Session 23: The Body of Niptu Report

General Summary

Session 23 – Wednesday December 28, 2022 – The Body of Niptu

  5 Hour Role Play/battle session 5:30 PM to 10:30PM

The Stone Bearers. Party of 5.5:

It is the 3rd day of the month of Uktar (The Rotting) in the 50th year of the Age of Enialis (Early November.)

• Abrash – Wood (Dessert) Elf, L5 Druid – Jacob Munson
• Ajani– High Elf, L5 Wizard – Nathan Gioconda (family)
• Gazlowe – Goblin, L5 Artificer – Josh Pozsonyi (family)
• Thomas – Human, L5 Blood hunter – Ryan Armstrong (In Person)
• Isabella – Forest Gnome, L5 Barbarian – Jackie Armstrong
• Cedrik – Human, L5 Bard – Dan King
• Gurthen – Dwarf, L5 Paladin – Spencer Armstrong

Quick, destroy the body!

A mystical black orb engulfed Gazlowe and then disappeared leaving Ajani standing in his place. Abrash, very happy to see his brother told him they need to destroy the body quickly. They looked at the glass sarcophagus and saw the arcane runes written on the floor. Ajani examined the runes and said that they looked more clerical in nature. Thomas made out the symbols representing “Gentle Repose.”

Abrash heard the sounds of other approaching. He slammed his staff against the glass sarcophagus, cracking it. Isabella and Gurthen joined in and destroyed the sarcophagus revealing a well-preserved body. Ajani took the NPT-48 and looked for his disintegrate scroll. Abrash, Gurthen and Fredric ran to the hallway to release the Troll and slow down the approaching guards. Abrash cast Entangle at the foot of the ladder. Cedrik cast his mage hand and with it he unlocked the prison door to the Troll. Cedrik said, “You’re free, it’s time to eat.” The three moved back into the hall towards the Niptu body.

Ajani focused intensely on the scroll and read it successfully. The body was completely disintegrated. Ajani was immediately taken back into the Ethereal plane and disappeared. Seeing that they completed their task, everyone ran towards the hall to escape.

Battle to escape

Gurthen held the door shut and listened to the pandemonium occurring in the hall. When the others showed, up Gurthen opened the door and found several guards standing outside looking to come in. There were 5 guards. Gurthen swung his hammer and killed 3 of the guards with a single blow. Walking down the hall they spotted a large man with a golden mask, Victor Rathmore. Holding a massive maul in his hands Victor approached and said in a loud and stern voice, “Stand down and stand back.” The party slowed down a bit. Victor turned to his associate Karl and held up his hand. Karl held his sword and didn’t move forward. Abrash cast detect thoughts on Victor and heard Victor think, “Please, give me a reason to kill you.” Abrash cautioned the others to stand down.

Peering down the hall a bit they saw a pile of bodies lying at the bottom of the ladder and the body of a Troll “apparently” dead. Gurthen went to drink a potion but Abrash stopped him. Victor turned to one of the guards and said, “Go get him.” The guard went up the ladder. A few more guards came and took positions in the hall. The Stone Bearers settled down Isabella a bit so she wouldn’t attack.

Stwino Lurchlich

Stwinon Lurchlich
The ladder creaked as a large man wearing a black cloak and a bowler hat descended the ladder. He glanced at the pile of dead guards and made his way through the guards holding the Stone Bearers at bay. As he passed by the dead guards, he looked at them and with sadness and said, “73,035 days without a mishap.” Abrash read his thoughts as, “Please don’t let it be true!” The man patted Victor on the back and said, “Have you checked?” Victor replied no and then sent a guard into the room to check on the Body of Niptu. The guard returned quickly and with wide eyes he shook his head.

Abrash asked the man his name and he replied, “Stwino Lurchlich, the leader of the Shield of Niptu.” Abrash asked, “What happens if you don’t find what you’re looking for?” The man answered, “Then we’re all in a lot of trouble.” The man asked the party, “73,035 days, do you know the significance of that?” The party looked at each other a little blankly. The man prompted them, “It’s 15 days shy of 200 years…” With more blank looks, the man said, “True resurrection… the spell….?” Seeing that the Stone bearers didn’t have a Cleric or anyone who really knew, he explained.

