The Knot spent the night recovering in the great Hunter's Hall. The walls still splattered with the blood of it's angel defender.
The next day, the Cardinal Thorn's Ninth Knot stepped into the Gardens of Serenity and began to leave the prime material plane.
Quell led the way and was immediately approached by a floating mote of energy. It whispered a riddle, "speak it's name and it dies..." Quell pauses for a second before Mardus remembers what they'd found from their questioning of the town's Mayor. "Silence!" The mote floats away & waits for the Knot to follow.
And so, being led by this ball of energy, the Knot tramps through the Gardens of Serenity.
The mote leads the Knot along through the stone walled garden maze, Quell & Emmerick leading the way with Yvainne's Nessian Warhounds tromping along with Brother Summit at the rear of the group.
Then as they travel through a nondescript section of the maze, the Warhounds start growling & snorting sulfurous smoke. The hairs on the back of Brother Summit's neck stand on end. Something is wrong...
Then the blink dogs, lead by their celestial blood alpha male, attack. The dogs teleport all over the Ninth. Causing confusion among their ranks. Still, Brother Summit is worried, he sees visions of darkness & an unknown horror watching him. And he sees, as the blink dogs continuously blink in & out of existence, an after image, of a darker hound blurs in his vision.
Then that horror manifests and the rest of the Knot sees. For as the blink dogs start to dimension door out of the way of the counter attacks from the Knot, in their place stand Hounds of Tindalos. The blink dogs look confused, as the hounds attack indiscriminately between the forces of Hell and Heaven.
Yet is takes only a short time before the hounds focus their ire on their true target. Brother Summit, in the rear of the group. As the hounds go through the ranks of Hell, their gaze attack weakening the Knot, another battle is forming at the front. With arcane magic, the leader of the blink dogs conjures pits full of acid & tries to swallow Knot members, only to suck his own pack down. Still, the gaping extra-dimensional pits separate Emmerick & Quell from the fight going on behind them. So the Knight of Hell and Elven rogue push on, trying to flank & take down the dogs.
An epic battle raged, Hounds of Tindelos, Nessian Warhounds & Blink Dogs, with Knot members running in-between.
Brother Summit proved triumphant over the Otherworldly horrors, with the help of Mardus, Yvianne & her warhounds.
Meanwhile, the fight up ahead was more balanced. Wasyli using magic to push ahead as Emmerick & Quell leap out of the way of magical pit after magical pit. Quell was slowed by enchantments and Emmerick was unable to get out ahead, always landing on the wrong side of the pits.
Eventually the remaining Knot members arrived to help, Yvainne laying down a plane of Stone, covering over many of the gapping pits.
The alpha dog fought to the death, trying to cause as much death as possible, before eventually getting cornered & overwhelmed by the combined might of the Ninth.
The members of the Ninth Knot caught their breath.
After a short respite and peaceful travel, the glowing light asks another riddle. "One to whom the mirror never lies..." The answer came swiftly to the Ninth. The Blind Man. Answering the riddle, the Ninth continued as the wisp of light headed forward leading them to the opening of a large clear area.
The Ninth stopped, one of their member grumbling "It's leading us into another trap." Another of their rank is quick to point out that likely the wisp of light is simply leading them forward through the Garden, blind to the actual situation.
Slow to advance, Quell spots a large clearing ahead, full of odd spotted horse-like creatures. The Ninth, wishing to attack in silence opts to use stones enchanted with silence spells, along with a staggered ambush to ensure the melee combatants get out ahead of the spell casters.
Though the Knot had the advantage of ambush, Emmerick and others got off to a slow start & instead of getting out ahead, they got bottled up near the entrance. Then the Kirin charged forward, trying to gore Emmerick, Quell & Brother Summit. While those Kirin that were stuck at range called down Lightning. The Knot's silence spell ended up blocking their own spell casters as they struggled to fight forward.
Still, even without spell support, the Knot showed of their brutish side, hacking and slashing through the creatures. The only issue, their might scared the Kirin, as they saw their number slaughtered with brutal efficiency and they flew away, up through the barrier above the maze.
The knot considered pushing after them, but choose instead to stay the course.
Still, the shadow sorcerer of Hell did point out that the magical remains of the Kirin could be used for magical crafting. And the Knot resolved to send Trik later to search over above the maze later, in case any of the wounded Kirin fell after pushing through the planer barrier. After all, you can't afford to let a good pelt (or celestial blood & bone) go to waste.
The Ninth Knot stepped out of the grassy clearing & were approached by a mote of light, asking for the last riddle.
"A wick'ed thing from which darkness files..."
Mardus blurts out "Candles"
The wisp responds, "The three at once where the answer lies" and disappears.
Remembering statues out by the docks of priests walking blind with candles, the Knot knew what they must do. Walk forward, eyes closed & holding candles. The members of the Ninth fumbled through their packs, looking for any candles.
Yvainne & Emmerick both found candles in their packs. Wasyli was surprised that they had candles on them. They remembered over a year ago, when they were all under Cardinal Thorn's roof. Training. And Galen had insisted they all get kits of useful gear. Mardus lost his in the dungeon trial below the now abandoned manor house. Yet Yvainne & Quell still had their packs. And over the past year and a half, had lugged them around. Through Balentine, a year guarding the Horn, a month in Ghastenhall. And now they've carried them all the way to the Gardens of Serenity. Somewhere off in Absolan, the City at the Center of the World, Galen smiled. His foresight and planning having paid off for the Ninth. Even if he struggles with aiding the Sixth Knot in it's endeavors...
With the candles in hand, Yvainne & Emmerick led the Ninth forward, blind & silent.
The Ninth arrived at the circular center of the Gardens, the towering facade of the Cathedral of Mitra Made Manifest as a backdrop. It's shadow would likely cover the whole of the open clearing, if it weren't for the massive flame of Mitra burning in the center of the circle. And standing before the Flame, already prepared for battle are Sambathe, High Oracle of Mitra, the Master of Serenity, and two junior monks of the Serene Order. Battle is drawn as the forces of Heaven surprise the forces of Hell.
What ensues is a quick and fast battle. The entrance to the clearing was covered in overlapping silence spells, blocking spell casting. Yet the deft Oracle of Life didn't seem to mind as she rained down the divine wrath of Mitra upon the Ninth. Mardus & Wasyli learned from earlier fights & scattered, using magic to distance themselves, & not a moment to soon, for Sambathe soon cast Holy Word, blinding and stunning many of the Ninth and outright banishing both Emmerick's Nightmare & one of Yvainne's Warhounds.
Still, Mardus was free of the blast & soon began healing his allies, restoring their sight. And blind or not, Emmerick, along with Quell and Brother Summit unleashed a torrent of pain on the Master of Serenity that even the Life Oracle had a hard time curing. Then Wasyli struck with his powerful spell... Suffocate. And he chocked the air out of Sambathe's lungs, ending her life & by extention, the Monks. For with no healing, they fell swift and fast before the overwhelming might of Hell.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Session 32
Knot members rush to check Mardus' eye damage. Yvainne determines the eyes are salvageable, just with some healing magic she doesn't currently have.
The other Knot members go about securing the mountain top & exploring. Their primary objective is the flame that burns above the temple. Using some of their unholy water collected from the now ruined Horn, the forces of Hell quench the light of Mitra & plunge the mountaintop into darkness. Only two more flames to put out.
The Knot with-drawl and returns to their forces camped outside Sanctum. They send Trik with some bugbears and shroud guards to go to the mountaintop & maintain desecration on the phoenix. Meanwhile the leaders of the shroud organize their forces. Some minions have already spread out among the cities of Talengarde, but others being procuring large quantities of acid. The Phoenix will be melted down into nothing...
And there in Sanctum the Knot waits until morning when Yvainne is able to restore Mardus' eyesight. At one point the invisible Ogre Magi, Raiju, spots Mardus slipping into the house commandeered by Izeval & her undead horde. But the Ogre simply shrugs & returns to his silent patrol.
In the morning Yvainne restores sight to Mardus & the Knot head out.
While in route to the Gardens outside the Cathedral, the Knot are surprised to see a flock of hippogriffs come swarming over the Vale, lead by two huge Rocks, one of which is bearing a jovial yet brutal Storm Giant.
The two massive birds at the head swoop down on the Knot, as the hippogriffs fly by. Some heading for Sanctum, others to the Phoenix mountain top. Mardus, unsure of Trik's ability to keep the Phoenix remains from being resurrected, lobs fireballs at the hippogriffs heading to the mountain. And when the burnt birds arrive, they are quickly overcome by the soldiers stationed there.
Meanwhile, the Knot is forced to fend off the vanguard of the assault. A mixture of magic & ranged attacks takes the Rock being flown by the Storm Giant down. Though not before the Giant chained lightning through the Knot. On the ground, the Storm Giant struck out at anything he could reach. He nearly took off the head of a Hell Hound, and seriously injured Quell. While the other Rock swooped low & grabbed Emmerick from the ground.
As the Storm Giant fell before the Ninth, Emmerick was still being carried away by the mighty bird. Brother Summit & Mardus rushed along the ground underneath, as Emmerick's Nightmare lagged behind. The bird eventually dropped Emmerick, to have him plummet hundreds of feet to the ground, before it was blasted out of the sky.
Mardus was surprised to see Emmerick somehow managed to survive the fall. But the Hell Knight was more surprised to see that when he rouse, Mardus' eyes were wreathed in fire & he spoke with an alien voice. "Give the Storm Giant to me. Sacrifice him in my name."
