T-D Session 7 Report

General Summary

15th of Flamerule 1492 DR
The party awoke from their well earned rest in early afternoon. As Princess, Scott and Erric gathered their gear and supplies, and made themselves ready for whatever may come, Haelee headed down to the ground floor of the Cathedral alone. There she saw a number of unfamiliar faces. Elturian's in huddled corners, refugee's from the city who must have arrived whilst they were asleep, and found safety and security behind the walls of the keep. She saw Ulder Ravengard speaking with three other Fists, Lalsil, Blur, and a dwarven figure, older in appearance with a thick greying beard. A short moment later, the rest of her friends came down the stairs and met up with her, and the group were beckoned by Ravengard to discuss. The Grand Duke explained that in the night, a second squad of his men had arrived, Stonvuth had led his three men to the High Hall, and were aiding in the defence. Additionally, refugee's from the High District have begun filtering to the gatehouse, and Ravengard believed it was worth the risk in letting these lost souls in to save them from the forces of Avernus. Lastly a straggler from the High Observer's Hall, a Hellrider by the name of Tuur emerged from the building. Shaken up, and somewhat tight-lipped about what he's seen, describing it as bloodbath, and that he's the only survivor. Ravengard requested that the party find the rest of his men. He has two other squads unaccounted for, each led by two Blaze's, Gibreg and Boumvoos. They were staying at The Angel Inn and Hondarkar's House inn, both in the Westerly, and relatively close to the switchback that leads to the High District. It surprises him that they haven't made it to the High Hall, although admits that he's had no way to communicate to them his location; he'd assumed his men would jump to the same logical conclusion he did. The party agreed to look for the missing Fists, but had a couple of matters they wished to tend to first.
The woke up Hoof Tuur, who came to with a sacred start, clearly traumatised from what he'd endured the night before. The young Hellrider described what he recalled, as best as he dared. He and part of his squad were in their barracks, enjoying a little bit of the festivities as they were technically still on duty. Then they heard screams coming from the other squad stationed in High Observer Hall. Their Quarter went to investigate, before he came running back into the room and started trying to hold the door. Before he knew it the door was smashed open, and devils came through and started killing all of his squadmates. He managed to get out of the barracks and hide in a storage cupboard, he waited for hours before he got the nerve to come out. When he did, he was taken into custody by Flaming Fist soldiers, debriefed before being given a cot to sleep on. He believes that all the devils have left, and that the building is safe, but cannot be certain.
Haelee wanted to check in with Feylan, and with him not being visible on the ground floor, they headed down into the catacombs. Sure enough they found both Pherria and Feylan in the Sanctum of the Order of the Companion. Feylan sat in a chair in an elven meditative state. Pherria much less glamorously is slumped over a pile of books, snoring softly. Haelee awakens the priestess and asks her how things are going. The Tormtar says that she's frustrated she fell asleep, but admits that she clearly needed it. She encourages them to let Feylan rest, and asks if they could arrange for some food to be brought down to them. As for what they've uncovered, they are still piecing the puzzle back together, but she feels that they're getting close. Additionally, they may require The Party to head to specific locations to see if they can uncover additional clues - but as of yet they're deciding what is the best priority. The Party head upstairs, and arrange with Ravengard and some of the refugee's to bring down food and water for Feylan and Pherria, and to have someone on watch at the entrance to The Maze, just in case something does come out of the darkness.
The Party decided that their first task would be to clear out High Observer Hall. Whilst nothing but a traumatised Hellrider had reared its head, ensuring security within the High Hall compound was paramount. Furthermore it offered additional quarters for additional refugee's that will undoubtedly arrive. They began cautiously as they moved through the ground floor of the High Observer's Hall. It wasn't long before they came to the first barracks, and the terrible scene on display. Half a dozen or so Hellriders , their bodies shredded and torn asunder, the furniture and walls sprayed with blood. The office of Theron Voss appeared undisturbed. The Party did not spend long combing over it, aware that they and/or others will have the opportunity to do so once everything has been cleared. What they did extract from the room was a map of Elturel, with various locations marked with red X's. In his desk drawers they found a pair of health potions and his diary, a quick thumb through didn't reveal anything particularly damning, so they pressed onwards. The second barracks appeared much the same as the first, with gore and viscera, broken bodies as if destroyed by immense force. The rest of the High Observer's Hall revealed three more points of note. Firstly the sound of creaking and scurrying upstairs turned out to be a rat, one which raised suspicions within the party as to whether it was really a rat or not. The rat for its part insisted it was just a rat, and with little more to go on, they left the rodent be. The second point of interest was the kitchen, or more specifically the basement larder - a vast subterranean room that is stored with dried foods suitable for withstanding a siege. The last point was the Dungeon of the Inquisitor, quiet and abandoned, the bodies of half a dozen prisoners occupying their cells. Their deaths seemed to be far less destructive, simply slain by infernal fire or a razor-sharp claw. They returned to Ravengard and informed him of the good news about the food, that the building appears to be clear, but that it will have to be cleaned out before its suitable to house people within it. They further advised the Grand Duke that they'll be heading out into the city next, firstly to explore the sounds of screaming they heard from Old High Harvest Home during the night.
The gatehouse was opened for them, and they headed back into the city proper. The sight of the plant-life within The Gardens already wilting and dying stung Haelee. With haste they moved several hundred feet across the street to the tall building. What was once the temple to Chauntea, the goddess of harvest, became known as a massacre by the vampires during the Red Coup. Hundreds of men, women and children were butchered fifty years ago by the undead. After the tragedy, the temple closed its doors, and a new, smaller church was created elsewhere in the city. With the birth of the Order of the Companion, they used the old temple as their homebase and centre of administration. The reception hall was decorated with respectful murals to all those who died during that terrible night. It wasn't long however, as the party began to clear out the ground floor, that they found another massacre. Beyond the reception foyer, they found an opulent meeting room, its doors agape, and painting the scene of a feast stopped mid-celebration. Much like the High Observer's Hall, this sight of merriment was ruined by the awful displays of grotesque destruction of the mortal form. The walls are lined with the portraits of civic leaders, from Lord Dhelt, to Naja Bellandi, to Thavius Kreeg and more. Princess in a rage ripped both Bellandi and Kreeg's portraits off the wall and smashed her knee through them.
The rest of the ground floor looked disturbed, but not to such a level. Clear signs of devilish footprints, stained with blood, moved from room to room, scouring for something or someone. Heading up the stairwell to the first floor, the party saw another pair of corpses eviscerated, clearly mid-flee as the devils ended their lives. The first floor showed more of the devil's exploration, all the doors opened, and furniture overturned. This floor seems to be the beating heart of Elturgard's administration and bureaucracy - rows of desks in a grand office space. Several smaller offices overlooking the space, their rooms not spared investigation. Towards the end of the floor the party found an armoured door, barred and locked with a heavy padlock. The plaque above the door read "Archive Room''. Erric attempted to pick the lock, but was unable to defeat the mechanism. Princess took out her blacksmith hammer and struck it, but to no avail. Haelee took her mother's staff, and channelled her druidic magic to turn it into a shillelagh. With a swift overhead strike, she cracked the lock, and allowed entrance into the vault. Within the room they found wall to ceiling bookcases, and at a quick glance seemed to be in sections detailing taxation, foreign trade, internal affairs. Feeling time pressure, and that Feylan and Pherria might need this information, they decided to split the party. Haelee would head back to High Hall and alert them of what they've found, wildshaping into an Ice Spider to move more quickly and quietly than her elf form. Meanwhile the rest of the party would continue to explore this administration building.

Report Date

15 Mar 2024