Corvis, City of Ghosts (A WitchFire Trilogy Story Hour)

[A2Z]

A Late Night Search

Arriving back at the church the party finds Lincon in their rooms. While Vallan and Ethradan fill him in on their findings, Mericus decides to head to his own room.

After hearing of their investigations Lincon and Ethradan decide that tonight would be a good time to sneak onto the Sunbright estate to get a look at the tomb. Sunbright was less than helpful and they both believe that there may be something to find there. Reluctantly Vallan decides to accompany them.

Making their way through the city to the Sunbright estate they see many small groups of watchmen making patrols. Thinking that they may prove a problem they decide to let Lincon sneak in to the manor yard while the other two keep a lookout. With a little help from Ethradan, Lincon makes it over the wall and drops in to the yard.

Keeping to the shadows and looking around for anyone who might be around the yard he makes his way towards the house. Searching around the manor he finally spots the tomb toward the back of the grounds. As he comes up to the tomb Lincon notices that the heavy marble door has been shattered and lies on the ground in front of the tomb.

Keeping an eye open he enter the tomb. Lighting a small lantern he looks around. The tomb consists of a small central room filled with six alcoves for the bodies. One of the alcoves has been emptied. The other five haven’t been tampered with at all. He doesn’t find anything else in the tomb and decides to check outside the tomb.

Looking around the perimeter of the mausoleum he finds many footprints, but they most likely came from members of the Sunbright estate. Continuing his search, he notices a small piece of white silk that looks to have gotten caught on one of the rose bushes surrounding the tomb. Putting the cloth in a pocket he decides to head back towards the house.

(Lincon’s player had rolled really high when he first entered the yard however I had him make another check to make it back to the house. He rolled a 1. Things were about to get interesting.)

Coming up to the back of the house Linc fails to notice the two men approaching him from behind. As they rush towards him he finally spots them and attempts to run. It’s too late though! Calling for the watch one of them attempts to grab him. Swinging at the man trying to hold him Linc misses. The man attempts to pull him to the ground and seeing an opening (and not afraid to fight dirty) Lincon knees him in the crotch, hard! The man falls to the ground, however the second one closes in.

Not wasting any time Linc moves in and swings at him. Taking a hit square on the chin the man stumbles back. Wasting no time Lincon runs for the wall.

Back in the street Vallan and Ethradan have heard the commotion. While Vallan stays back Ethradan climbs to the top of the wall. Once there he scans the yard for Lincon. Seeing him near the base of the wall he reaches down a hand to help him up. Scurrying up the wall Linc jumps down the other side and Ethradan follows.

It’s not over yet though. The shouts have attracted the attention of the watch. Three men appear at the end of the street! Vallan moves back against the buildings while the other two run down the street and around a corner. Seeing their targets fleeing the watch runs after them!

(To be continued)

 

[Horacio]

Good update!
I like a lot your story

 

[JMKilmartin]

A Privateer freelancer found your "Story Hour" and posted this link on an internal mail list. I'm having fun reading it and visiting your site (I sent the URL to Matt at Privateer). I really like how you're running the first module. Keep it up! Great stuff!

J. Michael Kilmartin

PS: You should think about purchasing "Fool's Errand" and running it between one of the adventures (plug, plug)!

 

[A2Z]

Thanks Micheal! And everyone else who's reading. It's good to know some people are enjoying reading about our game. I'm really enjoying the trilogy so far and I can't wait to see what else Privateer Press has in store for The Iron Kingdoms. One of my players has Fool's Errand and chances are I'll probably run it. I'm also looking to incorporate some Dungeon adventures into the game.I'm really hoping to keep this game going as a long term campaign

Well, let's get back to the story shall we.

(Back in Corvis...)

As the three watchmen come down the street Vallan moves to meet them. Two of the watch stop in front of him while the other runs after Linc and Ethradan.

The guards ask him his business and in reply Vallan pulls out his silver holy symbol of Morrow telling the men he’s working for the church. “I heard a commotion and came to investigate he says.” The guards buy his story and tell him it’d be best if he went on his way now.

Down the other street Lincon and Ethradan have attempted to hide. The watchman however spots Ethradan and calls for backup. Seeing the guard moving towards him Ethradan moves out of his hiding spot. The watchman tells him to stop and get on the ground but the elf ignores his command.

The two other watchmen join their companion now and the three of them surround Ethradan. They attempt to get answers from him on what he was doing and where his friend disappeared. Ethradan tells them that he’s alone and didn’t do anything wrong. They call him a liar and tell him he’ll have to come with them to the jail. Ever arrogant, Ethradan tells them he’s working for Father Dumas the High Prelate and shows them his silver holy symbol telling him they can’t apprehend him as he’s on church business.

Swearing one of the men runs back around the corner to see if the dwarf’s still there. Unfortunately he’s disappeared as well. Returning to his companions they decide to take Ethradan to Father Dumas to see if he’s lying. Lincon follows the group while Vallan attempts to find his own way back.