The Knot quickly sacrificed the fallen Storm Giant to Asmodeus.
As the blood of the chaotic good creature spilled on the ground in the Vale of Valternia, the hippogriffs still alive returned and circled overhead. And there, before all to see, they transformed into fiendish monstrosities, wholly under the command of the Ninth Knot.
Hell was pleased.
Back in town, some of Hekkarth's Headtakers used the cover of the Hippogriph attack to attempt to loot the town & kill some villagers.
Roderick and the other shroud minions were still recovering. But Raiju and Izivel were quick to rally and stomp out the Bugbears foolish enough to cross the banks of the river.
By the time the Ninth Knot returned to Sanctum to drop off their fiendish hippogriffs, the banks of the river already had a couple beautiful bugbear statues decorating it's banks.
With order restored, the Ninth turned around & once again made the trip to the Garden's. This time on the backs of hellish hippogriffs.
As the Knot rushes over forest & river, they arrive at the stone dock to find six legion archons. The angels rush to engage with the forces of Hell. Over dock & river, flaming swords clash, a couple hiphogriffs fall under the onslaught, dropping Quell and Brother Summit into the river. But the Knot does not faulter. They push on and crush the celestial inervention, and push on to the doors of the Hunter's Hall. And beyond, the Gardens of Serenity.
The Knot walks into the Hunter's Hall and their toughest fight yet.
Somehow Quell's keen elven eyes fail to spot the expertly hidden Lional. The angel lays in wait until the Knot fully enters, then it strikes. It roars, unleashing a holy blast, blinding and stunning many of the Knot & leaving Emmerick's nightmare paralyzed in place.
As Knot members struggle in the face of this angel's divine wraith, the Lea the Huntress follows it up by dropping a Wall of Force & isolating Brother Summit & the blind Emmerick from the other 6 knot members & their three Nessian Warhounds.
Brother Summit calls out to Emmerick so he knows they're isolated, then he does what he always does, rush into melee.
The Monk & Anti-Paladin tag team the celestial, as the other Knot members start to recover their sight & assess the situation. A couple small holes high in the rafters gives those knot members with flying an option to slip through & help.
Arcane and divine spells are flung throughout the Hunter's feast hall. Yet the divine wards around the angel prove to great and they fissile and fail to land any effect. Still, the raw physical might of the Knot stagger the Lionel. Lea staggers back & slips back to roar again, blinding the Ninth, then quickly healing herself, wiping away the damage so painstakingly inflicted on her. Then another wall of force is created. Effectively restarting the battle.
Round two of the battle commences, but it goes better for the Ninth. This time, knowing what they are up against, they trudge forward undaunted. And slowly, excruciatingly, the Ninth wear down the angel, until, through pure force of will, the angel falters and falls before the combined might of the Lord of Hell and the Midnight Lord.
Meanwhile, as the Knot rests before the entrance to the Gardens, their minions continue to claw their way into secret posts. So as King Markadian V of Talengarde holds court in Matharyn and finishes rallying his mighty army he doesn't even realize spies for the breakers of Balentyne are in his court, quietly watching & waiting.
The other Knot members go about securing the mountain top & exploring. Their primary objective is the flame that burns above the temple. Using some of their unholy water collected from the now ruined Horn, the forces of Hell quench the light of Mitra & plunge the mountaintop into darkness. Only two more flames to put out.
The Knot with-drawl and returns to their forces camped outside Sanctum. They send Trik with some bugbears and shroud guards to go to the mountaintop & maintain desecration on the phoenix. Meanwhile the leaders of the shroud organize their forces. Some minions have already spread out among the cities of Talengarde, but others being procuring large quantities of acid. The Phoenix will be melted down into nothing...
And there in Sanctum the Knot waits until morning when Yvainne is able to restore Mardus' eyesight. At one point the invisible Ogre Magi, Raiju, spots Mardus slipping into the house commandeered by Izeval & her undead horde. But the Ogre simply shrugs & returns to his silent patrol.
In the morning Yvainne restores sight to Mardus & the Knot head out.
While in route to the Gardens outside the Cathedral, the Knot are surprised to see a flock of hippogriffs come swarming over the Vale, lead by two huge Rocks, one of which is bearing a jovial yet brutal Storm Giant.
The two massive birds at the head swoop down on the Knot, as the hippogriffs fly by. Some heading for Sanctum, others to the Phoenix mountain top. Mardus, unsure of Trik's ability to keep the Phoenix remains from being resurrected, lobs fireballs at the hippogriffs heading to the mountain. And when the burnt birds arrive, they are quickly overcome by the soldiers stationed there.
Meanwhile, the Knot is forced to fend off the vanguard of the assault. A mixture of magic & ranged attacks takes the Rock being flown by the Storm Giant down. Though not before the Giant chained lightning through the Knot. On the ground, the Storm Giant struck out at anything he could reach. He nearly took off the head of a Hell Hound, and seriously injured Quell. While the other Rock swooped low & grabbed Emmerick from the ground.
As the Storm Giant fell before the Ninth, Emmerick was still being carried away by the mighty bird. Brother Summit & Mardus rushed along the ground underneath, as Emmerick's Nightmare lagged behind. The bird eventually dropped Emmerick, to have him plummet hundreds of feet to the ground, before it was blasted out of the sky.
Mardus was surprised to see Emmerick somehow managed to survive the fall. But the Hell Knight was more surprised to see that when he rouse, Mardus' eyes were wreathed in fire & he spoke with an alien voice. "Give the Storm Giant to me. Sacrifice him in my name."
The Knot quickly sacrificed the fallen Storm Giant to Asmodeus.
As the blood of the chaotic good creature spilled on the ground in the Vale of Valternia, the hippogriffs still alive returned and circled overhead. And there, before all to see, they transformed into fiendish monstrosities, wholly under the command of the Ninth Knot.
Hell was pleased.
Back in town, some of Hekkarth's Headtakers used the cover of the Hippogriph attack to attempt to loot the town & kill some villagers.
Roderick and the other shroud minions were still recovering. But Raiju and Izivel were quick to rally and stomp out the Bugbears foolish enough to cross the banks of the river.
By the time the Ninth Knot returned to Sanctum to drop off their fiendish hippogriffs, the banks of the river already had a couple beautiful bugbear statues decorating it's banks.
With order restored, the Ninth turned around & once again made the trip to the Garden's. This time on the backs of hellish hippogriffs.
As the Knot rushes over forest & river, they arrive at the stone dock to find six legion archons. The angels rush to engage with the forces of Hell. Over dock & river, flaming swords clash, a couple hiphogriffs fall under the onslaught, dropping Quell and Brother Summit into the river. But the Knot does not faulter. They push on and crush the celestial inervention, and push on to the doors of the Hunter's Hall. And beyond, the Gardens of Serenity.
The Knot walks into the Hunter's Hall and their toughest fight yet.
Somehow Quell's keen elven eyes fail to spot the expertly hidden Lional. The angel lays in wait until the Knot fully enters, then it strikes. It roars, unleashing a holy blast, blinding and stunning many of the Knot & leaving Emmerick's nightmare paralyzed in place.
As Knot members struggle in the face of this angel's divine wraith, the Lea the Huntress follows it up by dropping a Wall of Force & isolating Brother Summit & the blind Emmerick from the other 6 knot members & their three Nessian Warhounds.
Brother Summit calls out to Emmerick so he knows they're isolated, then he does what he always does, rush into melee.
The Monk & Anti-Paladin tag team the celestial, as the other Knot members start to recover their sight & assess the situation. A couple small holes high in the rafters gives those knot members with flying an option to slip through & help.
Arcane and divine spells are flung throughout the Hunter's feast hall. Yet the divine wards around the angel prove to great and they fissile and fail to land any effect. Still, the raw physical might of the Knot stagger the Lionel. Lea staggers back & slips back to roar again, blinding the Ninth, then quickly healing herself, wiping away the damage so painstakingly inflicted on her. Then another wall of force is created. Effectively restarting the battle.
Round two of the battle commences, but it goes better for the Ninth. This time, knowing what they are up against, they trudge forward undaunted. And slowly, excruciatingly, the Ninth wear down the angel, until, through pure force of will, the angel falters and falls before the combined might of the Lord of Hell and the Midnight Lord.
Meanwhile, as the Knot rests before the entrance to the Gardens, their minions continue to claw their way into secret posts. So as King Markadian V of Talengarde holds court in Matharyn and finishes rallying his mighty army he doesn't even realize spies for the breakers of Balentyne are in his court, quietly watching & waiting.
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Session 31
As a dark dawn opens on the Vale of Valternia, the town of Sanctum finds itself ruled by a new set of masters.
Seeing a chance, even a slim one, to save villagers, the Mayor of Sanctum quickly bends a knee to their new overlords. And what a benevolent set of overlords they are. The Knot keeps the bugbears at bay, having their own human minions patrol the town. Their only cause for tribute is to search the town for any magic items.
Emmerick taking particular pleasure in recovering a magical mithril shield adorned with the trappings of Asmodeus. A trophy of the Mitrian conquest of the Lord of Hell. Better if they'd have melted it into scrap. Now the anti-paladin would use the shield to protect him on his quest to kill as many celestials in the Vale as he could find.
