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

Morgrym - Ian's Badass Dwarf

 

Morgrym

 

 

Background printed with Ian's permission. 

 

Morgrym Odolson

 

Morgrym was born the older of two boys to a miner and his wife. Odol's family had long been removed from the prestige it had once held in the councils of the Sky Citadel of Janderhoff. Some transgression had made those ancestors pariahs there and now Odol was forced to work in the mines of Kopparberget, his two young boys the last member of a once noble line.

 

Morgrym was still quite young when his father was killed in a tunnel collapse. He was left to shoulder the burden of caring for his mother and younger brother, and since he was considered to young to take up his father' strafe, the three were left to eke out an existence in the wild lands of the north. Morgrym hunted to provide food for the family and trapped in the coldest months to earn enough coin to buy what supplies they couldn't forage for. The harsh existence hardened the boy and taught him to expect little from life without a struggle. What had been a cheerful and pleasant child grew into a grimly pragmatic young man.

His younger brother Narrin, however, could not be more different. Regardless of the hardships of life after the loss of his father, Narrin remained a cheerful and affable child. Nothing seemed able to dampen his spirits and he was the joy of his small family's life. Even Morgrym found it impossible to not be buoyed his younger brother's joy for life and what few smiles he had in those days were usually prompted by Narrin's good-natured ribbing.

A few years later, the boys' mother died. She had never recovered from Odol's death and with her passing went the last ties they had to the small cottage and the harsh life they made for themselves there. While she had lived she refused to leave it because it had been built with Odol's own hands, but now Narrin was able to convince Morgrym that their future could be built in the city. The two decided to make their way to Karlsgard, eager to see more of life than could be found in the wild and hilly lands in which they had grown up.

Once there, though, they struggled to find employment. Although their father had never spoken much of their family's history it was clear that many in the dwarves communities there had little regard for Odol's sons. Soon, desperate to continue to care for his younger brother, Morgrym turned to petty thievery to provide enough coin to keep them fed. Narrin continually protested to his brother that there must be another way,it the objections fell on deaf ears. Morgrym had too long been the caretaker and felt no shame in doing whatever it took to protect his younger brother. Eventually he even found work of a darker sort when his skills as a marksman were discovered by a local gang of thieves eager to dispose of key rivals. Narrin fretted and continued to find a way to convince his brother that there must be another way.

 

He was sure he had found it when he brought Morgrym news of a small mining operation that was willing to hire both young men for work in the mountains near Kopparberget. A small concern of outlanders from Varisia had acquired rights to an old mine and were looking for skilled miners to help them reopen it. They told Narrin They had had difficulty attracting the interest of the more experienced dwarves in Kalsgard because they were from the south but they were sure it would be profitable for all involved. For days Narrin nagged his brother to meet the men and hear their offer. At first Morgrym would hear nothing of it, calling it a pipe dream of easy riches and his brother a foolish child for imagining that term was any success in life that could be gained without hard struggle and sacrifice, but his brother's enthusiasm had always been infectious. Eventually, Morgrym capitulated and met with Ratarion, the chief officer of the mining concern. The offer made was certainly generous and despite his nagging misgivings about the practiced charm of the southerner, Morgrym agreed and the two brothers soon set out southeast with a dozen other workers and a half dozen heavily armed company guards for the old mine.

The ragged and seedy of their fellow "miners" was the first indication that all was not as it seemed with the operation, but their were quickly other troublesome signs. Although Ratarion had said the site was "quite near Kopparberget" they actually swung quite wide of that mine to a location much further south. When asked about the claim, Ratarion was vague and said he that he was was in possession of it on behalf of a third party but offered little other detail. Most worrisome was that he was evasive about exactly what they would be mining for. He would say only that it was a mineral most rare and valuable.

Once they arrived, the state of the mine gave Morgrym even more to be worried about. It was clearly abandoned and some years ago at that. Morgrym had been an apt pupil of his father's teachings about mining and he quickly pointed out the need for reinforcement and repair before the operation could be made safe. Here Ratarion's easy charm disappeared; it quickly became clear that he cared for little but extracting the pale blue crystal that filled the lower tunnels as quickly as possible. In fact, he seemed always alert as if he expected interruption at any minute and constantly exhorted the crews to work faster. He still spoke of the profits to be made but only to use cutting them off as a threat to any who complained.

And complaints they had many: the working conditions were poor, the hours brutally long, and the timber supports frequently gave protesting groans as they bored deeper into the mountain. But the most grave complaint was that all who worked in the mine seemed to be sickening quickly, a strange wasting illness. They each spoke of frequent headaches and trouble concentrating. Days became hazy and more and more the miners spoke less, working ceaselessly but ever more slowly as their mental faculties suffered and their bodies weakened. Morgrym suffered less than most, but Narrin was particularly affected. Some days he even looked at his brother through tired eyes that seemed to show little recognition. When Morgrym protested to Ratarion that work must be halted, the Varisian snarled that if he didn't return to work he would forfeit his share. Regardless of the consequences, Morgrym made up his mind that he would take Narrin and sneak away from the camp that very evening. He had seen the cold look in the eyes of the company guards and was none to sure that he would have been free to leave regardless.

