Session 7/14/07

As the companions heal their wounds and take stock of their situation, Ayo and Altaer study the Ark of the Resurgent Mountain.  It has clearly been corrupted by the Slaughtergarde cultists and is defaced with Abyssal runes, adorned with shrunken heads of fallen Thulkarr warriors, and features a broken obelisk fragment – bound and reversed, floating in midair above the Ark – whose original purpose was to strengthen the barriers in the Valley against the Abyss.

 

The Ark has four drawers in its sides, one at each cardinal direction.  Ayo places on of the claw medallions into a drawer, followed by an eye medallion in another.  Klar reluctantly removes the Gauntlet of Beriah from his right hand and places it inside the third drawer.  Finally, Jack draws out the Skull of Saelis and puts the relic in the last empty drawer.  The five heroes gather around the Ark and pray to their respective deities as Ayotunde channels divine energy (a turning attempt) through the Ark to cleanse it of fell influence.  The artifact shudders and strains, releasing a deep resonant hum from within and then falling silent.  The shrunken heads and other symbols of evil crumble to dust and fall off, and the gleaming white planar metal of the Thulkarr artisans shines brightly on the Ark’s surface once again.  With this final heroic act, the conspiracy to re-open the shattered gates of Slaughtergarde and merge the Abyss with the Prime Material Plane has failed.

 

 

As the party completes the cleansing ceremony for the Ark, it releases a wave of blue-white energy outwards.  Though it does not harm any of them, the energy wave pulverizes three ruined gates and one final intact gate in Gashkarr’s inner sanctum.  The gates cannot be repaired by any mortal means, now.  As the energy dissipates, the friends see a silvery mist spilling forth from the Ark.  The mist coalesces into a huge dragonic form, glittering with platinum scales and sharp edges.  Standing before them now is an aspect of Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon himself, king of all good dragons.  Behind the mighty Bahamut stands a large brass dragon who looks bemusedly down at Altaer with glittering black eyes… this can only be the spirit of Altaer’s ancestor Azramamahmoudinaj, or Commandant Azra, as he was once known.

 

Bahamut addresses the group: “Your cleansing of the Ark has dealt a serious blow to the evil forces at work in this region.  The Ark is sacred to the Thulkarr, with whom I was allied in ages past against the forces of Mu-Tahn-Laa and Slaughtergarde.  But Gashkarr was not the architect of these plans…”  Now the party recalls the name that Gashkarr was cursing: Azarr Kul.  At this point, Commandant Azra’s spirit interrupts with a long, rambling introduction and a tale about his exploits against the demons.

 

Seemingly nonplussed after this outburst, Bahamut continues: “The name Azarr Kul is unknown to you, but not for long.  He is a direct descendent of Mu-Tahn-Laa and has the blood of blue dragons in his veins, as did his ancestor.  Azarr Kul is now raising an army in the Wyrmsmoke Mountains in the Elsir Vale to the south, and he intends to march on the vulnerable southern lands of Oberwald soon.  He is a dedicated servant of the accursed Tiamat – one of her divine Talons on this plane.  Azarr Kul must be stopped before his army conquers all of the Elsir Vale.  He intended to supplement his forces with hordes of demons from the gates of Slaughtergarde, but you put an end to those plans.”

 

Azra again interrupts Bahamut with a lengthy tactical analysis of his final heroic stand against a horde of 40 vrocks and hezrous.  Bahamut closes his eyes and waits patiently for Azra to finish his tale, and then speaks again.

 

“Altaer, you have inherited your ancestor’s feud with Tiamat’s forces, and therefore mine as well.  Klar, you may find that answers from your past find their way to you as you journey toward the Wyrmsmoke mountains – there are orcs among Azarr Kul’s forces as well.  Jack Dunstan, you wear a rare dreambrand which makes your presence here significant as well.  Further, the Shandae and Gwardo are awake and present among you, having sent Ayotunde and Kaelin to your sides.

