Session 31: Terry and the Tower
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Celceor The Wise; Elf Mage (Dave M.)
Nick; Human Rogue (Dave P)
Fafnir; Human Barbarian (Jon C.)
Werkle of Dinnsmere; Dwarf Fighter (Al)
Bent Bullswaggit; Dwarf Mage/Bard (Brook)
Tok; Half-Orc Druid (Jon P)
Ereyn Bane; Half-Elf Rogue (Mike D/NPC.)
Eggo of the Holy Brotherhood; Human Cleric (NPC)
The party rest a little bit after the Ettin attack and then presses onward hoping Terrence can lead them to the tower. An hour or so later, the Mages Archives appeared before the party. Some sort of illusion magic was at work, only allowing those close to it to see it. This would be the reason why it was so difficult to find. It is a modest tower (more lighthouse style than classic spire) – joined to a squat round building made of grey stones of this region. Perched upon a small cliff that plunges down to the churning sea below. On the southern side of the building there are some stone steps that if you walked down them would lead you to fall down the cliff. The front door is smooth and featureless and after some time trying to figure out how to open it, the party gave up and turned to other ideas.
Bane remembered he had boots of levitation and went on the roof of the lower section, finding a hatch that is locked. The lock was picked and the hatch was opened. The Tower is well sealed and the air is stagnant. No light sources come from inside. Below the hatch is a rickety wooden staircase leading down to a 2nd floor level. This room is either a small library or a large study. Bookshelves line the outer wall. In the middle of the room is a statue with a couple of valuables (two gems and one black silk do-rag) placed upon it. There are a couple of tables here, but no chairs. Two doors lead away from there, one leads to a kitchen, the other leads to what must have been a bed room. The stairs also continue downward. The statue is ignored for now though noted for its valuables. On the main floor, there is a passage way leading to the main tower. There is a small, narrow entryway on the north wall that leads to the other side of the smooth front door. The door is smooth on this side as well. There is a fine red pull rope here, which leads up into a hole in the ceiling. Some more searching and experimenting happens. Nick pulls the red rope. A LOUD CLANG rings throughout the tower. Some people sigh, some prep for battle, and Bane hides. There is a large spiral staircase going up from this room and a set of small spiral stairway near the entranceway. At the top of the small spiral stairs is another hatch (easily unlocked from the inside) which leads to a modest watch-room. There are tall, narrow windows looking out in every direction. There is a rotting desk here, and the frame of a rotting bed. This room was not sealed, and the furniture has obviously decayed in the years this place has stood empty. Also here is a black, cast-iron bell about the size of a large bowl. It hangs from a rope, which leads down to the front door. There is another rope nearby. The second rope is the one that opens the front door.
Back in the library with the statue: The books are still on the shelves, but otherwise the place is devoid of furniture. The kitchen has a stove and a table, but otherwise the place is empty. The sleeping room is bare. This place was obviously stripped clean before it was abandoned, and it has remained sealed and unspoiled since then. Celceor, Norvus, and Bent go through all the books. Bent finds some local lore and poetry. Celceor and Norvus find the following:
History of the Dwarfs: They learn the location of the shaft dug by the dwarves who imprisoned Fiore. The site is less than a day from here.
Book describing research of never ending blindness. How to do it, how to cure it, and the research Pallan Lorman did to trap the queen. Details what he was going to do it.
Books describing and confirming the history of the island as laid out in the Book of Norvus.
Spell scrolls for mages
Book written by Songmage Forwinol : It details the magic he added to Mordan’s Phylactery in order to trap him. It details the steps needed to place the orb onto a container in order to turn it into a trap for the Lich. The orb magic is quite beyond anyone in the party, but the trapping procedure is easily understood. Using the book as a guide, they could return to Mordan’s tomb and (assuming they could get in and reach his original prison) affix it to his coffin once more
The statue now holds Nick and Fafnir’s attention. Everyone else leaves the room. Each item has a Glyph of Warding on it and three Sonic BOOMS go off hurting Nick and Fafnir. Effective strategy, but painful. To be fair, they didn’t know it was trapped.
