KWN.2.9 The Truesilver Crown

Session Summary

Before heading out of town, the party revisits the smithy to return Optym's missing dagger to him. In a bittersweet exchange, the dwarf is relieved to have his father's dagger returned, though disheartened to realize the blade was magical and his knife-throwing skills were in fact, mostly due to the blade's inherent properties. Nevertheless, he pays the party 75g for bringing the prized possession back to him.
On the way to meet up with Grapeshot and the Helmites would volunteered to join them, Pax is surprised to bump into Masterbreaker, the Viper's goliath body guard. In surprisingly eloquent conversation, the goliath seems to take an interest in Pax's history as "The Devil" and who he serves. She mentions that she is traveling to Everlund, her belongings thrown into a sack over her shoulder, and can be found at the Missing Minotaur.
When the companions take a brief break in their travels, Tristain ventures into the woods to gather supplies and comes across a wounded deer. Invoking Tyr's divine presence to aid and heal the creature, Tristain discovers he'll need to get supplies from his gear at camp to properly suture the wound. By the time he returns, he finds a hunter dressed in fine clothing cleaning a blade. He thanks Tristain for tracking down his target and satisfied with the caliber of his hunting skills, leaves the deer's body behind. Tristain is stunned at this and wonders if he had not doubled back for his supplies if he could have prevented this deer's untimely fate.
That evening around the campfire, the party discusses the nature of faith and divinity. Grapeshot, not particularly well versed in any aspect of religion, engages Aethuriel in a conversation about the value of meditation, study, and the Knight's respective duties. While Pax reads his tome on the history of Neverwinter, he pauses to posit that there's no such purpose and that most of life is random chaos. Tristain, on the other hand, proposes that the each of the duties of the Triad overlap in a greater cause. Before concluding the evening, the party weighs the benefits and costs of wielding the Truesilver Crown against Deckon Thar and ultimately decide that Tristain should be the one to don it for battle. As he does so, Tristain feels a surge of confidence and self-righteous flow through him in a steadfast belief in his ability to protect his companions from the dangers ahead.
The next day, the party traverses through the familiar dense mist of the Nether Valley through rain and ghoul ambushes as they draw closer to the barrows.

Approaching the Barrows

  Well into the second day of unremitting drizzle, minuscule rivers run their course like estranged veins through the gravel bed of the valley, having long transformed the rocky ground to a grey, muddy slosh. Your boots squelch and slurp with each step further towards Deckon Thar's barrows. Since entering the valley the afternoon prior, the trek has been interrupted by various packs of ghouls roaming the region and assailing your group from just beyond the sight lines of the relentless shroud of fog. Though the monsters had come in small enough numbers to be manageable thus far, you notice the growing collective concern across the faces of Captain Grapeshot and the Knights who have joined you. As the sun begins to set somewhere behind the listless gloom of the thick black clouds overhead, the barrow of the bandit king looms further ahead through the ever-present mist that drifts around your vision. Along the hill, you can just detect the still silhouettes of figures atop and around the hill. This time, you're sure, they'll be waiting for you.

Though the party manages to sneak past the undead servants guarding the barrow's entrance, they soon come face to face with Deckon Thar himself, a wraith wrapped in coporeal shadow and necrotic energy. Tristain approaches, feigning offering the crown to Deckon Thar before casting a wave of thunderous energy, sending both the wraith and his wight lieutenant reeling back as the conflict commences.
The party quickly find themselves surrounded by skeletons as the Helmites, Agents Marthen, Cali, and Igren hold the line at the entrance against the hoard of undead thieves. Meanwhile, Pax, Aethuriel, and Tristain try to weaken Deckon Thar while Grapeshot duels the wight across the room. Deckon Thar in turn tries repeatedly to drain the life from Tristain so as to retrieve the crown before out of rage creating a bellowing storm of skeletal remains sharpened into shrapnel that tears through the party and his undead followers alike. Eventually, Deckon Thar retreats after being thwarted by Pax's blood magic, flying through the ceiling of the burial grounds.
The party fights their way through the remaining skeletons before once again ascending to the surface of the barrows. Here, Deckon Thar has gathered zombies to surround and overwhelm the party. In a final stand of desperation, Deckon Thar tears the undead life force from his nearby zombies, coalescing the dark energy into a blast that knocks Aethuriel unconscious and threatens to turn the tide of battle. In a heroic effort, Tristain brings his ally back to consciousness with the help of his amplified abilities before eventually smiting the wraith, finally defeating Deckon Thar. In doing so, his necrotic allies crumble back into death and the unrelenting rain and mist slowly subside as the party tends to their wounds.

Session Overview

Date Played:
March 2, 2021
Party:

• Aethuriel
• Pax
• Tristain

Time Passed:
Elesias 25, 1493 (AM) - Elesias 27, 1493 (PM)
NPCs:

• Captain Grapeshot
• Optym
• Agent Marthen
• Agent Cali
• Agent Igren
• Deckon Thar

Loot:

• 75g (Optym)