Dmitri
Land Owner
D&D Geeks of the World Unite!
Posts: 1,466
|
Post by Dmitri on Nov 22, 2010 21:57:29 GMT -5
The party spent some time discussing the current situation in Llogres, the war, and the monsters, with Cador, the leader of the guard that had stopped them. Cador chatted with them a bit, revealing that it was generally believed that Tegid had summoned or conjured the demon creatures that the party calls Coranyid. He also referred to Meldron as "the Betrayer" and talked about Nall's "big announcement" at the Beltane festival coming soon. He also revealed that a type of draft has been introduced, and he is missing his farmlands and hives. Cador took the party then to Caer Lyndon, and got them situated. They arranged to meet later for dinner and drinks.
Upon entrance to Caer Lyndon, it became apparent that there were a number of different things in this town. The gates were decorated with angular motifs, unlike the usual knotwork whorls of Albion. A number of the people were dressed oddly, and seemed shorter, smaller, and uglier than normal. There are some people traveling in heavier armors than you are used to seeing in this world.
Upon entrance, the party was directed to report to a man who would assess the value of their trade goods. They did this, and were asked whether they intended to pay in coin or in goods. They paid in goods, and Kerne received some coin as a sample, in exchange for a few gems. Some of the coin was machined well, like that of Alba and bore the stamp of Vortigern, but other bits was roughly crafted, and of uneven weight and bore a stylized C on it - a letter recognizable by the party, but not by the people of Albion who lack a true written language. The party paid a pound of gold, and returned to the market place.
When the party got there, they found out that they had been swindled, and had not gotten the placard that they needed to post in order to sell goods. Upon returning to the tax office, they were charged again, and this time a bit of menacing intimidation on the part of Valel convinced the collector to part with all the necessary markers. The man was smaller and weaker looking, as were his companions, unlike the Albion natives. They returned to the market, and sold a few items before closing time.
A little after dusk, a man approached, much like the collector, but this time selling guards. He offered a guard, or several, or better yet, one of the elite ones - a warforged. These were Cedric's best he said. They did not take one at first, but a few of the party stayed with the wagon all night. Paden and Balla went to a wayhouse (tavern) to meet up with Cador and a few friends for some drinks and conversation.
During conversation, the talk turned to the oddity of the party. A woman walking around with a bear? The guard using a chain with spikes/blades on it? They also talked about the symbol on Cador's armband, and compared it to the amulets the party got from the Elder. The conversation turned to Cador's family, and it was revealed that his father was from Celyddon, and married a woman of Llogres. When in his cups, he would talk of having wandered out of the mountains near Brynnagh (the village where Kerne lived), originally coming from another world, a different place entirely, though similar to Albion. He grew stronger, and took the Gorgryvain as his symbol and crest, which had been given to him by a man in the mountains.
At this point Paden revealed the party's origin to Cador and his men (Rhys, Alain, and Dahl). They showed no shock, indicating that they had guessed something was odd about them, and that they had something which they needed to show to the party. They left the inn, and went north out of Caer Lyndon, gathering up the rest of the party on the way. They made their way through a thick forest, to a cave. When they entered, they found a small chamber, with high piled furs and blankets along the back wall. Cador told the party of how, ten days before, he and his men had been on patrol in this area and had come upon several of the Coranyid in a clearing, which they fought and defeated, though they lost two men in the process. The Coranyid had been attacking a man, now unconscious and bloody, dying, on the ground.
They brought him to the cave, thinking to tend to his wounds and then return him to the city, as well as tending to their fallen friends. They could not save their comrades, but they did manage to save the wounded stranger. He spoke with them a little, which is why they left him here rather than taking him back to the city. He told of another city, a king who ruled all of Albion (though he called it Alba) and a pillar of blue fire during an earthquake. It was during this event that he found himself here, and it didn't take but a little while for the Coranyid to surround him.
