SESSION 31E: KABEL’S TALE

November 9th, 2008
The 18th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

A NOONTIME WITH KABEL

After dropping Iltumar back at the Bull and Bear (the lad was rather saddle sore), Tor returned to the Nibeck Street mansion. As arranged, Ranthir and Tee met him just inside the door. Tee broke the news of Kabel’s warrant (which she had learned from Elestra when she had returned earlier). Ranthir rendered him invisible and then headed out the door first, allowing Tor to slip out without any visible sign.

From the outside, Pythoness House still looked completely deserted. Tor passed through the gatehouse, easily slipping past two knights of the Order of the Dawn who were stationed as covert guards in the courtyard. He quickly found Sir Kabel and Sera Nara in one of the former bedchambers on the first floor, quietly discussing matters over a game of dragonscales.

Tor knocked on the door.

Sera Nara was jumpy. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

“That will be… difficult,” Tor said. “It’s Tor. I thought it best if I came as secretly as possible.”

Sir Kabel waved Sera Nara down.

“Where should I sit?” Tor asked.

“Wherever you like,” Kabel said. “We are, after all, here at your sufferance.”

It took a few moments for the invisibility spell Ranthir had worked to wear off. As Tor became visible, Sir Kabel smiled, “It’s good to see you, Master Tor.”

“Before we begin,” Tor said, “I have a confession to make.” He quickly explained that he was responsible for Kabel nearly being captured. “I thought it was a snare. I am sorry.”

“No, the debt is entirely mine,” Kabel said. “Without the efforts of you and your friends, we would have all been captured.”

“I’m sorry to say that I have more bad news,” Tor said. “A warrant has been sworn out for your arrest.”

Kabel grimaced.

“I’d like to help you. We’d all like to help you. But first I’d like to know what happened that morning.”

A flash of anger crossed Sera Nara’s face. Sir Kabel held up a placating hand to her, “No. It’s all right. I’m sure that Rehobath has spread his story far and wide. It’s good to hear the truth.”

KABEL’S TALE

“I had taken several knights from the Order to train at the tournament field. Many of these were loyalists to the Church, but there were a few that were brought so that we might try to recruit them. We needed all the support we could if we were going to remove the False Novarch.

“Unfortunately, not all of those I trusted were truly loyal. Two of my knights – Aric and Thomas – attacked me. Crying their loyalty to Rehobath and with a vow to kill me for a traitor, they attempted to assassinate me.

“They failed, largely through the quick blade of Sera Nara. While we were still gathering our wits, another of my loyal knights rode up and warned us of further treachery: Sir Gemmell had attempted to gather those knights loyal to me and ambush them in the Great Hall of the Godskeep.

“We rode hard and discovered that Gemmell’s plan had failed. The loyalist knights had fought their way out of the Godskeep. But now there was heavy fighting on the green south of the keep and my men were pinned down between the Godskeep and the Cathedral.

“We were able to cut through the defensive line that Gemmell had formed. We fled west down Sunrise Street. When we came to the Street of a Million Gods, I ordered my men to scatter. The group I led eventually made our way to the pub in Rivergate and, from there – through your grace – to here.”

PRELUDE OF THE FATAR

“That explains many things,” Tor said.

“Now, there’s something else I’d like to propose.” Sir Kabel leaned back and gestured expansively, taking in the whole of the room and beyond. “The knights loyal to our cause are scattered, hiding in bolt-holes around the city. They’re just waiting to bound by Gemmell and the other traitors and captured. But Pythoness House is practically a fortress. It could be secured against any assault by Rehobath or his cronies. You brought us here. Is it all right if use this as a safe haven for the others?”

Tor was hesitant. “I’m not sure I have the right to make the decision without first consulting my comrades. We’ve spoken, actually, of our need to find a place more secure – and secret – than the Ghostly Minstrel as a base of operations. We had been thinking of using Pythoness House ourselves.”

“I understand,” Kabel said.

“What are your plans, exactly?” Tor asked.

“I’ve received word from the Church in Seyrun. Kirian Ylestos has been raised as the Silver Fatar of Athor and dispatched to Ptolus to take control of the Cathedral. He’s bringing with him a small platoon of the Crimson Guard. With the guard reinforcing my loyalists, I believe that we’ll able to overwhelm Sir Gemmell, capture Rehobath, and put an end to this farce.”

“How many men do you have?”

“Twenty or so loyalists, unless more have been captured,” Kabel said. “And the platoon will bring another twenty armed men to our side.”

“And how many men does Gemmell have?”

“At least forty knights still serve him in the Godskeep,” Kabel admitted. “But when the true Fatar arrives and the word of the Church is heard again, I think many of them will realize their folly. Of course it would be easier if… Since he isn’t here, am I to understand that Dominic is not to be trusted?”

