Session 289 - Looters
General Summary
16th of Kelen (Spring) 726TR
The Story So Far
A mysterious noblewoman has requested that the heroes investigate the Zeniris Chantry of Arcane Lore. She believes something sinister has happened to it.
At Zeniris, the party has found it has been destroyed and is in the process of being looted by some unsavory characters.
This is the continuation of Session 287 - Holy Rituals.
Location - Outside Zeniris Manor, near Nerda Castle, in the Kingdom of Kaldor.
Part 1 - Bloody Battle of Magic
The heroes continue their exploration of the ruined Zeniris Chantry.
Dryueh spots through a hole in the floor a Wizard in red robes in the room below. Rycon and Valeria create a diversion, throwing a corpse throwing down some stairs, which distracts the wizard and his Giant Spider companion. When he leaves the room to investigate, Dryueh slips down and searches the room below, finding a chamber with two closed doors. He hears movement behind them. Opening one, he finds a middle-aged man with spectacles, badly bloodied and bound. As he provides medical care, the Wizard Parzifal whispers that he is being tortured for information.
Meanwhile, the red-robed wizard and his pet spider find the corpse at the bottom of a stairwell and go up into the room where Rycon and Valeria are hiding. He spots Valeria and casts an incantation. The spider grows to a huge size, snapping at Rycon with its venomous fangs as he arrives. Valeria's Electric Arc injures the wizard and the spider, and eventually, the giant arachnid is cut down by Rycon, who calls for help. Dryueh rushes to assist; unfortunately, another Sorcerer, cloaked in Invisibility, moves into the room undetected.
Rycon attacks the red-robed wizard, badly wounding him. He points at Rycon, and suddenly, the knight's bones lurch in pain, and he is flung to the floor. Out of nowhere, the other sorcerer armed with sharp talons instead fingers appears and slashes the prone Rycon, nearly killing him with a surprise attack. Druyeh arrives to help and delivers a deadly series of jabs at the clawed wizard's back. This allows Rycon to escape and strike again at the red-robed wizard; only a hastily prepared Shield spell prevents his death. The red-robed wizard blasts Rycon with Burning Hands, temporarily disabling him; however, with his Shield spell now down, Valeria obliterates him with a Magic Missile.
The clawed wizard turns on Dryueh and cuts him down, then sets his eyes on Valeria, who is forced to use her sorcery to disappear into the shadows, escape and flee downstairs. The evil arcanist follows; Rycon recovers enough strength to deliver a couple of healing potions to himself and Dryueh, who immediately races after the sorcerer and arrives just in time to see Valeria struck and knocked out. Dryueh runs his rapier into the back of the neck of the villain, immediately killing him.
Part 2 - The Raid
The party assists the two survivors in the Chantry, the Wizard Parzifal, and Emeline, an apprentice alchemist. Both are shaken but describe the ordeal over the last couple of days.
Half a dozen wizards, supported by mercenaries, attacked the Chanty at night. The assault was so quick and deadly that there was no time to mount a defense, and almost all the occupants were slaughtered, many in their sleep. The pair were captured alive and roughly interrogated. They wanted to learn where the hidden vault containing a wealth of alchemical research was, but fortunately, their information was not revealed. Nevertheless, numerous arcane treasures were stolen, including many books, ancient tablets containing many arcane rituals and spells, and an Earthmaster Artifact, an orb that can be used for scrying.
The bulk of the invaders departed yesterday, with only the scavengers and wizards the characters killed remaining to misappropriate whatever was missed in the initial sacking of the building. Parzifal hid a wand and magical ring in a fireplace, which he gratefully offers to the heroes.
Part 3 - The Trail
The heroes search the complex and find the dead piled up in a large underground cave used by the wizards in a warded chamber to practice magic. The raiders have left a nasty surprise; an Earth Elemental lies in wait but is eventually destroyed. After resting, Dryueh checks for tracks and follows the raiders' trail across the river. They are heading north, so the characters decide to pursue them.To be continued.
NPC Interactions
Parzifal - Wizard
Emeline - Apprentice Alchemist.
Challenges
Valeria learned information about the mysterious book.
3 x Wizards.
1 x Living Landslide.
Rewards
Ring of Fire Resistance and Wand of Cutting Insults.
Created Content
Nothing this week.
Related Reports
Player Characters
All characters gained a Level.
Valeria - Human Magical Experiment - L3 Shadow Sorcerer - Beastmaster.
Rycon - Human Rebel Knight - L3 Fighter - Liberator Champion.
Dryueh - 1/2 Elf Scout - L3 Thief Rogue - Medic.
Next Session
Rycon
Dryueh
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