 

“With your permission, I too shall mark you as my champions in this battle.  You have worked for the past months as operatives for my Luminous Order, and I have watched you from a distance and been pleased with your choices.  Know that if you accept my mark, you will be known as enemy to those loyal to Tiamat, queen of the evil dragons.  However, the mark is not without certain benefits as well.”

 

Each of the five companions searches him- or herself, but the decision does not take long.  All accept the Mark of Bahamut, which grants a permanent extra feat.  The mark manifests directly on this skin as a pale, silvery version of the Luminous Order’s coat of arms.

 

Azra and Altaer continue their animated conversation for as long as Bahamut will allow.  After an hour, he looks at Azra as if to say “it is time.”  An expression of sadness crosses the brass dragon’s incorporeal features as he bids farewell to his young descendant.  Azra wishes all the companions luck in battle as he fades away into the receding mists and back into the Ark of the Mountain.  Bahamut’s aspect commands the heroes to return the Ark to the Luminous Order, where it can be protected and venerated as a holy relic of the ancient Thulkarr should be.  With a final farewell, the Platinum Dragon joins Azra, fading away from sight as the misty emanations of the Ark cease.

 

Night has fallen by the time Bahamut has faded away, but the Armory complex is now abandoned and relatively safe.  The party rests on the first level near their usual spot by the elevator, preparing to leave with the heavy Ark by dawn’s first light.

 

Alindor 22-23: Bearing the Ark before them, the heroes march triumphantly out of the Slaughterscar, which even now has begun to show signs of recovering from centuries of demonic blight.  They make good time through the ‘Scar, spending the first night at the vine cave and returning to the Shining Citadel by the late evening of Alindor 23.

 

    Alindor 24: The Luminous Order of Bahamut throws an all-day celebration on the heroes’ behalf.  Champion Layna Jaran presents the five companions before the assembled Order, praising their bravery and sacrifice.  She also delivers a kindhearted eulogy for Dvalin Windhammer, who met his sad fate within the Armory.  Champion Jaran and the other knights and crusaders of the Order are most impressed when the heroes show off their Marks of Bahamut, and Layna pledges the Order’s support for their continued efforts in the south against Azarr Kul.

 

    During the celebration, Champion Jaran introduces the heroes to a handsome man named Kain Ulverth.  No more than 25 years old, clean shaven with shoulder-length brown hair, Kain is the son of Captain Lars Ulverth of the Lions of Brindol.  He journeyed north to the Shining Citadel to seek assistance for the small town of Drellin’s Ferry, which has seen more than its share of goblinoids raiders since the spring thaw began.  Kain is concerned that the raids may be a probing action for something more serious, and he is most disturbed by Kaelin’s and Jack’s description of Azarr Kul’s plans for the Elsir Vale.  Kain proposes that he travel with the party back to Brindol and arrange defenses there, while they assist Drellin’s Ferry directly.  After a short discussion the companions agree to take Kain along and propose to leave the following morning.

 

    That night, Klar seems very restless.  Refusing the company of his companions, the half-orc gathers his ancestral axe and heads out into the forested hills near the Citadel.  He finds a secluded clearing and spends some time gathering sticks, logs and kindling, then sets a large bonfire ablaze, tossing pungent Orcish tinctures and herbs on the fire as he whirls around in a frenzied battle dance.  Klar huffs and puffs, grunts and growls, and shouts his devotion to his one-eyed god Ijruk as he plunges his axe into the fire, heating it and searing the skin of his hands.  As his trance deepens, Klar looks into the heart of the fire and knows what he must do: he reaches up and with only a heartbeat of hesitation, reaches into his right eye socket and plucks out his living eyeball.  With a howl of ecstatic rage that fills the night air, Klar gains the insight and divine inspiration to become an Eye of Ijruk – a fierce and barbaric shock trooper in service of the Bitter Spear, God of the Orcs.  The ceremony also charged both blades of his orc double-axe with magical energy, enhancing the blades permanently to cut deeper into the flesh of his enemies.

