Session 3: The Missing Mage

As the party crossed the vast, stodgy moor, their boots squelched in the peaty ground. Barry raised a leather-clad hand, stopping the group in their tracks. "Something moves in the west. A small band of men perhaps? They number at least half a dozen," said the stocky warrior, as he moved his hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

"It could just be a patrol. We're still close enough to the keep that they might send scouts out here," said Venali, shrugging her shoulders. "The patrol isn't mounted. If they prove hostile, we can look for a place to hide until they wander off."

As the adventurers continued on, a lonely, ruined tower of grey stone appeared before them on the horizon like a monolith against the pale, gray sky. As they moved closer to it, the party kept a eager eye out to see how this approaching troop reacted to their presence. The low rumble of a warhorn, followed by shouting in an incomprehensible, ancient tongue quickly answered their questions. The group broke into a sprint towards the tower. Barry and Ser Thaddeus grabbed Osiris to keep the mage from falling behind.

Looking over her shoulder, Venali saw the figures more clearly with her keen, elf eyes. These were certainly not men from Darthollow Castle. These creatures were red-scaled, reptilian humanoids clad in heavy metal armor, decorated with patches of ivory bone. In clawed hands they gripped steel swords, axes, and spears. Whatever they were, they were not friendly.

 

Max Dunbar

Session #3

This is the 4th campaign diary for my Valakis campaign. In Session #2, our heroes continued exploring the strange grotto south of the Bythe Mere, and discovered a variety of its oddities and dangers. This session begins with the characters back in the village of Romworth, with plans to visit the nearby castle-town of Darthollow.

A Northern Diversion

The party spent the evening at Romworth's Lakeside Inn and returned to the village bailey in the morning. A stationed militiaman handed Osiris the revee's letter of commendation (a scroll sealed with the reeve's signet) which the group were to present to Ser Rolf. They set out on foot, heading north towards the small fortified outpost.

After a 3-hour trek, the party came upon the border fort of Darthollow. The castle itself was rather small, but was bustling with activity. The group noted numerous artisans in and around the keep who provided the necessary goods to supply an active military post: a weaponsmith, armorsmith, fletcher, cooper, wainwright, and the like.

The party presented their letter to the active-duty guard at the main gate, who inspected the seal and proceeded to send them inside. Like most people, the guard was illiterate and was only able to make a passing glance at the letter's authenticity. The party passed through the castle, which was busy with normal, daily activities.

As they entered the inner bailey, they found a training session in progress, led by a female knight. She was in the middle of drilling a number of footmen in weapon fundamentals, and her stern tone denoted her frustration at the lack of discipline among her soldiers. An old man in well-crafted armor sat off to the side, leaning on his sword scabbard. As the group made their way around the training, the elderly man took note and approached the group, asking them what business brought them to the castle.

Ser Thaddeus declared that they had come due to the lord's reputation for being a man with a knowledge of monsters, before declaring that they group wished to "slay a beast most foul." The old man introduced himself as Ser Rolf, the lord of Darthollow. He also informed them that the woman running the daily training was his castellan, Lady Kelri.

	Ser Rolf Whytton , Lord of Darthollow Castle
	Lady Kelri , Darthollow's Castellan

Artist Unknown

The Library

Thaddeus, in his usual exuberance, expressed to Lord Whytton that the group sought " holy knowledge" in order to rid the region of the beast in the grotto's pit. Ser Rolf, a devout member of the Creed of Galadomë in his own right, instantly recognized Thaddeus' talk as that of a holy man of his religion. The two men had a brief discussion regarding the state of their church, with the old knight fretfully declaring that "there are far too few of us left in the east, Ser Thaddeus. Far too few."

Osiris then produced Reeve Warik's letter and presented it to Ser Rolf, who scanned it and invited the party inside the central keep so that he might read the letter in full. