, and the party was led to their cells. They interrogated them, and their story was that another guard had came up to them and informed him that the man they were guarding was an imposter, and that the castle had been over run by intruders! The real Baron was rallying the guards and retaliating. He then instructed them to slay the imposter, and help with the defense of the manor. They didn’t know the guard, but they both felt that he could be trusted. They did as they were bade, and went into the Baron’s chamber and slew him as he slept. Then the other guard raised the alarm and vanished. Umbra was able to determine that magic had been used on them, and that they had probably been under some sort of magical compulsion. They then brought in the captain of the guard, and the guards were asked to describe the man. The description didn’t match any of the guards employed by the Baron.
The party then suggested that they get a priest to try to speak with the dead Baron. Adrin was selected to go. He soon returned with a priest of Lathander, and he cast the spell. The Party asked some very good questions, and learned that the Baron had suspected that Edmunds new associates were secretly Zhents. Armed with this knowledge, the party began to formulate a hypothesis. They questioned Edmund next. He was outraged that they would interrogate him, but never the less he did admit to the party that his friends were merchants who were able to import in some items that were not quite legal for purchase. Drugs, banned trade goods, etc.. could all be gotten through them for the right price. Edmund wanted to allow them to operate discretely in Trails End, in exchange for a hefty monthly fee. Baron Donlevy had adamantly opposed it. Edmond argued that since these things were going to be smuggled anyway, that they might as well control it and profit from it. The party then informed him that they believed that his new “friends” were Zhents, and had arranged to have his Father killed so that they could do business with Edmond. Edmond seemed shocked and mortified. He quickly set up a plan to capture his friends and interrogate them. In the mean time he asked the party to continue trying to find out if the man responsible for enchanting the guards was still in the manor. Umbra set up at the front gates, and had the guests come by one by one. They were then asked where they were when the Baron was murdered, and Umbra would read their minds. Once they had done so, the guest was allowed to leave. She asked Devron if he could assist in this by casting detect thoughts as well, but Devron said that he did not know the spell at that time. The last guest left, and they had turned up nothing. Umbra theorized that whoever had done this, obviously had magical power, and had more than likely left the castle right after the murder. The next day, Edmond captured his friends, and under torture, they admitted that they were in fact Zhents, and their superiors had brought in some one to kill the Baron. They were then promptly executed.
Having more or less done all they could, the party then left Trail’s End, and headed North. Umbra was suspicious of possible Zhent reprisals, so she spread a lot of misinformation as to where they were headed, and cast an illusion to disguise the party as mere peasants. They traveled the whole day, and eventually found a spot to camp. At the Camp, Adrin took the first watch. Umbra decided to cast obscuring mist around herself while she slept in revere. Yoseph decided he would change himself into a chest while he slept. (DM Note: LOL, so much for staying incognito. You now have a peasant camping with a large chest next to him, and a large column of dense fog on the side of the road, not next to any body of water). As it happened, a rider on horse back approached the camp. Hearing it, Yoseph polymorphed into a Fairy Dragon and hid on top of the mist. The rider slowed as he came to the camp, and seeing the suspicious column of fog on the side of the road, next to a peasant sitting near a campfire. He came to a halt a safe distance away, and kept his hand on the hilt of his rapier.
Adin waved at him, and then Yoseph flew down and introduced himself (DM Note: So much for keeping his identity secret, lol). The man was surprised, yet warily introduced himself. They chatted for a little while, the man saying that he was heading north to the next town, and then west to Helioglobus. Yoseph informed him that he and his companions were heading North, and asked him about the towns and villages they might encounter. The man answered as best he could, and then politely excused himself saying that he wanted to press on a bit further. Umbra had slept through the whole thing, and was more or less none the wiser of this encounter. Late the next day, they reached the next town, and checked into the main inn.