“There are spells to bring back people from the dead, the most powerful is ‘True Resurrection’ but it’s only able to bring back someone if they’ve been dead for no more than 200 years and you have the body, or if the body no longer exists. For 73,035 days the Shield has been protecting and preserving the body of Niptu so that his evil presence can never again threaten the world. 15 days before our job is complete you have been able to destroy the body, allowing the Sword to resurrect him!”

Ravmilid Niptu

Stwino went on to explain that Ravmilid Niptu was an extremely powerful master of all magic, but he was corrupted by evil. Gurthen said, “perhaps we should talk this out over a beer?” Abrash said, “How do we make this right?” The stone Bearers asked, who would want to resurrect Niptu. Stwino, taken back a bit said, “The Sword of Niptu of course. They’ve been trying to resurrect him for almost 200 years!”

Cedrik accused the sword of imprisoning people like Wykoop. Indignantly Stwino replied, “He was practicing the Dark Arts! Do you know what it takes to create Blood Antimoniuminimim?? They extract the blood from fey creatures or kill Elves for it!”

Stwino asked, “Who have you been working with in the Sword?” Thomas replied, “Revalore, Grigori Nistrupa…” Stwino chimed in, “Grigori? I regard him as a friendly acquaintance.” Thomas tried to list other but couldn’t come up with any other specific names. They threw out Tina P, the Lady White, as someone who provide training but realized that she was just doing what Grigori had asked.

Abrash accused the Sword of showing the Stone Bearer’s kindness while the Shield showed nothing but Hostility. He complained that they were banished and Stwino replied, “Banished for working for the Sword!” Abrash again offered to make recompense. Stwino suggested they seek the Red Lady.

The Troll

Cedrik noticed the Troll at the bottom of the guard’s bodies twitched and he knew it was still alive. Gurthen caused a distraction by singing happy birthday to himself and Cedrik slipped the troll a healing potion to gain its friendship. The guards noticed and questioned Cedrik, but Cedrik had already befriended the Troll. Victor questioned Cedrik and told Cedrik that Jar Jarnash has not yet completed his rehabilitation and isn’t ready for duty yet. Cedrik convinced Victor that he could be trusted. Victor inked Jar Jar to Cedric with a pair of Manacles. Jar Jar carried Cedrik on his back as they left the keep.

Gurthen mentally called out to his horse Lo-Will to dump the Gnome Wykoop and return to the keep. Lo-Will immediately reared and Wykoop fell off. Lo-Will ran back to the keep and Wykoop was stranded in the forest.

The Lady Red

Morgwais Nightmeadow 
Victor force marched the party through the forest for a day until they found the camp of the Lady Red. The party was exhausted, and victor had them knell before the Lady Red. Standing a few feet away from the Red Lady was a tattered looking male elf. Abrash was first to speak, and the Red Lady reminded him that they were banished for working with the Sword. Abrash apologized. Thomas explained the series of events that led them here. As he mentioned Grigori Nistrupa, she said, “Hmm… I regard him as a friendly acquaintance.”

Cedrik asked how long she had known Grigori, but the Lady Red couldn’t recall exactly how they first met. Abrash aided her (with her permission) by casting detect thoughts and they came to realize that he had somehow charmed her.

The Lady scolded the party for destroying the Body of Niptu, the most powerful and deadly magic user ever known. “This has allowed the Shield of Niptu to potentially resurrect him, and He will use them to continue his Evil.” Abrash tried to explain that they didn’t know and said, “If others had been more forthright…” but the Lady Red cut him off and wouldn’t hear it. But what’s done is done. She saw the party was exhausted and penitent.

The party asked what they could do. She mentioned that the Demons in Hellgate keep are most likely the ones behind this whole plan. She mentioned that Hellgate keep was an ancient elven city called Ascalhorn on the northeast edge of the High Forest. Looking at the party she told them that they are not yet strong enough for such a task as storming an ancient keep filled with powerful demons.

