Game-Summaries:4/13/2019 Recollections

Recollections by Rezik

Jeroy had told us about something named the Vault of Night. Apparently the Vault houses an Ancient Red Dragon named Velah, and more importantly, her hoard of magic, gems, and gold. I was obviously interested in this and decided to join the party - Jeroy, Pearl, Zanna, and Dereth.

We knew the Vault was somewhere near Ten Towns (Jeroy and Pearl had been there previously, but only seen the entrance to the Vault). Since we knew the Conventicle was in the Winterlands too, we began by using the teleportation circle to go there.

Once we arrived, we decided we should go visit Steel. The goal was to ask him for some advice, for either fighting or use surviving Velah (since we know he’s already encountered her). We also wanted to give Jeroy and Pearl the chance to enter the Chamber of Legacy.

When we reached the Chamber of Legacy, Pearl & Jeroy entered the room. It seems like there is nothing destined for them in the room. Jeroy felt nothing, but Pearl realized the staff she carried already called to her.

While Jeroy & Pearl explored the Chamber of Legacy, the rest of us asked around for Steel. We found out that he was on a “mission” (I didn’t realize the Conventicle sends people out on missions, I’ll definitely need to learn more about this and what kind of mission it was).

With nothing left to do and no time to spare, the group headed towards the fortress around the Vault of Night. Jeroy showed us the vent that Velah had breathe into to power the forge. The vent was cold and the forge was not lit. It seems like there was nothing below us and that we could potentially sneak in through this vent.

In effort to be thorough, I sent my familiar down the vent to see if anything was down there. It was definitely empty.

While I scouted, Zanna started “dressing” Jeroy - making him look like a steampunk dwarf. It turns out, the entrance to the Vault of Night will only open with the blessing from House of Kundarak. Jeroy’s goal was to look as closely to a dwarf from House Kundarak.

Once Jeroy was dressed, we dropped a rope down the shaft and made our way into the forge. The rooms were entirely emptied. It was as if everything was taken carefully and that the stronghold was purposefully abandoned.

Jeroy quickly explained the layout of the fortress (being able to draw the entire layout from memory) and pointed out the entrance to the Vault of Night. We all decided to move quickly and move to the Vault of Night entrance.

The door was closed and we weren’t entirely sure how to get it opened. We inspected the door and recognized that it was very magical and very trapped. When looking at it with detect magic, it was interesting to see that there was a school of magic on the door we didn’t recognize.

Jeroy attempted to open the door. We had trouble getting the door to open at first but we then realized we had to speak to the door, letting it know we were supposed to be here. The hard part was that Jeroy couldn’t remove his ring and was forced to only tell the truth. It wasn’t until he said “as a Kundarak I am here to enter the vault”, that the door swung open.

When we finally entered the Vault, we found ourselves in a room with three doors and two spirals pillars. There was a north door which was entirely locked with two conduits going east and west. Along with the conduits, there was a door on the east and west side.

We decided to continue to move and began by entering the door to the East. We entered into two parallel corridors with doors at the end of each. Along the wall we found small copper spikes with small copper balls on the end. At the end of the corridors there’s a huge stone button, lever, and a trigger 20 feet in the air.

We realized that we needed to trigger all 6 things at the same time to continue forward. Thanks to a twist of fate, we were able to sync up and open the doors. We quickly entered the room as the doors closed behind us.

In this room, we found a large dais in the center with a copper grid block - with 25 insets (5x5 grid). We also noticed that there were four doors against the far side of the room with buckets of stone in front of them - red, yellow, blue, and green. There was a fifth bucket against a wall, filled with purple stones.

We attempted to solve the puzzle but decided that we didn’t have enough information for this puzzle and decide to try the other side first in the hopes of finding a clue.

