And the Campaign Ends Early . . .

So the group gave it a good shot.  We completed 7 sessions, but I was unable to fit the campaign arc in to the game in such a way as to invest the players and their characters.  It was a good lesson learned.  We didn't just give up at the first hint of issues, but after 7 sessions of 5 hours or so each, there was also no point in beating a dead horse.

So, we are on to a new story, beginning in July.  The group will run through our very first adventure path from Paizo:  The Mummy's Mask.  It will play more to my dm'ing skills of high adventure and "Indiana Jones" type gaming.  It will also be much less preparation each game for me, which is a good thing.

Running this game will give me more time to properly think through a new homemade campaign in the future which I can 1) prepare with my strengths in mind, 2) create for the players' personal areas of enjoyment, and 3) better integrate a campaign arc which will allow the players to be grabbed up as opposed to feeling like they are floating with no impetus to attach to the main arc.

We had great success with my first foray into homebrewed with my "Frozen Thunder" campaign.  I will endeavor to take the lessons of the successes from that campaign, the issues with "Reflections of Sin", and come up with something new and playable without stressing about whether it will be "as good as" Frozen Thunder felt.

I learn as many if not more lessons from failed attempts as I do from successes.  So onward!

Reflections of Sin - Session #6 Recap

Pathfinder adventure - Reflections of Sin

Session #6 Recap

Trufargus throws Robinn over his shoulder and yells at the party, “Go to the Hippogriffs on the Docks!  I will try to meet you there!”  He then runs down an alley with Robinn and is gone.  The party quickly begin to run, as the mob of town folks, enraged beyond reason, begin to swarm towards them.  A chase ensues among the rooftops and the narrow alleys of the Shingles, with the heroes jumping over sudden openings in the roof, dodging around chokers and stirges, quickly jumping walls and hiding while mobs of people run by, and, unfortunately, sometimes being caught by a mob or monster and having to extricate themselves, either by bowling past them, narrowly tumbling around them, or busting down doors and heading to the roof or ground.

And sometimes, they fall off the roof through to the ground or miss a heroic leap and end up crashing into a mob of frenzied people fighting in wider streets.

2 minutes of running and dodging seems to take a lifetime (or at least 4 hours).  Io reaches the Docks first and sees 5 hippogriffs tied to the ground, their riders, members of the Sable Company, dead at the creatures’ feet.  Crazed townfolk are now attacking the hippogriffs, who are wildly trying to escape and fly away.

Io quickly runs into combat, but is unfortunately overwhelmed by the wrath-filled attackers and falls unconscious to the ground, sorely wounded.  Morgrym arrives next, and he stealthily is able to get to Io and feed him a potion which heals some of his wounds.  By this point, almost everyone in the party is injured, some worse than others, by attacks, falls, and, for Morgrym, the events in the abandoned building earlier in the day from which he has yet to recover.  With Io now conscious, Morgrym sneaks over to one of the hippogriffs and, trying to calm the creature, unties its bonds.  Freed, it jumps into the air, taking Morgrym with it as the binding rope wrapped around Morgrym’s ankle and is still attached to the hippogriff’s saddle.  Morgrym is able to crawl into the saddle and secure himself, but all attempts at calming the beast fail as he is flown across the strait into Korvosa proper and towards what looks to be a citadel.

Io, as he is preparing to battle again after regaining consciousness, is joined by Juliet and Aean, who have finally reached the dock.  It is noticed that Quaithe has not arrived, nor has Trufargus or Robinn.  The 3 party members begin to battle against the raging town folk, but not before one of the hippogriffs is killed.

Morgrym lands in what seem to be the stables for the hippogriffs, and two men run out towards him.  After a brief conversation of how Morgrym came to be on the hippogriff and of the battle in the Shingles, the lead officer introduces himself as Commandant Marcus Endrin, Commandant of the Sable Company.  He jumps up behind Morgrym and they take off into the air.  While the Commandant flies the hippogriff back to the Shingles, Morgrym defends them from Sable company soldiers on hippogriffs who have also become enraged and seem to be battling their mounts as well as anything else in the air.

The two of them arrive and join battle with the other 3, including Juliet, who has also climbed on the back of a hippogriff and is having better luck handling the creature.  She is able to have the creature fly in the air close enough to the attackers so that she can club them with a longbow she finds next to the creature’s saddle.

When the group finally disposes of all of the attackers, the Commandant has the party members all get on the remaining hippogriffs and follow him back to the stables.  During flight, Juliet suddenly realizes that the priestly Urdefhan is sitting behind her, and he asks her what she thinks she is doing and what they hope to accomplish.  It is then gone as if never there.

Once at the stables, the Commandant quickly ushers them into the main building where they are met by a familiar face, Field Marshall Cressida Kroft, head of the Korvosan Guard and the person some of them talked with earlier in the day.  She asks them how they avoided the same fate as the townsfolk, and they relate that it is some kind of plague released on the city by the priestly Urdefhan.  They have been given a gift by Sarenrae which protects them from disease, and she relays that she too is protected from disease due to her abilities as a paladin of Abadar, the god of contracts and cities.  Actually, the only members of the military who remain unaffected are those with holy powers.  Together, they all conclude that the townsfolk have been infected with a plague which causes one of the seven deadly sins to manifest in some way within each person:  Wrath, pride, gluttony, sloth, avarice, envy and lust.

The Commandant, who left briefly to check on the hippogriffs and the remaining soldiers, returns with Quaithe trailing.  She ended up traveling by shadow to shadow through the city, and says that the entire city is impacted, no where being safe, especially in the nighttime darkness.  Cressida says that she has two important tasks which she like to entrust to the party, since they are unaffected by the plague and have some strength of ability.  The first is to go to a nearby orphanage and rescue children who were not able to be evacuated to safety.  The one thing the leadership was quick to realize is that children seem unaffected by the plague.  Juliet suggests that their innocence may be a natural barrier to the plague.

The second task is to go to the Bookmaker, a renowned bookstore in the city, and collect as many books as possible which can be used for research by the priests and sages who have been able to resist the effects of the plague, a very small number indeed.  Cressida gives the party 3 magical bags which can hold an enormously large amount of items without ever growing heavy, and she also says that if the owner of the bookstore is still there, Costa Serimus by name, that they should endeavor to bring him back as well.

As the party is tired and in need of rest and some chance to bandage their wounds, it is agreed that they will set out as soon as the sun rises and the darkness dissipates.  They all then are given rooms in the barracks to rest, and lay down to sleep and meditate.  Aean, as he lies down in his darkened room, hears a quiet tapping on glass, and he moves stealthily over to the window.  He looks out and sees nothing, but then realizes the tapping sound is not coming from the window but instead from the mirror on the table at the foot of the bed.

The session ends.

Session #5 Recap

Pathfinder Campaign Reflections of Sin:

Session #5 Recap

While recovering from the attack at the campsite, the party notices the bodyguard is missing and then hears a scream in the forest.  All but Quaithe go to investigate; Quaithe stays behind to make certain that Delix’s body doesn’t go missing.  Io goes invisible while traveling, and the party members come across a clearing in the forest.  A creature which appears to be a Uderfhan in priestly robes has the bodyguard nailed to a tree, with the bodyguard’s entrails pulled from his body and laid out to view, much like an augury viewing.

