"I'll be OK, I can fly!"
Our brave heroes have returned the Book of Illusion to Talis the White, and are just about to quiz the cultist for the information they need before they continue their mission (ill-fated, according to Talis) to destroy the cult, recover the Greenest hoard and stop the return of Tiamat. Oh, and kill Rezmir and Azbara Jos. Especially the killing part.
Starring, in order they sit around the table:
Nyvan, (played by Jason) a elven knight who isn't particularly fond of fighting mages.
Venmir, (played by Brett) an elven clergyman who is far more argumentative than he thinks he is.
Sigurd, (played by Iain) a travelling swordsman, resistant to short rests, but prone to sighing and silent "I told you so's".
Rodin, (played by Lorne) the sullen dwarven axeman, who always has a reason for running away, and doesn't mind a dead gnome.
Nandrin, (played by Hilton), the world's most polite elven mage, a scholar of dragons, who would love to study one, just so long as it's not alive.
and The DM, (played by Alex), who loves to comment in blue. And writes this blog. He's also a bit of a git and likes to make life difficult for his players.
We are approaching the end of the particular module and the party have really got a steep task ahead of them. Tonight's adventure is not combat-heavy, but there is plenty to keep them busy - and let's face it, this lot could get into a fight in a room on their own! We start with a slight step backwards, and join the party just after they meet with Talis again.
They stood in Talis' parlour, having given her the Book of Illusion. She smiled at them like a cat smiles at a mouse. They most scowled back. Nandrin still hopped from one foot to another, nervous at the warlike dress of their host.
Talis told them about the Castle. It was a flying castle, controlled by a Cloud Giant almost 25 foot tall. There were several other giants in the castle, together with many guards; ogres for the giants, and cultists for the cult leaders.
She gave them the password to enter the castle, "Tiamat, our mother and strength", and offered them an alternative in case Skyreach Castle had already flown from its place near a town called Parnast nearby. She gave them the chance to return and take her wyverns to fly up to the castle - but this was a last resort. She gave them a five-coloured banner which they might find useful.
"We know enough. Time to go." said Sigurd.
Talis dismissed them, unnecessarily, but asked Nyvan and Venmir to hang back.
"I just wanted to apologise again." she said, "and make sure you had all the information you need."
She went on to explain how there were five Wyrmspeakers:
Severin the Red
Galvan the Blue
Neronvain the Green
Rezmir the Black
Varram the White
"If you do nothing else, I must ask that you terminate Varram, if no-one else. He took my role, and he is not deserving. He is a snivelling pathetic dwarven wretch - and he should die. Make he knows I betrayed him."
"I would love to." replied Nyvan.
She told them how the cult had been amassing a huge army in the south. "Be wary,," she added. "You would not want to find yourself in it's midst. Is there anything else you need?"
"Yes," said Venmir, "why can't we have your wyverns now? That would make it so much easier."
"No. You should go for the castle now. The wyverns are a last resort."
"But it would save us so much time. I don't see what the problem is."
"The problem is that if you end up taking my wyverns, then they will not return to me. They are stupid, fickle beasts, and if you set them free, they will find a new home and I'll never see them again."
"Give us the wyverns."
"No. I think I have helped enough."
"I don't think you've helped us at all! I would suggest...."
"ENOUGH!" screamed Talis. "I have had enough of your ungrateful ways! You are to leave my home immediately - and if I see you again, Venmir, then I will kill you. Leave. Now. Wessic, escort Venmir from the house."
Venmir walked slowly from the room. Wessic, the manservant/bodyguard, lead him to the door and bade him farewell. "Sleep far from the house," he said, "As Trepsin often traverses the local woods, and he has no soft spot for you or your friends. Alone, he would do for you."
"Mind your own business!" snapped the cleric, as he walked into the woods.
Nyvan stood by, awkwardly. He and Talis spoke for a while, before Nyvan made his excuses and walked away to meet the others.
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They left the next morning.
After a few hours walk, they met Venmir waiting for them in the woods. Sigurd decided not to mention that he'd found troll tracks, from a massive troll, which had followed Venmir for quite some time before turning back.
They travelled on to Parnast.
