Team Weem's 4e Campaign :: Session Summaries (April 4, 2009)

[weem]

I was posting these on a site for a while, but I am moving them here as I will be using the site for something else. I hope you enjoy them and feel absolutely free to comment or ask questions if you want. This is more for me to reflect on (my players won't see this as they do not come here to ENW), but I always enjoy getting feedback. And to clarify about my PC's not seeing this - they simply weren't reading it before (for the most part) so I'm not concerned about them not seeing here now

The Players

Shedian - [Dragonborn] Fighter
Grail - [Elven] Cleric
Ketana - [Eladrin] Wizard
Roland- [Bugbear] Rogue
Reed - [Halfling] Rogue

*Unfortunately, in many of the earlier postings, I refer to PC's as their race... so you will see things like "the Dragonborn" did this, etc. I'm far too lazy to go change those instances to PC names, but in all future postings, it won't be an issue.

Campaign Background

Long ago I used to play on the Known World (Mystara) as per the canon, etc. Coming to 4e after a long time away however, I found my memory of such things... lacking. I still remembered the big names and locations and all the general stuff about all the realms/kingdoms, but the details were gone. With that said, I use the map and the very basic ideas of the world I recall - everything else, I do with as I please - so no, this will not be an accurate Mystara game and for that I apologize (to you Mystara fans out there) - please keep that in mind as you go

 

[weem]

Session 1: June 21, 2008
Prelude, Part I
Reluctant Volunteers... and a Dragonborn

The town of Verge had been plagued with Kobold raids of varying sizes over the last few weeks. The players, all of which happened to be in town (for various reasons) were pulled into a meeting by Sherrif Krennan as he desperately put together groups of volunteers to fend off upcoming raids. The players were grouped together by Krennan and one night later successfully chased down and killed a band of Kobolds as they infiltrated an underground tunnel system used by them only days earlier. Happy with the efficiency of their work, the Sherrif asked them once again to help, but this time to go on the offensive. Scouts working for him had discovered multiple Kobold camps to the West and it was his hope that if he could hit the camps simultaneously, he could put an end to the raids - if only for a short while.

The group agreed and their numbers were increased by one as he forced upon them a young outlaw by the name of Pul. The young man had been involved in some moderately illegal activities recently, but the Sherrif trusted him as much as anyone else and thought it was time the "bandit boy" (as he referred to him during his imprisonment) make up for the crimes he had committed by "volunteering" to help the town.

The group left as such and by the next day had come across the camp they were to clear out, which they proceeded to do with ease. Upon exiting the filthy passage ways and rooms of the Kobold camp, they encountered one of Krennan's scouts - an elf by the name of Eriat. He told them that another group, tasked with a similar mission as theirs, had run into some kind of trouble and that if they could manage it, Eriat would appreciate them accompanying him to aid the group. They agreed, and were immediately on their way, heading further West into the hills.

 

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Session 2: July 5, 2008
Prelude, Part II
The enemy of my enemy

Eriat brought the group West towards the next Kobold site where they met the sole survivor of the initial group that attempted to clear it out the day before. The survivor, named Myak, told the group what he knew of this particular stronghold and they made their way in. After a number of various Kobold encounters, they came across a Wyrmpriest Kobold and his minions (as well as some Dragonshields) all of which they quickly dispatched.

After dividing the treasure, Eriat entered the chamber to claim a golden box discovered by the group. The box was flat and rectangular in shape. It had no discernible hinges or seem and was covered in intricate carvings of keys, and keyholes. Eriat demanded the box which was promptly handed over, but as they exited, Eriat ordered Pul to keep them here as he left with the box. A fight ensued that resulted in the deaths of both Pul and Eriat after which the box was recovered.

Exiting the stronghold, the group rested and prepared to return to town to deliver the news and gold box to the Sheriff.

