The Borderland Crusade Ss 001-003 [Castles and Crusades]

The Borderland Crusade
Session Log 001-002
Game Date: 20160130, 20160213
Mystara Date: Flaurmont: Gromdain 09-Moldain 11 1,000 AC


Session 001:
Mission: 000 Character Creation and Introduction
Game Date: 20160130
Mystara Date: Gromdain 09, 1000 AC
Party Members in attendance:
Jonna, HEm (Thyatian) Lore Warden
Kwan, Thyatian Hf, Monk
Ohhh, Mongrel-folk m, Monk
Laranya, ½ orc f, Illusionist?

The story begins when a pair of monks arrive in town, Kwan had received a message to return to the town of Threshold from her father, indicating that he was in some kind of danger. She was instructed to visit the Adventurer's Academy and speak with it's head-master: “Vorkil the Aggressive”. She was accompanied by her fellow student, Ohhh, a strange looking humanoid, wearing a hooded veil, in addition to his monastic robes. They were stopped at the gate and questioned, the head guard grew insistent that Ohhh remove his veil for the purposes of identification. The guard soon regretted that choice when Ohhh revealed himself to be a Mongrel-folk bearing the worst facial features of Orc-Elf and human (Maybe some goblin?). The monks were finally allowed passage after paying the gate toll, and were directed to the Academy.
Kwan and Ohhh were ushered in to see Vorkil, who heard Kwan share her story. The Half Elf veteran listened intently, then finally informed Kwan that her father was currently away on a mission, but Vorkil had not heard back from him. Vorkil then offered an opportunity to do some adventuring long with another applicant named Jonna, a Lore Warden worshiper of Tvashtri, who is also a half-elf. After introductions are made, the trio were instructed to wait at the Gold Dragon inn, nearby.
They walked into the inn to find a loud argument being instgated by a Half-Orc Female and their wait-staff. Apparently the Half orc was displeased by the lack of Meat in a Thyatian owned establishment, unaware that they were primarily vegetarians. The two monks intervened, calming the half-otc down, She then introduces herself as Laranya, an Illusionist who migrated to Threshold to seek out a career in adventuring. The four then agree to work together and attend the appointment with Vorkil in the morning.


Session 002
Mission 001: The Sanctuary of Elwyn
Game Date: 20160213
Mystara Date: Tserndain 10, 1000 AC
Players in attendance:
Ohhh: Mongrel-Folk Monk
Jonna; Half Elf Lore Warden
Laranya: Half Orc Illusionist
Run as an NPC:
Kwan: Human female Monk


The Four adventurers entered into the Adventurer's guild office in the morning, and were greeted by Vorkil and their new client: Patriarch Vasili Basilevsky a Traladan Patriarch of the Deity Ukko.
Patriarch Vasili then explains that for almost a hundred years, the servants of Illmatar had kept a bell which uses divine magic found by the priest named Chardraxes. He had found this bell during a severe Pestilence caused by the Thyatian invasion. Chadraxes considered this to be an answer to prayer and rang the bell which soon cured those afflicted as even healed some wounded innocents. The bell was kept by the servants of Illmatar and was eventually used in Karameikos to settle the peace between the Traladans and Thyatians. However, in recent years the bell had been given to a young priest named Elwyn. A Promising young woman who, unfortunately, began to lose her faith in the Mother goddess. She eventually left the temple of Illmatar and fled to the wilderness with the Bell in tow. Rumors then began circulating of a group of Orcs being gathered as well as Acolytes of Hiisi, the Traladan god of Evil.
Vasili then informed the group that Kwan's father often worked for the Adventurer's guild as a kind of scout, who had quickly explored the area, and returned with two crudely drawn treasure maps which he believed hinted at the place where the bell was being kept. Vasili then informed the party that their mission is to retrieve the bell and Elwyn, if possible.
The party went underway, led by a logger named Baab who finally pointed to the direction the party needed to go. After Baab departed, they eventually encountered four troglodytes, which they struggled to dispatch. They then discovered a large black edifice built in the shape of a Black Dragon's head, built of Iron. They entered into a door way, finding themselves into a darkened corridor. Kwan quickly lit a torch allowing her and Jonna to see, while Ohhh and Laranya had use of their Dark vision.
When they had made their way into the complex, gigantic stone slab slammed down, sealing the entrance. They were then greeted by a feminine voice, echoing through out the chamber:
“Who Dares to enter the shrine of Elwyn Unbidden?”
Wicked laughter filled the hall, but the new adventurers moved undaunted down the corridors and eventually were confronted by six Acolytes of Hiisi, the Traladan god of Evil. As the party proceeded to ready for combat, Laranya stepped forward and struck using a spray of colors from her finger tips striking two of the acolytes, causing them to sleep. The leader of the Acolytes however, countered with a blessing to his comrades who then charged forward into the fray. The Oh and Kwan used their martial arts, and Jonna fired arrows, eventually defeating the Acolytes.
They eventually discovered a few rooms with false bells, eventually discovering a strange chamber. As they all moved into the room, the floor swung down, sending them to the lower chambers. They got on their feet to hear a distant murmuring, they were then set upon by a group of orcs!
The party used their magics and skills to finally take down the murderous humanoids in a fight that ended with the party chasing the surviving Orc up to the ground floor.
Once the orc was dispatched, the group then found wooden statue of Hiisi spring to life! Laranya announce the creature to be a Wooden Golem which requires magical attack in order to be damaged. Fortunately the Orc chieftain had such a blade, which was wielded by Kwan. The other party members ran interference. Laranya finally managed to knock the diminutive golem off it's feet, allowing Jonna and Ohh to hold it down while Kwan delivered the smashing blow. It was a glorious and hard won victory which left the party wondering, what could be next?


