SESSION 19A: ROUTING THE SHUUL

April 13th, 2008
The 8th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

Elestra grabbed a couple of the rifles out of the crate she had pried open and handed one to Ranthir. Ranthir smiled. His magical skills were not yet very advanced, and so he had often felt like something of a sixth wheel whenever they had found themselves in a tight spot. The firepower he held in his hands now might help him to be something more than an observer.

Agnarr, thinking this was all a good idea, wedged his toe under one of the rifles that had fallen from the hands of the Shuul agents lying before him. With a quick jerk he flipped it up into his left hand, keeping his greatsword clenched in his right.

The Foundry was rocked by an explosion, accompanied by a massive gout of flame in the materials storehouse.

The two Shuul agents passing below Tee in the second foundry stopped in their tracks for a moment, frozen in shock. Then they began to turn back towards the front of the building…

Unfortunately, Ranthir’s reactions were faster. His ears recognized the aural hints that told him the explosion was a magical extrusion of primal fire, and he leapt towards the nearest door. Ripping it open he was confronted by the two Shuul agents. The agents arrested their turn and lowered their rifles at Ranthir. “Who are you?! Don’t move!”

Agnarr reacted quickly, shoving Ranthir out of the way and taking his place. “We’re friends! We’re trying to stop Shilukar!”

“Get out here!” (more…)

SESSION 18C: THE SMOKE OF THE FOUNDRY

March 22nd, 2008
The 7th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

ON SHILUKAR’S TRAIL

They headed back to the alley. This time all of them headed down the alley. A few moments later, the mysterious informant had again slid his away into the alley. (Elestra leaned over to Ranthir, “That’s a neat trick. I wonder if I could learn it?”)

“I wasn’t expecting to see you again this soon,” he said. And then, catching sight of Tor: “And who is this?”

“Master Torland of Barund.”

“A pleasure to meet you. My name’s Shim. Now, what can I do for you all?”

“We need to find a thief named Shilukar.”

“And there’s a catch,” Tee said. “We need to find him by morning.”

Shim seemed to ponder it for a moment. “That’s a tall order. If it can be done, I’ll need a payment of 7,000 marks. And even if I fail, I’ll need 500 for my efforts.”

It was expensive, but they were out of options. They agreed and paid him the 500.

The carriage ride back to the Ghostly Minstrel – including a stop at the Hammersong Vaults to withdraw the cash they would need if Shim was successful – was subdued. They were excited by the prospect that they might soon have another opportunity to capture Shilukar and recover the idol from him, and they all took the time to congratulate Ranthir again on his quick-thinking, but they knew that they had a long wait ahead of them.

When they reached the Minstrel they quickly retired: Their long and busy day had exhausted them, and Ranthir in particular would need time to rest and prepare his arcane rites for the challenges of the day to come.

Unfortunately, they were not destined for a full night of rest and recuperation: Shortly after midnight, Elestra woke to find Shim sliding between the panes of her window.

“I don’t know what you’re doing in Agnarr’s room, but Shilukar is planning to attack the Foundry in the Guildsman’s District in less than 30 minutes. If you want him before dawn, this will be your only chance.”

Elestra quickly roused the rest of them. Tee saw to paying Shim and then they were off as quick as a carriage could carry them – their muscles still stiff and their bodies exhausted from their exertions. (more…)

SESSION 18B: MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

March 22nd, 2008
The 7th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

Their carriage came to a clattering, jolting halt on Brandywine Street before the abandoned lot.

Tee led the way into the ruined shed, taking a few moments to verify the hidden signs she had left. “They haven’t been disturbed,” she said. “No one’s come this way.”

At the bottom of the ladder she found the doors of the antechamber still locked. She slid the key into the lock, turned it, and then stepped back – clearing the way for Agnarr and Tor.

The doors swung wide to reveal utter putrescence: The pinkish flesh of the lair seemed to be dying, literally rotting away from the walls. Pus and blood dripped from gaping, ulcerous wounds.

“Oh no…” Tee murmured, already suspecting that they were too late.

They headed down the main hall. Agnarr took the time to sprint down the side passage leading to the sewer entrance. It had been smashed open from the outside. He knelt down: The pulpy, dying flesh had clearly been trampled by many feet, but he wasn’t sure how many had passed this way… or whether they were still in the complex.

The rest of the group proceeded down the main hall. When they reached the room where the idol had rested, Tee’s worst fears were confirmed: The door had been smashed open with a battering ram which lay nearby. The idol had been ripped out of the floor. It was gone.

“Dammit,” Tee cursed, tears welling in her eyes. “I should have just taken it. Why didn’t I just take it?” (more…)

SESSION 18A: KEY TO THE PAST

March 22nd, 2008
The 7th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

When they arrived back in the tiny shack at the center of the junk-filled vacant lot, Tee took several moments to subtly rearrange the room – prepping the entrance so that she would, hopefully, be able to detect whether or not someone used it.

“We seem to have gotten covered in blood again,” Tor said. “This is becoming a habit.”

“Well, except for Ranthir,” Tee pointed out. “He stayed clear of it.”

After a quick discussion, it was agreed that the gore-spattered wouldn’t have much luck getting into the Nobles’ Quarter (standards tending to be a little higher there). Plus, if Ranthir went he would be too far away from Shilukar’s lair – the spell of alarm he had placed upon the lower entrance would be unable to alert him.

Ranthir was, however, able to use a little magical prestidigitation to clean Dominic’s clothes and Tee always carried a spare set in her bag. So it was decided that Agnarr, Elestra, Tor, and Ranthir would return to the Ghostly Minstrel while Tee and Dominic would return to Castle Shard and break the bad news. (more…)

SESSION 17D: SHILUKAR’S SECRETS

March 9th, 2008
The 7th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

Once they were satisfied that they had explored the entire complex, the group turned its attention to a more thorough search in the hope of turning up the antidote for Lord Abbercombe.

Unfortunately, the antidote was not to be found. But scattered throughout the laboratory, the warren of the spider-things, and Shilukar’s bedchamber they found a large number of notes and other papers. Many of these were written in strange characters resembling those they had found upon the obsidian statues within Ghul’s Labyrinth, and these required Ranthir’s arcane arts to decipher.

In addition to the works described in full below, they also discovered The Book of Lesser Chaos, which described in detail a technomantic art known as “chaositech”.

(more…)