4/23/1150 – Wodemar Blum and his wife Marta met at noon with a new band of adventurers. Marta had convinced Wodemar that he has wallowed enough since his maiming. Wodemar is missing most of his right leg and his right hand and part of his forearm in a tragedy that he is as yet unwilling to talk about. It was while they were out adventuring. Marta is a very built and burly fighter, and she carefully guarded Wodemar during the meeting. She wields two battleaxes in battle, wearing a suit of half-plate. She was once a gladiator and knows how to fight and perform.
Marta has berated him for doing nothing for the past two years, and now he has decided to hire the party to continue his work in finding out the mysteries of the Great Cataclysm and what is behind it. Coming to the meeting is Lughausen, a priest of Epolde who holds a dark secret heritage masked with clothing and make-up. Torchon, an elven ranger outcast from his village of Lynsalenor in the Drakewind Forest outside of Wohlen. Baptiste, a human fighter who became a hero to the common people in his village outside of Venlo two years ago. Sven, a human barbarian from his tribe’s village to the south of Dyson. Gaspar, a human bard who has performed in the Confederation but now seeks to learn stories firsthand.
They meet at noon as the notes directed, sizing each other up. Wodemar gives a brief introduction, but goes into no details about how he lost his hand and leg. Marta stands behind her husband in half-plate armor with the two battleaxes strapped to her back. Wodemar asks the party to go around the room and a brief introduction is made. Wodemar also briefly explains why he chose each particular person for the team. Then he tells them that he has places for them to explore. The first such place is an old cultist temple in Venlo. The document he found mentions where it is located and he believes that is in a ruined area of the city that has never been rebuilt. Such secret cults typically had underground chambers so he thinks there is something there. They agree to his offer of 250 gp (50gp each) for bringing back any information they find.
The directions are simple. In Venlo, go the Temple of Baldrin, then ten blocks east look for a stable. The temple is next to it. They go straight there from Wodemar’s place, crossing the river on a ferry. Torchon’s skill at tracking allows them to find the ten block range when after six blocks they entered the ruin areas. Some searching turns up the remains of what should be a stable and further searching turns up a ruined fireplace in the remains of a house next door to it. Something just catches their eye. After digging out the rubble, they find that there is a trap door in the fireplace, which they open. They surmise that it hasn’t been opened since the Great Cataclysm. A ladder leads down.
Baptiste goes first, finding himself in a small room with a door and an old rusted suit of armor standing there. The rest come down, and they find nothing of interest, so Baptiste opens the door. Immediately, the armor animates and attacks. After a few strikes, it is crumpled to rusting parts. A hallway is beyond the door and then they find some cells with rotting beds. They also find a meeting room, ruined but on the back wall is a painting that is in decent condition. It shows a man depicted as a duke (wearing a ducal crown) commanding birds to attack a crowd of men in chains. Behind him are four kings (identified by their more regal crowns), naked in chains groveling. They take the painting after Lughausen detects no magic upon it.
At a turn in the corridor, Torchon notices that there is a secret door in the corner, which they open to reveal another corridor. Here they find a ruined kitchen with stuff all thrown about, and a metal door that has an intact lock. Strength is able to force the door open and again the next door down a short corridor. They enter a room with broken cages and there are living creatures here! They are identified as demons, dretches, and they attack. Baptiste is surrounded, but his armor protects him. Sven is wounded but Lughausen’s magic saves him. They manage to kill the 5 demons and decide that they must rest for an hour. They barricade the door with pitons and stay in the prison.
When they emerge, undisturbed, they continue down the corridor and find another metal door. Behind that is an old workshop, but oddly the steaming quenching pool and forge fire is burning still. The room is filled with mist and smoke. When they enter, creatures made of steam, smoke, and ash are found to be hiding in the obscured room and another fight commences. Sven is briefly blinded, but wounds are minor and when they are dealt with the party is ready to search the room. They find nothing of value, but there is a painting in this room too. It shows the duke again, in his throne with his chained kings at his feet overseeing chained naked dwarves forging nasty looking weapons while birds peck at their necks and feed from their beards. They take this painting too and decide it is time to call it for a day. They go back up and put the rubble back on the closed trap door. Torchon also removes any tracks and trace that they were here.
They go straight to Wodemar’s house and he meets them in the study after a short wait. While there they notice that a number of items in display cases, and some entire display cases entirely, are covered in sheets. They give him the two paintings and report their progress. They tell him there is more to explore. He is able to identify the man as Barbatos, an evil spirit that was released before the Cataclysm. He must do more research to learn more.
