Scene 1: The Fortress of Solitude
Our session opens with our heroes clustered on a small stone skiff flying out across the black depths of a nameless cavern towards the Fortress of Shraal, a demon of the Void. As they make their run for the entrance more skiffs begin to rise from below bearing leather clad, grey skinned drow corrupted by the power of the Void determined to cut them off from the Fortress.
Deciding to eschew speed for brute force ramming speed is declared and they smash in to the nearest skiff. Bodies are hurled everywhere and the enemy is driven out of the sky. Boarding the enemy skiff Morn destroys their original one sending their boarding party into the depths. The remainder flee and the group quickly make their way to the Fortress. As they enter the whole thing lurches, the Fortress is rising boring its way through solid rock to freedom.
Once inside they quickly navigate their way through drawn by the unnatural senses of Chiniko. They bypass deadly life sucking traps, tinker with ancient arcane engines and send ephemeral shadow demons fleeing with a miniature sun and in next to no time they find themselves before the Throne of Talisha, Queen of the Drow (and currently mind slaved minion of Shraal). She greets them, recognising Artemis from the description given to her by Kallista, his sister who she captured when she tried to steal the Heart. She offers Artemis free passage to rescue his sister from the pain amplification chamber she is trapped in. Accepting her offer he ducks down a set of stairs on his own leaving the rest of the group to face the Queen.
Scene 2: Mistress and Master
Talisha strikes hard and fast bringing the entire room into pitch blackness and sapping the strength from everyone. Assamber is struck first and wavers, he is in need of healing but no one can see anything. He Webs a huge area and then retreats inside of it to try and lock her down if she pursues him. Flame and Radiant spells are unleashed to try and light up her position and, finally, she is located. Morn charges and she is stunned, Azhanti lights her up even more and Chiniko brings the pain. Before she can react she is rendered swiftly unconscious. They rip the strange creature from around her throat freeing her from Shraals mind control and promptly make a deal with her for future aid.
Meanwhile Artemis has been making his way through the lower levels. It’s like a return to an old familiar friend, sneaking through other peoples’ homes trying to steal things and he does it very well. Guards are evaded, traps disabled and locks picked and soon he and Kallista are reunited. She is overjoyed at her release but anxious to recover the Heart, if Shraal manages to destroy it then the soul of any creature which dies will be drawn into the Void and spawn a shadow demon. They make their way quickly to the top rejoining the group for the attack on Shraal.
Entering the very top of the Fortress they find Shraal, a tentacled monstrosity ensconced inside a column of obscuring shadows focusing all of his will on the Heart of Ashrua. He stands on a pillar of rock surrounded by solidified shadow. Inside the shadow Void monsters can be seen writhing, desperate to escape. There are some preliminary insults and then the violence begins. I could relate the terrible dangerous conflict with the monstrous creature from beyond time and space and his insidious allies but it would be a lie. Instead the group brought down ridiculous levels of damage on his shielding shadows exposing him in a few seconds (two rounds total for a level 17 solo with over 400hp, they are level 14). As they prepare to strike the final blow however they are interrupted. A crossbow bolt encased in green fire shoots out of the darkness taking him in the skull. A man appears stood on one of the ring of stone spikes and claims the kill in the name of the Great Hunt. For once Artemis is the one suffering from kill stealing.
Scene 3: Catch it, no you catch it!
The man, calling himself Kubolta leaps from the spire snatching the Heart of Ashura as he goes. As he lands the Fortress, denied the power of Shrall begins to collapse to the cave floor. There then follows what can only be described as a game of Blood Bowl as various PC’s and NPC’s go diving for the Heart and it changes hands rapidly before finally spinning off into open play. As the group escapes to a nearby floating skiff the Heart rolls over the edge and falls into the darkness below swiftly followed by an enormous alabaster fortress. For now it seems lost forever.
Escaping with Kallista in tow the group begin to argue about what to do. Morn wants to use the Ring of Calling they took from the servant of the Giant Emperor Amaan to get him to find it. Chiniko thinks it’s a bloody stupid idea and Kallista, denied the opportunity to come along leaps over the side of the skiff to search the ruins of the Fortress. Artemis follows her and Morn and Azhanti teleport away using the ring leaving Chiniko and Assamber behind.