“No,” Tor said. “I only came alone in an effort to be as secure as possible.”

“If Dominic were to publicly denounce Rehobath, that would go far towards discrediting Rehobath’s heresies. More of the Order might turn against him and Gemmell.”

“He’s not a friend to Rehobath, I can tell you that,” Tor said. “But beyond that I can’t say. I would need to ask him. Perhaps it would be best if I brought all of my friends here to meet with you.”

Tee stepped out of the shadows by the door. “Some of us are here already.”

TEE’S PATH

After Tor left the Nibeck Street mansion, Tee had waited ten minutes and then climbed over the rear wall of the mansion. When she had reached Pythoness House she hadn’t bothered trying to go through the gates, instead climbing the wall and quickly reaching the roof above the gatehouse. From there she was able to look down into the courtyard and easily spotted the two knights guarding the entrance. She had slipped down through the gatehouse (saying a quiet “hello” to Taunell) and started looking for Tor. It took her several minutes, but she had arrived outside the door just in time to hear the last few sentences of the conversation.

Nara leapt to her feet and her sword leapt into her hand. “Who are you?”

Tor quickly made the requisite introductions. Tee gently pushed Nara’s sword away from her throat as Kabel waved her down again.

“Apparently we’re going to need new guards.” Kabel smiled.

They agreed to meet for dinner that evening and Tor asked him if they would need any supplies or the like.

“No. Nara is quite… skilled in keeping a low profile,” Kabel said. “She should be able to supply all of our needs. I look forward to our… palaver.” He smiled again. “Master Tor, I am forever in your debt.”

“It was the least I could do,” Tor said.

Kabel led them out into the courtyard – quite confusing the two guards who were still standing duty there (Kabel promised to explain things to them later). Then they made their farewells and left.

BACK AT THE MANSION AGAIN

Returning to the Nibeck Street mansion, Tee and Tor met up with the others and filled them in on the situation. They all readily agreed to return to Pythoness House for dinner the next day and listen to Kabel’s proposals.

Tee, having business in the city, left the rest of them to return to their vigil in the Banewarrens. On the walk back towards the excavated cave, the discussion turned towards what Dominic should do: Denounce Rehobath or continue keeping as low a profile as possible?

“So what is Vehthyl telling you to do?” Elestra asked.

“Vehthyl has nothing to say about it,” Dominic quipped.

“What about that other saint?” Elestra said.

Dominic was getting uncomfortable with her cavalier attitude towards the whole matter. He still wasn’t sure what he thought about being a saint or the “Chosen of Vehthyl” or whatever, so he wasn’t prepared for her to be so familiar with the idea of it. “Do you mean the Star of Itor?”

“Yeah. What was it he said to you? That you should follow your heart? What is your heart saying?”

“I… I don’t think I know,” Dominic said.

“I guess it’s a question of where your loyalties lie,” Ranthir said.

“I don’t know that, either,” Dominic said.

“We may not know which side is right,” Tor said. “But I think we know which side is wrong.”

Running the Campaign: Gore-Spattered Reactions  – Campaign Journal: Session 32A
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

SESSION 31D: THE MIDNIGHT WATCH

November 9th, 2008
The 18th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

As midnight drew near, Tee left the Banewarrens and headed across Oldtown for her guard duties as a “cultist”. On her previous watches there had been little or no activity around the apartment complex. In fact, from all outward appearances, it seemed to be abandoned.

About an hour into her shift, however, Tee suddenly saw a light come on in one of the upper windows of the building. Her interest was particularly piqued when she realized that it was the window of the room in which Ranthir had clairvoyantly spied on a quarrel between cultists of the Ebon Hand and the Brotherhood of Venom.

Tee slipped across the street and, using her magical boots, levitated up to the window. The curtains had been drawn, but they were cracked and she was able to peer between them: A grim-visaged man wearing grey robes and an iron breastplate bearing the symbol of a coiled serpent was kneeling next to the corpse Ranthir had seen left behind. After a few moments, he stood up and left the room.

Tee floated up to the roof and kept an eye on the street to make sure that he wasn’t actually leaving the building. A few minutes later, however, she saw a light through the rear windows of the building moving back towards the room with the corpse. She returned to the window in time to see a group of several people return: The same grey-robed man was accompanied by two others wearing serpent symbols and a fourth man with a large tattoo in the shape of a black hand on his throat.

After no more than a cursory inspection of the corpse, the group fell into arguing with each other. Tee was having problems hearing, so she cautiously cracked the window open.

“—we’re not going to stand for this!” This was the Ebon Hand cultist.

“Vocaetun, if you’re making some sort of accusation—“ this was the grey-robed man.

