Session 18: Infighting
General Summary
The session starts with the party making their way out of the mountains. In his infinite wisdom the DM decides to fast-forward this travel so they take a day and a half to get out of the mountains and by the fifth day they make it to the southern gates of Mendhalia. The guard, Reggie, that stops them doesn't seem to know or care who they are or why they are there at this time of the morning. Thankfully, due to a nice roll, Reggie is set straight by another guard and the party is allowed to enter. They make their way directly to The Blue Cauldron to see Taria and let Laz drool over the maul, Thunderstruck, some more. The party makes small talk until Taria opens up further about the disappearance of her father(Iliqen) who has yet to return from the excursion she told them about last time. To make matters worse, her brother (Elris) went looking for their father and has been unreachable for over a week.
She asks the party to go look for her brother, and perhaps her father, and explains she doesn't have much to pay right now but will give them a great deal on Laz's maul and some other goods. Laz asks if he can borrow the hammer to aid in the party's success but she is unable to part with it as its her entire inheritance if her father never returns and she can't afford to lose it if Laz were to fall in battle.
Laz understands and puts down 1k gold in order to reserve the hammer so that she won't sell it to another.
The group heads to see Nor and tells him about the Bloodmantle's desire for peace and trade agreements. Nor is curious as to the presence of Janet and how she is involved here. At that point, Thark once again disappears into the tankard, thoroughly unsettling Nor. Nor insists that the party work to retrieve Thark. Arlox inquires as to whether Nor has any magical contacts who might be able to assist in figuring out what is going on with Thark. He answers cryptically, saying, "The resource I would send you to, I can't right now."
The conversation proceeds in a somewhat strange manner as Nor is less genial than usual, upset about Thark for some reason, and even ignoring the group's questions. Zalista's insight tells her that he is hiding something, but it is not clear what. He asks the group what they know of the Seeress of the Valralei and with further discussion becomes curious as to how they know of the prophecy.
Nor confirms to the group that there is a prophecy but is unable to say what it says. He tells the group that the seeress's name is Zilyana and he has not heard from her in some time. He is concerned, has nowhere to turn for help and is unable to speak of the prophecy to others due to its sensitive nature. Zalista asks if Zanzibar was formed because of the prophecy to which he answers "no". Her insight check is insufficient to glean any more from the answer.
Nor says that he has no other jobs for the party at the moment but gives them a sending stone where he could contact them later. He implores them to make finding Thark their top priority. He tells the group he will speak with the Minister about the Bloodmantle's and has his assistant (also Reggie) pay the group 200pp for their work. They take their leave and head to Kirin House to sleep for the night.
In the morning, on the advice of the proprietress of the inn, they head to stables to buy horses from Dondrin, a massive Goliath. He can sell the group 4 riding horses at 75gp each, with an extra 25gp for gear. He offers the group an elephant for their last mount but they pass as they believe it will slow them down too much. Xenik is clearly disappointed that they aren't getting the elephant. Instead, Dondrin sources a war horse from elsewhere in the city and sells it to them for 400gp + 50gp for gear. Janet is given the war horse.
They head out the north gate towards Anra and a day and a half later they arrive at the fork between the Long Road and the Deep Road. They take the Deep Road towards the Ruins of Nala, about which they'd heard rumors of strange occurrences. Around dusk they are able to make out the ruins about a half-mile from the road, built on a massive tor, with the ruins dotting the sides of the path to the top and the most grand and intact portions of the ruins at the crest of the hill.
The party chooses to take a long rest for the night, and watches commence. Arlox and Xenik see movement on the hill and reflections of a flickering blue flame but very little else. Laz and Zalista see the same thing during their watch with increased frequency yet see nothing more. Laz and Janet's final watch proceeds with very little observed as dawn approaches. The party spends the morning investigating the ruins, finding some small tracks from a bipedal creature and Laz discovers a campfire pit that has been used recently but not in some days. Laz investigates with double nat20's and finds an iron buckle and part of a leather strap with basic embossing that appear to have been ripped violently from a pack of some sort. Zalista keeps the piece in case it has use in the future.
The party heads back down to camp at the base of the hill for late afternoon and evening so that they can be up at night to see exactly what is going on here. The first watch is quiet but the second watch observes more flickering blue light as night falls.
Partway through the third watch, around midnight, Laz and Janet are attacked by 3 ghouls. Through some fancy spellwork (aka the DM not reading the spell), Laz throws up a magic circle immediately and targets Undead, keeping the Ghouls out. Two ghosts materialize within the circle and begin to attack. The ghouls retreat and after a few seconds the ghosts disappear, having taken some serious damage by the two who are awake. The magic circle falls an hour later and the watch ends around 2am with the full party coming awake.
They stealthily move up the hill. Laz trips over the corpse of a youngish teenage boy. The party does quick investigation but is unable to determine what killed him in the darkness. As the party continues to the top they approach several ruins with walls somewhat intact and pillars still standing. A large blue fire burns in the middle of the open area within the topmost ruin. Beyond these structures it is clear that there is a steep cliff face that drops off sharply. Laz attempts to sneak into the center area near the fire but stumbles and all semblance of stealth is lost. The ghosts reappear and one immediately possesses him. The 3 ghouls also reappear and begin to attack the party. Xenik is paralyzed by a ghoul and then attacked by Laz but he is unable to make contact. Xenik quickly overcomes the paralysis a few seconds later.
Janet kills a ghoul but Zalista is possessed by the second ghost, unbeknownst to her compatriots. Laz kills a second ghoul but Zalista is able to stun Janet. The remaining members of the party are able to determine that Laz and Zalista are not in their right minds so Arlox takes matters into his own hands and Shatters the central area while Xenik hovers above. The last ghoul dies. Laz makes a constitution save that ejects the ghost from his body and Arlox finishes the spirit off. Janet knocks Zalista unconscious to draw out the second ghost while Laz casts Spare the Dying to stabilize Zalista and then kills the second ghost with his spiritual weapon.
Having very little time to waste, the party takes a short rest, healing up some and regaining some abilities. The blue light at the top of the hill flares up and seemingly from nowhere appears 3 skeletons and a boneclaw. A fight with the weary party ensues but they are able to easily defeat the skeletons and then Janet lops the head off the boneclaw.
They investigate the blue flame, seeing a humanoid figure writhing in agony within. Xenik reaches into the flame, which is ice cold, but is unable to pull him out. Laz attempts to help and then Janet has a go each taking cold damage but failing to get a good grip and remove the figure from its torment. Xenik and Laz have another go, together, and are able to pull the frost-bitten male elf from the flames. Arlox calls him 'Elris' and he weakly responds, despite being completely out of it. Laz heals him to bring him out of his stupor and he begins to profusely thank the party. Zalista asks him if he found his father but learns that he was ambushed as he passed the ruins and has made no progress in the search. The party encourages him to go back to Mendhalia and they would meet him there when they accomplished some more business.
As the party rides west towards Anra they see a boneclaw appear once more at the top of the ruins.
Rewards Granted
200 PP from Nor
Discounted potions from The Blue Cauldron.
Character(s) interacted with
- Taria (Blue Cauldron)
- Elris (Taria's brother)
- Nor Halkor
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