They were eating in the tap room, when a pair of rough looking characters entered the inn. They positioned themselves near the bar, and ordered some drinks. A few minutes latter, another pair of rough looking men entered the inn, and took a table near the door. Over the next few minutes, several more men entered and took up positions around the party. Then a man came down the stairs of the inn. The man turned out to be the man the party met last night. His arrival seemed to be a signal for the other men, and they got up in unison, and attacked the party. The man also began to cast a spell, and the area was enveloped in silence. The patrons in the bar fled, and the bartender hid behind his bar. Umbra had abilities and items that let her work around the silence, and managed to halt her attackers with a spell, and D-door out of harms way. Adrin couldn’t cast in the silence, so drew a weapon to defend himself. Yoseph drew upon his psionic powers and managed to dispel the silence. The roughs continued the attack, wounding both Yoseph and Adrin, while the man once again covered the area in silence. Umbra dominated the man and commanded him to kill his friends. Yoseph once again managed to dispel the silence. Adrin had waited for the silence to dissipate, and cast a spell that conjured up several blades that whirled around him, slicing into any thing next to him, including several of his attackers. The man then came over and fired off a sound burst that damaged and stunned his allies, as well as Adrin and Yoseph. Yoseph was able to shake off the effects of the spell, but Adrin remained stunned. This didn’t stop his blades from continuing to tear into his stunned opponents however, and they were slain. Yoseph and the man finished off the rest of the thugs.
After the battle, Yoseph healed the party’s wounds and they began to interrogate the man. They learned that the man was a Zhent agent. He had left Trail’s End to report to his superiors, and had encountered the party. He had ridden hard to make his report, and informed his superior of the party’s involvement in the Trail’s End matter. He was then instructed to lay an ambush for the party and do away with them. Umbra instructed him to take them to his superior. The man led them out of town, to a secluded hunters lodge in the woods. Umbra turned the party invisible, and had the man go inside. The lodge was spartan, and had little in the way of furniture. The windows were all boarded shut, and the only light came from several candles. There was only one occupant, a strange man dressed in furs, and wearing an antlered skull cap. He also had some cruel looking gauntlets on his hand. Yoseph recognized him as Quincy, his former companion!
Yoseph revealed himself, and Quincy was shocked. He had no idea that one of the meddling adventurers was a former companion of his. It turns out, that Quincy had always been a Zhent agent. He had gone after the Ebon Dawn as a way to increase his standing in the organization. After all the martial Cyricist organization, were a threat to Zhents as well. As an added bonus, being a hero in Impiltur had allowed him to establish some illicit trade routes throughout the kingdom. This had elevated his status in the organization, but also now made him to valuable to be allowed to go off adventuring. Now he had been working on establishing a distribution center in Trail’s End. By killing the Baron, he had hoped to work with Edmund, and establish himself there. Unfortunately, the party had uncovered his plans, and ruined a years worth of work.
Umbra was very keen on trying to help him salvage the situation, in return for his aid in getting the Zhents off their backs. Quincy could make no promises however, but decided to spare them do to his past with Yoseph. Umbra, deciding to tie up lose ends, mentally commanded the man she had dominated to say that Quincy knew to much about him, and to then attack him. Quincy easily dodged the blow and made short work of him. When the man died his features changed, and was revealed to be Devron Taim, the bard. It turns out that he had been the assassin all along. Yoseph warned Quincy that one of their companions had been killed by the Ebon Dawn, and that they had been looking for him and the crystal he had taken. He also told him that he had killed the Patriarch, and hopefully that would put an end to the pursuit. Quincy gave his thanks, and told them he would suggest that his superiors cut their losses and avoid striking at them, but couldn’t guarantee that it would stop them from trying to retaliate further. Yoseph told him that they would be heading west to Helioglobus, and bid him fare well. Before they left, they looted the slain bards corpse, and Yoseph used his reserve feat to splatter acid on the bards face, to prevent him from being identified.
(DM Note: Ok, lots of fun these few games. What Devron actually did was seduce Ginny and then cast sleep on her while she was asleep. He then crept out, used his ring of the chameleon to disguise himself as a guard, and then cast charm person on the Baron’s guards, and used suggestion on them for good measure. After the deed was done, he sounded the alarm and then cast invisibility to go back to his room. When the guards found them, and woke them, Ginny claimed that he had been with her all night. Lucky for him, Umbra tipped her hand about reading peoples minds as they left, so he kept his thoughts focused on the night with Ginny as she left. After he left Trail’s end, he disguised himself and went to report to Quincy. He happened to stumble across the disguised party. Yoseph introduced himself by his real name however, so the parties identities were revealed. He hurried on to the next town, and then planned the ambush for them. Lol, Umbra being asleep was most helpful.
I had decided to tie in the former character just for fun, and Quincy’s former player (Umbra) approved of it. I just might have Percy make an appearance down the road as well. Lol. Side quest/murder mystery over, the party is continuing on with their quest).