“I am! You may think that you can steal this research from us! But we have worked just as hard to perfect the venom-shaped thralls, and we won’t let you steal them from us.”

“It could have easily been one of the thralls who did this.”

“Don’t be absurd!”

At this point one of the Venom cultists slipped out of the room. The argument continued vociferously. It became clear that the two cults had been working together to create “venom-shaped thralls” – which Tee guessed must be the insectoid horrors that Ranthir had seen on the lower level – but now significant distrust was boiling up between the two groups.

The cultist who had left returned, following a woman with golden-brown skin. Tee spotted a bell-shaped charm around the woman’s wrist.

As soon as they saw her, the other cultists fell silent. She eyed fixed them with a steady gaze until they settled down. “What’s going on here?”

“Reggaloch’s dead, Gavele. Theral found the body here.”

“Theral killed him you mean!” Vocaetun shouted.

While the other cultists went back to arguing, Gavele knelt down next to Reggaloch’s body and did a more thorough inspection of the corpse. Unnoticed by the others (but not unnoticed by Tee), she found a note and slipped it into her pocket. Then she stood up.

“That’s enough,” she said. “Reggaloch has been dead for days. Give the body to the thralls. They’ll eat it up. Then come with me and we’ll settle this. You really don’t want me to have to bring this idiocy to Illadras’ attention.”

At the woman’s direction, a couple of the cultists grabbed the corpse and hauled it out of the room. The rest of the cultists followed, taking the light with them.

Tee waited for a long while. When it was clear that none of them were coming back, she decided to go through the window. She eased it open silently and slipped inside.

She could hear sounds of movement from below, but nothing untoward here on the upper level. It looked as if the room had been torn apart: Various pieces of furniture had been smashed into kindling and scattered around haphazardly. There were doors to her left and right, but there was also a gaping hole punched through the far wall.

She headed through the hole in the wall into another large room. The floor creaked ominously under her weight. There was another hole in the far wall here, too, but she couldn’t see anything beyond it due to the lack of light. There were a couple of doors and one of these had been smashed open. Through it she could see a hallway leading to the stairs.

She decided to backtrack through the room where Reggaloch had died and tried one of the doors. Through it she found the remnants of a small apartment. In one corner of the ruined room she saw a cocoon of crystalline black secretions. In the other corner there was a second cocoon… but this one had been ripped open from the inside, and something seemed to be writhing in there.

I’m going to die in here… Tee realized with a sudden dread. She backed out of the room, shut the door, and escaped out the window.

She returned to her post across the street and waited for dawn to come. Just a few moments before the end of her shift, however, the door of the apartment building opened. The Ebon Hand cultist she had seen in the room above emerged and began walking down the street to the west.

She was just considering whether she should follow him or not when she spotted him surreptitiously passing a note to a man walking in the opposite direction. That settled the matter for her: She wanted to see that note.

She followed the messenger for several blocks and then, seizing an opportune moment, knocked him unconscious. She grabbed the note, quickly rifled through his purse (to make it look like an ordinary robbery), and then slipped away. When she was safely out of sight, she opened the note and read.

Malleck—

Reggaloch is dead. I am certain the Brothers of Venom are to blame. Gavele is deaf to our cause. I would urge you to send more of our brethren as soon as you can.

Vocaetun

Thinking quickly, she returned to where she had left the messenger. He was still unconscious. She quickly replaced the note and then woke him up.

“Hey! Are you all right? I saw that guy hit you and then—“

The messenger, with a look of panic in his eye, quickly patted himself down. As soon as he had confirmed that the note was there, he pushed his way past Tee and hurried down the street.

Alarmed, but not suspicious… Good. Tee nodded to herself and then headed back to the Banewarrens to meet up with the others.

A MORNING WITH ILTUMAR

When Tee returned to the excavated cave, she found Agnarr and Kalerecent on watch. Ranthir was awake, as well, having suffered from bad nightmares during the night. Waking the others, she proposed that they should renew the alarming charm that had been placed on the sealed door.

This needed to be done in any case, but it also gave them an excuse to leave Kalerecent so that they could speak in private. As they walked, Tee quickly briefed the others on what she had seen the night before.

(“You went inside?” Dominic said, incredulous.)

Elestra renewed the alarming charm and they made their way back to the excavated cave. All was quiet in the Banewarrens.

While the others rejoined Kalerecent’s watch, Elestra and Tor left the Banewarrens.

While careful to remain within the limits of her alarming charm, Elestra walked the streets of Oldtown. What she heard disturbed her: Late last evening, a small group of arcanists had magically animated the painted mural of the griffon in the common hall of the Griffon Tavern on Tavern Row. Three innocent bystanders had been killed by the creature before Sheva Callister had been able to stop it.