The creature turns around and asks the “Boy-Oracle Child-Robinn” what he discerns from the future laid out before them.  Robinn does not answer, but goes into a prophetic trance and calls out some kind of prophesy:

West of rest is sleep

East, dream

Where waters meet

North, emptiness,

South, wakefulness,

And out, rising up

To the stars,

Peace.

(Source:  a poem by Jeffrey Yang)

Morgrym steps up and shoots a crossbow bolt at the creature, nicking it.  The creature waves at Morgrym, who is suddenly frozen in place.  The creature talks about the wrath of the dwarf and the lust of Aean as well as “the obviousness” of Juliet.  It speaks to the fact that it cannot directly kill the party, but then reaches into its robes and pulls out a glowing piece of the blue mineral as well as a golden pyramid.  It says it can at least make things difficult for the party, and then twists the pyramid in its hands.

The creature disappears and the party is left standing in the dark.  Meanwhile, back at the camp, the campfire suddenly goes out and the body of Delix is now just bones and rotted bits of clothing; the horses are gone.  Quaithe goes in search of the rest of the party, who also notice the body of the guard is now a rotting skeleton.  Morgrym realizes through signs in the clearing and the positioning of the stars that a couple of years have passed; the party has been pushed forward in time.  The blue gem which the creature was holding now lies on the ground, no longer pulsing with light.

Morgrym and Io decide to go back to the village with the bore in the side of the hill to see what has happened in the couple of years they have been “gone.”  The village is now completely abandoned from all looks, with the bore standing wide open and a sense of evil and doom radiating from the village.  Io goes in deeper into the village, and thinks he sees a child in a white shift running around the corner.  They both decide to go back to the rest of the party and go around the village.

The journey south towards Korvosa is now on foot through the snowy landscape, and they see no one on the road during their travels.  At one point, they see off of the road to the east a glint, and upon investigation, find a pool of water from a small creek which holds a box engraved with the symbol of Sarenrae.  Inside the box are 5 teardrop-shaped vials holding a magical liquid.  Upon research, the liquid, when swallowed, gives the person protection from disease permanently, and each of the members except Robinn swallow one of the vials.

Upon finally coming up to Korvosa, the party notices very little traffic, all going into Korvosa and not coming out, with many guards vigorously checking those entering the city.  When they approach the gates, they are questioned as to from where they are refugees, and then written into a journal and told where an Inn has space available, a place with a man on the sign next to another man on the sign in a frame.  The Inn is in Old Korvosa, the more run-down area of the city.

The party go to the Inn, which is a large tavern/ inn with mirrors all around the inside of the tavern walls, and they rent the last 4 rooms available.  They spend the night, and then split up the next morning to figure out what is going on in the city, shop, and discover what they have missed in the intervening years.

Juliet, Robinn and Io go to the main church of Sarenrae and find out that the strange symbol the party found at the conjuring site next to the lake and on the bodies of the Urdefhan are being worn by many daemons who have filled the country surrounding the city, almost like a holy symbol.  The city has been taking in refugees from the surrounding villages, and ships from other countries come once a week to take loads of these refugees away from Korvosa and Varisia, away from the daemons which are terrorizing the land.  This appears to be happening all around Varisia, although very little news has come in from Magnimar or other parts of the country.  And most of the villages surrounding Korvosa are now cut off.  Also, not all the daemons are wearing these symbols, and there appears to be infighting among factions of daemons.

Morgrym goes by the Academia to discover what he can about the blue mineral gem and see if there are leads to his missing brother, but the Academia is closed to all outsiders and the guards will answer no questions nor pass on information for Morgrym, who is gruff in his approach.  Morgrym also discovers word of the refugees from word on the street, which explains why there are refugees but not so many as to overwhelm the city or to show much signs of starvation.

Juliet, Io and Robinn also stop by the watchhouse for the Korvosan Guard, where they meet the Captain of the Guard, Field Marshal Cressida Kroft, a human female who is gracious but obviously harried from the large number of refugees.  She has no information on Delix being missing or any ramifications, and truthfully, with the daemonic invasion, would not be a priority at this time.  She does tell about the timetable of the ships coming in to take the refugees away, as well as being watchful for ships full of wrathful raiders who try to land in the port city.  She also says that if the party is interested, she would be very grateful for any assistance they might provide to the city.

Quaithe wanders around the city market and learns much the same information, while Aean goes to the temple of Calistria to check in as well as to see if there is word on Lady Eva, which there is not.  Very little communication has been available from Magnimar, which is where Aean last saw Lady Eva.  Each of the party members then wander towards the market where Quaithe already is.

On the way to the market, Juliet, Io and Robinn hear screaming down the street and come upon a large creature standing in a fountain, terrorizing the local people.  It appears to be a construct of the skin of faces sewn together with straw stuffing the insides.  They take the creature down, and afterwards, overhear one of the guards from the city who came to investigate that the faces seem to belong to missing people from the Academia.

The party all ends up in the market, although Morgrym never reconnects with the rest of the party.  Some party members go to local enchanters and such to have armor and weapons enchanted with magical power, and leave this gear overnight to be picked up the next day.

Morgrym ends up by himself in an abandoned area of the city, with derelict buildings all around.  He senses and then sees a child in a white shift, blood running down the front, on the third floor of one of the buildings, and it brings to mind the “child” Io saw in the abandoned village as well as occasional viewings by the party since then.  He goes into the building to investigate.  Inside, a staircase barely holding together goes up to the second floor, which is dark and has a real feel of evil and dread flowing down the steps.  The shaken Morgrym looks for the child in the rooms on the first floor, but then suddenly feels a hand grab his own and pain courses through his body as if life is sucked out of his body.  He looks and sees the little girl with the bloody shift, and as he stumbles away and out the door of the building, he looks back and sees many children standing on the staircase, all in bloody shifts and all staring at him.

The party all meet back at the Inn they are currently staying at with the strange sign.  Morgrym stumbles in after, and immediately orders a drink.  While the party is in the common room after eating, they hear in the corner two men arguing while pulling one of the barmaids from either side while the fire in the fireplace and all of the torches on the walls suddenly blaze an orange color.  It begins to get violent as they pull her arms harder and harder, trying to take her from the other while yelling, “She is mine!”  The barmaid, who should be screaming from pain, seems to be in the throes of ecstasy.  Io, Aean and Juliet rush over to help her, while Morgrym notices the tavern keeper seems to suddenly be getting angrier and angrier and Quaithe sees the minstrel slump over, drooling on himself while just sitting on the stage.  Morgrym looks into the next room, and a table of patrons is fighting with deadly effect. 

Quaithe notices that Robinn is looking around the room with a horrified expression, but not at the patrons:  at the mirrors.  She grabs him and suddenly sees a vision in the mirrors, which Robinn is likely seeing:  blue light is streaming all through the room, the mirrors do not show reflections but instead some shrine with humanoids “swimming” through the air, a terrible creature sitting on a throne but unable to move off of it.  One of the swimming creatures sees Quaithe and Robinn, smiles a pointy-toothed smile, and then starts pounding on the “mirror,” which begins to crack.

At this point, the party is trying to exit the tavern which has gone crazy.  Quaithe yells out a brief shout of what she saw, picks up Robinn, and runs out into the street.  In the distance, a dull roar is heard, and the street lamps at the end of the streets begin turning orange.  Everyone leaves the Inn, although Io is caught up as the mirrors crack open and flood the Inn with water, pushing him out into the street he was heading for anyway. 

