The Coven of Covens - Act I
In which adventurers uncover a conspiracy of hags throughout Dunsland. They slay three, are knighted for their heroics and resolve to hunt the whole organisation.
An Escape from Slavers
2nd to 5th of Harvest, 804AA
While escorting a caravan through the God's Hope Woods in central Dunsland for the Wayfarers Guild, three fresh-faced adventurers: Remembers Jorgen, Ritz "Rokem" M'Finkle and Ferdinand Woyzeck were beset by goblins and orcs. The caravan was taken hostage by the overwhelming numbers, but a quick surrender ensured minimal casualties. They then joined forces with Tessa, a fresh-faced cleric of Thirasmus, and Fenn, the leader of the caravan, to rescue the civilians and escape.
The camp was being led by an orcish sorcerer, Khomtar, who appeared to be capturing slaves at the behest of an unknown force in the Deeps. The adventurers aided the beleaguered cooking duo, Greck and Mug, giving them a chance to escape their servitude in exchange for a little help breaking out of the camp.
In the final battle to escape, Fenn revealed his ability to take on bestial traits while angry - something he did not seem completely comfortable sharing with the civilians.
After escaping the orcish slaver camp, the adventurers found a mysterious piece of architecture in a clearing - an incomplete section of white and gold wall with what appeared to be a guard tower. Jorgen, Ritz and Woyzeck decided to climb the tower to help navigate back to the main road while Tessa and Fenn guarded what remained of the caravan.
Inside, the adventurers found hints of a beautifully built civilisation from days gone by. Almost invisible, spirit-like beings moved throughout the tower and a brief conversation was had with one after a method of communication was devised. It was worked out that the tower was just a small part of the remnants of an ancient elven civilisation, but the investigation was cut short when sophisticated magical constructs began attacking in increasing numbers. The adventurers escaped after getting their bearings from a suitable vantage point. They elected not to steal anything but did take a quantity of leaves from a crystal tree just outside.
The caravan made the final leg of the journey to Teris in sombre reflection of those lost. Fenn closed the contract with the Wayfarers Guild and then disappeared - uncomfortable with the side of himself others had seen.
The Spider Barrows
4th to 6th of Harvest, 804AA
Han, a dwarven ranger and Mantor, a defiant bard, accepted a contract from Fang & Claw, the largest monster hunting guild in Dunsland. It was a reconnaissance mission - to investigate missing persons near the village of Dotting and to seek evidence of what creature may have been to blame. Upon arrival, the townsfolk were reluctant to divulge much information, but eventually the duo were taken to a barrows a few hours walk to to south by a village guard, Brent. One villager in particular, the wise woman Meggett was against this plan, making claims that disrespecting the dead was dangerous.
Within the Dotting Barrows, the adventurers found they had been converted into some sort of lair and laboratory for the harvest of spider parts. They incapacitated the corrupted pixie Gumdrop, slew the spiders and gathered some evidence. Meggett was waiting outside for them and revealed her true form - a hideous hag - before striking at the guard Brent. Luckily, Han and Mantor arrived in time to treat his grievous wounds and to give chase to the hag. They very quickly, however, realised that this was a foe behind their capabilities and were forced to flee away from Dotting to take a more circuitous route back to Teris.
Han and Mantor travelled cross-country through the farmlands and fields west of the main road to make their way back to Teris. Towards the end of the second day of travel, the pair had reached the range of hills that marks the western border of Dunsland. Bad weather and a pack of wolves forced them to seek shelter in a nearby ruined dwarven hillfort.
Their trials were not over; the hillfort was home to shadows - undead either responsible for the demise of the original residents or simply taking advantage of the location to prey on unfortunate travellers. Some quick fighting and the hillfort was peaceful once more. In addition, Han found an old warhammer that awoke the spirit of the dwarven commander - Bardar Skarn. He entreated Han to return this hammer to his ancestral homelands several days travel north of Dunsland. In return, Han would have his blessing to refurbish the fort.
Han and Mantor stayed the night - although not before scouring the place for treasure - and resumed their journey to Teris the following day. They made it back to town with no further troubles and stopped off at the Fang & Claw guildhouse to show evidence of what had occurred in Dotting. Mantor remained in Teris while Han set off to complete his new task.
Investigations in Teris
8th to 10th of Harvest, 804AA
Among other items, an amulet from a Rat's Barding patron, ceremonial silverware from the temple of Thirasmus and the duke of Teris' circlet all went missing during the same night. Now staying in once place, Woyzeck, Jorgen, Ritz and Mantor were tipped off to this the following morning by the patron and were tasked with retrieving his amulet; he left on his own mission shortly afterwards. A trip for Woyzeck to check in on the temple revealed their own missing items and a journey to the guards based at the upper district gatehouse laid bare the full impact of the crime spree.