The word on the street was clear: The Killravens were making a concerted push to muscle in on the Balacazars’ protection racket along Tavern Row. There had been a few skirmishes between low level enforcers, but it was only a matter of time before the Balacazars started pushing back… and when they did, things were going to get ugly.

Nearly drowned out by the affairs on Tavern Row, there was another piece of news: A warrant of arrest had been sworn out for Sir Kabel. The charges were “disturbances of the peace” and “conspiracy to murder”.

Tor, meanwhile, headed down into Midtown. He met Iltumar at the Bull and Bear.

“Did you get a sword?”

“I did!” Iltumar said, patting the blade strapped awkwardly to his hip.

“Good. Do you have a horse?”

“… no.” Iltumar frowned.

“It’s all right. I’m sure arrangements can be made.”

And, in fact, they could. At the stable behind the Ghostly Minstrel, Tor saddled Blue and made arrangements to hire a horse for Iltumar for the day.

They rode up to the tournament grounds north of town. They were empty, but served as an excellent arena in which Tor could practice Iltumar on the arts of the sword.

As they worked, Iltumar slowly loosened up – both physically and with his tongue. “I think it’s important to fight for what’s right,” he said. “I wish I could do what you and Mistress Tee do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Making a difference in the world,” he said. “That’s all I dream about, really.”

Tor grunted. “That’s a noble sentiment. And now… defend yourself!” And he pressed the attack again.

Running the Campaign: Roleplaying NPC Scenes  – Campaign Journal: Session 31E
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

SESSION 31C: THE OBSTINATE PRISONER

November 9th, 2008
The 17th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

“Couldn’t we take one of these corpses and use it to intimidate that orc we’ve got locked in a closet?” Elestra asked.

“Haven’t we basically already done that?” Tee pointed out, leaving unvoiced her concern about the bloodthirstiness beginning to appear in the young girl.

“I’ve even torn off her ear,” Agnarr said.

They left the bodies, but they did return to the mansion.

They found the orc woman sleeping in the closet. Tee poured water over her head and they tried to question her again… but it went no better than the last two times they had tried.

The orc woman laughed at Elestra’s efforts. “You’re wearing pink leather boots. I can barely take you seriously.”

Tor stepped forward and ineffectually tried again. “I’m imagining you wearing pink leather boots.”

They were stymied.

“It’s been two days since I had a drink,” the orc said. “Are you planning to kill me?”

“What are you talking about?” Tee said. “I just poured water over you head.”

“Maybe if we tried a nicer approach?” Ranthir said. “Tell us what we want to know and we’ll give you some food.”

“You tore off my ear and killed my friends and you think I’m going to talk for a little bit of food?”

They shut the closet door and withdrew a little.

“She’s right about one thing,” Tee said. “If we just keep her locked up in there, she’ll die.”

“So?” Elestra asked.

They eventually decided to haul her down to the Imperial Cathedral. There they turned her over to Heth Neferul, explaining that she might be a source of information regarding the group attempting to breach the Banewarrens.

“And what of the lore spell?” Heth asked. “Was it successful, Master Ranthir?”

“Yes,” Ranthir said.

“It told us that the only way through the door was through the use of a magical wish,” Tee lied blithely.

Heth pondered this for awhile. “I will see if such powerful magicks can be acquired for you. In the meantime, continue your efforts to reach the sword. If our questioning of this orc yields any fruit, I will send word to you.”

PLANNING FOR THE MORROW

Returning to the Ghostly Minstrel they spent the better part of an hour cleaning up the coagulate gore and blood that had been spattered across them in the Banewarrens (and only now pausing to reflect on Brother Heth’s blithe reaction to the same).

While the others were finishing up, Tor left the Minstrel and went next door to the Bull and Bear. There he found Iltumar tending the shop. After some small talk (in which Iltumar proved to be his usual, overeager self), Tor asked him if he might be interested in practicing some swordplay the next morning.

“I would love to! Will Mistress Tee be there?”

“No, it would just be me and you,” Tor said. “Is that okay?”

“Of course!”

“Do you own a sword?”

“No, but I can ask Hirus if I might borrow one.”

“Do so,” Tor said. “I’ll meet you here tomorrow.”

Tor returned to the Ghostly Minstrel and gathered the others. Tor explained his plans with Iltumar – if the lad wanted to be a part of something larger, he was hoping to give him a better option than the Brotherhood of Ptolus.

Tor also wanted to try to reach Sir Kabel in Pythoness House as soon as possible, but he was worried that he was still being followed – possibly by agents of the Church.

After discussing their options, Ranthir proposed using a spell of invisibility that the he had studied in Shilukar’s spellbook. Thus cloaked in magick, Tor would be able to easily slip away from the mansion on Nibeck Street and make his way to Pythoness House undetected.

