Episode Eighty - Return to the Sanctum of the Void

General Summary

Part One

Resting in the barn for awhile, the party took the time to decide what to do next. With Sol finally freed from a conversation in which a local deity sought understanding, a being by the name of Woadic, they all decided to head to a nearby town to the south to seek out some Questing Knights in the area. When Jorg's companion, a cartographer named Evelyn arrived, Annabelle cast Wind Walk from her necklace and they all flew to town. Though it was thought to be some ninety miles away, the town of Forlorn Hope was only thirty miles away and the party arrived safely at a local inn and tavern of fame, The Deep Road Inn and Tavern. There, Katerina recognized the proprietor, Durnan and learned from him that he had a counter part in Waterdeep that Kelaryn had made him keen on. Inside, the party met a wizard seeking the Tomb of Horrors, which the heroes remembered from its early construction, and learned that great magic would be seldom on the The Isle of Man. Zulthorn, one of the few great mages who was interested in chronomancy himself whom used a Time Stop spell to examine the party, offered then to try and determine why the party was lacking in their usual constitution and quick healing. Knowing they then needed to spend a few days in the area, they set out to find out the area's issues after hearing Durnan tell the tale of Kundrakar. He told them that two centuries ago, the great dwarf smith Durgeddin the Black and his clan were driven from their home by a horde of fierce orcs and trolls. They plundered the DeWarfolks’ ancestral halls and slew all they could catch. Fleeing his enemies, Durgeddin led the destitute remnants of his clan in search of a new home. After years of wandering, the DeWarfolk discovered a great cavern system beneath the Stone Tooth: a rugged, forested hill crowned by a bare rocky crag. There Durgeddin and his followers founded the stronghold of Khundrukar. About a century ago, a member of Durgeddin’s clan was captured by a powerful orc tribe during a raid, and the orcs learned of their enemy’s hidden stronghold. The orc chieftains raised a great army and marched on Khundrukar. In a hard-fought siege lasting months, the orcs tunneled around the DeWarfolk defenses. When they finally stormed the place, they put all within to the sword, then carried off wagonloads of booty. Durnan continued telling them that in the years since the great battle, various creatures have occupied the stronghold and used the place as a base for their raids. At other times, the caverns have lain empty except for the mindless and bloodthirsty monsters that haunt such places. He mentioned that legends of Durgeddin’s Vengeance and the extraordinary blades the DeWarfolk forged in anger still surface from time to time in the lands near the Stone Tooth or even as close as his tavern. After the story, Durnan fetched a Questing Knight and Dera told Sir Danhousr of the nearby sanctum; Annabelle, Evelyn, and herself then headed off to the group's shared room. In a nearby military camp, a tired captain put the rest of the party to test by having them scout, if they could, a nearby goblin cave. Using their Wind Walk, Arion and Katerina were able to determine that there was not, in fact, an entrance within that goblin warren to further caves.