Our two intrepid explorers find themselves in a huge chamber with graven images of Giants crushing Dragons underfoot and great metal doors sealing the Prison of Amaan. Amaan was the last Emperor of the Giants who fell into such corruption that his own people sealed him away for all time. Only an artefact of Maran Gor, mother of the Giants could free him. Morn has two of those, the Heart and the Hammer. He bursts open the doors to reveal Amaans prison, sealed in ice and chained to his Throne but still very much alive and alert.
Negotiations quickly follow. Amaan has previously offered Morn a place as his lieutenant, if only because he possesses the means to free him. Morn is reluctant, he wants Amaan to display his power for him before he will release him. Amaan refuses, there is much disagreement and Amaan, being both stubborn and proud will not accede without first being freed. Finally a bargain is struck. Amaan will retrieve the Heart, teach Morn the powers of the Hammer and the Heart and respect the independence of Iceholme in return for his freedom.
At a blow from the Hammer the ice cracks and Amaan, a terror or the ancient world is once again free. In ages past the Giants contained him, now they are dead or missing. The dragons might have stopped him once but they are all asleep. The Primordials could oppose him but they are dead or hiding. He is however as good as his word. Just as Artemis and Kallista reach the Heart Amaan stretches his power through the Earth and recovers it. He promptly vanishes to continue his deadly schemes away from the prying eyes of mortals. What might come of this bargain is yet to be seen.
Our heroes finally return to the Ship of Dreams but with one final concerning event. Artemis returned to the ship via the home of the mushroom people to find their city in ruins and many of them dead. The Daughters of Mael, rulers of the Lokarnos had come to recover the blood traitor Alias Windstorm (the location of which the group gave up last week). The mushroom people explained that his consciousness had joined with theirs, his mind was now part of their Collective, the Sea of Thought. This did not go down too well with the tempestuous immortals and death and destruction was the result.
Three Hearts are now in the possession of the group, three parts of the Key to unlock the prison of Sopias. They have been warned twice now that they must not open it but they seem determined to continue. However, before they do so events from the past will haunt them and a message from the City of Kings draws them back to where everything began.
*cut scene*
The warrior Kubolta kneels on the hard stone floor before the Elders of the Hashashiyyin. “I have failed my masters, the Chosen Ones have recovered the third Heart. What would you have of me?” “Return to Hu’Maa and remain close to him, we must make sure he remains ignorant of the truth. If the Hearts are beyond us we must look to the Key, bring us the mother, we must make Catalia see the risks they take”
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Session 20: The Dark Rises
Our heroes have pursued the Heart of Ashura, Primoridal of the Sun, into the lightless depths of the underdark. Facing terrifying monsters they have forced their way to the very entrance of the Fortress of Solitude, home to Lord Shraal who has seized the Heart. Shraal is a demon of Shadow, a Lord of the Void into which all things must in time fall. If he has his way then that time will be sooner rather than later.
However, before our heroes can face him they must defeat his outer guards on the circling rings of stone, navigate the twisted and deadly chambers of the Fortress and confornt his seneschal, Talisha, former Handmaiden of Ashura, one time Mistress of the Drow and Queen of Darkness.
Of course nothing is ever quite that simple and old friends and new enemies have still yet to be revealed.
Sunday, 14 June 2009
Session 19: The Pool of Radiance
Scene 1: Into the Underdark
Our heroes have recovered two of the Hearts of the Primoridals which will allow them access to the prison of Sopias, now they begin the hunt for the third, the Heart of Ashura. They have held this stone once before, when they looted it from Ashura’s tomb in the City of Kings. It was stolen from them by Kallista, Artemis’s sister and was in turn stolen from her by the Sorceress Althea. Althea delivered it to her master the Vampire Lord Hu’Maa and he has sent it deep into the depths of the Underdark to his one time ally Talisha, the Queen of Darkness.
Our heroes, lead by Artemis, have penetrated into the depths of the underdark arriving in a vast phosphorescent mushroom cave. Giant insects scurry across slimy rocks and hunting bats flit through the air. A forest of mushrooms bars their path and Morn takes the lead levering away the huge fallen stalks which block the trail. Artemis leads them through a web choked lair of giant spiders while Assamber navigates a seeping mass of mobile mushrooms. As they near the heart of the cave a wrong turn leaves them face to face with a giant lizard. Azhanti steps forward head crest flaring and stares the creature down. As it crashes off into the forest its sounds draw a hunting party lead by a Cyclops Shaman.