 

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Session 3: July 19, 2008
Prelude, Part III
Friend Or Foe

Upon returning to Verge, the PC's confronted Sheriff Krenenn about why they were attacked by his scout Eriat, and why Eriat was after the box. The Sheriff claimed he knew nothing of a box and that the behavior they described Eriat having did not match up with the Eriat he had known for years. He then offered them a reward for helping with the Kobolds and said he would have more work for them by tomorrow. Unsure of who they could trust, the group decided that sleeping outside of town (as opposed to accepting the room and board being offered) was the safest route to take.

In the middle of the night they were awoken by a frantic Myak who told them they needed to get up immediately and follow him to meet with another scout. He told them they were not safe here. He lead the group up the river to a place known as Dead Man's Drop, a popular swimming hole nearby. When they arrived, they were ambushed. Myak indicated that "this is not what was supposed to happen" before he took the plunge over the cliff edge and into the river, escaping from the situation. The PC's fought off their attackers and won, deciding to camp nearby that night before heading back to town in the morning.

It was decided that morning that the Dragonborn would enter the town and try and find the whereabouts of Myak's home, at which point they could interrogate him about what he really knows. The remainder of the group would skirt the edge of town keeping an eye on him to make sure he was safe - but as they spotted the Sheriff moving in with guards, the quickly ran in and positioned themselves nearby to help aid him should it be needed.

The Sheriff claimed that he (the Dragonborn) was to be arrested for murder and ordered the guards to seize him. The guard hesitated as he let them know he would defend himself should they try. The rest of the group emerged from hiding and a skill challenge began with which the PC's attempted to persuade the guards to stand down. After successfully completing the challenge (making the guards question the orders of their Sheriff, who they did not like anyway) the Sheriff tried to escape. He was immediately caught and imprisoned.

The group then searched the sheriff's home and discovered incriminating evidence that assured them and the town that the Sheriff deserved to be imprisoned. They also discovered a letter written to the Sheriff ordering him to find "the key" as it "is an important item relating to the time of the Hutaaka". This lead the PC's to believe that the Sheriff was using the cover of attacking Kobolds in their camps to find this item.

After being assured that the Sheriff would be adequately guarded, the PC's were notified that the town's newly appointed temporary Sheriff was going to send word to Kelvin requesting a regiment of guards to be sent up to pickup and bring Krennen back to Kelvin for a trial. He asked them if they would like to deliver this note themselves so they would be reassured it made it there. They accepted and prepared to make the journey to Kelvin.

 

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Session 4: Aug 24, 2008
Chapter I: A Road Frequently Traveled
Killing The Messengers

The party left Verge, the drama of Sheriff Kreenan and their battles with Kobolds behind them. Their eyes were now firmly set on getting to Kelvin to deliver a request from the new Sheriff - a request for soldiers to be sent for Kreenan. Heavily undermanned and under protected, they could spare no one to deliver him themselves. The new sheriff also hoped that upon arrival, said troops would be obligated to help with any further incursions by the Kobolds, or by Goblins for that matter. Rumors from Rifflian to the South indicated that Goblins were attacking the city there and had even been seen working side by side with Kobolds and other creatures.

By the time the party arrived in Rifflian it was apparent the city had recently been attacked, and while it was not from a force worthy of taking and/or destroying the city, it was obviously large enough to inflict serious damage.

Arriving with them were refugees from Verge, as well as the stories of their (the party's) success against the Kobolds and the corruption of Sheriff Kreenan. As word spread, they received more stares and became the focus of more and more attention. Eventually they were dragged into a tavern by an eager group of men offering to buy them drinks and wanting to hear their tales... they were less than excited, but went along with it.

It wasn't long before the Constable of Rifflian stepped into the tavern and made his way to the group. He had heard of how they had helped the people of Verge and appreciated everything they had done. He let them know that he had something they might be able to help him with as well if they were willing. They agreed to hear what he had to say at which point he offered to recommend a place to stay for the night and more information about the task in the morning.