Ranthir wouldn’t be able to cast the spell until morning, but since Tor wasn’t supposed to meet with Sir Kabel until then they decided that the plan was as good as any.

They also wanted to make sure that the sealed door in the Banewarrens couldn’t be opened without them knowing about it. Ranthir would be able to lay a spell which would alert him if the door was opened and Elestra’s connection with the Spirit of the City would allow her to work a similar charm. Between the two of them they should be able to keep the sealed door under constant alarm.

However, these minor magicks were strictly limited in their range: If they were placed upon the sealed door, Ranthir and Elestra would be unable to move much farther east than the edge of Oldtown.

And with that plan in hand, not wanting to leave the door unwatched any longer than necessary, they returned to the Banewarrens. Ranthir laid his spell upon the sealed door and the rest of them set their watches for the night.

Running the Campaign: Let It Ride Interrogation  – Campaign Journal: Session 31D
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

SESSION 31B: THE VAULTS OF FORGOTTEN EVIL

November 9th, 2008
The 17th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

WORD ON THE STREET

They decided to head back to the Banewarrens and rejoin Kalerecent’s watch. On their way, however, they passed down Tavern Row. Here they found a dozen ravens perched here and there on various buildings.

“What’s going on?” Tee asked.

“Could it be the Killravens?” Ranthir said.

“I’ll find out,” Elestra said.

While the others continued on, Elestra put her ear to the street. She heard a few people talking about an incident on Tavern Row: The day before, a centaur named Unos, the owner of the Old Goose tavern, had been found murdered in the common room of his tavern at dawn.

Drowning out the affair on Tavern Row, however, were the varied reports surrounding the events at the Cathedral. There seemed to be a good deal of confusion surrounding the exact details. Public opinion was still split fairly evenly on the issue of Rehobath claiming the mantle of the Novarch, but that opinion was beginning to slowly shift in his favor.

THE EMPTY VAULTS

Elestra rejoined the others in the excavated cave outside of the Banewarrens. Kalerecent reported that everything there had been quiet during their absence, and so they headed down to continue their exploration of the farthest vaults.

Passing down a wide hall they came to a T-intersection. The narrower corridor they entered was lined with more than a half dozen of the now familiar warded doors.

One of the doors stood ajar. Inside the chamber beyond this door was a long, metal box, not unlike a lidless coffin. On each of the four corners of the coffin-like receptacle a large amethyst has been inlaid. The inside of the box was lined with six heavy leather straps, arranged in such a way as to bind someone within.

Tee was tempted by the obvious worth of the amethysts, but cautious as well. (They’d already encountered one cursed jewel in this place.) Ranthir examined them closely and determined that the gems had been used to focus several enchantments onto the inhabitant of the box. Some of these appeared similar to those found in a stasis box while others appeared to have some form magical negatement as their purpose.

“Would these enchantments have held Tavan Zith’s abilities in check?” Tee asked.

“Yes, I think so,” Ranthir said. “But they’re harmless now. The spells were broken and the magical energy has dissipated.”

That’s all Tee needed to hear. She pried out the valuable gemstones and dropped them into her bag of holding.

They went back out into the hall. A careful examination of the remaining doors revealed that the wards on one of them had been broken. They opened this door to reveal an empty vault with a large, circular depression in the center of the floor. This depression was filled with water and large patches of the rest of the floor were damp as well.

Tee discovered runes worked into the inner edge of the circular depression and Ranthir was able to identify them as part of enchantments designed to bind something to both the material and ethereal planes. He hypothesized that this chamber might have been used to contain the ethereal-shifting, blue-skinned troll-spawn they had fought before.

THE VAULTS OF FORGOTTEN EVIL

After a brief debate they decided to break open the remaining vaults. Opening the first of these released a blast of chilled air. A large block of ice filled the center of the room, extending from the floor to the ceiling. A careful inspection of this ice revealed that it was laced with thin filigrees of golden thread and Ranthir was able to discern that these threads were minutely etched with tiny runes. Unfortunately, he had no idea what purpose the threads or runes might serve. Large bulbous shadows could be seen within the ice, although making out any sort of detail was quite impossible. When Ranthir was satisfied that he had learned all that he could learn (which was little), he stepped back. Tee started blasting away at the ice using her dragon pistol.

After only a couple of shots, the ice had already cracked badly. Tee lined up her third shot—

—and the ice shattered! A slimy, writhing tentacle burst free. It was followed moments later by more. Tee fired blindly into the ice and then the creatures within were free.

There were three of them – blobs of soft tissue and pulsating gray matter; long tentacles writhing in levitative air; numerous, bulbous, yellow, feral eyes and befanged mouths scattered haphazardly within the folds of flabby flesh.

