Session 101 Report

General Summary

On the morning of October 16, 499 AV, Haymin’s Heroes teleported to the forest south of Lake Iludar to a grove Romulus had described to Selia Roselyn Maxwell. From there, they made the short walk to the druid enclave Romulus belonged to. They met his mentor, Nasaeva, and spoke with her briefly before she took Romulus aside to discuss an issue the enclave was facing. When they returned, Romulus told them he would not be joining them in the search for the lich. He had to help the enclave while they hunted mysterious black demons that were said to be infesting the area just east of the Serpent Peaks, north of the Blue River and into the Black Swamp. After they each completed their quest, they would meet up again to go after the fire giants. Nasaeva shared what she knew about the lich with Haymin’s Heroes. She referred to him as the Devourer and the Eternal, but she did not give his name. Haymin’s Heroes also learned the general location of the lich’s lair. They bid Romulus farewell and set off to the north. For the next few days, they journeyed through the forest east of Lake Iludar. They encountered members of a local tribe and spoke with them briefly about the lich to the north. The tribesmen reinforced some of what Haymin’s Heroes already knew, and warned them to turn back. They stressed how many had gone into the swamp in search of the lich, but none had ever returned. As Haymin’s Heroes continued traveling, they crossed paths with a group of gnolls. They bypassed each other peacefully after a cautious stare down and continued on their way. Then, on October 19, 499 AV, Haymin’s Heroes crossed the Rolling River and reached the Black Swamp. Titta Morco found an elevated spot where they could rest for the night on dry ground and the party made camp. Ladigo Farthon turned into an owl and flew a few mile perimeter to scout out the area for any sign of the lich’s lair. He found none, but on his way back to the party’s campsite, a skeletal raven flew beside him and nodded. Ladigo perched on a branch in a tree beside the camp and the skeletal raven did the same. Then it began speaking in voice they did not understand. Selia cast Comprehend Languages and listened to the skeletal raven repeat the same verse three times. As by the crow, a skull is found. A hidden cliff reveals three mounds. But only one leads underground. Your souls is lost and never found. The skeletal raven then clearly spoke the word, “Squawk,” and flew away towards the northwest. The next morning, the party traveled in the same direction the skeletal raven had flown. They trudged through the swamp and eventually found a spot to rest. And again, they were visited by the skeletal raven. It repeated the same verse three times then flew away once more to the northwest. On October 21, 499 AV, as the party journeyed through the swamp, they came upon a hill. Ladigo flew overhead as an owl and noted several rocks crowning the hill creating the image of a skull when seen from high above. At the north edge of the hill, he found a cliff hidden by the tangled briars that climbed up the steep sides of the hill. And upon this cliff were three mounds of rock and earth spread along its length. With the help of earth elementals, they cleared out the mounds. Two of them opened into smaller areas with doors along the back wall. The mound in the middle, however, opened into a long corridor that continued just beyond the edge of their light. Ladigo cast Find the Path and searched for the lair of the lich known as the Eternal. The magic of the spell pointed him down this corridor. The party then decided to rest for the night upon this cliff and venture into the corridor in the morning when they would be at full strength. That night as they rested, the skeletal raven came to them again and perched atop the cliff above the entrance to the corridor. As the party prepared for sleep, the skeletal raven laid down to sleep as well. The next morning, the skeletal raven was gone, and the party prepared to enter the hallway. Ladigo cast Find the Path again and led the way with Auren Sylynn behind him to look out for traps. The walls of the corridor were decorated with a multitude of gruesome images. The floor was a mosaic of colorful tiles with a red path leading farther within. At the far end of the hall was a green devil face with an open mouth that led to blackness. And the red path also led to an archway covered in mist on the east wall. The party did not get too far down the corridor, however, when Auren noticed writing on the floor hidden within the mosaic tiles. Kyrie Eleison Thatcher-Stone cast Tongues and read the riddle aloud. She also took the time to copy it down as they believed it held clues as to how they were meant to proceed. From the riddle, they learned the lich’s name was Acererak. They briefly debated the riddle, but continued following Ladigo’s Find the Path spell. This led them to an image of a torture chamber with a door that held back some beastly creature whose clawed hands grasped at the bars in the peephole of the door. The spell also warned Ladigo of the pit trap beneath. Auren then worked on the trap, to prevent the floor from falling in. He then searched the wall and found a hidden door behind the plaster upon which the fresco was painted. The party chipped away at the plaster and opened the hidden door. They entered a chamber that contained two large gargoyles, each with four arms. The gargoyles attacked immediately, but the party defeated them quickly. Around one of the gargoyles necks, Mogi Delvin found a jeweled collar. The party took it and Mogi cast Detect Magic upon it. But it did not radiate any magical aura. The gems, at least, would command a high price. With the help of Find the Path, they proceeded through a series of rooms each containing a magical trap. Ladigo’s spell informed him how to open the secret door that led to each room in succession, while Auren disabled each trap before they entered the room after they were caught by the first trap when Ladigo was shot by magical arrows that appeared from nowhere. Eventually, they entered a great hall with a tiled floor and images on the walls. There were several creatures depicted here, each holding a colored sphere at different elevations. Each sphere was a different color. Selia, thanks to her True Seeing, sensed that some of these spheres were merely illusions, hiding passages or doorways. They debated the riddle some while here, but ultimately they just followed Find the Path into the black sphere at the foot of the image of a hydra. This led to a crawlspace. They followed this crawlspace for a considerable time, each progressing through the narrow corridor in a line with Ladigo in the lead followed by Auren. After winding about for a great length, the crawlway ended in a wall. Auren searched it for a secret passage. He found it and opened it. Then he entered a chapel with depictions of people with rotting flesh, skeletal hands, and worm-ridden orifices. Among these images were the holy symbols of all the benevolent Embrillian gods. Several pews were lined up in this room and there was an altar at the far end. But spread throughout this room where several ghasts who were all focused on Auren.

Campaign

The Heart of Embril

Protagonists