The Past Revealed

Once at the church one of the watchmen goes to find the priest while the other two watch Ethradan. When Father Dumas arrives he does vouch for the elf and tells the guardsmen that he will handle the situation from here. Once the guards leave Linc comes out of hiding and together with Ethradan they explain to the Father what they've been up to. He's certainly not happy that they've been participating in B&E on church business but apart from a light reprimand he doesn't seem too angry.

Near the end of their explanations Vallan finally gets back. The three men now begin to question Father Dumas about this witch trial and try to find out whether the rest of the bodies stolen were also jurors. Dumas can only confirm that four of the names were jurors at the trial. However he has a surprising amount of information about the events surrounding the trial.

Apparently the leader of the coven was his own sister-in-law! He relates to the PCs what he knows about the trial. The activities of the coven were brought to light by a city magistrate name Ulfass Borloch, at the time a minor functionary. The proof he brought against Dumas's sister-in-law and the other four coveners couldn't be ignored. Their crimes were great and the trial progressed quickly. They were tried and sentenced to death in a matter of days. The executions themselves took place privately in at a site outside of the city and four of the witches were buried in a tomb at that site. The leader and Dumas's sister-in-law was buried in a tomb on the church grounds. She left behind a daughter whom Dumas has been taking care of since. (Alexia, the girl they saw their first day at the church.)

When asked whether he believes the witches were guilty of the crimes he replies that he does. The proof was unquestionable; they did commit the crimes.

Armed with all this new information the PCs now have many new leads to follow. However the hour is late and everyone need some rest after a long day. Agreeing to pick things up in the morning they all head to bed.

(To be continued)

 

[A2Z]

The Longest Night - Act One

The Fullet Family Farm

In the morning Vallan, Linc and Ethradan gather in the kitchen to discuss their next move. They toss around the idea of checking the city records for more information on the trial as well as heading to the witches tomb in Widower's wood. Eventually however, they decide to head to the Fullet farm. This is the last name on their list and they think they may as well check it out.

While the other two finish their meal Lincon heads upstairs to see if he can find Alexia. Her mother was the leader of the coven and maybe she can shed some light on all this. After asking a servant it proves easy enough finding her rooms. Once there he nocks on the door and gets no answer. The door has a lock on the outside and Lincon figures she's not around. He decides against breaking in for now. There are too many people coming and going through the halls. Stopping one of the people going by he asks if anyone knows were Alexia might be and finds out she usually leaves during the day. Linc heads back to the kitchen and once there the group decides to head for the farm.

Once outside Vallan announces he wants to buy a mount. They must pass through the merchant's quarter to exit the city anyway so no one minds. Once there he chooses a likely stable and proceeds to ask about the stock. After a small amount of bargaining Vallan settles on a fair price and leaves the yard with his new pony in tow.

The trip to the farm takes a couple hours. Once there the three men meet the family matriarch. She lives there with her three sons and their families. It was her husband's body that was stolen from the family grave two weeks ago. Once the PCs ask she confirms that her husband was a juror in the trial. Trying to get more details doesn't lead very far. She doesn't know anything more than Father Dumas has already told them. She praises magistrate Borloch for saving the city from the evil witches. A very paranoid women, she sees witches everywhere and surrounds herself with charms designed to ward off evil spirits.

Vallan talks to one of the sons but he doesn't have any additional information either. Thanking the family the group heads back in to town.

Once at the church the group decides they should checkout the witches tomb. If someone's been stealing bodies they may go after the witches corpses, if they haven’t already. Father Dumas provides them with a map and after they locate Mericus the four of them leave the city and head to Widower's Wood.

(This is the end of the first act. Mericus's player wasn't at this session when the group headed out to the tomb but in order to avoid a headache later I just assumed he went along with them. They didn't get very far in to the tomb before we had to stop for the night anyway. Next session; our very first dungeon crawl! Stay tuned!)

 

[Geron Raveneye]

Hmmm...

...yes, do continue, please...this is fun reading

 

[PrivateerMatt]

I love reading this stuff! I'll add your site to our links page next time I update the site. Oh, I'll also send you a free copy of Fool's Errand -- let me know what email address I should use. It's about 1.3MB.

Cheers,
Matt

 

[Desdichado]

You like it, huh? Wait until you hear about last night's adventure! Here's a few hints:

• Who remembered to look up the rules for drowning?
• What's that stuff? Give me a swig!
• What does a suspected necromancer hottie keep under her bed?
• Who has the worst set of dice here? (Unfortunately, it seemed to be me, at least last night...)
• Where'd that **** Bork go?
• The paladin is lawful good, right?

 

[A2Z]

Hey Matt! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Thanks for the offer! That's really great. You can send it to .... Thanks again.

Here's the latest update.

The Longest Night - Act Two

The Witch's Tomb

Our four heroes head back into Widowers Wood, the swamp they passed through on their trip from Fellig. Following the map Father Dumas gave them they manage to find the tomb without any problems.

Approaching the tomb the first thing they notice is the heavy stone door lies broken on the ground. In front of the entrance lies a large stone block with a groove in the top (presumably used to behead the witches). Lighting their lantern the group heads in to the tomb.