The party continued north, and finally came to the last major town in Damarra. There they decided to re-supply for the trip north, and hire a guide. The party made several announcements at the main inns that they were looking for a guide, and had an audition of sorts in the town square. A small crowd had gathered, and the party spent some time deciding on how best to decide on their guide. Umbra’s first choice would be to teleport them all a certain distance away in the woods, with the first one making it back getting the job. However no one had that spell yet. So in the end they decided to cast detect magic on everyone, and the one with the best gear would obviously be the most powerful and experienced. (DM Note: Lol, we had a new player joining us, so this was how we introduced him. He was a ranger/deep wood sniper/order of the bow initiate). The spell was cast, and one applicant stood out among the rest. His name was Varshren and he was ultimately hired to be their guide.
The next day they headed out, striking out north through the forest. They had several encounters with the wild life there, including a run in with a pack of winter wolves, and a large den of snow spiders. Their guide got them turned around several times, but he usually managed to right their course. However, the party discovered his mistakes eventually, and started aiding him when he picked their course. (DM Note: lol, he failed his survival check a few times). Eventually they made it through the forest, and encountered a vast tundra. The weather began to worsen a little, and the temperature began to drop. The party was prepared however, and the cold didn’t bother them in the least. After a few days of travel, they encountered two massive creatures. Yoseph was able to identify them as a pair of Talusks. Umbra got an idea, and was able to charm the beasts. Using them as mounts, the party made up for lost time. The beasts proved to be hardy mounts, unphased by the worst blizzard that they encountered.
Soon, they encountered the Great Glacier. A great wall of Ice that extended as far as the eye could see. Yoseph D-doored the party to the top, and they continued their journey. Though the Talusks served to ward off the lessor predators, it didn’t stop some of the mightier ones. A pair of hungry dire polar bears attacked the party, but were no match for them. Later on, the party was ambushed by a pair of Remorhaz, with poor Varshren being caught in ones jaws. The Talusks were frightened and let loose ear piercing bellows, stunning most of the party. Then they stampeded off, carrying some of the stunned party off a ways before they tumbled from their mounts. Never the less, the party was able to recover, and rescued their companion before he could be swallowed. Once the Remorhaz were dispatched, Umbra went back to collect their mounts, and they resumed their course.
A few days latter, the party encountered a trio of frost giants tormenting and arctic dwarf. It was obvious that a small battle had taken place, and there were several Dwarf corpses scattered about. Umbra wanted to subdue them so that they could discover what had happened. The party got to prepare, and sent their plan into motion. Focusing on ability damage, the giants were soon incapacitated. The dwarf tried to run, but the party managed to incapacitate him as well. After questioning the giants, they learned that they had indeed attacked and killed the dwarfs. The party then finished them off, and then set about questioning the Dwarf. Umbra used her powers of persuasion to convince the dwarf that they were allies, and offered to take him and his dead companions back to his village.
At the village, the party resupplied, and also learned some important information. The dwarf they had rescued knew about their destination. According to his tribe’s legends, they were descended from the clan who had built it. He knew of it’s location, but was deathly afraid to go near there. The place had always been a beacon for evil, and now two white dragons dwelt there. They managed to convince the dwarf to take them as far as he dared, and made preparations for the journey. Sensing that they would be some time in the ruins, Umbra decided to leave the Talusks at the village, and see if one of the dwarfs could train them. With their preparations made, the party set out to find the ruins.
As they travelled, their guide became more and more anxious. Finally, after a couple days journey, they reached a deep chasm in the glacier. The dwarf indicated that the chasm eventually turned into a tunnel that led to the entrance. He would take them no further, so the party continued on.
(DM Note: I hadn’t expected them to charm the Talusks, but it worked out ok, and shaved some time off the journey. It also allowed me to ignore any potential small encounters. The dwarf encounter tied in with a prophecy the seer had made earlier, but the players didn’t pick up on it. Next part, the fun stuff begins!).
(DM note: You know you are in trouble when the group power gamer is leveling up his character, and starts giggling over his character sheet). The first challenge faced by the party, was descending into the chasm. The ice slicked walls would make climbing treacherous. Yoseph solved the problem by D-Dooring the party to the bottom. Once there, the party continued forward, deeper into the tunnel. As they cautiously traversed the tunnel, they noticed moisture running along the ceilings, to drip to the cavern floor. Suddenly the drips turned to rivulets, and several large, white oozes dropped from the cavern floor. The party was caught off guard, and Varshen started firing arrows at them with his bow. To the party’s horror, the oozes split into two. Yoseph D-Doored the party a short distance away to regroup. Adrin then demolished the oozes at range with fire spells. Although the immediate threat was dealt with, the party now was even more alert for dangers.
