Kingdom on the Brink - Session 53
General Summary
The party begins to tear apart the bandit camp, some going through tents and others going through the bodies, Uriel has the berserkers set up a perimeter. Del Varis Merigold, and Rosemary find some electrum, but they also see the bodies don't have the normal jewelry or clothing of the cult of Nadranth, but they have defaced and covered tattoos that appear to have been that of the black dragon. Gareth scavenges two sets of plate armor off the bodies. Duromar finds some gems and a journal that's bookmarked to a specific page and Uriel finds a note on the Druid's body. The Journal reads:
The party sees that it is getting late and decides to head back to the village, they find the only inn and get rooms, which is easy because there's only three patrons and the barkeep inside. Duromar heads up to his room and Uriel heads to a shrine. Merigold, Rosemary, Del Varis, and Gareth sit at the bar and eat and drink. Del Varis spends quite a bit of time at the bar, the encounter with the fey the previous night still has him upset. Rosemary purchases the top shelf bottle of liquor "Leranth's Passion" (see Leranth, Goddess of passion), she asks the party if they want some and Gareth takes her up on it. Merigold eagerly encourages them to not take it easy with the liquor, she manages to get the other three patrons to join in, saying how real adventurers would take a shot. The barkeep just shakes his head and says how he first tasted it in Shimmer Cliff it packed a punch. Uriel makes some prayers and offerings at the shrine, he notices some notes asking for courage and to make the noises in the night go away, Uriel walks back to the inn. Del Varis leaves the inn as the few patrons are still giving Rosemary and Gareth encouragement to drink a full shot, he runs into Uriel. Uriel is concerned because Del Varis has obviously been drinking so he stays with him. They search the village but between Del Varis' drunken state and seeing the village is locked up tight (doors closed and lock and winds closed and covered), they are unsuccessful. Uriel tells Del Varis they need to leave, he resorts to throwing Del Varis over his shoulder, Del Varis tries to punch Uriel, Uriel smacks him several times, Del Varis eventually stuns himself. They get approached by two village watchmen who seem tense as they approach but then they calm down as they see it's Uriel and Del Varis, they tell them that it's getting late and ask if they have a place to stay. Uriel says they are staying at the inn, the watchmen are pleased to hear that and say that there have been strange sounds at night and livestock disappearance, they leave. Uriel is forced to use the bands of Bilarro on Del Varis and they head back to the inn. At the inn Duromar hears commotion downstairs and goes to check, he sees the patrons egging on Gareth and Rosemary, he recognizes the liquor and just stands there smirking. Gareth caves to the pressure, wanting to prove he's a real adventurer and takes a shot. When Uriel walks in with Del Varis on his shoulder, he sees that Gareth is passed out on the floor, Merigold explains what happened.
The patrons start to leave as it's getting late and the Barkeep starts to close and lock the windows, Uriel tells the party what the watchmen told him (and that it started within the last month), this peaks Duromar's attention and he starts to talk to the barkeeper. After some persuasion the barkeeper says that he heard stories of something that looked like a deformed humanoid, but with the body and consistency of ground dust, it moved like water. After some moreexplanation Duromar realizes it fits the description of what they fought during the undead attack on Strongfare (see Kingdom on the Brink - Session 38), the party decides to setup a watch for the night. During Merigold's shift she hears something outside and sees two Bonepowder Ghouls and has Gregori sound the alarm. The party wakes up and runs downstairs and out the door to move around the inn. The Bonepowder Ghouls move through the cracks in the windows and reform and attack Merigold, leaving her paralyzed and diseased by Darakhul Fever. The party hears Merigold scream and run back inside towards the backroom. Duromar uses dimension door to get into the room quickly and starts to strike the closest Ghoul with his rapier, Uriel comes riding in on Bob and then uses misty to get into the room and flanks with Duromar. One of the Ghouls casts circle death which strikes everyone but Del Varis, the second one attempts to bite Duromar but he casts shield. Rosemary attempts to turn the undead but they are turning defiant and resist it, Gareth stumbles in (having a hangover) and shouts fireball. The party gets tense for a brief second, but instead of a fireball Gareth casts firebolt, to the relief of everyone in the room. Bob rushes in and tramples one of the Ghouls, Duromar and Uriel strike repeatedly at the Ghouls. One of the Ghouls turns into a whirlwind which strikes Gregori, Bob, Duromar, and Uriel (leaving Uriel down on the ground). Gregori grabs Merigold's paralyzed body and drags her out of harm's way, Uriel starts to bleed out, Rosemary casts mass cure wounds on the party. Gareth and Del Varis enter the melee and the tide turns. In a last ditch effort a Bonepowder Ghoul attempts to cast finger of death, but it gets counter-spelled by Duromar, this leaves Duromar open to a bite attack which weakens his strength. But it is not enough as the Uriel stands back up and the party strikes down the Ghouls once and for all.
