Session Summaries
Session Summaries
Major Players
Mason Tarrent - Teymari Mage of the Cold Stone School
Sigil - Baylari Spearmaster
The Chick with No Name - Vaynari Silver Archer
Chapter 1 - Signs and Portents
Cast of Characters
Morbane Tarrent - Teymari Captain of the Maelstrom Defiler
Burgundy Tarrent - Teymari Mage of the Icy Depths School
Tyro Talsome - Teymari First Mage of the Maelstrom Defiler
The sea journey has been a long one. Each of you has their reasons for traveling across the Great Storm Sea, though each is loathe to speak about much of anything after all these months. Your ship, the legendary Maelstrom Defiler, has plowed through constant storms and weathered indomitable weather with ease, and the constant rolling of the deck has become almost second nature. The ship's renown captain, a certain Morbane Tarrent, says that the voyage's end will soon be near. You are three days out from Port Raelar on the Aerudin coast where you will lay over and restock before continuing on to Jade. As the sun goes down you can just make out the dim fringes of Corofas, the coral coast off to the northeast.
The ship is a huge mass of black cedar with three massive masts cloaked in billowing sails. Before you head down to a dinner invitation with the captain you notice the wind has started to pick up again. Dinner is splendid as usual and you mingle with the other guests and officers. After some small talk with first mate Tyro Talsome you end up chatting with Burgundy Tarrent, the ships wizard. He appears a bit uneasy about something, but will only volunteer that the wind seems a bit high for this time of year.
The wind is still blowing hard the next day as the ship slides into the Zendrien Narrows between the coast and the jagged islands that flank it. During lunch you suddenly feel the ship lurch violently. After settling for a minute it plunges dangerously and even the most steady are thrown from their seats. By the time you clamber out into the sunlight, the main deck is a hive of activity. Captain Tarrent is shouting orders and Burgundy can be seen standing at the prow preparing an incantation. The heavy mist in the air appears to solidify and form a shell around the vessel just as a number of huge black tentacles erupt from the water. The stench of decay is almost overpowering as the tentacles stretch to encircle the protective sphere. You can see Burgundy begin to shake as they constrict tightly. The crew is busily preparing for the worst by passing out weapons and preparing the longboats. With a loud crack, Burgundy collapses and his protective ward dissolves into sparkling motes. The tentacles crash down through the masts and quickly begin to crush the hull.
You and your companions aid the ship's complement of marines as they hack and slash the hideous rubbery mass, but it appears to have no effect. A magical attack only manages to irritate one tentacle so that it begins flailing at anything moving, crushing a number of marines and tearing off large chunks the forecastle. It is obviously a lost cause and the captain calls for all hands to abandon ship. There are some small rocky islands nearby to the south that the bulk of the crew make for. They do not get far unfortunately, as more tentacles emerge to smash the longboats and drag what's left into the deep. As the survivors ready three boats in an effort to strike for the Aerudin coast to the north, you notice that the flailing tentacle has three unusual glowing glyphs on its tip.
Your longboat takes the lead as you row hard towards the coast. The third in line, straggling just a shade, is quickly pulled down. There is not much left of the Maelstrom Defiler by this time but the creature does not pursue. A huge wave swamps the other boat but you manage to save half of its sailors. By the time you reach the coast you are exhausted and nearly drown, but the beach is a paradise after your ordeal. You reckon you are at least a week to ten days hard trudge to Port Raelar, but should be able to make it with luck as long as you can stay out of the cursed forest of Lysilaer (see the Curse of the Bonemage).
After marching down the coast for a few hours, you begin to look for a camp spot for the night. As you reach a rocky prominence spiking out from the beach, you see an old Vaynari lighthouse rising above the forest just inside the forest. What seems extremely unusual is that a golden light spills from one high window, cutting through the misty air back in the direction your ship went down. These lighthouses were once numerous along the coast here but were abandoned with the coming of the Bonemage some two millennia ago. Curiosity overwhelming exhaustion, you and your companions leave the remaining marines and sailors to build a campfire while you investigate. An overgrown path flanked by markers leads to small meadow surrounding the lighthouse. The bleached and brittle bones of numerous animals and what appears to be a few humanoids lie scattered ominously across the meadow. Whatever killed them is not evident, and its obviously been many years since they died.
An quick reconnoiter reveals the lighthouse only contains the ancient remains of a set of double doors and some storage trunks. A stairwell winds up over thirty meters to the top. The room at the top is hexagonal with large gaping windows. In the center is a pedestal containing a rough cube of black stone bearing three glowing glyphs. These markings are the source of the piercing amber light and match those seen on the tentacle back at the ship. While heavy, you manage to turn the stone around. Your sharp eyed companion alarmingly sees the water out to sea begin to boil as the creature that destroyed you ship begins to head in your direction. Righting the stone causes it to return the depths.
Returning to the beach you hear shouts of alarm coming from the sailors. Emerging from the surf is a small horde of skeletons covered in barnacles, seaweed and carrying rusty and decaying weapons of all sorts. After an initial skirmish, you retreat back to the lighthouse to make a stand. The battle is bloody and vicious, but you and your companions ultimately destroy the undead. The rest of the night is uneventful and you manage to patch yourselves together enough to travel again. The wind has died down a bit and the morning is misty but warm. You scavenge a light breakfast and begin your trek.
