Session 02
General Summary
Magma Force were finally tucked up in bed after the events of what would become known as the
Cauldron Tax Riot of 508, when the City Hall bells started to toll. This could only mean one thing:
fire. The group dressed and looked out of their windows where they could see that the slum house
Minuta's Board was on fire. They realised this was where the half-orc mercenaries were all
camped, and decided that they should go and see what was up. Within minutes they arrived to see
that half-orcs and concerned citizens alike were forming a bucket chain to put out the fire. At this
time two hulking elementals called Magma Brutes, smashed open the front door of the inn, from
the inside, spilled onto the street and starting looking for more stuff to burn. Clearly this was no
ordinary fire and Camero recalled that a ritual scroll for summoning exactly these brutes had been
stolen from the Academy a few nights earlier (which Harley knew had been the work of the Last
Laugh). Magma Force engaged the magma brutes and were able to contain them. They would
have easily finished them off, but after a while a hulking man with blue hair and a blue robe
arrived on the scene to add his considerable magical talents to the fight against the elementals.
They were quickly destroyed. The man introduced himself as the Blue Duke, gruffly thanked the
party for their help, throwing Morgan a bag of coins. He then strode off north again disappearing
into the darkness and looking annoyed. Morgan checked the bag and there was a mere 100 gold
pieces in it.
The next morning town criers declared that the city was back under control. They also said that the
evil traitor Maavu had been condemmed to death in absentia. And also that Lord Alek Tercival
had been possessed by demons and his challenge to Lord Skellerang was therefore null and void.
Also a reward of five thousand gold had been offered for anyone able to find Alek Tervical and
exorcise the demons.
At the inn at breakfast a messenger arrived from the Church of St. Cuthbert. Morgan and Braken
were charged to get into their best clothes and come to the Church as soon as possible. They
realised this meant Bishop Shebeleth must be arriving at any moment. They ate and quickly
dressed and went to the Church. High Priestess Jenya was barely able to explain that indeed
Shebelth had just teleported into the city (arriving at the only teleportation circle in the city, inside
the Cathderal of Wee Jas) and was now on his way here to the Church, when a guilded carriage
arrived and out stepped the Bishop. He was almost regal in his presence. His robes were ornate,
expensive and immaculate. Bishop Shebeleth spent an hour or so quizzing Morgan and Braken
about their adventurers to date and seemed very impressed with them. He then said he had much
to talk to Jenya about and they were dismissed. As they left Jenya caught hold of Morgan and told
him she had used the Star of Justice to glean some information about Alek and had found out,
"Late on the path of justice, trapped between glass and stone, he weeps where many can see him
but where he can only see himself". She also said that she had remembered that when Alek went
adventuring to try and make money to pay off his debts he always sold his finds to Tygot the
Halfling. Perhaps if they spoke to the halfling he'd have some news which might help determine
where Alek has been off to this time?
Morgan and Braken quickly headed off to Tygot's Old Things and spoke to the halfling shop
keeper. They were able to take a look at five items Alek had recently brought back from his trips
into the jungle to the south west. One of these was a strange tablet which had ancient glyphs on
one side and a crude map with unreadable scribble scratched on the other. Morgan paid Tygot a
deposit to borrow the tablet and took it to Camero who used a ritual to read the tablet. He was able
to find out that it was an ancient Spellweaver tablet, perhaps two or three thousand years old,
which told of the building of a planar transport device. The spell weavers used local ogre tribes to
build this and fed them something called the Armanath Elixir to give them great strength to help
them build it. The tablet also told of something called the Starry Mirror and a series of numbers
associated with it: 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3; but what this mirror was or the significance of the numbers they
were not sure. The back of the plate was scribbled on in Giant, but Camero could translate it. It
showed a trail leading from a "headless demon" to "Vaprak's Voice". Harley knew rumour of a
headless demon statue laying by the side of the Red River to the south west of Redgorge. Perhaps
this was where this map lead from?
