Session 366 - A Journey Through the Shadows
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 claim.
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.
The heroes have been caught in a magical trap while attempting to Dimension Door in Olokand Castle, which is currently occupied by the evil Magocracy of the Order of Lothrim. The spell has redirected the heroes into an ancient dwarven kyg, a long abandoned tomb where vile necromancy has made a death trap. Undead and curses roam these dank stone passages and rooms.
This is the continuation of Session 364 - Escaping an Ancient Crypt.
Location - Unknown Lost Dwarven Keg.
9th Halane (Autumn) 727TR
Part 1 – Escaping the Crypt
The heroes escape the ancient haunted dwarven kyg, making their way, by magical means, through a blocked passage. They emerge in the ruins of a tower in a mountain pass and hear something bestial moving nearby. Three horned creatures, 10ft tall, shaped like a cross between a gorilla and a bear, bound forward, with their sights on the party’s sorcerer, Valeria. When she attempts to cast a spell, the creature bellows a frightening roar, which disrupts her magic. The evil brutes are dangerous, but the heroes destroy them.Part 2 – Shadow Walk
Surveying the mountains, the heroes orientate themselves. After scouting and using Valeria’s Automatic Writing, they discover that the cunning teleport trap has moved them far away. The area in the Rayesha mountains, north of Lake Benath. Valeria thinks they are likely near where the lost dwarven City of Kiraz is believed to be. The party estimated it could take two months to return home, traveling through an unknown mountain passes in the wet season. Fortunately, Dryueh, the Shadow Dancer, has other plans.
Dryueh uses his knowledge of the shadow plane to cast Umbral Journey to lead the heroes partially into the Netherworld, covering three times the expected distance in a day,
The trip is initially uneventful; Dryueh avoids most dangers; however, the party must rest at night in the cold mountains. On the fourth night, undead giants, sent from the shadow plane, stalk the heroes, attacking while the heroes sleep. They target Valeria, as they are minions of her nemesis, the great Shadow Dragon Zynkayda, also called the Twilight Calamity. The undead giants wield huge scythes that are wreathed in shadows that adhere to the heroes and move to cover their eyes, temporarily blinding them. One of Valeria’s animal companions, her hawk, is killed by the marauders. However, battered badly, the heroes prevail, sending the shadow giants back to their home plane.
The last part of the journey through the shadow plane’s mountains and hills is especially perilous. A demonic creature prepares an ambush. Four smoldering coal-like creatures appear from a ravine below, and a huge winged quadrupedal demonic creature with a dragon’s head flies in from above. This nearly kills Valeria with its soul-destroying fire breath, but the fiends are slain.
After 15 days of travel, the heroes finally return to Kaldor.
Location - West of Querina Castle in the Kingdom of Kaldor.
5th Savor (Autumn) 727TR
Part 3 - The Debacle of Querina
Rycon has little time to spare; after ensuring the situation at Baseta Keep is stable, the party joins King Conwan’s army, secretly camped near Querina Castle. His Highness plans a surprise attack to relieve the City of Tashal, which is currently under siege by at least three massive orc armies. Although he does not expect to destroy such a large foulspawn horde, he hopes to wreck the enemy's siege equipment, cause chaos, inflict significant casualties, and retreat before they respond. It is expected that once winter sets in, an attack on the city will be impossible until spring.
While the camp rallies, fighting off the remaining orc raiders, Valeria uses sorcery to detect if anything is scrying on them. There isn’t, but she discovers something sinister. A powerful, malicious aura surrounds the King, he is cursed. Some vile magic has him in his grasp, giving him appalling luck. Despite Dryueh's medical attention and some magical healing from a late-arriving priest, she is certain this will soon die. She barely manages to exorcize the curse using her knowledge of the occult. The King, however, will need much time to recover. The Royal Army, now temporarily led by Sir Romlash Ethasiel and the Earl of Kiban, quickly retreats, avoiding being encircled and destroyed. Unfortunately, the City of Tashal falls to the enemy within a week.
To be continued.NPC Interactions
No one this week.
Player Characters
Valeria - Human - L18 Shadow Sorcerer
Background - Magical Experiment.
Archetype - Beastmaster/Wizard.
Rycon - Human - L18 Fighter
Background - Rebel Knight.
Archetypes - Liberator Champion/Dual Weapon Warrior/Swashbuckler.
Dryueh - 1/2 Elf - L18 Thief Rogue
Background - Scout.
Archetypes - Vigilante/Medic/Shadowdancer/Wizard.
Next Session
Rycon
Dryueh
Valeria
Esoterical Order of Lothrim
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