Session 11 - 4/24/2020 - All PCs reach L3

General Summary

Huren (the 9th month) 20, 1610 (continued) - Investigate the Kelmonite Spiritual Shrine

After a short rest the PCs return to the Shrine of Wisdom, Telmyr where they heard their own voices mimicked from above.
Venturing in through the front doors they discover a high (2-story) hall with what looks like bulletin boards. Paper and debris and even the skeletal remains of a Kelmonite like on the floor. Almost immediately Animated Armor begins to move towards the party flanked by a pair of Animated Swords.
The PCs retreat to the exterior and begin climbing up the ivy to a second story window. Wyd is the first in and the first to be shot at by a flock of Kenku that seem to have roosted in the dorm-like upper floor of the Shrine. Combat ensues, a few Kenku are slain but the majority of the flight-less bird like beings escape out a northern window.

Belfry

The PCs follow a narrow set of stairs up to the belfry where they see the bat swarm and giant bats that are nesting here. They opt to avoid this area for now. From the stairs it looks like the belfry was also used for storage as there are ropes and various barrels / boxes here.

Back to the first floor

Down the south stairs the PCs re-engage the Animated armor and swords. All are defeated and Teddy collects the two swords which are clearly a pair and of significant quality.
The only other threats on the first level are some fungi that has grown on another set of rusted and deteriorated Animated Armor. The Armor pieces attack the party but the fungi and armor bits are defeated.
Another room has what looks like more "strangler vines" and this room is avoided.
Misc odds and ends are accumulated from other rooms (see below).
During collection of the armor, the PCs see the silhouette of a Kenku at the front door peeking in on them. The party races to engage them. One(?) is killed and the others flee. Teddy pursues just long enough to shout a phrase at one of them "You have been spared by a virtuous people!" (paraphrase). The Kenku echoes that as it runs off.
The PCs decide they've accomplished enough today and want to get back to the Tent City to participate in the evening celebration. The carefully make their way back east startling an unfamiliar group of "Beastmen" as they go (the beasts retreat into the woods west of Telmyr).
In about an hour the PCs are seeing signs of the Zone C Tent City settlers. A water brigade begins at the stream and snakes back to the brick making field outside the tent city. Hordes of muddy settlers look to have been engaged in making bricks all day. The are singing and whistling and laughing. Children are happily helping mix mud and wild straw. Numerous people are cooking up a feast of pheasant, dear, and boar and walnut encrusted yams and assorted sweets and baked goods.
The PCs speak with Lord Bellweather and Harlon Olead. Several things are put on the table:

• Perhaps the Beastmen could turn out the be allies as they've been non-threatening so far. Can this be leveraged? Are they capable of barter and trade? Would they be willing to exchange scavenged building materials from the ruins of Telmyr in exchange for food?
• The PCs are likely going to continue probing the ruins - finding and driving off dangers (e.g. Kenku, Kobolds, etc.).
• Bellweather and Olead would welcome PC assistance in training up the militia to a higher standard - discovered by Teddy when he delivered the salvaged Kenku weapons to the militia members.
• Wild horses in the area could prove useful if captured and tamed.
• The walnut grove can be harvested but a tree has to be within 60 ft of another (or diseased) in order to be cut down - this is to preserve the grove as a shelter area. However, they city is still in need of lumber / firewood. Long term efforts to seed future walnut trees has been made but will have no immediate benefit.
• There is a discussion about a lack of military presence on the ground (Colonial Marines are in orbit, but not known to be on the surface at this time). Bellweather relay's the explanation he was given - Tycho I war with the rebels/orcs, Invasion by the Githyanki in Norhthern Tremon and posturing against the Torogon Dwarves have spread the empire's forces "thin". The race by various governments to Alpha had to be countered so that no one government could lay claim to it - to the pessimist it could feel like an epic chess match with the settlers being used as "pawns".

Rest for the PCs

Teddy spends time with both formerly-animated swords and attunes to them both discovering that 1/day/tier of play one of the following features can be used:

• The swords can be joined and become a +1 magic item for a battle
• The swords can mrege (by striking them together) and trasformed into a spiritual weapon.

The swords are also sentient communicating by images and raw emotions. At first the swords were resistant thinking Teddy to be a looter, but when Teddy sends images of Hanith Vorlan Vorlan, the swords become cooperative.
Egon summons a familiar (he asked Bellweather for the materials which he happily supplied).
Wyd lamented that he didn't drag back a dead Kenku for roasting.

The Brick-making Festival

(I'm going to find a way to better connect the PCs with this event - maybe through story telling).

Items & things found

The PCs recover roughly 30gp from three fallen Kenku as well as their shortbows and shortswords (Wyd keeps one shortbow, the rest ultimately end up being donated to the militia).
About 200gp worth of artifacts are collected from the shrine's office areas as well as a potion of healing that Wyd consumes.
A bottle with a brown liquid in it is collected.
Three tomes (plans, animals and monsters).
A stack of papers with spiritual writings are collected - each in a different penmanship.
A suite of Kelmonite plate mail.
A Kelmonite game board an game pieces.
Two formerly animated swords (clearly magical) are collected by Teddy.

Players present:
John
Owen
Jay
Terence
All PCs have reached level 3

Report Date

25 Apr 2020