When the party looked at him closely, they recognized the man, and the insignia on a cloak that he was now using as a blanket. It was Captain Bran Gauss, of Aquae Sulis.
|
|
Dmitri
Land Owner
D&D Geeks of the World Unite!
Posts: 1,466
|
Post by Dmitri on Dec 30, 2010 11:33:10 GMT -5
The session picked up with a long conversation with Bran, filling him in on the events that had happened to the party, and finding out about his situation. Bran remembered the earthquake in Aquae Sulis, and running with several of his men, as well as his closest friends and companions, towards the fires. They saw the pillar of blue flame descend on the warehouse, and they were eventually caught in its flames as they tried to help some people and fight the natural fires. When Bran woke up, he was in this world, with a single companion, one of his lower level men. Of his friends, he had no sign. He wandered southeast for a while, until he came into this forest, and was eventually surrounded by Coranyid. They killed his companion, and he fought a running retreat for a while, until he arrived in a clearing, and was knocked unconscious. The next thing he knew, he woke up here.
His friends names are Drustwn, Garanaw, Rhoedd, Emir, and Calbha. Both Paden and Balla recognize these names from ancient legends - Paden specifically recalls them as being slightly altered forms of names of companions of Llew Llaw Eraint. Valel and Kernie have never heard of these names before. Ayvlen vaguely recalls them from Northern stories in her childhood, but without any detail.
At Aquae Sulis being mentioned, Cador started a little... and then asked for someone to translate for him, speaking to Bran. He asked of Calbha, for a description. It was given, and it soon, through a bit of intermediary conversation, became clear that Calbha was in fact Cador's father.
Thinking that this was the opportune moment to make an ally, Paden and Ayvlen tried to convince Cador to shelter and protect Bran. They reasoned that the prophecy indicated that "under raven's wings a throne is established" and Bran was lying under a Raven cloak. Anyway, after a lot of convincing and cajoling, and pointing out the difference between duty to smaller community versus duty to larger community, Ayvlen finally provided the ending argument. Cador agreed to talk to his men, and arrange for Bran's movement North, towards Celyddon. Alun Tridargad, the one of his men with him at that moment in the cave, encouraged him to do so as well. Cador then left with Alun, to go and talk to Rhys and Dahl and discover what they were going to do.
The party spent the night and early day with Bran, and Cador came back with Rhys and Alun. He informed everyone that he would be sending Rhys and Alun northeast with Bran to Caer Mor, where Cador would meet them after settling his affairs in Caer Lindon. Then they would head to Caer Myrddin, a settlement in Celyddon on the edge of the great forest. His parting words were that the party had better be certain that this was needful - he and Rhys and Alun had been forced to kill Dahl to keep him from turning them all in.
The party then traveled to Caer Rath, their destination for the Beltaine festival. There they found a small settlement, a farming community, preparing for the arrival of Cedric. They were excited and apprehensive, wishing for the return of their conscripted soldiers. They were also a little upset that Nall had shown up already, and taken to staying in the forest, neglecting their hospitality. To the south east of town there was a large tumulus or cromclech, with a single entrance with a large stone rolled in front. To the southwest of the town, there was a large forest, which Balla explored overnight. She discovered three things of note:
a cave guarded by three warriors...
Nall's camp, guarded by nearly a dozen warriors and laborers...
and a ball of glowing magical light.
While Paden and Valel worked with the townsfolk on the preparations for the festival, Kerne examined the cromlech surreptitiously. Since they were not sure what to do with the ball of light, they let it be for now. He auguried the entrance with the casting bones, and got a result of "weal and woe" for the results of removing the stone. Meanwhile, Balla sat with the wagon and traded some goods - they had no currency here. Ayvlan explored the cave with some invisibility and stealthy movement.
