Session 13 - Barghest or Bust

General Summary

 

• As Nualia's body lay in a growing pool of blood, demon arm laying off to the side, Kilgor kept an eye out for trouble. He saw figures approaching and heard voices. Orik Vancaskerkin had led the elf Kadrus Shieldwalker down to where the party was. Orik warned Kadrus of the hallway trap. The elf easily lept over it and joined the group. Orik requested the rest of his payment, so Kadrus used mage hand to send some coins over to the mercenary. 
• Kadrus handed over a bag they stole from from the orc Roglas Gorestorm, leader of the Warbound mercenaries. 
• Kadrus explained that Roglas laid claim to the ancient items the Saviors of Sandpoint had found beneath the Glassworks factory. The orc had used three ioun stones as a communication device to speak to his benefactor. Kadrus could not see the benefactor, but heard him say that Roglas would be rewarded according to what was found. The only way Kadrus, a lover of ancient history, would ever get recognition for their findings would be to go out on their own and find something, then report it to the mystery patron on the other end of the ioun communication. Kadrus agreed to split with the party whatever profits were obtained from the historical finds that Thistletop may have held.
• Inside the bag were healing items, the set of ioun communication stones, and a large oddly resonant copper shard that produced an overwhelming aura of illusionary magic. Kumiko briefly examined the shard and kept it.
• The party searched the room Nualia had been holed up in. They found a host of notes on another attack on Sandpoint, one much larger in scale. While the specifics were not figured out, it seemed the purpose of the attack was to burn Sandpoint to the ground as a burnt offering to Lamashtu so that Nualia could complete her transformation. 
• However, there was also a more sinister objective involving what has been noted as "The Catacombs of Wrath." Within the cathederal below the Glasswork factory was a device called a "Wrathful Runewell," which, when activated with a few drops of blood, disgorges a creature known as a Sinspawn, noted as "The literal embodiment of wrath made flesh," sentient abominations of distilled ectoplasm imprinted with the soul-image of slain creatures that possessed an abundance of Wrath. Apparently, the Wrathful Runewell had a limited amount of uses. The notes went into detail about how if the Wrathful Runewell's stores were overextended and depleted, the Runewell would deactivate. There was a final note on the matter that said "The Runewell should not be used until after Sandpoint is razed and the deaths of hundreds of angry citizens and goblins have refilled the well." 
• Among the notes was a book - Nualia's Journal 
• The heroes healed up and examined the room with the stack of illusionary coins. Cloud pointed out to Grog that there were empty coin slots in the stack of illusionary coins, and there appeared to be a void of some kind behind the pillar. Grog put a gold coin in the slot and the column lowered into the floor.
• Dry, dusty air belched out from behind the column. Judging from the lack of footprints and the movement of dust in the corridor, it was clear that no one had been in this area for a very long time. Perhaps a millennium, perhaps longer. 
• One room that branched off from the corridor held tables with blades, saws, and what looked liked autopsy tools strewn across them. It had a workshop feel to it. Atop one of the tables was a mutated skeleton of a two-headed man with a smaller man growing out of the small of its back. Piled among the tools was a key in the shape of a seven-pointed star.
• Another room held an illusion of what Kadrus identified as Karzoug, the Runelord of Greed. It seemed as though the room once allowed the agents stationed here to communicate with a projected image of Karzoug. Over time the magic was damaged, and now a short loop of Karzoug’s last message played endlessly. Over the ages, the illusion had slowly faded. All that remains was a ghostly echo, his words spoken in Thassilonian. He repeated his short message over and over - “...is upon us, but I command you to remain. Witness my power, how Alaznist’s petty wrath is but a flash compared to my strength. Take my final work to your graves, and let its memory be the last thing you...”.
• Using the key, the party opened the final door. A large fire pit burned the middle of the room. A large seven-pointed star was carved across the far wall. Kilgor and Jayvielle walked into the room and were immediately attacked by an invisible barghest demon - Malefeshnicor!
• The wounded Kilgor fell, and when Truett tried to help him he was knocked unconscious with a single bloody bite. Jayvielle put up a defensive battle, but eventually the large demon broke through his defenses and he was dropped unconscious as well. Patchwork healing, valuable illusions from Gallious, and personal sacrifices helped to keep the mighty goblin demon beast from killing the party outright. In the end, the Saviors of Sandpoint lived up to their name and killed the beast Nualia had wanted to unleash on the people of Sandpoint.

Rewards Granted

• 60 eternal candles, minor magic candles that burn eternally without heat, similar to a continual flame spell but shedding only shadowy light in a 5-foot radius. Each eternal candle is worth 25 gp.
• A single silver coffer worth 100 gp.
• A ring of force shield - When activated, the shieldlike pane of force generated manifests as a seven-pointed star—the Sihedron rune.

  Nualia's Personal Loot:

• Sehedron medallion
• potion of Shield of Faith
• +1 Banded Mail
• +1 Bastard Sword
• masterwork composite longbow (+2 Str) with 20 arrows
• 16cp, 29sp, 8gp, 1pp
• gold holy symbol of Lamashtu (worth 50 gp)

    The storage locker w. the dragon emblem on it:

• 25 pp, 414 gp, 14 sp, 40 cp
• Gems: Amber (100 gp), Aquamarine (600 gp), Black Pearl (650 gp), Deep Blue Spinel (130 gp), Jasper (55 gp), Red Spinel (60 gp), Rose Quartz (50 gp), Sardonyx (50 gp) (Total: 1695 gp)
• Masterwork Longspear
• Oil of Bless Weapon
• Potion of Invigorate
• Wand of Cure Light Wounds (27 charges)
• Wand of Magic Missile (17 charges)

Missions/Quests Completed

• Malfeshnicor was defeated.
• Nualia defeated.

DING LEVEL FOUR!