The stolen circlet had been left in plain sight in the upper district with a note attached offering anyone in the city the chance to have items stolen for them. The location of a dead drop and instructions for payment were contained within.
Sites of arson were investigated - two buildings: a general store and a tailors shop had been burned down overnight. It was believed this had been done as a distraction for the town guard. The adventurers were given a description and were able to locate the thugs responsible. Through psionic interrogation by Jorgen, more information was gathered that eventually led to the Leaves of the Knowledge Tree, an upmarket bookstore. A young man named Oxford lived in the small apartment above and he swiftly surrendered, admitting shame for his part in the arsons. He gave valuable information to the group and slipped away, promising to rethink his path through life.
This new information was enough for the adventurers to prepare to search for the true perpetrator, Shipley. The following day, a package from Oxford was delivered to the Rat's Barding - a silver knife - which confirmed their suspicions; Shipley was most likely a lycanthrope. They passed through the catacombs beneath the temple of Thirasmus and found a forgotten entry into the sewers. Shipley had a small lair stocked with ill-gotten gains. A brief fight ensued, revealing that Shipley had a magic item able to make his arm disappear and was indeed a wererat, before he was defeated, incapacitated and handed over to the city guard.
Return to Dotting
15th to 17th of Harvest, 804AA
With the new allies the group had made through their contacts in the guard, the adventurers are warned that Han and Mantor are both wanted for their involvement in the atrocities that plagued Dotting. Knowing that this is a lie, the group seek guidance from the defiant embassy in Teris. It is recommended that a decoy is left in the Rat's Barding so that Mantor can work to clear his name - not everyone is very good at telling the defiant apart! They were also advised that an agent from Fang & Claw had gone missing during a scouting mission in the vicinity.
The journey south to Dotting was uneventful. However, the hamlet was in a much worse state than on the previous visit - many villagers had deserted and most services were shut down. Brent, the previously injured guard, was now sheriff of what remained of the village and he had little recollection of the events that had transpired. Jorgen found the corrupted pixie, Gumdrop, within the guardhouse but she escaped before capture.
Sister Meggett resided in a cottage on the eastern outskirts of the village, swamp on one side and a large garden on the other. With no hesitation, Woyzeck struck Gumdrop down outside and threw a torch to the thatched roof to start a fire. A brutal fight ensued; a scarecrow leapt to life to protect the hag while Sister Meggett herself fought with tooth and claw. At the last moment, as she was struck down, her amulet flared to life and she was regenerated as a half-hag, half-spider monstrosity. Even this was not enough and, as the weather shifted to rain, her body lay broken on the path outside her cottage.
Within the cottage were a few treasures, including a particularly well crafted porcelain cauldron. In the basement below was Veria, the halfling agent from Fang & Claw. She was in a bad way, bruised, dirty and unfed. The group took her out and located Sparky, her fox companion who had lost his tail in a show of viciousness by Sister Meggett. Finally, the group also located a few letters - correspondance between several hags - that revealed Meggett was not working alone.
Back in Dotting itself, the group met Konstantin, a troubled mercenary with his own tale of hags, betrayal and a cursed item: Pudding Spoon. He joined the group for their journey back to Teris, his support tipping the scales in the party's favour during an ambush by guards and thugs. This support was more chaotic than expected, as during a charge into the fray, Konstantin was replaced by a particularly angry sheep. Unfortunately, there was not a lot of specific information divined from the ambushers - just that the city guard seemed involved and that a captain in Teris had hired the additional help.
The Sanctum of Yeyvalla
18th to 20th of Harvest, 804AA
After slaying the disguised hag, Sister Meggett, and revealing that she was part of a much larger conspiracy, the party decided to search for an unrelated adventure to help build their cover. They acquired a map of unknown providence pointing to an entryway to a lost elven shrine and decided it was worth scouting.
Upon arrival, they found that the entryway was a sinkhole created by a forest brook. There were clear signs of a lost elven settlement predating the Calamity as thin spires and sections of aged white stonework poking up through the forest floor could be seen through the trees. Within the passage, the party quickly found signs of inhabitation - a thin walkway dug out beside the stream and small footprints trailing in and out. It wasn't long before the inhabitants were revealed; kobolds had taken refuge in what turned out to be a sunken temple dedicated to the elven goddess of Nature, Yeyvalla. Traps and ambush spots riddled the interior of both the temple construction and the additional tunnels dug out by the kobolds.
