Session Number: 171
Date: Sunday 14 April 2013
Venue: Craig's
PCs & Players:
| Ariel | Sor12 | (Fergus) | (kills: none) |
| Calico | Drd12 | (Yeran) | (kills: none) |
| Lionel | Rgr6/Wiz1/ArcA5 | (Ash) | (kills: none) |
| Rowaine | Pal12 | (Craig) | (kills: none) |
| Troll | Wiz12 | (Densial) | (kills: none) |
| Violet | Drd12 | (Fergus) | (kills: none) |
XP Awarded: TBA
Our first try at staying in role for the entire session.
Review the plan: go to a guild and either purchase or commission some magical device that will get the group to and from the domain of this Ruelock. tr tells ro some more detail that saj revealed concerning Ruelock's domain: that Ruelock's domain is known to be accessible only through a portal on the plane of shadow. The knowledge saj imparted to tr included the location of this portal.
cal Do you need me to go to this guild? ro cal you are welcome to, I value your skill and perspective but you mustn't feel obliged to. cal will stay at tri. tr Where are we going? ro I know of three guilds: one in Avarriel, one in Isindor, and one in Ashhope. tr I think we should go to Minehome. The dwarves have good mages. They have good everything. cal If you go to Minehome, I'll come along. ro Dwarven wizards are not unheard of… tr Clerics can cast this spell. Not that I trust clerics, but if they're dwarven they're probably OK. ro for that matter, I wonder if the Silver Hand might be able to help. tr I haven't been home for a long time. I'm missing it. How often have you been home? and I don't mean just passing through, telling your teachery friends how good you're doing… I mean actually gone home and said hello to everybody? How many times have you done that in the past year? I miss it. Don't get me wrong, I've got Ethalyn and tri, but you know… ro It does seem a logical first step, if we are heading to Minehome. At least Sir Veketh can tell us if there is a guild of mages in the mountain. lio, would you be keen to travel to our home and then to the revered mountain of the dwarves known as Minehome? lio yes. tr remembers meeting a planes specialist in the Avarriel mages' guild, by the name of Schmitt. He tells the others, commenting that he's not as trustworthy because he's an elf. ro Our relationship with the elves and our jobs for the realm will stand us in good stead. tr Can we trust them? Ariel doesn't have a great relationship with the guild in Ashhope, she had a few accidents there. ro Did they look down upon you for this? ari Yes. ro That would never happen in dwarven society. There is a place for every dwarf.
ro Two options present themselves: we either go to Minehome, or we seek this Schmitt. I seem to recall he wasn't that useful before. ari What did saj tell you about the location of Ruelock? tr He gave me the location of how to find it. A place to go, on another plane. cal You know what plane? tr Yep. ro Well, we have all the pieces of the puzzle except how to get there. tr None of us can get there. ro All the more reason to get to either Minehome or Avarriel. Which is it going to be? lio Whichever is closer? ro Minehome is probably the quicker of the two. lio Let's go there, then. ro Is that the best criterion? I say we go to Minehome. tr best chance to succeed. ro We asked Schmitt about the creatures in our necks, we didn't ask him about Ruelock at all. It might be worth a crack. Although we did consult the royal family to conduct their own investigations into this Ruelock and they didn't find anything. We seem to have the information we need, it's more about getting there. I am thinking that it is the guild that we get along with the best that is going to get the outcome we want. tr Is it who we get along with the best, or who is most likely to help us? They're not necessarily the same thing. ro No. But Avarriel owe us, we have done a lot for their realm. What do you think tr? tr I think they are dirty nasty elves but if it is the best chance of success then we go there. ro cal? cal I don't mind either way. If you choose to go to Avarriel I will stay here, if Minehome, I will go with you. ro You seem negative towards Avarriel? cal I've been to elven places before, it is less interesting to me. I prefer to stay here, with tri. ro Bear in mind that we may not return here. You may miss out on the adventure of travelling to another plane entirely. cal That is true. ari I could come and pick him up. tr You can't get in and out of here. ari If I were to come and pick up cal, you tr would have to come to? tr Yes. cal If my staying behind makes things difficult, I will come. ro I do not wish to force you into any shape that you do not wish to be. If you do not wish to come, that's fine. But it would save ari two spells. cal I will come with you to Avarriel.