They go to The Lonely Pillow Tavern where Gaspar had been playing the past few nights. They rent rooms, drink and relax before going to bed.
4/24/1150 – They return to the old temple first thing and find that things look as they left them. They move the rubble again and re-enter. On the next corridor are two doors opposite each other but one is waterlogged and jammed. They get it open revealing a storeroom with casks, barrels, and the rotted remains of sacks of food. Gaspar goes in to search and is immediately surrounded by a swarm of roaches. The rest jump in to battle. During the fight, Gaspar casts his thunderwave spell to crush the roaches and it lets out a reverberating sound to a range of 300 feet. It seems even louder in the confines of the narrow tunnels.
The room opposite holds a mess hall with tables thrown about and chairs destroyed. At the end of the corridor is a metal door, which Baptiste opens. It reveals a very large room with pews in it. Baptiste goes right and Sven goes right while the rest wait at the door. Just as Torchon steps in, creepy globby creatures reveal themselves by crawling out from underneath the pews where they were hiding poorly. There are ten of the strange melted creatures and they rush to attack. Sven is heavily wounded during this fight but is healed by Lughausen, and Baptiste is able to use his second wind to fight on. The ten fiendish creatures are dispatched.
They take a short rest, taking cursory glances at the far end of the cult temple. There is an altar there with a pentagram and old bloodstains upon it. Against the far wall are old rotting tapestries and another statue of this mysterious Lord Barbatos. This statue depicts him seated upon a throne covered in birds while the four kings in chains cower at his feet. Baptiste goes to the statue and tries to move it, succeeding in shifting it an inch, but revealing nothing. However, he notices a door concealed by the tapestries. When they are all ready, he opens it. Unfortunately, no one thought to search the door and a wire attached rings a bell when it is opened. A passage is revealed and they go cautiously, worried that whatever is down here has been alerted. At the end of the passage is another door that Baptiste kicks open. It reveals the high priest’s quarters, and he is reanimated as undead. He wears robes with a hood, and he clutches an old book to his chest. A floating spiritual weapon is by his side and a shield shimmers over his body. Two skeletal guards are ready to protect him.
Combat is joined. Gaspar unleashes a thunderwave that damages the two skeletons and pushes the furniture away. Torchon’s arrows are devastating and Baptiste is able to get up to fight the priest after the first skeleton is dispatched. The priest’s spells repeatedly miss as does his spiritual weapon and he goes down with a final gasp pleading to Barbatos for revenge. They gingerly remove the book and see that it is nearly destroyed by rot and age. They carefully put it on the desk and consider. Torchon searches the desk and finds a strongbox hidden within. They carefully open it to reveal lots of coins and some other items to sell including two potions of healing. They decide to try opening the book after judging that trying to carry it out will be too damaging to it. They open the book and find only one page is salvageable. They copy it while resting to take back to Wodemar. They also find one more painting, this one showing Barbatos passing out books to kow-towing tieflings. They search carefully for anything else then return to Wodemar’s to report.
On the way Lughausen thinks about where they might learn more about Barbatos and thinks that the High Temple of Epolde in old Croy might be a good possibility, if it still exists. The other would be the Wizard School of Divination that used to exist in the evil kingdom of Yrvil. They don’t think that will be a destination for them anytime soon.
At Wodemar’s the pass on the painting and the page. He identifies it as another page from the Bible of the Blessed Ones, a cultist scripture that existed around the time of the Great Cataclysm. He congratulates them for finishing the task and passes out the coins. He tells them to enjoy their evening and come back tomorrow for he has a new job for them. They return to the inn and relax with drinks. They all make level 2 and acquire new abilities.
4/25/1150 – They wake up the next morning and Lughausen casts detect magic on the items they found in the strongbox and learns that nothing is magical besides the potions. They return to Wodemar’s and he tells them about his next task.
Almont Montchartan is a silversmith who comes from a prestigious family that has fallen on hard times in recent generations. The party learns through their own historical knowledge that this family once owned multiple businesses and was a prominent member of the Order of Coins. The leaders of the family included sages, wizards, and the like. Therefore, there is likely a private library that might be of some use to Wodemar. He has exhausted all the public libraries and must look to the private ones now. He has approached Almont before to gain access to the library, which resides in the family mansion, but has been rebuffed.