Soon, the tunnel changed from natural stone, to a worked tunnel. They then encountered a hall, with several statues seemingly carved from solid ice. At the end of the hall, was a large set of double doors. Cautious, they sent in a dimensional construct through the hall. The unfeeling construct triggered several traps in the floor, filling the hall with waves of intense cold. Once the construct had made it across the room, the party cloaked themselves in invisibility, and Umbra disabled the traps. As they approached the door, some of the party could hear the sounds of battle coming from the other side. Umbra decided to investigate. She cast a spell of Clairvoyance/Clairaudience on the other side of the door. When she did so, her invisibility dropped, and the Ice statues came to life and attacked. Adrin laid down a wall of fire to cover the party. What Umbra saw a battle raging on the other side of the door. The room was a large hall, with two large double doors thrown open on the East and west side. To the North, it seemed like a section of the ceiling had caved in with rubble, and was frozen over with a thick layer of ice. Kobolds and goblins fought and slew each other with wild abandon. The battle seemed fairly evenly matched, with lots of casualties on both sides. Both sides seemed to possess a powerful spell caster, with a strange blue goblin on one side, and an impressive winged kobold on the other. There was also a kobold sheathed in a strange blue energy that took on the out line of a dragon. He tore into the goblins with wild abandon, causing havoc in their ranks.
Umbra quickly made her decision. She cast dominate on the Kobold with the blue draconic aura’s, and instructed it to slay it’s winged comrade. She then mentally instructed her comrades to D-door them into the next room, and to aid the Goblins as best they could. In the mean time, the ice constructs continued to attack the party, but only delivered minor damage. The party teleported into the next room, and now everyone could see the chaotic battle before them. The Kobold with the aura’s attacked his comrade, but only delivered a glancing blow. The winged Kobold was surprised, but quickly retreated and dispelled the magical enchantments of his ally. The magical aura’s surrounding the Kobold winked out, and the dominate was negated as well. The kobold looked about angrily, and seemed to bark apologetically to the winged Kobold. The Party then set to work. Adrin took out large numbers of the Kobalds with a well placed fireball, Varshen set his bow working at a furious pace, each arrow felling a kobold. Yoseph blasted away with spells as well. Umbra once again dominated the strange Kobold. The winged Kobold seemed to sense that defeat was near, and cast a powerful spell. The laws of gravity were reversed, and many goblins and a few party members were hurled to the stalactite covered ceiling. The Blue was also caught in the spell, but instead of being hurled to the ceiling like the rest, he seemed to almost casually float to the top. Before he could hit a stalactite, he winked away, and appeared on the ground several yards away, out of the spells effect. The winged Kobold then called for a retreat, and the kobolds fled the hall, and sealed the double doors behind them.
After the spell ended, and it stopped raining goblin corpses back onto the floor, the blue cautiously approached the party. He introduced himself as Pookie, and inquired as to who the Party was, and why they were here. Umbra took the lead and introduced herself. She said that they were explorers and were seeking a large blue crystal artifact rumored to be there. Pookie informed the party that he new nothing about it. When asked about what was going on, he informed the party that the ruins were ruled by two great white Dragons. They were Sisters, and both laid claim to this domain. They have fought for centuries, and as direct conflict was dangerous and risky, have gathered followers to help fight their battles for them. He served the Lady Kalmanastra, who commanded the goblins. Her Sister ruled the Kobolds. When asked which side was stronger, Pookie thought for a moment. He informed them that the Goblins enjoyed superior numbers, but the Kobolds were better trained and equipped. The Kobolds had control over the mines and foundries, which allowed them to create their own weapons. The goblins have been forced to scavenge from the battle field for most of theirs. Still, there were several times the goblins had been able to overwhelm the Kobolds, and drive them into the foundries. However, the kobolds had heavily trapped the area, and such attacks were to costly to be taken lightly. So the battles had achieved a sort of stale mate, with no side able to claim victory. Pookie was also asked about the Northern wing. Pookie replied that that area was forbidden, and that he believed that it once belonged to the Sister’s Mother.