 

    While Klar performs his bloody ritual, Jack shares a few whiskey shots with the strange traveling merchant Besha, who still seems fey-touched and mysterious to Jack.  As the two get deeper into their cups, Besha agrees to spend the evening using his weaponsmithing skills to make the blade on Jack’s scythe more keen.  Jack and Besha work for most of the night hammering and honing the blade of the scythe, and they also carve its handle with woodland and fey imagery.

 

    Alindor 25-27: By morning, Klar has returned to the Citadel and everyone else has recovered from the previous day’s revelry.  Accompanied by Kain Ulverth of Brindol, the party (now numbering six) travels south out of the Shining Citadel past Jewelford on the Rhest Road out of the Valley of Obelisks.  They pass by a swamp known as the Blackfens to the west, and Kain informs them that the sunken ruins of Rhest – a troubled place infested by evil – lies about a half day’s journey through the fens.  They pass through the north end of the Elsir Vale, stopping briefly at the village of Witchcross on the way to Brindol.

 

    Alindor 28-29: By the afternoon of Alindor 28 the party is in sight of the gates of Brindol. Built in the times of the Thulkarr Alliance by dwarves, humans and elves, the beautiful walled city is the largest in the Elsir Vale, and serves as the Vale’s only significant defensible point north of the city of Oberwald.  Should Brindol fall to the army which is rumored to be massing near the Wyrmsmoke Mountains, the vulnerable southern lands near the capital would almost certainly be overrun, placing the entire nation of Oberwald in jeopardy.

    The party spends a day in Brindol resting and recuperating, and they take the opportunity to sell a few choice items to the city’s rich merchants, who are able to pay expected prices for such valuables.  Kain Ulverth proves to be a reliable guide, and his sterling reputation as the son of the Captain of the Guard seems well deserved.  Everywhere they go, the party is smartly saluted by the Lions of Brindol – it seems their reputation as heroes of the Luminous Order now precedes them.  The Lions’ captain, Lars Ulverth,  grants each adventurer a trained riding horse to speed them on their way towards Drellin’s Ferry.

 

    Alindor 30 – Maia 1, 22CR: The two day journey by horseback to Drellin’s Ferry is uneventful, as the party passes by the small peaceful townships of Nimon Gap and Terrelton.  They arrive at Drellin’s Ferry in the evening of Maia 1 and enjoy a fine meal prepared by the halflings of the Old Bridge Inn.

 

    Maia 2: The companions eat a pleasant breakfast at the Old Bridge – so named for the ancient Dwarf Bridge which now lies crumbling a mile south of the ferry crossing.  After filling their bellies with hotcakes, maple syrup, fried eggs and ham they explore the little township and meet its leader, a middle-aged bearded human named Norro Wiston.  Speaker Wiston informs them of the ongoing goblin raids across the river north in the Witchwood, and asks them to coordinate their scouting with Guard Captain Soranna.

 

    The lady guard captain is a no-nonsense woman with a serious demeanor and long raven hair.  Jack takes an immediate liking to her, while Ayo makes eyes at Brother Derny, the young acolyte in charge of maintaining the local Arinnite shrine.  Soranna believes (as Kain Ulverth does) that the goblin scouts are the tip of a much larger force, which the party confirms based on their information from Bahamut and the Luminous Order.  She suggests that the party scout the Witchwood in force while she coordinates the defense of Drellin’s Ferry with Speaker Wiston, and they agree to the plan.  According to Wiston and Soranna, much of the goblinoids activity has centered around the Vraath Keep ruins.  The Keep is an abandoned manor house that once belonged to an orc hero by the same name.  The original Lord Vraath was a warlord from the Wyrmsmokes who fought against his own tribes in defense of the Elsir Vale more than 150 years ago.  Searching the environs around the Keep might lead to the bulk of the goblinoids’ army, Sorrana argues.