The party tends to their wounds, Merigold feels weak from the strength damage so she just sleeps on the ground floor, Del Varis examines her. The party finishes up resting and gets ready for the day, Merigold isn't feeling too well and she takes an elixir of health (getting rid of the fever). After some time for thought and waiting for Uriel to get up (he stayed up later tending to Bob), the party gets a lead for information, an old man by the name of Adam. The party goes to his hovel to ask him some questions about what he has seen before he was convinced to move closer to the village. Gareth knocks on the door and is met by a curt "what?", Gareth says he has some questions, Adam asks who wants to know. Duromar takes this time to says the lord of the Lakecliff Ruins does, in joking way. This pisses Uriel off; Adam gets sarcastically pompous and says how he wasn't expecting the lord of some abandoned ruins that nobody has gone to in centuries to come by his hovel. The party gets in on the fun and jokes about how Uriel is the lord of some ruins and that he is a very important person, Uriel has had enough and trots away, keeping watch. The party asks Adam what he saw before he moved, Adam says he remembers hearing of highly organized bandits (strange for this area) and chanting not too far from where he lived. He couldn't make the entirety of the chanting but he does remember the words "hallowed Ancient" several times, Duromar gets a general location on the map and the group sets out to investigate.
The group gets to a crossroads and Del Varis and Merigold sneak up, they see four figures around the road (two Alchemical Archers, a Warlord, and a Blood Herald), they are forming a roadblock. As they go to return to the party, Gregori steps on a branch, which alerts the enemies. The party quickly forms a plan as the enemy advances, Merigold runs up to the far side and gets up next to the stonewall, Duromar casts scatter which gets the majority of the party up close to the Warlord and Blood Herald. The Blood Herald says something to one of the Archers and the Archer begins to run back, the Herald of Blood uses majesty of Ragnarök. This leaves Del Varis and Rosemary blinded (they channel their ki shortly after to remove it), and everyone else hurt and exhausted, except for Duromar and Bob. Uriel blesses the party and then teleports to catch up with the fleeing Archer, the other Alchemical Archer takes aim and knocks Rosemary down with a concussive arrow. He fires another deadly volley into her, Bob charges the Blood Herald and as the first strike hits, a pool of blood forms which negates the impact. Bob continues to trample as Duromar follows it up with Rapier strikes, Merigold rides up with Gregori and strikes the Blood Herald. The Blood Herald fills the Warlord with a blood rage and then attempts to strike Gareth, the Warlord moves up to Duromar and Merigold and begins to swing. Del Varis speeds towards the Archer, he hates archers, Rosemary heals herself, the Blood Herald moves up and swings her staff around striking Duromar and Gareth. The fight devolves into a melee between three separate groups, Uriel grapples the fleeing Archer and drags him back towards the group. Del Varis restrains the other Archer and Rosemary moves in and launches a flurry of blows. Merigold, Duromar, and Gareth continue to swing at the Warlord and Blood Herald, they feel the favor of the Gods as they land critical strike after critical strike and their foes mishandling their weapons. Bob finally fells the Blood Herald and Gareth moves to attack the Warlord, the Warlord lands several deadly strikes on Gareth, but it isn't enough as Merigold lands a precise strike that kills him. Del Varis stuns his Archer and unleashes a flurry of blows, Rosemary does the same and the Archer falls. Uriel continues to drag the last Archer to the group, Duromar has Uriel hold him as he casts finger of death on the Archer, getting another zombie. The fight ends.
Let us praise the night the veil was lifted from our eyes, what we thought to be a setback made way to our awakening. Let us cleanse our ranks of those who refuse to see, they are unworthy and do not deserve our pity. For they have chosen to not yield to the power that has chosen to walk among us
and cling to a legend, if that, who can’t even free itself.
