Sessions 25 & 26 18-19/10/717 Thunderspire #9 & #10 - End

#9 Joined by Wilf the elven scout, the party penetrates the Well of Demons, kills the gnoll leader Maldrick Scarmaker, and takes his silver teleport key. Rescue last two Fallcrest captives from Maldrick's  interrupted ritual to rededicate the Well from Baphomet to Yeenoghu.

#10 Party returns to the Seven Pillared Hall for overnight rest at the Inn while Steven & Andraste escort the captives back to Fallcrest. Meet Rakara, a red dragonborn & junior mage of Saruun, on his own quest to deal with the renegade Paldomar.
Group uses the silver key a teleport circle to enter the Tower of Mysteries, passing the challenge of the Aspect of Vecna. Messoria communes with her mother(?) and is blessed by Sehanine.

In a terrible battle at the Temple of Vecna within the Tower of Mysteries, Hengist the Warlord is slain by Paldomar, but the renegade mage's Bronze Warder and his army of carnage demons and norkers fall, until he alone remains. Failing to kill Messoria, Paldomar's nerve cracks and he flees via the teleporter, leaving Rakara Messoria Wilf & Aelar battered but living, and victorious. They destroy the Vecnite temple, ending Paldomar's plan to siphon the draconic energies of Tiamat into control of Saruun's Bronze Warders.

Then they return home.

Finis

Session 24 The Well of Demons 17-18/10/17 Thunderspire #8

17/18/17: Talk with the Ordinator Arcanis, representative of the Mages of Saruun in Thunderspire.
18/18/17: Travel down to the Well of Demons, deal with choker & tentacle beast sentries & gnoll pack.



Messoria Account - To the Well of Demons 

As the tieflings who had ambushed us had a controller for a Bronze Guardian, we decide to meet with a representative of the Mages of Saruun as we had been of the opinion that only they had access to the amulets enabling control of the Bronze Guardians. After some negotiation with the clerk, we gained an audience with the Ordinator Arcanis, one of the Mages.

Messoria related the story of the ambush and how the amulet had come into our possession. She went on to describe the results of the interrogation of Tears of the Rain, her description of the hooded figure named Paldomar and his instructions for meeting up with him at the Well of Demons. The Ordinator expressed his concern but raised doubts that it was Paldomar who ordered the ambush: perhaps a creature disguised as the wizard or Paldomar himself had been possessed.

He went on to tell us some of the lore surrounding the Well of Demons: it had been a cult centre for the worship of Baphomet, the demon lord of Minotaurs that had been raided and sacked by followers of Baphomet’s rival, Demogorgon. The centre of the Well was shielded and had been created as an area to test Minotaurs in their worship of Baphomet.

Recalling her studies of the area’s history, Andraste tells that the Minotaurs of Saruun Kel had been turning away from the worship of Baphomet in favour of Torog. They were cursed by Baphomet with the Curse of Mindless Fury, sending them mad so that Minotaur fought Minotaur until they were destroyed. The Curse caused the fall of Saruun Kel about 300 years ago.

The next day we head for the Deep Stair and the route to the Well of Demons shown on the tieflings’ map. As we are leaving the Seven Pillared Hall, Aelar spots recent tracks going away from the Deep Stair – we think they belong to the hobgoblin warcaster and his two goblin archer followers.

The Deep Stair winds steeply downwards until we think we are about 500’ below the level of the Seven Pillared Hall. The tunnel opens up into a large, low ceilinged room with five pillars and a dark pit. The ceiling is split by several old cracks about 18’’ wide.

As we wait at the entrance of the room, a voice booms out, greeting us as seekers of Baphomet’s Glory. It makes reference to tests and refers to Mask, Bell, Blade and Tome – perhaps a reference to the particular skills of rogues, priests, warriors and wizards? A moment later we realise that we have all heard the voice in our own language.

Before we can share our thoughts on this introduction, Messoria and Aelar notice a stocky figure, a ghoul, lurking behind a column, while the keen-eyed elf also notices slender creatures skulking on the ceiling, waiting to ambush us. Messoria calls out to focus on the ghoul as it can paralyze its victims, and with only four of us that could turn the tide of a fight. Messoria leads the charge and with the assistance of Aelar and Andraste the ghoul quickly falls. In that moment a strange, tentacle Lurker bursts from beneath the ground trying to snare Aelar in its lashing tentacles. Only Hengist’s timely warning gives the elf time to duck away. Other tentacles reach for Andraste but she calls on her winter fey heritage to dissolve into a flurry of snow to escape its grasp.