The group tries diplomacy at first, or at least Chiniko tries to intimidate his way past but the Shaman is having none of it. He wants their valuables and their food and he considers the humans food. Chiniko strikes first and traps the Shaman with a vision of gold and Morn promptly locks him down. As the guards press forward and start dropping people into the fast flowing underground river Artemis takes his usual position to the rear. Thinking himself safe he is nearly devoured by an enormous hunting spider attracted by the commotion.
The battle rages through the cave and spells and steel are unleashed. Chiniko demonstrates the pure mobility only a feypact Warlock can show and the Shaman is consistently unable to get past Morn. The guards are brought to their knees and the spider succumbs to its wounds. At the last Azhanti is nearly drowned and swept away by the river but for a last minute lunge. A quick search leaves Assamber with yet more alchemical components harvested from the spider and the remnants of an ornate hunting saddle, although with no evidence of a rider.
Heading further into the darkness the group begins to find signs of civilization. A community of strange plant like people dwell in the heart of the forest and they seem welcoming to strangers. They have no speech but soon their telepathic spores imbed themselves in peoples lungs (although not without some trepidation). The creatures are curious about the humans, particularly when mention is made of Ashura. They explain that once they were spirits dwelling amongst the stars. They ventured too close to the Primordials as they forged creation and found themselves trapped here in fleshy form. Since ages past they have watched the world and tended to the Pool of Radiance, the first place touched by Ashura in his act of bringing forth life. Now the Pool has been corrupted, the Guardian Spirit, once an ally of theirs, has been poisoned by Shraal, an entity of the void. Without access to the pool they cannot spawn the next generation. While they possess a racial memory when the last living member of their community is gone then so will it. Ashura once promised to release them from their cycle of life and rebirth by sending his Champion to them but they have waited a very long time. They are keen to know if Artemis will be the one who returns the Heart to the Pool so that they can finally be released. The group are naturally a little evasive on this point as they require the Heart for their own purposes and cannot really afford to leave it lying around here for the next hundred years or so.
Whatever might happen with these strange people the group knows that the Heart has somehow passed through the Pool and into the hands of Shraal. They decide to get rid of the corrupted Guardian and pursue the Heart. As they head towards the Pool they make another discovery, Alias Windstorm, one time ally of Artemis, member of the Order of Transcendental Inquiry and traitor to the Lokarnos is here. Artemis and he are naturally wary of one another, Alias claims to be here to learn from the plant people whose memory goes back to the beginning of time and feigns indifference on the issue of the Heart. Leaving him to his studies the group press on but not before contacting Iridalla, former daughter of Mael, Lich and one time Lokarnos City Ship ruler who dearly desires to get her hands on Alias.
Scene 2: the Eye of Terror
The Pool is not far and it quickly becomes apparent that things will not be easy. It is a murky, muck covered morass of stinking mud and sludge, waist deep or deeper. Out of the mire rises a fleshy mass covered in slime and weeds. A huge central eye opens and a mass of tentacles extend from its body. As the group press closer its mouth opens and it demands to know who they are and what they want. Insults and threats are exchanged and then blows are struck.
As they move in the tentacles writhe and an eye appears on the end of each, a Beholder! The creature is careful to keep itself over the deep water where it is harder to reach and Morn finds himself completely locked down. Artemis unleashes a mass of damage which barely seems to phase the creature which seems able both to absorb spells and deliver terrible punishment at long range. Death and Disintegration, Sleep and Confusion rays are flung with wild abandon and things begin to look particularly dangerous. The creature is immensely resilient and seems capable of taking tremendous punishment as it blasts out in a frenzy of eye beams. Several of the group are marked for death and then Azhanti collapses. Levitating him into its toothy maw the heavily damaged monstrosity demands the groups surrender. They decline and Chiniko performs the “Chiniko Special”, normally reserved for getting Morn into hard to reach places. He steps through the dreaming, switching places with Azhanti and placing himself in the Beholders mouth. Before it can end his life he teleports himself out again and quickly revives Azhanti with a blessing from the realm of Dreams. Morn, finally close enough to the creature to get in to the battle finds himself out of luck as Artemis takes it down with a lucky shot straight through the central eye.