The note reads:
It is commanded, so it shall be. These people have chosen to stand against the Hallowed Ancient, they must either see reason or they must be dealt with. There are other supporters so you will not be alone, though I believe you can more than handle yourselves, the Hallowed Ancient has blessed us with Heralds. House Valeros is of little concern to us, they enjoy some support, but not enough to make a difference. We need to focus on the task at hand, as long as the Bridgeford faction and the opposition are around we will be contested. We need to undercut their power base, then we can move unopposed.
The party sees that it is getting late and decides to head back to the village, they find the only inn and get rooms, which is easy because there's only three patrons and the barkeep inside. Duromar heads up to his room and Uriel heads to a shrine. Merigold, Rosemary, Del Varis, and Gareth sit at the bar and eat and drink. Del Varis spends quite a bit of time at the bar, the encounter with the fey the previous night still has him upset. Rosemary purchases the top shelf bottle of liquor "Leranth's Passion" (see Leranth, Goddess of passion), she asks the party if they want some and Gareth takes her up on it. Merigold eagerly encourages them to not take it easy with the liquor, she manages to get the other three patrons to join in, saying how real adventurers would take a shot. The barkeep just shakes his head and says how he first tasted it in Shimmer Cliff it packed a punch. Uriel makes some prayers and offerings at the shrine, he notices some notes asking for courage and to make the noises in the night go away, Uriel walks back to the inn. Del Varis leaves the inn as the few patrons are still giving Rosemary and Gareth encouragement to drink a full shot, he runs into Uriel. Uriel is concerned because Del Varis has obviously been drinking so he stays with him. They search the village but between Del Varis' drunken state and seeing the village is locked up tight (doors closed and lock and winds closed and covered), they are unsuccessful. Uriel tells Del Varis they need to leave, he resorts to throwing Del Varis over his shoulder, Del Varis tries to punch Uriel, Uriel smacks him several times, Del Varis eventually stuns himself. They get approached by two village watchmen who seem tense as they approach but then they calm down as they see it's Uriel and Del Varis, they tell them that it's getting late and ask if they have a place to stay. Uriel says they are staying at the inn, the watchmen are pleased to hear that and say that there have been strange sounds at night and livestock disappearance, they leave. Uriel is forced to use the bands of Bilarro on Del Varis and they head back to the inn. At the inn Duromar hears commotion downstairs and goes to check, he sees the patrons egging on Gareth and Rosemary, he recognizes the liquor and just stands there smirking. Gareth caves to the pressure, wanting to prove he's a real adventurer and takes a shot. When Uriel walks in with Del Varis on his shoulder, he sees that Gareth is passed out on the floor, Merigold explains what happened.
The patrons start to leave as it's getting late and the Barkeep starts to close and lock the windows, Uriel tells the party what the watchmen told him (and that it started within the last month), this peaks Duromar's attention and he starts to talk to the barkeeper. After some persuasion the barkeeper says that he heard stories of something that looked like a deformed humanoid, but with the body and consistency of ground dust, it moved like water. After some moreexplanation Duromar realizes it fits the description of what they fought during the undead attack on Strongfare (see Kingdom on the Brink - Session 38), the party decides to setup a watch for the night. During Merigold's shift she hears something outside and sees two Bonepowder Ghouls and has Gregori sound the alarm. The party wakes up and runs downstairs and out the door to move around the inn. The Bonepowder Ghouls move through the cracks in the windows and reform and attack Merigold, leaving her paralyzed and diseased by Darakhul Fever. The party hears Merigold scream and run back inside towards the backroom. Duromar uses dimension door to get into the room quickly and starts to strike the closest Ghoul with his rapier, Uriel comes riding in on Bob and then uses misty to get into the room and flanks with Duromar. One of the Ghouls casts circle death which strikes everyone but Del Varis, the second one attempts to bite Duromar but he casts shield. Rosemary attempts to turn the undead but they are turning defiant and resist it, Gareth stumbles in (having a hangover) and shouts fireball. The party gets tense for a brief second, but instead of a fireball Gareth casts firebolt, to the relief of everyone in the room. Bob rushes in and tramples one of the Ghouls, Duromar and Uriel strike repeatedly at the Ghouls. One of the Ghouls turns into a whirlwind which strikes Gregori, Bob, Duromar, and Uriel (leaving Uriel down on the ground). Gregori grabs Merigold's paralyzed body and drags her out of harm's way, Uriel starts to bleed out, Rosemary casts mass cure wounds on the party. Gareth and Del Varis enter the melee and the tide turns. In a last ditch effort a Bonepowder Ghoul attempts to cast finger of death, but it gets counter-spelled by Duromar, this leaves Duromar open to a bite attack which weakens his strength. But it is not enough as the Uriel stands back up and the party strikes down the Ghouls once and for all.