Morgrym sees a man running up one of the streets at a dead run towards the party, and it turns out to be Trufargus, who grabs Robinn and yells, “Run!  Run, you fools!”  All of the streetlamps are now orange, and mobs of crazed people are coming up both streets straight at the party.  Up above their heads on the top of a building, the party see the strange priestly Uderfhan, and it shouts out gleefully, “Let the Plague of Sins begin!”

The session ends.

Aean

Session #4 - Nobody Home

Session #4 Recap:  Nobody Home

 

Gerrett runs up with a woman of dusky skin and yellow eyes.  Delix is dead, and this has thrown the village into a serious dilemma.  Gerrett will be going after the leukodaemon and other summoned creatures which are attacking the town and surrounding farms.  He is leading in farmers to the town to centralize against the attacks, and using friends of his to assist, including the woman, Quaithe, a ranger he is training.  He runs off after briefly talking with Cenn and the party, more concerned with those under his protection.

 

Cenn and the party have an uncomfortable discussion about what to do next.  Cenn is hoping the group of heroes will assist in one of two ways:  either keep to the task of going to the next villages on the tax collector’s route to let them know the tax collector will be delayed, or take Delix’s body to Korvosa and explain the situation.  Neither situation is optimal.  If the adventurers go to the villages, Cenn will go to Korvosa to explain the situation.  The city will definitely send in soldiers and investigators, which will likely mean some of the villagers or surrounding farmers will be conscripted.  Cenn can also visit the temple of Sarenrae to ask for a replacement priest.  If the adventurers instead go to Korvosa, Cenn will go to the villages and spread the word.  The adventurers might be able to calm the authorities in the city and prevent conscription, or they might make matters worse, depending upon how they are received and what they say.  In either case, Quaithe will join the group to help lead them through the countryside.

 

After much discussion, the group decides to go to Korvosa as they already have impetus to go there (i.e. research, need for resources, the need to search for Morgrym’s brother, etc.).  Cenn will write a letter explaining the situation, and one of Delix’s bodyguards will accompany them to help with backing up the details witnessed.  The other two bodyguards will go with Cenn as there are still summoned creatures in the surrounding areas as well as other dangers.  Robinn insists on going with the group as well.

 

Cenn, as a thank you to the group, arranges to have winter gear provided at no charge, especially since it is getting late in autumn and there is a real crispness in the air.  The blacksmith also provides Juliet with a very basic short sword.  Once outfitted and resting for a day, the group leaves the village and heads south towards Korvosa.

 

The first village, Hunnell, is located 1 ½ days away from Clearwater’s Gate.  The trip passes through country with several ruins and ancient buildings or keeps, sitting empty (hopefully) and broken in the empty lands around.  These ruins and spires in the distance remind of a prior age many eons passed, and lay as gravestones to those times forgotten.

 

Upon coming up to the Hunnell, the group finds the village to be eerily empty of anyone.  Doors are open, curtains thrown wide, but no one at all in the street.  The village is probably 3 times the size of Clearwater’s Gate, but not a soul in sight.  The only out of place thing seems to be large boulders near buildings which should likely have been cleared out of the village, but might be kept around for some other reason.  Also, a song is playing on the wind, a female singer and then female singers, but no particular direction from where it comes.  The group is uncomfortable and decide to just walk through the village and leave quickly, not spending the night.

 

As they hustle through the village, some party members see movement out of the corners of their eyes.  But when turning to see what caused the movement, they see nothing, just empty building and out-of-place boulders.  Morgrym, not liking the situation, takes a grenade and rolls it towards one of the boulders, but upon touching the boulder, the grenade is flung into the air and thrown hard into a nearby building where it explodes.  Something is definitely wrong with the boulders.  The party hurries on even more quickly.

 

Near the southern end of the village, a large townhall is standing, with a scaffold platform about fifteen feet in front of the building, likely where someone would get up and make a speech to a crowd.  On this scaffold is a stuffy man hanging by its arms from a cross of wood, a scarecrow not in the field.  Around its neck is a pale blue gem pulsing with an internal glow of power.  Morgrym recognizes this gem as the type he and his brother were tasked with mining before the mine they were in collapsed and his brother went missing along with the men who hired them.  Morgrym and Io climb the scaffolding to examine the gem more closely.  Reaching for the stone, Io and Morgrym awaking the scarecrow, but are so fascinated by it that they just stop and stare.  Juliet climbs up and tries to cover the gem, thinking this is causing the animation of the scarecrow and the magical fascination on her friends, but the scarecrow then attacks Juliet. 

 

Battle ensues, and while trying to stop the scarecrow, the “boulders” around the village begin to turn back into villagers and strange inhuman creatures called Urdefhan, creatures in the midst of attacking the villagers.  The group quickly put an end to the battle, even as more villagers and creatures “appear,” including a man who races to assist and appears to know Robinn.  The Urdefhan, per knowledge which Io has, are a servant race to the daemons, and try to “explode” with negative energy when close to dying, taking opponents with them.  The Urdefhan in the village all exploded, but the group and villagers survived.

 

Upon connecting with the mayor of the town, who now is freed from a magical effect along with the rest of the villagers (the song was being sung by members of the church of Sarenrae when the magical effect blanketed the village), everyone quickly realizes that in some way the scarecrow and the gem laid a time-delaying effect on the village, which had just begun to be attacked by the Uderfhan.  The scarecrow walked into the village at the beginning of the attack and walked onto the scaffold.  To the villagers, this was moments ago, but in reality, it was 3 days prior.  The gem seems to be tied in to the effect somehow, although nothing can be completely confirmed.

 

The man who knows Robinn is named Trufargus, who knows Robinn as one of the orphans in Clearwater’s Gate and wonders at him being here in the company of the adventurers.  Robinn just says that he needs to be with them for now.  Trufargus and Juliet have an argument concerning protecting Robinn.  Trufargus states that he has been hired by a patron in Korvosa to investigate rumors of strange happenings in local villages close to the city.  He is tasked to bring this information back soon, and is going to continue the investigation for a little while before heading back to Korvosa.

 

The mayor also points out that a small group of unsavory folks, 2 humans and a dwarf who seemed to be under stress from the 2 men, had come through the village earlier, right before the magical effect took place.  They were heading towards Korvosa.  Morgrym believes this is his brother in captivity with the former employers of the mine, and angrily insists upon going after them now, with or without help or the rest of the group.  Once pointed out that 3 days have passed, he calms down enough to wait for the rest of the group.

 

Trufargus points out to the mayor that the village was rescued by the adventurers, and in thanks, the mayor offers each party member a magical or mundane gift up to a certain amount in price.  Aean is also able to have the local priest cure him of his lingering disease from the summoned creatures by the lake.  They party gratefully chooses their rewards, and then set off again for Korvosa.

 

As they continue their journey to Korvosa, it begins to snow.  Winter has arrived.  It takes two days to reach the next village, Wilheim Lodge.  However, a couple of miles outside the logging community, the way is blocked by soldiers from Korvosa, who insist the village is quarantined and the group must find its own way around the village as no one is allowed access into or through.  They can return the way they came and take a western road a couple of miles back to get around the village easily.