In the cave, she discovered a central chamber, with two other chambers leading off of it. The right hand passage led to a small chamber like a storeroom. In it there were foodstuffs, tools, and some archaic armor and weaponry, heavy and made of bronze. In the lefthand passage, she discovered a stone slab, with several bronze and obsidian daggers and other such objects. On the slab was a man in what appeared to be a catatonic state, breathing shallowly. He was unmoving, but unrestrained. On inspection it became clear that the slab was a sacrificial alter of a kind unknown to Albion or to Alba. It seemed to have been used recently and cleaned. Ayvlan heard the guards go into the right chamber and get some food, and then leave again.
|
|
Dmitri
Land Owner
D&D Geeks of the World Unite!
Posts: 1,466
|
Post by Dmitri on Jan 24, 2011 11:48:46 GMT -5
Ayvlen left the cave, still under cover of her invisibility wand, without much difficulty. She returned to the town, and met up with the rest of the party, reporting on what she had seen. After a short debate, the party decided that the next plan of action should be for Balla and Ayvlen to investigate the camp of the Archdruid a little more thoroughly - Balla in wildshape and Ayvlen using her skills at stealth. They discovered a few interesting tidbits:
1) the men in this camp seem to use armor and arms like those in the cave that Ayvlen investigated,
2) the men are looking forward to going home or to "home coming here",
3) the prisoner on the slab in the cave that Ayvlen investigated looks remarkably like the Archdruid Nall in the camp.
They returned and reported, at which point the whole party decided to go investigate the sphere. They approached, and spent CONSIDERABLE amounts of time examining it in every way imaginable. They detected magic on it, but were unable to nail the school, though the aura was overwhelming. They poked it with sticks, threw stones through it, detected magic on the stones and sticks then to no avail - it seemed to have no impact on the sphere. Finally, Kerne the sorcerer decided to try putting a magic weapon it it... again with no result. Once that was done, he started using other magic stuff to test the sphere, before setting off a near nuclear blast by placing the bronze, magical, blessed tools (the ones that were created after Freas sacrificed himself) in the shpere - he was thrown backwards 25 feet into a tree and shaken up a little.
With a collective "Doh!" the party began experimenting with various blessed or sacred things, including the holy symbol branded on Paden;s hand, since the tools were unharmed by the interaction. At the moment of interaction, the sphere seemed to implode and then explode (think a supernova) before becoming slightly brighter than it had been before. Paden chose not to actually touch the sphere, but experienced resistance as he approached and willfully presented his holy symbol. When negative energy was shot at it, the sphere dimmed some. And then, Valel approached with his dragon marks and got launched 50 feet back (into a tree only 25 feet behind him) taking some damage, getting knocked senseless, and having a vision. The party then headed back to town, fearing drawing attention to themselves if they stayed any further.
When they arrived, GWyn (everyone's favorite tag-along) informed them that a falcon had flown in, and had a bag on its leg. He gave the bag to Balla, who opened it and found 6 acorns in it, cooked and roasted. She recalled these as "acorns of wisdom" that would allow a dream/vision state in anyone, not just in druids. The party used them in a ritual led by Gwyn and Balla, and in the light of the fire they saw Tegid.
Tegid spoke to them of events taking place in the wider world in their nearly three week absence. Caer Mawr had been attacked by a force of Coranyid, and Meldron Mawr was leading his people north. Though they had seen neither hide nor hair of the Cornayid in the days since that battle, they felt as though they were being watched. They were fleeing north, to the ancient fastness of Findargad, a citadel in the mountains near the Celyddon border, about a months journey to the north, given the sheer number of people they have with them. Meldron has taken a vow of silence, a geas, in mourning for his fallen people. Tegid warns to be watchful, and to complete your goals, and then if you wish you can join them in the north. He also tells you that Bren has been found, but was killed on his journey. His party was ambushed and fought off the enemies - sometimes human, sometimes Cornayid. In his final confrontation, Bren smashed his staff on a standing stone atop a mound, and the Coranyid were destroyed, but he was felled as well, in the act of their destruction. Tegid explains that you can contact him this way (Kerne tried to use it as a real time communication device, but it only records as it were) but that it is perilous to use this too much. Balla and Gwyn know how to make the acorns, and they have been imprinted with the spell to make this work. When the party left their trancelike state, they took a -1 penalty to all saves/attacks/damage/skills/ability checks for 24 hours, no magical restoration possible.