With order maintained, the Knot quickly posts a set of guards on the gates leading into the Vale. And in a matter of days their preparations pay off. For a ragged war band of Mitrians tries to break out, only to be captured. Their leader, a man claiming to be Lord Roderick of Farholde, is in possession of some interesting trade contracts.
A few minutes alone with Yvainne's gentle company and he coughs up the truth. He's no Lord, he's just a simply hustler, Robert the Rapier, a rogue from Ghastenhall. His con warms Mardus' black heart. Reminding him of his own glory days. The Knot offers Robert a choice, join them and earn come coin. Or die. Either way, his contracts were forfeit, destined for the Knot's close ally, lady Shalyn Marsten. The con artist picks the obvious choice & joins the Shroud.
With order established in Sanctum, the Knot set their sights higher, literally.
They sail by boat to the base of the Mountain of the Phoenix and stare up it's jagged cliff & ice covered switchback stairs.
Brother Summit tries the snow choked stairs & confirms they are a bad option.
Using the Nightmare & zombie silver dragon and Mardus using his flaming wings, the Knot fly up the cliff-side. They come to a screeching halt when Quell notices a shimmering energy field. There is some sort of trap.
The Knot regroups at the base & considers their options. But with little alternative, the Knot buffs for a fight & rushes up through the magical trap & land at the grand foyer entrance to the Mountain top temple.
Expecting a fight they wait. But don't see one immediately. So the Knot gathers, buffs more & bursts into the temple, only to find themselves confronted by overlapping walls of fire.
Emmerick strides forward and calls out to beyond the roaring fire. "Your doom has arrived. Prepare to die."
A voice calls back. "Then come, for Doom there shall be." Then the sound of casting follows, as a near by brazer of fire explodes, choking the Knot in smoke.
The fight with the Angel of Fire has begun.
The ensuing battle is a slug-fest of fire and smoke. The Peri unleashed the full measure of her fury. And the battle dragged on. The Knot never able to land a solid blow. But as the damage worn on her, the Peri flew out into the open to get away from the melee members of the Knot. And there, flying 400 ft above the placid lake below, Wasyli struck. Using his devil pact with his Suffocation spell, the Shadow Sorcerer of Hell pierces the celestial's defenses & sucks the air out of it's lungs, suffocating it mid-flight. The majestic creature plummets the 400 ft to the jagged rocks below.
There's a pause, as the Knot catches their breath. Then a roar sounds from the top of the mountain, and the temple shakes. The Phoenix stirred.
The Knot members rushed into the Temple, closing the door. Quell climbed up the column to get at an odd glowing sphere he'd spotted during combat, likely the source of whatever trap or ward was in effect on the mountain top.
As well fumbled around, other Knot members tried to shake off the lingering effects of the choking smoke, and bar the doors into the temple. Then a great roar reverberated at the large double doors to the temple and they were bashed down.
Emmerick stood his ground & coming roaring through the thick smoke was a massive flaming phoenix, it's aura of heat washing over the anti-paladin. Mardus's magics warding the Knight of Hell from the divine Phoenix's flames.
The pitched battle went on for a while as other members of the Knot tried to heal their still fresh wounds & see if the stairs out the back of the temple lead anywhere. Rushing out they found the sacred flame of Mitra burning under a completely open sky. No cover to be found anywhere.
Meanwhile back in the temple, the Phoenix flew back out the doors under relentless attack where it healed itself before spotting various Knot members fleeing up the narrow stairs toward the flame. And it's nest!
The Phoenix soared above the mountain & swooped low over the stairs & flame of Mitra, clawing & screeching at any it saw. And there above the stairs, a pitched battle was fought.
Brother Summit tried leaping onto the Phoenix, only to have the massive bird shrug off his grapple and leave him tumbling back down to the stairs below.
Yvainne tried in vain to cause significant damage to the celestial. The beasts resistance to spells proving too great. Resorting to buffing magic, Wasyli got busy trying to magically fly his allies. The magical flying failed for Brother Summit, forcing him to fall a second time down onto the mountain top. However, Emmerick was lucky enough to stay aloft.
Emmerick, augmented with magical flight, was able to engage directly with the bird. And soon the fiery winged Mardus rushed to his side to heal him & provide light melee support. The beast tried dispelling Emmerick's flight, but only managed to remove his fire resistance. With Mardus close beside, Emmerick took only some damage. Still, it was frightening to feel the unrestrained heat of the beast, without protection.
Between the healing & energy resistance, Mardus got the full furry of the Phoenix as the beast turned it's full attention on the Fire Oracle. The snapping beak was followed up by back to back claw strikes.
Emmerick looked over in horror as Mardus grabs for his eyes as the Phoenix finishes clawing at his face. Down below, unsure if his compatriot is blind or not, Wasyli once again pulled out all his power. he called on his devil pact to empower his arcane spell & once again cast his Suffocation spell. The air was quickly sucked from the lungs of the Phoenix, the massive bird fell to the mountain stairs below, where a waiting Brother Summit beat it do death in a flurry of blows. Yvainne, wasting no time, quickly encircled it's corpse in a desecration spell to stall it's self-resurrection ability.
The fight over, the Knot looked to assess the damage. The most concerning of which appeared to be Mardus' eyes.
Seeing a chance, even a slim one, to save villagers, the Mayor of Sanctum quickly bends a knee to their new overlords. And what a benevolent set of overlords they are. The Knot keeps the bugbears at bay, having their own human minions patrol the town. Their only cause for tribute is to search the town for any magic items.
Emmerick taking particular pleasure in recovering a magical mithril shield adorned with the trappings of Asmodeus. A trophy of the Mitrian conquest of the Lord of Hell. Better if they'd have melted it into scrap. Now the anti-paladin would use the shield to protect him on his quest to kill as many celestials in the Vale as he could find.
With order maintained, the Knot quickly posts a set of guards on the gates leading into the Vale. And in a matter of days their preparations pay off. For a ragged war band of Mitrians tries to break out, only to be captured. Their leader, a man claiming to be Lord Roderick of Farholde, is in possession of some interesting trade contracts.
A few minutes alone with Yvainne's gentle company and he coughs up the truth. He's no Lord, he's just a simply hustler, Robert the Rapier, a rogue from Ghastenhall. His con warms Mardus' black heart. Reminding him of his own glory days. The Knot offers Robert a choice, join them and earn come coin. Or die. Either way, his contracts were forfeit, destined for the Knot's close ally, lady Shalyn Marsten. The con artist picks the obvious choice & joins the Shroud.
With order established in Sanctum, the Knot set their sights higher, literally.
They sail by boat to the base of the Mountain of the Phoenix and stare up it's jagged cliff & ice covered switchback stairs.
Brother Summit tries the snow choked stairs & confirms they are a bad option.
Using the Nightmare & zombie silver dragon and Mardus using his flaming wings, the Knot fly up the cliff-side. They come to a screeching halt when Quell notices a shimmering energy field. There is some sort of trap.
The Knot regroups at the base & considers their options. But with little alternative, the Knot buffs for a fight & rushes up through the magical trap & land at the grand foyer entrance to the Mountain top temple.
Expecting a fight they wait. But don't see one immediately. So the Knot gathers, buffs more & bursts into the temple, only to find themselves confronted by overlapping walls of fire.
Emmerick strides forward and calls out to beyond the roaring fire. "Your doom has arrived. Prepare to die."
A voice calls back. "Then come, for Doom there shall be." Then the sound of casting follows, as a near by brazer of fire explodes, choking the Knot in smoke.
The fight with the Angel of Fire has begun.
The ensuing battle is a slug-fest of fire and smoke. The Peri unleashed the full measure of her fury. And the battle dragged on. The Knot never able to land a solid blow. But as the damage worn on her, the Peri flew out into the open to get away from the melee members of the Knot. And there, flying 400 ft above the placid lake below, Wasyli struck. Using his devil pact with his Suffocation spell, the Shadow Sorcerer of Hell pierces the celestial's defenses & sucks the air out of it's lungs, suffocating it mid-flight. The majestic creature plummets the 400 ft to the jagged rocks below.
There's a pause, as the Knot catches their breath. Then a roar sounds from the top of the mountain, and the temple shakes. The Phoenix stirred.
The Knot members rushed into the Temple, closing the door. Quell climbed up the column to get at an odd glowing sphere he'd spotted during combat, likely the source of whatever trap or ward was in effect on the mountain top.
As well fumbled around, other Knot members tried to shake off the lingering effects of the choking smoke, and bar the doors into the temple. Then a great roar reverberated at the large double doors to the temple and they were bashed down.
Emmerick stood his ground & coming roaring through the thick smoke was a massive flaming phoenix, it's aura of heat washing over the anti-paladin. Mardus's magics warding the Knight of Hell from the divine Phoenix's flames.
The pitched battle went on for a while as other members of the Knot tried to heal their still fresh wounds & see if the stairs out the back of the temple lead anywhere. Rushing out they found the sacred flame of Mitra burning under a completely open sky. No cover to be found anywhere.
Meanwhile back in the temple, the Phoenix flew back out the doors under relentless attack where it healed itself before spotting various Knot members fleeing up the narrow stairs toward the flame. And it's nest!
The Phoenix soared above the mountain & swooped low over the stairs & flame of Mitra, clawing & screeching at any it saw. And there above the stairs, a pitched battle was fought.
Brother Summit tried leaping onto the Phoenix, only to have the massive bird shrug off his grapple and leave him tumbling back down to the stairs below.