 

The adventurers back track a ways and make camp.  Io, Morgrym and Quaithe decide to sneak into the village to see what this “quarantine” is about while the rest stay behind with the body of Delix.  When they sneak down into the village, the 3 see the village butted up against a rocky Cliffside and hill.  There is a 30 foot tall bore in the hill, closed up with a rock stopper/ gate of some type.  Before this gate, many soldiers are collected, as well as arcane and divine spellcasters who are using incredibly powerful abjuration magic in connection with each other.  As the group watches, some of the spellcasters pass out, and the stopper cracks open on one side slightly.  The adventurers see daemons and uderfhan escaping and attacking the people in front of the gate.  The spellcasters quickly get the stopper closed up again, but some of the creatures have escaped into the surrounding forests, including some towards the party’s campsite!

 

The 3 race back to the others, who are being attacked by Cacodaemons and Uderfhan.  Io, who has magically accelerated his pace, arrives to help first, assisting Juliet and Aean who are already deep in combat.  Quaithe arrives next, followed by Morgrym.  The party dispatches most of the creatures, with one Cacodaemon escaping, and while examining the bodies of the Uderfhan, who were not able to “explode” this time around, find amulets around their necks almost like holy symbols, with the strange rune from the lakeside etched into them:  the eye with 5 tendrils coming out from it.

 

The session ends.

Session #3 Recap - A Summons

Pathfinder - Reflections of Sin Campaign

Session #3 Recap:  A Summons

The characters have appeared outside the farm of the family Juliet had befriended from building the festival bonfire.  Also, this is the farm where the remaining orphans were sent by the party.  The farm is under attack by Cacodaemons, small flying heads of teeth.  Farm assistants and the three orphans are scattered around the farm, one by the water well, two in the doorway of the farmstead, one coming back from the fields, and two in the barn.  The party moves in and begins to fend off the monsters, realizing quickly that these daemons are immune or resistant to many things, including fire, cold, acid, poison, electricity, and weapons which are not silver or infused with the power of good.  After great struggle, they destroy 4 of the 6 cacodaemons, but two get away and two of the farmhands are killed.  The orphans are rightfully traumatized, as they have been attacked in their former home in the church, seen the priest and one of their own killed, and now been attacked on the farm.

While the party calms the children down, Juliet suddenly realizes that Mell is not with them.  She did not end up being transported with the rest of the party to the farm.  The party is concerned, as Mell also has the evil side, Poshmora, who is allied with Syren and Krune, seemingly, and her missing presence could be detrimental to the party if and when they find her again, especially if Poshmora has become ascendant and works against the party.

The party also is concerned that the orphans might be attracting the monsters as the attack on the village and on the farm have the orphans’ proximity in common.  But the party also realizes that the monsters could be attracted to the party itself, although the attack on the farm took place before their arrival.  They talk with the farmers, who have gathered from the fields, and it is decided, for stability, to keep the orphans with the farmers for the time being instead of yet another move of location.  The party then heads for Clearwater’s Gate, an hour to the west.

They arrive at the village in the late morning, having been only a few hours absent since going into the cistern, and they head straight for the Inn.  Cenn is there with his wife, and he is very concerned that Gerrett, the tanner, still has not returned from his trip to investigate the ruins on the lake and to see if there have been attacks on other outlying farms.  Cenn does confirm that Delix has taken charge of the investigation, and is with his guards at the remains of the church.

Morgrym leaves to go to the lake to see if he can find Gerrett while the rest of the party stays at the Inn to eat.  A little while after Morgrym leaves, though, Delix comes into the Inn and tells Cenn to send the party up to his room for a discussion.  He then walks up the stairs.  Cenn follows with the rest of the party, and leaves them standing before Delix, who is sitting at a desk.  He definitely acts as if in charge, and also begins to question the party in a none-too-friendly manner.  Did the party bring these creatures, whether on purpose or because they were being followed?  Where are they from?  What did they discover in the cistern?  What was said?  By whom?  What other information?  He has absolutely no fear of the party or of ramifications if he angers the party.  He knows, as does the rest of the village, that if anything happens to him, Korvosa will send investigators to the village, which will not be good for the village.  At best, they will likely lose several of the stronger farmers and villagers to conscription in the military forces.  Such is the price of services from the city. 

The party is at first recalcitrant with Delix, and Aean tries to only give part of the information of what happened in the cistern.  Delix is not buying the story, and demands the rest of the story.  He is the lawful representative, and he needs all of the information to make certain things are taken care of properly with the best benefit for the village.  The party reluctantly tells the whole story, and Delix arrogantly thanks them. 

Delix does state that he will return to Korvosa directly with the information, as he is the authority figure, knows who to talk with, and will be listened to seriously.  Anyone else will likely be ignored as liars or dismissed out of hand.  For the city watch to take this situation seriously, Delix needs to be present.  As arrogant and pig-headed as Delix is, he has genuine concern and interest in the villages under his charge, and the villages know this. 

As someone will need to tell the next villages on his route of his unexpected delay and detour, Delix charges the party with this effort, if nothing else to prove themselves as wanting the best for the village and the regions surrounding.  The party asks for compensation, and he says he will give them each 100gp in the morning before he leaves as compensation.  Delix then dismisses the party until the next morning, and asks Cenn to stay for further discussions and wrap up items.

The party goes back down into the common room and eat, on the dime of Delix.  Cenn descends after a little while, and says he will draw up a map of the villages which are next on Delix’ itinerary, and what should be said to them.  He thanks the party for helping the village in this way as well as for what they’ve done up to this point.  He also says that though Delix can be difficult, he really does have the villages’ best interests in hand.  The party discusses if they could possibly swing by the lake and investigate on their way to the villages tomorrow, but it is off on a different direction that would delay them by at least a day.

Suddenly, Gerrett bursts into the Inn with Morgrym.  Morgrym found the beat-up Gerrett about an hour or so out of town along the road to the lake.  The surrounding farms are under attack by foul monsters which someone is summoning, using the ruins by the lake.  Gerrett is not acquainted with arcane magic enough to understand the how and what of the summoning area, and he has no idea who is doing the summoning or why.  He was able to see creatures come out of the ruins, though, and move off into the surrounding forests and regions.

Gerrett is pretty beat up, but he insists that he is going to continue to run to the surrounding farmsteads and assist in protection, as he is able.  Gerrett begs the party to set out straight away for the lake and ruins to see if they can discover who is summoning the creatures and also to find a way to stop any more creatures from coming through the portal.  He then runs off to go bring in folks from surrounding farms back into the village for better safety.

The party takes off for the lake.  Some notice that the forest life is deathly quiet on their way, as if the creatures of the forest are holding their breaths in fear.  Occasional screams of some foul creature(s) can be heard at times in the distance on their way to the lake.

At the lake, they travel around to the ruins, basically 3 large worked stones toppled over.  Before the final approach, Io sees what look to be dire rats lurking around the beach area in front of the ruins, weaving around the beach, but he can’t get a good number of how many due to vapor rising out of the lake water from the chilly air.  The party begins an attack, and soon are attacked in return, not only by the rats, but also by two swarms of scarlet-colored spiders with painful bites.  The kill the creatures, but Aean and Juliet both feel sick from bites from the creatures.

Aean checks out the ruins and finds a rune inscribed in the rock:  an eye with 5 branches coming off of it.  He also finds a cubby hole with a bag holding 4 rubies, likely material components for summoning creatures.  Io comes over and realizes the rune is what is directing the summoning, and after taking an etching of the rune, he chisels it out of the stone face. 