We went back to the central room and then opened the door to the West. We made the mistake of quickly jumping into the room and we didn’t realize that the entire floor was made of pressure plates. We triggered a trap and suddenly a giant blade swept across the floor devastating Dereth, Pearl, and I. In the process, we realized that as long as we kept the trap triggered, we could freely cross the room.

The next room we entered was massive and entirely filled with lava. The heat was oppressive and the only person who didn’t seem to be bothered by it was Pearl. When looking across the room, we saw a bridge that spanned the room and two pedestals with buttons above the lava. There seemed to be a forcefield halfway across the bridge and at the end.

We realized we would need to press the buttons to stop the force field. Thankfully, Zanna and I were able to use misty step to reach the pedestals and disable the force fields. Allowing everyone to shuffle across the bridge quickly.

When we entered the next room, we saw a room with huge metal plates across the ground and four iron golems (green, yellow, blue, and red). We realized there was a symbol on each of the four door which we believe are the symbols we needed for the previous room.

Zanna and Dereth ran back to the room with the grid box and created the green symbol in the grid. This triggered a door to open. They opened the door and found a giant lever in this small room. The lever looked like a circuit breaker. (Also, we noticed a shelf that seemed to hold a huge maul - that was empty now - turns out we find the maul - spoiler alert - it’s pretty metal).

Dereth pulled the breaker and suddenly the golem in our room came to life. Rezik, Pearl, and Jeroy had to fight the golem. After a hearty battle, Jeroy cleaved the golem in half. We looked in the room behind the golem and found something similar to what Zanna and Dereth found, a shelf that seems to be missing a giant maul.

We continued to unlock each room, dispatching golems as we continue through each puzzle. Behind the red room, we found two dwarven made bracers. In the blue room, we found a shield made of blue glass. In the yellow room, we found an empty shelf but had no idea why could be missing.

As we left the room with the golems and were working back over the bridge, we found something glittering in the lava. Thanks to Zanna’s tinkering tools and Dereth’s wings, we were able to create a pulley system to be able to pull whatever was in the lava out of it. After heaving, we were able to pull out a chest piece, boots, and goggles.

Dereth, Pearl, and I stayed in the central room, the one with the two pillars. Zanna and Jeroy decided to go back to the grid room and begin resetting the “circuit breakers”. Once they did, the corridor became electrified. Getting back wasn’t easy. Zanna fabricated a stone box that could reflect the electricy. Jeroy then used the stone almost like a shelf, the stone box, with Jeroy & Zanna, through the corridor without getting hurt.

Once the switches were turned on, the conduits hummed to life and the main door opened. We suddenly heard voices on the other side; a man and a woman speaking in draconian.

Zanna snuck into the room and saw a red headed woman walking into a portal that seems to go into the void. As the portal closed, the dwarven male looked directly at Zanna and said, “I am Arach head of House Kundarak and now it is I who stand in your way”.

We quickly entered the room to support Zanna. In the room was a small dwarf and a huge golem. This seemed to be the dwarf’s workshop almost.

We began attacking the dwarf and the golem. Suddenly, the dwarf began casting a spell which I counter spelled (thankfully). I looked at the party and saw Dereth banish the golem. We could now focus on the dwarf.

Dereth decided now was the best time to try to talk to Arach. He tried to convinced Arach to stand down, but it didn’t work. Arach did say something about how his duty to the world was more important than his duty as House Kundarak, and that it was imperative that he work with Velah to uncover the secret of the dragon shards.

That was when Zanna snuck behind Arach and eviscerated him. As the dwarf died, he exclaimed, “so you’re here to execute me for treason”.

We quickly scoured the room in an attempt to find a weakness for the golem before it reappeared from Dereth’s banishment. Pearl decided to prepare the area that the golem would reappear it. She created a wall of thorns in an effort to trap the golem.

After about a minute, the golem appeared. That’s when it began attacking us with its giant maul. After a long and painful fight, we were able to finally dispatch him.

Once the golem had fully powered down, we began searching it and Arak. When Jeroy tried to pick up the maul, he recognized it to be the Maul of House Kundarak.

