T-D Session 4 Report

General Summary

14 of Flamerule 1492 DR   Our session opens in the quarters of Gideon Lightward. Readying themselves to depart, Princess asks Gideon if he can scribe them a letter, authorising them to access the restricted weapons in the armoury of Helm's Shieldhall. Concerned about a potential summoning of devils, Princess believes that being armed with silvered weapons, those that the Hellriders keep in reserve for just an occasion, could make all the difference. Gideon agrees, writing and sealing a letter, authorising her and her companions access to the silvered cache of weapons, under the context of an urge and secret mission. As a parting gift, Gideon provides a vial of holy water to the group, "just in case".   With a couple of hours before sunset, and meeting Feylan Parand at The Pair of Black Antlers, Princess suggested to the group that they had to Helm's Shieldhall to equip themselves with weapons that may be sorely needed. A short fifteen minute walk up through the suburban Westerly District brought them to the entrance of the headquarters of the Hellriders, a fortress church to Helm, the Shieldhall. Protected by a 25 foot wall, with two large oak doors, banded with iron open out onto a lush courtyard. In the centre of the courtyard is a bubbling fountain. To the left are several smaller buildings, one clearly a stable, the other a black smith. On the right side of the courtyard is a large, long structure that Princess explains is the barracks, where her room is. At the end of the courtyard is the main feature, an impressive two storey structure, cream coloured stonework, old but well maintained, a red tiled roof, and inset into the front face, a large stained glass window depicting a heroic charge. This church-come-armoury is where Princess takes her companions.   Within, the two storey structure is revealed to be a single floor with a huge vaulted ceiling. The entryway opens into a vast hall, to which the banners of the different Lances and Charges that make up the Hellriders hang. Stores of weapons and armour are hung row upon row of racks. A number of Hellriders on guard are obviously spotted, with two close by the entrance. Princess makes small pleasantries with the guard as she hands over the scroll. As he reviews it with some surprise, he asks her to follow him to the restricted section. The open plan chamber has a partition walled enclosing a small room, to which another low ranking Hellrider Hoof stands guard. The first explains that they have been granted access to the restricted equipment, and hands over the document. The second guard reviews it, and asks him to inform Stallion Jón, whilst letting the cohort of adventurers inside. Within the restricted section, the heroes pick up a selection of silvered weapons, replacing their own with implements better suited for killing devils, along with some higher quality armour to protect themselves from whatever is to come.   Equipped for the task at hand, the party leave Helm's Shieldhall behind them, and head out into the markets of the Westerly District. They pick up more supplies, both practical; rations, water skins, bedrolls and the like, but also some more sentimental items. Once the shopping is completed, they make their way across the northern edge of the city. Across the Maiden's Bridge overlooking the grand waterfall pouring from the High District bluff above, down the canals, and over the Torm's Reach bridge that brings them over the cavernous ravine to the Dock District. Once again they arrive at the front door of The Pair of Black Antlers, the sun having fully set, the sky a soft pink hue, and the city mostly illuminated by the gentle radiance of The Companion. Within The Pair of Black Antlers, the tavern was crowded full of people celebrating, drinking, eating, and enjoying the start of the evening's festivities. In the corner of the tavern, protecting a small table and a pair of unused chairs, sat Feylan. Pushing through the crowd to reach him, Haelee throws her arms around the man in a big hug. She and Scott sit whilst Erric and Princess crowd around the table. They exchange stories of what has happened, speaking in Sylvan, and hushed whispers for some of the more sensitive matters - like that of the doppelganger Kreeg. Haelee expresses to Feylan her sorrow for having killed people, and questions whether that's why Feylan was often so cold when she knew him in the Feywild. He explained that killing always takes its toll on the soul, but that Haelee will learn, as he did, that sometimes killing those who do evil, to save the innocent, is not such a heavy burden to carry. It was at this moment that Scott regarded Princess, and told her that he'd gotten her something. He pulled a small box from his pocket, and slid it across the table. He explained that as they'd bonded now, he felt that perhaps this was appropriate, and that she'd appreciate it. Opening the box, Princess saw a particularly large silver ring, gemmed with an aquamarine. The half-orc, moved by the fact that someone thought of her, thought of her in a way to give her a beautiful and sentimental gift. Somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected gesture, Princess said thank you, and went uncharacteristically quiet.   To take the attention of Princess, Feylan interjected, and described to the group what he got up to whilst they were away at the High Hall. He met with a priestess of Torm, Pherria Jynks. She held somewhat controversial views in the church, believing that the Order of the Companion had been encouraging changes in prayers and rites. These changes diminish the worship of the gods in favour of the city and the Companion. She is a strong believer in Kreeg, and her view is that his age is starting to get the better of him, and cannot see that a younger force within the knighthood must be swaying him. The fact that Kreeg has been replaced by a doppelganger surprised Feylan, as his opinions of Kreeg were only positive, although admits this comes from Jynks, who is a devout believer in Torm, and Kreeg is the High Observer of Torm. He questions whether Kreeg was involved in the plot, or merely replaced. The party detail the journal that they got from Barkus, along with what the doppelganger said, and the scrapes of notes found in Kreeg's office. Feylan, uncertain of how to proceed with this revelation, but feels as though he can still trust Pherria, that her loyalty is to Torm, rather than anything or anyone.   