Juliet is standing next to Robinn when a wind starts whipping around them and kicks up dirt and debris.  Robinn’s eyes have rolled back in his head, and he starts to speak.  “It wants to continue what it started.  A thousand pillars.  It will be free.  Must change one, kill one, to help loosen the bonds that bind.  A thousand pillars.  Preparations were made eons ago.  Time to harvest.  The time is ripe to reap the harvest and let loose the flood.  A thousand pillars, and death will fall upon the world.”

Robinn then wakes and sits on the ground hard, but is okay and conscious, just shaken.  He has no idea what just happened, but assumes it comes from his abilities of being an oracle and is a connection to future things.  The party gathers together, and set off back for the village.

On the way back, while crossing a small stream via a wooden bridge, they begin to hear the sounds of children crying all around them.  They have a sense of confusion enter their minds, and they are suddenly unsure of the path.  Are they supposed to travel the road to the village, or cut through the forest?  And which direction?  It is unnerving to them to be suddenly lost on a path they have taken before.

Then creatures, ghastly white things crying tears and with sharp claws and teeth, come at them, 3 creatures from 3 different angles.  The creatures use magic to try to hold some of the party members in place and unable to move, but those affected soon break free.  Io realizes that these are Lacridaemons, and he relays to the party some of the creatures’ abilities.  The party fights back, and resist the poison of these foul monsters, but one gets away.  Now there are 3 monsters the party know are on the loose still:  2 cacodaemons and one lacridaemon.  They arrive back at the village, very worn out and drained, with Aean greatly affected by poisoning and disease from the various creatures they have encountered.  They rest overnight and are up to meet with Delix first thing in the morning.

Gerrett is not back yet, but Delix is in front of the Inn with Cenn, getting ready to depart.  The horses are being saddled and Gerrett is having a final discussion with Cenn.  The party explains the circumstances at the lake, and Delix, although still brusque, thanks the party for its assistance with the village and seems genuinely appreciative, if still arrogant.  He says he realizes he comes across harshly, but he has a job which he takes seriously, and they were unknown agents just as bad things began to happen.  He could take no chances on the safety of those in his charge.  He does his best by the villages, even as he hopes to move on to work which is more meaningful and of greater responsibility. 

Gerrett suddenly breaks out from the trees on the other side of the Village Green, yelling and waving his arms as he full out runs towards the group at the Inn.  He is running alongside a dusky-skinned female with yellow eyes, who is also trying to get the attention of the folks at the Inn.  Delix suddenly stumbles into Juliet, and has a puzzled look on his face.  Black tracings run up from his neck into his face and eyes, and he collapses dead in Juliet’s arms, a huge arrow jutting out from his back and his face melting from poison.  Gerrett is pointing past the group into the trees behind them, and when the turn, they see a Leukodaemon with a bow in hand as it steps back into the forest and disappears.

End of Session

Quaithe

Quaithe......just your average Ranger.

Session #2 Recap

Reflections of Sin Campaign:  Pathfinder Roleplaying

Session #2 Recap:  Lazy Trip Down the Rabbit Hole

The group decides that they need to go down the cistern, but not until resting first.  Io and Mell go to the Inn to tell Cenn, the mayor, what has happened while the rest of the group try to clear the wolf corpses and pieces of the flesh swarm out of the church.  The orphans are ensconced in the priest’s living quarters next to the church while the cleanup goes on.  While Juliet and Aean are taking bodies to the Harvest Festival bonfire to burn, Morgrym guards the open cistern.  He thinks he hears voices whispering up from the depths, and a thick, almost tangible sense of doom seems to rise from the open well.  He creeps closer to the cistern with weapon drawn, to listen more closely.  At that moment, Juliet and Aean bang back into the church, and the whispers and sense of doom disappear.

Io and Mell arrive at the inn to the last revelers of the evening.  They take notice that no one in the village seems to have heard the screams and fighting.  Io sees Cenn, and says he must speak to him right away.  Cenn takes Io and Mell into the kitchen in back, where Io explains the wolves’ attack, the killing of the priest and one of the orphans, and the cistern which opened under the altar.  The mayor is incredibly shocked and concerned, and feels that he must tell Delix the tax collector, as he is the lawful representative of Korvosa in the village.  Cenn also is concerned as Gerrett, the tanner, who the mayor sent to investigate outlying farms and the ruins by the lake, has yet to return.  Io states that the group plans on travelling down into the cistern to discover what it is, but after they rest first to gain strength for the descent.  Cenn says that he still must tell Delix, but he will wait until 2 hours after dawn to inform him.  Cenn does say it is very likely that Delix will take over the scene and his guards will likely take position in and around the church, preventing investigation, so the party should be “on its way” before Delix is told.  Io agrees, and also lets the mayor know that the wolves carried disease with them as warning for the village.  Io asks if the herbalist has any anti-plague, and the mayor states he will contact Eldreth to check.  Any anti-plague (which ends up being just 1 vial) the mayor will make certain gets to the players before they leave.  Io and Mell then leave out the back to return to the church.

The party rests inside the church, with the orphans coming back in now that it has been cleaned.  The oldest orphan and the priest, who had been killed, are in a room opposite of the choir area, awaiting burial, and the mayor had told Io that he and his wife would take the children in until a new priest could be sent for and arrives.  The mayor is sending word to one of the nearby villages which also have a church to Sarenrae for assistance.  In the morning, Juliet sends the orphans to the farm where she had had dinner with her new friends the evening before, although Robinn insists that he must remain with Juliet and is coming with them.  The party then begins their descent into the cistern down ladder rungs embedded in the sides of the well.

After about 120-150 feet, the cistern ends at the bottom with a worked passage moving off into the dark.  There is some kind of magical effect as the light sources of the party dim significantly.  They move forward about 40’, single file, and come into a 10 foot by 10 foot room with two passages from the other side of the room leading off forward, one angled slightly left, one angled slightly right, and both 5 feet wide.  Io decides to scout a bit forward and takes the right passage.  After a few moments, Io realizes he cannot hear the party behind him anymore, so turns and returns.  The room is empty, however, it is as if he came up a straight passage and on the other side of the room are two passages leading out, one angled left and one angled right.  But now the left-hand passage is narrower and the right-hand passage is wider.  He senses a dread all around him.

The rest of the party quickly notices that Io doesn’t seem to be returning, and they follow after him.  They take the right-hand passage and, after 30 feet, come across an exact duplicate of the room they were just in, but now the right-hand passage across from them is slightly wider and the left-hand passage slightly narrower.  And no Io.  They call out his name, but hear no response.  They also feel a dread throughout the area, and Mell hears whispers all around from all passages which she can’t quite understand, but no one else in the group seems to hear.  They decide to turn around and go back to the original room, but upon return, they, like Io, find that the passage they are in is as if a straight passage into the room with a slightly wider right-hand passage and slightly narrower left-hand passage.  Their way back is no longer there.

Io, on his own, decides to determine if he can pinpoint a magical trigger for what is obviously, to him, a trap.  But when casting a cantrip to detect magic, the amount of magic is overwhelming and everywhere, and of multiple types.  Conjuration magic seems to be the most powerful, as well as enchantment and evocation.  Io is using his ability to see in the dark to get around as he is without a light source (which is in the hands of Mell with the rest of the group). 

The rest of the group decides to take the narrower, left-hand passage this time, and scrape a ways down a passage which unsurprisingly opens into another room.  The passages leaving on the other side of the room are again there, but now the right-hand passage is even wider and the left-hand passage even narrower.  Aean creates a second source of light, a string of floating lanterns he sings into existence.  Mell, meanwhile, begins to feel touches of something brushing up against her cheeks or grasping at her ankles, although she cannot see anything.  She becomes frightened and bolts off through the wider right-hand passage.  Juliet tries to grab Mell to stop her, but Mell neatly evades her grasp and is gone, as is one of the light-sources.

