Part 5: Ythryn's End

General Summary

The Final Countdown

Upon hearing the crash and bellow of Avarice entering the Spire, our intrepid party realized that we no longer had a place to hide. The little room we were currently in had a door onto the Dais at the top of the room and a smaller door that we had entered through. Stealthily, we checked both doors. Bulwark heard the sounds of two stone creatures walking around outside his door and listening at the lower door, we heard the sounds of many footfalls, probably eight at least. Atalanta froze the lock at the door with her shape water, while we looked for anything else that might help us before the final battle.

Belias noticed some expensive bottled spirits on the back wall and procured one for himself and Prudence did the same while Belias investigated the brain in a jar that was stationed upon the bar. “How Rude! Set me down at once and bring back my friends” the brain proclaimed. He was obviously no help at all.
We asked Deputy Dom to move some barrels full of wine in front of the lower door and Atalanta proceeded to freeze the contents to make them harder to move. Meanwhile, Bulwark stealthily checked outside his door and saw the two Gargoyles, Avarice hovering near the middle of the room and the Barrister, transformed into his dragon form, flying nearby as well. Avarice was alerted by one of the Gargoyles and demanded we show our faces.
Prudence produced an illusion of Atalanta and her haughtily walk out to the center of the room, but Avarice was not convinced. The remainder of the party walked out to confront Avarice’s team and Prudence remained behind with Deputy Dom. Avarice and Atalanta exchanged “pleasantries”, Bulwark summoned a Wall of Fire on top of Avarice and the Barrister and split the room in half and battle commenced.

Tactics, Logistics and Spellcasting

• Opening Salvo: Avarice attempts a chain lightning and is counterspelled by Prudence
• Attacks on Bulwark force the Wall of Fire to crash down
• Prudence casts Slow on most of Avarice’s group on the upper area as
• Dom polymorphs into a T-Rex and crashes through the lower door
• Belias, Bulwark and Atalanta engage the gargoyles and the cult fanatics that joined after the Wall of Fire dropped
• Prudence unleashes a lightning bolt damaging most of the upper deck and completely frying Barrister Kadroth
• Realizing Prudence’s Slow and counterspells were interfering with her plans, Avarice directs her team to throw their forces against Prudence
• Dom as aT-Rex rushes Avarice and takes a chomp out of her forcing her to lose concentration on the Wall of Frost keeping the Tomb Tapper at bay. Avarice’s Banishing Rebuke shifts Dom into another pocket ice dimension removing him from the battlefield. Avarice shifts her focus back to demolishing Prudence but is counterspelled again.
• The Tomb Tapper smashes through the doors and proceeds to smash away at the mobs on the lower level. Avarice drops a Fire Sphere on top of Prudence and the cult fanatics; Prudence takes a potion of invulnerability and glances off the attacks from the two fanatics and walks through the ball of fire and then attempts to Banish Avarice.
• Avarice resists and then realizing she’s pincered in between our party and the Tomb Tapper, she commands her remaining team to attack us and teleports off the battlefield.
• Atalanta throws another attack at the remaining gargoyle and fanatics and vanishes from the field
• Bulwark fires off a heal to Belias and does the same. The cult fanatic by Belias freezes him in place with a Hold Person.
• Prudence misty steps out from between the two fanatics that were attacking her and fires an attack off at the fanatic that was holding Belias so he could be freed.
• Combat ensues, Avarice and her cultists get a few heavy shots off on the party. The battle begins to favor her side.
• An ice fist floats into the chambers through to doors the Tomb Tapper busted through. Suddenly the open doorway begins to freeze over again. Suddenly a humanoid figure appears on the shoulders of the 20-foot tall Tomb Tapper, slashing an axe wildly into the gaping maw on its abdomen. This is Byron McCoy, Atalanta's significant other.
• The tide tuns again, Avarice starts to panic and decides she wants to teleport off the battlefield again. Atalanta decides that isn’t going to happen and makes a killing blow on Avarice, shattering her into oblivion.
• Bulwark reappears after firing off a salvo at the Tomb Tapper and attempts to get the Cult Fanatics to join our fight.
• Atalanta’s beau smashes through the Tomb Tapper taking him out of the fight.
• Recoup and breather

Helmed Horror and the way Up

Upon bringing most of us back to health and filling Byron in on what has happened up to this point, we learn that the entire army of Waterdeep is outside the glacier and has been fighting the denizens that were left behind when we descended further into the Caves of Hunger. Quite some time has passed outside the cave since entering.

