Session 8 - Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun
General Summary
In the shadowed passage lined with enigmatic carvings of a churning tempest, the heroes found themselves entranced by the eerie beauty. Every ten feet, they encountered androgynous statues, towering at seven feet, their hands cupped as if holding something precious. The corridor whispered with a faint, untraceable breeze.
These statues, they realized, were tributes to the noble Wind Dukes, their hands once cradling miniature statuettes on gentle air currents that still lingered, the source of the strange wind. As they ventured deeper, the air grew bitingly cold near the third set of alcoves, an unnatural chill seeping into their bones.
At the hallway's end, a magical force muted sounds and swept dust from their clothes, a silent guardian of cleanliness and quiet. Dav, with stealthy grace, scouted ahead. In the east hall, he discovered a nutrient still, a magical device producing an unappetizing, nutritive sludge. However, the area was infested with brown mold, which violently ripped his warmth from his body, forcing a hasty retreat.
In contrast, the west hall held remnants of an ancient workshop, its history marred by a tomb robber's greed and subsequent demise under a crushing stone column.
Dav signaled for the group to follow him to a nearby chamber, once a dignitary's quarters. A large stone slab, serving as a bed, lay under a bas-relief of a wind-robed, long-nosed figure, an amulet marked with a stylized arrow around its neck. The room, stripped of valuables long ago, now housed only a bed of swirling air atop the slab and an undead man, Ulavant Graves, who greeted them.
The noble ghoul.
Ulavant, an archaeologist lost for over sixty years, recounted his entrapment and subsequent transformation into a ghoul upon tampering with a cursed artifact in the workshop. His team, he revealed, met a grimmer fate, reanimated as Graveyard Stalkers.
He shared tales of the cairn's origin, built by Wind Duke Nadroc in honor of Zosiel, who fell in the battle against the demon lord Zalatas, and offered guidance to bypass a lethal trap in exchange for escape. The heroes agreed, leading him back to the entrance.
Meanwhile, Alfie and Clover discovered the remnants of Ulavant's colleague and a crucial red lantern in the bedroom. As Clover fetched Dav, Ulavant pondered his ascent to freedom, revealing the key to deactivating the hurricane trap: lighting all lanterns in the room above.
Their return was marred by an ambush from Graveyard Stalkers. In the ensuing chaos, Ulavant, revealing his sorcerous powers, turned against them. A fierce battle unfolded, Clover struggling to heal and empower Dav at her own peril. Vaz'non and Feirnar cornered Ulavant, while Cal summoned a ferocious entity to join the fray.
The summoned wrath of Scoots McGoots.
Triumphantly, the heroes vanquished their undead adversaries. Their exploration uncovered Cal's clever use of cold against the brown mold, a godlike warrior's statue holding a symbolic warhammer of Requiem, and the ominous Eye of Nokturnus within a cracked crystal.
Victorious and laden with newfound artifacts, including the prop of Requiem and the red lantern, the heroes emerged from the depths, ready to uncover the true resting place of Wind Duke Zosiel.Rewards Granted
Bedroom Loot:
- The red lantern
- Red masterwork leather armor with the Aspis Consortium insignia over the left breast
- Masterwork short sword
- Masterwork chainmail that once had smooshed person inside it
- Wand of unseen servant (16 charges)
- Wand of shatter (7 charges)
- Goggles of minute seeing.
- Potions of cure light wounds (3)
- Runestone of power (1st level)
- Potions of spider climbing (2)
- Petrified wooden prop of the warhammer Requiem.
Missions/Quests Completed
- The Whispering Cairn was built by a Wind Duke named Nadroc to honor a warrior named Zosiel who died on the fields of Pesh.
- Nadroc used traps and misdirection to prevent grave robbers from finding Zosiel's true tomb.
- Many of the runes used in the tomb are the personal runes of the various Wind Dukes.
- Ulavant Graves left notes in his journal discussing his research from texts found in the libraries of Minas Amer.