tr talks to eth tells her where he is going and the information he has, then asks whether she has anything to pass onto her family. status report. she would quite like to have some time with her husband. first choice Avarriel. tr How time critical? I'd like to take a couple of days. ro Time passes differently for Krag, any delay could mean a great deal for him. I could go on ahead, if you feel you need time. I understand that you have many demands for your attention.
tr decides to stay.
tr You can go with ari. lio goes. ari asks how they are to leave the grove. do they have to go outside the brambles? tr suggests going to the monastery; it is within Teleport range of Avarriel. ari believes that only tr will be able to take her to the monastery, she seems a little surprised to hear that ro can take her. ari expresses concern that she will not be able to get back to the monastery. ro An introduction to Sir Veketh might be in order. ari Another sir! Is he like you? ro He is what I aspire to be. I am very happy to make his acquaintance of you. ari Is he a paladin? ro He is indeed. ari Is that what the lady and sir are about? Do paladins get knighted from some king? ro I was not made a Lady by a king. ari Ooh, that's unusual. There must be a story in that! ro I belong to an order of dwarven paladins of Moradin. There are many kings in dwarven society. I daresay it would be difficult to say to which one we hold allegiance to. ari It's probably good that you don't, really. That means that you could move from one kingdom to another without causing political ruckuses. They can be such a drag! Shall we go and visit this Sir Veketh?
tr takes eth and three 'handymen' to saj, mainly r&r in the tent and visiting people.
Others go to the monastery, cal wishes to travel in animal guise, as a blink dog. vio takes this time to have some r&r as well, stays at tri. This is OK with eth and tr.
ask abb to take those through to Kharag Monastery. appear in the basement. A girl is there, on detention. She is flustered at the arrival. ro Have no fear, child. chi I wasn't afraid! I … you're her, aren't you? ro Probably. Would you please get Sir Veketh? chi Oh, certainly, Lady Rowaine! Certainly! she runs upstairs, very quickly.
lio You have some fans. ro I do. If you don't mind, cal, I think I'll hold the ruff of your neck just so it's clear that you are with me. cal nods assent.
About five minutes later see Berathoin coming down the stairs. He comes up to ro and looks at her a bit sternly. ro Your Holiness. ber While we understand, Lady Rowaine, that your status in the world has improved, we would still recommend that when you come that rather than asking Sir Veketh to come to you, that you go to him. ro Of course, that was improper of me. ber Let's go.
ber leads the way to the Headmaster's office. He knocks on Sir Veketh's door. Hear "Enter." ber Lady Rowaine and friends. Go in.
sv My dear Rowaine, it is good to see you again. ro Sir Veketh. My apologies for my lack of manners. How fare you? sv We and the school are faring very well. We are very grateful for the help that you and tr have given. Supplies and that sort of thing, since the arachtria attack. We certainly wouldn't have made it through the winter without you. ro It was the least we could do. After all, it was your great sacrifice that actually saved the monastery. sv I appreciate the way that you remember us. ro You are more than a teacher to me. I hope you know that. sv And I do not say this very often, but you are more than a student to me. How can I help you? ro sv, may I introduce my companions: ari, from a noble house in Ashhope. ari You're a dwarf, and a paladin! sv I see this one is quite excitable. ro Rather. lio, from Larellian lands in the elven kingdom. sv Welcome to Kharag. And you have brought a dog? Rather an odd kind of dog. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, a blink dog? ro This blink dog also goes by a human name, cal. A druid of Obad-Hai. sv Ah. ro cal requested to travel here in a more comfortable form to him. I hope you don't take offence. sv Well I would say, cal, that we will not take any offence, as long as while you are here, that you abide by Moradin's law, as is expected of all here. cal nods. sv I notice tr isn't here, is he well? ro Yes, he learns more and more about his ancestry each passing day and it is a very strange tale. sv How goes your search… I find it hard to speak of some times… for Krag? ro Is to that chapter of my life that we now turn. However, the last time I came to you, I came with grave news about the arcanites. sv Yes, we have advised everyone that no further contact is to be had at this point. ro I think it probably wise to maintain that cautious stance for the time being. However, it is with a heavy heart that I must warn you that I have been responsible for letting loose a great evil upon the lands. sv Oh dear. What has happened? ro We were deceived in thinking that we were restoring one of tr's forgotten towers back to use. What we were actually doing was freeing a creature called a dracolich, which was pretending to be the tower. I have a heavy burden. sv Sit down, ro.
