Episode 32 - Dungeon and Dragon Part Three

General Summary

Staring down two drow mages casting Fireball spells, Shen Stroheim and Rooker Shango braced for incineration. The casting was halted by the intervention of Nolveniss Azrinae and the masked man the Guardians of Golarion had met previously.   Nolveniss studied Rooker and Shen, then told the masked man he called "apprentice" to take Rooker below to join the others. The mages held their action, the trigger word hanging on their lips, ready to blast both Rooker and Shen if they stepped out of line. The apprentice took Rooker below, leaving Shen with the leader of the drow incursion in Celwynvian.   Nolveniss looked into the pit and saw the body of the recently deceased Ella. He commented that she appeared to be one of his earlier experiments. That was a long time ago, and since then he had fine-tuned the ritual used to create ashblood orcs. He then spoke a command word, and Ella rose to her feet before exploding. Nolveniss was amused.   Below, the apprentice reminded Nolveniss that Lasdo did not want the Guardians killed. Nolveniss agreed, then reminded his apprentice that he had been tasked to retrieve the Helm of Suffering from the group. He pointed out that the apprentice had so far failed to deliver, which had prompted Nolveniss to kill the kobold that had been partnered with the apprentice to eliminate any further distractions.   Nolveniss then turned his attention to Shen. He told the young man that it had been he who had removed the tongue of Master Barretto and recently had done more than that. He produced what appeared to be Master Barretto's face. Blood began dripping from Shen’s blindfold. “This is for killing my dragon,” Nolveniss said coldly.”   In a telepathic rush, Shen’s last thoughts flooded Sir Godric's mind before Shen's head exploded.   Meanwhile, Sir Godric and the Guardians had begun to attack the apprentice. Godric then turned his attention to Nolveniss, but it was too late to either save Shen or stop the mage from teleporting away.   With the apprentice gravely injured, the Guardians began questioning him.  

• The apprentice hated that Shen and Ella were killed. He knew what it was like to lose a friend. Jossu, the kobold that the dragon killed, was his only friend.

• The apprentice removes his mask, revealing himself to be a drow. He said his people do not put much stock in friendship. It was seen as a weakness.

• Soul Shard - when Zalatas attacked Golarion, Algolon fought it with the help of several powerful entities from Golarion. The dragon’s body was shattered into shards. Its essence was trapped in a crystal created by the demon lord Abraxas, which was then locked away somewhere deep within the bowels of the planet. The shattered body created Dragon Shards, which were used back in the Age of Darkness and Age of Anguish to create powerful artifacts like the Helm of Suffering

• Lasdo didn’t want the helm for himself. He wanted to test Agonos against his Chosen Ones. Lasdo wanted the helm so Nolveniss could remove the dragon shard within it and become a Draa'kyl. The two men were like brothers.

• Drow generally don’t like draa’kyl because they’re seen as abominations. But the Twilight Empire wasn’t concerned with what drow society approved of. They remain somewhat loyal to House Azrinae, which gives them a position of power, but tend to operate as they see fit.

  The injured drow wanted revenge against Nolveniss, but does not expect to survive the attempt. While the Guardians went to examine the rest of the cavern, the drow disappeared into the darkness.   Heavily laden with treasure, the Guardians rested within the dragon's lair. The next morning they returned to the surface and started to make their way back to the elves staging area.   As they made their way through the city, the Guardians came across the remains of a recent ambush. There was a great deal of blood, but no bodies. However, they did discover the dagger belonging to Kaerishiel who had been on a supply mission with Fjord somewhere in the city. The Guardians chose to return to the camp, unload their supplies, then return to search for survivors of the ambush.

Rewards Granted

Loot

  This is the running total so far from all the magic items and treasure from throughout the Myrkara's lair -   Coins: 7922 gp that was recoverable, much of that in the form of lumps of coins that had been fused together somehow. Possibly due to the dragon's breath weapon in the past, before it became an abomination. Beneath the coins had been bones, mostly crushed through the years. This also included the coins salvaged elsewhere throughout the lair. A somewhat disappointing haul, all things considered.   Potions: [50 gp] potion of shield of faith (CL 1), [25 gp] potion of resistance (CL 1)   Scrolls: [25 gp] arcane scroll of silent image (CL 1), [25 gp] divine scroll of comprehend languages (CL 1)   Items: [1,000 gp] shawl of life-keeping, [3,000 gp] intensified metamagic rod (lesser), [2,700 gp] cloak of the crusader, [4,000 gp] headband of inspired wisdom +2   Leoran Swiftstorm Loot: [4,750 gp] +2 Half-Plate, [8,315 gp] +2 Longsword, [5,000 gp] Bag of Holding II   Ella's Extra Gear: [2,500 gp] Ring of sustenance, [4,000 gp] belt of incredible dexterity +2 , [1,000 gp] cloak of resistance +1, Bag of holding 1 & 2 , Ioun torch , potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of shield of faith    

XP

33 645 + 6 240 = 39 885 XP!  

Ding Level Seven!

   

Battle Points

  With the Saddle of Cloudclaw and the Longsword of Leoran Swiftstorm presented to Eviana, as well as killing Razorhorn, the Guardians are rewarded 4 Battle Points (8 BP total so far)

Missions/Quests Completed

• Recovered the Saddle of Cloudclaw for Eviana.

• Escaped an encounter with Nolveniss.

Character(s) interacted with

• Nolveniss - Nolveniss is a high-ranking member of House Azrinae, and one of Matron Sallevrah's most trusted arcanists. He led the research team in Celwynvian for a number of years, and now, just as his research was reaching completion, the elves came to ruin everything. As a result, he is in a particularly foul mood.

• The Apprentice - The masked drow who had been tasked with retrieving the Helm of Suffering from the Guardians. His friend Jozzu had been killed by Nolveniss, which shifted his focus from retrieving the Helm to getting revenge on his master.