The party rests and elect to go to the excavation site to see if they can lift the curse on the island. Norvus says behind in the archives. From Mages Tower they head due north for most of the day, and then turn west and travel along the base of the southern cliff. Have them find some subtle hints, some indications of long-past excavations. Moving on, they spot more such signs, which lead them to a heap of loose rocks - nearly gravel - piled against the side of the mountain. Into the cliff face they can see the faded carving of a number of Dwarven runes. They only see half of the runes, the bottom half of the letters is hidden beneath the dusty rocks. They clear away the rocks and sort out what the runes say. When Werkle reads the inscription there is a rumbling sound. A semicircle crevice appears over the heap of rocks.
It is a round door built into the face of the cliff with the opening words carved into the center. The rocks were piled here, or fell from the face of the mountain, and covered the lower half of the door.The door is no longer working right, most likely due to the debris stacks against it. It cracks, then splits, then tumbles inward.
Behind the door is a tunnel, reaching into the heart of the mountain. The tunnel work is not a proper Dwarven mining tunnel. This was dug carelessly and in great haste. The work is rough and ugly to Dwarfen eyes.
The tunnel branches off from time to time.
Let’s skip the maze. The upshot here was that the tunnel would often fork off. The players eventually figure out that the Dwarves who dug this were trying to dig in a straight line, but were sometimes thwarted by rotten rock, flooding, and cave-ins, and were thus obliged to back up and route around the bad spot. Though they always took the fork for most of this maze, they figured it out by luck. Oh well.
There were three Earth Elementals of increasing strength in this maze. I thought I gave the party an easy out for the last, HUGE elemental, but alas, the tool I gave wasn’t used. Bent ended up being crushed (-26 hp) and passed from this world. RIP Bent! Tok took some serious wounds but ended up living. (DM mistake caused Tok’s death, wave the magic DM hand, Tok lives!) All the elementals were put down and the party continued on.
The tunnel continues forward and slightly downwards for what seems like miles. At last they come to an open chamber, illuminated with a faint green glow. In the center of the room is a steel box of obvious Dwarven make, and a little smaller than the height of a Dwarf. The box is bathed in magic.
Even here, deep in the sunless underground, the floor is thick with soft grass. Vines climb up the walls of the chamber. The pools of water in the room have lily pads floating in them.
Around the room is a not insignificant haul of treasure. Dwarven weapons and armor, slightly worn and tarnished by their long years in this cave, are in neat stacks around the room. A shirt of fine chain spread out on the floor. A shield rests neatly atop of it, and a hammer is laid across its breast. These stacks are not heaped here without purpose. These are most likely memorials to the Dwarves who perished in the making of this tunnel.
There are also heaps of other treasure in the room. There are very old gold coins here, minted by some long-dead kingdom. There are also rough bits of (they assume) valuable ore or rough gems, most likely broken loose and piled here in this chamber. It is unclear why the Dwarves, who waged such war for control of the mountain and its riches, would then leave so much behind.
This was never explained to the players, but the idea is that Fiore put a curse on the treasure of the mountain. The Dwarves were brave in the face of this, but also wanted to dodge their punishment if they could. They sort of hoped that the curse would only apply to the stuff in this room where the curse was imposed, and that by leaving this stuff behind they would then be free to loot the rest of the mountain with impunity. Obviously that didn’t work.
The box is covered in many cruel Dwarven runes, which seem to be giving off the light they are seeing. It is sealed shut and wrapped in many chains and locks. The runes are magical, whatever magic was used in the making of this thing, it is well beyond any of them.
They gather around the box in the dim green light of the cave.
Then they hear a whisper. The voice sends chills through them. It is a feminine voice, barely audible, coming from the box. It is the voice of Fiore.
The players hear the voice of Fiore. It is a very quiet (they can’t even tell if it is truly audible or simply in their minds) but it is also potent. It is a cold, feminine voice.