Part Two

Arion, Katerina, and Sol, had all just gotten caught up on the situation inside the goblin cave as the sun fell toward evening. About them, was Jorg the goliath from the Far North and just off at a distance is a man that had introduced himself to Sol as a Knight of the Crossroads. As they all set on their way toward the encampment and town, they heard laughter and then the barking shouts of goblins from around the hill behind them. As they all turned to see what they'd heard, they saw a large party of goblins rushing them. Wild and filled with blood thirsty glee, they saw one lift a rock that exploded with magical energy. As they reacted, drawing weapons, a spell leaped from the rock and twirled over their heads and splashed into the Crossroads Knight. At that exact moment, Annabelle found delightful in her new quarters, it reminded her more and more however, that she wanted some rest. As she settled in to do just that, she heard a knock at the door and a voice offering room service. Allowing entry, she made her way to the door and gave greeting. There was a young an standing at the door. He was tall, a bit lanky, and clad in a green mantle with the hood down and a dark shirt. His tight hosen hugged his lean thighs and strong calves down into a pair of worn leather boots. He had an enriching smile that was as infectious as his eyes were stunning and an aura of warmth was present all around him. Standing there, she saw a silver tray in his left hand and upon it was a silver pitcher, a brass goblet, and a sweet roll. Smiling at her, he spoke in a soft voice and admitted, "wow, Durnan wasn't joking. You're so different yet so beautiful. Um.. *erhrm* Uh. Durnan thought I should offer a sweet roll and some wine if you're to be stuck up here without your companions." "That would be lovely," she responded and beckoned. As he made his way across the room, he introduced himself saying, "I'm Dane by the way, I'll be taking care of you adventurers. I'll set this on the table for you then pour your first cup of course." As he'd walked past her, his steps were graceful. Leaning over, he placed the tray on the table and had begun to pour her a cup of wine. As Annabelle offered appreciation, the dashing young man took the wine into his left hand he spoke, "I must ask, if its not to forward, though I doubt a glory such as you would find herself unencumbered; are you in fact single?" Admitting that she was and allowing the connection in the air, he extended the goblet to her as he drew close and then he lowered his head, almost mournfully, but there was a sweet twinkle in his eye as he kept them upon her. As if bowing in respect and offering venerability, he motioned to the goblet with his right hand and she took it. As she felt the cool brass make contact with her skin, Dane pressed his chin against his chest and a dagger seemingly materialized in his hand. With a thrust, her would be lover attempted her assassination. The blade sank deep and a cold piercing became ever present. An evil then consumed the grin on the young man's face, as his eyes faded to a mad range. The aura of his bloodlust engulfed the room in a burst of chaos and the wet warmth of blood rolled down Annabelle's belly. With a rage filled shout he then kicked Annabelle backward and she tumbled over a chair and slammed onto the floor. In the distance, just beyond town, the Crossroads Knight charged Jorg and slammed his blade into the runt goliath's armor. Twisting that blade around, the knight punched out with his crossguard and then struck Jorg with the flat of his blade. As Jorg's broken nose buried in the dirt, Sol summoned his stone construct and put the knight to work killing goblins. As they swarmed the construct and grabbed hold of it, Arion beat sense into the Crossroads Knight and broke the spell that seemingly fell upon him. Together, they group put down the threat and captured the goblin's leader. As they strode from the battlefield, the Crossroads Knight was awestruck by the construct and admitted it rivaled the magic of the Black Forest. He then took the goblin to camp as the others returned to the tavern and inn but it was far to late. Before the third blow had ever struck beyond the Deep Road Inn and Tavern's walls, blood had already began to pool beneath the sweet cleric. With the dagger still in her stomach, she felt a cold wave rush through her body as a warm sensation poured down her lower body. With a smile, Dane whispered, "its all right, I'll give you time to pray and find peace. I'll leave the dagger in but before I go, they wanted you to know something. I'm going to murder all of your friends just like this, as their order wills it. None of you will ever set gaze upon their secret mausoleum again." She then felt a struggle to speak, a spoken word, a movement, an action could all set her over the edge and lead to her death. As she shivered with the sensation of standing naked in the snow she found herself alone with just her murderer to keep her company. As he started to pick through her gear, she simply clung to her life and prayed to Epione for aid. Dane then removed her necklace and the ring on her finger before kneeling higher over her and quipping poetically, "I hope you've said your final prayer little guppy, as blue as the sea, we'll see each other again when they rule this land." He then ripped out his dagger and as she fade from the world so to did Dane from that very room. As Katerina caught up with the group, having ran to inform the soldiers of a potential attack, they all entered the side entrance to the Deep Road Inn and Tavern and found Zanna, Zolthorn's apprentice, tending to Annabelle. They learned that Zanna had saved her from certain death and had brought her downstairs for mending. Annabelle described her attacker and what happened and accepted Zanna's healing but it was only enough to leave her with a bad scar. After an investigation, in which Arion befriended the innkeeper at the Ol' Boar and learned that Dane traveled the region often and stayed there, they party spoke to Zolthorn about their inability to rest. He told them that initially, they seemed to have lost some form of divine blessing recently but admitted that he need more time. Then, the party went and spoke with the captain of the camp outside of town and told him what they'd learned in the goblin cave. He then explained to them the general situation in the region and the big names abound. He told them that there was a Judge looking for necromancy, a Dragon Knight looking for signs of draconic activity, and a Mage from The Tower all in that remote region. He told them, that he needed help and informed them that the king was allowing for any and all means. Considering helping, the party then retired for the evening. Come the morning, which they learned was the Woadsday on the 8th of the Wolf, 12,011 Common Era, the heroes decided to all go down to the Ol' Boar and have breakfast. Inside, as they concluded their meal, they met more trouble. Walking down the steps, the man no sooner then saw the lot of them then did he stop. He was clad in a long brown cloak and was clearly laboring to hide his appearance. His hands were barely visible at his side, the long sleeves and pulled hood shaded every essence of the man beneath. A shadow shrouded lip quivered then with anger as the man's shoulders rose and fall with heated passion. In a flash of a moment since his arrival, he cried out, "Sol Astair!" The group stood then and readied for a fight as the man threw back his clock and brandishing a blade in a single movement. He demanded, "for your crimes against humanity, your life is forfeit. Surrender now and I will make your death quick and painless." "Who are you?" Arion demanded in return. With anger the man allowed, "I am the Dragon Knight Moltengaze of Windu." "I don't think I'm who your looking for," Sol blurted as the others also attempted reason. "I will not fall for your tricks. The evil chronomancer dies today and he will plague Azgenerath no longer." Luckily, the knight found himself desperate as the heroes offered explanation that bent the laws of time. Short on time himself, he offered to put the situation away but Arion had a demand of his own. He required then, that the man tell him of Tokin. The Dragon Knight knew nothing of the boy but offered his knowledge of Dragon Hollow and Wolfhelm and the party realized, the pair had just set out and Sol reasoned, that they'd not yet met the boy or Arion. Angered by the curiosity of time, Arion allowed the knight passage as he sought to save a village from a kobold attack. In another moment after the man left, the party of heroes knew they had to follow in order to help. After a day's walk, the heroes arrived to a destroyed settlement on the heels of a kobold ambush. The knight was devastated but hungry for revenge, he joined the party as they returned once more to the Sanctum of the Void.