The Chokers on the ceiling attack Hengist and Aelar but as they in turn attack their captors, they have little resistance to either sword or arrow and area soon destroyed. Messoria tries to keep the Tentacle Lurker focussed on her, but its tentacles are able to attack everyone in the room. Just as it too is destroyed, a sleepy gnoll archer wanders into the room, perhaps awakened at the sound of the fight. Unfortunately we are unable to stop him from raising the alarm.

With the end of the fight, we are forced to take stock and catch our breath, despite knowing the gnolls are preparing for attack. They come at us from two directions, a hyena pack leading the charge from one corridor and a Dire Boar from the other. Aelar observes the Boar is mad with pain and being forced along at spear point.

He focusses his aim at the attacking groups and showers them with arrows before they can charge. Many of the hyenas are killed along with a couple of the gnoll marauders. The remainder charge at us, but the gnolls’ plan backfires as the other group of hyenas are unable to charge past the Dire Boar, thus halving the effectiveness of their planned two-pronged attack.

Aelar is able to convince the Dire Boar that we are not its enemies, so the Boar turns and charges the frustrated gnolls, trapping them in the corridor as the elf archer rains more arrows down on them. Messoria moves up to support the Boar, calling on Sehanine to heal the valiant beast as it gores its tormentors.

The gnoll marauders and their remaining hyenas close on Andraste and Hengist, but the eladrin rogue blinds them as her magic dagger stabs at their eyes. As they struggle to manoeuver, they are killed one by one. Seeing their comrades fall, the three remaining gnoll archers escape followed by the single surviving hyena.

Aelar's Letter

To whom it may concern: Please forward this letter to any member of the Woodsinger clan in Harkenwood forest, past the White river.
Or bring that letter to Fallcrest on King's road and give it to Leleth Snow, daughter of Lord Faren Markelhay and she will forward it further.
You can expect a reward of a gold piece or its equivalent in food or lodging if you bring that letter intact to its final destination or any part of it for any correspondng milestones.

Dear Mother, dear Father, and possibly, dear cousin Leleth.
I sincerely hope that this message finds you well as I have seem some troubling developments in the world outside our dear mother forest and hope that these haven't caught up with you.
Although I am confident that you would be able to cope with many an assaillant, as our old saying goes: "A hunter forwarned has his arrow already notched".
But first let me tell you what happened to me since I left the ancestral forest: Leleth and I went all the way to Fallcrest where she met the one that we never discussed.
Surprisingly, everything went well and we were offered the charge of guards as his personal armigers. That kept us occupied for some time before we got enrolled in various adventures.
Tne first one allowed us to find some new companions in arms during a Goblin attack in a tavern. This was the first of a long straight of increasingly tenacious fights with Goblins,
but also Hobgoblins, Kobolds, cultists, skeletons, and even later demons.
Fortunately, these companions are powerful allies and some belong to races I had only heard through our songs and lore:
- A Tiefling, some sort of fiercely-looking horned human, called Messoria, with a greatly skilled swordwomanship and a loyalty without a fail.
Gifted with powers that turn a fight always to our advantage.
- The half sister of Leleth, a very stunning lady for a human. She accompanied us in one or two adventures and she seem to arbor unnatural powers.
- A Dragonborn called Arjhan, some sort of scaly ogre who I proudly count as my friends before he succumbed to an ambush in a dark dungeon. May his scales rest in peace in the hall of Bahamut.
These dragonborn come across as sturdy lads but seem to be falling like the arms of a willow on a dry summer. Ghesh, another one of these fellows lost his life in similar unfortunate circumstances.
Maybe it's just that some God doesn't like them very much and sends fateful wishes their way... we'll never know.
The latest addditions to our merry band of adventurers are Andraste, the elegant Eladrin and Hengist, a human, both very battle hardened and skilled in turning a doomed battle
into a debacle for the enemy.
I have learned more in these past few months than I ever had since I was able to walk and track my first hare. And although I miss you terribly as well as our forest and our tribe,
I enjoy immensely the excitement in my life.
But enough of writing about myself. The crux of this missive is to bring to your attention towards the increasing insistence and presence of many forces of evil in the entire Nentir vale and as a result,
the wind of war and suffering that may reach the branches of our beloved forest of Harkenwood.
Be, more than ever, wary of the Daggerburg goblins and maybe species even more noxious from further afield and who could venture in our mother land.
I don't know when they will strike but I can only be sure of their inexorable rise. Prepare yourselves and prepare our tribe.