The family has lost all of its holdings except the silversmith shop that Almont runs himself. Further, the lands around the mansion have been parceled out and the mansion itself appears to be abandoned. Wodemar asks them to try and gain access to the library by trying to talk to Almont. They talk it over and decide on this plan: Gaspar will approach him and flatter him about his family saying he is seeking to write a ballad about it. This isn’t a lie. He really will do that. He will work the flattery and so forth to get on his good graces. Meanwhile, Baptiste will ask to get the hilt of his family sword gilded and decorated in silver. Lughausen suggests scouting the mansion first before going to the shop and even goes so far as suggesting planting some incriminating evidence or even sabotage the mansion and offer their services to “take care of the problem they noticed.” Unfortunately, he says this in the presence of Wodemar who clearly doesn’t approve of such an approach. Though he says things that are a bit along the lines of “he doesn’t want to know their methods if they resort to this.”
They walk by the mansion and see that it is indeed abandoned, with a wall and grounds that are far smaller than the opulence of the mansion suggests it should be. Clear signs that land has been parceled out to pay debts in the past. The grounds are very overgrown. When they walk around they notice the tower in the back and feel uneasy and queasiness when they look at it out of the corner of their eyes. Lughausen thinks that something planar might be happening in it. They reason that a mansion with a tower is uncommon, but not unheard of. Gaspar remembers that Montchartan ancestor was once an astronomer so that might explain the tower.
They go to the shop and Baptiste talks to Almont about the job for his sword. Almont charges 30 gp, 15 up front, and says it will take a week. Baptiste decides to go for it and go out and buy a backup longsword. Then Gaspar puts up a great performance of flattery talking about the Montchartan family. Almont is convinced to meet with them for dinner to talk more about the ballad and his family with Gaspar and Lughausen. Almont picks the richest and most prestigious inn in the city, the Silver Violin and will bring his wife Sylvia.
When Gaspar and Lughausen get there they find that they have no reservation and have to grease the palm of the maitre’d with 20gp to get a table and the extra service. The Montchartans show up shortly thereafter. Again during the meal, Gaspar is very convincing and finally broaches the subject of gaining access to the library and at first Almont agrees. Then Sylvia nudges him and makes him go aside with her to the “restroom”. Gaspar wants to read lips but fails. However, Lughausen is able to. They pick up a few words that indicate that she is concerned about her family, and it is only fair and that maybe they can help. They also catch Baptiste’s name. They quickly rack their brains about Sylvia’s family and remember that when they got married 17 years ago it was a bit of a scandal since he had married a farmer’s daughter, a commoner.
When they return Almont asks them to help him before he can give them the key. Sylvia’s family, the Divants are farmers in Iverstead, a small village outside of Dyson. They haven’t heard from them in over 6 months and are quite worried. If they would go down and find out if they are okay, they will give them the key when they return. The party agrees easily. Especially after Sylvia obviously recognizes Baptiste’s name as the hero he is.
When they leave the restaurant Lughausen makes a reservation for 5 for 3 weeks from now.
4/26/1150 – The next morning they set out for Dyson. It takes them most of the day to get there. They pass merchants and other travelers, including patrols of the Army of the Confederation. When they arrive they find the Red Horse Inn to stay for a meal and a room.
4/27/1150 – They leave this morning along a small track that they had learned should take them to Iverstead to the northwest. Nearly there, they estimate, they come across an ambush of gnolls. Gnolls are Torchon’s favored enemy, and he is able to see them so no one is surprised. The gnolls hid amongst trees and boulders along the road and shoot at the party with bows. The party returns fire. They take some wounds, but are able to deal with the four gnolls rather handily. They notice that one of the gnolls is wearing a bloody and tattered tabard of the Army of the Confederation. They recover some coins, and follow the tracks along the road for another hour before they branch off to the north. Torchon marks the spot and they continue to Iverstead worried that gnolls are the reason no one has heard from the village.
When they reach the village they find that it is small with a dozen or so buildings and no wall. There is a garrison building flying the Confederation flag but the door is ajar. When they go inside they see that it is abandoned with papers scattered on the desk they learn that the last report was 3 months ago (instead of the normal weekly report) and that two and a half months ago something happened to have them send out a hasty patrol. They find personal belongings to six or so guards, but all of their kits are gone.
They go into the village and see no one until a boy runs out of an alley, sees them and runs to another building in the market square. As they follow, they see that most of the buildings are boarded up. However, when they reach the building the boy ran into, the tavern, people come out looking astonished at the party. They are welcomed warmly and the spokesperson, Farson, greets them. They exchange information and the party guesses correctly that gnolls are the problem the village is facing. They learn that the guards have all been eliminated when they went out to deal with the gnolls and never returned. No runners to Dyson have returned, and it is expected that the gnolls have intercepted them as well. Probably the patrol that the party dealt with. When they ask about the Divant family farm they learn that it is the furthest north out of the village and they were in fact the ones that had reports of gnoll activity first. Also, all the patrols that were sent went north as well. The gnolls have mostly been vandalizing and harassing the village rather than attacking, though they expect it to get worse any time.