By the end of the night, the group had all but split up and found accommodations of their own. By the next morning (with some efforts by the Constable and his men) the group had regathered to hear the plight of the Constable. He lead them to the building from which he worked and took them to a cellar where a small prison cell was located and was currently being occupied by a human wearing normal civilian clothing, but the boots of a Rifflian soldier. The Constable told the group that the man (LT. Greywall) was caught trying to steal from the city vault with the aid of Goblins. He was caught with the help from "an ally of Rifflian", for which the Constable was very grateful (though he never mentioned who the person was).

The dilemma the Constable was now faced with needed to be resolved immediately. The man, who most definitely was guilty of attempting to steal from city coffers, was a Lieutenant of Rifflian and had many supporters - people who were very loyal to him and do not believe the charges against him. The polarization in the community due to this predicament was threatening the peace at a time when the city was barely being held together after the Goblin attacks. The Constable needed to have Greywall brought from the city to Kelvin as soon as possible. However, he could not trust to send him to Kelvin under the guard of his troops - he didn't know who could and could not be trusted - this task required a third party as he saw it, especially now that he had been presented with the gift of a proven group of individuals from the North.

There were two major problems with getting Greywall out of the city however. The first was that as soon as it was known he was being taken out, the party would in all likelihood become the target of some kind of ambush from those loyal to him. Secondly, if the group wanted to use deception to get him out, there could be outrage about the tactics and those loyal to the Lieutenant may incite a full blown riot. With both of those possibilities in the light, the Constable agreed that using deception to get him out was the best method and that he would deal with the reaction as need be.

After much planning, the group decided to have an cart brought to the building as if it had been found abandoned (the building was the location for holding such things). A crate from the cart would then be brought down to the cellar (again, normal procedure). that crate would then be used to hold Greywall long enough to get him out of the city via the cart driven by false merchants (under the hire of the Constable) which the party would follow and take control of outside the city limits.

Despite some miscalculations and mis-communications by some of the Constables men, the plan worked and the group eventually arrived in Kelvin with Greywall. In Kelvin, the Wizard of the group met up with his mentor and gleaned some information about the Hutaakan civilization (Kreenen's paperwork mentioned something about a "key important to the Hutaaka" located within the Kobold stronghold - the group believes this has something to do with the key/keyhold inscribed "box" found in the stronghold). Ketana's mentor (Garicci) mentioned a friend (Mareco) of his who studied the Hutaakan civilization residing in Specularum... if they wanted to know more about the Hutaaka, they needed to speak with him.

The group then went to speak to General Pailer on behalf of the Constable of Rifflian (who wanted them to let the general know of the troubles his city had just had). The general heard (which seemed more like dismissed at the time) their concerns and sent them on their way.

At this point they decided to head to Specularum to investigate the Hutaaka connection further. While camping along Duke's Road on their first night, they were awoken by a man who called himself "Backwater". This was a man they had seen enter the room to speak with General Pailer as they left. He warned then that he was hired to kill them, and despite the fact that he accepted money for the job, killing them was not his intention - but, the General had sent troops to follow him to assure he did the job. While trying to get more information from Backwater, they were attacked by the General's men. Backwater and some of his men helped the group fight off the soldiers and took them into the woods to one of his many hideouts. At the hideout were other men and some elves, about 40 people total. Backwater informed them he had been keeping an eye on them when he heard of their deeds while he was visiting Verge.

In fact, Backwater claimed to be the grandson of a man who was a member of the Clan of the Cliffs... a group of men (outlaws according to others) who once lived in what was once the Kobold stronghold the group cleared out. His father grew up there as a boy, but the clan was forced out due to unknown events after which the kobolds moved in. It was at this point that Backwater asked to see the box. The group was hesitant at first, but he assured them he only wanted to see it and that if he wanted to take it, he could have it by way of his men. The group showed it to him. Backwater responded that he was not aware of anything about the box, but that it was simply a family heirloom/trinket he had heard of and wished to see, but at that point he grabbed at what appeared to be a necklace under his shirt - a move that made the group uneasy, despite his outward appearance that everything was normal.