The party then decided to check out the cairn again, and open it if they could without being too obvious. They did this, and found that the inside was magically dark. On entrance, they found 4 bodies, all laid to rest ceremonially, of various ages - all pretty old though. In the center of the shadowy illumination was a large dark form, draconic, inky black without features. Valel addressed it, and it shrieked when Valel referred to the name of the Samildanac (a draconic title - and one that is occasionally used by druids and such) and attacked the party.
The party surrounded it, and Kerne used the magical statue (from ages ago) to summon a loyal warrior. The creature was brutal, and his attacks struck true, but he seemed odd somehow. When the dragon eventually fell, it simply vanished in a flash of light, its dying shriek fading away into nothingness.
|
|
Dmitri
Land Owner
D&D Geeks of the World Unite!
Posts: 1,466
|
Post by Dmitri on Feb 5, 2011 23:01:51 GMT -5
Having defeated the Shadow Dragon in the cairn, the shadowy darkness lifted, and the party realized that there were items shining on the funeral tables. Each table held two items - a staff and another item, each one different (boots, ring, gloves, short sword). When the items were taken, they dimmed, and the party decided to identify one immediately, using the ring - boots that granted Improved Bullrush and Improved Overrun to the wearer. These were claimed by Kerne, as the party felt that he would get the most use and benefit from them. They exited the mound, and rolled the stone back in front, trying to make it appear that they had not been present. Valel recalled, after a semi-successful Knowledge check, that the Shadow Dragon reminded him of a story he had heard of the Verdanun, and the tale of the Giant of Shadow.
The party returned to their lodging, and continued to plan out there point of attack. They decided that now was the time to rescue the person who was comatose in the cave - so the next morning, early, they set out into the woods. Gwyn drove their cart around the woods, and dropped off Valel, to make it look like they were just running an errand or something. Then he drove away, to wait at an appointed meeting place for the players to bring Nall (or his corpse).
The party moved through the forest, with Balla scouting ahead in bat form. She saw, at the mouth of the cave, 3 men and a large wolf. She returned after checking on Nall, who was in an unchanged condition. The party used a Silence spell to advance forward, and nearly surprised the guards, though they noticed them when the party was nearly on top of them. The ensuing battle saw some very clever tactics by the party, including a well timed Spike Stones to cut off the dire wolf (who for the record was an awakened dire wolf with 1 level in barbarian) which was trying to escape to warn the camp of the attack. There was also some excellent teamwork between the two enlarged warriors (Kerne and Valel), though Paden just had some bad luck with nearly every roll made.
When the enemies had been felled, one of which surprisingly took his own life rather than be captured, the party dragged them into the cave, stripped their gear, and noticed that the two weaker soldiers seemed to be changing form slowly to slender, grey skinned humanoids with white hair and eyes - nearly identical to the shapechanger you encountered at the Blushing Whore in Aquae Sulis, in what almost seems like another life entirely.
Paden quickly went to Nall, and tried to dispel magic on him, succeeding in destroying one spell effect, but failing on 3 others. He then used the power of Caldefwych to create a Protection from Evil effect on Nall, which seemed to wake him up. He was weakened by his long sleep, but with a Lesser Restoration was able to walk with assistance. When he was taken into the other chamber, he requested a moment to rest and quickly eat and drink. The party allowed this, using food from the cave's stores (the passage on the right if you recall). As Nall quickly ate, they noticed that he was making odd gestures and speaking odd words, clearly testing his spellcasting power. He was unable to cast anything, until he got as low as Charm Animal, which clearly disturbed and disgusted him. He then told the party a little of what had happened to him.
