Session 261 - Bloody Marble

General Summary

5^th to 7^th of Azura (First Month of Autumn) 725TR

The story so far

The party has saved the miners at hidden Fort Sirion from an Orc army. The grateful miners have promised to reward the heroes and offer them bribes to keep this operation, which illegally avoids the republics' taxes, secret.

This is the continuation of Session 260 - Renegade's Fate.

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Location - The City of Coranan in the Thardic Republic.

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Part 1 - Rewards for the Heroes

Avon receives an invitation to meet with Master Miner Frodric Pesed, who manages Coranan's Miners' Hostel. The good miner wished to personally thank and reward the party for saving the secretive mining base, Fort Sirion, and ask them to keep this illicit operation "off the records." The payment (i.e., bribe) offered is quite generous.

Avon decides to push it, delicately implying that the Guild can afford to pay more. The canny old miner replies, "I hear, young man, you have aspirations to join the Senate. We feel you would be a fine candidate, and the miners guild would like to work with you in the future. On behalf of our organization, I would like to donate to your campaign and assure you that you have the support of four more Senators. In addition, we will try to convince other senators who have investments in mining of the merits of your cause". Avon has gained six more votes for his senatorial bid, plus a possible six more.

"By the way, we have heard that the Nordaka family has encountered problems with their famous marble quarry. The stone masons are refusing work due to some curses, apparently. The Nordaka's are desperate for the problem to be resolved. You could get support from this influential family if you could make this problem disappear."

Avon agrees, and the party travel to the Nordaka's family powerbase in the Town of Telen to investigate the issue.

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Location - The Town of Telen in the Thardic Republic.

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Part 2- Trouble at the Quarry

Senator Cobart Nordaka and Senator Amerak Nordaka, the Magistrate of the Coranan Province, are the effective rulers of the Town of Telen and the Coranan Province. The cousins are in a bind having lucrative contracts to provide marble in jeopardy. The masons guild refuses to work the quarry after bad luck, accidents, injuries, and deaths over the last month. The local priest of Peoni, Brother Chako, has claimed that the quarries are cursed, and the stone masons have refused to return to work. The Nordaka's have numerous contracts that need to be met, and with winter approaching, they cannot afford to lose any time.

The party splits up and investigates. They learn that injuries and deaths have become everyday occurrences. Several workers have gone insane and attacked innocents before committing suicide, and several hirelings have vanished, some in front of witnesses. A couple of workers claim that they have been drawn into strange appealing worlds but found them to be mirages.

Jolanta experienced something similar when she and Blaine battled a Balhannoth in the City of Tashal (refer Session 202 - Nightmare in the Sewers). These strange occurrences match the abilities of the nightmare she destroyed years ago.

However, the heroes also investigate whether anyone has a grudge against the Nordaka Clan and, excluding political and business competitors, one man stands out. The Peonian priest Brother Chako. They learn that the priest's brother committed murder and was scheduled to be executed. Instead, Senator Amerak Nordaka, the local Magistrate, sold him to the local church of Agrik (The Heprariccan) to fight to the death in a bloody ritual. He was offered freedom if he survived, but he failed, probably because the odds were stacked against him, and he was burnt to ash in the temple's octagonal pit. Brother Chako took his brother's death badly and was vocal in his outrage, blaming the Agrikians and Nordakas.

Part 3 - Sometimes Your Wishes Are Granted

That evening the party decides to visit this priest, Brother Chako, in his small chapel near the Nordaka Marble Quarries. Acheron has Detect Thoughts up as the party ruins the priest's dinner. The priest is nervous but appears helpful but conflicted and guilty when discussing the curse on the quarries. When asked, "how do you know the quarries are cursed" Acheron's magic reveals he knows the reason; he cursed them! After some not-so-gentle prompting, he confesses. In a moment of despair and frustration over the death of his brother made the biggest mistake of his life and called on the dark powers for vengeance. He did not expect his call to be answered! All he could do to minimize the harm was to convince the workers to abandon the quarries and pray for forgiveness.

Part 4 - At the Senate Chamber

The heroes show pity on the remorseful priest and make their way to the quarry. There they find the grim sight of a worker hanging from a crane. Acheron carefully examines the ground finding tracks of a large bipedal creature. The Balhannoth? The party follows them into a small chamber.

Stepping in, the characters find themselves in another location, the Senate Hall in the Chamber of Red Domes in the City of Coranan. But something is amiss; the windows are blurry, a distracting murmur can be heard from all directions, and groups of Senators stand motionless. Something is very wrong.

Avon closely examines the Senators. All are standing like statues; their features are off, with fine details smudged. However, something seems to be moving under their skin. Suddenly with an awful tearing sound, their skin rips open, and managed flesh explodes out, forming a moving macabre mass of destruction. At the same time, Avon notices a giant fiendish eye starting at the party through the windows.

The Animated Offal envelopes Blaine and attacks the heroes with revolting fury. However, they are no match for the experienced party and are carved into a harmless, quivering, bloody mass. Whether the eye is impressed, it gives no clue, so Blaine decides to smash the window, trying to get at it. It is like hitting stone, but cracks begin to form on the window, growing and covering the walls around it. When he bashes the walls, the cracks grow further, then suddenly, whatever phony world the party is in collapses. The party finds these back in the quarry. However, Acheron and Jolanta have the misfortune of appearing mid-air and plummeting to the ground. Acheron grabs Jolanta and rolls, absorbing some of the damage. In the distance, on the other side of the quarry, a huge malicious Balhannoth lurks in the darkness.

Part 5 - Back in the Real World

The Balhannoth is a creature out of nightmares, able to create its own reality. With its tricks exposed, it physically attacks the heroes. Avon scores some impressive gouges into its rubbery mass, hurting the creature, and finds himself teleported a distance away for his efforts, while Jolanta is teleported close to the horror and assaulted with disgusting tentacles and bites. She is nearly killed; however, Acheron eradicates the fiend with a Holy Smite at the last moment.

The appreciative Brother Chako arrives and confirms that the repulsive fiend is destroyed and heals the injured. He vows never to allow himself to be consumed by despair and hate. Senators Cobart and Amerak Nordaka are also delighted, and soon the quarrying operations start up again without incident. Avon has secured their family's support for his senatorial bid.

To be continued.

NPC Interactions

Master Miner Frodric Pesed.

Senator Cobart Nordaka

Senator Amerak Nordaka Magistrate of the Coranan Province

Brother Chako

Challenges Overcome

Destroyed 2 x Animated Offal.

Killed the Balhannoth.

Rewards

Avon Gains some votes.

Created Content

Nothing this week.

Related Reports

Senators of the Thardic Republic.

Thardic Republic .

Great Families of the Thardic Republic .

Temple of Agrik - The Heprariccan.

Player Character Status

Acheron - Human - L7 Devotion Paladin, L4 Hexblade, and L8 Divine Soul.

Jolanta - Human - L19 Evoker.

Avon - Half-Elf - L19 Thief.

Next Session

Session 262 - Fiery Celebrations.