We decided we needed to take a rest to recover and recharge; it seemed like the area was safe now (regardless we had to risk it). We also used this respite as an opportunity to identify all the items we recovered.

Zanna decided to take the Google of Trueseeing we recovered (she was pretty adamant about it). Jeroy felt like the golem’s maul could be interesting. Apparently, after attuning with it, he learned that the maul is actually a warhammer named Bloodcryer with a legendary history. I’ll let him tell its story.

We also had found a Kundarak Warding Shield, Kundarak Warding Bracers, and Kundarak Delving Suit, Boots, & Goggles.

At this point we decided we should re-open the portal. Zanna went back to the room with the giant circuit breakers and reset them all. This restarted the power passing through the conduits and opened a portal that seemed to lead to the void.

We weren’t sure if we should trust just jumping into the portal, so we decided to test it. We through the body of Arak through the portal to see what would happen. It turns out nothing happened, or at least nothing we could see. Dereth, consulting with the gods and received a strong sense of danger. We decided that we should let the portal be for now and report back more prepared for a potential fight with Velah.

It was at this point that we realized that we had used four colors in the grid room, but had never used the purple stones. Thinking that maybe it would open another room or potentially a safer portal, we all rushed back to the grid room to solve the puzzle. We were able to crack the code on the first try and we saw a secret door open. Inside the door there was a giant sword oozing shadows. We watched as it seemed to melt away.

It seems like the door was a ward protecting the sword. Once we opened the door, the ward dropped and Velah claimed the sword. It must be a truly powerful weapon of magic for Velah to take an interest.

At this point we decided to shut off the breakers, assuming that it probably wasn’t a good idea to leave a portal to the void open. We turned off the breakers and Dereth teleported us back to his sanctuary.

We have a lot to think about and much to research; but I think ultimately we’ll have to go back to the Vault of Night and figure out how to enter that portal and find out what Velah is doing with the dragon shards.

Recollections by Jeroy

As Rezik alluded to above, I have found a special weapon in the Vault. Bloodcrier the legendary warhammer of Bhazad Khrar. His heroism is well documented and I am not here to sing his songs - I leave that to Iago. However in attuning the hammer I learned that there is not one legendary weapon of Bhazad Khrar, but two - a bow, known as Bloodscreamer or Blackbow. Bloodcrier requires me to complete various quests so that it may grant additional abilities as it and I grow stronger together, the next quest required me to go through the Great Waste to seek the Tomb of Bhazad Khrar and pay my respects. I thought of no one that could be more helpful in a quest such as this, and one that could benefit from more information about a legendary bow, as Tallulah.

Mourning Service

Jeroy approaches Tallulah as she is working with Wethril. He places a large maul in front of him, crosses his arms and leans on it. Before he speaks Tallulah sees a dark black maul with a white skull that is bleeding from it's eyes and says "that thing is metal as fuck." Jeroy blushes and says "thank you. It's name is Bloodcrier and is a legendary weapon from the Dwarven warrior Bhazad Khrar. He had two legendary weapons, the other was a bow. Bloodcrier requires me to complete three tasks to unlock many of its features and the next is to go to the Great Waste and mourn at his grave. I don't know if his bow would be there but I thought you might be interested. Not to mention I could use a good tracker to help guide my way. Up for an adventure?"
"Absolutely I will help you, Jeroy, sounds like a fun adventure to me!" Tallulah happily responds. Our adventure begins with us making our way to the Great Waste.

Tallulah is easily able to get us to the Great Waste, as the green grasslands of the Plains of Ground and the forest of the Heartwood are her areas of expertise. The Great Waste itself however proves to be somewhat of a challenge even for her great skill. Sand does not track like dirt and there is little to no foliage to provide scenic clues for way finding. The desert is unforgiving, hot, and barren. Trying to follow directions and not get lost proves extremely difficult (6 Survival checks: 28, 26, 23, 28, 17, 30, 20).