That night, Roland, who carried the box, was awoken by a buzzing from his bag as well as light emitting from it. He pulled out the box which burned his hand causing it to fall to the ground. It lit the entire camp with intense light which dimmed to a large glow into which faint images of humanoid figures stepped. Their faces and hands had what appeared to be scales and their focus seemed to be on the box. Despite the fact that they seemed to be nothing more than projections, they seemed well aware of their surroundings and continued moving towards the box. He quickly put it back in his bag... the light faded, and the figures disappeared.

Backwater immediately made them pack and escorted them to the southern border of the woods. He feared his hideout had been compromised, but told them that should they need his help, he would not be far away. They then made their way to Specularum...

 

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Session 5: Sep 20, 2008
Chapter I: A Road Frequently Traveled (cont)
Against The Will, Away From Home

The party camped after leaving the forest. When they awoke, Shedian was gone. Nearby stood 3 dragonborn bearing the crest of his clan. They notified the group that he would catch up with them.

They continued to Specularum.

In Specularum, the went immediately to the library looking for the man known as Mareco, a friend to Giricci who was said to know more about the Hutaaka than anyone. However, when they reached the Library that night, he was no longer there. At this point they made their way down the street to the very large Church of Bahamet of which Grail had visited earlier. In fact, it was there that he was assigned the task to travel to Verge in the first place.

At the church Grail tried to meet with Bishop Forrimar who assigned him the task but was told he was out as well - they should try back the next morning.

The following day they returned to the Library where they spoke with Mareco. He gave them more information about the Hutaaka including what they looked like (a feline-like race), that in order to find them keys were needed (to see their valley) and finally that their box in all likelihood was a tool used to "see things that happened in the past" - basically a way to witness a history, or bits of it at a time. why it would be so sought after though he could not answer, as the value of such an item would be great to only a few people.

They then went back to the church and met with Bishop Forrimar (Ketana stayed behind at the library). Here the Bishop listened to all that Grail had to say, and even dispatched a message to Kelvin, presumably to resolve the treachery of General Pailer.

On their way out, Grail was asked to help light the candles after giving an offering. At this point, the box began to glow and hum. Roland pulled out the box as Grail ran out the door towards the library just up the street. There he grabbed Mareco (who he wanted to have witness the event) as well as Ketana. They made it back in time to see most of it which involved the scaly creatures sneaking up behind what appeared to be 4 Hutaakan wizards. These wizards appeared to be using magic to hold back a large group of the scaly creatures. Just as the stealthy scaly creatures launched their attack on the wizards, the image faded. They were then abruptly removed from the church.

The following day, they looked for work as they decided to wait a week for a friend of Mareco's to get to town who might discern more about the magic of the box. Grail heard of a work detail happening to the East at a bridge where his healing services could be of great help. Ketana stayed behind again at the Library.

The next day, Ketana is approached by a dragonborn bearing the symbol of their fellow dragonborns clan. He told Ketana that their friend was in great danger and needed the party's help to rescue him. Ketana left that night for the bridge, gathered Roland and Grail and brought them back. The next night the dragonborn approached them and they immediately left to free their friend.

Held in the back of a small warehouse building, they found him beaten and almost unconscious - it became apparent right away that he had been drugged/poisoned. Although this appeared to be some kind of trap, they freed him and fled as a group entered the building and began to chase them. The dragonborn who brought them here told them they needed to get to the pier immediately - they would have to run and look for the largest ship in the harbor which would be near a large stone building. A man there would help them when they arrived.

The chase began.

This was a skill challenge involving someone determining the best route via streetwise or perception, someone aiding the dragonborn (who was semi-unconscious) to "run" and the other person aiding either one of those two. Failures in determining the best route, or in in the athletics check of the dragonborn would lead to delays and shots being taken at the party (poisoned darts).

Roland held up their friend while Grail and Ketana lead the way through the streets. They eventually made it to the stone structure where a human wearing the clan crest of their friend directed them to a basement entrance. Inside, they moved to the back of the building where a small tunnel led through the cliff face on the other side and out to a plank that went into the large galley 2 levels below deck.

