Session 332 - A Keg and a Curse
General Summary
Spring 727TR
The Story So Far
The King is dead. Long live the King.
King Minigath, after ruling the Kingdom of Kaldor well for thirty-three years, has been assassinated. Sir Conwan Elendsa has been crowned King, but the former King's bastard sons have contested this. Meanwhile, in the background, the mysterious Esoterical Order of Lothrim is up to no good.
Last Session
The heroes have rescued two Order of the White Hand operatives from the nefarious Esoteric Order of Lothrim and destroyed this evil organization’s weapon-producing facility known as the Orc Foundry.
This is the continuation of Session 330 - The Orc Foundry.
10th Peonu 727TR
Part 1 – The White Hand Agents
The other is the female Psionicist Ursuli, currently trapped in the body of a male common brown orc. Her story is intriguing; she was working with the giant Noron, infiltrating the Orc kingdom of Zhakom, which has shown massive population growth over the last decade. She possessed an Orc and scouted the Foulspawn colony. Unfortunately, she was unable to return to her body. Something strange had happened. Unfortuately, the giant Noron and his sons kill orcs on sight, and she cannot investigate or ask for help. Then, worse, the Esoterical Order of Lothim captured her before she could produce a plan to resolve the situation. The heroes promise to help her after investigating Thirgalir, the Order of Lothrim's research site in the Sorkin mountains. This former Dwarven Keg (underground complex) is said to possess a curse that could be used to kill.
Before the party leaves the Orc Foundry, they examine all of the notes and records of its human guards and sorcerers, finding disturbing evidence that the Orc kingdoms around Kaldor are huge and poised to attack when the word is given. Additionally, they learn the command words for the stone golem in the mines below and reset its orders. It will attack anyone who is not one of the heroes who entered the mine.
15th Peonu 727TR
Part 2 – Hellhounds
The rough hills leading up to the Sorkin Mountains and the Keg are deserted, although the party finds abandoned orc campsites. Then they spot large shapes moving towards them: a pack of huge, ferocious demonic dogs with smoke emerging from their mouths, Hellhounds. These vicious brutes breathe out fame and put up quite a fight. Valeria and Rycon sustain the brunt of their flames and narrowly escape being roasted. Eventually, the fiends are destroyed.
Part 3 – The Foreboding Keg
The party finds the Keg, its great stone doors slightly ajar, jammed open, allowing the heroes to squeeze in. The halls are wrecked, dark, and gloomy. A side room looks like an armory with weapon racks and broken weapons scattered about. Valeria spots an intact dagger, and her Detect Magic reveals it has a potent enchantment. Suspecting a trap, she uses Telekinesis to grab it. Suddenly, the scattered armor pieces animate and fly together, held by darkness's attack. However, the party retreats and escapes, slamming the stone door behind them; the shadowy armored constructs do not follow.
The dagger cannot be immediately identified, and its enchantment is complex and powerful.
Part 4 – Wraiths
The left chamber leads to a room with a large broken stone table covered in dried blood, probably several days old. Suddenly, an incorporeal undead form emerges from the numerous side passages, scarcely humanoid, projecting fear and malice. The Wraith's mere touch drains life and weakens the hours, nearly killing Valeria Shadow Hound. The hound is saved, and Valeria's magic spells cause him to glow with bright light, dazzling the immaterial horrors. Even so, the wraiths cause much havoc. When severely damaged by the heroes, the remaining stronger undead absorb the necrotic energy of the weakened shades, destroying them but, in the process, boosting their strength and speed.
Part 5 – The Sorceress and the False Men
Exploring further down a dark passage, the party enters a gloomy room, and Valeria senses some movement behind one of the two southern doors. Avoiding the left door leading to the occupied room, the heroes find the right door is sealed with a secure lock. To Dryueh's frustration, snaps a lockpick while attempting to pick it. Luckily, he has a backup and succeeds with his second attempt, opening the door to a network of passages and chambers. One chamber has a secret door and an elaborate flaming oil trap, which is quickly disarmed.