Tor, who had been standing on guard, dashed forward and slashed his sword across the eye of one. Tee, switching her dragon pistol to her side, drew her sword and lunged forward – stabbing through the eye of another and feeling the familiar thrill of it (although this eye was larger than most).

And then Agnarr stepped forward and with a single mighty swing his flaming greatsword cleaved its way through all three of the creatures in a single blow.

As each died in a deflating, wet heap of protoplasmic flesh, a wave of horrific terror swept across them – but each, in their own fashion, found a way to steel their soul against it.

Elestra, thinking of the wraiths they had fought before, took the time to burn the corpses thoroughly.

THE VAULT OF THE PAIN DEMON

They broke the wards on the next door, finding a vault not dissimilar in character but smaller than the last, with a pillar of ice suspended between floor and ceiling.

From a slightly safer distance, Tee again used her dragon pistol to blast away at the ice. Obviously her shots were disrupting whatever magicks had been laid upon the ice because it was not long before the shadowy form within began to shift and move.

As the ice began to crack, waves of hate-filled pain radiated from it. Grimacing against the pain, Tee continued firing. The demon trapped within finally burst free. Its skin was a glistening ebony. Its eyes were a blood-red crimson. Its mouth was a toothless maw with razored lips. Chains were fused about its wrists, each animate with hatred.

As it came free, Tee fired a shot, but it ricocheted harmlessly off the demon’s chitinous shell. The creature howled and the waves of psychic pain battering them seemed to intensify.

Ranthir recognized the thing: It was a naturally demonic creature. Its chains had been soul-bound to its demonic essence – binding its own pain sympathetically and allowing it to reflect that essence back in the psychic waves which were assaulting all of them (although Ranthir tasted only the edge of it from his relatively safe haven in the hall).

Agnarr and Tor had fallen back before its first assault – the waves of pain overwhelming their minds and the animate chains harrying their defenses – but now they rallied, pushing it farther and farther down the length of the narrow chamber. Step by step the pain demon was forced back.

Agnarr suffered grievous wounds from the chains – the cold pain of them numbing his limbs. And the assault of primal pain was strengthening. Those nearest the creature could feel it now as both a psychic and physical thing. The manifestation of pain itself was intense enough to open cuts upon their bodies.

In the end, they were able to beat the creature down.

Tor was left with a single, dramatic cut upon his cheek… But Agnarr welcomed the warming touch of Dominic’s healing.

THE CHITTERING SWARM

The next few vaults proved to be empty. There were no signs that they had even been used.

But then they unleashed the demon swarm.

As the ice of this third vault shattered, the chittering creatures boiled out. Agnarr and Tor had held the chokepoint of the door, but it mattered little as the creatures swarmed around them in every direction.

They found it difficult to fight the swarm. There was a pervasive aura around the dozens of demonlings that seemed to muddle their minds and the tiny creatures would hop from place to place, crawling over them and slipping into their clothes and armor. Some even tried to pry their way into mouths.

Tee fired several blasts ineffectively into the carpet-like mass of demonlings and then fell back before their indomitable advance. The party, in general, split awkwardly in two – with some retreating one way down the hall and others retreating in the other.

The creatures, despite their small size, had vicious claws that ripped and tore as they leaped and scuttled here and there in a chaotic, eddying swirl of motion. And the party discovered, to their horror and disgust, that the creatures were exuding some sort of unnatural black thread – iron-like in strength and binding to the wounds they dealt. The demonlings were literally stitching their limbs together.

Seeaeti howled in pain. Dominic quickly found himself mobbed by the creatures and rendered almost immobile within a cocoon of their black thread.

Ranthir poured flame from his hands and this had some limited success, but still the creatures came. Elestra called down bolts of lightning from thin air, but the demonlings seemed to dance around the scorching blasts.

They were going to be overwhelmed.

“Run!” Ranthir cried.

Elestra did. The others dived for cover.

A bead of fire flew from the tip of Ranthir’s finger into the midst of the chittering swarm. It blossomed into a ball of flame…

And in its wake were left the charred and stinking corpses of the demonlings.

Agnarr stepped forward and put the last of the little fiends out of their well-deserved misery.

This, however, still left them with the difficult task of undoing the demonic, black thread that had been sewn randomly across their bodies. Tee tried to simply rip her way free, but this opened some grievous wounds that sent black spots dancing across her vision.

They started carefully cutting each other free of the stuff. Only Elestra seriously botched this procedure, ripping a gaping wound in Dominic’s side. (The others dissuaded her from helping them with their own extrications.)