After her questions were answered, Umbra asked to strike a deal with Kalmanastra. The party would aid her in eliminating the kobolds and her Sister, in exchange for being able to freely search the place for the Crystal. Pookie believed that in light of the party’s aid, that she would be willing to come to an arrangement. Pookie barked out some orders to his men, and then beckoned the party to follow him. Umbra instructed the Kobold she had dominated (who had not fled with the others) to follow them as well. He led them into a long hallway that appeared to have once been the Dwarves living area. Many side rooms lined the hall, and it was obvious by the filth and grime that the goblins had inhabited the area for some time. At the end of the hallway were a set of double doors with several goblins guarding them. Pookie quickly spoke to the guards, and asked the party to wait while he spoke to his mistress. Even through the heavy doors, the party could hear a booming voice on the other side. After some minutes, Pookie returned and bade them enter the room. The large room showed signs of having once been a grand feasting hall. In it’s center was a huge white Dragon. It greeted them in it’s booming voice, and introduced herself as the Lady Kalmanastra. After a brief conversation She agreed to the parties request. They would help deliver a crushing defeat to the kobolds and her Sister, in exchange for the freedom to search the ruins unimpeded. Umbra tried to ask her about the crystal, but Kalamastra denied any knowledge of it. Umbra could tell she was lying.
Umbra then instructed the kobold she had dominated to tell them all he knew about the traps in the foundry and mine. Pookie took careful notes, and made a rough map of the lay out and the dangers. The party was given a room to rest in, and they planned out their attack the next day. The next morning they once again ventured into the hall where to battle had been fought. With the kobold they had dominated, they d-doored past the sealed doors, into the foundry. The kobold had been instructed to disable the traps, which he immediately set out doing. The party then set to work attacking the kobolds. An alarm sounded, and the party could see and hear many kobolds swarming in from the mines. Varshen’s bow went to work, slaying many, as did Adrin’s spells. The winged Kobold arrived from the mines, and cas evard’s tentacles on the party. The entire party was caught in the spell, but Yoseph was able to concentrate, and d-door the party out of the spells range, and put them at the other end of the tunnel, in front of a large set of double doors. Focusing their attacks on the winged kobold, they were able to take him down fairly fast, with only moderate damage taken. The rest of the Kobolds were crushed with relative ease, though their numbers seemed without end. Then the doors crashed open, and the other White dragon appeared. It attempted to blast the party with it’s icy breath, but Yoseph was able to dampen it’s power with his mind, protecting the party from most of the damage. Then Umbra and Yoseph enacted their plan, while Adrin and Varshen continued to slaughter the Kobold reinforcements. Umbra used her mage hand to hit the dragon with a maximized and empowered touch of idiocy. Yoseph followed up with an ego whip that drove the dragon into a catatonic stupor.
Seeing the Dragon bested, the rest of the kobolds fled deep into the mines.
The party then returned to the foundry, and let in their goblin allies. Pookie was impressed, and slightly intimidated by the party’s accomplishment. Kalmanastra soon appeared, and with feral glee, tore out her Sister’s throat, and finished off the dominated kobold. Letting out a roar of triumph, she thanked the party, and set about having her goblins secure the place. On their way back, the party noticed that one of the mine tunnels had a strange growth of crystals in it. It wasn’t what they were looking for, but it did seem to be a raw, un-worked type similar to the crystal spheres they carried.
Having depleted some spells and resources, the party decided to return to their room and rest before exploring the place. On the second watch, Umbra was on guard. She never saw her attacker before it was too late. A goblin emerged from the naked stone walls, and buried its dagger into her. A terrible magical sensation almost over came her, as she could feel her body start to become stone. However Umbra had become adept at twisting the strands of fate, and was able to do so. She was able to overcome flesh to stone spell, and warned her party of the attack (DM Note: That lvl or two of fate spinner came in handy). The door to the room burst open, and Pookie was there, surrounded by a large force of goblins. Pookie let loose with a terrible mental attack at Adrin, but Adrin’s training as a wild mage allowed him to turn it back at him. Pookie grimaced as the spell hit him, but he seemed to be able to shrug off it’s effects. Adrin let loose with a fire ball, that killed all the goblins around the blue. Yoseph blasted him with energy bolts, and Varshren struck at the Blue with his bow. For her part, Umbra dominated the goblin assassin who had attacked her, and commanded him to use the same attack that he used on her, on himself. Pookie blasted Adrin again with his mental power, and this time Adrin succumbed to the attack. His brainstem neatly cut in two, he fell into a catatonic stupor. Yoseph tried a power against the blue, but it had no effect, his mind had been shielded. Varshren continued to attack with his bow, and Umbra dispelled some of the blue’s enchantments. Pookie then attempted to use the same power against Yoseph, however he was just able to resist it. Varshren’s arrows continued to strike the blue, and suddenly a contingency took effect, and the Pookie teleported away. The dominated goblin stabbed himself, but was able to resist his own magical effect. Umbra decided to tell him to report back to Kalmanastra, and then try and kill her when he got the chance. Yoseph had been able to psi-craft the spell that had laid Adrin low, and informed the party that he had been Decerebrated. Knowing he only had days to live, the party decided to leave to aid their friend.
