Session 370 - The Haunted Wood
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.
This is the continuation of Session 369 - The Resistance Continues.
Location - The occupied City of Tashal in the New Empire of Lothrim.
20th Ilvin (Winter) 727TR
The resistance continues.
The new Empire of Lothrim has seized control of the City of Tashal, now renamed Ekall-Anuz. The evil Magocracy plans to hold the Council of the Wise meeting at Castle Elend on the 15th of Morgat, about six weeks. The heroes plan to interrupt the gathering and kill everyone attending. They begin to make plans.
Part 1 – The Vicious Alchemist
While scheming, the heroes always seek opportunities to strike against the enemy. The renegade alchemist Tembious is one such target. He wanders the city with his henchman, grabbing victims, usually the poor, for his hideous experiments. The victims end up distorted masses of flesh.
The heroes spot Tembious and his mute, thuggish guards following a poor peasant down a back alleyway, and ensuring that there are few witnesses; they spring into action. The villains are caught entirely by surprise. Valeria’s Phantasmal Killer kills one guard, and to everyone’s surprise, he explodes in a burst of poison and viscera. The dim-witted guards have also been subjects of vile experiments.
Amusingly, Tembious confuses Rycon with another Knight named Sir Boris Langler and jabs him with a syringe filled with a toxic, poisonous mutagen. This nearly turns Rycon's muscles to rubber, and only Valeria, slightly adjusting the fortunes with powerful magic (Word of Revision), prevents that fate. Fortunately, Dryueh incapacitates the alchemist for a few seconds after a severe wack to the back of his head. Rycon quickly cuts him down and his remaining guard.
Location - Ovendel Manor in the Kingdom of Kaldor.
Part 2 – The Conspirators
Princess Meliem reveals the location of the secret passages on the condition that the heroes recover a small fortune of well-hidden treasures in a concealed chamber. The heroes complicated plan is finalized, and it also involves rescuing prisoners in the castle’s dungeon and releasing a powerful curse on the enemy.
Location - The occupied City of Tashal in the New Empire of Lothrim.
Part 3 - Dancing In The Woods
Returning to Ekall-Anuz, the party investigated Orgael Wood. This allegedly haunted wood has an access point to the secret passages in the castle. Unfortunately, it also contains a Barasi Point or Elven Holy Grove, and Blaine explains he has had supernatural adventures at this location (refer to Session 203 - Fey Raiders where Blaine fought fairy slavers).
The party warily investigates the wood, looking for the well-hidden secret passage into the castle. Suddenly, a trio of curious fey creatures appear, dancing around an old dead tree. They look like 4-foot-tall, somewhat creepy grey dwarves but are filled with capricious joy. The heroes feel the desire to dance as well but resist. The fey creatures react badly to the heroes, spoiling their fun, and become aggrieved. However, they are given a severe thrashing and let peacefully return to whatever fairy realm they came from.
Soon, the party finds the well-hidden trapdoor exactly 20 paces west of the old tree, just as Princess Meliem described it. Now, the heroes can enter the castle without triggering its magical defenses and organize its destruction.
To be continued.NPC Interactions
No one this week.
Player Characters
Valeria - Human - L19 Shadow Sorcerer
Background - Magical Experiment.
Archetype - Beastmaster/Wizard.
Rycon - Human - L19 Fighter
Background - Rebel Knight.
Archetypes - Liberator Champion/Dual Weapon Warrior/Swashbuckler.
Dryueh - 1/2 Elf - L19 Thief Rogue
Background - Scout.
Archetypes - Vigilante/Medic/Shadowdancer/Wizard.
NPC Companion
Blaine - Human - L19 Fighter
Background - Bodyguard.
Archetypes - None gets in the way of drinking.
Next Session
Rycon
Dryueh
Valeria
NPC Companion
Blaine
A capable fighter, bodyguard, and occasional tavern owner. He likes to kill orcs and drink alcohol.
Esoterical Order of Lothrim
BLAINE!!! My favorite non-player character, glad to learn he is still with us.
One of my favourites as well, he made about guest 3 appearances previously since his official retirement. During his last guest appearance, the players asked for his help. As a DM it’s always good to have a person in the party who will always fails stealth, deception or diplomacy checks.