Episode 12 - Hour of Twilight
General Summary
The heroes continued to investigate the smuggler’s caves. Sakali sent Rool as the sacrificial lamb scout to take a dip in the black pool of water. It turned out to be more than just a pool. It was a cavern that leads out to a concealed entrance to the ocean. The coffin debris was floating about halfway through the cavern. There were also signs that a small boat had been launched from the rocks surrounding the black pool.
With more questions than answers, the heroes headed back up to the Gold Goblin and CSI’d the gaming room. They examined the bodies (humans and half-orcs), ID’d one of the bodies (a capo for Boss Croat) and calculated the ground zero of the blast that blew out the wall and damaged the statue (the statue WAS ground zero). Saul, being well-read and versed in all things sketchy, was able to read some parts of the drow’s journal. The document outlined supply deliveries from different shops across Riddleport, all being taken to a ship named the Grey Mane. It also detailed the weather patterns over the past several months, including the blot, calling the phenomenon a “side effect of the eldritch energies that powered the glyphs”. There was also a note saying that once the “glyphs are activated and the star is plucked”, the side effects should disappear.
Time for a late-night ship-crash. The night shift harbormaster offered up information that the Grey Mane had left harbor yesterday, but only went as far as the Cyphergate. It was uncommon, but not unusual, for ships to anchor close to the structure – superstition, artistic admiration were some of the more common reasons.
The Mighty Maiden was still in the harbor, waiting for cargo and passengers to load up the following morning. The heroes decided to cash in their “employee discount”, in the form of getting passage to the Grey Mane. Captain Lorune was grudgingly persuaded to surrender his personal escape vessel, a small ship called the Pegasus. The clockwork automation Piko that took over the Mighty Maiden’s overnight rowing duties was connected to the oars aboard the Pegasus and the small craft was quickly deployed to head off the Grey Mane.
As the group closed in on the darkened ship, they could hear screams of tortured pain coming from up on the deck. Fred, using a medallion to control Piko, pulled up a little too close and scraped the side of the Pegasus against the Grey Mane. The screams stopped.
Ella scrambled up the side of the ship and lowered a rope ladder for the rest of the party to climb aboard. The deck of the Grey Mane was dark. No lights anywhere. Several spiders, carved from the purple glowing ore found in the smuggler’s cave, were scattered around the deck.
Movement, big movements, advanced from the shadows and attacked. Three large, powerful-looking humanoids advanced, armed with longswords. They wore leather armor and skull-faced helmets with jaws exposed. A fourth, more mountainous than the other three mountains, remained guarding the main mast. He had been holding a shirtless elf aloft, back to chest, by the wrists crucifix style. He wore a similar helmet with a full skull facemask, and was armed with a scythe. The elf was bloody, the flesh on his chest discolored and necrotic. Skullface dropped the elf like a small, comatose child, and drew his scythe.
The female drow from the cave made her presence known by walking up the mast as if it was flat ground. Then, leaning back, she rained death from above with her hand crossbow.
After two of the Halfskulls were killed, Skullface closed in on the cluster of heroes. He caught Fred off-guard and scored a critically powerful hit that carved her nearly in half, killing her instantly.
The heroes rallied, killing the final Halfskull, as well as Skullface. Hugo launched a firebomb at the base of the mast, doing considerable damage and dislodging the drow from her perch. As her body hit the deck from a fifty-foot fall, Godric stepped up and decapitated her before her corpse could hit the ground a second time.
Searching her body revealed a small round compact. Valarius opened it. It triggered some kind of illusionary projection. Galineth materialized, standing in a study or library of some kind. The works of art hanging on the walls were iconography of Zon-Kuthon, the God of Pain. The elf smiled and dropped his illusion, revealing himself to be (now one-eyed, patch-wearing) Lasdow Erasmus.
Lasdow confessed that he’d been rather upset that Valarius shot his eye out, and had he not drank his potion of water breathing before being knocked overboard he would most likely have died. By nearly killing him, the heroes had also managed to keep him from getting the discblade of Khaylin Cirdanas before the Pathfinders swooped in and took it.
But now, according to Lasdow, things were much better. To celebrate the turn of events he began dancing with Belidas. She looked to be under some kind of charm or domination.
Lasdow confessed that the heroes had found all the pieces of the puzzle for him. They found the discblade of Khaylin Cirdanas, as well as the Statue of Ardura. Now, Lasdow had the discblade. As for the statue, he claimed he just needed what was inside it. Even then, the heroes had provided him with the final piece he needed.