Yvainne tried in vain to cause significant damage to the celestial. The beasts resistance to spells proving too great. Resorting to buffing magic, Wasyli got busy trying to magically fly his allies. The magical flying failed for Brother Summit, forcing him to fall a second time down onto the mountain top. However, Emmerick was lucky enough to stay aloft.
Emmerick, augmented with magical flight, was able to engage directly with the bird. And soon the fiery winged Mardus rushed to his side to heal him & provide light melee support. The beast tried dispelling Emmerick's flight, but only managed to remove his fire resistance. With Mardus close beside, Emmerick took only some damage. Still, it was frightening to feel the unrestrained heat of the beast, without protection.
Between the healing & energy resistance, Mardus got the full furry of the Phoenix as the beast turned it's full attention on the Fire Oracle. The snapping beak was followed up by back to back claw strikes.
Emmerick looked over in horror as Mardus grabs for his eyes as the Phoenix finishes clawing at his face. Down below, unsure if his compatriot is blind or not, Wasyli once again pulled out all his power. he called on his devil pact to empower his arcane spell & once again cast his Suffocation spell. The air was quickly sucked from the lungs of the Phoenix, the massive bird fell to the mountain stairs below, where a waiting Brother Summit beat it do death in a flurry of blows. Yvainne, wasting no time, quickly encircled it's corpse in a desecration spell to stall it's self-resurrection ability.
The fight over, the Knot looked to assess the damage. The most concerning of which appeared to be Mardus' eyes.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Session 30
The hammer fell hard and fast on the heart of the Mitrian order in Golarion.
Knowing surprise was their only friend, the Knot made ready for their assault. The Bugbear horde & minions of the Shroud ready themselves, hidden behind the mountains, less than an hours ride from the Watchtower guarding the entrance of the vale as the sun set, the light of Mitra fading away as darkness filled the Vale.
Wasyli rushed ahead of the attack, cloaked in invisibility, undetectable alignment & his own shadow sorcerer ability to use the night shadows to hide in plain sight. And armed with a devastating device. A stone with Silence cast on it. Using magic to fly over the long wall & float up behind the Tower, Wasyli landed, hidden in shadow and magic by the massive gong on top the Watchtower.
Meanwhile the rest of the Knot rushed forward, behind them a dozen vampire spawn in bat form rushing, their black wings flapping furiously in the cold mountain air.
The Knot blaze over the top of the watchtower & decent onto the guardians of the watchtower, while below them, vampire spawn turn gaseous and slip through the arrow holes all along the front of the Watchtower. The sounds of battle soon ring through the tower.
The full might of the Knot easily destroyed the guardians. Soon after the magical beasts fell, the captain of the watch tower rush to the roof, only to fall as swiftly as the guards to the might of hell.
The Knot rush down through the levels of the tower & witness the carnage wrought by the vampires. Many soldiers didn't even get out of their bunks as the night beasts destroyed the rank & file of the Tower. Even the holy warriors of the tower stood no match.
In a matter of minutes the Knot controlled the Watchtower proper. Leaving only the clay golems guarding the lower level tunnel.
With vampire spawn manning the gate levers, the Knot gathered their full strength & entered the lower level. Led by the adamantine mace wielding Emmerick & backed by sling wielding knot members with adamantine sling bullets, the Knot wouldn't even be stopped by the Golems and vanquished them quickly.
Though, the Knot did suffer one loss. Emmerick loyal nightmare steed was seriously hurt and it's wounds refused to heal. Not wishing to risk it, Emmerick left the Nightmare behind.
Still, the Knot held the Tower from foundation to rooftop in less time than it took for the Bugbear horde to rush from their hiding place to the open gates.
The town of Sanctum's first warning of their doom was the Bugbear horde rushing out of the Watchtower, with a Medusa riding a zombie silver dragon high above the Watchtower of Saintsbridge. The militia & soldiers rushed to meet the enemy. The Battle of Saintsbridge was joined.
Sir Dallidan the Bold, Knight of the Alerion order, blindly charged ahead of the lines of Talerian soldiers, leading the spearhead of a phalanx of knights in full barding toward the disorganized lines of Bugbear. Fear begins to grip the shaggy northern monsters, until the Knot acted. Arcane and Divine fireballs filled the air, in their wake left a devastated line of knights with a broken spearhead. The charge broke up before even reaching the bugbears, the monsters charged forward, emboldened by the might of their Ninth Knot allies.
The horde rushed across the open field toward the lesser Saintsbridge. Along the way the Ninth Knot spots a coordinated group of archers raining fiery arrows among their army. The forces of Hell rush to ask. Emmerick takes a couple devistating rounds of arrows from the Captain of the archers, but in the end, the fires of hell burn bright that night and fireballs rain down and destroy the nest of archers before even the fast moving Brother Summit can even reach the fallen Captain.
Moving forward a fire oracle of Mitra returns to the Ninth Knot their own medicine. In fireball form. Quick communal resist energy fire from Mardus softened the blow. A flurry of ranged attacks, both magical and mundane take down the fiery winged oracle of Mitra.
The Knot marches forward with their horde slaughtering the yeomanry and common soldiery of Talengarde. Then their forces encounter an obstacle, a tight cluster of dwarven soldiers, lead by their Thane. The Knot hesitates for a moment. A golden opportunity has presented itself. Looking to use up the wild and hard to control savage Drugar, the Ninth Knot find a perfect opportunity to spend the force. Throwing the Drugar at the dwarves, a slaughter by far the most brutal is unleashed. In the end, only the Drugar Prince & one body guard were left alive, and barely at that. With ever dwarf, from Thane to foot soldier all dead.
The horde surges forward and stubbles upon a group of monks, cracking skulls & snapping necks. The Knot throw their vampire spawn upon them & push on. The monks devastate the blood sucking fiends, but ultimately fall, drained of blood, on the battlefield.
The Knot pushed forward, in the dead of night unsure of their troops success. But always sure they were gaining ground.
Finally they arrived at the bridge head of the greater Saintsbridge. And standing guard at it's entrance are a pair of Shield Archons.
Without missing a beat, the Knot rushes forward, knowing their troops will do little against the celestial guardians. Yvainne unleashes her hounds & they burn the Archons nearly to ash. With a couple swift strokes of Mace & Blade, Quell & Emmerick reduce the soldiers of heaven to nothing but burnt flesh & scourged steel. It seems the gifts of Dessiter have proven themselves.
The Knot rushes ahead of their horde across the Saintsbridge, only to be waylay-ed by flying knights on celestial griffons. A combination of fireballs, breath weapons, arrows & readied steel, bring down griffon & rider alike, though not without some wounds. Emmerick among others took some savage charges from lance tips.
Pushing ahead the Knot arrives at the other bridgehead. Beyond open fields and the wall-less town of Sanctum. Between them and victory stood a ragtag group of soldiers, knights & priests of Mitra.
Yvainne is quick to unleash her hounds again. But before they have a chance to be useful, the area is doused in Holy Smites. The first strike from the priests of Mitra nearly destroy the dogs of hell and Yvainne is forced to have them flee. The battle is joined after that, with some of the Knot still blinded from the holy light. The footman rush forward & engage. Steel clashes with steel. Prayers to Mitra are invoked. Curses are intoned. And blood mist full of negative energy fills the air.
When the sound of battle stop, it is the Knot that stands triumphant over their slain foes.
The Bridgehead secured, the hordes rushes forward.
The Knot has to do everything in their power to contain the unbridled savagery of the bugbears. The northern monsters manage to burn a small set of traveller's inns & warehouses on the far side of the river before the Ninth Knot reign them back in. Still, the town proper of Sanctum is spared that night as the forces of hell amass on the far banks, Bugbear eyeing the innocence & unprotected township beyond.
As dawn comes & the sun starts to raise, light fails to shine in the vale, as the sky fills with storm clouds. Darkness clings to the Vale as the first snow flacks of winter begin to fall. And the greenery of the Vale is covered in a cold blanket.
Perhaps this is merely a sign of an early winter. Or perhaps Asmodeus watches the deeds of our villains and is well pleased...
Knowing surprise was their only friend, the Knot made ready for their assault. The Bugbear horde & minions of the Shroud ready themselves, hidden behind the mountains, less than an hours ride from the Watchtower guarding the entrance of the vale as the sun set, the light of Mitra fading away as darkness filled the Vale.
Wasyli rushed ahead of the attack, cloaked in invisibility, undetectable alignment & his own shadow sorcerer ability to use the night shadows to hide in plain sight. And armed with a devastating device. A stone with Silence cast on it. Using magic to fly over the long wall & float up behind the Tower, Wasyli landed, hidden in shadow and magic by the massive gong on top the Watchtower.
Meanwhile the rest of the Knot rushed forward, behind them a dozen vampire spawn in bat form rushing, their black wings flapping furiously in the cold mountain air.
The Knot blaze over the top of the watchtower & decent onto the guardians of the watchtower, while below them, vampire spawn turn gaseous and slip through the arrow holes all along the front of the Watchtower. The sounds of battle soon ring through the tower.
The full might of the Knot easily destroyed the guardians. Soon after the magical beasts fell, the captain of the watch tower rush to the roof, only to fall as swiftly as the guards to the might of hell.
The Knot rush down through the levels of the tower & witness the carnage wrought by the vampires. Many soldiers didn't even get out of their bunks as the night beasts destroyed the rank & file of the Tower. Even the holy warriors of the tower stood no match.