The party decides to go north immediately since the day is not yet over. They manage to make it to the Divant farm without difficulty and find that it still stands. There are scorchmarks on the house and the barn is mostly destroyed. The windows are boarded up, but a voice inside greets them. The sounds of furniture moving and boards being removed precede the door opening and the old farmer Richard beckons them in, looking relieved at their presence. Inside the farmhouse are his wife and daughter as well as many small animals. The party also notices that the water pump is inside the house, a lucky happenstance that allowed them to fight the fires the gnolls would set. The family is grateful that they are there and they also recognize the name Baptiste, the folk hero.
The party asks to stay the night and it is agreed. Gaspar performs and soon everyone is singing and playing music and the despair is lifted from the family. They will write a letter that night that the party can take to Sylvia should they be successful. They toy with the idea of laying in ambush at the farm for the gnolls return, but Richard asks them not to in case the worst happens. They don’t want retaliation. The party camps outside and keeps watch.
4/28/1150 – They set out this morning heading north. They find tracks and follow them. A few hours out they encounter another ambush of gnolls, but again the sharp eyes of Torchon prevent surprise. They deal with them as well, however some healing spells are needed this time as Gaspar is knocked unconscious. After the battle, they take another short rest and press on despite being short on spells. They soon find an abandoned farmhouse, that Richard talked about being a possible gnoll campsite, and sure enough see gnoll tents, a fire and gnolls themselves. Torchon had scouted it stealthily first, and they were deciding on whether to try and rest or attack now. They reasoned that the missing patrols would put the camp on high alert so decide to attack now.
Torchon tries to circle around but unfortunately, Baptiste and Lughausen make noise with their armor and the gnolls call out the warning. A gnoll pack lord emerges from the large tent in the camp and barks orders. Torchon is able to be devastating with his bow from a distance. Lughausen blesses the party but then runs up prematurely and becomes a target for the gnolls. He is knocked unconscious quickly and the party loses the blessings of Epolde. Gaspar is able to heal him with his last spell so he can rejoin the battle. Baptiste engages the gnolls. Over the course of the fight, the pack lord uses his bow and together with the gnolls is able to knock Lughausen unconscious a second time, then Gaspar afterwards. Potions of healing are both used, but in the end Torchon’s arrows are too deadly and the last gnoll, the pack lord, is slain.
They enter the main tent and find the chest, which they open to recover the loot. They also drag in the pack lord, and then take the rest of the gnoll bodies and set them up to make it look like the camp is normal. They are afraid there might be more gnolls. They then camp the night, with watches.
4/29/1150 – The next morning they look around the camp some more and then deduce that the number of tents and gnoll bedrolls matches the number of gnolls they had already encountered. A total of 12 makes for a decent gnoll warband. They also search for tracks and see that most of the tracks originate from this camp and head towards Iverstead. They figure that they have eliminated the gnoll threat and return to Iverstead. They stop at the Divant family farm and let them know that things are safe. They are grateful and agree that word should be carried to Dyson. Likewise, after they reach Iverstead and speak with Farson, they too agree that word needs to be passed on. They stay the night at Iverstead, celebrating with the townspeople. Drinks are paid for that night and Gaspar gives an inspired performance.
4/30/1150 – This morning they reach Dyson and find the Confederation barracks. They are escorted to Captain Lichthausen by Sergeant Newell after they begin telling him about the gnolls. The captains desk is in disarray and covered in papers. He acts like the missing patrols is news to him but the sergeant reminds him that there are three reports on his desk including his recommendation that they send a larger expeditionary force. The captain blusters a bit and promises to send more men to Iverstead. The sergeant escorts them out to the front, takes the bloody tabards that Sven recovered from the gnolls, and gets the whole story from the party. They then travel back to Wohlen, arriving after dusk. They return to the Lonely Pillow Inn, where Gaspar performs again and they rest up.