sv Let me ask you a question. Did you act in good faith, according to the knowledge that you had available at the time? ro I feel I could have gleaned more. sv In our calling we will always feel that we could have done more. But all that Moradin expects is that we act as we can at the time according to the best knowledge that we have. It is good that you hold yourself to a higher standard but Moradin, while strict, is fair, and you should be to yourself as well. ro So it is written. Thank you for your words. sv Holding onto guilt can be an offence against his writings. But that said, a great evil? ro The dracolich had a name: Conchada. sv I have not heard of this Conchada. ro The creature is very old, probably many thousands of years. It was trapped by this tower saj some seven thousand years ago. It spent a very long time in captivity and now it is free. It is said to be a master of both arcane and psionic power. I know very little else. sv What I would recommend is that you write a full account of what you know of this dracolich so it can be passed onto the order, so that not only you are dealing with this. ro That seems wise. I shall put mind to it. sv Perhaps while you are here, and I can see to its delivery. ro I got the impression that although the danger is great, the imminent danger is not; I believe the dracolich will amass its power before it acts, hence my decision to try and free one on the side of good first rather than tackle one on the side of evil. sv Although, while it is amassing its power it might be vulnerable. Perhaps speedy action would be to our advantage. Do you know anything of its whereabouts? ro I know that it did have a base of operations when it was captured; I do not even know if that place still exists. sv Perhaps this time might be used by the Order and our allies to try and locate this creature. ro Wise action. tri has commenced searching. sv, I believe my next move is to free Krag. To that end, I intend to travel to Avarriel in order to seek out a magical item to help us to travel to Ruelock's domain. sv It seems to me that Arrian could be of some service in this matter. ro He might. Do you know of his whereabouts? sv I haven't seen him for some time, but the last I heard he was engaged in the same task as you, in researching options to track down Krag. I don't know where that would take him, and I don't have a means of communicating with him. ro If he does make contact, would you be able to let me know? sv Absolutely. ro What think you of the plan? sv You mention a magical device… That was to get you to a plane and back? ro Yes. sv I have never had occasion to travel between the planes, but what I have heard is that it is very dangerous, depending on the plane you go to. However, if you believe Krag is captured on another plane, you have no alternative. ro I cannot see that he can make his own way out. Someone is going to have to help him. I cannot think of anyone better. I just need the means to get there. sv I think you have answered your own question. ro Tell me sir, is there a guild of mages at Minehome that we might speak to to aid us in this quest? sv I am not aware of a guild of mages. There is a temple of Moradin. ro Would they be able to help us? sv I understand that some planar issues are dealt with by Moradin's clerics. ro We might hold that in reserve. My sense is that we will probably be more favourably received in Avarriel, simply because we have history with them. Although, it is part of the faith that paladins will be received… But it is much that I would ask. sv You do have bonds in both places and I do not believe that your request for aid would be looked at as onerous by your brothers in the temple. But it is of course your decision. Personally, were I in the same position, I would feel more comfortable going to my own faith. ro It is a day and a half to Minehome? sv On foot, yes. lio ro, considering how many SpiderKillers there are, wouldn't one of them be able to help us? ro I didn't think so, although I haven't specifically asked. We have had occasional help with teleportation by them and those that possessed that ability seemed fairly rare. What we are asking for is something far more powerful than that. But we should ask, you are quite right. tr is indisposed for the next two days. We can probably at least get to Minehome and make some inquiries within that time. I know the city's gates and I am sure lio can guide us there, given a map. ari is a sorceror who can Teleport. Would it be acceptable if ari were to know this general area as a destination for Teleportation? I was thinking of the outskirts of the monastery. sv Outside the gate would be fine. ro If I might avail myself of a quill and paper, I will pen my experiences and knowledge of this Conchada. sv The rest of you are welcome to refreshments. We have some fine dwarven ale available; I will have one of the students take you somewhere where you can make yourselves comfortable.