Once inside, the double hatch door was closed and they found themselves in a room with 14 others inside. It immediately became apparent that this was indeed a trap. A man here told them he knew they carried a very unique item and that they could give it to him now, or be forced to strip down and it would be taken.

After a long moment of silence, Roland jumped into action and the fight was on to get back out the way they came in... only the group was prepared. After an extended fight during which the party killed 3 of their men, the group was eventually put down by poison, or in the case of Grail, by being reduced to zero. Ketana was cornered and told to give up at which point he did.

Eventually Roland and Grail came to and were allowed to roam about the upper deck, but Roland had been relieved of the box. After a week of travel, the boat arrived in Thyatis where they were escorted off - but the fate of their dragonborn friend remains a mystery, though they heard tales from men on board that he was tied to the anchor and dropped into the sea at some point.

 

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Session 6: Sep 24, 2008
Chapter I: A Road Frequently Traveled (cont)
Oceans Apart

This session was run for Shedian by himself to catch him up to the current events.

Shedian awoke to find himself near a campfire on the beach, his friend (a fellow Dragonborn) Graxt was nearby preparing fish over the fire. He had indeed been cast over the side of the Cliff Diver attached to its anchor, and though his memories of the last few days were hazy, one of the last things he recalled seeing was Graxt jump from the side of the boat into the water to help.

They left for Thyatis immediately and arrived later that night.

Graxt led them through the darkest, most dangerous sections of Thyatis until they came to the Brackentack Inn. The Inn resided on property not owned by Thyatis and therefor was a hang out for all manner of people with devious intentions - but it was also a primary location to gather information.

After securing a room for the night the two slept but awoke and left early the next morning for their next destination - Thyatis harbor and the Cliff Diver. Graxt and Shedian made a few stops to purchase a helmet (for Shedian) as well as some new clothes with which to disguise themselves. Graxt seemed to have a plan to get on board, which he needed to do in order to gather information for his clan.

With a good amount of bluffing and intimidation, they were able to make their way aboard the boat and were given a room. Here they waited out the hours until nightfall. Graxt had explored the boat before - a custom modified galley used by the Watchers (thieves guild). There were many secret passages and escape routes which came in handy that night as they made their way from the room, up to the old captains quarters (which were no longer used and in dire need of cleaning).

In the old captains quarters, they looked through every drawer, nook and cranny all the while Graxt gathering as many documents as he could find (among other things). The pair was discovered however and a fight broke out. They won the fight, but jumped from the ship as more Watchers arrived.

Shedian had hoped to find the golden box that he heard had been taken, and as it turned out Graxt had found it and he handed it over after their escape. They went to an Inn and rested for the night.

The next morning, Graxt led Shedian to an Inn where he told him his friends were staying. Shedian entered the Inn and Graxt went on his way.

 

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Session 7: Oct 8, 2008
Chapter II: The Path to Understanding
Ghostly Companions

Shedian rejoins the group. Having regained possession of the box, he gave it back to Roland warning him that he should keep a closer eye on his belongings. He also refuses to go into detail about where he has been and who was involved, and so begins a time of mistrust between various members of the group.

Ketana remembered that Thyatis had a very large and well known library and that they may get more information there about the box. With the help of the others, he gathered a few documents related to the person previously in possession of the box. However, that had the box approximately 175 years in the past, so he definitely would no longer be around to question about it. However, the man belonged to a prestigious family who had roots in Thyatis and was tied to the temple of Archaic Studies.

The man (whose journal entries they found in the library) was named Faeleen and as it turned out, upon visiting the temple of archaic studies, he had a great grandson also named Faeleen and it was with him that they met. Faeleen knew little about the box, and only had a page or two from the journal. He allowed it to be copied and gave them a little more information on the box (what little he had). The elder Faeleen had discovered the box in a temple buried in the Malpheggi swamp far to the East along with some other items of interest (including an ancient coin of some kind) and so it was there that the group decided to leave for.

They procured passage aboard a ship said to be carrying cargo between various locations on it's way East.