5/1/1150 – In the morning they go straight to the Montchartan Silversmith shop and give the letter to Sylvia and tell the story again to the pair. After she reads the letter, she nudges Almont and he gives them the key to the manor. From there, they go to Wodemar’s house and again tell the story of the gnoll warband. They show him the key and he asks if they have explored the manor and assessed the library yet. They say that they are going there now. They just wanted to check in first. So they go there next. Again, they get that strange feeling when they stand outside and look at the tower, when they are outside the gate to the grounds. The grounds are still overgrown, but the path to the front door is mostly accessible. The key opens the gate with a loud squeal and they approach the front door. Their sharp eyes, however, reveal that there is a body in the tall grass to the left of the path. Torchon goes to investigate and sees that it is the body of a human in nondescript clothes. His expression is one of terror and the cause of death appears to be blunt force trauma to the back of the head. He figures he is probably dead for a month. His sharp eyes spot tracks leading to this point from the left side of the building. He follows them around the corner and sees an overgrown patio with a side door and the tracks head in that direction. Examining the patio, he isn’t sure if the doors were opened, but he does see evidence that people were there. Meanwhile, Gaspar examines the body and finds nothing, but Lughausen does a more thorough search and finds tattoos on the man’s arms: the same on each of a flaming skull being smashed by a hammer. They both remember that these are gang signs of the Skullsmashers: a small time gang operating out of Venlo. Lughausen is particular sure that it is very unusual for them to be here in this place doing anything. They decide to try the same side door that this gang member used. They try to open the doors and find that the lock is undone, but there are objects on the other side. Sven uses his strength to push the doors open and they enter.
Right away they spot a second body, but this one smashed to a pulp. The room is also a wreck. Torchon feels something push on him and fail to move him. He does nothing but mention it. Gaspar and Sven enter the room and Gaspar goes to the body and finds the same gang tattoos on this one as well. He too feels something push on him but fail to move him. Sven however, a moment later, is flung across the room and smashed to unconscious against the wall. At that moment, all the debris in the room starts flying around and an otherworldly moaning begins. The rest try to find the restless spirit that is attacking them. Lughausen is able to revive Sven with the power of Epolde. Torchon is able to sort of see the source, though invisible, of the disturbance and attacks it with his bow. Lughausen also takes some damage from the poltergeist but in the end they are able to dispatch it. Torchon looks for footprints in the dust and succeeds. It appears that a number of people came in this way and went both ways down the hallway that is outside of this room. They find the entrance hall with a grand staircase leading up and across the hall from the wrecked drawing room they entered was a dining room. They find a cloak room at the entry hall. They decide they will use this room to take a short rest until Sven recovers a bit from his wounds.
They then go down the grand hallway to find storage rooms, servants quarters, and then the kitchen where Sven, who opened the door is swarmed by rats. At the same time, shadows emerge through the walls from the unexplored servant’s quarters. The power of Epolde is sufficient to make these shadows flee while the party deals with the rats. After they are dispatched, they wait ready until the shadows return and they are also dealt with. At the end of the hall is a curved wall with double doors. The tower. They decide to wait to go here until they finish the upstairs. The rest of the hall reveals more servant’s quarters, a pantry and servant’s stairs up. They decide that it would be prudent to rest the night and return fresh the next day. They lock up and return to the Lonely Pillow.
5/2/1150 – Returning again to the manor, they go upstairs. They find interesting things: a child’s bedroom, an empty bedroom, and then a master bedroom that has spectral ghosts of an old man and woman. They turn angrily so the party has to defend themselves. Baptiste rushes up and swings twice, hurting the old man, who is then finished off shortly after by the rest of the party. Lughausen heroically jumps on the bed to get around the woman ghost and hits it with his warhammer. She too is dealt with. They find nothing here in the bedroom or closets and finish exploring the second floor. They find another drawing room and music room, but no library. They assume it must be in the tower.
They go there next and open the double doors. Immediately they hear a gibbering start up by the strange amorphous creature here in the room that is the entire base of the tower. It circles around a table gibbering and Sven immediately becomes confused and charges across the tower room away from the creature in confusion. The creature forms eyes, mouths and appendages from its mass and when it attacks it spits a glob that explodes in light that blinds most of the party’s spellcasters and ranged attackers. It repeats this as it attacks with a bite that does serious damage to Sven and Baptiste. Lughausen casts bless and that helps a lot. They finally kill it.
Afterwards, they climb the stairs in the tower to the second level. They spot to strange jellyfish like creatures floating in the next room that also has its walls covered with shelves of books. They have found the library. At first the creatures don’t look hostile, then they get frightened and apparently, according to Gaspar’s insight, maybe coerced into attacking and defending themselves. They shoot a stench spray that covers and poisons most of the party poisoning them. But the two creatures die easily. Then a nothic, who was hidden behind the bookcases, comes out and attacks. It uses its gaze, but has little affect. The party uses ranged attacks while Baptiste rushes up to attack with his sword despite the stench covering and poisoning him. They dispatch it, and decide before moving on that they must deal with this poison on them. They figure that a bath would help, so they lock up again and go to the river. The citizens on the road give them a wide berth and complain about the smell. But they rest and wash at the river before returning.