He said that he had been captured after warning Onan not get involved with Cedric and after telling Cedric that he would never be king. He spoke of the false men, the shapechangers, and of their origins in Tir Aflan, across the Great Sea. He told of their being a vanguard for the invasion of the Foul Land, and its evils into Albion. He told that he was weakened, probably by them, his power drained, his very life force. He said to find Bren, and Tegid, and to find the Phantarch - that the Song was the key to defeating the evil of Nudd and his foul creatures.
When he had spoken this, in mid sentence, he dropped back under the influence of the spell, the Protection from Evil expired.
(If I missed anything, let me know guys - especially Paden, who recorded Nall's speech)
|
|
Dmitri
Land Owner
D&D Geeks of the World Unite!
Posts: 1,466
|
Post by Dmitri on May 23, 2011 19:29:54 GMT -5
The party took Nall's unconscious body out of the cave, and carried him to the rendezvous spot where they gave him to Gwyn to take North to meet up with Tegid and the king at Findargad. Link to Gwyn's conversation: mjolnirh.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=lgg5&action=display&thread=1917The party returned to town, and found that Cedric was camping north of town, and a new group of merchants and people had also arrived, and set up a bazaar to the east. The party visited it the next day and bought a few things, and enjoyed some entertainment. They discovered that a druid named Fergus had come into town, acting confused about the lack of druids, and left in a hurry to find Nall. Nall also came into town later, and looked bedraggled and frenzied, before leaving to find Cedric. The preliminary feasting had begun, though it was somewhat diminished by the hard winter. Some of the people complain bitterly about the lack, noting that Cedric seems to lack for nothing, and has not done the usual honor of distributing his largesse on the village. Eventually they turn in. They are awakened by the sound of crying and shouting, and torchlight. A group of soldiers is forcibly removing a group of nearly 15 youth, between 12 and 18, from the village. They are obviously being pressed into some kind of service, and they discover from talking to the villagers that it is military service - and the party knows that this is too young for usual military service. They followed the soldiers and their captives. The party then split up, and Kerne took the direct approach, walking into the camp they had established at an abandoned holding. He was challenged by the captain and a lackey, but when the lackey balked at killing Kerne or attacking him, the captain struck the lackey down. Kerne then called on the soldiers to oppose the evil captain, and they did. In the end, three prisoners were taken after one of the mutineers and one of the loyalists were killed. The party worked together beautifully, with Paden knocking the most threatening loyalist from his horse, Ayvlan disarming him, Kerne intimidating him, and Balla subduing one that had fled. They decided to hold a trial, since Balla (being a druid) has the position and power of sovereignty to act as justice in this situation. Trial thread: mjolnirh.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=lgg5&action=display&thread=1943
|
|
Dmitri
Land Owner
D&D Geeks of the World Unite!
Posts: 1,466
|
Post by Dmitri on Jun 5, 2011 16:39:12 GMT -5
The trial was quickly convened in the order of what Balla deemed least offenses: Mutineers, Runner, Killer, and Captain.
The mutineers were charged with disloyalty to their king and captain, and with crimes against the people via the press gang, and with serving a false king. Though they did evil, they eventually stood up and did right, which allows them a fresh start. Sentence is to serve Truth - they suggested serving the lord of the party, and so were sent to Meldron Mawr at Findargad.
The runner was charged with serving a false king, working the press gang, and failure to uphold honor when given the chance. He used the excuse of following orders, and even went so far as to say he would do it all again. He was sentenced to exile, and branded as outside the protection of the law. He was to be led away by the Mutineers, and taken by a round about way to somewhere and dumped, bound. If he could escape his blindfold and bonds, he could make his way back to Cedric, or live as an exile with all men's hands raised against him.