The conversation with her went on for a while. The players worked out that yes, this really is the Fiore of old. Yes, she was imprisoned by the Dwarves. Yes, she created the curse. Yes, this box is a prison for her spirit which blocks all of her supernatural power. Her power only extends far enough to fill this room with grass (which she sort of can’t help, actually) and allow her to “speak” to anyone within a few feet of the box. She wasn’t aware that her power helped create the elementals
They inform Fiore that they want to free her. Then one of them asks if the box could contain the spirit\Orb of Mordan. She thanks them and believes that if the box could hold her, it should hold something less powerful. However, she warns them that they should be quick. Once she is out she is going to kick everyone off of the mountain. Once she is released, they should run. For their lives.
They agree. Celceor does his magic thing. Nick picks the locks. The lid is pulled back, and a brilliant light floods out. The ground begins to shake. They pitch the Orb of Mordan into the box and they quickly shut once again, the box begins locking itself. Then they make a mad dash for the surface. Fafnir and Bane grab the chain mail, hammer, and shield. Nick scopes up some gold and gems. As they run, they can feel the tunnel collapsing behind them.
They charge out of the broken stone doorway into the late afternoon light. The ground is shaking violently and a gargantuan column of black soot is shooting out of the mountain. The invaders that have made their homes and fortunes on the slopes of Fiore for the past few centuries are going to leave, or die.
They head south as quickly as possible. It is snowing ash. They are tired but they press on, not wanting to rest at the foot of the mountain in its fury. After dark the mountain subsides. Ash fills the air. Light can barely penetrate the black fog.
By morning they draw near the sea and find they are at last escaping the cloud. They have been awake and on the move for over twenty-four hours by now. They are coated in ash, bruised, and weary.
Mordan’s Orb is imprisoned in a magic-proof box which was strong enough to hold a being as mighty as Fiore. That box in now buried in the unreachable depths of the mountain, and they alone know where it is. This is probably an even better prison than his former one, although they still need to see to the difficult job of getting him into it. They still need to defeat Mordan one last time. If he is struck down now, his spirit will reform within the box, and he will be trapped forever.
The curse of the mountain is also lifted. Everyone wonders what effect this will have on the Queen and her minions.
Norvus lets everyone into the archives for a well deserved rest.
The session ended there. I will provide the results of Identify on the four magic items found in a separate thread.
XP:
Combat XP: 4,900 (700xp Per Player)
Story XP: 15,050 (2,150xp Per Player)
RP XP: Case by case
Bonus Awards: Case by case
Celceor The Wise; Elf Mage (Dave M.) XP Start: 21,116xp
Combat: 700xp
Story: 2,150xp
RP: 50xp
XP for Session: 2,900xp
XP Total: 24,016xp
Nick; Human rogue (Dave P.) XP Start: 17,248xp
Combat: 700xp
Story: 2,150xp
RP: 50xp
XP for Session: 2,900xp
Total: 20.148
Fafnir; Human Barbarian (Jon C) XP Start: 15,259xp
Combat: 700xp
Story: 2,150xp
RP: 50xp
For Session: 2,900xp
Total: 18,159xp
Werkle of Dinnsmere; Dwarf Fighter (Al) XP Start: 16,250xp
Combat: 700xp
Story: 2,150xp
RP: 50xp
Bonus: 500xp – pointed out that Mordan’s
Orb should go into the Dwarf magic proof box
For Session: 3,400xp
Total: 19,650xp
Eggo of the Holy Brotherhood; Human Cleric (NPC) XP Start: 14,233xp
Combat: 700xp
Story: 2,150xp
For Session: 2,850xp
Total: 17,083xp (Level 6th)
Ereyn Bane; Human Rogue (Mike D.) XP Start: 14,892xp
Combat: 700xp
Story: 2,150xp
RP: 50xp
For Session: 2,900xp
Total: 17,792xp (Level 6th)
Tok: Half-Orc Druid (Jon P) XP Start: 7,690xp
Combat: 700xp
Story: 2,150xp
RP: 50xp
Bonus: 50xp – Had a good idea, but I forgot what it was, I gave him a chip for it
For Session: 2,950xp
Total: 10,640xp (Level 5th)
Bent, Dwarf
Wizard/Bard - RIP