Before directing their attention on the mysteries of the temple, the party decided to clear out the hostile creatures. They fought their way through a chamber populated by oozes that split the party with a flaming portcullis, a storeroom with a psychic sorcerer and, after a quick rest, slayed the remaining kobolds in their final bastion: the sodden library of the temple.
The ghost of a long-dead elf attendant was found in a side room and she directed the party towards completing the sacred rite left half finished when the Calamity struck - her unfinished business. They donned sacramental robes and solved the "puzzle" of the ritual. This freed the ghost and she gave the party her wedding ring in thanks.
Finally, the party investigated the subterranaean lake the stream fed into. The rotting corpse of a young black dragon was found - presumably the previous master of the kobolds supplanted by another creature. The remains of another adventurer was found in a chamber inhabited by a mimic (which nearly ate Woyzeck) and an intriguing treasure found on his person: a singing sword.
On their way out, the visage of an aboleth appeared from the depths. It was revealed to be an illusion but not before threatening the nearest party member, Konstantin. It was assumed that this monster replaced the dragon as patron to the kobolds and was the genesis of their dark, psychic powers. The party then journeyed back to Teris and began to discuss their next steps.
East, a Plague and a Second Hag
21st to 31st of Harvest, 804AA
The party traveled east from Teris, taking another guild contract on their way to legitimise their movements. They spent time at the hunting camp within the God's Hope Woods and slew some troublesome ogres with surprising ease. Knowing that they could turn this contract in at the guild house in any town, they continued their journey towards Holden. This took them a couple of days, an ill-fated ambush by bandits barely slowing them down. During these travels, the party also passed an ostentatious character with a sword similar to the one Mantor had claimed just a short time ago.
Upon arrival in Holden, they found that the town was closed to outsiders and travellers; multiple diseases were ravaging the region and efforts were being made to limit the spread. After managing to have a frank discussion with the town guard in private, they gained access to Holden and were tasked with solving why these localised plagues were killing so many in the town. It didn't take them long to find complete disarray - the priest of Thirasmus brutally murdered, no aid from the rest of the duchy and missing supplies of medicine from the Mercy House all while people died in their homes of three seemingly unrelated illnesses.
One thing seemed consistant: the victims appeared to have either travelled from the south themselves or had been in contact with someone who had. With this knowledge, the group travelled towards Devyton, leaving Woyzeck behind to investigate the murder. During the trek, they are transported to another place and have a surreal interaction with Mad King Jack.
In Devyton, they found more sickness, the local church having taken over the surrounding area to quarantine and treat victims. The village was not in complete lockdown, but there was a curfew in effect. Further investigation led to rumours of unnaturally twisted farm animals and a healer taking them in. It didn't take long to confirm that this healer was in fact a second hag: Sister Amalia. A brief, brutal fight broke out and, before long, Amalia, her hired thug guard and the remaining corrupted animals were all slain. Two comatose farmers were found in the attic, each showing symptoms of one of the diseases plaguing the region, but they were swiftly rejuvenated by Jorgen's ki-based healing. The group also found a suspicious ring that seemed linked to the biting insects as well as some further correspondence from within the coven.
The adventurers returned to Holden via Devyton and explained what they had found, as well as the good news that the troubles should be mostly finished. With further clues to investigate and the region still suffering from the aftereffects of the plagues, the group decided to spend a period of time persuing their own interests.
An Intermission
A period of six weeks passed. Mantor, Ritz and Woyzeck returned to Teris to tie up some loose ends, Woyzeck witnessing the death of Shipley and Mantor being offered an exorbitant amount of money for his singing sword. Konstantin travelled to Thir Met in order to continue his martial training and to collect the chaotic, cursed item he is linked to, Pudding Spoon. Finally, Jorgen remained in Holden to put his healing skills to good use, receiving a personal invitation to The Mercy House in recognition of his deeds.
Corruption in the Argentis Silver Mine
14th to 18th of Hoarding, 804AA
Upon reconvening, the adventurers resolved to visit Argentis, the ducal seat of the Silvershire, in order to follow up on why no aid was received by Holden. Instead, on arrival, their fame preceding them, they were summoned by the duke and tasked with resolving the mysterious death and disappearance of nearly the entire workforce of the silver mines. They were promised a rich reward: the duke willing to petition for the knighting of those successful due to the importance of the industry to both the region and to Dunsland as a whole.