Mayor Vaughn

The disheveled looking man next to the Red Lady spoke again, “Please my lady…. My people!” The red lady looked at the mayor and then at the party and thought for a moment. She introduced the Stone Bearers to Mayor Vaughn. She told them, that if they can help him and not flee, perhaps she can trust them. She batted her eyelashes at Abrash and Abrash accepted the assignment.

The Lady Red offered the party rest for the night. The party spent the night getting to know the Troll a little better and sharing their feelings and beliefs with each other. In the morning they were called to Mayor Vaughn. Cedrik and Abrash commented that they liked the magic tents and Mayor Vaughn offered the party their own if they can aid his village.

The mayor explained that he is the mayor of Nordahaeril, an Elven village with about 80 adults. They have simple dwellings and are merely merchants with a good militia of rangers and clerics. He explained that several have been found dead and Sheriff believes that they are being attacked by an unusually large spider.

Nordahaeril

The party journey for most of the day. As the approached though a dark forest they saw that much of it was covered in Webs. Avoiding the heavily webbed areas they made it to the village. They were introduced to a tall thin elf named Sheriff Brody. Brody was disappointed that the Red Queen spared so few people for him. Brody brought them to a tent where he showed them the dead body of a young elven girl.

Her body was very stiff, one leg was completely crushed, and she had a massive puncture wound in her neck and lower abdomen. Her skin had a pale green tint to it. They examined the body and determined whatever did this is a massive creature. They determined that the poison was some sort of paralytic.

Brody explained that the village has been here for hundreds of years, and the spiders have only recently been getting closer. Abrash wanted to continue to examine the body, get some rest and go out in the morning. Gurthen wanted to go directly to the forest and find the creature, “For Honor!”

Quint

They heard a gravelly voice of an older rugged elf say, “This ain’t no normal spider.” They turned to see an older Elf with a pipe leaning against the tent opening. He said, “Name’s Quint, Spider Hunter.” He said, “This is the work of the biggest spider ya ever saw. Legs as big as tree’s. A mouth so wide it can swallow a man whole. It’s a Goliath Long Legs.” The party asked him a few questions and he told them that he could help them track it, but it’ll take a lot to kill it. He went on, “It stands still in the forest, with legs the size of tree trunks. You never see it until you’re under it and its head swoops down and takes you or it shoots its web at you that can paralyze you.”

The party rested for the night. Very early in the morning Quint woke the party and they joined him and his large flock of chickens. The party looked at him quizzically and he simply said, “Bait.” The party (and Jar Jar) attempted to herd the chickens and they headed off into the forest. Jar Jar only ate a couple.

Creepy crawly…

They saw all sorts of spiders in the woods and most of them creeped away as they approached with torches. Quint explained that the Goliath long legs is generally a solitary spider, but they do mate. They went deeper into the dark forest, seeing many webs. Thomas and Gurthen picked up a chicken and threw it into a web. They saw a Giant spider quickly crawl onto the web and wrap up the chicken in a web. Gurthen thought of a new tactic, he pulled out his axe and started swinging at tree trunks. Immediately he knew what he hit wasn’t a tree. He looked up and saw a spider as large as a house towering over him.

The spider bit into the troll and then all 8 legs hit the troll nearly knocking him out. The party focused on the legs and then saw a 2nd gargantuan walk into range. They found that the legs were vulnerable and can be severed or broken. The party focused on the legs, taking off one at a time. The spider paralyzed Low-Will and then took it out with a leg stomp. The remaining legs focused on Cedric and badly wounded him. The Giant spider also joined the fray. The Troll was knocked out by the Giant spider. Gurthen responded and finished off the first of the 2 Goliath Long legs spiders.
The goliath spider critically hit Quint and chomped his body in half. The bottom half fell to the ground. They party continued to attack the massive legs. Cedric continued to get hit and was very badly hurt. Isabella took out another leg, the creature fell over and she slammed her axe into the creature’s head, killing it.