Up the stairs again, they enter the observatory, spotting a telescope and a chair. However, their attention is taken by two more jellyfish creatures and a nasty tentacle thing floating with many eyes. They decide to take out the smaller creature before they get a chance to spray again. Baptiste rushes and takes a swing at both with his action, but does minimal damage. It takes Torchon and Sven to finish them off. Meanwhile, the spectator, the nasty creature in the back starts unleashing its eye rays. It manages to paralyze Torchon and frighten Baptiste, but the rest of the party damages it too much and it is slain.
They climb to the final level and find themselves in a child’s playroom. However, all the toys and doll furniture and play tables have been hurled against the walls. Gaspar enters the center of the room and feels like he is slipping away. They think about it believe that it is a lingering effect, not a real risk of being sent elsewhere. It is caused by a planar rift having opened here at some point, and the effects still remain. Gaspar’s sharp eyes also notice a number of things that are definitely not child toys. They recover some valuables including a magical pendant and a box full of coins. Gaspar simply opens the box without caution and is hit by a poison needle. Lughausen must rush to his rescue or he might have been killed outright. They spend some time exploring the library while Gaspar sees if he can identify any magic items among the valuables recovered. He discovers that the pendant is a periapt of wound closure that they decide Sven should use.
In the library, Lughausen uses his divine powers of knowledge to understand the filing system of the library. It is a personal one instead of a common index that most libraries use. He learns that the books are mostly about geography and astronomy. He learns the names of the former countries that the Confederation of Cities once were. He also finds a journal by Vache Montchartan and these passages:
"The stars are not right! They do not match the ancient charts of my ancestors. What's more, in the past six months I have twice had to throw out the new charts I have been working on because everything changed overnight! This must be investigated."
Later entry:
"Tonight I observed the stars and they looked familiar. I pulled out the charts of my forbears and they matched! How is it that the stars can revert to what they were before? Are we some vessel sailing through seas of stars on a circular course? Is there a pattern that can be predicted?"
They return to Wodemar’s house and report their findings. He pays them the 250 gp he promised. When they mention that they found someone had broken in a while back, the Skullsmashers, he is insistent that they follow that up and see if they had stolen anything of value. He quickly throws out another 100 gp for them to do this. They return to the inn to rest and make level 3 and gain new abilities. It turns out that Gaspar has decided that the adventuring life is not for him, and he wants to write his opus magnus. They tell Wodemar this, returning that evening and he tells them he might have a replacement in the morning.
5/3/1150 – The shop for some items, including potions of healing then return to Wodemar’s house. There they meet Jakson Locke, another bard who had interviewed with Wodemar but wasn’t hired at first. They talk with each other and it is agreed that he will work with them. Gaspar takes his leave. It turns out that Jak is from Venlo where the Skullsmashers are, and he knows the area well enough to draw out a map for everyone. They decide to try to find an inn on the outskirts of the ruined area where the Skullsmashers have their turf. Jak steers everyone to the Goblin and Horse Inn. There, while it is still early in the day and somewhat empty, they talk with the innkeeper passing him a few silver. He tells them that the Skullsmashers haven’t been around lately. He remembers their leader’s name being Nort. When he hears that Brimstone Jak is here, for that is Jak’s nickname, he begs him to play that evening and Jak agrees. The party pays the boy who works the tables to keep an eye out for any Skullsmashers and to let them know if one comes in. The performance is amazing, blowing away what they experienced with Gaspar. Jak rocks the house, bringing in a packed house and wooing several ladies. No Skullsmashers arrive, however, and they sleep the night at the inn.
5/4/1150 – They go into the ruined area and begin walking along. Jak disguises himself as a rich, older lost gentleman making himself a target far ahead of the rest of the party. Sven pretends to be stalking him, with the rest of the party behind Sven. They don’t see any Skullsmashers, but they spot them and seeing that they are meandering towards their turf, await them there. The party turns a corner and finds themselves near a barricade behind which are several Skullsmashers. There is a platform on one ruined building where three more lounge with bows and crossbows ready. There are two dogs and about eight total. They and Jak have words. Jak keeps his ruse up and shows off his purse of coins. The Skullsmashers are confident and cocky. Sven pretends to be rushing up to get Jak who cries out save me and I will pay you to the Skullsmashers. They, on the other hand, want to just kill everyone and take it all.
