Session 9: Return to the Surface Report

General Summary

Upon reaching the entrance of the Temple of the Departed in Aerdaris, the heroes were ambushed by members of the Children of Cinder who were lying in wait for them to return. Two men is dark crimson robes stepped out from behind the statues of Vitria and Necruus, and two fire mephits flew down from the rafters of the temple, their whole bodies enveloped in flame. Once the trap was sprung, from the entrance of the temple came this small unit's leader, a burly man missing an arm. He pointed at the group and shouted, "You have something that belongs to us!", and they charged forward.   The heroes were quick to act. Marnie commanded her dragon Ralpie, whom she has a spiritual bond with, to meet them in their charge. Dane spoke a prayer to Eiso, blessing his allies combat abilities, and also drew his mighty greathammer. Nahar called upon his nature powers and took the form of a large ape, performing an impressive leap onto the statue of Necruus and climbing up to the rafters to meet the mephits. Omar produced his instruments and began encouraging his allies and slinging spells at his enemies. Vallis drew his new smoking sword which he had found in the crypts and rushed forward to engage his enemies.   The Children of Cinder met them in melee combat, hacking and slashing and casting powerful fire magics. Their leader performed an incantation in the back of the room and formed a large ball of fire, like a miniature sun, and sent it hurtling across the room toward Marnie. It flew between the heroes, burning them and then quickly advancing to the next person. Meanwhile, the mephits fluttered overhead, bits of magma dripping off of their elemental bodies. They took deep breathes and then expelled large cones of fire onto the heroes. The battlefield was a cacophony of cracking fire and clashing swords. The heroes however kept their spirits high despite the injuries they were sustaining. Their experience with one another allowed them to slowly dispatch each enemy, while Vallis teleported across the room to engage with their leader.   As Vallis arrived, the man roared in anger at the sight of the sword. He bellow, "That is my sword you are holding, and you will return it to me!" He snapped his fingers and the sword began to glow red hot. Luckily, Vallis detected what he was doing and dropped the sword before it managed to cause him severe burns to his hands. The man swooped down and retrieved his sword with his free hand and used it to press the advantage against Vallis. Meanwhile, Dane, Marnie, and Omar dispatched the two other cultists, their bodies exploding in a conflagration upon their last breaths. Nahar focused his efforts on the flying mephits, leaping from rafter to rafter and ripping them from the sky. One by one, he took them down.   With all the underlings defeated, the heroes focuses their efforts on the leader, slowly whittling his defenses down until an opportunity presented itself. As the man turned to block a blow from Vallis, Dane said a quick and quiet prayer. His hammer began to glow with holy light and he took a mighty swing. A crack was heard as the man's head quickly shifted ninety degrees. There was silence for a brief moment, and then the man collapsed to the ground, dead. Though, unlike his allies, his body was the first they had seen to not combust.   In the aftermath of the battle, Vallis collected the Smoking Sword once again, and Dane made efforts to tend to the wounds of his allies. Omar made the mature and surprising decision to not only return the offering he had stolen from the bucket in front of the statue of Vitria, but he event doubled the offering. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders in response, as though a divine force recognized his atonement. In a similar way, Nahar made an offering into the bucket in front of the statue of Necruus, to pay respect to the dead of this place.   The group exited the temple and split up, agreeing to meet back up back at Miirthal Stormthar's home. Vallis, Nahar, and Dane set out to return the key back to the priests in Aerdaris. Inside the main temple, they met back up again with the priest that had supplied them with the key. The group provided the clergy with a bit of information regarding what happened down in the crypts and the extent of the damage inside. They also explained the manner and cause of the death of fallen priests within the crypts. The priest thanked them and prayed over them, giving them a small reward for their kindness from the alms the church had received. As they left, Dane said a prayer of guidance to Eiso and they all departed for Miirthal's home. They arrived a short time later and were greeted by Cormyr Stormthar. Vallis told them about their success and encounter with the Children of Cinder, but that they could discuss more once the others arrived. The three then settled down for a rest until their companions returned.   Meanwhile, Marnie and Omar set out to meet with the Ardent Lord to inform him of the situation inside the crypts. On their way to the Castle District, Omar insisted that Marnie needed to purchase nicer clothes in order to make an appearance in the presence of nobles. So, they headed off to the Market District to find her proper attire. They arrived at a fine clothing store for halflings called Half-Pint Handrags. Inside they met an eccentric and excited halfling tailor. After some discussions, where Omar convinced the man he too hailed from the halfling homelands, the tailor agreed to sell Marnie a fine outfit and even a custom satchel for Ralphie, in exchange for Omar's fine silks.   Outfitted with finer clothes, the two made their way to the Castle District where they encountered Farand Rahnah tending to his normal scheduling station. They told Farand of their encounters in the crypts and they needed an urgent appointment with the Ardent Lord. He penciled them to meet with him at 2pm that same day, and allowed them entry into the Castle grounds to meet with the captain of the guard. A soldier escorted them to the war room to meet with the captain, and they used the opportunity to inform him of what happened in the crypts. He agreed to dispatch guards to the Temple District and to tend to the recovery of the bodies of the fallen priests. While in the war room, Marnie noticed the table had a map and a number of figurines representing Aerdaris' military forces. She was able to deduce that patrols around the outer city lands were being pulled back to the gates to supplement for a group of soldiers and ships being prepared at the docks. When Marnie probed the captain about these military decisions, he did not explain much to her. He simply informed her that they were increasing their naval forces in response to flaming galleon that had been spotted some days earlier. She tried to press him about voyages into the The Shrouded Sea but was unable to get much information. She could tell he was withholding information from her however.   After their discussion, the captain authorized them to head to the castle's chapel to be healed by one of the priests. They made their way there, and the priest agreed to heal them both. He spoke a prayer of healing over them, and they took a moment to relax while waiting for their audience with the Ardent Lord.

Rewards Granted

• 25gp to Vallis, Nahar, and Dane
• Fine clothing and a custom satchel for Marnie/Ralphie
• Omar's "curse" was removed in response to his atonement

Character(s) interacted with

• Cormyr Stormthar (briefly)
• Farand Rahnah, the Ardent Lord's personal assistant and keeper of his schedule.
• The tailor at Half-Pint Handrags
• The Captain of the guard of Aerdaris 
 

Created Content

• Half-Pint Handrags, a halfling tailor in the Market District of Aerdaris