The tomb is damp and the stone walls drip with moisture. A small stream runs down the length of the corridor to the entrance they've just entered. Moving down the corridor they pass two doors on each side of the hallway. They decide to see how far the tunnel goes before checking the doors. A little farther down they come to a portcullis that closes off the corridor. At least, it used to. The bars are broken and bent, flakes of rust lie all around the ground. Moving cautiously they continue on.

Passing another branch in the hall they come to another door. Deciding to check this one they find a fairly large room with signs that someone has been living here. Finding nothing very interesting they move back to the rooms they had passed before. Both rooms are similar and also contain signs of use. Under a loose flagstone they find a pistol wrapped in oilcloth. No one knows how to use it and it needs to be cleaned first anyway so they pack it away in a sack. In the back of the other room they find a sculpted relief from the Orgoth empire.

(1000 years ago the Iron Kingdoms were ruled by the Orgoth empire. Anyone interested in more information should check here. The tomb that the party is investigating was once an Orgoth military outpost. The group will find many relics from the old empire throughout their exploration.)

Thinking he just heard something Lincon turns to the group. "Did you hear something?" he asks. No one else heard anything but they decide to check it out anyway.

Checking the hall they find nothing and proceed deeper in to the hill. Finding another door Lincon checks to see if he can hear anything. The sounds of someone moving around are coming from the room. The door is opened a crack as well. Unsheathing their weapons the party prepares to enter the room. Not waiting to form a plan Vallan kicks open the door and rushes into the room.

(To be continued)

 

[A2Z]

The Longest Night - Act Two

Dead Men Walking!

The rest of the group rushes in to the room behind Vallan! And they’re surprised to find a single swamp gobber cowering at the back wall. He’s holding a spear and brandishing it at the heroes trying to look as frightening as possible, and not doing a very good job. The gobber pleads for them not to hurt him and he’ll show them the treasure. While Vallan and Mericus would rather get rid of him now the other two agree and begin questioning the little gobber.

Apparently his tribe has been living in the tomb for years now. His name is Bork and he was left behind when the other went hunting. He also tells the group that the treasure is guarded by three “dead men”. When they ask where they came from he says: “witch girl make them”.

Intrigued they ask more about this witch girl. Apparently she came yesterday and was the one responsible for the broken door. She also left with four “grey women” and left the dead men behind. Speculating on who she may have been the group starts to suspect Father Dumas’ niece.

Deciding to check out the burial chamber the party tells Bork to show them to the room. This he does rather reluctantly. He was hopping he wouldn’t have to go along. A little further down the corridor they come to another door that Bork tells them is the treasure room. Preparing themselves for battle the group pushes open the door and enters the room.

There is little time to take in their surroundings, apart from the three slimy, green, skeletal shapes that begin moving towards them. Taking the lead Vallan rushes forward and takes a swing at the nearest skeleton. His axe glances off the rusty armor covering the body.

From behind the others Mericus sends a magic missile flying at another skeleton. Shards of old bone and rusty armor fly from the creature as the missile hits home. Seeing that the magic missile hurt the beast Lincon fires a shot from his bow at the same skeleton. His arrow takes the head off of the skeletons shoulder. Falling to the ground it stops moving.

While the last skeleton moves forward to attack Ethradan the other continues to trade blows with Vallan. Neither seems to be gaining the upper hand. (Not one of the undead managed to land a hit this whole encounter. I was a little disappointed as I was hoping to put them in some danger. They are second level though and I guess I should have increasde the difficulty of the encounter. Well, there’s always next time…)

Ethradan, with the help of Linc and Mericus manages to make short work of the second skeleton. With the now inanimate bones lying in a pile he moves to help Vallan.

Both of them together overwhelm the mindless undead and Vallan finishes it off with a powerful swing of his axe to its midsection. Neither of them is hurt at all.

With the threat gone the party is now free to examine the room. Looking around they see four caskets lying at the back of the room. Surrounding the caskets are a dozen half-burnt candles and a fine red powder marking out some unknown glyphs.

Mericus attempts to decipher the runes. Examining them closer he is able to tell that they are part of a powerful resurrection spell. The others examine the caskets. All four are empty heavy chains that once held them shut now lie broken on the ground. In front of each casket is a tarnished brass plaque that names the former occupant. The names read:

• Doromia Smythe
• Kellwyn Sikes
• Morgan Innswood
• and Aria Black

At that moment Mericus notices that Bork has gone missing. Calling his name they see his head poke around the door. Cautiously he enters the room. “Where’s the treasure?” the group asks. The gobber confesses to them that he lied. He tells them that the treasure was on the bodies in the four boxes.

Vallan is furious. In a decidedly un-paladin like manner he argues to dispatch the little man now. The rest of the party manages to calm him down, however the gobber has earned his ire now and Vallan decides to keep an eye on him and his axe handy.

With that settled for now the party decides to checkout the rest of the caves. Forcing Bork to guide them they follow the winding tunnels further in to the tomb.

(To be continued)