When they reached the small village, they stopped to scope out the place. Several larger building formed a square, around a well, and more small homes formed an outer ring. to the south, a huge magnificent Castle stood, shrouded in mist. It's walls were 40 foot high, and the towers even higher. It dominated the village, yet people walked along, ignoring it entirely. Several guards stood around the well.
The party spent some time deliberating what to do. They decided to unfurl the banner and head into the village, after questioning a local got them no useful information at all.
Within moments, one of the guards ran over. "What are you playing at! Put that away! Do what you need to do, but put that away." They quickly put away the banner. After a brief questioning, the party moved on.
Their plan involved heading straight to the Castle, so they went across the village square quickly. As they were about to leave the square, Nyvan noticed the local wheelwright watching them. He tilted his head to the side, summoning the party closer. As Venmir walked over, he loudly proclaimed that he could fix any wagons and asked them inside to look over his wares. Rodin and Nandrin watched the door, trying to look inconspicuous.
The wheelwright turned out to be one of the few non-cultists in the village. He begged for their help to clean his village up. He explained how the cult had taken over the village over the last year, and that their leader, Captain Othelstan, was a dangerous man. He told them there were wyverns in the stables, and that none of the guards could be trusted.
"We will do what we can." promised Nyvan.
They left, to a loud fanfare of promises about how great his shop was.
They went straight to the Castle gates. It was huge, with a large portcullis and drawbridge, while two massive stone guardians stood both inside and outside the gatehouse. As they walked inside, Nyvan mouthed the passphrase and walked through. The others were about to follow when Nandrin suggested they all speak the password. After a brief dispute over the exact words, they all walked into the castle unmolested.
They quickly made their way through the massive courtyard, ignoring most of the buildings, although they passed one room in which two huge humanoids, easily 20 foot tall, stood around a table sized for them, one reading a book, the other stirring a massive cauldron. They continued heading for a large opening in the back, which lead to stairs going up and down. They chose to go down inside the mountain.
They found themselves walking along ice tunnels, and inside the walls they saw armour, weapons, furniture, and later, even kobolds and ogres - frozen and very, very dead.
They continued, only slightly perturbed.
Before long, they ignored a passageway leading down and filled with a cold wind, then found themselves standing above a huge cavern. Huge amounts of gold and jewellery covered the floor. The party gaped and then noticed they were not alone. A massive white dragon clung to the ceiling and was watching them closely. It started to crawl along the ceiling, among the stalactites.
"Oh! Hello! You must have my lunch for me! How delightful. I'm starving!" called the dragon.
Rodin, the mighty dwarven warrior, and Nandrin, the eager dragon scholar, both turned tail and ran down the corridor without a moment's hesitation. They later claimed it was prudence, rather than out and out fear.
Nyvan and Sigurd, were a little more measured, slowly retreating in the face of the massive beast. Venmir stood for a moment, as if to challenge the beast, before he took a gentle trot down the corridor.
The voice of the beast thundered after them. "Not even a single kobold? Come on! I want my lunch. Even one of you would be a tasty treat!" They could hear the beast trying to squeeze itself into the corridor, ice grinding against its massive wings.
Even the most dignified of walks turned into a run as the voice faded away behind them.
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They went back up the stairs, towards the upper level, bypassing the floor they'd entered on. As they walked, the ground shook beneath their feet and they felt a strange vibration through the ground. After a while, a horn sounded through the Castle, and the ground suddenly lurched under their feet. They were airborne!
They emerged on the upper level to find themselves in a massive courtyard like the floor below - except instead of cultists practising, the place was full of ogres. They quickly headed for a pale blue tower rising from the rock, following a path up the massive boulder which formed the base of the entire castle. When they got to the top, they found themselves stuck in front of a huge door, locked, with no apparent way inside.
They looked up to see two distant figures on top of the tower. Sigurd motioned for them to come and open the door, and one of them disappeared from sight. The party waited patiently, and were surprised to see the ogre reappear at the rampart, this time clutching a massive rock, which he hurled down at them, while his companion made a few clearly-rude hand gestures. The rock shattered on the floor, sending shards of rock about the place, cutting into some of the heroes. They beat a hasty, confused, retreat.
They were briefly interrogated by an ogre captain, and bluffed their way past to make a hasty retreat down the stairs. Doubts started to creep in among some of the less brave of the group - Rodin.