In a matter of minutes the Knot controlled the Watchtower proper. Leaving only the clay golems guarding the lower level tunnel.
With vampire spawn manning the gate levers, the Knot gathered their full strength & entered the lower level. Led by the adamantine mace wielding Emmerick & backed by sling wielding knot members with adamantine sling bullets, the Knot wouldn't even be stopped by the Golems and vanquished them quickly.
Though, the Knot did suffer one loss. Emmerick loyal nightmare steed was seriously hurt and it's wounds refused to heal. Not wishing to risk it, Emmerick left the Nightmare behind.
Still, the Knot held the Tower from foundation to rooftop in less time than it took for the Bugbear horde to rush from their hiding place to the open gates.
The town of Sanctum's first warning of their doom was the Bugbear horde rushing out of the Watchtower, with a Medusa riding a zombie silver dragon high above the Watchtower of Saintsbridge. The militia & soldiers rushed to meet the enemy. The Battle of Saintsbridge was joined.
Sir Dallidan the Bold, Knight of the Alerion order, blindly charged ahead of the lines of Talerian soldiers, leading the spearhead of a phalanx of knights in full barding toward the disorganized lines of Bugbear. Fear begins to grip the shaggy northern monsters, until the Knot acted. Arcane and Divine fireballs filled the air, in their wake left a devastated line of knights with a broken spearhead. The charge broke up before even reaching the bugbears, the monsters charged forward, emboldened by the might of their Ninth Knot allies.
The horde rushed across the open field toward the lesser Saintsbridge. Along the way the Ninth Knot spots a coordinated group of archers raining fiery arrows among their army. The forces of Hell rush to ask. Emmerick takes a couple devistating rounds of arrows from the Captain of the archers, but in the end, the fires of hell burn bright that night and fireballs rain down and destroy the nest of archers before even the fast moving Brother Summit can even reach the fallen Captain.
Moving forward a fire oracle of Mitra returns to the Ninth Knot their own medicine. In fireball form. Quick communal resist energy fire from Mardus softened the blow. A flurry of ranged attacks, both magical and mundane take down the fiery winged oracle of Mitra.
The Knot marches forward with their horde slaughtering the yeomanry and common soldiery of Talengarde. Then their forces encounter an obstacle, a tight cluster of dwarven soldiers, lead by their Thane. The Knot hesitates for a moment. A golden opportunity has presented itself. Looking to use up the wild and hard to control savage Drugar, the Ninth Knot find a perfect opportunity to spend the force. Throwing the Drugar at the dwarves, a slaughter by far the most brutal is unleashed. In the end, only the Drugar Prince & one body guard were left alive, and barely at that. With ever dwarf, from Thane to foot soldier all dead.
The horde surges forward and stubbles upon a group of monks, cracking skulls & snapping necks. The Knot throw their vampire spawn upon them & push on. The monks devastate the blood sucking fiends, but ultimately fall, drained of blood, on the battlefield.
The Knot pushed forward, in the dead of night unsure of their troops success. But always sure they were gaining ground.
Finally they arrived at the bridge head of the greater Saintsbridge. And standing guard at it's entrance are a pair of Shield Archons.
Without missing a beat, the Knot rushes forward, knowing their troops will do little against the celestial guardians. Yvainne unleashes her hounds & they burn the Archons nearly to ash. With a couple swift strokes of Mace & Blade, Quell & Emmerick reduce the soldiers of heaven to nothing but burnt flesh & scourged steel. It seems the gifts of Dessiter have proven themselves.
The Knot rushes ahead of their horde across the Saintsbridge, only to be waylay-ed by flying knights on celestial griffons. A combination of fireballs, breath weapons, arrows & readied steel, bring down griffon & rider alike, though not without some wounds. Emmerick among others took some savage charges from lance tips.
Pushing ahead the Knot arrives at the other bridgehead. Beyond open fields and the wall-less town of Sanctum. Between them and victory stood a ragtag group of soldiers, knights & priests of Mitra.
Yvainne is quick to unleash her hounds again. But before they have a chance to be useful, the area is doused in Holy Smites. The first strike from the priests of Mitra nearly destroy the dogs of hell and Yvainne is forced to have them flee. The battle is joined after that, with some of the Knot still blinded from the holy light. The footman rush forward & engage. Steel clashes with steel. Prayers to Mitra are invoked. Curses are intoned. And blood mist full of negative energy fills the air.
When the sound of battle stop, it is the Knot that stands triumphant over their slain foes.
The Bridgehead secured, the hordes rushes forward.
The Knot has to do everything in their power to contain the unbridled savagery of the bugbears. The northern monsters manage to burn a small set of traveller's inns & warehouses on the far side of the river before the Ninth Knot reign them back in. Still, the town proper of Sanctum is spared that night as the forces of hell amass on the far banks, Bugbear eyeing the innocence & unprotected township beyond.
As dawn comes & the sun starts to raise, light fails to shine in the vale, as the sky fills with storm clouds. Darkness clings to the Vale as the first snow flacks of winter begin to fall. And the greenery of the Vale is covered in a cold blanket.
Perhaps this is merely a sign of an early winter. Or perhaps Asmodeus watches the deeds of our villains and is well pleased...
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Session 29
The Knot calls out to the ruined temple asking an alliance. A figured cloaked in darkness answers with anger. The half-fiendish Medusa rushes out into the light & takes flight. Combat is joined.
The unexpected arial ability of the Medusa takes the group for surprise. Still, a quick casting of fly on Emmerick by an otherwise fleeing Wasyli gives the anti-paladin "wings" of his own. Most of the Knot scatter, Brother Summit tries to climb to the roof of the temple to jump from above. Mardus sprouts fiery wings & opts to avoid the terrifying gaze & fly away to seek range. His spells failing to puncture the fiend's spell resistance. A blindfolded Quell fires off shots in vain. While bursts of negative energy in the shape of blood clouds burst around Yvainne. But in the end it was Emmerick to won the day. The flying champion of Hell showed complete disregard for the petrifying gaze of the Medusa and relentlessly struck her with his mace until she yielded to him.
Forced to parley, Izevel the Accursed listened intently to the unexpected offer from the Ninth Knot. So long had she been cursed by her goddess Shelyn for her pride. Stripped of her beauty & turned into a monster. Here was a way out for her. Possible acceptance. And brought on by a group including a powerful priestess of Zon-Kuthon. Fate was not done with her yet it would seem. Eager to learn of the death gods teachings & for a place to live outside of her hovel, she left with the Knot. The trip back to Ghastenhall she learned a great deal of the comings and goings of modern times. Speaking at great lengths to Yvianne. The whole time using Emmerick's Iron Crown to transform her shape into that of a Aasimar to spare those around her of her natural deathly visage.
With another ally added to their ranks, the Knot turned its gaze on the mountains & the elusive Drugar rumored to hide in their rocky roots. Without a trained outdoors-man, the Knot struggled, but with some vague knowledge from Isevel, combined with the skills of Brother Summit & Emmerick's Nightmare, the Knot scoured the lands until they managed to find a set of caves leading deep underground. The suspicious marks of booted feet confirmed their suspicions. Drugar were near about. Still, the Ninth would not arrive as uninvited guests without a gift of some kind. The Shroud took little time at all to round up some dwarven prisoners.
The Drugar guards at a perimeter outpost were quite surprised at the sight of a party of adventurers with a complement of dwarven prisoners. After summoning higher ups though, the silver tongues of the Ninth worked wonders & the host were allowed beyond, to the secret Drugar city of Zhaanzen Kryr and it's Thane, Zasher Arzen. The above worlders are eyed nervously as they walk the streets of the Drugar, but their strength of arms, their Drugar escort, and their obvious dwarf captives bound for the Thane give pause to any Drugar citizen bent on assaulting the group.
Eventually traversing the nearly pitch black Drugar city, the Ninth Knot arrive at the keep carved out of the stone in the back of the massive cavern that houses the Drugar. There, before the burning fire pits of the dark gods of the Drugar stands Thane Zasher Arzen. Again the guile and wit of the Ninth is on full display. And what should have been a daunting task plays out to the common observer as merely a simple few choice words. The only moment of reluctance from the Ninth is when they hand over their dwarf slaves only to find out they will be slaughtered in a dark ritual. Many in the Ninth give pause at the ruthless savagery of their future allies. All that is expect the Death Priest in the group. Yvianne is eager to see a feast and slaughter.
With the dwarven prisoners writhing in agony as the dinner music, a massive feast is held in honor of a new alliance. The thane's own son, Zargun Arzen, will lead one hundred Drugar soldiers in the aid of the topsiders.
Another ally plied to the will of Hell.
With their army nearly assembled the Ninth return to Ghastenhall and ready themselves for battle. Still, little intel was retrieved by the scouting of the Shroud minions. The Ninth wrap themselves in undetectable alignment spells and risk a personal foray into the religious heart of their enemy.
Arriving in the vale mixed in with a group of regular pilgrims, cloaked in magic & armed with guile, the Ninth Knot of Thorns first steps foot in the Vale of Valtaerna.
Two days pass. During which time the Ninth discovers much. They verify the location of an ever-burning flame atop a mountain in the middle of a lake. They do an invisible fly-over of the Garden's of Serenity trying to get to the Cathedral of Mitra-Made-Manifest, and discover the entrance is protected by a maze-like spell, requiring them to pass through the gardens on foot. And that the garden entrance is guarded by two shield archons.
