Shadows in the Harbor Session 22
General Summary
To the Woods!
The party headed north from Castleport to the Laronto Woods. They knew there was a town located here on the other side of the river; a small mining town named Silentdale. Eyes locked on the strangers wandering around in their town. There wasn't much here aside from the mine which fed the tinkerers in Foglemire. A small guard tower hovered over the center of town and two guards stood at the bottom. The party approached them and asked if they knew about the missing hunting party. One of the guards replied that it was under the leadership of Captain Aldric Stonehelm, a druid, some skilled hunters, and and that they had good folks in it. They were in search of the Shadowstag - a legendary creature with shimmering antlers. The guards mentioned that they hadn't heard from the party in about three days, and that nothing good would come of it. They headed back into the woods, crossing back over to the County Castleport side to begin their search in earnest. It wasn't long before they discovered the hunters' encampment. Looking over the hastily abandoned dwelling, they quickly picked up a trail leading deeper into the woods which they followed. A few minutes into the trail they noticed broken arrows lodged in nearby trees, their shafts splintered and feathers matted with dried blood. Taking a closer look at the arrows, they noticed that there were two different types of arrows present: one typically used by hunters and the other typically used by the Drow. They also noticed faint traces of spider silk entwined within the fletching, a signature material favored by the dark elves. The trail became bloody, and they continued to follow it. Near the edge of the forest, they found scattered belongings of the missing hunting party: torn cloaks bearing sigils of Castleport's noble houses and a bloodstained bandage. The trail led in one direction: Halminster Tower.The One Tower
As clouds formed overhead, a chill wind whispered through the overgrown grasses and into the party. The ruined Halminster tower stood before them, flanked by a pair of weathered, but still intact buildings. The party cautiously entered the area, wary of what dangers may wait for them. They pushed the door of the first building open and slowly entered. Keck searched what appeared to be an old living quarters or barracks and noticed an out-of-place stone in the wall. He had seen this kind of set up before and drew out his thieves tools; the rest of the party exited the building out of an abundance of caution. He gave it a quick inspection, confident in his own abilities, and proceeded to pull out the stone. This triggered some sort of trap and what appeared to be some sort of firework was set off in the courtyard. Seeing as how there was nothing they could do about it now, Keck pulled out several old silver coins, two pieces of jewelery worth about 20 gold pieces each, and a level one spell scroll. On to the next intact building. This door was a bit harder to open, but the intricately carved door depicting scenes of camaraderie and fellowship soon gave way to Tim the Not-so-Tiny well-placed boot. The building appeared to be some sort of gathering hall with an adjacent kitchen. The room was filled with broken and rotted tables and chairs, save a single one at the end of the hall. They noticed that there were a number of pieces of parchment on the table, including a map of the local region; the town of Silentdale had been highlighted with the number "6/24" scrawled next to it. Between the party members and their knowledge of Drow practices, they deduced that it meant that six out of twenty-four captives had been taken. The party headed into the tower. Tim and Keck inspected the door first, finding nothing unusual about it. They entered and were surprised to see that the ground floor was remarkably clean for a tower that's been abandoned and in ruins for hundreds of years. Keck noticed tiles along the floor with symbols that matched the symbols on the ceiling. He posited that perhaps rotating the floor somehow would open a passage somewhere. They searched the room for entirely too long before giving up and following the stairs up to the next floor. There they encountered a large, rusted astrological device. They studied it for several minutes, trying to move it in the hopes that it would activate some unseen mechanism to the lower layer. Unfortunately, all the gears had long since rusted and the device refused to yield its secrets. Meanwhile, Fel'Shu, who remained downstairs, looked around the room. He noticed that there were several holes at roughly ankle level spread throughout the walls. He wasn't quite sure what they were meant for, but he recalled from his studies that wizards were known for guarding their secrets with traps - both mechanical and magic. The rest of the party came back down and looked around. Fel'Shu informed them of what he had found and Keck and Malark concocted a plan: they would pry up the symbols on the floor to match the ones on the roof. There were a total of five symbols on the floor and five in the ceiling. The two of them pulled up several symbols and put them in the right positions while the rest of the party waited outside... just in case. The symbols lit up in vibrant blue, but the three misaligned ones lit up in red. A clicking could be heard behind the walls as gas suddenly filled the room. Both rogues coughed and weezed as they inhaled the gas. With the door open it didn't take long for it to dissipate. They had a better sense of what they needed to do now. Damakos entered and they rearranged the three remaining tiles in the right order. Once again, the tiles flashed that same vibrant blue. Another rumbling could be heard; this time the side of the circular room slowly lowered, revealing a set of stairs that descended into the darkness below. All, save Fel'Shu, entered the new room.F'ing Magical Darkness...
As the party descended, the heavy door began to close on its own. Fel'Shu worked to keep it open in case the party needed to make a hasty retreat. His long years of physical training prepared him well to stand against relentless objects, and this door was no different. However, as it continued to grind to a close, he reached in his bag and jammed a pair of pitons into the door jamb. It worked well enough that it allowed the monk to take another look around the room while keeping an ear on the party below. Meanwhile, the party entered the unlit chamber beneath, revealing the ruins of a vast chamber. As they made their way through the halls, they stumbled upon a pair of Drow. Taken aback by this sudden encounter, the Drow cast Magical Darkness on Malark's bow. The elf was consumed by blackness. Keck was next. The darkness seemed to follow them everywhere they went and Tim rushed headlong into it, colliding with the other party members. Damakos stood back to try to discern what his next move would be. Tim managed to find his way out of it and eventually both Keck and Malark figured out that if they disposed of their weapons that they could escape it. Tim managed to successfully engage one of the Drow, but not before they summoned an additional two from a nearby room. In that same moment, Damakos came around; he had been searching for a way to flank the dark elves. At the same time, Fel'Shu came rushing down from above them. The monk ran to one of the drow and, with a flurry of blows, managed to break his neck. Tim killed another, which instantly dispelled the darkness. Damakos and Keck made short work of the last attacker. Now the party must search the bodies and navigate the ruins in search of the missing hunting party...Rewards Granted
- 60xp per player for defeating the Chitine
- 40xp per player for defeating the Drow
- 200xp per player for advancing the plot
Report Date
16 Feb 2024
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