Combat begins. Sven rushing forward is too exposed and is peppered by arrows and crossbow bolts. The two dogs attack Jak, who runs up against the ruined building to get out of ranged attack. The rest of the party make their way forward slowly with cover. The fight is tough for a while but in the end the party turns the tide until the last Skullsmasher surrenders. He is nervous, however, looking over his shoulder. Jak, who had snuck around the building and barricade now sees that not too far away is a building with a high tower. Atop the tower are three Skullsmashers, watching the fight. Two have longbows and they start shooting. The party, depleted of resources and wounded runs away. The last Skullsmasher prisoner is torn but he too runs when Jak tells him they will give him gold so he can disappear.
Down the road they stop and interrogate him. He is not too bright but does reveal after much persuasion and intimidation that Nort is dead, killed by the “two weirdos”. He describes them as having gaunt faces, slick black hair and greatswords with which they cut Nort in two, taking off his head. Fendor, Gloon and Bron run the gang except for the edicts of the two weirdos, whose name he doesn’t know. He says they have them doing strange things, like hitting the Wohlen manor looking for odd things. He isn’t able to elaborate much more. He tries to hold back more but Jak senses it and the screws are turned. Sven intimidates him and he reveals that there is a Skullsmasher test in the basement of the tower that only Nort, Fendor, Gloon, and Bron have passed. Also the two weirdos. The party, will surely not return from that door.
They decide not to stay at the Goblin and Horse again, but instead go to a nicer part of town at the Wineskin and Blessing. They spend more money but feel more comfortable.
5/5/1150 – They spend the whole day resting and planning to return in the evening where the cover of darkness will provide better stealth. Torchon is going to circle around and scout out, a plan that is confirmed as beneficial with Lughausen’s augury spell. He manages to sneak up and to the north of the tower away from the barricaded roadway he finds that the Skullsmashers have created a compound of sorts, but he is able to climb over the rubble to get inside. He stays to the north and sees that there are lights at the two barricades and people there, probably less than before. He sees that the tower has no back entrance, and he sees the separate building that the Skullsmasher told them is where the weirdos live. The other intact building is a barracks and he can see the door to that one.
Their plan is to have Torchon return then all sneak back again with his guidance and attempt to storm the tower and get inside as fast as possible. Then deal with whoever is inside quickly and hopefully have a defensible position. Unfortunately, as they approach, they are heard by the sharp scouts on the tower. They shoot at Baptiste, the slowest of the bunch and hit him. The rest get up to the building and the front door. Lughausen is first and kicks the door open (which his unlocked) surprising the group of Skullsmashers inside including the leader Fendor. The party is able to act first with the surprise, but manage to only get Baptiste and Sven inside. The rest stand just outside the door using ranged weapons. Jak casts faerie fire and gets almost all of the nine foes inside.
During the course of the fight, things get tense when Fendor starts barking orders and the Skullsmashers follow them. Brimstone Jak tumbles inside and does damage with a arms of hadar spell. Then promptly gets smashed to near death by Fendor’s maul. He is able to retreat outside, but in his place Baptiste is knocked unconscious. Gloon arrives and shortly after the two scouts with their longbows. Torchon, then Lughausen are knocked unconscious. Brave Lughausen rushed to Torchon’s aid, but was taken down by Fendor quickly with a critical hit. But this allowed Baptiste, who was healed earlier, and Sven who is raging and attacking recklessly to suddenly turn the tide taking down Gloon and then Fendor afterwards. Jak comes inside and closes the door. The last Skullsmasher is killed and a chain heal is done, Jak healing Torchon who heals Lughausen. It seemed like all was lost but Baptiste’s maneuvers and Sven’s rage made the difference. Plus some timely dice rolls, though the enemies were hitting with criticals far too often.
Torchon sneaks up to the top of the tower and peers out to see who might be coming now. Strangely, it appears that the battle was not as noticed as they were worried. The men in the barracks across the street are still in the building. The men manning the two barricades are still there, except one man each with a dog meets outside the tower. They talk, wondering what Fendor is up to, but decide against going in the tower. They will return in an hour. Enough time for the party to take a short rest. During which, Baptiste puts on Fendor’s plate armor. It is distasteful and in bad repair, but it will work. He has learned how to use smithing tools, and once he procures a set, will be able to make repairs and clean it up. Fendor obviously didn’t know how to, or didn’t care to, maintain it. They think he might try to impersonate Fendor when the other Skullsmashers return.