Camero went to the Academy which was now open again and did some detailed research into the
Smoking Eye there. What he was able to find out was somewhat scary. He discovered ancient
legends that in ages past a part of Celestia was the site of a great battle between demons and
angels. In order to save Celestia the angels were forced to actually break part of Celestia off. It
dropped out of the heavens and plummetted into the Abyss where it collided with a small plane
called Occipitus. This plane was forever changed as the good influence of the Celestial realm
affected the Abyssal plane. A fallen angel called Adimarchus who was leading the demon
onslaught, fell with the plane and ended up on Occipitus which he then took over and made his
own plane. Occipitus was well known for a central mountain which was in the shape and colour of
a gigantic skull half buried. Out of one eye socket poured flames and smoke and as a result the
Smoking Eye was a place well known to be associated with this plane, the 507th layer of the
Abyss. Its ruler, Ardimarchus, was supposed to have disappeared about fifty years ago, leaving the
plane currently without a ruler.
Camero also visited Vortimax Weer and showed him the tablet. Vortimax was very interested in it
as he had a keen interest in the Spell Weaver civilization. In fact he was able to give Camero a
quick history lesson about their civilization and basically told him that they arrived in the region
about 3000 years ago and founded a great city, many times the size of Cauldron. They subjugated
local ogre tribes and gave them the Elixir on the tablet to give them supernatural strength to help
them building. They had amazing magical powers and made stuff which baffles current wizards
and arcanists. Then about 2000 years ago they created a planar transport device. Something went
wrong with this device and it exploded, destroying most of their city and civiliation in the process.
A massive rift was ripped in the earth and many portals to the Abysss appeared randomly in the
area for centuries to come. This area is now known as the Demonskar and this is why it is full of
demons to this day.
Seeing as all leads for where Alek might have been spending the last few weeks were leading in
the direction of the Demonskar, and as they had an invitation to a meeting in Redgorge with
Maavu and some friends of his - including Alek - Magma Force decided that they would head out
that way next. They summoned Sharpbeak and family and set off into the air, arriving in the
walled village of Redgorge a short while later. They went into the Redhead Miner's Inn and were
quickly recognised and invited to a meeting in a secret room underneath the inn. There they met
the Foreman of the Chisel. The meeting was also attended by the Honest Minstrel, Mikimax the
innkeep and Maavu. Alek, though invited, did not turn up.
Much was discussed at this meeting. It became apparent that the Chisel was a very small
organisation of craftsmen and merchants, dedicated to the greater good and to the prosperity and
well being of its members. They were very concerned with the current situation. The Honest
Minstrel said that he had intelligence that Lord Skellerang was raising an army to come and
"search" Redgorge. They guessed this was actually an excuse to wipe out the Chisel as they were
working to expose what they saw as his corruption. Unfortunately the villagers of Redgorge would
not take kindly to an army invading and would fight back. Word had it they would arrive at the
village within a few short days and then a seige would begin - in fact the Chisel were going to
mobilize the villagers to prepare for such an event. The only thing they could think of to stop this
invasion would be Alek revoking his challenge on Lord Skellerang, but no one knew where he
was. He had to be found, and soon. The party told what they knew of his possible whereabouts
and the Foreman agreed it made sense to follow the map found on the back of the plate Alek had
sold to Tygot. Combined with this plate, the divination done by Jenya, and the strange dream
Harley had had, the party were by now convinced that Alek was somewhere in the vicinity of the
Demonskar, and in some sort of trouble. Mikimax offered the party use of a boat so they could
head down the Red River. A journey to the location of the Headless Demon statue would take
about four hours down river by boat and the Foreman suggested they take care as this was well
known as gnoll territory. To say nothing of the fact that the Demonskar was clearly renowned for
being full of demons!
The party set off at first light the next day and by lunchtime had reached a small sandy beach
overlooked by an ancient looking statue of a glazberu demon, with its head knocked off. They
guessed this was a statue of the demon lord Nabthatoron, who was still said to rule the
Demonskar. They beached their boat and climbed out, noticing a trail which lead off to the north
from the boat. At this stage they also noticed a half dozen gnolls and a couple of giant hyenas
where waiting for them!
A mass battle broke out on the sandy beach. The gnolls used pack tactics, swarming over and
concentrating all their attacks on one of our heroes at a time. Fortunately Magma Force were able
to use good tactics and mobility to force the gnolls to constantly swap targets, meaning none of the
party were actually dropped to the floor by the pack of hyena men and their pets. The fight was
brutal and dangerous, but a few minutes later all the gnolls were dead and the party severely
winded but otherwise all okay. Searching the bodies the group found some monetary treasure and
a magical mace.
So, what next? It looked like the trail to the north matched the map the party had, so this was their
likely next move...
Report Date
11 Apr 2024
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