Session 337 - The Orb of Midgard
General Summary
15th of Saraju (Spring) 727TR
The Story So Far
Cassius, the rugged bounty hunter, Salvador, a wandering priest of Ilvir, and Kara, a half-snow-elf escaped prisoner, are guests in the underground City of Kondasgel in the distant dwarven Kingdom of Kuzjera.
The heroes have recovered an ancient dwarven artifact, the Orb of Midgard, from the clutches of the vile necromancer Stiggar the Dark Heart. This Orb is one of a set given to the Kings of the ancient dwarven kingdoms when they arrived on this world many thousands of years ago. Legends have it that they can be used to communicate.
Before the heroes kill Stiggar, the evil necromancer says that despite his best efforts, he could not corrupt this relic with his foul sorcery.
Foolishly, the heroes believed this lie.
This is the continuation of Session 331 - The Crystal Mines and Session 328 - The Curse of Darkheart.
Location - City of Kondasgel in the Kingdom of Kuzjera.
Part 1 – Bears On The Rampage
Cassius, Salvador, and Kara are rare human guests of the dwarven King of Kuzjera, staying in the guest rooms in the underground City of Kondasgel. Their afternoon rest is interrupted by frantic knocking on their room door. One of the city guards wants to see Cassius urgently. He says his pet bear has gone berserk, attacking people. He is surprised, given that the bear in question is contently sleeping on a spare bed nearby. The guard is confused, and so are the heroes who rush to investigate his so-called bear disturbance.
Further on in the guest wing, the characters hear a roar and see a bear hurdling towards them. It looks identical to Cassius’s bear, including the distinctive collar and leather backpack. The evil bear is also frothing at the mouth; its fur looks blood-stained, and its eyes fire red with rage. Then, another identical bear emerges from a VIP guest room, the one used by a close friend of Cassius, Princess Berda of the Kingdom of Azadmere.
Confused, the heroes battle these enraged beasts. Their appearance is either an illusion or the result of some shape changing as Cassius's sword bites deep into their flesh, causing no obvious pain but spilling dark purple blood onto the floor. They also exhibit magical abilities, teleporting behind the heroes. As the fiends weaken, they cannot hold this form and change shape, reverting to their true shape, demonic quadrupeds, more like a disgusting combination of insects and hyenas. After being destroyed, the monsters evaporate in black mist. They are clearly demonic entities.
Part 2 – The Toad Demon
Also, the heroes feel a chill and hear the sound of a loud, erratic heartbeat emerging from Princess Berda’s chambers. As they close, a grotesque, nauseating smell assaults them, and inside, they see the Princess and an old male dwarf, who they recognize as a Loremaster, seated around a table held paralyzed or unconscious. The Orb of Midgard is on the table, a black stone sphere that seems to emit more back vapor. But, worse, a seven-foot-tall horror lurks in the room. This hideous toad-shaped demon, covered in rotting pustules and slime, looks at the heroes with sickly yellow eyes and cruel smile attacks. It is a disgusting monstrosity; its poisonous stench weakens the heroes with every sword swing or spell cast. Eventually, with only one character left standing, the demon is slain, evaporating into the black mist similar to its bear compatriots, and the Orb of Midgard becomes dormant.
Part – What to do with a Cursed object
The hardy Berda awakes from her slumber, but sadly, the elderly Loremaster Durin has perished from the poisonous vapors and life-draining emanations from the Orb and demon. Thinking quickly, Berda commissions a nearby silversmith to encase the Orb in silver and decides what to do. This artifact may be the only way she can easily communicate back home to her father, King Hazmadul III, Tarazakh of the Kingdom of Azadmere, so she is loathed to destroy it. Instead, she hires the heroes to escort her and the cursed Orb to the nearest temple of the good goddess Peoni in the nearby Kingdom of Jarenmark. She hopes the priestess at this church can undertake an exorcism and cleanse the relic.
To be continued.NPC Interactions
Princess Berda of the Kingdom of Azadmere.
Player Characters
Cassius - Human - L9 Ranger - Background Bounty Hunter - Archetype Fighter/Beastmaster.
Kara - Half-snow elf - L9 Magus - Background Prisoner - Archetype Fighter.
Salvador - Human - L9 Cloistered Cleric of Ilvir (Change) - Background Artist - Archetype Eldritch Researcher/Druid/Bard.
NPC Character Status
Berda- Dwarf - L9 Fighter - Background Noble - Archetype Sentinel.
Next Session
Kara
Cassius
Salvador
Berda
The runaway princess and daughter of the King of Azadmere.
Berda is an inquisitive and idealistic young woman skilled with the waraxe.
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