The chance of escape never came, however. That very afternoon, just after Morgrym had commanded his brother to take a final load of the strange crystals up and rest, a rumble shook the tunnels. Seconds later, Morgrym caught a final glance of Narrin at the far end of the tunnel, silhouetted against the westering sun, when the rotten timbers have way and a massive collapse buried the miners.

Morgrym awoke in darkness some time later. A falling support timber had knocked him unconscious but he was otherwise unharmed. The rest of the wretches that had been brought into that pit had fared less well. All around broken and mangled bodies attested to the fact that Morgrym seemed the only survivor of the collapse. He prayed that Narrin had escaped safely on the other side on the wall of rubble, but his immediate concern was escape. Judging that it would take him weeks to shift the detritus on his own, he set about exploring the deeper tunnels that had not yet been probed; possibly there was another exit and the dark held no fear for the dwarf.

Days later he emerged from a cleft some ways north of the original entrance. His hopes of being reunited with his brother were dashed, however, when he found his way back to the mining camp. It was obvious that it had been struck in haste. Rather than making an attempt to rescue him and the other miners, it was clear that Ratarion and the others had abandoned them to their fate. Worst of all, Morgrym could find no sign of his younger brother and feared the worst. If the Varisians were concerned that Narrin might tell others of what had happened...

The trail was old but led clearly for some distance southeast, in the direction of Varisia. Morgrym wanted answers and was prepared to get them, no matter how long it took and no matter what he had to do to get them.



One badass farmgirl:

Juliet

Mell's Background - Amon's Character

(Posting everything with Amon's permission)

 

Mell was born in the nation of Nidal, The city of Albatross. She is an Half-elf. Both parents were half-elves. At a young age Mell noticed that she had the ability to summon animals to her side. Her ability was effortless and precise. She greatly enjoyed the company of the forest animals. It drove her parents crazy! All these animals in the house.

 

Her parents hired a summoner to teach their daughter the correct ways to summon. So in her late teen years Mell was introduced to her mentor….Clista, a great summoner and more.

 

Clista showed and taught and trained Mell the ways of summoning. Calista was the one that told Mell how important it was to do a sacred summoning for what is called an Eidolon. Mell trained and later fought by Calista’s side for fifteen years.

 

After the first year, Calista took Mell away from Nidal and across the land into Varisia. Mell is an only child, and missed her parents greatly….but Calista was a great teacher. The opportunity couldn’t be missed. In the city of Urglin, Mell attended the palace and training ground Calista owned.

 

Mell was not the only one being trained in the ways of magic by Calista. A vampire boy by the name of Sholin was one her most adept pupils, although Mell quickly noticed that he showed no summoning ability.

 

Sholin and Mell fell in love within the first year at the palace training camp. They became the talk of the palace. The two were inseparable. Calista found the romance hopeful and endearing. It made Calista feel motherly.

 

Calista had a small army of orcs…..all spellcasters. Mell at first found this shocking! She thought Orcs so daft, that they wouldn’t be able to spellcast. Mell did notice that she was the only true summoner on Calista’s “team”.

 

Mell’s Eidolon that came and bonded with here was beautiful. A separate four legged creature. It looked horse-like with peacock markings. Mell sometimes rode Dipsem, the name she had given him. Sometimes even Sholin took a brief ride about.

 

Calista had a major rival. The reason for the rivalry is unknown to Mell, Calista refused to go into any details. His name is Vazrel…...A powerful spellcaster with skeleton minions.

 

One afternoon, Calista announced that her “group” was ready. Calista took her whole spell casting calvary to a place called Mobhad Leigh, located in the same nation of Varisia, but many mountain passes away. Calista said they need to obtain an artifact before Vazrel got his hands on it.

 

In a perfectly round pit in an otherwise nondescript field at the foot of the Kodar Mountains, a path of stairs leads partway down into the shaft’s throat. The stairs end after a few hundred feet down.

 

Mell remembers going down the stairs, but nothing that happened down in the ground, or coming to the surface. She remembers chatting and staying close with her lover, Sholin, while descending down. She remembers Calsita leading her and the mainly orcs and misc spell casters.

 

Mell awoke face down in the dirt at the top entrance of the stairs. No one was around but her, not a single party member. She summoned her Eidolon, thinking she would descend again to help or save her trainer and lover.

 

To her horror she felt pushed back out of her body…..she was aware of a dark presence…..her normal Eidolon was nowhere in sight.

 

“We need to taaaaalk……” a sexy perverse voice purred. “I’m Poshhhhmora…….acolyte of Krune. You’ll be helping me my dear.”

 

Mells heart sank in despair…..

 

 

Poshmora seemed to able to override Mell’s presence. Poshmora explained in a wicked way, how she had slayed Mell’s beautiful Eidolon and taken it’s place. Poshmora knew not if Mell’s adventuring party survived the pit or not. She merely explained an opportunity was seized., and Mell was to do Poshmora”s bidding now.

 

“Head to the Cinderlands and then Korvosa my pet…..you need know nothing more.”

 

Over the course of traveling, Mell learned that Poshmora could only gain control if summoned or if Mell’s mind was distracted from constant concentration. Even though Mell was mostly in control after a month of traveling, Mell still reluctantly did as told. Once Poshmora obtained something and awakened the runelord Krune, she would leave Mell alone in peace Poshmora promised.