The ship ride began simply enough, but after a few days it became apparent to the group that the ship had more than just the regular sailor crew... it was the home to many many ghosts. The crew knew of the ghosts, and the ghosts were benign in nature. Every four to seven days they would appear throughout the decks of the ship and make their way to the deck. Once there, they gathered around a female child ghost who would then walk off the edge of the ship - the rest of the ghosts following. And so this exact event would always play out the same according to the crew.

However, on the night before they pulled into Minrothad City, the box began to vibrate and hum as it prepared to project an image. As it did, the ghosts appeared as if summoned - they all came to watch the projected image while still ignoring anything the group themselves did. As soon as the projected image had concluded, they all turned and walked away, fading into nothing once more.

In Minrothad City, the group stepped of the ship which would be staying in the port for one night after which they intend to reboard and continue on.

 

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Session 8: Nov 8, 2008
Chapter II: The Path to Understanding
Ghostly Companions (cont)

As the crew began unloading various crates and supplies, the group decided to look for something to do. However, they were soon approached by local soldiers and a captain who had questions for them.

As it turns out, the ship they had come in on was about to be raided/confiscated for smuggling/stealing goods and they wanted to know what the group knew about the crew, the ship, destinations, etc. While talking to them, a fire broke out aboard the ship while it was being raided so the questioning ended abruptly.

The group spent the night out on the beach under what was a clear night sky. Unfortunately they were awoken in the morning by a rain storm.

The group then decided to investigate by heading to the place where the injured were being brought to. Grail offered to help out as best he could and after some fishing around found a member of the crew (someone they recognized but had never spoken to). They led him away from the location he was being cared for to question him. Needed to apply certain "interrogation" techniques, Grail was sent away for food and drinks. The crew member did not share as much as information as they had hoped and the interrogation turned into a fight which resulted in the near death of the crewman.

They returned him to the place he was taken from, which earned them some irritated looks from the caretakers there, and decided to go see about sneaking aboard the ship to investigate the fire (though they were hearing that the boat was taking on water).

Upon arriving on the docks, they could see the boat was listing to one side slightly and had sustained heavy fire damage, but had not yet sunk and by all accounts it was not going to. Before they could set a plan in motion to sneak on board, the captain found them and led them down, offering to let them check out the boat first hand.

The boat was relatively gutted, with the focus of investigation occurring down below decks, near where their quarters were. When they got there, they noticed a group huddled around a particular wall and upon closer inspection found out what the buzz was about. On one particularly burned wall was a hand print... small... the size of a small child's hand burned in white ash and surrounded by a larger white ashen circle. They immediately chalked it up to the ghostly girl, but did not share this information with anyone.

That night they stayed in a nearby Inn. In the middle of the night, Ketana was awoken by a whispering. It was the ghost girl who at the same time was 'pawing' at his bag for what they assumed was the box. Upon pulling it out, the ghostly girl touched the box and triggered some kind of projection, only this time the circumstances were very different. For one, the box did not heat up and two, it was not projecting light of any kind, although an image was very obviously playing out before them.

The projection was that of a ship, whose passengers (relatively wealthy looking humans) appeared to be shackled to a chain, which was attached to the anchor which then was suddenly cast overboard yanking to the ocean all of those attached. Off to the side, there were more people watching, crying, or looking away and the focus came in on one particular woman holding a baby. The ghostly girl reached for her, but the image faded causing her to let out a very high pitched screech before suddenly disappearing.

Ketana began a ritual to comprehend the language he heard the girl whispering. It was something being said over and over again so he had it memorized, but the language was only vaguely familiar to him. when the ritual was completed he came to understand her whispering as, "I will find you, and I will kill you".

The next day, the group was offered a ride aboard a merchant ship by the captain who had been questioning them. They took him up on the ride, but on the second night, the ghostly girl appeared on deck startling the crew. As she made her way downstairs, the crew followed. She went all the way down to the room of the group and disappeared. This got them in a lot of trouble. They were held in their rooms until the morning.

That morning the captain of the ship put them on a smaller row boat and his crew rowed them to the nearby shore of Safari Island (In the Kingdom of Ierendi). There they were left, although they were given directions to the nearby village of Pupami.