A hooded figure stepped out from behind Belidas. She lowered the hood, revealing a female drow that looked a great deal like the woman in the statue, with many features of Alyuin.
Lasdow beamed. “After almost ten thousand years, Empress Ardura has returned and will lead her people out of the darkness… into the Twilight. The Hour of Twilight has begun, boys and girls. I hope you have your hip-waders on.”
The Empress turned to Lasdow and whispered something in his ear. He looked momentarily surprised, then nodded obediently. “As a sign of unprecedented generosity, The Empress has instructed me to release your friend Shen back into your care. He is of no further use to her. Personally, I think Burt’s helmet did a little too good of a job on him. But we have Khaylin’s discblade, so there’s no need to keep the boy. The little whackadoo is all yours. We’ll send him to you on the wings of a murder of crows, so watch the skies! J/K he’s already on board.”
The doors to the cargo hold opened. Two figures floated up and out of the hold. Shen hovered in the air, skin milk white, wearing a leather outfit that looked almost ceremonial. On his head, he wore a helmet, with a spiked band over his eyes. His lips were thin, revealing a sneering mouth filled with sharpened teeth. Godric sensed he was an “evil outsider” of some kind. The other figure was the recently deceased Bojask. The scar across his throat was still clearly visible. He looked almost waterlogged, bloated, with a thick yellow pus leaking from his eyes, mouth, and the tips of the claws that had formed on the ends of his fingers. Blood dripped off of both of the hovering harbingers of death, and the smell of wet meat wafted out of the hold.
The heroes managed to kill Bojask, and with the help of the injured elf (Kwava), they managed to injure Shen. Just before he flew off, he hissed two raspy words – “Help Me”.
Searching the night sky for Shen, the party noticed that the once glowing blot was now gone.
There was a quick, and horrific, investigation of the ship. The crew, all humans, had been below deck where Shen had literally squashed most of them like ripe tomatoes. Those few that survived were torn apart by Bojask’s venomous teeth and claws.
As the Grey Mane bobbed helplessly in the water, its masts and crew destroyed by Shen, the heroes watched the sunrise to start a new day. In the distance, a speck of light began to grow in the sky. The star had apparently been plucked and was heading toward Riddleport. It passed over the city, close enough that the light from the star cast shadows on the street. It burned over Riddleport and crashed into a small island in the ocean, sending a huge mushroom cloud billowing into the sky. The shockwave from the impact rocked the boat and shook Riddleport. The fifteen-foot tsunami that followed roared into the harbor. Luckily, because of the shape of the harbor and the presence of the Cypergate, the wave was taken down to only seven or eight feet high. It was still enough to beach ships and slam into the buildings near the harbor. The heroes could only watch from the deck of the Grey Mane, hearing the crashing and screaming as people were swept inland, along with many sea predators that lived in the harbor. Those that survived were sucked back out into the ocean.
Rewards Granted
Loot
- 120 pp, 70 gp, 110 sp, 0 cp
- masterwork longswords (3)
- masterwork scythe
- ring of feather falling
- arcane scroll of shadow conjuration (CL 7)
- arcane scroll of enlarge person, mass (CL 7)
- wand of pass without trace (CL 1)
- wand of summon monster 1 (CL 1)
- bag of holding (type iii)
- slippers of spider climbing
XP
9001 /15000+ 3750 = 12751 XP!Missions/Quests Completed
- Discovered the drow incursion.
Character(s) interacted with
Lasdo (Galineth) – What is his connection with Empress Ardura?
Belidas – What is Lasdow’s plan for her? Slave? Bargaining chip? Sacrifice? Or worse?
Kwava - The injured elf. Why was the drow torturing him?
Ardura Tor'lyn – How will she bring her people into the Twilight. Also, what’s her story?
Khaylin Cirdanas – Who was he, why was he trapped in the disc(blade?) that you recovered, and why is the disc so important to Lasdo?
Bertox Xulous from Korvosa – Created the potion that painfully turned people into toxic monsters. He also created the helmet that had some sort of effect on Shen. Given Bojask’s condition, it is possible Burt had something to do with that as well.
Notes
Once the helmets were removed from the musclemen, Hugo was able to examine them a little closer. They appeared to be large hairless humanoids with slightly pointed ears. Hugo concluded that they shared characteristics of both humans and dwarves, powerful and able to exert themselves for long periods of time. Why would four of these hybrids be associating with a drow?
Report Date
12 Aug 2018
