Session 236 - A Poorly Sprung Trap
General Summary
10th to 18th Nuzyael (First month of Spring) 725TR
The story so far
A couple of years ago, Acheron and Avon spied on the infamous mercenary group, the Company of Dead Men. They foiled the evil organisation's plans to recover a cursed artifact and destroyed their operations in a long-abandoned silver mine.
This is the continuation of Session 064 - Escaping the Mines of Death and Session 235 - A Watery Doom.
Location - City of Coranan in the Thardic Republic.
Part 1 - Schemes and Dirty Tricks
Lieutenant Avon, a member of the elite Red Guard, has returned to the City of Coranan after dealing justice to a kidnapper of one of the city's most prominent Senators. He becomes aware that there is an opportunity for a promotion. The Red Guard have two Captain positions, one is up for grabs:
- Captain of the Watch manages the day-to-day security of the city's Citadel and Senate Buildings.
- Captain of the Purple, the most prestigious of the position who organizes the personal security of the individual senators.
Avon begins a propaganda and dirty trick campaign to convince the Commander of the Red Guard, Warden Azikain Gelber, to appoint him the Captain of the Purple.
DM's note this will be handled by a skill challenge over several sessions. He will need to make 5 successes before 3 fails but cannot use any skill more than once.
First, he makes an impressive case for being the most qualified. His achievements to date have been remarkable (a successful Persuasion Check). Next, he identifies one of his weaker rivals and threatens his life and family. The man withdraws from the contest (a successful Intimidation Check).
Part 2 - A Boy in Distress
While inhabiting his Ricon persona, Acheron encounters a young boy, Vonn, outside the city's Church of Larani. He seems to know who Ricon is and begs for help. His father, a woodcutter, has been taken by Bandits. Vonn has heard that Acheron/Ricon and his friends help the poor. He says the two bandits were accompanied by a scary man with a bushy beard.
The party is suspicious; Acheron's Ricon persona is not known for his good deeds. The boy is obviously in distress but is not telling the whole truth. On a hunch Acheron asks him if these bandits were wearing the Company of Dead Men uniforms or had their skull symbol. Vonn says no, but from the quiver of fear, the characters spot he is lying.
The Company of Dead Men have finally caught up with the Heroes and is likely planning a surprise, probably an ambush. The characters cautiously follow the boy to his father's farmhouse, an hour's walk from the city.
Part 3 - Fluffy
Vonn's isolated farmhouse is a burning wreck, and the small family graveyard nearby has been desecrated. The graves have been dug up. The boy is panicked and concerned for his father and his dog Fluffy.
The heroes carefully approach the farmstead and hear a horrific howl. A mangled dead dog emerges, its eyes glowing red and shadowy-like tendrils seeping out of its wreaked skin. As it attacks, the skeletons of Vonn's family emerge from the disturbed graves. They are efficiently dealt with, but the dead dog Fluffy is another story all together. Its piteous howling incapacitates, deafens, stuns, and frightens many of the heroes, and it proves to be a fast, vicious fighter. Eventually, the heroes smash its flesh and bones to a pulp, and whatever demonic shadow entity possessing it is destroyed.
The heroes search the burnt out home. They find evidence of four men with horses and someone being dragged away, presumably Vonn's father. Although it is clear that necromancy has been used, Jolanta is confident that it is a combination of both clerical and arcane magic. Vonn now tells the party that he is sure that one of the men was a Priest of Morgath and confirmed that the two bandits were Company of Dead Men fighters. He had seen them before in the city when he visited with his father.
Part 4 - Twisted Trees
The heroes follow the drag marks, and not too far away in a clearing, a former loggers camp, they spot a man tied to a tree. This is obviously bait, so they approach cautiously. Acheron's Divine Sense detects the presence of undead among the nearby trees and brambles. Soon the dead trees begin to move.
Twisted, lifeless tree trunks begin to shuffle towards the characters and the largest seems possessed by some evil force; the grass and small scrubs rot and die around it. Avon strikes and slows its advance; however, is severely weakened as the possessed tree has life-draining sorcery. However, his bravery buys time for the rest of the party to coordinate, and the smaller animated dead trees are blasted or hacked to pieces. The last and most dangerous one is eventually surrounded and destroyed.
The rescuers free Vonn's father Ganwyn and learn from him that the bandits left several hours ago, expecting the heroes to be killed by their various fiendish ambushes. He observed the Priest of Morgath raise the skeletons of his ancestors at his farmstead and the Wizard with the bushy beard casts incarnations of what looks like a dead tree shaped to look like a man. This was the creature that the heroes had just dealt with.
Luckily the heroes can easily follow the villain's trial.
NPC Interactions
Vonn and his father Ganwyn, the woodcutter.
Challenges Overcome
Skill Challenge - Avon made 2 Successful checks on his schemes to become a captain.
5 x Skeletons and 1 x Shadow Infested Dog.
1 x Blackroot Trent and 2 Animated Dead Trees.
Rewards
Nothing this week.
Created Content
Nothing this Week
Related Reports
Player Character Status
Acheron- Human - Level 6 Devotion Paladin, Level 4 Hexblade, and Level 3 Divine Soul. Gained Dive Soul Level.
Jolanta - Human- Level 13 Evoker. Gained Level.
Avon- Half-Elf - Level 13 Thief. Gained Level.
Avon
Jolanta
Acheron
NPC Companions
Moneypenny
Avon's able assistant
Blaine
Jolanta's loyal and often drunk bodyguard.
The Company of Dead Men
Comments