The party tends to their wounds, Merigold feels weak from the strength damage so she just sleeps on the ground floor, Del Varis examines her. The party finishes up resting and gets ready for the day, Merigold isn't feeling too well and she takes an elixir of health (getting rid of the fever). After some time for thought and waiting for Uriel to get up (he stayed up later tending to Bob), the party gets a lead for information, an old man by the name of Adam. The party goes to his hovel to ask him some questions about what he has seen before he was convinced to move closer to the village. Gareth knocks on the door and is met by a curt "what?", Gareth says he has some questions, Adam asks who wants to know. Duromar takes this time to says the lord of the Lakecliff Ruins does, in joking way. This pisses Uriel off; Adam gets sarcastically pompous and says how he wasn't expecting the lord of some abandoned ruins that nobody has gone to in centuries to come by his hovel. The party gets in on the fun and jokes about how Uriel is the lord of some ruins and that he is a very important person, Uriel has had enough and trots away, keeping watch. The party asks Adam what he saw before he moved, Adam says he remembers hearing of highly organized bandits (strange for this area) and chanting not too far from where he lived. He couldn't make the entirety of the chanting but he does remember the words "hallowed Ancient" several times, Duromar gets a general location on the map and the group sets out to investigate.
The group gets to a crossroads and Del Varis and Merigold sneak up, they see four figures around the road (two Alchemical Archers, a Warlord, and a Blood Herald), they are forming a roadblock. As they go to return to the party, Gregori steps on a branch, which alerts the enemies. The party quickly forms a plan as the enemy advances, Merigold runs up to the far side and gets up next to the stonewall, Duromar casts scatter which gets the majority of the party up close to the Warlord and Blood Herald. The Blood Herald says something to one of the Archers and the Archer begins to run back, the Herald of Blood uses majesty of Ragnarök. This leaves Del Varis and Rosemary blinded (they channel their ki shortly after to remove it), and everyone else hurt and exhausted, except for Duromar and Bob. Uriel blesses the party and then teleports to catch up with the fleeing Archer, the other Alchemical Archer takes aim and knocks Rosemary down with a concussive arrow. He fires another deadly volley into her, Bob charges the Blood Herald and as the first strike hits, a pool of blood forms which negates the impact. Bob continues to trample as Duromar follows it up with Rapier strikes, Merigold rides up with Gregori and strikes the Blood Herald. The Blood Herald fills the Warlord with a blood rage and then attempts to strike Gareth, the Warlord moves up to Duromar and Merigold and begins to swing. Del Varis speeds towards the Archer, he hates archers, Rosemary heals herself, the Blood Herald moves up and swings her staff around striking Duromar and Gareth. The fight devolves into a melee between three separate groups, Uriel grapples the fleeing Archer and drags him back towards the group. Del Varis restrains the other Archer and Rosemary moves in and launches a flurry of blows. Merigold, Duromar, and Gareth continue to swing at the Warlord and Blood Herald, they feel the favor of the Gods as they land critical strike after critical strike and their foes mishandling their weapons. Bob finally fells the Blood Herald and Gareth moves to attack the Warlord, the Warlord lands several deadly strikes on Gareth, but it isn't enough as Merigold lands a precise strike that kills him. Del Varis stuns his Archer and unleashes a flurry of blows, Rosemary does the same and the Archer falls. Uriel continues to drag the last Archer to the group, Duromar has Uriel hold him as he casts finger of death on the Archer, getting another zombie. The fight ends.
It is mid-morning on the 21st day of Leranth 2517 AGF
Report Date
17 Feb 2024
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