The killer was charged with attacking with intent to kill, cruelty, serving a false king, the press gang, and failure to do right when presented with the opportunity. He plead fear, and that he was unsure of who would win, so he feared to switch sides as well. He was adjudged a coward, and he was sentenced to death, and Kerne carried out the execution with a longsword to the base of the neck.
The captain was brought in, and charged with many crimes, those mentioned above and a few others. He refused to speak more than his refusal to acknowledge the authority of the court. He spat on the people holding him, and on Balla. In the end, after a few rounds of questioning, Valel used the Staff of Eyes to invoke a True Seeing spell, which discerned the fact that the captain was a shapechanger, one of the Changelings. He revealed this, at which point, Balla, overtaken by her awen, used the dagger from the Phantarch's chamber to execute the captain as a beast. She slit his throat, and he changed back to his natural form. He was then dismembered and left to the beasts, while the killer was also left for the beasts, but intact.
The party returned to the town, with the children trickling in slowly, so as not to make a scene. The party was also invited to meet with some of the townspeople later, during the feasting. The party observed a few soldiers come up the southern road, looking confused, and then head north to Cedric's camp. When the adventurers later met with the families, they were told that the townspeople had long known there was something different about the party, but not what. Now, they knew that it was that they were men of Truth and Honor. They were asked point blank, "Whom do you serve?"
|
|
Dmitri
Land Owner
D&D Geeks of the World Unite!
Posts: 1,466
|
Post by Dmitri on Jul 29, 2011 22:03:11 GMT -5
The party convinced many of the villagers to travel to Findargad, after explaining in simple terms that they serve honor and justice, and mentioning their connection to Scatha. A few of the men and women stayed behind to aid the party in whatever confrontation they had planned. The party then planned for the next days events.
On the day of Beltaine, the party split up. They found the top of the mound being setup with the Wicker Man, and then left unattended. Valel found nothing in the mound, and Balla kept watch for the men leaving the forest.Ayvlan scouted in the forest, and determined that the old camp was empty, Nall was still gone, and the men were no longer around. Paden and Kerne watched the speech by Cedric in the village, and then left early, to meet everyone on top of the mound to challenge the false king.
When Cedric approached, they did indeed challenge him, and used their wits and power to enthrall the crowd, winning their favor after the poor showing of Cedric in the village. They challenged the false Nall as well, and he eventually attacked with a fireball, igniting the Wicker Man, which promptly came to life. Balla dealt with this swiftly, dispelling the binding magicks that animated it. Then Cedric challenged them to single combats.
valel humiliated his opponent, as did Kerne, using their magic and wit to best their opponents with minimum damage dealt or received. Ayvlan's opponent was more skilled, and hurt her before she finally dispatched him, his blood mingling with the snow as he died. Balla, blinded by the spells of the false Nall, still overcame him, severing his head, while at the same time Cedric was fighting Paden in a grueling test of skill. When false Nall died, he reverted to his shape-changer form, and the crowd gasped in horror as a pillar of dark flame erupted from the forest - and all hell broke loose in the time between times.
A blinding flash released the Coranyid on the people, who ran for the mound, taking the top and streaming away to the north and east. The party took Cedric captive quickly, and moved to cover the retreat, opting to enter the mound for safety, disregarding the white light stabbing upwards from the standing stone atop the mound. When they did, they crossed the sword-bridge, and re-entered Alba. They exit the mound, to find a world as grey as ash, even more colorless than before. It is here that they realize the changes that have occurred to them. They have come to look like people of the Otherworld (Albion), like images of themselves, perfected. They stand a bit, stunned.
Paden then strips Cedric of his gear, rings and amulets and arms and such, and discovers that his armor (worn underneath of his siarc and breecs) bears the crest of Vortigern. He also realizes that the crest is not a stylized "V" so much as it is a corrupted and inverted /|\ symbol. He wakes, and the party questions him. Cedric gives a speech, and the party mulls what next course of action to take.
|
|