They took the chance to investigate some of the rooms around the courtyard, finding a chaotic kitchen, filled with kobolds and watched eagerly by a hungry looking griffon. There was a cultist barracks, and a large stable which was so dark they decided not to investigate the noises coming from the corners.
They were alarmed when a squad of troopers ran over to them, but it turns out that they were merely being warned of intruders in the castle! The irony was not lost on them....well, not lost on most of them anyway.
They passed through some double doors into a long, wide corridor with doors on either side. They went straight for the double doors at the end, hoping to find Rezmir. They walked into a large room which was full of furniture, lecterns, desks, awful stone statues of mythical beasts, chairs and stools. On the far side of the room stood two men, both in long red robes, deep in debate on a topic far beyond any of the group. One of them was Azbara Jos!
Azbara leaned over to the other and whispered in his ear. The other turned to face the party as they filed into the room and spread out in a semi-circle.
"Ahh, so the intruders have decided to grace....." said the other mage...
At that precise moment, Sigurd began to cast a spell and it all kicked off.
Nandrin pointed his hand at the mages and a small ball of fire sped across the room, before dissipating feet away from them. Nandrin wept into his robes a little. Rodin ran across the room, right up to Azbara, licking his lips at the prospect of fighting a puny mage. The mage flung his own fireball back at the party and it exploded in their midst, singing most of our intrepid intruders. Azbara let loose a mighty thunder strike and it blasted Rodin up into the air, and he landed 15 feet away. One of the hulking gargoyles came to life and charged at the prone dwarf, clawing and biting at him. Sigurd's spell finished casting and, like Nandrin, he was dismayed to find it had no effect. He advanced on their foes. Venmir's arrows sped across the room, thumping into Azbara. Nyvan charged across the room, his javelin barely missing the magicians.
Nandrin cast another spell, and was horrified to see it had no effect. What sorcery protected these two foul wizards! Rodin clambered to his feet and began to chop away at his rocky foe. One mage conjured a series of small golden arrows which thudded into Rodin, eliciting a scream of outrage. The other cast a spell, freezing Nyvan to the spot. He glared in frustration. Venmir continued firing arrows, hitting Azbara again.
Realising he had few options, Nandrin reached into his robe and pulled out the strange wand he'd gotten from Sigurd in the Von Galuss mansion. He pointed it at Azbara Jos and was disappointed to see nearly the entire room suddenly sprout lush green grass a foot and a half tall. He shook his head. Nyvan fought against his paralysis, fighting free and charging the mage, just as the mage let loose a massive barrage of magic missiles, slamming them into the paladin.
Sigurd ran up to Azbara Jos and slashed across the mage's chest with his blade, and the party collectively sighed in relief as the red wizard fell. Rodin finished off the gargoyle.
Nyvan ran up to the remaining mage, winding up a mighty blow, only to realise at the last second that it was just an illusion. The back wall of the room faded and there, stood at the far side of the room, on a platform open to the elements, stood the other mage. Venmir's arrow missed him.
He sneered at the from across the room.
"I will not allow myself to be manhandled by the likes of you!" he screamed in rage, before stepping backwards off the platform and disappearing from view.
The party stood for a moment, before gathering their thoughts. There was an extended debate about what to do next. Venmir and Nandrin were pushing for a rest, while Sigurd objected. The other two watched, amused.
"Nothing good ever comes of a short break in a dungeon." stated Sigurd, quite clearly, but the others outvoted him and they all sat down to rest.
After a few minutes rest, Sigurd was proved right as their rest was interrupted by two cultists walking into the room.
"Master Modar..." began one, before quickly stopping. They turned and ran.
The cultists barely made it twenty feet from the door before a volley of magic, arrows, and javelins stopped them in their tracks. Sigurd watch proceedings with an unspoken but clearly noticeable "I told you so".
Sigurd then proposed getting rid of the bodies over the platform edge, and they started moving the bodies. As they left the hallway, they were amazed to see Nandrin completely ineffectually mopping up blood with a piece of parchment.
"I thought it would work!" he cried, as the others shook their heads and walked back into the room.
He mumbled under his breath as he followed them back into the room.....
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