Session 6

Date: 2/11/2018

Attending: Jake, Dave, Wes, Joey

Absent: Aaron - traveling, Justin – schedule conflict

Start Time: 7:10 p.m.

The party rests for 8 hours in the choker cavern.  Osbert is able to kick his case of filth fever during this time, but Soromir still suffers from the disease. Upon waking it is revealed that Jace is afflicted as well (his incubation roll being 2 days as opposed to Osbert & Soromir who rolled 1 each respectively).  The party upon waking gets involved in a discussion as to what to do next. Osbert lays out 5 options (as he sees it):

1) Head topside and explore the jungle, possibly facing the hellcat

2) Return to the wasp nest

3) Stay put and try to heal up

4) Return to the mushroom forest to explore

5) Return to the rat tunnel

The group weighs each option in turn and finally decides to rest for 2 solid days in the choker cavern. After that period they plan to head to the mushroom forest next. The party camps out again. After the first day they deplete the meager stores of food and water. Khalo is able to replenish the water reserves with his druidic magic, but the second day of rest is a hungry one. During that time both Jace and Soromir are able to shake off the filth fever contracted from the earlier battle with the rats and the party is more or less healed up and recuperated.

They head off for the mushrooms, threading their way through the lava tubes. Almost too late Osbert remembers the danger of the purple mushrooms, and the adventurers are able to avoid triggering one. The mushroom forest is as vast as they remembered, and is eerily quiet and they wander between the giant stalks. Unfortunately Khalo determines that none of the mushroom varieties are edible, and the party continues hungrily on. After a few hundred yards they come to a sheer cliff. Below them giant mushrooms grow out of the side of the cliff face and they realize that it may be possible to jump down relatively safely – but there is no way to return easily. The dim illumination of the lichen does not reveal how far down the cliff goes, nor how far it is to the other side. Osbert throws a few triangular copper coins out in various directions, but no one is able to hear them land (did Dave mark them off his sheet? I don’t remember seeing him do so, but he may have. If not – mark off 3 copper). Rather than risk the climb, the party follows the cliff line for a ways.

As they do so, Khalo notices something moving in the darkness, seemingly walking on the air below in the canyon. No one else is able to see what his sharp eyes notice, but they agree to let him investigate. Climbing down on some higher mushroom caps along the cliff wall, Khalo sees that most of the canyon is lightly covered with thin webbing. The movement he saw was an enormous black spider, three times the size of a farm cart, walking along the web. Returning to the clifftop, Khalo informs his fellows of what he has seen. Realizing that this spider is much larger than the ones fought previously and a different type – it being slick slender black with a huge abdomen instead of the brown bristly roughness of the others – the party makes a quick quiet withdraw from the mushroom forest.

Returning to the tunnels, our heroes turn next to the rat tunnel. Arriving at the location of the previous confrontation with the rats they realized that they had mistakenly assumed that many more rats awaited them. Instead they find the tunnel empty and proceed on. After a while they come to another fork and choose the left branch. After yet more walking they smell a fair whiff of salt in the air. Pressing on they come to another fork.  To the right is the unmistakable taste of fresh sea air, and the faint sound of lapping water. To the right they hear what sounds like voices conversing in the distance.

Choosing to chase the sea instead of the voices they bear right and after ¼ of a mile the tunnel widens out into a sandy beach. A hidden cove is nestled in a vast cavern. Sunlight pours in from the huge opening in front of them, and the reflection dances across the cave ceiling 80 feet above. Beached on the soft sand are two vessels. One is old and has obviously been there a while and neglected. The other is a sleek  single masted yacht. There is no name painted on the side and it looks relatively new. It is clearly built for speed.

Immediately their thoughts turn to escape, but before they can jump aboard the yacht they see something approaching the cove in the sea. Squinting Khalo and Osbert are able to make out what looks like a giant skull of something reptilian on the waves. Oars are sticking out of its teeth, and on the white bone forehead is a red symbol which makes them feel a little queasy to look at for some reason.

Not wanting to confront whatever is within that dark vessel, the party retreats back into the tunnels. This time they choose to explore the passage where they heard voices. Moving quietly they enter a cavern that has many rock formations – stalactites, stalagmites, and columns where the two met and grew together. They quickly hide behind a low formation, peering over the rock at the occupants of the room who have not noticed them. Against the far wall, some 40 feet from where our heroes hid, is an odd circular mechanical door. It pulsates with green light – subtly different from the bioluminescence of the cave walls – and has a mechanism in the center. As for the occupants, there are two.

The first is pacing back and forth, gesturing quickly as he speaks. He is a tall lean hatchet-faced man, clean shaven, whose jet black hair is pulled back in a ponytail. He is wearing black leather armor with the cultist symbol on the chest, but it is noticeably fancier and higher quality than the suit Soromir currently wears. He is wearing tastefully elegant boots in pristine condition, embroidered gloves, and a rapier that seems to drip a liquid onto the ground that bubbles and hisses on contact with the stone floor. On his forehead is a golden circlet, and three small glowing stones orbit his head as he paces.