Chapter 2 - The Black Priest
Cast of Characters
Captain Haradael - Vaynari Captain of the Coastal Rangers
Binabo - Dark Kadarian Black Priest
Gael Gla'Morgan - Teymari Mage
Two hours up the shore you come across the wrecked rear section of the Maelstrom Defiler. It appears to have washed up over night. Protruding from of the surf is a sealed sea-chest of black polished wood. It is full of wool padding protecting two small items. The first is a small square box of black wood with runes on five sides, and seven thin slots on the final side. The second item is a exotic looking lantern of black metal. It opens to accept some sort of crystal.
Five uneventful days down the coast you spy a troop of mounted soldiers riding down the road towards you. They turn out to be Vaynari rangers out of Port Raelar. The officer in charge introduces himself as Captain Haradael, a well known figure from the region. He tells you he was dispatched to hunt for survivors after a seer notified them of a tragedy at sea. You explain what happened and he decides to take half his men to search for other survivors and reconnoiter, while the other half escorts you back to Port Raelar. The squad healer fixes you all up and everyone gets their first good meal in a week.
The rest of the journey to Port Raelar goes fast and without incident. You are put up in the House of Raelar, the ritzy inn up in the hills above the harbor. After a warm bath and some libations, you are questioned by the local authorities. They inform you that the black sea-chest is the property of a certain Binabo, a Black Priest who also, coincidently, is the seer that 'saw' the ship sink. Binabo will be calling on them shortly. The surviving marines arrive and pay for drinks for your aid in keeping them and the remaining ship's sailors alive.
Feeling full and relaxed, you see an imposing man approaching. He is a huge Dark Kadarian with a bald pate and black leather and silk robes. He introduces himself as Binabo, a Black Priest. Everyone has heard of this mysterious order who was instrumental in opposing groups of sorcerers who made foul pacts with sub-world demons during the age of the great empires. They were legendary a thousand years ago, but have not been heard from frequently since then. He claims to be who the sea-chest was on its way to. He knows that it contains two items, but does not know exactly what they are. After examining them, he is disturbed. He does not recognize the runes on the cube, so they must be ancient or from a different dimensional realm. He does know that the lantern is some sort of communication device and that it is powered by a black prismatic crystal.
He hires you and your companions to venture to an associate in the nearby mountains that may have a crystal of the type needed. She is a Teymari mage-scholar named Gael Gla'Morgan who is studying the crystals found in the mountains of Torr Farrenfel. He provides mounts, a letter of introduction, and directions to the mage's fortified mansion a day's ride to the northeast. Gael is happy to help. She does not have the crystal needed, but determines some can be procured nearby. She tells you a bit about the Black Priests and you learn they are sorcerers in their own right. She has some historical tomes she lets you peruse that provides a bit of background on the seals to the sub-world and the sorcerous schools that once held sway across the world. You have a nice dinner and spend the night in the mansion.
The next morning Gael determines that they are likely two sources of black crystals within a few hours of the mansion. One is some deep fractures in a volcanic vent and the other is a nest of a Giant Raven that lives in a nearby peak. You have the choice of venturing into a subterranean vent or scaling mountainous cliffs. Mason definitively detects crystals of they desired type in the vent, so you decide to try for those first. After tunneling through twenty meters of stone to enlarge the smoldering, steam filled vent, you drop down into a large jagged chamber that drops down into the mountain. Some slithering sounds can be heard through the mist, and you know some rock worms make their home down here. Stealthily bypassing the passage containing the worms, you drop down through a smaller vent into a hot chamber full of rocky spikes. At the back a cluster of crystals can be seen. Once of them is the black prismatic one you are looking for. Attempting to extract it reveals that it is fused into the back of a large draconian beast who wakes up in annoyance. Mason manages a primitive form of mental contact with it. It offers to trade the crystal for a food in the form of some blue crystals. Such crystals are in the possession of the rock worms above.
The awakening of the dragon had some other side effects, however, and the shaking ground brings the rock worms to investigate. You and your companions manage to kill or drive away the first two moderately sized worms. The battle turns bad when a much larger worm arrives. After taking grievous injuries, a hail of arrows, magically enchanted stones and a last ditch spear thrust manages to finally kill the creature. The blue crystals found in the worm's lair are traded for the black crystal and you manage to stagger back to Gael's mansion before collapsing from loss of blood.
After getting patched up yet again, you head back to Port Raelar. Binabo is glad to see you return so soon and immediately places the crystal into the lantern. It begins to glow with a muted red aura. It begins to project the image of a shrouded man who speaks in an unknown and archaic sounding language. Even Binabo does not recognize this language. After a few minutes, the crystal is consumed and the lantern again becomes inert. Binabo is distressed but undefeated. He asks if you want to remain in his employment. When you agree he asks you to head to Rime, in far northern polar Mazradun to acquire the services of a scholar of languages who should be able to help (if anyone can). He will provide funds and contacts to speed you along your way. In the meantime he will find some more black crystals.