Session 5: Religion and Government mix really well Report
General Summary
16th of Shesti, T.A. 2783
The party had arrived in Light's Hope early in the morning. As they approached town they saw four people who had been burned alive at the stake and four people who were tied up to die of suffocation or exposure. The party was confronted by guard's at the entrance to the town and, once they'd identified themselves, taken to meet with the Knight-Commander Roland Duverger. Sir Tancred attempted to explain their situation and reason for coming in the hope that the group would be allowed to explore the chapel, but they were ultimately denied. The commander did allow them free reign to explore the town and surrounding countryside if they wished and, lastly, charged them with interrogating some of the dying men they'd seen outside the town to determine if they were involved in the artifact theft plot as the men had been discovered in the catacombs. Sir Tancred led the party outside where they questioned the most conscious of the dying men and gave him water in an attempt to ease his suffering. The man confirmed that they were part of a tribal group sent to steal something from a tomb underneath a chapel in Light's Hope. The group debated among themselves about whether this was a separate group from the bandits they had encountered so far. Since the man had no additional information, they set out to search the area surrounding the town for evidence of tunnels or other siegeworks. Almost immediately, Krull stumbled upon a crumpled parchment that contained a list of observations and surveillance compiled by the tribesman that allowed them to select the best time to sneak inside the chapel. As the group continued searching, they found no evidence of tunnels, but did find a trail which led them to the tribesmens' encampment hidden in a nearby copse of trees. There, the party discovered several items which suggested to them that the party had come from the ruins of Caford which coincided with a strange letter they had found earlier at the Balding Goat tavern. Tal further ransacked the camp and obtained an additional two days rations. Armed with their new information it was decided that they would present themselves anew to the Knight-Commander in the hopes that he would now allow them into the chapel's catacombs to search for the tomb. Luckily, Sir Tancred was able to make a persuasive enough appeal and the group was allowed in under the condition that they not disrupt services and proceed directly to the catacombs. They waited until late in the evening and then set out for the chapel.17th of Shesti, T.A. 2783
Upon arriving in the catacombs, the adventurers quickly discovered they were a rat's warren of weaving, confusing passageways. After a few hours of getting lost, Azar, with the aid of a diagram of the catacombs and chapel, was able to reason out a way to navigate the mess. With his direction, the party made it's way lower and lower. Initially, they discovered nothing but thanks to the keen bumping of Tal, the group discovered a section of wall in the lower catacombs that appeared out of place. They carefully deconstructed the section of wall and found a crevice which allowed access to some dark passageway. Sir Tancred was selected to lead the way through the small gap. He squeezed through and emerged blinking into an ancient stairwell with the way up collapsed and the stairs otherwise descending into darkness. Upon learning this, he was joined by the rest of the party and they began their descent. After what seemed like ages, the party happened across an iron door with intricate scenes carved into it. Krull opened the door and the party proceeded into a large room with a massive stone table inscribed with ancient writing and walls covered with murals similar to those they'd seen in the other tomb. Though the language inscribed on the table was archaic, Sir Tancred was able to decipher it and learn that the tomb was, apparently, the tomb of Ivaleus the Enchanted and/or Ivaleus the Pale. Led by Krull, the group continued their exploration and happened upon a room with a peculiar puzzle involving three heads, a set of eyes, and a petrified tongue. After a discussion among themselves, they decided to press on for now and deal with the puzzle later as it didn't appear to be actively impeding their exploration. Krull led the party down another set of stairs until they found themselves in a domed tomb chamber. After some initial struggles, the party was able to move the lid of the sarcophagus enough that Sir Tancred was able to retrieve what appeared to be a heavy silver ring. Tal, Krull, and Azar then succeeded in pushing the lid of the sarcophagus fully off where it fell and cracked on the floor. They rooted around for valuables and Tal, finding none, used his torch to desecrate the corpse within. Krull then led the party back to the puzzle with the heads. Following much discussion, and some trial and error, the group ultimately put all three objects into the mummified head and were rewarded with being able to ask it a question and receive an omen. They decided to ask whether or not Azar should put on the ring they just found in the tomb and were told the omen was "Weal and Woe" indicating both good and bad would result. Azar opted to put the ring on and, as soon as it was in his possession, felt an omnipresent sense of dread. After putting on the ring, he found his entire hand had gone numb from the bone-chilling cold. He immediately removed the ring but decided to be the "ring-bearer" for the time being. The party then beat a hasty retreat from the tomb and took care to replace the wall they'd deconstructed. They emerged right before the dawn service for the Children of the Light and were immediately confronted by the Knight-Commander. After a tense exchange the group was forced to attend a church service to purify them for having partaken in a magical ritual and then were ordered to leave Light's Hope. A choice now faced the group on where to go next. They knew that they had several clues pointing them toward Caford, but also knew that they had been charged with collecting these magical artifacts of unknown origin and were leery of taking one to a location they presumed was occupied by their enemy. Their "employer" however was, according to the party's thinking, not entirely altruistic so they were unenthusiastic about returning the artifact to him. Ultimately, they decided that Azar would keep the ring on his person and they would press on to Caford which was a journey several days to the northwest and they would have to stick to the wilderness to avoid being detected by any forces of the Kingdom of Faladrion.
Report Date
29 Mar 2020
Primary Location
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