They find out more about general defenses as well. The quite village of Sanctum and the near by Watchtower are on a peace-time footing. A large garrison of guards stays quartered in the village proper. They include archers, foot soldiers and mounted knights of the Alerion order. Also, griffon knights are rumored to be stationed near the Cathedral of Mitra-Made-Manifest, though the recon group failed to see anything.
Further the watchtower itself is guarded, all be it lightly. At least of humans. A small compliment of soldiers main the tower & low wall, lead by a watch captain. But they are not the true guardians of the Tower. That honor goes to two pairs of creatures. One guarding the base, the other the top of the tower.
The base guards take the form of a pair are simple statues. But are in fact clay golums that guard the gate-way tunnel through the watch tower. Though, they are not the worst. That honor falls to the guardians on top. Two Half-Celestial Lammasu and their alert gong. One sounding of that gong and the whole Vale would be alerted to an attack.
The peacetime status of the Tower is critical to the Knots efforts. Should the tower be fully armed with the garrison in town, then a truly herculean effort would lay before the Ninth's army. No. This can not be like Balentyne. Where the Knot picks away one at a time guards. For this watch captain, unlike poor Thomas Havelyn of Balentyne, has a host of mundane and divine agents able to be called to main the walls at a moments notice. Should even the slightest attack occur. After all, this is not the watch wall, this is the heart of the kingdom and war is abroad.
The Ninth Knot will only have one chance to strike. When the hammer falls, it must fall hard and swift. The gates must be breached and the Saintsbridge that lays beyond must be seized if the Vale is to be taken.
The unexpected arial ability of the Medusa takes the group for surprise. Still, a quick casting of fly on Emmerick by an otherwise fleeing Wasyli gives the anti-paladin "wings" of his own. Most of the Knot scatter, Brother Summit tries to climb to the roof of the temple to jump from above. Mardus sprouts fiery wings & opts to avoid the terrifying gaze & fly away to seek range. His spells failing to puncture the fiend's spell resistance. A blindfolded Quell fires off shots in vain. While bursts of negative energy in the shape of blood clouds burst around Yvainne. But in the end it was Emmerick to won the day. The flying champion of Hell showed complete disregard for the petrifying gaze of the Medusa and relentlessly struck her with his mace until she yielded to him.
Forced to parley, Izevel the Accursed listened intently to the unexpected offer from the Ninth Knot. So long had she been cursed by her goddess Shelyn for her pride. Stripped of her beauty & turned into a monster. Here was a way out for her. Possible acceptance. And brought on by a group including a powerful priestess of Zon-Kuthon. Fate was not done with her yet it would seem. Eager to learn of the death gods teachings & for a place to live outside of her hovel, she left with the Knot. The trip back to Ghastenhall she learned a great deal of the comings and goings of modern times. Speaking at great lengths to Yvianne. The whole time using Emmerick's Iron Crown to transform her shape into that of a Aasimar to spare those around her of her natural deathly visage.
With another ally added to their ranks, the Knot turned its gaze on the mountains & the elusive Drugar rumored to hide in their rocky roots. Without a trained outdoors-man, the Knot struggled, but with some vague knowledge from Isevel, combined with the skills of Brother Summit & Emmerick's Nightmare, the Knot scoured the lands until they managed to find a set of caves leading deep underground. The suspicious marks of booted feet confirmed their suspicions. Drugar were near about. Still, the Ninth would not arrive as uninvited guests without a gift of some kind. The Shroud took little time at all to round up some dwarven prisoners.
The Drugar guards at a perimeter outpost were quite surprised at the sight of a party of adventurers with a complement of dwarven prisoners. After summoning higher ups though, the silver tongues of the Ninth worked wonders & the host were allowed beyond, to the secret Drugar city of Zhaanzen Kryr and it's Thane, Zasher Arzen. The above worlders are eyed nervously as they walk the streets of the Drugar, but their strength of arms, their Drugar escort, and their obvious dwarf captives bound for the Thane give pause to any Drugar citizen bent on assaulting the group.
Eventually traversing the nearly pitch black Drugar city, the Ninth Knot arrive at the keep carved out of the stone in the back of the massive cavern that houses the Drugar. There, before the burning fire pits of the dark gods of the Drugar stands Thane Zasher Arzen. Again the guile and wit of the Ninth is on full display. And what should have been a daunting task plays out to the common observer as merely a simple few choice words. The only moment of reluctance from the Ninth is when they hand over their dwarf slaves only to find out they will be slaughtered in a dark ritual. Many in the Ninth give pause at the ruthless savagery of their future allies. All that is expect the Death Priest in the group. Yvianne is eager to see a feast and slaughter.
With the dwarven prisoners writhing in agony as the dinner music, a massive feast is held in honor of a new alliance. The thane's own son, Zargun Arzen, will lead one hundred Drugar soldiers in the aid of the topsiders.
Another ally plied to the will of Hell.
With their army nearly assembled the Ninth return to Ghastenhall and ready themselves for battle. Still, little intel was retrieved by the scouting of the Shroud minions. The Ninth wrap themselves in undetectable alignment spells and risk a personal foray into the religious heart of their enemy.
Arriving in the vale mixed in with a group of regular pilgrims, cloaked in magic & armed with guile, the Ninth Knot of Thorns first steps foot in the Vale of Valtaerna.
Two days pass. During which time the Ninth discovers much. They verify the location of an ever-burning flame atop a mountain in the middle of a lake. They do an invisible fly-over of the Garden's of Serenity trying to get to the Cathedral of Mitra-Made-Manifest, and discover the entrance is protected by a maze-like spell, requiring them to pass through the gardens on foot. And that the garden entrance is guarded by two shield archons.
They find out more about general defenses as well. The quite village of Sanctum and the near by Watchtower are on a peace-time footing. A large garrison of guards stays quartered in the village proper. They include archers, foot soldiers and mounted knights of the Alerion order. Also, griffon knights are rumored to be stationed near the Cathedral of Mitra-Made-Manifest, though the recon group failed to see anything.
Further the watchtower itself is guarded, all be it lightly. At least of humans. A small compliment of soldiers main the tower & low wall, lead by a watch captain. But they are not the true guardians of the Tower. That honor goes to two pairs of creatures. One guarding the base, the other the top of the tower.
The base guards take the form of a pair are simple statues. But are in fact clay golums that guard the gate-way tunnel through the watch tower. Though, they are not the worst. That honor falls to the guardians on top. Two Half-Celestial Lammasu and their alert gong. One sounding of that gong and the whole Vale would be alerted to an attack.
The peacetime status of the Tower is critical to the Knots efforts. Should the tower be fully armed with the garrison in town, then a truly herculean effort would lay before the Ninth's army. No. This can not be like Balentyne. Where the Knot picks away one at a time guards. For this watch captain, unlike poor Thomas Havelyn of Balentyne, has a host of mundane and divine agents able to be called to main the walls at a moments notice. Should even the slightest attack occur. After all, this is not the watch wall, this is the heart of the kingdom and war is abroad.
The Ninth Knot will only have one chance to strike. When the hammer falls, it must fall hard and swift. The gates must be breached and the Saintsbridge that lays beyond must be seized if the Vale is to be taken.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Session 28
While out about town the Knot heard of a festival of Princess Iris, a long lost noblewoman of Ghastenhall. The name sounded familiar, and checking with the journals Galen left with the Knot, they determined the ring they found from the Horn was labelled as being from Iris of Ghastenhall.
A quick check with their local contact Thrane confirmed it. So the Knot quickly sent their goons to "find" a skeleton of a half-elven woman from a near by farming town graveyard.
The Knot did discuss what favor to ask. They thought of titles, or information about the vale, but ultimately settled on the best reward ever. Money.
As the Knot prepared to leave their manor house & make the short trek up the hill to the Duke's castle, they met an uninvited guest.
Appearing in a poof of brimstone & smoke a contract devil stood before the Ninth Knot. Introducing himself as Dessiter, he offers the knot his help in their quest to undo the vale & bring ruin to Mitra's agents on this plane. The Ninth Knot doesn't buy it and expects something more is at play. Still, when the Devil offers a contract with limited terms and a reward of transforming Yvainne's three hell-hounds into Nessian War-Hounds, how could the Ninth refuse.
And sign the contract they did. They would kill a monadic deva, the head of the Mitrians on this plane. And gain three powerful beasts of hell as payment delivered up front.
Only after signing the contract, did the groups legal expert Wasyli point out the risk. If Thorn ordered them to abandon their mission & leave monadic deva Ara Mathra alive, they would be forced to breach a contract. As unlikely as it would be, it would be advised to leave their side dealings from being known by Thorn.
With the interruption from hell behind them, the Ninth dons the appearance of Hallack's crew and head to the Duke's castle. Emmerick takes the roll of Hallack. The knot considered using the real dwarf, but were reluctant, so Mardus, having spend the most time around the blacksmith plays that role. Yvainne plays up the bard. Summit the Monk, an easy role to play for sure. They do not bring along a fake Sister Marta, deciding instead to claim she died at the Horn. For all great lies profit from a sliver of truth. Wasyli & Quell play new members of the adventuring band.
