Session 6 - Oricalcum
General Summary
After the moot to make Rose queen, events happen quickly. Bram leaves to make preparations to return to his slumber far beneath the crypts of Ebenring. The Seawolf rides high in the water once again, Yorber's salt all on its way to market. Fenrir returns to the ship, beat up, but with a pouch full of coin. A member of the hunters guild escorts a badly beaten Browntooth off the ship and hands Ghostclaw a sack of coins. Ronove works with Skara and Amon and has lost interest in Fenrir. Iva restocks The Seawolf with supplies. Only Roger and Alice stay with the group.
Arimanthos decides that it would be good to meet with the new queen, Rose Stoker. Ghostclaw and Roger decide to accompany him. As they enter the throne room, they see various nobles talking with the new queen. Rose quiets the one talking to her and shoos him away.
"It is good to finally meet you," she motions for the three to come forward, "Do not think me unappreciative, but I have much to do. After the coronation, I plan to raise an army to take back the Magus. I have already sent out Zubarin and his Orc to search for the other wizards. I can spare a few moments for you. What do you need?"
Arimanthos apologizes for the other, now absent, Castillo nobles. He also assures her that, when the time comes, she will have their support.
Ghostclaw, however, has a different motive for being there. He seeks her permission to travel to an island, restricted to most people, three days to the north-west.
"Ah, yes. Roger has mentioned that to me already," the queen says, "Khordaldrum , the ancient dwarven homeland. The only ones who reside there are The Monks of the Ten Palm Strike. In fact I have one of them here." She motions to a man standing among the crowd. "and he was looking for a way home too."
The man steps forward, his name is Nath, and he is one of The Monks of the Ten Palm Strike. He explains that there is a monastery on the dwarven island to protect people from the evil that lives there. He had a little too much to drink, and was left behind on the mainland during their last supply run.
As the four men leave, they are accosted by a green haired gnome.
"Wilvert Zilver, is my name. If you want to gain entrance to the dwarven mines, you will want my help. I'm the only one who knows they way to enter."
As they discuss passage to Khordaldrum, Fenrir and Aragon go to The Meadwell to look for drinks and side jobs. Fenrir begins to dice with some men, while Aragon uses his magical abilities to change the outcome of the rolls.
"You have the Demon Lord's luck," one of the losers yell, as Fenrir walks away with all his money.
There is a small crowd by the Ebenring prison, and Arimanthos and Ghostclaw are the first on the scene. They learn that the Castillo senator escaped his shackles and created a magical portal. When they interrogate other prisoners, they learn that he seemed to have meetings in an unknown language in his sleep. They determine that he is one of the six remaining demon generals. Arimanthos finds a Castillo signet ring in the cell.
The entire group meets up and Ghostclaw convinces them to go to Khordaldrum. As they walk back to the ship, Ghostclaw is accosted by a man hawking his wares.
"Is that your bow? Sir, it looks like a knot riddled branch, broken from a cross grained tree by a blind idiot in the middle of the night."
Ghostclaw isn't amused by the pitch, but knows a quality bowstring when he sees one. Arimanthos orders a new suit of mail, and the two leave with lighter coin pouches.
Alice has no interest in more sailing, and decides to stay and shop in the big city. Arimanthos gives her 100 gold of spending money.
They sail for three days. As they approach the dwarven island, the wind and snow dies down. The air seems to warm a small amount and a fog hangs in the air. The ocean waves crash up against steep cliffs, and a stone stairway is intricately carved into the rock face. At it's base, a small dock juts out with an inquisitor ship anchored nearby. High above the cliffs they see an old dwarven ruins with lights inside, the Monastery of the Ten Palm Strike, Nath explains.
They board the inquisitor ship, but are met with only dead bodies. No wounds, they appear to have been scared to death.
They carefully climb the steps to the monastery. As they enter the main hall they find a gruesome scene. It appears the monks set up a meal for their inquisitor guests, only to each be shot dead by an arrow. Nath inspects the gate that leads to the rest of the island and is horrified to find the ward against evil broken.
He explains that 500 years ago, the dwarven king grew sick in his castle. His greed led him to call four necromancers to his castle, he would be around to enjoy his riches forever. It came at a great price, however, as he became a Litch and almost wiped out all his people. Now only the monks remain on the island, protecting the mainland and keeping the Litch sealed away.
As they enter the square where the mine should be, they find the bodies of 25 inquisitors scattered around, all killed by the horrible Litch. What truly grabs their attention is six statues carved in the form of powerful looking men.
"The heroes of old," Nath says, "they aided the chosen one 5000 years ago."
The first is a wizard swirling magic around him, the elements so strong the arcane magic almost seems real. The stone spell book he holds is made with a rose quartz. Second is a large Orc, above his head he holds a horror beyond belief. It is a demon being ripped apart, green emeralds bleeding from its wounds. Third is an elf, a proud warrior with ivory carved hair, he holds his sword aloft. Fourth a dwarf, barefoot and holding his hands in the air. Sapphire roses perpetually blooming at his feet and in his hair. Fifth is a man balancing on one leg, in deep meditation, a diamond is used as a focus. Finally a figure shrouded in a fine cloak, face partially obscured, a gemstone once seems to have rested in the eye, but is now long gone. One hand reaches out in a loving embrace, the other holds a dagger behind the back.
As they begin to discuss what this means, they hear a loud shriek as a Litch and four Necromancer ghosts attack. Atop the head of the Litch lays a crown of great value. As he is attacked, different gems shine. Yellow stops magic, red creates flaming attacks, and blue shields him from damage. Arimanthos says a prayer and sends a ghost to the afterlife, while Nath's powerful fists actually destroys another. Finally Ghostclaw pulls out his silver tomahawk. With a swift chop, he beheads the Litch and sinks his ax deep in to vile creatures skull. As the Litch fades away, only the three gems from his crown are left.
"Six great men, not two or three. Dwarven stone becomes the key," says Wilvert quoting a rhyme he came across in his study of the island, "but which one?"
Suddenly, Wilvert, Ghostclaw, Arimanthos, and Fenrir all get a strange feeling. They almost recognize the statues in front of them.
Grabbing the yellow gem, Ghostclaw tells the group, "you are going to have to trust me."
As he places the stone into the eye socket of the Rogue, the entrance to the dwarven mines opens.
"Morbak, Godric, Mithril, Hargon-se, Jin-Pah, and Kaiser," Roger says walking up to the group, "I assumed at least one of you had been reincarnated, but I never expected four. You have been given another chance to defeat the Demon Lord. Work together this time, not against each other. Austera might have a chance."
Dumbfounded by this revelation, the group enters the mine and see a soft blue glow, it is bars of Oricalcum.
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