Yoseph teleported them to Trails End, and they looked for the Cleric of Lathander that they had met with previously. Umbra disguised the party, to keep a low profile in case there were more Zhents out looking for him. They eventually found the Cleric, and were able to restore their friend. They spent the night in town, and planned their next move. The next day, Yoseph teleported them back to their room, under the cover of invisibility. The room was clear for the moment, though they could hear goblins out in the hall. Umbra cast a quick clairvoyance/Clairaudience in Kalmanastra’s chamber. There she could see the dragon pacing her room, and muttering angrily to her self. The goblin assassin lied dead on the floor. The party D-doored into her chamber, and set to work. Spell after spell slammed into the Dragon. Her movement was impeded to a crawl, and her resistances were dropped to almost nothing. The dragon could not see her enemies, nor move in close enough to attack them due to a spell of repulsion cast by Umbra. When they deemed her weakened enough, they cast a spell of Baleful Polymorph, turning her into a small monkey. Umbra then charmed the monkey, intending to latter turn her into her new familiar. With the Dragon defeated, they searched an adjoining room and found her hoard. There they decided to rest and plan their next move.
They next morning they left the chamber through the double doors. Any goblins they encountered fled in terror. They made their way to the main hall, and to the frozen rubble on the Northern side. There Yoseph began the laborious task of burning away the rubble with acid (DM Note: He had a reserve feat). Eventually, they discovered that the rubble had covered the entrance to another hallway. Once it was cleared, they entered in to another large room. In it’s center, they saw the corpse of another huge white Dragon. The body had been their a while, and had been coated with a small layer of ice. The body showed signs of having been in a fierce battle, with large bite and claw marks. As the party neared, pin points of hellish light flickered to life in it’s empty eye sockets. The corpse stirred, and started to shamble forward towards the party. Yoseph d-doored the party back into the room, and Umbra cast repulsion on the dracolich. Adrin hit it with a disintegrate, and Varshren fired away with his bow. The party was too far to hit with it’s breath weapon, and it was unable to approach the party with it’s breath weapon. It cast a magic missile spell at the party, though it didn’t deal much damage. Adrin and Yarshren continued to hammer away at the dracolich, Yoseph summoned an astral construct and a silence spell was cast on it. The construct got close enough for it to hinder the dracolich’s spell casting. The Dracolich blasted the construct with it’s breath, but it still had plenty of fight left in it. The assault continued, with the dracolitch more or less unable to counter attack. It was Varshren who delivered the final blow, and the hellish light fled from it’s eyes.
The parties victory was short lived however, as the sounds of an unholy roar came from the kobold mines. Within moments, the corpse of the dragon the party fought a few days before raced into view. It then hit the boundary of Umbra’s repulsion spell, and could come no further. The party set to work dispatching it from a distance. Yoseph and Adrin blasting it with spells, while Varshren attacked with his bow. Umbra blinded it with a glitter dust, and then moved to allow her team mates some more mobility. Though it seriously taxed the parties reserves, the beast was slain…again. The party explored the hall behind the dracolich’s lair, and discovered a hall with large ice statues, very much like what they encountered at the entrance. Figuring that they were ice golems, the party had Adrin use his last two 4th lvl spells to put up two walls of fire to melt them away. Umbra then checked the hall for traps. Finding some, she disabled them.