The Borderland Crusade
Session Log 003
Game Date: 20160305
Mystara Date: Flaurmont: Moldain 12, 1000AC
Party Members in attendance:
Jonna: Half Elven LoreWarden
Kwan: Human Monk
Ohh: Mongrel Man Harmonious Brother
Laranya: Half orc: Shadow-Blade


The party finally gathered their wits after defeating the wooden Golem. They eventually discovered another cache of magical items. Later, they found yet another room containing a stone statue of Hiisi. They approached carefully only to see the statue turn and attack. Inspite of their best efforts, they were finally subdued and slain


Mystara Date: Flaurmont 22, 1000 AC
Vorkhill the aggressive sat in his office when a messenger arrived, The Captain of the Adventurer's guild was escorted outside the city and treated to a horrifying sight of the new adventurer's corpses set up in a ghastly display. A note was attached to the chest of the Youg Monk, Kwan:
“Hiisi found these challengers, Wanting.-Elwyn”.
After making the arraignments for their proper burial, Vorkhil gathered another group of adventurers:
Huey: A Traladaran Ranger/Initiate of Ahto – God of the Sea
Sir Esa Sorval: Traladaran Free-booter
Sir Alaric Karager: Traladaran Paladin of Ukko
Pa-Gha: Minotaur Wizard


After the Initial introductions are met, the group was also given special pendants as well as instructions on their use once they procured the bell. They rode out eventually finding the structure. As was the last group the new party was confronted by Elwyn's voice: “Another group to try my patience?”
Undeterred by Elwyn's taunting, they proceeded into the labyrinthine tunnels, retracing the previous party's footsteps in the hopes of finding some clue as to where they might have failed. They finally discovered the statue of Hiisi which slew the previous group and joined in battle. The second squad made quick work dispatching the statue which was appeared to not be a construct, but rather a living creature composed of rock!
Intrigued with the creature's blood, Pa-Gha took some samples of it's “blood” and “flesh” for later study. The first party now avenged, they traveled deeper into the complex, where another statue of Hiisi was encountered. Taking no chances, Huey approached with sword drawn, briefly touching the object only to find it trapped! It released a small jolt of lightning causing him to jump back. The group decided to leave that trapped statue alone and traveled to a large chamber containing five alcoves covered by black curtains with golden bolts of lightning sewn into them.
The first Alcove was exposed to reveal a painting of a Traladaran woman in brightly colored robes, slaying several victims with a sword.
The second Alcove held a painting of the previous woman, dressed in Purple with Six priests of Hiisi, Standing at attention.
The Third painting shows the woman, dressed in white, taking aim with a long bow against a flying being.
The Final painting shows her dressed in black, preparing to enter a dark chasm lead by a large hairy human, believed to be a servant of Hiisi.
They finally approached the final alcove, and proceeded to shoot arrows into it. One of which struck a metallic object, which produced an unnatural ring. As the supernatural din finally subsided, five shadowy humanoids appeared and proceeded to attack the party!
Alaric, in a moment of tactical genius, activated his divine aura, which prevented the creatures from physically assaulting him, proving that they were, indeed, Undead minions of Elwyn! The adventurers fought bravely, using their weapons and skills to defeat the shadows, eventually chasing two into the alcove where they were fleeing. Sir Esa, approached the altar within the Alcove and discovers a bell of exceptional craftsmanship. He attempts to carefully wrap the bell in a large sack, accidentally ringing it, causing it to summon two more Shadows. Not wanting to linger, Pa-Gha gripps Esa's belt and activated the Amulet, triggering it's word of recall. Alaric and Huey followed suit and promptly returned to the adventurer's guild offices.