Mell runs into yet another room, and before continuing her run, she casts a spell of herself, covering her body in magical transparent armor of force, and she draws her weapon.  As she gets ready to run on, she glances to the side and sees a mirror on the wall of the room next to her.  Looking in the mirror, she sees in the reflection her eidolon, Poshmora, standing behind her slashing down at her with a dagger.  Mell ducks away, drops her weapon, and dashes for the even wider right-hand passage across the room, running out of the room in a panic. 

In the larger group of party members, Aean draws a large ‘4’ on the floor of the room before the party takes the narrower, left-hand passage out, as taking the wider passage seems to be ineffective.  They scrape through to yet another room, again with a wider right-hand passage and narrower left-hand passage.  A pale Aean swears he sees shadows and movement out of the corner of his eyes, and shaken, suddenly bursts with a nimbus of daylight around him, although muted by the pervasive darkness of the passage.  The party presses on, and again takes the even narrower left-hand passage.  After squeezing through the passage, they suddenly come out into a passage 20 foot wide, heading forward and beyond what they can see with their lights.  Turning around, there are two sets of double doors behind them, locked, and no passage which they would have come out of into this one.  Aean also notices he no longer has the sense of movement out of the corner of his eyes.

Mell runs headlong through the next room as she moves blindly forward as her dropped weapon was her light source and is now abandoned somewhere behind her, taking an even wider right-hand passage.  Dashing down this passage by feeling along the wall, she suddenly no longer feels a wall and senses a wider open space around her.  Although suddenly free of her blind panic, she quickly summons a giant ant to her side in case of any need of protection for herself.  She next creates a light source, and finds herself in a large room with two sets of spiral staircases behind her leading to a platform above her head, and in front of her, barely visible, a set of two larger alcoves on either side of the large room and two sets of double doors in the far wall.  In addition, there are two very large vipers slithering towards her, one from the platform above and one from across the room, as well as three creatures about 2-feet tall which seemed to be no more than pieces of half-formed body parts standing on two obscene leg-like appendages with pulsating veins all over and a toothy maw of sharp teeth in the center of the mound of flesh which would be their heads.  And they were all headed towards her!

The larger party decides to try to get through the doors, and as Morgrym pulls out lockpicks, Juliet kicks at one of the doors and busts it open.  Morgrym, shakes his head as he quietly puts his lockpicks away, and Juliet and Aean enter the room, where they see across a huge room to where Mell is being surrounded by enemies.  They both run up to try to help her.  Robinn stays outside of the room and the battle, watching the passage, while Morgrym enters the room invisibly to assist the others.

Io, having determined as much as he can from the magical demeanors, heads through the narrower left-hand passage, into another room, and into the next narrower left-hand passage, ending up suddenly next to Robinn.  He hears battle being engaged, and with Robinn pointing into the room, Io heads directly in to assist.

The group battles the creatures with sword and spell.  The large vipers poison Mell, causing her to become slowed and unable to move quickly.  However, the battle ends with the party victorious.  A strange language is written on the walls, which no one understands, until Io uses magic to comprehend the language.  He discovers and relays to the party words along the lines of “The sleeping chamber of our lord,” “The master of those of ease and sloth,” and “May his rest allow the sin spread throughout the lazy slaves and nobles of the land.”  He is able to determine that the words seem to indicate that this is where the Runelord of Sloth, Krune, lies buried and asleep since the Starfall eons ago.  It also seems to explain the large amount of conjuration magic as the sin of sloth is associated with the conjuration school of magic.  The party then decides to move on down the passage outside the room.

The passage funnels from 20-feet wide to 10-feet wide after traveling about 100 feet.  It ends in another large chamber, also this one seems to hold a great empty chasm.  No bottom or top to the room can be seen, and a bridge leads across the chasm to an exit on the far side, about 100 or so feet away.  Floating in the air to either side of the bridge, but still about 10 to 20 feet distant, are platforms, 10 feet by 10 feet, hanging in the air with no support.  Also, there are rods positioned in the air from platform to platform as well as from the edge of the entrance and exit.  These rods are parallel to the entrance and exit and seem to suggest that someone would swing from one to the next to reach each hanging platform, a more difficult and less obvious way to get to the other side.

The party decides to take the “difficult” way as this is the realm of sloth, and the easy way is likely trapped and deadlier.  Juliet, carrying Robinn, makes it to the first platform, with Morgrym on her heels.  Next goes Mell, but she slips off the rung, and although she at first grasps the rung with one hand, she cannot get a good grip and falls into the bottomless chasm.  The party is frantic, trying to figure out what they can do to save Mell, when she suddenly appears from above them and slams hard into the bridge, falling prone and worse for wear.  She crawls a few feet towards the other side when suddenly a construct appears on the bridge, a bronze head with multiple sharp talons coming out of its neck like the legs of a spider.  Mell is attacked, and she quickly conjures an air elemental to protect her.  The rest of the party begins to attack the creature at range, and quickly find it is immune to certain types of magic, although Io realizes that a metal creature is likely susceptible to electricity and is able to damage it.  Mell backs away from the creature, and 2 more creatures appear.  They begin attacking the larger party, blocking Mell off from the entrance side of the bridge.  Juliet has taken the moment to jump onto the bridge to engage the creatures, while Morgrym tries to attack from the hanging platform with his crossbow and Io and Aean engage the creatures closer to them. 

Mell is hit hard by the creature, and with the damage taken from her “fall,” she falls unconscious.  The creature begins to drag her the rest of the way across the bridge and through the exit.  Robinn suddenly jumps from the chasm, and after a few seconds, lands close to the bridge end with minimal damage due to a cushioning vest he is wearing.  Juliet, seeing Robinn appear, runs across the bridge to protect him as well as to ask him to help her wounds from the fighting.  As she runs across the bridge, 5 more creatures appear in her wake.  She realizing that they are greatly outnumbered, pushes Robinn out through the exit passage after Mell.  Io and Aean, sorely hurting and in no position to defend against so many adversaries, exit the chamber, while Morgrym becomes invisible to hide from the creatures.  The creatures at this point, sensing no enemies, jump off either side of the bridge and are gone.

Mell wakes to find herself prone on a floor in front of a throne in a large chamber, with a strange creature hovering over her, saying, “Wake up, wake up, wake up!  Time to wake up!”  The creature is tall and thin, with black leather garments, black wings, and a pale white head which shows a mouth and ears, but a hole straight through where the rest of the face would be.  She, in a panic, gets to her feet and tries to defend herself with summoned balls of ice, but these pass harmlessly through the creature’s missing face, and the creature just smiles and laughs.

Mell sees that behind the creature, the wall of the back of the chamber is some type of portal coursing with electricity, although silent as stone.  At this point, Juliet and Robinn arrive in the chamber, and move across to stand behind Mell.  Mell asks the creature who it is, and it names itself Syren, servant of the great lord who sleeps here.  Syren then says that Mell should know who the lord is, and snaps its fingers.  In Mell’s place is now her eidolon, Poshmora.  Poshmora goes up to the throne on which Syren sits, and tries to drape herself over its shoulders, ingratiating herself with an “ally.”  However, Syren finds this display very distasteful and pulls her arms off of its shoulders, telling Poshmora to know her place with the lord and his servants.  He then dismisses Poshmora, and Mell returns in her place.