The hall ended in a large pair of double doors. Umbra checked for traps, and finding none, they entered the room. The room showed signs of being uninhabited for a long time. Yoseph was able to tell that this room was some how older than the rest of the hold, though he could not identify the style of architecture. In the center of the room, was an impressive throne made of carved stone. On it’s back was a map of Faerun, with an eight pointed star atop it. Yoseph noticed that the northern most point of the star was right about where they were now, and that the next one clockwise coincided with where they found the crystal in Narfell. In front of the throne were carefully carved plates of ice. The plates surrounded a brightly glowing crystal. The light from the crystal was reflected off the sheets of ice, and focused through a crystal. The crystal channeled a beam of light directly at the throne. Yoseph recognized a set up similar to what he had encountered in Narfell. Yoseph informed the party as to how they worked. While they prepared themselves, Yoseph carved a crystal for Varshren. Varshren was the first to place his crystal in the bracket, and sit on the throne. His mind was flooded with a wave of pure evil. It threatened to overwhelm him, and he almost lost himself. Then the symbol of Shevarash appeared in his mind, and he was able to find his focus, and fight back. He won the mental battle and tamed the energies that threatened to overcome him. He had the briefest vision of his god, nodding his approval, and then his mind flooded with new knowledge. He felt a connection to his god, and the primal forces that he represented. He could tap into those primal forces, and create a magical construct that improved his effectiveness with a bow. (DM Note: He gained the shape soulmeld feat, and can now shape sighting gloves).
One by one, the rest of the party took their turn on the throne, and had similar experiences, with the exception of Umbra and Yoseph. Umbra never saw a vision of her diety, and had to tame the energies on her own. Yoseph however, had already established a link with his deity, and his second exposure strengthened his connection, allowing him to channel more energy than before (DM Note: He received the Bonus essential feat). Next Umbra and Yosph put their familiar’s on the throne, but it had no effect on them. Having reached their goal, and having a clue as to the location of other crystals, the party discussed their next move. It was decided that they would return to the ruins of Narfell, and allow the rest of the party to use that crystal as well.
(DM Note: And so this leg of the campaign comes to an end, and this thread is now caught up with our game. From now on I will post after each session instead of by chapter. For those curious, Adrin received a phoenix belt (which I substituted for dragon fluff instead), Umbra got an illusion veil, Varshren got the sighting gloves, and Yoseph already had the lucky dice meld, and now has 2 essentia to power it with. Heh, the whole dungeon crawl, the party was preparing for something underhanded on my part. I admit, I did have one sneaky plot. The idea was to have the party kill the two dragons in their lairs. Then they would have to kill the dracolich. Both lairs were in range for the dracolich to posses the corpses, so the party would have to slay the Dracolich 3 times to put it down. Well, the party robbed me of one corpse by turning it into a monkey, but they still did have to face it twice. It was a long, grueling battle that severely taxed the party’s resources. Which is exactly the kind I like! Lol. Next game will be in two weeks.)
Chapter 3: The Hunt
Part 1: Catch up.
The Party
Yoseph, Human Wizard /Psion /Cerebromancer
Adrin, Spellscale Warmage /Wildmage/Dracolexi
Umbra, Elf Beguiler /Mindbender /Fate Spinner /Unseen Seer
Varshren, Elf Ranger /Deepwood Sniper /Order of the bow initiate
Buggah, Human (can't remember his build, will repost soon).
When last the party was together, they had found what they were looking for, and had infused themselves with the power of incarnum. Laden with the spoils of their victory, they teleported to Helioglobus and spent their hard earned rewards. (DM Note: This was a huge upgrade for the party, as they really hadn't been able to really shop since they were 9th level). After a few weeks, the party had trained, re-equiped, and was ready to set out again. Before they left, they decided that they could use some additional muscle. If they were going to be crawling around through dungeons, it would help if they had some one up front taking their first hit. Umbra began using her gather information checks around the city, trying to find a suitable canidate. She heard many tales concerning a warrior of Tempus named Buggah. He didn't prove too difficult to track down. The party found him drinking away in a crowded tavern. Nor did it it prove too hard to convince him to join them. It turns out that the mighty warrior was restless, and had not been out adventuring for several months. For a percentage of the wealth, and the promise of power, danger, and battle, Buggah was only to happy to join. With that settled, the party spent the rest of the day settling their affairs in the city, and set out the next morning.
Yoseph, having been their before, remembered well the ruins that contained the crystal. He targeted the hallway outside the crystal room, and teleported the party there without mishap. The hallway was deserted, and Umbra quickly searched the door for traps. Finding none, she quickly opened it. The door swung open to reveal a man scribbling in a journal over the altar. Guarding the man, where several fiendish creatures. Surrounding the man were three Vrock demons, and flanking the door were a marilith and hezrou. The party and the man seemed equally suprised to see each other, and spent several seconds staring at one another.