The secret door leads to the occupied rooms accessed by the door that the characters avoided. The heroes rush in, surprising three shambling brutes, Flesh Golems, and a sinister-looking Sorceress. Having fought similar flesh-crafted monstrosities, the characters use fire, which panics the enemy. Valeria's Shadow Hound animal companion lets out a baleful howl, which reverberates throughout the dungeon but does not intimidate the enemy but attracts attention. The Sorceress quickly responds, conjuring a Wall of Ice separating Dryueh and Valeria from Rycon, who must face the flaming, enraged, berzerk, animated corpses alone. Unfortunately for the evil Sorceress, Valeria has some magical tricks as well. She also magically Translocates Dryueh and herself out of the icy trap, allowing Dryueh to run the villainess through with his rapier. The heroes then quickly destroy the remaining golems.
Part 6 – The Swarm of Skulls
The Shadow Hound's baying attracts nearly undead residents of the dungeon. Dozens of humanoid skulls suddenly appear, biting and harassing the party. They attempt to trap it in a room, but the skulls are animated by dark magic and have some base cunning with sorcerous abilities, telekinetically opening doors and, more concerningly, counteracting Valeria's offensive magic. Nevertheless, the Swarm of Skulls is quickly annihilated by the party vials of flaming oil.
Part 7 – The Libary
The next room is a vandalized ancient library. Most books are moldy and destroyed. However, there is an indication that some more sturdy volumes were recently removed. However, before the party can determine that, a skeletal figure with an elaborately carved staff is waiting. The Librarian, who was alerted to the party's presence by the Shadow Hound's baying, is prepared to fight and proves to be the most dangerous challenge the party had met so far in the dungeon. A capable spellcaster of unholy magic who, life-draining spells, very nearly sucks the vitality from both Valeria and Dryueh, leaving them collapsed on the ground, helpless, before it was obliterated by Rycon.
Part 8 – The Shrine
The next series of chambers has more traps, which Dryueh expertly disables. This leads to ancient, desecrated shrines to the dwarven gods. Respectfully, Rycon says some prayers and fills several bowls with clean water. His attempts to honor the ancient dwarven gods may have borne fruit, and the heroes feel inspired and more confident.
Part 9 – The Curse
In the last chamber, the heroes spot a magic circle containing sickly green magical emanations, surrounded by loose papers and books covered with arcane scripts. In the center of the magical field is a suit of rusty, blackened metal armor. Suddenly, the armor animates and moves with slow and deliberate aggression. This intimidating animated suit of black metal attacks. It is a difficult opponent; most of the party's weapons only scratch or dent it. Then, the party changes tactics; while Rycon repeatedly knocks it to the ground, Valeria finds that her electrical spells, such as Electric Arc, seem to slow the brute. Dryueh's vials of acid cause the blackened metal to weaken and collapse.
Examining the strange, sinister field of magic and the scattered books and notes, Valeria deduces that this is a conduit for negative energy from some evil planes of existence. The notices indicate that a ritual was recently used to contain this evil force in the form of a powerful curse. Whoever this curse is unleashed on would suffer fatal ill luck and health. It appears the Order of Lothrim has such a curse in its possession. What is this evil organization planning to do with his evil?
To be continued.NPC Interactions
White hand agents Gaerin and Ursuli.
Related Reports
Order of the White Hand - updated.
Player Characters
Valeria - Human - L12 Shadow Sorcerer
Background - Magical Experiment.
Archetype - Beastmaster.
Rycon - Human - L12 Fighter
Background - Rebel Knight.
Archetypes - Liberator Champion/Dual Weapon Warrior/Swashbuckler.
Dryueh - 1/2 Elf - L12 Thief Rogue
Background - Scout.
Archetypes - Vigilante/Medic/Shadowdancer/Wizard.
Next Session
Rycon
Dryueh
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