They were introduced to Lady Jeseera, the manager of the mines; Berbrek, the duergar overseer of mining and engineering; and Serah, the supervisor in charge of staffing. The group started their investigation with the Silvered, a private mercenary company permanently contracted to act as mine guards, particularly against threats from below. They found a nearly broken organisation, the last remaining officer, Ulrich, busy writing letters of death notification for the many members who seemed to have perished. They then made plans to head into the depths of the mine
Inside, several levels down, the group found evidence of fighting but no remaining bodies. Even further, at nearly the bottom, they discovered what was transpiring. A cult of violence and cannibalism had taken root within the Silvered and a demonic incursion had begun. There were very few innocent survivors left - most having been either indoctrinated into the cult or ritualistically consumed - and the adventurers carved a swathe through the cultists. This culminated in a fight with Captain Bashar, now ex-leader of the Silvered.
Travelling to the deepest point of the mines led to an active portal to the abyss in the form of a circular blood pool. Sat behind was a powerful fiend, a glabrezu who introduced himself as Zeerzalchom. The party avoided fighting him directly, instead detonating a supply of blasting powder and collapsing sections of the surroundings. This neutralised the hezrou Zeerzalchom was keeping as a pet while almost trapping Konstantin below ground. The glabrezu escaped just before the portal stopped being functional, perhaps closing it on his way out. A few survivors were rescued including Ryke, the victim of a ritualistic sacrifice costing his left arm.
After deliberations, the group decided to investigate Serah. She had been missing since their journey into the mine and they had heard hints that she spent a lot of time in contact with Bashar. Her house appeared to be barely lived in and a foray into the basement revealed what they had begun to suspect - she had connections with the lower planes. When she appeared in the chamber, it didn't take much longer for it to be revealed that she was also a member of the Coven of Covens. The fight was quick and brutal she summoned aid from across all the lower planes but was betrayed when she attempted to get the aid of Zeerzalchom, the demon stunning her with powerful magic and leaving with a chuckle. The party found a a third Coven relic in her possession. There was no additional correspondence, but there was one half of a paired sending stones set.
Knighted
20th to 24th of Hoarding, 804AA
As a reward for their services to the kingdom and for their actions within Argentis, the adventurers were taken to Dun and formally recommended for knighthood by Duke Farhawk. A couple of days of leisure followed, the party meeting with a few denizens of the capital: a studious and wealthy gnome, Diventhon, owner of a magical museum and Aywen, an eccentric elven tinkerer researching the transient, mysterious ruins that appear across the world. In addition, Jorgen had an accidental, private meeting with Queen Ptanna in her personal greenhouse, and was gifted a rare flower in the process.
The ceremony itself took place on the 23rd, was presided over by King Justinian and involved a formal "debate" about the recipients' worthiness championed by the duke. In the end, Jorgen, Ritz, Mantor, Konstantin and Ryke were knighted - Woyzeck electing that working from the shadows made more sense with his particular skillset. The new knights were granted a ceremonial sabre, a badge of office and the sum of two-thousand gold coins, one-hundred of which were commemorative and included their name in the engraving.
A sumptious banquet followed the ceremony. Even though the defiant do not eat, Mantor was able to take part due to the gift of a transformative potion produced by the queen. The exceptional food was paired with entertainment; Heston Lockheart, bard extraordinaire, put on a show with support from Percusso, a particularly noisy and gaudy animated armour and Ratha, a phenomenally lithe dhampir acrobat. Finally, a night of merriment was had in a nearby tavern.
The following day, the team spent some time in Dun using a portion of their newfound wealth to purchase better equipment. A debate was had around what to do with the three dark trinkets found in the possession of the hags struck so far and a consensus was made: to leave them in the care of Diventhon, in his secure vault. Their business concluded, the group agreed on a new name for themselves - The Order of Hagsbane - and accepted an offer of teleportation from the king's personal arcanist. They were whisked away to just a little outside of Bastion to follow a rumour of a fortuneteller in the mountains to the east.
Time Period Covered
2nd of Harvest to 24th of Hoarding, 804AA
Main Characters
Ferdinand Woyzeck
human mastermind rogue
Sir Konstantin Brandt
aasimar wild magic barbarian/wild magic sorcerer
Sir Mantor
defiant college of lore bard
Sir Remembers Jorgen
tabaxi way of mercy monk
Sir Ritz "Rokem" M'Finkle
gnome battle smith artificer
Side Characters
Han "Dax"
dwarven ranger
Sir Ryke Celtred
half-orc attacker warrior (sidekick)
Major Villains
Sister Meggett
green hag of spiders
Sister Amalia
green hag of pestilence
Auntie Sera
night hag of fiends
Notable Items
Amulet of Arachnopotheosis
from Sister Meggett
Brass Fly Band
from Sister Amalia
Index of Fiends
from Auntie Serah
Singing Sword
from an unknown body
Hungering Spear
from Captain Bashar
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