Meanwhile, Morgrym has made his way across the rest of the floating platforms, and after healing themselves magically, Io and Aean also begin to traverse across the platforms, swinging from rod to rod.  Once all are across, they exit the chamber and head where Mell, Juliet and Robinn went.  Soon, they too enter the chamber, with Morgrym entering stealthily and hiding behind a brazier next to a large staircase going up a few feet to the throne’s level.  Io also, through his knowledge of the Runelords, realizes that Syren is a greatly transformed and powerful version of a Sinspawn, creatures who act as servants and guards for each of the Runelords in days past.

Syren states that they have been summoned to this place of the great lord as something is trying to use his power as well as the power of the other lords and ladies from his former time.  The party realizes this would be the other Runelords.  Syren states that the time for the lords and ladies to awaken is not yet ripe, although one of the lords has made the attempt a few years past.  However, the lords and ladies grow restless in their slumber with someone using their pools of power, which would be the essence of their sins/ virtues over which they hold sway as well as their corresponding school of magic.  The Runelord of Sloth is greatly disturbed that someone is commandeering his powers of summoning, and he wants it stopped. 

Syren says that they have no further information, but as conjuration is being used, they might do research in the city of Korvosa, where the infamous school of magic which specializes in this time in conjuration magic lies.  This site for the school is in itself of annoyance to the Runelord of Sloth as it is in the middle of the seat of power of the Runelady of Lust, not an acceptable placement for the pathetic folks of this time to build the school.  Syren charges the party with finding out who is using the power of the Runelords and giving effort to stop the abuse.  The abuse is happening with all of the Runelords, not just Krune, the Lord of Sloth, and will thus impact the entire land of Varisia, and likely, all of the world.  Syren states that frequent communication should be kept up with Syren, and through him, Krune, and this can be accomplished by standing in the Village Green of Clearwater’s Gate and relaying the messages.  Instructions of further action would also be sent back in the Village Green to the party members.  All nice and neat.

At this point, the party relays in no uncertain terms to Syren that they will need to think about whether or not they will work for someone “evil” against another evil.  Syren is taken aback, and says that they have a common enemy.  But Juliet and Io are very firm, and say “we will get back to you on our decision.”  Concerned, Syren reluctantly agrees, and says he will send them back to the surface.  At this point, he raises his hands, and swarms of flesh and bits arise from circles of summoning behind the party, engulfing each member in a tidal wave of flesh and teeth and body parts.  As the swarms continue into the room towards the other party members, the ones engulfed seem to have been devoured and no trace is left.  After all have been taken, the flesh swarms disperse and the party realizes they are now in daylight, standing in a field next to a farm.  Juliet quickly notices that this is the farm of her friends who she met while helping with the bonfire the night before, and also the farm where the party sent the remaining orphans.  A scream rings out, and the party sees the farm family being attacked by small floating heads, most of which is made up on gaping maws of teeth.

The session ends.

Io - Servant of Sarenrae

·         Io was conceived in a rite by Souleater priestess of Szuriel and one of Szuriel’s Deacons.

·         His mother led a cult of Szuriel worshipers

·         Cult had been growing for years and was planning a significant act of destruction

·         When Io was three the Martial arm of the Church of Sarenrae intervened.  They raided his mother’s stronghold and killed or captured most of her followers.  As the attack took place she was preparing to sacrifice Io in a particularly nasty ritual.   She escaped, tossing Io bodily at the Sarenraites as a distraction.  Attack was led by Dawnflower Dervish bard who took it a personal challenge to raise and redeem Io.

·          Io was raised in a Sarenraite temple and grew up in the faith.  Growing up, he knew that the payment he could make to his savior was to overcome his heritage and become a force for good working in Sarenrae’s name.  To this day he struggles to feel worthy and tries twice as hard others to bring good to the world. Largely this is motivated by his belief that he must be tainted by his heritage.

·         He trained in the temple as a Dawnflower Dervish.  But, despite his dedication he was barely “passable” in most of the skills.  His spell casting was unremarkable, he was found to not be particularly gifted in song, dance or other performances (likely self sabotage b/c he didn’t believe the others would overlook his heritage and be moved by his performance).  However he excelled at the scholarly aspects of bard craft (knowledge skills) and the special fighting style of the dervish dancers.

·         as a young adult his training was completed and he left the temple to spread the word of Sarenrae and do good “works”

·         He adventured with a group that included an elven wizard.  Io became interested in the alternate method of prepared spells for working arcane magic.  Under the tutelage of this mage he worked his first arcane cantrip.  He quickly demonstrated an aptitude for this methodology that far outstripped his ability with bardic spells.  After a few years with this group he had written a number of cantrips and minor spells into is very own spellbook.

·         The groups rogue perished on one of their adventures.  Being naturally stealthy (a gift of his heritage)Io inherited the rogue’s role as scout and disabler of traps.  In addition, he inherited her beautifully crafted thieves tools and other implements.  While he was never formally trained, Io worked hard to hone his natural aptitude for stealth, sleight of hand and working with small intricate devices.  His natural dexterity, intelligence and generally curiosity have served him well in place of formal training in the roguish arts.

·         After a long period of adventure Io returned with the elf to visit his homeland and continued his arcane education.  They found the elf’s village had been taken over and enslaved by Orcs.  As a reward for helping to save the village Io was gifted with a fine suit of studded leather armor made from rare elven darkleaf cloth.  Asa personal thanks his mentor gifted him with a magical pearl that enhances Io’s arcane abilities.

·         During his stay as he continued his studies he became aware of the elven practice of blending spell casting with various fighting techniques; arcane archer and spell dancers.  He was determined to learn how best to blend his own fighting style with his budding arcane talents.

·         After several years, with helpful advice from the elves, he perfected his new style and moved back into the world alone to continue his good work in Sarenrae’s name.

Session #1 Recap

Pathfinder Campaign Recap

Session #1 Recap:  The Beginning

Juliet, travelling to Clearwater’s Gate to find and meet her new Guardian, comes across Mell travelling South towards Korvosa on the road from Kaer Maga, a city at the top of the Storval Rise.  As the roads are not as safe for lone travelers as they are for groups, even small ones, Juliet strikes up conversation and begins walking with the reluctant Mell.  A few days out from Clearwater’s Gate, they come across a very ragged and worse-for-wear dwarf named Morgrym, who comes from Janderhoff to the east and is also on the road south, searching for some folks.

Meanwhile, Io is wandering the countryside of Varisia, searching for purpose and those people and places which could use the intervention of one of Sarenrae’s martial forces.  As he travels east one afternoon, he decides to set up camp by a placid lake in the hilly area.  Just as he is going into the trees and towards the lake, he is passed by an Asimar on horseback, Aean, obviously thinking of setting up camp in the same area.  As they both approach the lake, a camp is already being set up by two women, Juliet and Mell.  Soon, Morgrym arrives, appearing quietly from the shadows of the trees, and dumps a deer in the camp area for food.  Everyone decides to camp together, although Mell is not pleased with new company, having just slowly begun to warm up with Juliet.

Across the lake, before night completely falls, a spire-like tower can be seen in the distance, a common architectural site in this part of western Varisia.  Also, a tumbled-down set of ruins, like a megalith of great age.  The lake is clear and pure, and the trees are coniferous, with a crisp mid-Autumn air.

