Campaign 3 - Session 7 - Trials of Bulwark

Our heroes arrive at the city of Bulwark riding on the back of the great grizzly bear god Goreclaw.

The city is built on a 700ft tall stone shelf carved into a massive mountain side. The only way up the wall is from a series of lifts and none of the lifts were currently down to pick up people. At the bottom of the wall was a gathering of refugees seeking protection and guidance after what is being called "the great shift" when the mountains shifted around violently and suddenly.
Goreclaw roared in anger! He commanded the lift be dropped so that princess Jazel and her escourts be brought into the city's protection. And after a few moments, the lift lowered to pick up the princess.
A distant horn blasted and soon beacon fires littered the eastern mountain ridge. The sign of the merfolk army advancing. Goreclaw wished the heroes luck and galloped away to ward off the merfolk army.
The party decided it was safer to keep the refugees at the base while they go up to investigate the situation in town. So they appointed the oldest woman in charge named "Nan" and Atoone conjured a great feast for all the refugees to eat while they waited. Unfortunately uknown to Atoone, she rolled a nat1 and accidently gave everyone food poisoning hours later after the party left.
Upon ascending up the lift that the lift drive became influenced by what they can only imagine was the blood moon's influence as she became ravenously hungry. Gud'rune unsheated the nullblade and dispeled the hunger from the lift driver. They now know why the queen had the lift raised to keep people from entering the city and how it was a good thing that their dream catchers given by Koda the panda god shielded them from the madness.

They reach the top of the lift and enter the city proper where they learn that Queen Umber is on trial against Matriach Aegis with Mother Winter judging who should be ruler of the clan. So the party decided they needed to get to the stadium where trials are being held adn Gud'rune knew of a secret entrance that connected low town to uptown in Poor Lulu's Tavern.

On their way to Poor Lulu's the party witnessed the streets descent into chaos as looting and fighting filled the market place. Surely the work of the blood moon. As they tried to navigate through the madness of the streets they were attacked by Sons of Shadow being lead by Salt's older brother, the kingpin Pepper.
The heros leaped into battle and during the exchange princess Jazel was captured and brought into a hidden passage under the market place. Her capter turned out to be Little Foot, who mistakened her choppa dakka waa. Little foot also influenced by the moon, was deeply concerned for Choppa's safety and Jazel thought it wise to not reveal Choppa's death to the burly knuckle walking Orc. Jazel then convinced Little Foot to escort her Poor Lulu's Tavern.
The rest of the party fought valiantly but knew time was of the essense and escaped the Sons of Shadow on a "borrowed" wagon and made their way to Poor Lulu's Tavern. Old town hundreds of years ago used to be where the high borns lived and Lucky Lulu was a grand hero of her time. When uptown was built the nobles left and old town became a slum and Lucky Lulu's home became a dusty crumbling museum of Lulu's conquests converted into a waterdowned beer tavern. Inside they find Jazel enjoying a cold drink (from her frost axe) with little foot and are relieved to see she is safe. Little Foot reveals that the Pepper had 3 statues made by Gud'rune's family that have strange red gems built into them that are set to explode as soon as the blood moon's light touches them at dusk. The statues in are the stadium and should be large enough to kill all the nobles who are gathered there to see the trial. They must stop the statues from exploding!

They use the secret entrance hidden in the statue of Lucky Lulu to reach the trial in Uptown. Jazel makes her presense known right away and is escorted down to the stadium with Atoone to address the trial. Mother Winter had summoned the spirit of Magnus Aegis who was retelling the massacure that happened during the proving. He said that Gud'rune executed Jarsifina the Cautious as she was organizing the noble houses to ride up against the Umber Family whose weak leadership has left the Mountain Clan in shambles. The Merfolk invade from the North, To the East ThunderHead fell to the Invincible, the Jungle Clan invade from the South, and the sky clan advance from the East. We are in a 4 front war and in need of stronger leadership! When the queen heard of this plot to dethrone her she had her grand daughter Jazel and my wife Gud'rune poison and kill all the noble daughters at the proving to send a message to her power. And princess Jazel herself executed me!
Atoone then revealed the jornal of the weaver which has detailed reports proving how it was actually the Aegis family who poisoned everyone at the proving.
The crowd in the stadum grew angry as one some agreed with Atoone and some agreed with Magnus Aegis.
Mother Winter declared to settle the matter with trial by combat. Umber vs Aegis here in the stadium before all to bare witness. Winning house will gain or retain leadership of the clan.
Queen Umber appointed Jazel as her champion. The Aegis Matriach revealed Astrid Aegis had returned to the captial and will take up arms against Jazel. The crowd went wild!
The two friends now turned enemies prepared for a battle to the death.

As the battle for the crown raged on in the stadium, Gud'rune and Pugnius worked together along with the valkerie to find the statues that were about the explode and take out the stadium. Using the help of of the collective, Puginus came up with covering the red gems on the statues up so the moonlight couldn't touch them and cause them to explode. Gud'rune having known her family were the ones commissioned to build the statues, knew of a secret release button to make the red gem fall out of the 2nd one and carefully wrapped it and stowed it away in her backpack.
Time was running out and the blood moon was rising and about to trigger the 3rd and final statue. In an act of heroic desperation Atoone channeled the spirits of all the dead gladiators of the battle arena to have them create a spectral shroud over the stadium so the moonlight couldn't reach inside. 300 years of the dead flooded the area to the point you couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of you.
Jazel and Astrid locked in battle as the spirit of Magnus appeared to rally Astrid to finish off Jazel. With the blood moon's influence blocked out from the swarm of spirits Astrid had a moment of clarity and cursed her dead brother's name for he had brought ruin to their family and slashed at his spectral form disspaiting it. She then willingly threw herself into Jazel's weapon telling her to take care of the mountain clan. Jazel shrank to her knees there holding the lifeless Astrid.
Gud'run and Pugnius sifted through the cloud of spirits and found the final statue where they were able to safely cover the red gem preventing it from exploding.
Moments afterwards the spectral shroud dissipated and revealed Jazel holding Astrid on one end of the stadium and a lifeless Atoone at the center for the old tortle gave all that she had to channel all the spirits of the dead.
Mother Winter then roared to the crowds. "Jazel Umber is your new Queen! Long may she reign!"
The crowd began chanting UMBER UMBER UMBER!!!
But the victory was short lived.
A loud booming voice echoed from the distance "CURSE YOU ATOONE! YOU JUST COULDN'T MAKE THIS EASY COULD YOU?!"
The ground began to quake as off in the distance mother winter's cave lifted high into the sky for it was being carried away on the back of a massive dragon turtle.
A ghostly image appaered of a create rock elemental shimmered over the now flying cave. It was Abaroth the Corruptor!
"The time has come now! The blood moon is hitting its zenith! I Abaroth will decend upon the land once more! And with Atoone gone nobody can stop me this time!"
Mother Winter roared in defiance at the sight of the mountain clan's ancient enemy. "Abaraoth? Living beneath my very cave this whole time? Corrupting the minds of my children! Atoone, your work is not done here!"
With the area rich in spectral power from Atoone's summoning of the so many spirits mother winter poured her spirit energy into the stadium causing the great Polar Bear to faint from exhaustion afterwards. Moments later the stadium lifted from ground towards the very sky itself!

Atoone had become a Dragon Turtle!
And on her back she carries the heroes, along with everyone else in the stadium, towards Abaroth's Dragon Turtle fortress!
Abaroth's shimmering image roars in anger "ATOOOOONE!!!"