As the aberration dies the pool seems to clear. Much of the muck and slime burns away and what is left is a simple underground pool but with a passage further into the darkness revealed.
The group head further underground travelling for what seems like miles. As they go the stairs gradually level off and they begin to pass various side tunnels although the place seems abandoned. Even deeper in they reach a balcony carved into the rock overlooking a second huge cave. In the centre floats an alabaster fortress carved in the shape of a teardrop. Covering the floor is a mass of twisted tentacle creatures, things from outside of existence itself. They have carved chambers in the rock and entombed in them are pale skinned Kireshi, the followers of Talisha the Queen of Darkness now turned into experimental toys for these monsters.
In the air float many black stone skiffs circling the fortress in stately arcs. Before the group is a crystalline pillar with a three fingered hand print. Deciding to take the initiative Azhanti places his hand on the pillar. Lights flare all around the balcony and a skiff begins to make its way towards them. However, activating the platform seems to have drawn attention from below and monstrous cries alert the guards to intruders in their base….
*to be continued*
*cut scene*
In the central chamber of the Fortress of Solitude Shral, Lord of Shadow contemplates the Heart of Ashura. All of his will is bent on destroying the accursed stone when his focus is broken by footsteps behind him. “Intruders have entered the cave my lord, they come seeking the Heart.” “It matters not, they are too late. Dispatch the guards to destroy them and make the necessary preparations. It is time for us to ascend.”
Our heroes have recovered two of the Hearts of the Primoridals which will allow them access to the prison of Sopias, now they begin the hunt for the third, the Heart of Ashura. They have held this stone once before, when they looted it from Ashura’s tomb in the City of Kings. It was stolen from them by Kallista, Artemis’s sister and was in turn stolen from her by the Sorceress Althea. Althea delivered it to her master the Vampire Lord Hu’Maa and he has sent it deep into the depths of the Underdark to his one time ally Talisha, the Queen of Darkness.
Our heroes, lead by Artemis, have penetrated into the depths of the underdark arriving in a vast phosphorescent mushroom cave. Giant insects scurry across slimy rocks and hunting bats flit through the air. A forest of mushrooms bars their path and Morn takes the lead levering away the huge fallen stalks which block the trail. Artemis leads them through a web choked lair of giant spiders while Assamber navigates a seeping mass of mobile mushrooms. As they near the heart of the cave a wrong turn leaves them face to face with a giant lizard. Azhanti steps forward head crest flaring and stares the creature down. As it crashes off into the forest its sounds draw a hunting party lead by a Cyclops Shaman.
The group tries diplomacy at first, or at least Chiniko tries to intimidate his way past but the Shaman is having none of it. He wants their valuables and their food and he considers the humans food. Chiniko strikes first and traps the Shaman with a vision of gold and Morn promptly locks him down. As the guards press forward and start dropping people into the fast flowing underground river Artemis takes his usual position to the rear. Thinking himself safe he is nearly devoured by an enormous hunting spider attracted by the commotion.
The battle rages through the cave and spells and steel are unleashed. Chiniko demonstrates the pure mobility only a feypact Warlock can show and the Shaman is consistently unable to get past Morn. The guards are brought to their knees and the spider succumbs to its wounds. At the last Azhanti is nearly drowned and swept away by the river but for a last minute lunge. A quick search leaves Assamber with yet more alchemical components harvested from the spider and the remnants of an ornate hunting saddle, although with no evidence of a rider.
Heading further into the darkness the group begins to find signs of civilization. A community of strange plant like people dwell in the heart of the forest and they seem welcoming to strangers. They have no speech but soon their telepathic spores imbed themselves in peoples lungs (although not without some trepidation). The creatures are curious about the humans, particularly when mention is made of Ashura. They explain that once they were spirits dwelling amongst the stars. They ventured too close to the Primordials as they forged creation and found themselves trapped here in fleshy form. Since ages past they have watched the world and tended to the Pool of Radiance, the first place touched by Ashura in his act of bringing forth life. Now the Pool has been corrupted, the Guardian Spirit, once an ally of theirs, has been poisoned by Shraal, an entity of the void. Without access to the pool they cannot spawn the next generation. While they possess a racial memory when the last living member of their community is gone then so will it. Ashura once promised to release them from their cycle of life and rebirth by sending his Champion to them but they have waited a very long time. They are keen to know if Artemis will be the one who returns the Heart to the Pool so that they can finally be released. The group are naturally a little evasive on this point as they require the Heart for their own purposes and cannot really afford to leave it lying around here for the next hundred years or so.
