The unlikely hero's are coming together, but what they have in common can also rip them apart ... (as observed by) The late? Bertrand Prenav 1491
The hero's emerged fresh and anew from the Hall of Reckoning. They were met by an unusual army lead by a Dark Omen riding a Black Dragon called The Dark Rider or Slayer. It asked for the weapon Garren acquired - Xanthos Ex Democritium - to only become angry and scream betrayal upon discovering the weapons true design. Slayer is powerful, it called down a meteor storm on the party by taking the lives of his army to power the spell in the protected area and then fled the aura of the sword.
The party healed up and went back to Duskhollow to acquire a sextant to make a map to find the Tomb of Chaos. Salodan Hamir had a sextant for sale in his shop. The party paid a hefty price for it. But it is an antique. It was made by Exacting Machinations Incorporated in 503 DR. Almost 1000 years ago - the current year is 1491 DR. And it looks brand new.
The PCs spent several nights working on the map using the arcane, the stars, cartography and luck following the cryptic instructions. They were successful. To celebrate they ventured back to the Greenside Tavern. Kaitsyl Stonefoot waved them in where they took a seat at a table in the back. The party dined on braised boar, flatbreads, boiled spiced roots, and seasonal greens followed up with sweet cakes. During the course of the evening the PCs noticed the patrons and musicians would suddenly stop talking and carousing and stare at them. The whole place would go quite. It happened several times.
Barris brought out pipes and a blend of Old Grey leaf to smoke and discuss matters. Darren and Garren made amends to Barris. Barris then told the tale of how he lost his Family Shield and Sword in a con game. He was swindled, taken advantage of.
The con was run by two hafling female thieves:
- Sly Cassandra
- Blue-eyed Jona
Melusine Villeta and a few others in town have all said they believe the two con artists hailed from Red Larch or the Dessarian Valley - the epicenter of the awakening Elemental Evil. Barris would be very grateful if the PCs could recover his Family heir-looms.
As the evening and conversation wore on, Garren noticed a tall hooded and cloaked humanoid emerge from a dark corner in the Greenside Tavern and scuttle away outside. The PCs followed and sprung the hag's trap. Four assassins targeted the party; two hitting Garren with magical experience draining arrows. At the same time a portal in the sky above Duskhollow opened.
Garren's experience points streamed out of him through the arrows into each of the assassins and up into the portal where one of the Hags collected it. Garren resisted several times which only enraged the hag. Determined to acquire Garren's experience, she sacrificed an elf infant and gained more power to infuse into her spell. While Feelings provided cover with offensive Eldrich spells, Deni and Darrin secured a cart and pulled/pushed it to block the energy steam. The Hag tried one last time to acquire what she needed from Garren. She drove her staff - which became 500' long - through the portal into he ground around the Heros to pull more experiecne from Garren, but he resisted. She eventually quit; closing the portal in the sky. But the party wonders ... did she get what she wanted? A coven will use obscure magic to forge a powerful scrying artifact known as The Eye.
The assassins were also killed in the process, they were used as "lightening rods" to channel Garren's experience to the portal. [This might not go over well with what ever group supplied the assassins]
The PCs made preparations to journey through the bog to uncover the Tomb of Chaos. They procured supplies. Darrin asked out loud for a composite bow and a vendor suddenly appeared with a bow. It was evil and dominated Darrin, saying it wanted him to Kill Garren. Garren detected the evil in the artifact and surmised it had conquered Darrin. He used his new blade Xanthos to destroy the bow. The vendor promptly vanished in a puff of smoke. [What was that all about?]
The Hero's regrouped and made way through the bog following the strongest arm of the river. They battled Ghouls, discovered a freshly killed hill giant with acid burns and huge slashes caused by talons. {Possibly a black dragon???] The rotting corpse was a vile and nauseous site. The party made haste when they sensed a horde of insects on the way to consume the corpse.
We last saw the party make camp a night or two away from what could be the path to their destination. As the night traversed they met an entity called memory moss. It stole Darrin's memories. The moss flung spells at the party and then did nothing more while a swarm of poisonous frogs joined in on the chaos. The party burned the swarm.
The Unresolved:
What is in the Tomb of Chaos?
Why has Louissa Prenav sought out the Tomb of Chaos?
What happened to the Dwarves of Ballentine Creek?
What is the Tombs relationship to Elemental Evil?
What is going on with the strange patron behavior in the Greenside Tavern?
Help Balen befriend Duskhollow
Have the hags completed construction of The Eye?
Who's elven child did the hag use as a sacrifice?
Who heard Darrin ask for a composite bow?
Is Bertrand Prenav dead?
What's underneath the Sacred Woods Watchtower?
What's in Red Larch and how does it connect to the awakening of Elemental Evil?
Where are Barris Stonefoots' family Sword and Shield?
Who and where are:
- Sly Cassandra?
- Blue-eyed Jona?
What or who is Slayer?
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