They do, the two guards, this time without the dogs. Baptiste meets them at the door. He does not deceive them at all, and they also see the dead bodies in the room beyond. They yell for help, and the other Skullsmashers come running. Sven tries to hold the door, but one guard manages to push him in to let others in. From the tower, Torchon is able to take out one Skullsmasher and wound another. The rest have arrived after a moment and they are able to push their way into the room. When it is only the two scouts left, however, after the party makes short work of them, they yell for Bron, the last remaining Skullsmasher lieutenant. He and the five remaining Skullsmashers come from the barracks across the street. The five are able to make it into the room after a round or two, but Bron is kept outside a moment. He and the two archers also move up to the building so they can’t be seen from the tower. Torchon attempts to jump down to the roof but slips and falls to the ground, landing prone. The Skullsmashers are too distracted to take advantage of that. Sven and Bron go toe to toe in the doorway, while the rest of the party deals with the Skullsmashers who have slipped in. Torchon and the two scouts outside exchange arrows. Torchon succeeds in taking one down before the other wounds him. Then he is able to finish the last scout and then Bron. But in the meantime, two strange figures in half-plate armor have come out of the last building. They see Torchon and his bow and take cover on the side of the tower building. Then, they peer through the window and immediately upon seeing the room, misty step into it. All of a sudden the tide of the battle sways against the party again. They swing their greatswords twice a round and take down Lughausen almost instantly. Then Sven follows. Baptiste is saved by his new armor and they repeatedly miss him, giving the party time to take them down. Jak focuses on one, while Torchon focuses on the other. Until they fall at last. Lughausen nearly is dead, having used his last inspiration to live on. Sven meanwhile has suddenly woken up on his own. The healing is dealt out once they are gone.
Lughausen and Sven eye the shiny strange half-plate on the weird warriors and decide to put it on. They fit well enough. They take another short rest, and recover a bit. Then, they search the compound. Torchon spends the short rest at the tower looking for any others, but there are none. On the way up, he notices the trap door under the stairs. They move a crate to see it fully and see the sigil of the Skullsmashers painted on a trap door. It is locked, but a key is found, along with a map, on the weird warriors that will fit. The painting on the door is higher quality than all the other gang artwork around the place. They decide to wait on the trap door until tomorrow. They go from building to building, finding more coins, gems and other things stashed here and there. They pick it all up. In the building the weirdos came out of they also find a crumpled up map of Wohlen showing Montchartan Manor circled and in the margin the words “Rift closed. No good.”
They are unable to identify the weird warriors except to say that they might be not be natural to this plane. The fact that their swords caused psychic damage that took Lughausen and Sven down also speaks to this fact. They decide to take one of the bodies to Wodemar. They feel safe here now, and rest the night.
5/6/1150 – Recovered from their battle and fresh, they go into the basement. They find a large room charred and filled with burnt bodies and equipment, including a large amount of blunt instruments. When they are mostly in the room, they are attacked by a flaming skull who had been hiding behind a far pillar. It casts fireball, but everyone saves and takes half damage. Two hammers also animate and attack. The flaming skull is blurry, making it hard to hit and it casts shield as well to defend itself. But the party is too much for it and the two animated hammers, and it goes down. They find a chest and open it to discover loads of money and valuables. They will take this too with them.
They return to Wodemar, with a githyanki body and report. He identifies it as a githyanki but says they are rare, and have only been known since the Cataclysm. He is surprised to see it, and together they speculate about why they are here and with the Skullsmasher gang. They show him the map they found showing the Tower of Salinga Penne. He says this, “Salinga Penne, rings a faint bell. <snaps his fingers> Yes, I believe she was a mentalist who traveled with the hero Duke Ulrich of Gwynyth Raius. This was long before the Great Cataclysm of course. I don't remember much else. I suspect she was a minor assistant of his. The old wizard school of Mentalism was here in Ap Wys once. In the city of Buchs far to the east of here, before the disaster. As far as I know none of the schools survived it. I suppose there would have been records of her there, but I doubt they escaped destruction. Let me do some research here. Come back in a couple of days. I never knew there was a tower there in the forest. I don't think anyone did. Otherwise, I would have investigated it. Imagine, a pre-cataclysm wizard tower. Who knows what shape it is in.”
They speculate a bit about the School of Mentalism. Lughausen thinks that would be the best place to learn about Salinga, but since that is off the table, he will do some research at the temple of Epolde. Wodemar will also do some research and they will meet again to plan the way forward after that.
For the next two days, the party takes care of things. They sell all the items they recovered from the Skullsmashers. Baptiste rents out a workshop, buys smith tools of his own, and works on cleaning up and fitting his armor. Sven returns to his village to talk with them and decorate his new armor properly so he looks appropriate. Torchon goes to the woods to commune. Lughausen does his research. Jak plays in bars for a bit.