ari goes outside the gate to memorise the area. cal accompanies her. ro starts writing. lio is taken to an area where he is offered dwarven ale. He has one, and cannot help but have another. He gets horribly drunk and loses consciousness.
ro finishes and gets ari and cal. asks where lio is. ari I think they took him to a lounge to relax. They go there and discover lio who has slid off a chair. He doesn't respond to voice or nudge. In fact, he isn't breathing. ro tends to him, yelling at the others to get Berathoin. cal turns into a human and races off in search of the dwarven cleric. Berathoin comes running once the import of the scene is made clear. He casts Neutralise Poison on lio and he comes to. ro thanks Berathoin. ber You might want to be more cautious with your drinking. You are no dwarf, sir. cal Elves, thinking they're dwarves, trying to drink dwarven ale… ber Good for you to remember that too, young sir. lio That's never happened before.
lio uses sv's map to plan the journey to Minehome. ro summons har, cal turns into a pegasus and they set out. Don't have enough daylight hours to complete the journey so make camp. Set watches, night passes.
Next day, finish the journey and arrive at the Minehome gates. guards are surprised to be greeted in perfect dwarven by a tall, armoured human woman but they finally realise who addresses them. They arrange for a guide to take the group to Moradin's temple within - with the proviso that ro vouches for those she travels with.
Get to temple (ro has been here once before). The journey within the mountain takes around half an hour and none of them, not even lio, thinks he could make his way back unaided. Are greeted by a cleric within. ro asks to speak to the high priest regarding an important matter. Arranged. ro describes the situation concerning Krag and asks for assistance. Learns that the plane of shadow is not a nice place. While not dangerous in and of itself, it often harbours creatures that are hostile. There are also places that one should avoid. As for getting there, that would require a cleric to travel with the group for an open-ended period, meaning that the cleric would not be performing their usual role supporting the city, particularly its mining expeditions. Getting a priest to fashion a magical item amounts to much the same thing. The priest impresses upon ro the high cost of what she asks, and says that while they will of course do their duty, he asks ro to consider whether there might be other alternatives.
on the way out, ro visits the armourer responsible for her full plate armour and pays her respects.
Go back to Kharag Monastery, then to tri. tr is not there. Speak to eth's second in command, Paulinarrion. ro asks him whether the SpiderKillers have any clerics or wizards of spectacular ability within their ranks. Paulinarrion mentions that there are several. ro asks whether any of them might know how to travel between planes. Paulinarrion directs ro to Sparron, head of the clerics, in the healer's tent. ro asks whether he knows of any clerics that could shift between planes. Sparron himself can do that, as can one colleague, Tolasseon. Seconding either of them would depend on current SpiderKiller activities. There are only five clerics in the ranks. Tolasseon is out in the field.
Night falls and tr still does not return. ro seeks Paulinarrion, asking how busy the SpiderKillers are at the moment. There are no major engagements going on, most of their efforts are towards searching out arachtria. Tolasseon is with one of the groups so tasked, the one the leadership consider most likely to encounter the spiders.
party stay at tri and see tr in the morning.