Initially their meeting with the Duke's court appears to go over poorly, the Mad Duke's aids seem to not buy the story & the assembled crowd seems to agree. But Quell's keen ears hear a reassuring whisper from the Duke to his aid. "Think, if we pretend to buy the story, I'll be ride of this long line of charlatans once and for all." The Duke bluntly cuts to the chase, asking the Knot what reward was worth it. Mardus responds asking for a large sum of over 20,000 gp. The Duke balks, Emmerick tries to press it. The Duke then asks to see the "alleged" evidence for himself, as he has his doubts. Mardus, sensing their plot unraveling, jumps in and accepts the much smaller amount of 12,000 gp. The duke agrees & adds the Ninth will have a feast in the Lord's Quarter to honor their efforts.
The Ninth enjoy the lavish feast, but wish to shake their disguise soon. Their new found noteriety is weighing them down, so while wining and dining with the elites of Ghastenhall, "Hallack's Crew" mentions wishing to explore the rumors of a nearby Medusa. Some dignitaries urged caution, but "Hallack's Crew" insisted.
The Ninth plan to shed their disguise the following day, hoping to not don it again.
As the feasting wrapped up, Wasyli mentioned to the group that the Tavern & Inn they were at happens to be the rumored location of the Arcanist Ben. Wasyli was quite interested in meeting the man, so Yvainne & Mardus offer to introduce him that night. A discrete payment to the Innkeeper manages to lead them to Ben's suite upstairs.
Wasyli meets the fellow arcane caster who kindly offers his sitting room to the acquaintances and brief pleasantries are exchanged. Yvainne is sure to ask about Ben's wife, who Ben simply says is "doing fine". Though Ben constantly seems to eye the door to the bedroom. Inquiries about Ben's travelling companion, Vincent are made. And the Knot finds out the vampire hear visiting a local vampire of some note. A meeting is arranged between the Ninth & Vincent for the following night. And Ben is quick to hurry his guests out of his suite without mentioning his wife.
The following day the Ninth meet Vincent. The Ninth asked for help, in particular strength of arms. Vincent pushed until the Ninth revealed their plot to assault the vale. Vincent offered to bring the Ninth before his ally, “Prince” Gaius Vestromo, vampire of Ghastenhall. Further Vincent gave the Ninth an edge, he told them Vestromo needed a family heirloom held in the vaults of the Cathedral of Mitra-Made-Manifest in the Vale. When asked what Vincent got out of the deal, he made it quite clear. He knew Thorn's organization would be in a place of power, when that time came, he'd come calling for favors owed. With a fang lined grin Vincent added "When you're forces rule this kingdom, and rule it they will, I will come calling."
That same night, Vincent lead the Knot into a near by graveyard & into an abandoned mausoleum. Mardus noted the banal and stereotypical lair for a vampire, to which Vincent gave a sympathetic response of "Not my choice for a home..." The Knot met with the dread vampire & under the guidance & advice of Vincent managed to gain the Prince's support in the form of 10 vampire spawn.
With the macabre scene behind them, the Knot runs into trouble of a different nature the following day. Mardus is sought out in the Red Quarter by one of the pimps who works at the Golden Palace in the Red Quarter. It seems Master Vex needs some help.
Rounding up the Knot, Mardus meets with Master Vex. They find the eastern priest there badly injured, along with some scared looking thugs. Master Vex is quick to ask for help. His creatures have broken loose & he needs the situation dealt with. And quickly. He'll gladly pay the regular winnings for the game, just so long as speed is taken. Quell, smelling fear & profit pushes, he wants a shadow stake-holding in the Golden Palace. Master Vex balks at that. But to sweeten the pot, Quell offers to not only capture as many of these creatures alive as possible, but further will ship future creatures they find back to the pit fighting arena. In exchange a simple 1% cut of the profits is required. Forced with little option, Master Vex buckles & agrees.
The Knot makes quick work of the creatures that fled into the sewers. Relying on their powerful skills, the Knot recovers most without incident. The only exception, the mighty Allosaurus which they were forced to kill.
As the weeks slipped by the Knot became increasingly restless. Sending a cell of the shroud to the Vale they scouted out the area. There was a village full of innocents. Woman and children. Emmerick was the most vocal. He disliked the idea of wonton slaughter. It reminded him of the uncaring fires of the inquisition. Quell has a moment of pause as he remembered the burning flame of mitra kill his master & leave his master's children as orphans of the state. Mardus reminded the group that ever since the beginning he's been a proponent of corruption but maintaining social order. Simply with a new absolute ruler and the law of Asmodeus. This destruction and worse the plague. The more research into the savagery of the plague gave the Knot more pause. Except for Yvainne, the death priest seemed quite pleased with the prospect of sending her dark god so many sacrifices. Still, a reluctance hung about the Knot. Was Thorn truly looking to rule Talengarde or simply cause chaos...
With their free time spent, Tiadora arrived to inform the Knot it was time to meet an old friend, The Fire-Axe. Taking the form of a white-furred female bugbear, Tiadora provided teleportation coordinates to the ruins of Westkirk Castle, the current headquarters of Fire-Axe.
Arriving in mass across the mountains, Tiadora quickly led the Ninth to see the First. A warm reunion was had. Fire-Axe informed them they'd be given one squad of soldiers to invade the Vale with. Tiadora pushed for a second troop lead by Fire-Axe's chief lieutenant, Night-Mane. Fire-Axe hated that idea, but soothing words from the Ninth changed his mind. He & Tiadora spoke to the Ninth of some different sources of potential help, Drugar were in the mountains near by, likewise, the Medusa was on the other side of the mountains near Ghastenhall. He also told the Ninth of a Ogre Magi on the run in his camp. Something about killing a sub-chieftain over a dispute.
With pleasantries & business concluded, the Ninth left the First to his planning.
Combining arcane divination and cunning tongue, the Ninth easily tracked down the Ogre Magi and explained plainly he had no future left in Fire-Axe's hoard. But glory still awaited him. After haggling over a price, the Ninth settled on a fee nearly identical to the monthly profits they'd just secured from the Golden Palace.
A convenient arraignment if there ever were one.
With affairs in order, the Knot makes their next move. To track down this Medusa they keep hearing about. With a little bit of luck & skill they manage to find the ruined temple that's the supposed location of the snake-haired horror. Doing areal recon they spot a cluster of stone statues out front, likely victims.
The Knot steels itself & approaches on foot...
A quick check with their local contact Thrane confirmed it. So the Knot quickly sent their goons to "find" a skeleton of a half-elven woman from a near by farming town graveyard.
The Knot did discuss what favor to ask. They thought of titles, or information about the vale, but ultimately settled on the best reward ever. Money.
As the Knot prepared to leave their manor house & make the short trek up the hill to the Duke's castle, they met an uninvited guest.
Appearing in a poof of brimstone & smoke a contract devil stood before the Ninth Knot. Introducing himself as Dessiter, he offers the knot his help in their quest to undo the vale & bring ruin to Mitra's agents on this plane. The Ninth Knot doesn't buy it and expects something more is at play. Still, when the Devil offers a contract with limited terms and a reward of transforming Yvainne's three hell-hounds into Nessian War-Hounds, how could the Ninth refuse.
And sign the contract they did. They would kill a monadic deva, the head of the Mitrians on this plane. And gain three powerful beasts of hell as payment delivered up front.
Only after signing the contract, did the groups legal expert Wasyli point out the risk. If Thorn ordered them to abandon their mission & leave monadic deva Ara Mathra alive, they would be forced to breach a contract. As unlikely as it would be, it would be advised to leave their side dealings from being known by Thorn.
With the interruption from hell behind them, the Ninth dons the appearance of Hallack's crew and head to the Duke's castle. Emmerick takes the roll of Hallack. The knot considered using the real dwarf, but were reluctant, so Mardus, having spend the most time around the blacksmith plays that role. Yvainne plays up the bard. Summit the Monk, an easy role to play for sure. They do not bring along a fake Sister Marta, deciding instead to claim she died at the Horn. For all great lies profit from a sliver of truth. Wasyli & Quell play new members of the adventuring band.
Initially their meeting with the Duke's court appears to go over poorly, the Mad Duke's aids seem to not buy the story & the assembled crowd seems to agree. But Quell's keen ears hear a reassuring whisper from the Duke to his aid. "Think, if we pretend to buy the story, I'll be ride of this long line of charlatans once and for all." The Duke bluntly cuts to the chase, asking the Knot what reward was worth it. Mardus responds asking for a large sum of over 20,000 gp. The Duke balks, Emmerick tries to press it. The Duke then asks to see the "alleged" evidence for himself, as he has his doubts. Mardus, sensing their plot unraveling, jumps in and accepts the much smaller amount of 12,000 gp. The duke agrees & adds the Ninth will have a feast in the Lord's Quarter to honor their efforts.
The Ninth enjoy the lavish feast, but wish to shake their disguise soon. Their new found noteriety is weighing them down, so while wining and dining with the elites of Ghastenhall, "Hallack's Crew" mentions wishing to explore the rumors of a nearby Medusa. Some dignitaries urged caution, but "Hallack's Crew" insisted.
The Ninth plan to shed their disguise the following day, hoping to not don it again.
As the feasting wrapped up, Wasyli mentioned to the group that the Tavern & Inn they were at happens to be the rumored location of the Arcanist Ben. Wasyli was quite interested in meeting the man, so Yvainne & Mardus offer to introduce him that night. A discrete payment to the Innkeeper manages to lead them to Ben's suite upstairs.