We run into Veneranda another Brain in a Jar, this one sitting atop a Helmed Horror. Despite her terrifying presence, we had a rather pleasant conversation with her and were instructed that we would need Archmage’s Iro’s staff in order to reset time to before all this mess had happened using the Obelisk of Chronomancy. Veneranda seemed to insinuate that we couldn’t do anything to the Harbinger of Darkness, but did let us know how we needed to ascend the tower by passing the Bridge of Faith and meet up with the Everlast.
We proceeded to cross the bridge and met the Everlast who sounded remarkably exactly like Deputy Dom. The Everlast advised that he couldn’t assist us and we took the entrance above into the opening chamber lined with 8 doors emblazoned with each of the Orders of Magic and an inscription to “Speak your Master’s Name and enter”. Prudence, consulting her notes, provided the name of the Master Abjurist (name) and walked through the door with the symbol for abjuration magic. The remainder of the party followed. The next room was 8 simple chairs again emblazoned with the schools of magic with a large darkened starfield floating above. To the right lead in a dim room we couldn’t see the contents of and the left led to a huge library filled with books and scrolls. While Prudence investigated the library, Bulwark looked into the other hallway and discovered the Harbinger of Darkness in that room. Atalanta investigated the starfield above and got a horrible impression of a dark star (something something)
Prudence meanwhile found a scroll, a key and a book emblazoned with the name “Tome of the Ebon Star”. Skimming through the book, she discovered a ritual that required 3 of the order to sit in their proper places in order to gain access to Iro’s study. She instructed Atalanta to sit in the chair for Conjuration, Bulwark for Evocation and sat herself in the seat for Divination. A black portal opened in front of us and Prudence stepped through.

Beyond the Dark Portal

Entering a room that was apparently the top of the spire, we discovered a Staff on a plinth with a huge construct made of rotting flesh behind it. Below in an alcove below the room rested an open spellbook, a scroll floating in glass and above that a small creature floating that looked like a baby. Searching her memory and also checking to see what kind of magic might be present in the book, Prudence recognized this creature as an “atropal” or the beginnings of a re-forming Lich. The book gave off a huge amount of necromantic energy so Prudence snagged it, believing it to be the Lich Iriolathas’ Phylactery. Belias meanwhile approached the staff and grabbed it after verifying the base was not trapped.
Instantly the Flesh Construct re-animated and took a huge swing at Belias. Prudence used a silvery barb to distract the construct and Belias was able to skip away and dash for the portal.
Bulwark worked to help Prudence get out of the alcove while the remainder of the party ducked through the portal. Bulwark’s first attempt failed and Prudence slipped back down. The Flesh Construct closed with Bulwark and readied another crashing blow. Bulwark grabbed again and flung Prudence toward the portal. Before the creature was able to attack Bulwark, Prudence threw out another silvery barb and the two of them made their escape.
Returning to the central chamber, we recognized that removing the book and staff had set off a chain reaction and the tower was coming down. We needed to escape and get to the Tower of Abjuration where the Anvil that could destroy all magical items resided. Bulwark took the staff from Belias and used it to capture the Harbinger of Darkness and affix it to the end of the Staff.
Prudence after escaping the Lich’s tomb was crushed below a falling piece of rubble and knocked unconscious. Belias was able to give her a potion of healing and Bulwark kicked the rubble away. Exiting onto a balcony that showed the entirety of the City of Ythryn below, we could see the Tower of Abjuration off in the distance. Prudence instructed everyone to jump off the tower and let Atalanta’s Feather Fall let us safely descend to the ground below.
Entering the Tower of Abjuration, we realized that we needed to destroy the phylactery of the Lich (the spellbook) and we also needed to destroy the Harbinger of Darkness. Realizing destroying either might bring the entire city down on our heads, Bulwark, Deputy Dom and Prudence stayed behind to destroy the items. (Atalanta’s Beau) using the chain of Teleport waited outside ready to teleport away.
Bulwark, still using the strength of his will to hold the Harbinger, instructed Deputy Dom to pick up the Hammer and Prudence (dying a little inside at the prospect of destroying a book) placed Iro’s spellbook on the anvil. Dom smashed the book and with a crash of necromantic energy saw the lich’s spirit erupt from the book and then dissipate. Dom was suddenly engulfed in some necromantic energy, dropped the hammer and was unable to move. Prudence, exerting her intelligence, took the staff from Bulwark and he picked up the hammer. Prudence set the end of the staff with the Harbinger of Darkness fighting her all the way over the anvil and then Bulwark brought the hammer crashing down onto it. The force of the energy backlash knocked Prudence unconscious but Bulwark was able to pick her up, and push Dom along and they escaped the tower just as it began crashing down. Atalanta draped the chain around all of the party and seeing the entrance to the cave in her keen mind, teleported us out of the Caves of Hunger.

Waterdeep Skyguard

Friends in High Places

(gonna have to have you write this part), airships and royalty descend. We were asked by Silverhand if we were able to rescue anything from the Caves. We destroyed the Archmage’s spellbook which destroyed the lich. Prudence did not mention either scrolls she collected, but did mention the Tome of the Black Star. We didn’t mention the Harbinger of Darkness (or did we?) (Closing Bit)

Report Date

19 May 2022