Buggah was the first to react. He translocates infront of the Marilith and let loose with his attack. He scored a crit and was able to deliver over 300 points of damage! The marilth vanished back into it's home plane in a puff of smoke. It was only the first round of combat and Buggah was already earning his keep! Varshren was next to react, and let loose a volley of arrows into one of the vrocks. Though they hit, they did far less damage than they should have, as they were partially negated by the fiends supernatural toughness. Next came Yoseph, and he cast a spell that caused a hail of stoned to pelt the back of the room. The vrocks and human man were all caught in the spell and took some damage. Yoeph then temporal accelerated and then started summoning his astral construct. Umbra moved next. She cast a new spell, one that hurled three globs of green slime at the Hezrou. The Hezrou screamed as the slime ate away at his flesh. Now the man began to chant. The Hezrou attempted to charge Buggah, but Umbra cast a halt spell, and froze him in his tracks. Unfortunately, Yoseph was in reach of the demon, and it attacked him. Fortunately, Yoseph's new armor proved more than enough to deflect the blow. The vrocks moved to attack, one managing to land a grazing blow on Buggah, and infected him with spores. The man's chanting came to an end, and 4 more vrocks and 3 more hezrou appeared to join the fray. Adrin then cast a blade barrier spell, tearing into the man and many of the demons.
Buggah quickly dispatched two of the Vrocks, and then teleported next to the man, and let loose with another blow. The blow tore into the already wounded man, it seemed like it should have killed a mortal man. However his body still seemed to be animate, despite the gaping wound. Varshren let loose with another volley of arrows into another Vrock. Yoseph's astral construct appeared and hammered into the same vrock Varshren had wounded. In the mean time Yoseph cast a spell that caused the man to be nausiated. Umbra lobbed more globbets of slime at the Hezrou, and this time it was enough to send it back into it's own plane. Umbra dominated the man, and mentally asked him how was it that he was still alive. His mental response was that he had bound tormented spirits from the abyss to his soul, and that while they remained bound, he could not die. This kind of creeped her out, but she then ordered him to dismiss his demons as best he could. The blade barrier continued to tear away at the man and demons, and all but two were rended apart and banished back to their home plane.
For his part, all the man could do was stagger and wretch as the nausea spell tormented him. And then without warning he simply keeled over and died, his injuries finally having caught up with him. With his death, the remaining conjured demons vanished back to their own dimension, leaving only the man's corpse behind. The party rested, and Yoseph sculpted Buggah a crystal. Letting their newest member go first, they had him place his crystal in the container and lay down upon the alter. His mind was immediately flooded by intense forces of chaos and evil, and he was nearly overcome. A symbol of Tempus formed in his mind and he focused on it. By focusing on it, he was able to tame the chaos and ward off the evil that threatened him. He was gifted with the briefest glimpse of his diety, solemly nodding his approval. With that, he suddenly felt an intense connection to not only his diety, but to the principles and ideals it represented. The souls off every warrior that ever lived, and ever would live stretched out before him, and he felt connected to them. From this connection, knowledge and energy flloded through him. Without thinking, he was able to take that energy and give it shape. When he was done, a pair of gleaming blue bracers adorned his wrists.
The wondering Buggah got off the alter, and Varshren, Umbra, and Adrin all took a turn. For them, the experience was different. Their connection to the soul energy was strengthened, and they were able to further empower their soulmelds. After all had taken their turn (Except for Yoseph, for he knew that a second exposure to the same crystal would do him no good), the party decided it's next move. They decided to teleport back to the crystal in the great glacier, and let Buggah get empowered by that crystal as well. After resting, Yoseph memorized another teleport spell, and whisked the party back into the crystal room. Finding it un-occupied, Buggah placed his crystal and sat on the throne. Like the others, he too found his connection to the soul energy strengthened. Once this was done, the party started to go about planning how to track down the next crystal.
(DM Note: Ok, had a new player show up so I decided to let him join in. He had an RPGA character at about the right level, so I allowed him to use it to speed things up. I'll go over it more thouraghly next session. The party faced off an NPC I had made a while back, who can be found here. The party seemed sufficiently frightened and creeped out by the encounter. Especially by the Bind the Tormented Soul Ability. Normally with his access to cleric spells, he would have a good chance to heal himself up and live. However with the nausia spell, he never had a chance. Overall it was a fun combat, and it was kinda scary to see what the party was now capable of).