I hope that these fateful news do not obscure the ray of joy in your hearts. Enjoys your walks in the ferns and the orchards as if I was stepping beside your tracks.
I will come back one day, hopefully soon. And in the meantime, I will watch my back and keep my arrows straight as if you were there to do it for me.

Farewell,
Your son, Aelar.

Session 23 Return to Thunderspire Labyrinth 15-17/10/17 Thunderspire #7

Messoria Account: A Failed Ambush – Paldomar’s Mistake

We leave Steven, Frank and Wanda in Fallcrest to bolster the town’s defences and head back to Thunderspire and the seven Pillared Hall. Lord Markelhay had expressed his concern over the reports we brought of the Black Fang Gnolls and asks us to investigate further, and if the remaining prisoners are alive, to rescue them.

Once back in the Hall we decide to visit Rothar’s Taproom, a less than reputable hostelry patronised by orcs, hobgoblins and the like. On the way we pass the giant minotaur statue and observe that it is the locus for a teleport circle as we see one of the Mages arrive there.

At Rother’s Taproom we see the hobgoblin warcaster who survived the fight in the Chamber of Eyes and invite him to sit with us. We establish an armed truce and learn from him that the Black Fang Gnolls are led by Maldrek Scar-Maker and they lair in a place called the Well of Demons, far below the Seven Pillared Hall. The Well of Demons dates back to the time when the minotaurs built Thunderspire Labyrinth and was apparently an important location in a religious schism related to the minotaur worship of the demon lord Baphomet.

While we are talking, a kobold beggar enters the tavern searching for us. He gives Aelar a note inviting us to a meeting purporting to be an opportunity to gain a hidden ally in the Labyrinth – clearly an invitation to a trap!

Thinking we may be able to turn the tables and gather useful information from our would-be ambushers, we head to the location described which is in a dead end tunnel off the seven Pillared Hall. Messoria and Hengist take the lead while Aelar and Andraste follow in the shadows some thirty feet behind.

In the cave we see the bulk of a Bronze Warder standing next to a large boulder and a tiefling woman on top of a ledge ten feet off the ground that runs around the edge of the cave. Aelar shoots her and tries to trip her so she falls from the ledge but she is able to save herself and instead falls to the ground out of our sight, hidden by the angle of the ledge. He then shoots at the Warder and succeeds in briefly pinning him to that cave wall as he is attempting to roll the boulder on to Messoria and Hengist.

Messoria moves around the boulder and attacks the Warder, striking mighty blows against it with her Flaming Warhammer. Andraste darts forward and tries to climb up the ledge but slips in the loose rubble at its base. Hengist meanwhile holds back calling out his encouragement for Messoria to continue attacking the Warder.

The tiefling woman regains her feet and strikes at Aelar with her magic, attacking him with spectral snakes whose venom is only too real. Then a second tiefling appears from the shadows and blasts Aelar with balefire. Aelar stumbles backwards, seriously wounded, and tries to shoot the tiefling woman again but his injuries make it hard to aim and he misses her but with an effort of will he is able to throw off the worst of the tieflings’ attacks.

The Bronze Warder finally manages to roll the boulder into the doorway, cutting Andraste and Aelar off from the fight. It then turns and knock Messoria to the ground before attacking both she and Hengist with its powerful axe. Messoria is able to deflect its blow with her shield but the axe strikes Hengist, injuring him severely. Messoria gets to her feet, manoeuvres to get the Warder between herself and Hengist, and once more attacks until the cave resonates with the sound of hammer on bronze.

Andraste notices a gap between the top of the boulder and the cave roof and uses it to spot a safe place to fey step back into the cave to attack the now heavily damaged Warder. The tiefling realises that Messoria is likely to be immune to many of her attacks so instead turns her attention to Andraste, despite the burn of Sehanine’s light as she ignores the paladin’s challenge. Andraste is badly scorched and takes refuge behind another large boulder.

Working together Messoria and Hengist finally destroy the Warder and turn their attention to the tieflings who, recognising that the fight had turned against them, had once again ducked back out of sight at the back of the ledge.

