Session 383 - Shrine of the Accursed Serpent
General Summary
13th to 15th of Kelen Spring 728TR
The story so far
A group of Heroes re-enter the stage.
Sir Odin, a former Erkan of the Checked Shield, has been raised to knighthood.
Remy, a former master thief and active gambler, has won and lost fortunes.
Abaddon has traveled the wilderness, perfecting his impressive martial skills.
Edelina, a scholarly priestess of the god of Knowledge Save K’Nor, joins them on their adventures.
This is the continuation of Session 381 - Tears in the Night.
Location - Manor of Posiar, in the Kingdom of Kanday.
Part 1 - Echoes of the Past
His nephew Alvor of L’sean is missing, and he suspects foul play. Two weeks ago, he spotted two Ivinian travelers along the Gimon Road. One of them had in his belt a dagger whose bone pommel was shaped like a snake’s head and looked suspiciously like one of Alvor's weapons. Alvor is a wandering priest of Ilvir, tending to the spiritual needs of worshipers in the Kanday's older, more isolated settlements.
Turryl of L’sean hails from the Kingdom of Orbaal and was the chamberlain of a minor Jarinese lord in the Quimen Valley when it was overrun and sacked by the Sisterhood of the Crimson Dancer and Ivinian warriors. Most of his family were slaughtered, but he escaped with his life, aided by his nephew Alvor.
The Ivinians were seen heading to the nearby Gimon Keep, so the heroes decided to visit.Location - Gimon Keep, in the Kingdom of Kanday.
Part 2 – Raff the Pig Herder
Gimon is a busy settlement. The industrious baron has built a new water-powered mill, salt flats, and a large fish pool. Maybe one day, these enterprises will make a profit.
Raff, the Pig Herder, is a shifty, smelly, unpleasant character who claims to be a devout worshiper of Peoni but is bigoted and loathes other religions, especially Ilvirism. Alvor's aversion to pork offends him. His rambling statements are confusing. He recalls talking to the Ivinians but stresses that he “Don't like them Sara Gin worshipers either.” He recalls one of them is called Modi, and they were friendly enough. They asked where Ilvir’s Priests were. The pig herder told them about the Shrine on Edernis Hill.
Asking around the village, the Shrine of the Accursed Serpent is a minor pilgrim site with a large ancient statue of some heroic Ivashu shapechanger. The heroes decide to travel there immediately.
Part 3 - Shrine of the Accursed Serpent
The party travels along the dismal heathlands, following a crude pilgrim’s trail marked by occasional small stone statues of Ivashu and various animals. Some animated rotting vegetation blocks their way, but it is easily handled.
Soon, they reach the peak of Edernis Hill. The winding trail, overlooked by stone statues, leads to a large effigy of a coiled snake with a small cottage nearby. A dead woman, dressed in robes covered with Ilviran symbology, lies nearby, in a pool of blood, her face scratched and eyes removed. “Vlasters,” Edelina mutters after examining the body as the party hears the chirping of the chicken-sized predators appearing in the ridge above, leaping down onto the heroes. The party is scattered, and three separate fights break out. The little Ivashu horrors mob the heroes, leaping and tearing at their faces and exposed flesh. Eventually, our heroes prevail, although Remy gets the worst of the fight, nearly being taken down by the diminutive eye-eating fiends.
Some dried blood is splattered around the coiled snake effigy near a small trapdoor with a ladder leaning down. Looking for tracks, there are multiple footprints, including two heavy-booted men, likely the Ivinians, two other people, and, most concerning, huge footprints of a giant or, more likely, from the character's experience, a troll. The troll's footprints enter the structure and leave, suddenly disappearing twenty yards from the entrance.
Part 4 – The Choking Wind
The underground caverns contain crude statues of various kinds of Ivashu, including one of a large Aklash or the Choking Wind. Several of the smaller statues have traps that are triggered from range.
The party hears movement; something big approaches them. Suddenly, a huge form appears out of the darkness, a large, grossly fat humanoid with small beady eyes and a massive maw that breathes a foul-smelling poisonous gas on Odin and Remy. Remy is nearly overwhelmed by Aklash's vile breath and has to escape in a shower of sparks while Odin retreats more tactically, assessing the situation. He recalls these brutes rapidly heal and are very hard to kill. Their protective blubber needs to be hacked off so that their internal organs can be exposed and destroyed. Interestingly, he remembers hearing that these organs contain a lot of water, so electrical attacks may be particularly effective.
The party battles on, and Edelina supplies magical healing to the characters caught by the poisonous breath attack. It appears to go badly initially until Abaddon and Remy score some good strikes. Unfortunately, the creature rapidly regenerates. Using the Earthmother's Charm he found a few days ago, Odin conjures a ball of acid that splatters onto the monster's face, bubbling some of its fat. The pain weakens the brute just enough so that the heroes avoid being torn to pieces.
Just as the Aklash prepares to expel another cloud of toxic gas on the injured heroes, Remy switches his attacks to electricity, firing small bolts of lightning that shock the angry Ivashu literally to its core. With its internal organs fried, the dim-witted monstrosity collapses into a blob of muck, dead.
Part 5 – Something Is Missing
The nearby chamber has another statue of a coiled snake, similar to the one above but smaller and more refined. Before it was a large bowl typically used for Ilvirian ceremonial sacrifices, but it has been moved to the side. An empty cavity is in a pit under the bowl. Something has been removed.
To be continued.
NPC Interactions
Turryl of L’sean - Chamberlain of Posiar Manor.
Raff the Pig Herder.Created Content
Related Reports
Vlasta - the Eater of Eyes - Updated.
Player Characters
Odin - Human - L5 Ranger
Background - Martial Disciple.
Archetype - Investigator.
Abaddon - Elf - L5 Monk
Background - Martial Disciple.
Archetypes - Druid.
Remy - Human - L5 Kineticist (Air and Metal)
Background - Acrobat.
Archetypes - Acrobat.
NPC Companion
Edelina - Human - L5 Holy Sage Sorcerer
Background - Astrologer.
Archetypes - Psychic.
Next Session
Posiar Manor, Gimon Keep and the Shrine
Remy
Abaddon
Odin
NPC Companion
Edelina of Sprunstone
Edelina, a scholarly priestess of the Church of Save K'Nor, who wanders the world looking for subjects to research. She has studied psionics and astrology.
Shrine of the Accursed Serpent
A memorial on the peak of Edernis Hill to a half-forgotten legend, Guevani, the Accursed Serpent, a shape-changing trickster hero. Pyl of L'Glesig, a hermit and priest of Ilvir, cares for the shrine.
Guevani, it is said, could take the form of a giant golden snake or that of any human or Ivashu he wished.
When the Gozyda Barbarian invaders crossed over the Eryn River into conflict with the local Aleta tribes, Guevani, through a series of deceptions, trickery, diplomacy, and sorcery, turned the tide, convincing the Gozyda peacefully to return home. They never returned.
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