Wasyli meets the fellow arcane caster who kindly offers his sitting room to the acquaintances and brief pleasantries are exchanged. Yvainne is sure to ask about Ben's wife, who Ben simply says is "doing fine". Though Ben constantly seems to eye the door to the bedroom. Inquiries about Ben's travelling companion, Vincent are made. And the Knot finds out the vampire hear visiting a local vampire of some note. A meeting is arranged between the Ninth & Vincent for the following night. And Ben is quick to hurry his guests out of his suite without mentioning his wife.
The following day the Ninth meet Vincent. The Ninth asked for help, in particular strength of arms. Vincent pushed until the Ninth revealed their plot to assault the vale. Vincent offered to bring the Ninth before his ally, “Prince” Gaius Vestromo, vampire of Ghastenhall. Further Vincent gave the Ninth an edge, he told them Vestromo needed a family heirloom held in the vaults of the Cathedral of Mitra-Made-Manifest in the Vale. When asked what Vincent got out of the deal, he made it quite clear. He knew Thorn's organization would be in a place of power, when that time came, he'd come calling for favors owed. With a fang lined grin Vincent added "When you're forces rule this kingdom, and rule it they will, I will come calling."
That same night, Vincent lead the Knot into a near by graveyard & into an abandoned mausoleum. Mardus noted the banal and stereotypical lair for a vampire, to which Vincent gave a sympathetic response of "Not my choice for a home..." The Knot met with the dread vampire & under the guidance & advice of Vincent managed to gain the Prince's support in the form of 10 vampire spawn.
With the macabre scene behind them, the Knot runs into trouble of a different nature the following day. Mardus is sought out in the Red Quarter by one of the pimps who works at the Golden Palace in the Red Quarter. It seems Master Vex needs some help.
Rounding up the Knot, Mardus meets with Master Vex. They find the eastern priest there badly injured, along with some scared looking thugs. Master Vex is quick to ask for help. His creatures have broken loose & he needs the situation dealt with. And quickly. He'll gladly pay the regular winnings for the game, just so long as speed is taken. Quell, smelling fear & profit pushes, he wants a shadow stake-holding in the Golden Palace. Master Vex balks at that. But to sweeten the pot, Quell offers to not only capture as many of these creatures alive as possible, but further will ship future creatures they find back to the pit fighting arena. In exchange a simple 1% cut of the profits is required. Forced with little option, Master Vex buckles & agrees.
The Knot makes quick work of the creatures that fled into the sewers. Relying on their powerful skills, the Knot recovers most without incident. The only exception, the mighty Allosaurus which they were forced to kill.
As the weeks slipped by the Knot became increasingly restless. Sending a cell of the shroud to the Vale they scouted out the area. There was a village full of innocents. Woman and children. Emmerick was the most vocal. He disliked the idea of wonton slaughter. It reminded him of the uncaring fires of the inquisition. Quell has a moment of pause as he remembered the burning flame of mitra kill his master & leave his master's children as orphans of the state. Mardus reminded the group that ever since the beginning he's been a proponent of corruption but maintaining social order. Simply with a new absolute ruler and the law of Asmodeus. This destruction and worse the plague. The more research into the savagery of the plague gave the Knot more pause. Except for Yvainne, the death priest seemed quite pleased with the prospect of sending her dark god so many sacrifices. Still, a reluctance hung about the Knot. Was Thorn truly looking to rule Talengarde or simply cause chaos...
With their free time spent, Tiadora arrived to inform the Knot it was time to meet an old friend, The Fire-Axe. Taking the form of a white-furred female bugbear, Tiadora provided teleportation coordinates to the ruins of Westkirk Castle, the current headquarters of Fire-Axe.
Arriving in mass across the mountains, Tiadora quickly led the Ninth to see the First. A warm reunion was had. Fire-Axe informed them they'd be given one squad of soldiers to invade the Vale with. Tiadora pushed for a second troop lead by Fire-Axe's chief lieutenant, Night-Mane. Fire-Axe hated that idea, but soothing words from the Ninth changed his mind. He & Tiadora spoke to the Ninth of some different sources of potential help, Drugar were in the mountains near by, likewise, the Medusa was on the other side of the mountains near Ghastenhall. He also told the Ninth of a Ogre Magi on the run in his camp. Something about killing a sub-chieftain over a dispute.
With pleasantries & business concluded, the Ninth left the First to his planning.
Combining arcane divination and cunning tongue, the Ninth easily tracked down the Ogre Magi and explained plainly he had no future left in Fire-Axe's hoard. But glory still awaited him. After haggling over a price, the Ninth settled on a fee nearly identical to the monthly profits they'd just secured from the Golden Palace.
A convenient arraignment if there ever were one.
With affairs in order, the Knot makes their next move. To track down this Medusa they keep hearing about. With a little bit of luck & skill they manage to find the ruined temple that's the supposed location of the snake-haired horror. Doing areal recon they spot a cluster of stone statues out front, likely victims.
The Knot steels itself & approaches on foot...
Friday, July 12, 2013
Session 27
The first week in Ghastenhall is a whirlwind of activity. Wasyli meets the Ninth Knot's new cohort, Trik. The priest of Asmodeus invites Wasyli to join an interfaith service the first morning of their stay in the Manor house in the Lord's Quarter of Ghastenhall. The service is not held in a basement, or hidden closet, but rather on the ground floor sitting room. It is a surreal experience for Wasyli to see. All those years of his Aunt telling him to hide his faith. And here it is being openly worshiped, not less than a mile from the Duke of Ghastenhall's audience chamber. The trappings of Hell and the Midnight Lord on full display. An odd sight indeed.
The rest of the week is filled with various actions. The knot is quick to sell off the ill gotten equipment recovered from Branderscar as well as do some long overdue shopping. Emmerick disappears to gather information from the town. Others ask Thrane more questions about what is going on and how the disease will be released. And other sundry actions take place.
The only other major event of the first week is the day of the pit-fight.
Brother Summit "hungry" for combat, goes with Mardus & Quell to the Golden Palace, a hive of scum and villainy in the Red Quarter of town. Having heard rumors that this is the place to get into pit fights, he's not disappointed. Quell acts as fight manager & fast talks with the owner, Master Max, about the rules & getting Summit into the fight. Using the same stage name as back in Farholde, "Empty". Mardus does raise an eyebrow at the overly friendly nature of Quell. A side of the elf he hadn't seen before. Clearly the rogue is comfortable now that he's back home in Ghastenhall.
The negotiations finalized, the three return that evening where Brother Summit fights against 3 savage beasts. First the giant two-headed cobra falls to the monk. The Owlbear who followed fared an equally poor chance against Summit's blows. Some in the crowd notice his fighting stance looks similar to the Monks of the Serene Order. But under the roar of the crowd, Quell & Mardus don't notice their comments. Mardus is too busy shooting out narrations of Summit's fighting style, while Quell chats with Master Max as the fight goes on before them. The last brute to face the monk is an Ankylosaurus. The dinosaurs large stunning tail & think armored skin prove a hard challenge. At one point Mardus is worried about needing to use a Breath of Life spell on Summit if he were to fall. But the Monk perseveres & triumphs.
With the fight over, Mardus takes a battered & bruised Brother Summit back to the manor house to recover. And Quell slips away to find himself at his old stopping ground. The Silver Tankard Inn. Eager to see how his old friend Khyber the elf slips into the tavern. His usual table is empty, and Khyber is no where in sight. He does spot his favorite barmaid, Eve. Part friend, part little sister, it's comforting to see a friendly face, even if under his disguise she fails to recognize him.
He smiles and is a bit surprise to see her flirting so much with a patron. But his smile disappears when he sees who she's flirting with. Emmerick. The Unholy Warrior fails to notice Quell as he sits smiling & chatting up Eve.
Quell wonders in the back & picks a spot near his old table & waits.
The second week progresses along. Much like the first.
Quell continued to watch for his friend at the Silver Tankard, while quietly watching Emmerick maintain a role of wounded veteran and hobnob with locals and flirt with the pretty barmaid, Eve. Quell eventually saw his friend Khyber show up. And though Khyber gave Quell a look and even asked him "Do I know you?" the elf simply shook his head. Afraid to speak & blow his cover. Khyber also noticed the wounded soldier flirting with Eve, which raised an eyebrow on his rugged face. But Quell noted he seemed too busy giving orders to a couple of thugs working for the local crime boss Nicholas Breuder. It seems old Khyber has moved up in the ranks in Quell's absence.
The other Knot members continued their routine. Emmerick gathered information & flirted with Eve, unaware of Quell's ever watchful eye. Other knot members went about their business. Two rumors did cause some of the Knot to investigate. Rumors swirled of murder of woman in Red Quater. That combined with rumors of an older man with a young woman who seemed confused wondering the market place raised concerns among Yvianne & Mardus. So they went snooping around but found little to go on. Consulting with Quell, they decided to dismiss the murders as likely an unfounded rumor. But the story of the older man & confused woman did lead them to a name. Ben. It seems the necromancer who travels with a vampire is in town somewhere.
Also there was more pit fighting. Brother Summit went up against a Wooly Rino that tried to skewer the Monk on his great horn, only to be stomped to the ground & knocked out. A slicer beetle tried to take off a hand but found his pincers weren't sharp enough to bother the punishing kick & flurry of knuckles the Monk had to offer. The charging Dire Lion that attacked the Monk nearly shredded him to ribbons. And Mardus was worried he'd have to jump in and rescue the monk. But the cat eventually fell just like all the others.
All in all, a pretty tame week for the Ninth Knot.
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