Part Three

The heroes had rushed in and charged the tribe of kobolds below, but as they attacked, a figure appeared in the dungeon beyond. Alas, through the darkness, they only heard him speak after crashing through a door. "Fine then," it spoke with a harsh tin to its voice and a hint of madness, "I'll just do it myself. Maethelgas, its time they taste your VENOM." The battle was lost for all sides but one before it began. The creature slaughtered a dozen kobolds within seconds before it turned its gaze, curiously, upon the party. Attacking, it retorted as it trapped them in a wall of blades and then the undead monster seemed to play with them instead of battling them. He toyed with Arion, the great warrior's, sword play and laughed at the blows dealt to him. In but a few moments, he'd used his sword or his magics to knock out ever single member of the party and then took a little extra time to play with Arion as the warrior gave it his all. Eventually, a light shattered the darkness for the heroes and when they opened their eyes they could only squint as they found themselves blinded for just a moment. As they adjusted, they saw before them a scant little man; a thug topped with Sol's hat, armed with Annabelle's mace, and wearing Arion's Ring of Power Word Kill. The thug himself was an ugly, frail, fellow; any given one of them could taken him in a fist fight but he was just a single element of their current problem. They all found themselves in cages. Annabelle, Katerina, and Sol, all found themselves collapsed in the bottom of three standing cages, quite alone in imprisonment but just beside of one another in the room. Arion was locked in a cage with the Dragon Knight, who was staring, angrily, at his captor. All around them, they found a room quite filled with junk. There was a bunch of smashed pottery in one corner of the room and then several empty, dirty coffins dug up from some unknown place in another. There was also a large, stone, sarcophagus there. A thirty second combat had landed them in captivity but they knew they wouldn't be there for long. As threats were launched at their jailor, Ishmeh, they heard their true captor approach. A man whom appeared to be the Cloak of Sauron entered the room with several flesh golems; he wore tight hosen filled with a massive codpiece and was clad in a tight fitting black and red bodysuit. He was wearing the Ring of the Hall of Four Ghosts Arion had, the mask of The Cloak of Sauron that Sol had, and the dark sabre Sol had held onto. With a flamboyance to his step, he look about the room and they golems gave threat with long metal shanks. Standing tall and talking somewhat whimsically with his hands that dark figure stated, very simply, "you know, I must thank you all. Without my new ally, I would not have solved the puzzles my master left me. Now I shall rise as his equal and he will finally see me for the man that I am. But I must know, please, tell me more about this Sauron." Through name calling and threats, they offered him little other then to allude to the being's evil. Being the most helpful, the man then focus his attention on Sol. "Dark dealings are nothing new to me darling," he quipped with the flick of his wrist and a saunter. "Dark orders like ours are all I know love, I want to know his desires and his past." Offering that Sauron would betray him, the party convinced the new figure to not trust Sauron and thus, he threw away his ring. "Well, I won't push the issue further now. Clearly my new ally is awe-inspiring and powerful, maybe even equal to that of my great ally the grand Death Tyrant Faamdiohl. Never the less, there is much to do and so little time to do it. I must find a boy for a lover before I complete my newly discovered transformation, finish cutting up your friend, and so much more; so, be good little darlings or I'll feed you to the lesser beholder below. Tuh-ta!" As he waved, the necromancer twisted and exited but his golems remained. As they were left alone with him, a devilish grin creeped across their creepy jailor's face. As he begun to size up each of them like a meal he looked to Sol. As droll slipped from his lips, they all heard the necromancer start to cast in a room beyond but he wasn't alone. Sol then cast and withered Ishmeh to a husk as the golems looked on ignorantly. When the cast was finished beyond, what they all assumed was teleportation, the golems left and the crew escaped. The party searched the area and learned that some of their gear was missing. Many of their favorite items had been taken but they gathered what was left and saved Jorg whom was tied to a table beyond. His left hand had been severed but Annabelle and Katerina got him to his feet and got him moving. Arion and Sol investigated the area as the Dragon Knight kept watch and they learned that the necromancer, whom was working to become a lich like his master and lover, was skilled in flesh golem creation and on the doorstep to lichdom. Further on, they destroyed his clothing and bedroom and took some letters from his office. From there, the heroes cleverly forced the golems guarding the entrance to destroy themselves, found a teleportation circle that Sol would later put to paper, and then tied and lured several more golems into an acid pit that Arion nearly fell into. Beyond, they learned that they were known to the temple as busts were present that depicted several of them and several others including Aldrich, Calaeriel, Kelaryn, some named the Raven Queen, and a man named Kas the Betrayer. They also found and destroyed a jeweled egg that had necromantic energy and then realized that they dead in the dungeon below were once guards in that very temple. In the furthest room of the level, in a room that connected to the kobold layer, they met two nothics that could communicate with their minds. Those magic crazed creatures were a speaker and a shy, whispering genius. They informed the party that the order had divided up their gear and were comprised of a dark leader they only called the Earl of Undeath, a lieutenant named Faldeyr Zylminar the Lich, a Death Tyrant named Faamdiohl, the underling they'd met named Ulyeras Nordaren, a lieutenant known as Acererak the Demilich, and an evil figure they did not know. They told them that they also had an underling present that got some of the gear, the same underling that brought them meat, Dane the assassin. Armed with knowledge, the heroes left the dungeon through the mausoleum and prepared themselves for the walk back to Forlorn Hope.