After 3 days of baking in the unmasked sun, our boots are worn from the grit of the sand and our legs burn with the extra effort the desert slowly drains from us as each step is like wading through a dry swamp, we finally come upon the Earthcyst. A point of stone sticks out from the sand and after some short excavation we see that this stone spire extends into the ground quite deeply. How deeply is impossible to tell, but after digging for a full night we open a cavity in the rock, a doorway... But somehow it looks to me like it is upside down. Entering into the passageway we discover an ancient mausoleum, completely emptied of organic matter by the heat of the sun in this vast desert.

Jeroy finds Bhazad Khrar's tomb and meditates to it, praying reveals to him strengths he didn't know he had. His ancestors smile down upon him, being respectful of the past yet knowledgeable enough not to fall into the same trap as Bloodcrier. Bhazad Khrar's spirit also indicated through some manner of empathic link that there lies the companion to his hammer deeper within the tomb somewhere. Jeroy rises from his meditation turns to Tallulah and says "Wanna go get a new bow?" Jeroy says to Tallulah.

"Fuck yeah!" She responds with exuberance.

"It's down here somewhere. We just need to find it. Perhaps Bloodcrier will lead me." Jeroy hold out Bloodcrier and walks around the tomb as if guided by a mystical force (Investigation checks: 15, 20, 12)

This mausoleum turned out to be truly massive. In Jeroy's investigation he discovers that this place is definitely somehow upside down. The first floor appears to be massive, a labyrinthine network of passages with upturned sarcophagi. Someone has desecrated a great many resting place here, though none recently. It would appear this place is ransacked, but I felt a calling still coming from within, I was not able to find it after days of hunting for it. We decided to stay in the tomb for another week to continue our search.

After a week Jeroy continues to search the tomb feeling he is always about to find the bow (investigation: 15, 6, 7) but with little success. Frustrated and convinced he had searched every inch of the tomb with no luck he settled down to wait out another week in the tomb. Jeroy continues to look left and right. Scratches his head and says "I've been through this place 5 times. There is nothing here." Tallulah looks up (Perception: 18) from a book she's reading and says "You're standing on the tomb." Tallulah notices Jeroy is actually standing on top of Bhazad Khrar's actual final resting place while scratching his head looking around for where to go.

As Tallulah points out the tomb with a casual glance and offhand gesture, Jeroy snaps to attention as if he knew it all along and says "Yes of course that's what I was here for" and begins pulling the stone tile up, and loses his grip and falls over. Sighing, Tallulah puts her book away and with one hand she pulls up the tile and gestures to Jeroy to help, simultaneously eviscerating and salvaging his barbarian pride. Tallulah gives Jeroy a half smile and Jeroy knows she will keep this moment secret...but she will never forget it either.

Uncovering the in-ground resting place of Bhazad Khrar's remains, we discover the ancient bones of the legendary dwarf. He's tall, for a dwarf, and his entombed body shows evidence of his once stocky build. We see resting under his skeletal remains a long, sleek black shaft of wood covered in some kind of animal hide. Somehow it has resisted rot and decay through these centuries.
"Well, Jeroy, would you like to do the honors?" Tallulah offers.
"I'll try" He responds (Slight of hand check: 22) Jeroy gingerly reaches in and manages to extract the black yew staff without disturbing the bones too much. It seems clear that the item was meant to be hidden here using the body as a guise, but it has been rediscovered now. Jeroy upon gripping the shaft you realized immediately that it is an unstrung bow, and you have no doubt in your mind that it's not just any unstrung bow. You know it as the famous bow Bhazad Khrar called Bloodscreamer.
Bloodscreamer the Blackbow is a plain, unadorned longbow made of solid black wood. Black leather wrapped around the staff provides a firm grip, and even the bowstring has been dyed black. It is far larger than even a longbow, requiring great strength to use effectively.
Jeroy turns to Tallulah - "you've earned this" and hands her the bow. Jeroy turns back and recovers the tomb. "Whoa, it's a lot...bigger than I was expecting. Thank you, Jeroy, I am honored, I will use it well."
Upon grabbing the shaft (teehee) I immediately felt a connection to the bow. It called to me in a way you can't quite explain, and it communicated to me via some kind of empathic link. Inexplicably, Tallulah and I both become fully aware through our connection to our weapons their related history.
Bloodscreamer is one of two great weapons wielded by the ancient dwarven folk hero Bhazad Khrar. (Khrar's other legendary weapon was the warhammer Bloodcrier.) Although wielded by Bhazad Khrar for a time, the bow was not actually his making.