As the hours of the evening past, with food and drink shared, The Pair of Black Antlers slowly empty, the festival-goers heading out into the streets to party the night away. The party decided that they would head to High Hall. Each holiday, High Observer Kreeg would give a speech at midnight. With Kreeg gone, they wondered how the Order of the Companion would proceed, potentially weeding out additional collaborators. They left The Pair of Black Antlers, and slowly made their way up the steep Torm's Blade bridge, up to the top of the bluff and into the High District. The large, lush gardens that run the full length of the High District were packed with people. The heroes pushed their way through the people, towards the High Hall, with The Companion glowing high above. As they got closer to the keep, the crowd grew tighter packed, the people wanting to get as close to both the speech, and The Companion as possible. Princess took the lead, wedging her way through the crowds, shouting her authority as a Hellrider for the people to move. This had an effect, and people, as best they could, cleared out of their way, with the rest of the party sticking as close behind her as possible. They made it to the High Hall with a small amount of time to spare. They surveyed their surroundings, looking for an ambush, somewhere to hide, or an advantage point to utilise. Instead they found a packed cobbled courtyard surrounded by a tall castle wall. The wall itself crammed with what could be guards, but equally just knights and martial individuals in their uniforms. As time crept on, the hushed whispers from surrounding people wondered where Kreeg was, feeling that it must be time for his appearance. Soon after the doors to the balcony opened, the only that just early in the day, Princess threw Kreeg from.   Hundreds of heads craned up to see, to listen. Instead of Kreeg, the handsome and charismatic leader of the Hellriders, Marshal Blackfire stepped out to murmurings of confusion. Blackfire started his speech as Kreeg had always done, gazing upon The Companion, and reciting the Unity Prayer, to which the audience joined word for word. Once the prayer was finished, he turned to look down upon the gathered masses. He apologised for Kreeg's absence, and reassured the people. He shared the dire news that Kreeg was not well of late, and as much as he wished he could give his speech, he is saving his strength. He hoped for nothing more than the support and the unity of the people, and nothing would make him happier than to hear the people celebrate. The suspicion in the group was palpable; could Blackfire be trusted? He just lied about Kreeg, is that just to keep the public calm, or is he in on it too? The speech was short and sweet, and before long Blackfire returned inside, and with his departure, so came the expectation of something dramatic. Devils to be summoned, cultists to burst out the woodwork, screams to echo the streets. Instead, all that came was the slow shuffling of people making their way out of the High Hall and into The Gardens to celebrate.   15th of Flamerule 1492 DR   The heroes joined them, and before long they had found a small spot in The Gardens of their own. Haelee was keen to join the party, taking Scott and Feylan with her to dance and revel. Erric and Princess were less convinced, but self doubt started to creep in. They started to review their notes, had they missed something, or had they just got it all wrong. Was Kreeg compromised? Had the doppelganger lied and they misunderstood the Baneite's writings. One thing seemed definite, something was meant to happen tonight involving Ravengard. They decided that was their last lead, and perhaps if they were lucky, they could find Ravengard's men still at The Golden Mastodon. They regrouped and headed north, through the gardens and to the Maiden's Fall which The Golden Mastodon overlooked. Entering this high end establishment, they found a tavern that was particularly quiet. Behind the bar, a sullen teenager who was forced to work, and at a single table, a small group, wearing the armour of the Flaming Fist. None of them are familiar, but at least it was something. They approached the group, and attempted to introduce themselves, asking whether their "attractive female companion" was around. The leader of the group, with the rank of Flame judging by his uniform, was a halfling with a magnificent moustache. He introduced himself as Blur, and wasn't sure how to take what they just asked. Trying again, Princess said that they have pressing and concerning news about Ravengard, that they'd spoken to a female member of their rank earlier, and they were hoping to provide her with more details. Blur said he did recall that Lalsil Cragstream had mentioned a group lead by a half-orc Hellrider was nosing around. Blur asked what information they had, and with little to lose and nowhere to turn, they told him what they knew. With the evidence of the diary and the paperwork they had, Blur agreed that they have to come see Ravengard.   The four Flaming Fists rose from their seats, and began to follow Blur out of the tavern, our heroes following along with them. Back across The Gardens they walked, moving from the west side to the east. It was at that moment that Erric glanced towards The Companion, and noticed that its softly undulating blue surface began to change. A point of darkness, black of the void appeared in the centre, and a moment later, that rippling blue began to swirl and spiral inwards. It wasn't long before everyone had stopped what they were doing, and stood dumbfounded by The Companions behaviour. The spiral became a rushing vortex, and the black point began to expand outwards. A corona of purplish light started to glow from The Companion, and in a flash and boom, an arc of lightning struck out from the orb, hitting somewhere in the city. The screaming started, and people began to panic. Blur started to move again, heading with forceful purpose. Princess grabbed Scott and started to push him after The Fist. Another crackle of lightning hit the city again. The Companion is now a roiling vortex, almost entirely black, sharp spikes of the purple corona colouring the night sky. Erric for a moment found himself lost staring at it. Haelee shook sense into him, and managed to get him moving in the direction of Princess. The citizens of Elturel screaming and running in panic, a stampede starting to form. Princess called for people to run to safety, to flee. Haelee by contrast trying to call for everyone to stay calm. Soon the smell of smoke was strong on the wind, as the bolts of lightning only grew more frequent. The Companion seemed to slowly fall from the sky, getting ever close to the city. Shoving their way through the swarming crowds, they managed to clear their way out of The Garden and into the eastern residential side of the High District. In that moment, everyone's perception warped and rippled, the feeling of falling before both sensations passing as quickly as they'd come. By the time they'd gotten their footing again and started to move, they'd realised the sky had changed. The purple glow from The Companion had changed to a ruddy red, swirling smoky clouds obscuring the sky. The frequency of the lightning bolts stopped, and The Companion seemed to be just hundreds of feet above High Hall Cathedral. They ran into an alleyway, empty of people for the moment, still following after the halfling and his colleagues, when a hot, acrid breeze blew down the streets, stinking of brimstone.