Hengist and Andraste both manage to climb up onto the ledge to attack the female tiefling while Aelar, precariously balanced on top of the boulder blocking the entrance, shoots at the other. His arrow finds its mark and the tiefling stumbles forwards only to be assailed by holy light as Sehanine’s challenge makes it tumble over the edge and draws it to Messoria. Within seconds it is all over.

Seeing this the female tiefling offers to surrender, encouraged by the fact that when Framath the Duergar had surrendered we did not kill him. She says her name is Tears of the Rain and that she and her brother were hired by Paldomar to kill us, and even given control of a Bronze Warder to accomplish the task. She shows us a note that tells them to take our bodies and a sealed scroll to the Black Fang Gnolls and gives us a detailed map of (hopefully) the safest route there. She notes that when they spoke with Paldomar, he was always hooded but they saw small tentacles beneath his hood.

Hengist manages to roll the boulder aside, opening our exit, and Messoria orders Tears of the Rain to leave the Nentir Vale.

Session 22 Conquest of the Horned Hold 7/10/17 Thunderspire #6

Messoria Account:

The Defeat of the Duergar 

We rest briefly before continuing onwards. Concerned about the risk of getting surprised by an unexpected group of Duergar so deep in their stronghold, Andraste scouts the area before finding a spot where she can keep watch and warn us of any approaching threat.

The rest of us move forward cautiously, entering an antechamber with two doors. Through one of them we see the Duergar leader Murkelmor and some of his aides, so Aelar takes position by the door while the rest of us charge in. The theurge who had been talking with Murkelmor falls before us while Murkelmor himself is seriously injured.

Clearly deciding discretion to be the better part of valour, Murkelmor retreats to a fireplace blazing unusually hot – even Messoria can feel the heat of the flames - and ducks through a secret door behind it into the large room beyond.

Deducing that the other door from the antechamber leads to the same large room we divide our forces rather than try to force the bottleneck through the fireplace where there would be a risk of us getting trapped in the flames.

We successfully force the door and Steven is able to push his way into the room. We see Murkelmor supported by a group of Duergar guards, another theurge, who we find out is named Framath, and a pair of Spined Devils. The room comprises several pits in which are the prisoners we have been searching for.

Framath the theurge calls on his magic and manages to severely injure, blind and/or poison many of the party. Murkelmor himself is caught in the theurge’s attack, and in his seriously wounded state, it is enough to kill him. Framath calls out to rally the surviving Duergar that with Murkelmor’s death, he is now their leader.

Murkelmor’s death is a turning point for the Duergar and their defences start to crumble. One of the Spined Devils, seeing the way the fight is going, decides to take out its frustrations on the helpless prisoners and manage to kill three before Messoria can reach it to challenge it. Framath too is on the run but before he can escape Aelar’s arrow trips him into a flooded pit where he has no choice but to surrender.

In all we rescue seven prisoners including Herlof the Prospector and Grue the Goblin, sold to the Duergar by the Bloodreaver Goblins. Two further prisoners are missing, apparently taken by Black Fang Gnolls two or three days ago. Not wanting to be encumbered by prisoners, we leave Framath and the surviving Duergar tied up in one of the slave pits. A dagger placed nearly will allow them to free themselves but will give us time to get away.

We return to the Seven Pillared Hall with the rescued prisoners. Grue seeks refuge there while we escort the others back to Fallcrest. We remain in the town several days while Nimozaran uses much of the treasure we have found to fund upgrades to our equipment: Aelar and Andraste’s weapons are improved as is Messoria’s armour. He is also able to resize Murkelmor’s giant flaming maul to a more manageable size so that Messoria can wield it as a Warhammer.

Session 21 7/10/17 Thunderspire #5

Messoria Account - The Raid on the Horned Hold

Even as Messoria draws her sword to attack, she recognises one of the agents of her father, Kallain, disguised as a mercenary. The fight breaks out and Hengist, the mercenary warlord, starts shouting advice to us which we take full advantage of – much to the dismay of our opponents.

The remaining orc slave calls for aid and the three orc guards from the gate rush to help him, but it proves insufficient. Wanda is seriously injured, but is healed by Messoria who then charges the leader of the duergar: the formidable Forgemaster Urwall. Meanwhile Steven the dwarf has been slashing at his enemies with sweeping blows of the mighty dwarven waraxe, against which the orcs have no defence.

Aelar and Andraste snipe effectively from outside the melee, but the eladrin is surprised by a duergar scout who is able to turn invisible and attack her. She survives with minor injuries as the duergar is pursued into a dead end room by Hengist and Messoria where its invisibility is of little use.

