Volume 1, Chapter 4 - From a History text - To Kelador!
General Summary
15th Tummony
A screech echoed through the corridor. His concentration spell broken in the ogre-fight, Arpeggio realised too late that the poltergeist was free. Together, they slammed backwards through the crystal adorned archway. There was a blinding purple flash and resounding crack. There, in the middle of the room, suddenly stood a huge horse with Helda sitting atop. The horse transformed and Rhobur Rhobur stood next to his companion looking extremely confused. No trace of Arpeggio or the spectre remained. On closer inspection of, Gamble found the crystal shattered, along with all its power. Rhobur and Helda explained they had woken up a little worse for wear in The Giant's Head. Helda rose first and, upon seeing a sleeping Rhobur in her bed, immediately hit him with her war hammer. Rhobur went in search of water and Helda sought out their companions. On finding them gone, the pair met Brell who told them what happened. It was at this point that Helda received a message from her goddess and accepted she must go to Kelador. Rhobur, dejected that Jed had left without him, decided to follow. Offering his services to the dwarf as a horse, they set out on the road to Kelador. They passed the Stone Circle and orc camp, where the townsmen were at work closing the entrance. On the fourth day, upon a dense forest path, they felt a sudden chill, like the damp of a used towel. The feel of magic crackled across their skin. They blinked and found themselves alongside their companions. Gamble immediately asked if they had seen the Arpeggio, but neither had since the night of their celebrations. Resigned to continue, Helda healed Gamble’s wounds, with Jed snidely commenting about Elven flimsiness. They found themselves at a doorway blocked by a portcullis. Gamble tried to lift it, and, with Helda’s help, it rose, triggering a trap. As block of stone dropped, the half-elf nimbly leapt out the way and the dwarf rolled forward. Looking up, they found themselves at the feet of two skeleton horses and riders. Lavanel immediately let an arrow fly. Gamble ran into a leap, projecting herself off the crouching form of Helda, tackling the rider to the ground. The horse reared and stamped at Gamble. The dwarf summoned her holy weapon, hitting one of the horses, causing it to rear up and attack with its hooves. The half-elf still recovering, the soldier on horseback swung with his sword and rendered her unconscious. Rhobur, unable to see the fallen Gamble, healed Helda and transformed into a brown bear. The dismounted skeleton swung at Helda, who dodged out of the way. Jed, knowing Helda was the best healer of the party, cast a protection spell around her and took a blow from the horse’s hooves. Helda healed Gamble, ‘Rhobear’ clawed, Lavanel attacked and Jed took hit of opportunity. Now on her feet, Gamble sliced upward with her rapier splitting the horse in twain. Helda felled the other using sacred flame and smashed the final foe with her magic axe. With Rhobur reverted to his dragonborn shape, the party explore and find no traps in the sarcophagi. A large mural decorates the room depicting the same sword that Lavanel was gifted by her father. The party travel down a corridor finding a dead end pooling with water. After much discussion, they push the wall and it swings open with ease. In the centre of the next room, they find a large statue made of the same stone as the black stones in the Ornblake Circle. Rhobur examines its one yellow eye and after much testing decides it is not important. At the base of the statue, carved in Elvish script could be read: ‘ Oloch’, the god of the dark. Further on, the party encountered a wooden portcullis. Elven rune glowed on it and a chain lay to the side of the door. It appeared to be as a ward spell and a prayer ascribed to Belnias, Goddess of Light. They also notice the name 'Kandarert'. As light enters the room, two figures can be seen. One lean, with skin as white as canvas, the other shimmering in a non-corporeal form. They retreat from the light. Helda pulls the chain and the door opens. The pale figure immediately flies for the door, slashing at Helda. Lavanel starts the battle, firing off an arrow. The party question the pale being, now known to be Karkarert. He proves to be just as his reputation suggests and gives no reason for the party not to destroy them. The sun sword is proves powerful against them and they are defeated. After the battle they see two upright sarcophagi – one opened. Helda opens the other and smashes the bones found inside. The party finds 6000sp and 1000cp as well as one onyx stone that Helda takes. Jed finds a small black ring at the entrance of the room, one which seems to match Helda’s ring of light. Gamble risks herself, triggering another trapped door to ensure the other’s safety.Jed had the ring checked by Helda, and cautiously placed it on his finger. He has a conversation with something in the ring, but no-one but he can hear. He just informs the party it stops telepathic thoughts. As the party exit the tunnels they see the collapsed bodies of demons they had not defeated. They conclude that the spectre and Wight they fought were tied to the Undead activity in the tomb. Jed finds no sense of undead. Now defeated, the tomb returned to the slumber of the grave. Concerned for Arpeggio, Gamble continued to check for any signs of him. She exhausts the tunnels and the area surrounding the entrance, but she found no trace. The party took a long rest in a clearing not far from the barrow entrance. During the night in a vision of light, Lumina appears to Helda. Lumina says that the ring is tied to the Great Balance. As the Balance is restored the gem grows in power. She is told that the ring has a random number of charges at the beginning of each day and can cast fairy fire. Sleeping across the room, Jed also hears the voice of Kandarert. The Undead warrior thanks him for his freedom from the mortal plane. He tells Jed that, although the pact made for the ring has ended, the power it holds remains.16th Tummony