The second is leaning against the wall of the cave in a relaxed pose. He has a plain brown cloak with the hood pulled up, only revealing a short brown beard and an unremarkable nose. Two handles stick out of his cloak revealing weapons on his belt, but what those weapons are cannot be said. He has a dull green sash over a plain linen tunic, but underneath the glint of metal can be faintly seen suggesting his is far more armored than he appears.

The party tunes into what is obviously an ongoing conversation, and one that has probably gotten repetitious as the two men wait for something. The Hatchet-Faced man is saying “I resent having to work with these things. The Tainted Ones are just fringe creatures of no real power.” The bearded man replies calmly in a patient tone, “You would be surprised at how powerful the Tainted Ones can be. Just because they are rarely seen does not mean they should be dismissed lightly. Besides, they are the only ones who can open the door.”

“Bah. They are worse than goblins. Crude illiterate beasts.”

“Regardless, this is our task.”

A long pause stretches out for a moment, finally broken by Hatchet-Face who says, “They should have been here by now. This isn’t even our scheme! The Serpent Cult is being treated as errand runners and…” He suddenly goes quiet as the pounding of heavy rhythmic footsteps echo down the tunnel. Beard Man looks at him for a moment and quietly says “They’re here.” Hatchet-Face rolls his eyes and mutters “Finally!” under his breath as four creatures march into the room.

They are a hunched squat 6 ½ foot tall, seemingly a solid mass of muscle. Coarse brutish faces over a chain shirt that stretches to mid-thigh; they seem to have no neck so heavily muscled are their shoulders. Their feet are covered by heavy thick solid steel boots that come up almost to the knee. Small trickles of blood run out over the tops of the boots, staining the metal with rivulets of brown, black, and red. They each hold a massive axe in one hand with a blade of pitted coarse iron fully two feet long.  Having entered they take position in a formation and stand stock still, staring at the two men in the room. Hatchet-Face seems a little less derisive now that they are in the room; it is clear that this is not what he expected.

The tableau is still and silent for a moment. A rhythmic thocking noise is heard. A moment or two later that thocking is revealed to be a staff hitting the ground as a diminutive shriveled figure steadily walks into the room, using a twisted length of wood for support.

This creature is clearly ancient. At three feet six inches tall, it looks like a desiccated cherub, withered wrinkled skin drawn over a round skull. It’s eyes are sunk deep under heavy brows – no eyeballs can be seen. Instead two pinpricks of light seem to shine out of the depths of black voids. On its head is a red cap that glistens slightly in the pale illumination. Tiny runnels of blood leak out from under the cap, dampening the wisps of white hair. It wears a simple grey robe, tied at the waist with a piece of rope. Around its neck is a leather thong with three things hanging from it: an extremely lifelike carving of a dead raven, a crude wicker doll in the pose of a hanged man, and a small glass vial filled with something jet black.

The creature arrives in the center of the steel booted formation and leans on its staff. Slowly it scans the room. When it gets to the place where the party is hiding it stops. Soromir realizes he has locked eyes with it; a quick flicker of the points of light that serve as eyes lets him know that it has seen him and his companions. All of the party realizes that their flesh has goose bumped and their pulse quickened; this tiny figure has a presence that triggers a primal fear in each of them.

Impatiently Hatchet-Face breaks the silence with “Well? What’s the hold up?” Holding Soromir’s gaze with its own, the creature smiles, revealing an impossibly wide mouth that seems to split its head from ear to ear and a mouth filled with tight needle like teeth. It’s faint raspy voice slides through the air as it replies “Just checking to make sure all is as it should be. And it is.” Turning to Hatchet-Face it continues, “I am here as agreed.”

“You’re Blackbriar?”

“I am.”

Another moment ticks by and Hatchet-Face snaps “Well go on. Open the door!” The small creature just stood there, leaning on his staff. Finally he rasped out “This is just a business arrangement. My payment?”

Without a word Hatchet-Face turned around, went behind a rock column, and returned with a small wooden chest. The creature staffed over to the chest raised the lid and peered inside. He then closed the lid and one of his brutish bodyguards stepped forward and took it. Then the small creature measuredly went over to the round mechanical door. Deftly manipulating the device in the center the door began to shift as sections separated from the whole and recessed into the cave wall. Finally it was open. From beyond a green light poured into the cavern, a green that was the green of sickness and decay.

The creature then turned and returned to the center of the room. Locking eyes with Osbert this time it paused and then without looking away from the hidden paladin, said over its shoulder to Hatchet-Face, “How are Yalathoon’s plans progressing?”

Sensing an opportunity Hatchet-Face stepped closer to him and said, “You would be wise to join him Blackbriar! He has many allies including the Cult of Set and the Serpent Cult! His plans near fruition and it would be well for you to be aligned with him when they do. In a moment one of the Dark Ones will arrive to pass through the door.”

