Mission 010: Dark Star Rising
A remote Cerberus Assembly observatory situated in the mountains to the west of Icehaven is months late on scheduled reports. The party is engaged to investigate the reason for the interruption.
Mission Log
The party were dispatched to a remote Cerberus Assembly observatory on the northern coast of the Dwendalian Empire, an hour west of Icehaven. The outpost had ceased reports some weeks prior, and their mission was to discern why and return the scientists to their proper schedule. However a routine teleportation proved anything but, as the party found themselves in for a bumpy ride that deposited them roughly on a cliffside path, with Tushi very nearly tumbling over the edge if not for a quick save from Auron. As they dusted themselves off, they realized that they were only three, and Anaya was no longer with them.
They were met by a grizzled fisherman descending the path from the observatory silhouetted above, who claimed to be dropping off supplies and informed them of a body a distance up the path, by the well. A quick investigation revealed an unconscious Anaya, who’s astral nature submitted her to a particularly jarring transport. A roused Anaya immediately called for her familiar Bhoot in the trees, but the owl refused the summon and instead flew off towards the observatory in agitation.
The party approached the building, finding the doors and windows boarded up and a potent herbal smell emanating from within, which Tushi recognized as incense popular for its hallucinogenic properties. Bhoot continued to circle the top of the observatory, and when Anaya tried to connect their senses both she and Bhoot received a spike of psychic feedback from the attempt. Bhoot alit on Auron’s shoulder, and began angrily hooting at Anaya.
A peek through a boarded window revealed several hooded figures sitting around a table, bent over sheets of faded vellum and chanting. A quick decision was made to intercede on whatever ritual was taking place, and Anaya tore off several boards so that the Sisters Rumbledance could charge in. As soon as the two halflings entered the room their senses were assaulted by the incense and the chanting, with Fanny reduced to incoherent babbling and Tushi beset by hallucinatory shadows.
The hooded figure at the head of the table held his vellum sheet out to Auron and commanded him to read, ensorcelling the sorcerer. As Auron’s mind tried to wrap around the incomprehensible primordial lettering on the page, he descended into a fit of uncontrollable screams. Anaya threw a firebolt into the room, incinerating the remaining vellum and sending the figures into an apoplexy. Knives flashed and battle was met, ending with a litany of force and thunder damage from Anaya and Fanny that left a pile of crumpled cultist bodies in the corner.
Anaya inspected the forms and found them to be wearing filthy Cerberus Assembly robes, ruling them to be the truant scientists. Fanny searched the room, finding piles of rotting vegetables and meat, and the walls painted with primordial lettering. Her scientific curiosity pushed her to try to make sense of them, staving off the creeping fingers of madness to lock on to one repeating word: TOROG. Her sister recognized the word as the name of one of the imprisoned Betrayer Gods, the Crawling King.
Anaya petitioned for a quick exit, proposing that they’d technically accomplished their mission. But the curiosity of Fanny Rumbledance propelled them on, as did the defiant Bhoot, who flew deeper into the observatory. The party cautiously followed, finding the base of the tower occupied by an elaborate orrery, which had been further decorated with an array of grotesque wind chimes made from bones, horns, and viscera. A cultist with runes carved into his flesh welcomed them eagerly, urging them to gaze upon the glory of the Dark Star. A quick-thinking Tushi played along, and the group found themselves hospitably ushered up the ladder to follow Bhoot to the second floor.
The party found themselves in a study centre on the second floor, with Fanny investigating some of the research materials to learn that the astronomers had fashioned an arcane lens for their telescope that allowed the channeling of magical energies from constellations, imbuing those who gazed upon them with certain powers. An impatient Anaya continued to suggest the party leave with the information they have, but an increasingly agitated Bhoot pecked and scratched at a far door. When Anaya tried to dispel the owl, Bhoot began seizing and resisting, before propelling himself at Anaya’s face. The confused party watched on, with Tushi catching a meaningful look from the owl that compelled her towards the door.
Pushing through, Tushi found a small office rank with candle smoke and the smell of rotting meat. Behind a desk she saw the bound, unconscious form of her companion Anaya. Returning to her party, Tushi threw an end of rope to her sister and asked for trust, as she began trying to bind the elf who had been with her for the last hour. With surprising strength Anaya defied the attempt, and when Auron attempted to investigate the room for himself, Anaya forcefully closed the door - and began to smile, a forceful rictus so wide it split her face in twain.
The monstrosity masquerading as their companion revealed itself, transforming into an aberrant mass of writhing flesh and teeth. Anaya came to consciousness in the next room, but took control of Bhoot to join the fray by proxy. Tushi was nearly pulled into the creature’s maw before Auron dispatched the monstrosity with a well-placed firebolt, allowing the party to be reunited and many apologies to be heaped upon the beleaguered Bhoot.
Pressing into the candlesmoke-choked office in which Anaya had been held, the party found plates of maggot-infested meat and sheafs of handwritten notes. Fanny and Anaya set to reading the notes written by the Lead Astronomer Finiril over the following hour, which started as scientific observations in ink and slowly devolved into deranged ravings in blood. They detailed the study of a ‘dark star’, a space in the firmament between stars where the inky void seemed especially dense. Focusing their arcane telescope on the spot, Finiril began made a connection with the extraplanar mind of Torog, who offered power for servitude. Finiril locked the telescope in place, allowing Torog’s influence to magnify through it, first washing over Finiril, then his staff, then the nearby town… and soon beyond. Fanny was particularly fascinated by the star chart that led to the Dark Star’s discovery, seemingly an Aeorian artefact brought back from an expedition to the Eiselcross island of Gelier, but an obvious forgery to her expert eye.
While the nerds nerded, Auron and Tushi peered out a window to spot a snake of torches winding up the mountain path towards the observatory, and the chorus of villagers’ voices chanting on the wind. Fanny resolved to destroy the telescope before they departed, and the party rushed up to the observation deck to find Finiril gazing through the massive telescope. Finiril welcomed them eagerly and urged them to gaze upon the Dark Star, but Anaya quickly sent Bhoot out to assault the crystal lens. This triggered a transformation in the astronomer, whose skin erupted with thousands of maggots, creating a heaving mass that crashed down on Anaya just as the telescope’s lens shattered. Satisfied, the party opted for an immediate exit with their bracers - with a conflicted Auron being the last one out the proverbial door.
SUMMARY
DM Ryan
PLAYERS Julie (Fanny), Lauren (Tushi), Lou (Auron), Puja (Anaya)
RESULT Mission Complete
TOTAL XP 1025 xp each
TOTAL GP 25 gp each