They traveled through the day arriving at night and finding the village completely abandoned. Only the light in an upstairs window of the Inn offered any hope of company. when they entered the room, they found a lantern lit, but also the body of a human male who also happened to be missing a large portion of the back of his head. At that moment, they heard screeching outside and witnessed 5 creatures charging toward the Inn. They were humanoid in figure, running on 2 legs with claws for fingers, black skin, and no facial features (except for a slit for a mouth).

The group quickly prepared the room for combat just in time for the creatures to arrive trying to force themselves in. By the time the first one finally made it through the door, two more burst in through the windows of the room and the fight was on.

After defeating these creatures, the ghostly girl appeared holding the hand of another ghost... the ghost of the man on the ground. This ghost, however, could see the group (or at least didn't ignore them) and even talk to them. He did not remember anything really other than one moment writing in his journal and the next wandering the upstairs portion of the Inn as a ghost.

The group gathered the journal which was downstairs, at which point Jacob (the ghost) discovered that he could join them downstairs as well now. Piecing the journal together for Jacob he read and began to remember what happened. Him and his friend Markeen had been sent to Pupami to investigate the disappearance of a number of villagers which eventually led to them abandoning the village. He had sent Markeen for supplies in the southern village of Kobos, so he might still be there. Also in the journal they discovered that these black creatures were inactive during the day and that more had been discovered at a tower to the south.

Heading there, they passed another creature (it was now daylight) who stood completely still, it's face staring towards the sky. As an experiment they touched it and it prang to life attacking them, but they quickly ended its life.

At the tower they found more of the same and quickly dispatched of a large group of them on the second floor.

On the fourth floor they found a room with a floating black and glowing orb in the center of the room and an elderly man on the other side of it. There were also black figures in this room chained to chairs. Upon noticing them, the man eventually ran up some stairs to the roof, blocking his exit with a gate.

Suddenly in another corner of the room a monster sprung on the group. IT was a large gorilla-looking creature with horns - some kind of demon. They defeated it and made their way to the roof where the elderly man leaped to his death.

Jacob the Ghost appeared while they rested and let them know that Markeen needed to see this orb in the room - it was very important.

They left for Kobos, found Markeen, and brought him to the tower. He indeed needed to see the orb telling the group that him and Jacob had come across a number of these and had been destroying them via a ritual that the group would now need to help him with - enter a skill challenge.

Ketana read from an ancient scroll while the three others held a stone (from Markeen) each and stood one in each of three etched circles around the orb. Ketana needed to read without distraction and the others needed to not leave their circle and remain as still as possible. This became very hard to do when two rounds in 12 demon-like birds emerged from the orb and began attacking them all (making their checks harder).

Eventually they succeeded and from the orb emerged two demons which put up a great fight but were eventually defeated, and the orb was destroyed.

They decided to rest in the tower as they let Markeen investigate the box to see if he could give them any information on it.

 

[weem]

Session 9: Dec (Date Unknown)
Chapter III: Temple Bound
Back On Solid Ground

The players leave the island and get back to the mainland arriving in the coastal town of Athenos. Here they discover someone has arrived within the last few days and is highering many locals to help with an expedition into the swamp.

When they seek out this person, they find that it is Faeleen. Having told the players of the temple in the swamp, he decided to head there himself and offer to go with them as a partner. If they could simply escort him in to recover an item (he said what it was specifically was his business) then he would provide the support to maintain a presence at the site allowing them (the players) to gather, safely store, and eventually return with them to town any treasures they may discover within.

They agreed and were off the next day...

...a week later (and after a few encounters with crocs of varying sizes, among other things) they arrived where the temple was said to be. The problem was, the temple was not there, and in its place stood a large ominous black fortress. Upon further inspection of the outer parameter of the front (the rest was buried in the hill behind it or under large amounts of foliage) the fortress seemed to have appeared there at some point, pushing large amounts of earth out of it's way.

They moved inside to investigate this mysterious fortress...