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