The party woke and, after a brief discussion, begin the 10 hour walk back to the Elf camp. Upon arrival Lavanel gave the whistle and the lift appeared. People bustled this way and that and the party noticed that the town in the trees was much smaller. Wood elves moved about carrying bits of the camp, dismantling it. They head for the royal palace where Lavanel is greeted with a hug from her mother. The King recognises their achievement, but informs them he has had a vision. Their fates are now tied to the fate of Ara. They have been chosen to restore balance to the world following the crack caused in Ornblake. That each of the party seems to align with the elements and Energies. Helda with Light, Jed with the Darker side. Gamble come from the watery sea, Lavanel from the earthly forests and Rhobur of the fiery desert. The missing Arpeggio fills the air with his songs. Thus, they must quest to seek the means to restore balance to each of the elements and prevent the rise of Chaos. Then comes darker news. Now known to outsiders, the elf kingdom must move itself. The offence of revealing the location is punishable by death. In light of the service she and the party have done, Lavanel is instead banished from her home until such a time that balance is restored. They have one evening before they must leave forever. Jed heads off to take a bath and read some of the ancient book he discovered on the previous visit while in the library. The others returned to the armorer who told them that, in the time, she had only completed Apollo’s helm. They head to the tavern. Lavanel tells the crowd that her companions had saved the forest from doom and should be treated as her kin. Much mead is drunk and Helda manages to get the drinkers singing a song of Dwarven Gold. Gamble sits away from the crowds in a corner and begins to draw.17th Tummony
When they wake, they find the dismantlement has continued throughout the night. The Tavern has disappeared from around them. Returning to the entry platform, they find the entire camp waiting to wave them away. Gamble tells the King that while his daughter may not want to be found, he can enquire after her by travelling to the sea. She hands him a drawing she made the previous night. As the platform was lowered, the King’s eyes filled with tears. As they journey to Kelador, Gamble can still find no signs of Gio. There is not even a trace in the spot from which Helda and Rhobur transported.20th Tummony
Two days into their journey, Lavanel spotted a group of bat-like creatures. Pink and scaly, something between a hairless bat and a mosquito, one darted down. It clamped around Rhobur, sucking his blood. More of the swarm descend attaching themselves to the party. In a desperate attempt to be rid of them, Lavanel stabs herself. Rhobur becomes a bear, and finally finishes them with thunderwave. The party rest, Lavanel taking first watch. Jed took time to read the book he had taken from the Elves, its cover riven with pained faces. Helda prayed, and Rhobur inspected his carving.21st Tummony
The next day, the party reached a river, beyond which is the walled city of Kelador. A bridge stood across the river with a small hut. It is from here that two burly men emerged, demanding a toll. Ever frugal, Jed pulls rank and argued with the men. However, on discovering it is only 2cp to pass, he pays for the party and practically skips into town. Jed natters away as they pass through the city. They pass the The Pantheon Temple of Kelador, nice houses, the theatre, the The Hospital of Our Lady Dianekt, the Alforth College and The Great Library of Kelador and square with a fountain. They came to an area of the town that looked a little more unfashionable. The wind here was in their faces carrying with it the scent of horse manure. Jed stopped outside a The Kingsdown Townhouse and with a huge smile on his face, knocked. Jed greeted the butler that appeared with glee and showed the party into the house. As they entered they were met with the pungent smell of dust, must and formaldehyde. Everywhere they looked stood stuffed & mounted animals. Fierce looking eagles and bears nestled amongst the deceased menagerie. Old Tapestries lined the walls. The group are lead into the living room where three people stood. ‘Mother!’ exclaimed Jed. He rushed to hug her: a plump looking blonde woman, she looked rather overbred with eyes that were a little close together. He turned to his father next. A tall lean man with long black hair and a goatee, he greeted his son warmly. They introduced themselves as Sir Teyrn and Lady Marsiya Kingsdown. Jed motioned to third person, a woman, and introduced her as Greata, a close friend that lived there. Jed then made introductions. (Gamble and Helda noted with amusement that Jed was in fact Jedrington.) It was also revealed that Jed’s father married into the Kingsdown Family, forsaking his lower, Milagonian house. They had been living in Kelador for over 30 years, with Jed’s mother as the city magistrate. Gamble states she can read thieves cant and offer to help her with any issues while she is in Kelador. Lady Marsiya eyes her with suspicion. The initial surprise fading, his family noticed that Jed had grown at least an inch since they last saw him. He also he looks significantly stronger. Last they had seen Jed; he was claimed by a Half-Orc named Barja from The Crimson Order. The Kingsdown Family owes a debt-born child in each generation to the Order. Jed’s purpose was to fulfil this in the place of the preferred children of the Patriarch, Sir Baern Kingsdown. Jed explained his new vitality. Whilst with the Order, Jed partook of the Hunter’s Bane. This toxic draught painful kills most who partake. Yet Jed, a weakling in form before, rose to find himself stronger, bolder and brighter than ever. By now, mid-Spring had sprung and aware of the annual festivities of Verna in Kelador, Jed enquired after the upcoming Ball. Jed is told that his family has tickets, provided by his uncle. Jed demeanour seems to fall a little when he finds his uncle will be coming. Gamble asks after Arpeggio and Arietta dan Vacht, but the Kingsdown Family are unaware of them. The party are shown to their rooms. Rhobur and Jed were to sleeping Jed’s room, with all its replica torture devices. Gamble, Lavanel and Helda, meanwhile, got to take the spare room. It is still early in the day, so they set out to explore Kelador. Shortly before leaving the house, Rhobur enquired about property in Kelador. Jed’s father wrote a letter of introduction to Brodderick, a property agent in the The Mercantile District. On their walk, Jed regales them with tales of his exploits, including the time he once beat a tramp to death. They walked into town and Gamble entered a blacksmith. Putting on her best tourist impression she enquires about Mitzui swords. The Dwarven craftsman was not a fan but pointed toward Aelfreck Pingorn's, located in South High Town. The next stop is to a tailor. Jed and Rhobur purchased clothing for the ball, and Lavanel and Gamble go to buy dresses to be fitted in 4 days’ time. After enquiring about dress, Helda goes with Dwarven tradition, opting instead for polished armour. Rhobur then visits the estate agent. Finding out how much the cheapest houses are, he leaves. Quickly. The party travel back to North High Town where they seek out a bar. They order food from the tall half elf. Soldier, 50 years, connection to a tree in battlefield. After dinner Lavanel, Gamble and Rhobur headed back to the house. Helda then visited the Pantheon. Surmounted by an enormous dome, it served as a temple to all deities. The major ones are represented in the 15 chapels that make up the walls. In the Chapel of Arawn, a symmetrical human cleric tells her that she has felt a disturbance in the balance. She suggests Helda comes back when sober. Helda also questioned a priest in the chapel of the Oloch. He remembers a student from the university also came enquiring into the nature of the balance 15 years ago. Helda asked the Dark Priest about the Ring of Illumination. This turns out to be a great insult and dismissed her from the chapel for blasphemy. Helda then returns to the Kingsdowns’ Townhouse . Jed sets out on his own toward a brothel in The Tangles, losing three gold pieces to a pickpocket en route, but enjoying a night in flagrante delicto.22nd Tummony
The next day the party reconvene for more shopping. Gamble goes in search of her swords and manages to find them in Pingorn’s Exotic Curiousities. Using Jed’s heritage to finagle a discount, she purchases them. Jed is distressed when he discovers that the swords were not, in fact a gift for him. They head onwards to the The Great Library of Kelador in search of a book on The Balance. After considerable searching, the clerk discovered that the most relevant book was checked out 15 years ago. It was by a student of the name Thiliam Abard. Jed gets distracted by books on erotica, but then resolves to visit the Pantheon himself. The rest of the team head to Alforth College to track down Thilliam. The comical porters informed the party of a complete record of all previous students kept at the College. They head upstairs where a depressed archivist brings up Thilliam’s record. It turns out he is actually now a teacher at the college and is in residence in his office. Posing as militant librarians, the party accost Thilliam. They discover Thilliam pursues studies of immortality. It is a neglected and frowned upon area of study due to its association with death and things that can go wrong. One example cited is Kandarert, granted the boon of undeath via a ring. Thilliam reveals that he got the book out for a friend, Salenis Vendari. They shared an obsession with immortality. So did their erstwhile partner, an Amilya Grayheart. They combined resources together to reveal its secrets. Their fields of study saw they focus in different directions. Salenis Vendari sought immortality through aligning with great Power. Amilya sought rather to ascend to a more spiritual state of being. Thilliam, meanwhile, was more interested in preserving his earthly body (though from the look of him, you’d wonder why). Thilliam fell out with the other two for reasons he didn’t state. The last he heard of them was that they had left to pursue another lead. Vendari and Amilya heard of a powerful sorcerer who sought immortality through alchemical means. They hired a band of mercenaries and set off 15 years ago to the home of the sorcerer. When they failed to return, Thilliam tried to find Amilya. He didn’t get far. What he was able to find was a map to, and of, the Sorcerer’s Tower.
Report Date
21 Oct 2016
Primary Location
Related Characters
Comments