 

    Wiston is relatively unconcerned, believing there are only about 100 goblins in the Witchwood.  He is glad to have the heroes’ help, but insists that once Vraath Keep is dealt with the threat to his township will be over.  Skeptical of his claims, the companions settle in at the Old Bridge Inn with Soranna to plan their scouting mission.  By the time all pertinent decisions have been made, the halflings are bringing out a complimentary catered dinner, so the party waits until daylight to begin its sortie into the Witchwood.  They spend a peaceful night sleeping in the soft beds of the Old Bridge.

 

    Maia 3:  Klar leads the group over river crossing west (using the ferry, which is still functioning).  He turns north and blazes a trail into the Witchwood itself, quickly moving from tree to tree under the wide canopy of oak, ash and spruce.  The day is warm and breezy, and though Klar sees worg tracks, wolf tracks and goblin tracks by the light of morning, no foes present themselves.  Around noon, Klar spots a trail of smoke lazily rising from the chimney of a log cabin in a well-hidden grove.  The party approaches the cabin cautiously, but the voice of a cantankerous orc calls out: “I see you out there!  More goblins, come and take your medicine from old Jorr!”  A few warning arrows shoot out from the cabin windows, but Klar dodges aside and addresses Jorr in orcish.  “We’ve come from the Ferry,” says Klar, “and we’re hunting the goblins too.”

 

    This news brings the orc woodsman Jorr out from the cover of his cabin.  The old orc has scruffy long black hair with poorly kept mutton-chop sideburns and grey skin.  He wears a longbow on his back and a hand axe at his belt.  Jorr approaches, giving Klar a strong embrace and acknowledging his missing eye for what it is – a symbol of strength and power among Ijruk’s faithful.

 

    After inviting the group inside for venison jerky and hot herbal tea, Jorr informs them of the goblinoids’ movements in the Witchwood, so far as he knows: they are taking orders from a “big bugbear” at Vraath Keep, and there are multiple incursions of goblin worg riders into the forest each day.  Jorr has seen enough tracks to assume there’s “at least a hundred, maybe two hundred of the little buggers” moving freely around in the Witchwood.  He’s impressed by Klar’s stories of killing goblins and other foes up north in the Valley of Obelisks, and even agrees to serve as the party’s guide in the Witchwood after Jack offers him 10 gold pieces a day.

 

    Now seven strong – Altaer, Ayo, Jack, Kaelin, Klar, Kain and Jorr – the party follows Jorr’s lead as the ranger takes them north and west towards the Blackwater River.  The grizzled old orc warns them of another danger: the crossing platform at the Blackwater’s edge, which leads to Vraath Keep a few miles north, is menaced by a swamp hydra that Jorr calls “Old Grandfather.” 

 

    Sure enough, as they approach the platform Ayo spots a pair of beady draconic eyes hiding deep in the mire.  She points to Jorr, who nods grimly.  “That’s Old Grandfather, all right.  We’re in for it now.”  The party forms a defensive wedge and Altaer lets loose with a mighty fireball, drawing out the angry hydra.  The six-headed beast emerges from the muck, roaring its rage at being singed by fire.  It dashes across the swampy landscape into the party’s wedge, biting and snapping with its heads and severely wounding Jack.  But the fey-touched warrior is tougher than the hydra expected and he fights on, laying into Old Grandfather with his keen scythe.  The adventurers focus their attacks mercilessly on the hydra’s body and it finally slumps to the ground dead, its six heads ceasing movement as they each give an individual death rattle.

 

    Now that the crossing is safe, the party continues onward toward their destination.  About an hour before dusk they reach a clearing which opens out into a larger manor and farmstead – this must be Vraath Keep.  An eerie green light is visibile in the Keep’s high tower, and the party takes cover in the nearby woods to survey the area further.  Kain Ulverth receives a sending from his father Lars in Brindol and gives his notice to the others that he must depart immediately; this was not unexpected, and the five companions bid farewell to Kain as he spurs his horse southward along the road to Brindol.