The Borderland Crusade
Session Log 004
Game Date: 20160416
Mystara Date: Yarthmont : Lunadain 01-Tserdain 03 1000AC
Lunar Phase: New Moon
Party Members in attendance:
Esa Human Free-Booter
Huey: Human Ranger/Ovate of Ahto
Alaric Human Paladin of Ukko
Pa-Gha Minotaur Wizard

Story:
After the Current party returned to Threshold with the Bell, Vorkhil instructed them to take some time off and get ready for the next mission. Huey had decided to shop for a new wardrobe and armor, while Alaric attended to more spiritual matters in his church, devoting his time to alms giving and prayer to Ukko, in gratitude for surviving his first true test as a paladin. In the mean time, Esa disappeared into the nearby taverns to indulge in the great past time o carousal and hedonistic excess.
Pa-Gha, on the other hand, returned to the Mage's guild where he assisted in the identification of the Bell of Chardastes' properties and possible origins. The head masters were able to determine that the Bell was a conduit for the powers of the god Hiisi and Tuonetar (God of Evil and the Goddess of the underworld specifically) which not only allowed the wielder to summon a significant number of Shadows, when struck (even by accident) it also summoned Gargoyles when struck with deliberate intent. Later research indicated that Chardastes did assist in repelling the Thyatian invasion of Threshold using the bell, however it was later made clear that SHE was a priestess in the service of Tuonetar and Tuoni (Tuonetar's Husband and God of the Underworld) who wished to conquer Threshold for her own nefarious reasons. Her participation in the defense of Threshold ended when she was later summoned to the underworld by her Goddess to enter into her service in the plane of Pandemonium, never to be seen again. The Bell however remained kept in seclusion by the Church of Traladar and later the Church of Karameikos until it was stolen by Elwyn and her minions.
It was then that the Wizards returned the bell to the Church of Karameikos for safe keeping.

Mission 002: The Zombie Plague of Table Mountain
Journey to the Crystal Shore Hamlet:
The party was finally summoned by Vorkhil, who informed the party that there have been complaints in the northern fishing district of Crystal Shores of a sickness sweeping through the fishing village. Given that this is a significant resource for the City of threshold, The party was instructed to find the source of this sickness and deal with it as quickly as possible. The group left immediately making their way to Crystal Shore, where they met the Hershel Gobinmeyer, a Druid who cared for the crops and provided the medical needs of the villagers along with Wider Veldar, Priestess of Ahto, the sea lord.