Whatever might happen with these strange people the group knows that the Heart has somehow passed through the Pool and into the hands of Shraal. They decide to get rid of the corrupted Guardian and pursue the Heart. As they head towards the Pool they make another discovery, Alias Windstorm, one time ally of Artemis, member of the Order of Transcendental Inquiry and traitor to the Lokarnos is here. Artemis and he are naturally wary of one another, Alias claims to be here to learn from the plant people whose memory goes back to the beginning of time and feigns indifference on the issue of the Heart. Leaving him to his studies the group press on but not before contacting Iridalla, former daughter of Mael, Lich and one time Lokarnos City Ship ruler who dearly desires to get her hands on Alias.
Scene 2: the Eye of Terror
The Pool is not far and it quickly becomes apparent that things will not be easy. It is a murky, muck covered morass of stinking mud and sludge, waist deep or deeper. Out of the mire rises a fleshy mass covered in slime and weeds. A huge central eye opens and a mass of tentacles extend from its body. As the group press closer its mouth opens and it demands to know who they are and what they want. Insults and threats are exchanged and then blows are struck.
As they move in the tentacles writhe and an eye appears on the end of each, a Beholder! The creature is careful to keep itself over the deep water where it is harder to reach and Morn finds himself completely locked down. Artemis unleashes a mass of damage which barely seems to phase the creature which seems able both to absorb spells and deliver terrible punishment at long range. Death and Disintegration, Sleep and Confusion rays are flung with wild abandon and things begin to look particularly dangerous. The creature is immensely resilient and seems capable of taking tremendous punishment as it blasts out in a frenzy of eye beams. Several of the group are marked for death and then Azhanti collapses. Levitating him into its toothy maw the heavily damaged monstrosity demands the groups surrender. They decline and Chiniko performs the “Chiniko Special”, normally reserved for getting Morn into hard to reach places. He steps through the dreaming, switching places with Azhanti and placing himself in the Beholders mouth. Before it can end his life he teleports himself out again and quickly revives Azhanti with a blessing from the realm of Dreams. Morn, finally close enough to the creature to get in to the battle finds himself out of luck as Artemis takes it down with a lucky shot straight through the central eye.
As the aberration dies the pool seems to clear. Much of the muck and slime burns away and what is left is a simple underground pool but with a passage further into the darkness revealed.
The group head further underground travelling for what seems like miles. As they go the stairs gradually level off and they begin to pass various side tunnels although the place seems abandoned. Even deeper in they reach a balcony carved into the rock overlooking a second huge cave. In the centre floats an alabaster fortress carved in the shape of a teardrop. Covering the floor is a mass of twisted tentacle creatures, things from outside of existence itself. They have carved chambers in the rock and entombed in them are pale skinned Kireshi, the followers of Talisha the Queen of Darkness now turned into experimental toys for these monsters.
In the air float many black stone skiffs circling the fortress in stately arcs. Before the group is a crystalline pillar with a three fingered hand print. Deciding to take the initiative Azhanti places his hand on the pillar. Lights flare all around the balcony and a skiff begins to make its way towards them. However, activating the platform seems to have drawn attention from below and monstrous cries alert the guards to intruders in their base….
*to be continued*
*cut scene*
In the central chamber of the Fortress of Solitude Shral, Lord of Shadow contemplates the Heart of Ashura. All of his will is bent on destroying the accursed stone when his focus is broken by footsteps behind him. “Intruders have entered the cave my lord, they come seeking the Heart.” “It matters not, they are too late. Dispatch the guards to destroy them and make the necessary preparations. It is time for us to ascend.”
Saturday, 13 June 2009
Session 19: The Pool of Radiance
Our heroes now begin the next leg of their quest, to recover the Heart of Ashura which has been banished into the black heart of the Underdark. But in the darkness something stirs, there are fouler things than demons in the deep places of the world.
However, they are not without potential allies. In the depths an ancient race awaits the fulfillment of a promise made at the beginning of time. A champion will come and a decision will be made, for good or ill.
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