Session 1: A Tale of Two Cults Report
General Summary
Two weeks ago, Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard, Master Tactician of the Flaming Fist and official ruler of Baldur's Gate arrived in Elturel with a host of retainers to barter an alliance between the two cities amid rumors of rising activity of the The Cult of the Dragon, which was said to have raided many small towns and villages.
Negotiations were stuck at an impasse, so Vindicator Ontharr Frume, a paladin of the Order of the Gauntlet, organized a meeting between various members of both cities' courts: two hellriders, a cleric, an artisan, and a bureaucrat were to set aside their differences and travel to the Elturgard Woods, north of the city. It was said that the cult of the dragon had established a base of operations there, and this party was to investigate.
After a night of heavy drinking in A Pair of Black Antlers, they set off; traveling before first light, they came across a marriage ceremony in which they participated as witnesses as the dawn's first light greeted them. In the woods, they encountered an ambitious halfling girl from the countryside, who had been ambushed by wolves as she was gathering mushrooms for her breakfast. They made short work of the wolves and received a gift from the girl, who left them for her delayed breakfast which by then, had turned into lunch.
Trekking deeper into the forest, they found the tracks of an Owlbear - a mighty predator bigger than a horse - and decided to go the other way. Eventually, they came across the edge of a ritual site, with proof of recent activity. Taking a break from their trek into the forest, they decided to move at midnight.
As they made their way across the forest path, they saw a shadowy figure standing stiff as a board - strange, considering they made no secret of their approach. Upon further inspection, they saw the cultist, as he was impaled on a wooden spike, right through the mouth. The party heard whispers coming from a nearby glade, and encountered a necromancer attempting to raise a second cultist who he'd just slain. After killing both of them, they found out that the glade they had entered was in fact a desecrated monument to the Dead Three gods: Myrkul, god of undeath; Bane, god of tyranny; and Bhaal, god of murder. These cultists had found the dragon cultist's hideout shortly before the party's approach, and had killed them for use in their dark rituals.
As they contemplated deeply over their findings, they were ambushed by two robed figures, armed solely with daggers. However, their mere presence seemed to make the party weak to their stabbings, as they managed to viciously bring one of the adventurers down. After dispatching them, the party found a pair of crystal roses on their corpses - roses of Bhaal, used to identify Bhaalspawn. Strangely, the roses did not stop glowing after the souls of the cultists had been reaped...
Finally, a lone warrior, shouting praises to Bane, was bested by the companions as they found on another cultist's corpse a letter, indicating a location in Baldur's Gate where all of the lost treasure from the raided villages was to be collected. Their battles finished and their bones rested, the party made their way back out of the woods.
As they neared the edge of the forest, perhaps expecting the hills to be illuminated by the Companion, that second sun that always shines above Elturel, instead they found themselves in darkness, with a dull, white flickering orb of light where the The Companion was supposed to be. The ground began to shake as the light dimmed, and eventually disappeared. Then, all at once, the entire city looked to be engulfed in flame as mighty chains of unfathomable size and strength latched onto it. Screams and tremors could be felt and heard before it all went silent.
Rewards Granted
- Two Roses of the Bhaalspawn
- A letter indicating a location in Baldur's Gate
- Gold and precious gems
- Level 2!
Character(s) interacted with
- Ontharr Frume
- Daisy the halfling
- A cleric of Lathander
- A pair of newlyweds
Artana Dryl
Fenrir Firecam
Patience
Report Date
11 Sep 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
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