Still holding Osbert’s gaze Blackbriar replied, “I have no interest in Yalathoon’s plans or success. Or in staying any longer on this island. Now that mystic ways are no longer barred…” With that he waved his shriveled hand and disappeared into thin air. On his disappearance the four heavy Tainted Ones turned and marched out, back in the direction they came.

Not a split second later a purple light appeared in the air in the center of the cavern. It traced a vertical circle in the air and when it was complete a grey field filled the circle. Stepping out of it was a new figure. It was tall, seven feet at least, and rail thin, tightly wrapped in a black cloak and robe. The deeply drawn hood shifted slightly and Khalo saw what looked like a tiny tentacle come out of the hood and pull it back into place. Hatchet-Face gave a slight bow of the head and said, “Dark Lord.” Then he, the tall figure, and the Bearded Man all crossed through the round door and beyond.

The party counted to five and then ran out of the now empty cavern, straight to the enclosed beach. They saw that the skull vessel was there, and the mouth was opened. In the mouth, seated on rows of benches were dozens of small creatures that looked like Blackbriar but not shriveled or ancient. The last of the large Tainted Ones finished stepping in and turned around. It was clear that he could see the party but he stood impassively as the mouth of the giant reptilian skull closed over him, oars extended from its teeth, and it began to row out to sea.

The group didn’t miss a beat, but dove for the sleek yacht on the beach. Turning to Old Jarl, Osbert asked “How many people are needed to sail this thing?”

“We can do it with 2. More help is appreciated. Grab that rope, we’re in a hurry here.” As the guys frantically cast off, Khalo (I think? Someone if not him) turns to Old Jarl and said “Let’s said the island coast for a short piece to see if we can see Jarek and pick him up.” Old Jarl agreed and the yacht enters the sea, running along the beach.

The party does not see Jarek, and notices that the dinghy is missing. Soromir grimly looks around at the others and said, “I knew it. Told you so.”

After sailing away from the island for an hour the party searches the yacht from top to bottom. They find a hidden sack of 3,000gp, a barrel of salted beef, two barrels of fresh water, and a barrel of oranges soaking in rum. They also realize that the ship has no papers – not even a name painted on the side. Next they sat down and talked about where to go next. Old Jarl doesn’t think the small yacht could make the journey to Lemia, certainly not without more provisions. He speculates that the yacht had been sailed down from Pelon instead of from either mainland.

Old Jarl roughly sketches out the Forbidden Isles based on what Born-Under-Red-Sky told them, and the party decides to sail around the lagoon and put in at Sebastian’s Cove, the suspected pirate isle. It takes them 3 days of sailing to arrive.

On the journey Soromir notices that Norris has been very quiet, almost depressed. Ostar too looks grim. Soromir asks each in turn what’s bothering them. Ostar names the large brutish bodyguards of Blackbriar as Steeltoes, and give a terse description of Steeltoes and Redcaps and their origin. He then mutters “If Blackbriar is active again… there are people who must be told.”

Norris is afraid, because he feels like the creatures and people who were in the room are going to find out the party was there, and they will all be marked men whose time is limited. Osbert confirms that Blackbriar at least knew they were there. Ostar suggests that Blackbriar asked about Yalathoon for the party’s benefit – to give them info. Khalo mentions that he thought that the Cult of Set and the Serpent Cult were the same group. Norris says that they are not; they both come from a different world across the Void. He’s heard that the Serpent Cult worships something called the “World Serpent.”

On the evening of the third day out from Demos the Cursed Isle, they approach Sebastian’s Cove. At the edge of the island is a lighthouse capped with a giant skull, missing the jawbone. The light shines out from the eye and nasal sockets. It stands on a rocky outcropping that juts out into the sea. Sailing around it they sail into the cove.

Nestled into a rocky cliff, stretching upward over 3 tiers is a port town. It seems to mostly be created out of the remains of old ships and crude huts. Some 20 vessels are docked at a series of piers. They dock the yacht. Several buccaneers are walking by talking. Striking up conversation they learn that something unseen has been killing people, showing up after a castaway arrived in a weather beaten dinghy. They postulate that Jerek came in the dinghy and the hellcat stowed away, Life of Pi like.

Going into a tavern for a drink, they see that the common room is in disarray. Talking with the bartender they hear a tale about a castaway who came in, order drinks and food and ignored everybody. When it came time to pay he just looked up, gestured, and men started getting torn apart by unseen claws. The party then has darker suspicions about Jerek, the dinghy, and the hellcat.

Heading into town they stop at a store to provision. They purchase a few items, armor and weapons mainly, and Soromir tries to sell the cultist armor. The shopkeep’s eyes light up and offers a large sum –far more than a suit of leather is worth. Cautiously they leave and frequent a different shop. They all gather in a tavern and discuss next moves, possibly finding a captain willing to take on passengers.

End of Session

600 XP; 50 to Wes for blogging