Rewards Granted

3787xp

Missions/Quests Completed

Quest Vecna's Eye Started, Sidequest Forlorn Founding Continued, Subquest Return to the Tomb of the Void Completed

Notes

Notable Party Damage:

Aldrich has a horrible burn scar on the left side of his neck in front of the ear from an azure fire elemental summoned by Seldra Tylmarande. His armor and shield are extremely claw marked from many Lizardfolk. His shield has a large fist shaped dent in it from when he was crushed by a Sacred Statue.
Noted Effects: Horrible Scar (Neck). You are disfigured to the extent that the wound can't be easily concealed. You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar. Missing.
Annabelle has a hole in her armor and healing wound on her right abdomen from a kobold's arrow. She has a scar on her left abdomen from an attempted assassination.
Noted Effects: Minor Scar (Left Abdomen). The scar doesn’t have any adverse effect. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.
Arion came from Arda with a scar that won't seem to heal.
Noted Effects: Minor Scar (Head). The scar doesn't have any adverse effect. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.
Katerina has bruising on her ribs from falling when she was lit on fire by a kobold.
Noted Effects: None
Sol has tear marks across the back and chest of his shirt, as well as down the sleeve, from the claws of lizardfolk. He was shot in the stomach by a beholder's enervation ray and it left a burned hole in his clothes. He has a scar across his right jaw from a nail that was shot at him in an explosion.
Noted Effects: Horrible Scar. You are disfigured to the extent that the wound can't be easily concealed. You have disadvantage on Charisma (Persuasion) checks and advantage on Charisma (Intimidation) checks. Magical healing of 6th level or higher, such as heal and regenerate, removes the scar.