Session 359 - Blind Orc Quarry

General Summary

The Story So Far

The King is dead. Long live the King.

King Minigath Elendsa, who had ruled the Kingdom of Kaldor well for thirty-three years, has been assassinated. His nephew, Sir Conwan Elendsa, has been crowned King, but the former King's bastard son, Sir Maldan Harabor, has contested this and made his own claim.

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While the kingdom is embroiled in a civil war, the mysterious Esoterical Order of Lothrim has struck. Armies of orcs, many thousands strong, have invaded the fractured realm.

This is the continuation of Session 356 - The Battle of Fisen.

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Location - Kingdom of Kaldor.

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25^th Azura (Autumn) 727TR

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Part 1 – Prison Wagon

After successfully destroying an orc army during the Battle of Fisen, the heroes start their journey back to Baseta Keep along the occupied Gardiren to Olokand Road. On the way, they spot a wagon with two prisoners escorted by four heavily armed mounted warriors and half a dozen orc guards. The heroes decide to ambush the travelers and rescue these men.

The ambush initially went well. Valeria turns Invisible and strikes the enemy with sorcery, rescuing the prisoners, while Rycon charges and Dryueh strikes from the shadows. However, Rycon, the only combatant the enemy can clearly see, is quickly mobbed and forced to retreat. The party concentrates much of its efforts on killing the enemy's horses and forcing them to fight on foot. Valeria’s magic destroys most of the orcs, and the evil human warriors, now on foot, are eventually slain.

Part 2 – The Masons

Mason Torian, art by Playground

Master Mason Torian of Uaeng, a giant of a man, and his somewhat diminutive assistant, Crale of Arbar, are immensely thankful for the timely rescue. They tell the heroes that many of their fellow masons were rounded up when Gardiren Castle fell to the Order of Lothrim. As far as they know, they are being sent to a large stone quarry located near Abriel Abbey. They are expected to work but were not told on what project or any other details.

The party escorts them to safety at Baseta Keep and makes plans. They disguise themselves as masons and travel to and investigate this quarry.

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5^th Halane (Autumn) 727TR

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Part 3 – Dynes Quarry

As the party near Dynes Quarry, they pass by the Abriel Abbey. It is in a shocking state; the famous temple has been desecrated and completely destroyed, and slave workers are busy clearing the rubble. A great sacrilege.

The quarry is huge and is a hive of activity. What immediately stands out is most of the workers are orcs, and they are blind; their eyes are damaged, some are milky white, or, in many cases, gouged out. They are slaving under the harsh supervision of sighted brutish orcish guards. It appears that the character's cunning scheme to blind the foulspawn army has, to some degree, borne fruit (refer to Session 347 - A Most Vile Poison where they poisoned the orc's Daylight Elixir, which allowed them to see unimpaired in sunlight). The orcs cut the stone and haul it about while a small number of human masons, also under guard, shape it into blocks suitable for transportation and construction.

Part 4 – Dealing with the Management

The quarry is managed by a stern-looking overseer, and he is accompanied by a priest of Agrik in red and black robes. The heroes are well disguised, using illusionary magic, and they approach and offer their services. The men are surprised and pleased; they do not usually get many volunteers and assure them that loyal, hardworking "hirelings" will be well rewarded under the new regime. The party tries to prize out of the men what the stone is to be used for but is rebuffed; they are told harshly to get to work.

Not willing to waste any more time, the heroes assail the unsuspecting overseer and the priest, catching them completely by surprise and with their guards down. Although they both put up a spirited fight, they and the orc guards are quickly dispatched or knocked out.

The party even spots a troll working in the quarry, but after a little prompting, it uses this opportunity to escape.

Part 5 – The Towers of Wisdom

The blind orcs mull about confused, and the human workers either flee or approach their rescuers. The workers will be sent to Baseta Keep, but they don’t know anything about what the stone they are shaping is for.

Dryueh decides to steal the unconscious overseer's memories, killing him in the process. He learns that the Empire is confident that they will capture the City of Tashal early in the winter and will rename it Kelapyn-Anuz. They plan to construct seven great Towers of Wisdom for the new Empire's leadership.

The western orc army lost about half its fighting strength due to blindness. Now, without access to the daylight elixer, the other mainly orcish armies are disadvantaged during daylight. Rycon noted this in his recent battle, where he attacked during the day; he found the foulspawn were slow to respond and were easily ambushed.

The overseer’s memories also reveal that Castle Olokand, currently under the Empire’s control by a wizard called Izakius, is vulnerable to raid as forces are being redeployed to support the attack on Tashal. Can the heroes take out the leadership?

To be continued.

NPC Interactions

Master Mason Torian of Uaeng and his assistant Crale of Arbar.

Player Characters

Valeria - Human - L17 Shadow Sorcerer

Background - Magical Experiment.

Archetype - Beastmaster/Wizard.

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Rycon - Human - L17 Fighter

Background - Rebel Knight.

Archetypes - Liberator Champion/Dual Weapon Warrior/Swashbuckler.

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Dryueh - 1/2 Elf - L17 Thief Rogue

Background - Scout.

Archetypes - Vigilante/Medic/Shadowdancer/Wizard.

Next Session

Session 362 - A Most Devious Trap.

Campaign

Legacy of the Foulspawner

Protagonists

Rycon

Dryueh

Valeria

Report Date

16 Jun 2024

Esoterical Order of Lothrim

A secret society of wizards bent on creating a mage-ruled empire on the isle of Harn. They are led by a skilled mage claiming to be the daughter of Lothrim the Foulspawner and control numerous powerful orc nations.