Shevarash is the elven deity of revenge and hatred of the drow. Once, he was a mortal elf, famous as one of the finest archers in the world. When drow raiders attacked his village and slaughtered his family, Shevarash foreswore his former life, vowing to never rest until the drow were purged from the world. Shevarash slew many dark elves, gaining infamy as the "Black Archer" in drow folklore, before he was finally captured and slain. Upon Shevarash's death, Corellon Larethian granted him the spark of the divine, transforming him into a minor deity.

After Shevarash's passing and apotheosis, the bow he carried as a mortal was lost for centuries, probably locked away in the treasure vaults of the drow priestess who had killed the Black Archer. Three hundred years after Shevarash was made into a deity, one of his devoted followers, a ranger called Valaderion, began a crusade to recover the holy bow. He followed in the footsteps of his god, venturing into the underground lairs of the drow. Striking from the shadows and never allowing himself to be detected, Valaderion slew every dark elf he came across.

Valaderion succeeded in recovering the Bow of the Black Archer, and he journeyed toward the surface with it. As he traveled upward, he met a drow woman—an exile named Kiralasha—and was forced to cooperate with her to destroy a nest of beholders occupying tunnels they both had to cross. As the pair worked together, hatred gave way to grudging respect, then to admiration, and finally to love. Torn between the dictates of his god and his feelings for Kiralasha, Valaderion decided to return the bow to Shevarash's clerics and retire for a time to consider his path. Sadly, he never got the chance. As soon as he set foot inside one of Shevarash's temples, he was struck down by the deity's wrath, slain for daring to consort with one of the hated drow.

After Valaderion's death, the Blackbow was presumed to be safe in the most prominent of all Shevarash's temples, and many clerics and rangers made pilgrimages to see the weapon. Seven centuries later, when drow once again menaced elven lands, Salariel, the high priestess of Shevarash's clergy, carried the bow into battle. With the weapon's help, she led the mustered elven forces to victory but was slain in a battle against a hideous spider demon conjured by drow priestesses. The Blackbow was lost once again, presumably carried back into the dark places of the earth by the retreating dark elves.

It was not until many years later that Bhazad Khrar would rediscover the bow in the deep mines that pierced to the center of the earth, little to his knowledge very near to the Conclave at the Heart. When he took the bow and slew an Earthmagus, he raised the ire of the conclave who eventually sought him out and returned the favor. While Bloodcrier was later rediscovered, the Blackbow remained lost in the annals of history...until now

Recollections by Dereth

I'm finding it difficult to contribute more information, but I would like to emphasize this new thread in the tapestry of troubles being revealed to us...

A few dragonshards powered the Archano-Mechanical suit Loco uses, and Dragonshards are only now being experimented with at the Conventicle. Velah seems to know what the potential of this new power source could me.

The fall of Solace and the near failure of the Magistery has created many lose threads we are all following. Perhaps we need to define a goal? Perhaps we need to perserve and protect?

Find me outside of Shanjiu Castle's walls in Sanitatem Auallonia. I'll be healing, helping, and performing ceremonies in the glory of our nature.

So long as the rivers flow, the future will rush toward us. And we will be there for each other.