During the evening, Io’s animal friend, Tercel the falcon, keeps watch while the travelers sleep.  In the middle of the night, Tercel screeches and wakes the party.  Aean sees white flashes of light across the lake in the general area of the Megalith ruins, counting 5 although likely more occurred before he awoke.  The party is wary, and then some hear the sploshing of water being slapped lightly, like a hand swatting at water.  Some of the party soon see wolf-like shapes traveling ACROSS the water towards the camp.

3 wolves, more like rotting corpses of wolves with rotting flesh and decaying remains, attack the party.  The party moves surprisingly well together, especially given that they do not know each other’s strengths or abilities.  The wolves take a couple of bites out of folks, and fortunately do NOT pass on any disease, but are soon dispatched.  The rest for the remainder of the night, and in the morning, Aean points out that the wolves seemed to come from the stone ruins across the lake.  The party talk together, and they all agree to go to Clearwater’s Gate, each for their own reason, whether by task, for information, or just a general “gotta-go-someplace” feel.

A half-day’s journey bring the group to Clearwater’s Gate, a hamlet set in the foothills before the eastern mountain range.  The small village appears to be setting up for a Harvest Festival, albeit a very provincial holiday given the town’s size.  Juliet and Mell head towards the only church temple to be seen, a church for Sarenrae on the eastern side of the hamlet across the Village Green where a bonfire is being readied by the town’s children.

Io and Aean decide to visit the booths being erected for the festival, from fortune tellers to puppet shows to exhibits and games.  One exhibit is “see the unusual half-woman/ half-fish mermaid”, which turns out to be no more than a cat skull tied to a large fish, the fish swimming in a cloudy tank of water with smoke and candles providing a concealing environment for onlookers.

Morgrym heads to the inn, and meets Cenn Flannis, a crippled dusky-skinned innkeeper and his wife, Florina, who appears to be much more muscled than a normal innkeeper/ barmaid normally would.  He quickly dives into a plate of food and drink after asking about any strangers, possibly with a dwarf in toe, passing through the village.  None has been seen by Cenn, but Morgrym does seemingly enjoy the food he is given.

Juliet and Mell arrive at the church and meet the priest in charge, a young adept named Petris who is helping to spread the word of Sarenrae in this “country of such evil and tragic history which desperately needs a guiding light.”  He also takes in orphans from around the locale, housing them in the church and helping to educate them as best as he is able.  Juliet asks after someone she is supposed to find here at the church, but Petris knows nothing of this.  He is very glad, though, to see another follower of Sarenrae, and Juliet, after offering services, is asked to “guest teach” the children and given a place to stay in the church while she is in the village.  Juliet and Mell then decide to go.

Io and Aean decide to go visit the church as well, and pass Mell, who is on her way to the inn, called the Restful Sleep, and also Juliet, who has taken to helping the children and teens who are building up the wood for the bonfire that evening.  She is making some fast friends among the older children, who are but a few years younger than she.  They meet Petris, who again is thrilled at seeing another follower of Sarenrae in Io, and Io offers any services needed of the martial arm of the church.  Petris sees of no need at this point, but Io speaks of the attack by the undead wolves, and Petris, troubled by this news, suggests Io and Aean speak with Cenn the innkeeper, who is also the town mayor.

Back at the inn, Mell joins Morgrym, who had stepped out to see the puppet show (he loved Punch and Judy beating up each other!), and they settle into an uncomfortable silence as they drink at a table, kind of together, but kind of not.  Another table holds an aristocrat of some sort, who Aean saw enter the village earlier, and his 3 bodyguards.  Florina makes herself scarce, having an immediate dislike of the boorish man, but Cenn is talking, almost apologetically, to the aristocrat.

Io and Aean arrive at the inn, and overhear talk between the arrogant man and Cenn, a discussion about getting everything together quickly so that the man can leave this little “sinkhole” as soon as possible.  When they politely question Cenn, who has returned to behind the bar and serves them drinks, it turns out that the man at the table is the tax collector for Korvosa, Delix, a job he deems “below” his status (noble, but middle class noble, at best).  The village, as do all the country towns and people, tread lightly around him as they do not want Korvosa to suddenly take notice and “conscript” the youth and men of a locale, which would devastate any community in the country.

Io relays to Cenn about the wolf attack, as Petris suggested, and Cenn calls to Florina to go find Gerrett for a private meeting with Cenn in the kitchen.  Cenn said he will ask his friend to check out if more wolves are about by going out to outlying farms as well as travel to the lake to look at the toppled stones/ ruins for more information.

Rooms are secured for the four at the inn (Juliet will be staying at the church and has been invited to dinner at a local farm by some of her new friends who she helped build the bonfire pile with), and Mell quickly excuses herself to her room while the others go partake of the Harvest Festival.  Aean finds a spot and breaks out his gittern, playing for the villagers on one end of the green while a minstrel who has come for the festival tells stories of Desna, a major goddess of the Varisian people.  Juliet goes up and entices Mell to come see the festival, while the rest of the group looks at the exhibits, watches the bonfire and dancing, and sees locals who have come out, including the half-elven herbalist, the female blacksmith, and the hood-covered tanner.

After the town children have been sent home, the bonfire begins to die down, and the locals still out have mostly retired to the inn, a scream is heard from the far side of the Village Green, and the party sees shadowy four-legged creatures running from the nearby woods and straight towards the church.  The party tears after these creatures, and burst upon 3 more decaying wolves now attacking Petris and his orphans.  The party engages the wolves, but not before the wolves have ripped apart both Petris and the oldest orphan girl, who is crouched down by a pew and is protecting a younger child.  The oldest orphan boy is in the choir area with two younger children, and the wolves seem unable to approach them.

As the party work to stop the wolves, a huge decaying wolf, at least twice the size of the other 3, comes running into the church, leaps up onto the alter, and from there onto the holy symbol of Sarenrae on the wall behind the altar, impaling itself on the sunburst.  As it dies, its blood runs down onto the floor while Juliet pulls the body free.  The altar suddenly splits apart as a device is set off, likely by the wolf’s blood, and a seven-foot wide cistern is revealed under the former altar. 

The wolves dispatched, the party begins to hear the sound of lots of flesh slapping against stone coming out of the cistern and getting closer.  The oldest boy grabs Juliet’s eyes, and points to the cistern, saying that something is coming.  As the party backs away and prepares itself, hundreds of pieces of flesh, finger, toes, claws, nails and teeth, comes flowing out of the cistern in a swarm.  Mell conjures a fire elemental, and the swarm of flesh seems to turn directly towards Mell and begins flowing towards her.  Morgrym beings to look for tapestries to cover the swarm with which might burn while Aean moves to protect the 4 children, now all in the choir, and Juliet grabs a standing candelabra with which to use as a weapon.  A second swarm of flesh flows out of the cistern, and the party dispatches the abominations, after Mell runs out of the church to escape the swarm coming pointedly after her.

When all of the animated flesh has been destroyed or dispersed, the oldest orphan boy stands up from the choir, looks at Juliet, and says he has been awaiting her arrival and is her new guardian.  The boy, who is named Robinn, says that the first thing which must be done is they must all go down into the cistern to see what has been awakened (Juliet has noticed rungs of a ladder on the cisterns inside edge going down into the darkness), and in Mell’s head, the voice of her eidolon, Poshmora, who has been surprisingly quiet since the lake, says that yes, they must go down into the depths.

End of Session #1