THE ABANDONED CAVES

They had now explored this entire section of the Banewarrens and made it as secure as they could (largely by killing everything in sight). Without passing through the sealed door, there was nothing else for them to do here. And so they were left with waiting for the emergence of whatever creature had slipped through the door before Kalerecent had shut it.

They decided to complete their explorations of the caves in which they had fought the umber hulk. Some of them were anticipating the possibility that the creature had returned (affording them with an opportunity to finish it off), and although others were skeptical that it would, if nothing else, eliminate the possibility of a second, unknown entrance to the Banewarrens.

It was an easy matter to return to the caves. Pushing farther into their depths, the group spotted a second passage that had been concealed by a boulder. A little distance further on, Tee saw that the passage they were in opened up into a larger chamber and that, out of that chamber, a second passage appeared to turn in the same direction as the concealed passage behind the boulder.

“Why would it put these boulders everywhere?” Elestra asked.

“I don’t know,” Tee said. But she decided to head down into the larger chamber to see if it did, in fact, meet up with the concealed passage in the way that it appeared to…

And narrowly avoided falling into a pit of loose gravel as it suddenly gave way beneath her feet.

From that they concluded that these boulder-hidden passages had been used by the umber hulk to bypass the traps and snares that it had laid out for the unwary.

With grunts of exertion, Tor and Agnarr managed to leverage the boulder out of the way and they headed down the passage it had concealed.

In the twisting passages beyond they found what appeared to be the creature’s lair: A large bed of stone had been crudely constructed in one corner of a cave in which other stones had been arranged and shaped towards some strange purpose.

“Could it be some form of art?” Ranthir said.

Tee briefly considered the possibility of taking this “umber hulk statuary” and selling it, but she eventually decided that there was unlikely to be any sort of meaningful market for it. Certainly no market worth hauling around several tons of stone for. “I might be able to hustle it… But it’s just not worth the effort.”

Hidden behind some cleverly arranged stones in another corner of the cave they found a surprisingly rich stash of gemstones and gold.

In the next cave they discovered the creature’s “larder”. A horrible stench permeated the air and the walls were slick with moisture. In a low spot near the center of the cave was assembled a grisly, bloody mess: The partially dismembered corpse of a goblin and a half-devoured corpse, greenish white with bloating and decay, that looked as if it might have once belonged to a man.

Tee was disgusted by the sight and wanted no part of it. But as she turned to leave, Agnarr stopped her. “Aren’t you going to search the cave?”

Tee bluffed him into thinking that she had already searched the bodies, but the others eventually convinced her that she should.

“There might be some sort of identification,” Elestra pointed out. “We could let people know what happened to him.”

Tee sighed and started searching.

“Wait,” Agnarr said. “I thought she already searched them?”

“I’m just making sure I didn’t miss anything.”

“Oh. Okay.”

There were no identification papers, but the man was carrying a small coin purse drenched in sickly decay. Tee left it where it lay.

Running the Campaign: PC vs. PC Social Checks  – Campaign Journal: Session 31C
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

SESSION 31A: KABEL IN HIDING

November 9th, 2008
The 17th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

After leaving the Banewarrens they went first to the Temple of Asche. There they had the wraiths’ malaise cleansed from their bodies. Then they crossed the Temple District to the Imperial Cathedral, hoping to claim Brother Heth Neferul’s promise of covering their expenses.

They were looking for healing resources – divine energy reservoired into wands or healing totems. Unfortunately, as Heth explain to them, such resources were not available in a limitless supply – not even from the Church. However, they were able to obtain three such wands for a minimal tithing.

From there they returned to the Ghostly Minstrel. Tee took a brief detour to the Delvers’ Guild offices in the Undermarket to see if “Laurea” had received any messages from the cultists, but she had not.

When Tee joined them in Elestra’s room, Tor once again raised the idea of having Dominic assassinate Rehobath.

“We shouldn’t be saying that in front of everyone,” Tee said.

“We shouldn’t be saying that in front of each other,” Dominic said with a worried look.

Tor nodded. “You never know who might be listening.”

“That’s true,” Shim said, slipping through the wall. He looked at Tor. “Are you okay with me talking in front of them?”

Tor nodded. “Go ahead. Anything you can say to me you can say to them.”

“All right,” Shim said. “My man found Kabel. He’s at a place called Nadar’s Pub in Rivergate. It was tough. He was well hidden. In fact, the only reason we knew he was there was because Sir Gemmell knows where he is. The Order of the Dawn is assembling a posse out of the Godskeep to arrest him.”

Tor’s heart sunk. The letter from Sir Kabel had been real. He’d unwittingly betrayed him.

“Kabel sent you answer: ‘I am glad that the eyes of Vehthyl see clearly. Such sight will be needed in the morning light.’”