With our enemies defeated before an alarm could be raised we take a few minutes to speak with Hengist and search the room. Hengist has been unable to explore the whole Hold as mercenaries are not wholly trusted, but he recalls seeing a group of slaves being taken across the bridge into the main hold, a Halfling amongst them. Andraste and Aelar find Urwall’s treasure which includes the Skull Sceptre which we have heard has been sought by Gendar, the drow merchant, even though it is not magical.

Using duergar cloaks as a basic disguise, and pretending to be either mercenaries or prisoners, we cross the bridge to the main Hold. Andraste attempts to pick the lock on the door but it proves resistant to her efforts. Hengist takes a more straightforward approach and is able to lever it open with a crowbar and brute strength.

From the hall beyond we hear the sounds of unsuspecting duergar sleeping or resting. Following the sound of snoring, Andraste sneaks into a room to attempt a coup de grace. However, as well as a sleeping duergar, an only too awake duergar wizard is on the far side of the room and immediately notices her. Before he can act, Messoria calls on Sehanine’s power and the wizard is compelled to walk towards the Paladin who is able to strike him down. Andraste, Frank and Wanda are meanwhile able to kill the other duergar as it awakens.

Still unnoticed we sneak into a guard room where we see a duergar soldier and two arbalest armed constructs built to resemble female minotaurs. The soldier and one of the minotaurs fall to our attacks, but from behind a wall appears another duergar who sees the situation and, running towards a large pair of double doors, raises the alarm.

Messoria charges after him and kills him even as the doors open revealing a huge ogress accompanied by four orc raiders. Steven rushes forwards to reinforce her and between them they are able defeat the hulking ogre. Trapped by Sehanine’s radiance, the orc raiders make futile attempts to attack Messoria with thrown handaxes, but her armour proves more than sufficient. The ogre however is able to land several telling blows on Messoria before she is killed and it is only Hengist’s intervention that saves her.

Session 20 7/10/17 Thunderspire #4

Carouse in tavern, Attack Grimmerzhul trade post, take duergar prisoner, travel to the Horned Hold. Bluff way in, reach the forge and attack...

Messoria Account - The Pursuit of the Duergar

On our return to the Seven Pillared Hall, Andraste speaks with Bennick the Wanderer, a bard who creates a (somewhat exaggerated) song relating our defeat of the hobgoblins in the Chamber of Eyes. He agrees to ask around and see if he can find out anything on the whereabouts of the Duergar camp.

In the tavern we speak with Vadriar the Sage, one of the most well-travelled of the labyrinth’s explorers. Unfortunately he has paid the price for his knowledge as he is haunted by something he has seen deep in the labyrinth. He is able to tell us that the Duergar are based in the Horned Hold, near a subterranean abyss, and that they travel there via a (not very) secret passage in the Grimmerzhul Trading Post.

On the chance we can foment trouble between the drow and the duergar, both of whom are likely involved in slave trading, we visit the drow trader in the Hall, but he seems disinterested by any potential competition. He is willing to sell information but is very mercenary about it.

With no recourse other than to confront the duergar in the trading post head on, we go in. The rest of us distract the two duergar at the counter while Andraste slips in through a side door. She knocks out the first duergar she sees who falls unconscious into his breakfast. Another duergar sees her and a melee ensues.

We are initially concerned that the bronze minotaur guards in the Hall who are tasked with keeping the peace will hear the fight and interfere, but the local indigents are apparently no allies of the duergar and none of them raise the alarm.

Messoria moves up to support Andraste, and between them they defeat the duergar leader, Kedira, while the rest of the party deal with the duergar guards. We take a survivor named Gurzal prisoner, and after some encouragement he agree to lead us to the Horned Hold and get us past the orc guards on gate duty.

Andraste searches the trading post and finds a letter from Murkelmor to Kedira, instructing her to buy provisions to ‘feed the merchandise’ alongside a map of the labyrinth.

Taking only the time to catch our breath we head off to the Horned Hold. Gurzal co-operates and, with Messoria bluffing that we’re bandits in disguise, we get past the orcs at the gate. Messoria releases Gurzal, warning him against crossing us in the future.

Going deeper into the Hold we find ourselves in a large forge with duergar smiths and orc servants. As our bluff wears thin, Messoria draws her sword and attacks.