After they greeted the party, they explained that several villagers had been complaining of a debilitating sickness. Two victims of the disease had become Zombies which were dealt with by the blacksmith and the town guards. It was determined that the source of the infection, was from their water supply which was carried by Aqueduct from the near by village of Flat Mountain. Given the obvious Magical Nature of the disease, access to the water from the aqueduct was banned, however the nearby lake and river, while potable required extra effort to procure as well as the need to boil large amounts fairly quickly. The aqueduct also provided some revenue for Flat mountain since they were the ones who maintained the water supply and transit.
Hershel also advised the party that travel to Flat mountain was difficult due to the rough terrain and wild animals that still lived in the area. They also mentioned that another group of adventurers had passed by two weeks prior to the first incident of the outbreak. The prior group were headed to Flat-Mountain, which was built around an ancient ruined castle which the Aqueduct was built around. Herschel remarked that their cleric did seem rather strange in his behavior.
The party thanked Herchel and Priestess Veldar for their information and immediately set forth to the southern village. Huey had used his Ranger skills to navigate some interactions with the local wild life including migrating wolf packs and deer herds until they managed to find their way to the village.
Flat-Mountain Hamlet
The air itself seemed to hang heavily over the area as silence dominated the land scape. They were not confronted by the local militia or anyone when they approached a local farm house on the outskirts They then approached stealthily on the living quarters of the hired help and entered to find the lone farm hand beaten to death to the point where his features were fairly unrecognizable. Huey then scouted ahead to the main farm house where he then discovered the family of three had become Zombies. Having spotted the Ranger, they attacked, just as Huey summoned his comrades for help. The battle was joined, when Pa-Gha entered the domicile attempting to strike the Mindless undead with his staff, The Zombie evaded the attack and truck the Minotaur wizard with a solid blow, which surprised him. The party joined in the attack and finally dispatched the zombies before making their way to the local tailor shop.
They continued on the cautious approach, peering through open windows, where they discovered two zombified humans (The tailor and his wife) they dispatched them shooting arrows through the windows, and later they found the Couple's children also affected by the disease, and used the same tactics in dispatching their parents.
The group decided to double back towards the road, when they passed by an inn titled “The Dancing Skeleton”. Esa noticed a pair of waitresses holding mugs in their hands standing behind the bar. Suddenly, he was seized with the need to imbibe alcohol. He recklessly charged in past the party, through the door and attempted to tumble over the bar and past the zombified wenches, only to land flat on his back with a solid THUD.
Huey and Pa-Gha reacted quickly, the ranger loosed an arrow while the Minotaur fired a Magic Missile, blasting one undead wench, while Esa was struck by the zombie as he rose to his feet. The party entered the building quickly, only to be surprised by two more undead former patrons lumbering forward. They were finally dispatched when Alaric suggested that given the injuries the groups sustained, that they return to Crystal Shores to stock up on some healing supplies and report what they had seen so far to Herschel and Priestess Veldar.
Back to Crystal Shores:
Herschel and Wider were rather surprised to see the party return with injuries so soon. The party informed the two clergy members that they discovered that the members of the village had been turned into zombies, and that they require some healing and medical supplies. Priestess Veldar gave a small amount of supplies she had available. Once the party was cured of their injuries, an alarm was raised in the Hamlet that the local in was infested with undead. The party ran quickly to find that some of the stronger villagers were holding the door of the inn shut as zombies pounded on the door. Huey, Esa and Alaric drew their weapons and motioned for the villagers to release the door.
They flew open as three animated corpses lurched forward to attack the party. They quickly cut two down but had trouble dealing with the third who proved to be more nimble than expected. Pa-Gha, aggravated with the slow pace of the battle, stomped his Hoof several times, warning the party members to get out of the way. He roared and barrelled into the zombie goring her severely and knocking her onto the ground, several feet away, which gave Alaric the opportunity to dispatch it quickly.
The villagers were grateful for the party's assistance and allowed the group to stay at the town as guests before returning to Flat mountain.
During this period, Alaraic proffered a suggestion that perhaps the villagers were becoming Zombies due to a disease of some kind in a manner similar to influenza or a plague. Pa-Gha derided the paladin's idea, stating that zombies and skeletons are similar to constructs, mindless corpses which must be specifically prepared and enchanted through specific spells like Animate Dead. That while this sickness did result in the victims becoming zombies, there has never been an instance of even a magical disease having this effect. Taken somewhat aback by the Minotaur’s gruff refutation, Alaric acquiesced and went to sleep.

Return to Flat Mountain:
The next morning, the party left early to flat mountain and encountered first, a solitary zombie, and later, a zombified wolf before finally arriving at the eerily silent hamlet. They quickly decided to enter the ruined castle and Aqueduct source In an effort to find clues about the previous party, and the source of the infection. They traveled to the top of the mountain, discovering a large ruined castle burned and toppled over in several sections. It appeared to be the site of an ancient battle, built above the aqueducts which seemed to have originally part of the castle's design. In the center of the ruin's complex, a set of stairs descended into the mountain and turned into a corridor. Within the first room they encountered a large room which was caved in the center of the 60' by 40' chamber. It led to another room which apparently served as some kind of barracks for troops. The section was covered with debris and web which were created by spiders the size of goblins which moved to attack the party. The minotaur Wizard shook his head and impacted one spider than another with magic missiles while Alaric and Esa dispatched the other spiders fairly quickly. Alaric, however was poisoned and gained some weakness from the spider bite.
They traveled to another room, which one time served as an armory. They were surprised to discover a large worm-like creature with tentacles surrounding it's mouth. Realizing it was a dreaded Corpse worm. The party attacked it at a distance with arrows and Magic missiles before it's paralyzing tentacles could attach themselves to the nearest member. With the Armory conquered, the stalwart heroes prepared to explore the remainder of the cavern, prepared for the worst fate had to offer!