No one said anything for a long moment.

“Do you want me to do something more?” Shim asked.

Tor shook his head slightly, deep in thought. “I shouldn’t go there.”

“No,” Tee agreed.

“I could go,” Elestra said. “I could transform into a bird and fly there with a message.”

Shim took his cue and bowed out. “I shouldn’t be hearing this.” He slipped back into the wall and disappeared.

(“How do we know he’s not still listening to us?” Dominic asked. “We don’t,” said Tee.)

They eventually agreed that Tor should write a letter and have Elestra deliver it.

This is a trap. Head to Pythoness House, a manor house overlooking the King’s River Gorge in Oldtown. I will contact you there. Go now. They are coming.

“Should we tell him about the evil ghost?” Elestra asked.

“He’ll figure it out,” Agnarr said.

Elestra called upon the Spirit of the City, allowing it to flow into her body and transform it into the shape of a crow. When the transformation was complete, they tied Tor’s message securely to her leg and opened the window.

ESCAPE FROM NADAR’S PUB

Elestra flew straight to Nadar’s Pub, covering the distance to the Rivergate District quickly through the air. She took a moment to circle above it and then landed on the ledge outside the front window.

Peering inside she saw the barkeep tending to two customers. Clearly the mid-afternoon trade was slow.

There was no sign of Sir Kabel, but that made sense. It was unlikely that a hunted man would be supping openly in a public tavern.

Elestra flew around to the back. She found the kitchen window open and peeked in: There were several shelves packed with various foodstuffs, a modest cast iron stove, a pump for water, and a large fireplace for roasting. There was also a pair or large cellar doors set at an angle into the floor.

Elestra cautiously flew into the kitchen, tapped lightly on the cellar doors, and then flew back up to her kitchen window perch. She waited several minutes. There was no answer.

Elestra was still thinking over her next course of action (should she turn back into human form? but if she did that how would she get out again?) when the barkeep came into the kitchen to fill a pitcher of water.

She waited until he left and then flew back down to the cellar doors again. She tapped louder this time and then hopped up onto a nearby shelf to wait.

A few moments later, Elestra heard the cellar doors being unbarred from the far side. One of the doors was eased open and an armed woman looked out. (Elestra didn’t recognize her, but Tor later identified her as Sera Nara.)

Not immediately seeing anyone, Nara emerged cautiously into the kitchen. Elestra seized her opportunity: Swooping past Nara she flew down into the cellar. There she found Sir Kabel and two other knights sitting around a small, well-worn table.

Elestra landed in the center of the table and cocked her head towards Sir Kabel, trying to look as innocent and harmless as possible. Sera Nara came rushing back down the stairs. One of the other knights turned to Kabel with a quizzical look on his face. “Why would Killraven be contacting you?”

“I don’t think it’s one of hers,” Kabel said. “It’s too small to be a raven.”

Kabel reached out and untied the note from Elestra’s claw. He unrolled it and read it, his face drawing immediately into lines of concern. He looked up sharply. “Gather your things now. We have to go.”

As the others grabbed their weapons and several large packs, Kabel looked at Elestra. “Thank you, whoever you may be.”

Kabel and his knights headed up the stairs and out the kitchen door. Elestra flew up and watched them head south towards Oldtown, following them long enough to be certain of where they were heading. Then she turned back and circled high above the pub for about fifteen minutes, waiting to see if there would be any sign of covert pursuit or the like.

She saw nothing. Turning east she flew towards the Temple District. As she was passing over the bluffs she spotted them: Sir Gemmell leading a war party of twelve mounted knights up the Wash Street ramp.

Veering aside, she followed them from above. She watched as they surrounded Nadar’s Pub. Sir Gemmell rode forward and called out in a loud voice, demanding that Kabel surrender.

A few moments later the door of the pub swung open. The barkeep yelled out that no one by that name was in the pub. Sir Gemmell gave a sharp gesture and two his knights dismounted and entered the pub. Several minutes later they emerged with no result.

Gemmell and several more knights dismounted. Angry words began to be exchanged… and that’s when the watchmen arrived. From her height, Elestra couldn’t hear what was being said, but a few moments later Gemmell – clearly furious – mounted his horse and rode off, heading back towards the Temple District.

Elestra followed the knights long enough to be fairly certain that they were heading back to the Cathedral and then winged it back to the Ghostly Minstrel.

Returning to her room, where the others had been anxiously awaiting her, Elestra let the Spirit of the City depart her. Her body resumed its natural form.

She quickly explained what she had done and what she had seen. Tor embraced her at the news that they had (just in the knick of time) averted disaster. A weight of guilt had been lifted from his conscience.

Running the Campaign: When Players Reincorporate  – Campaign Journal: Session 31B
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index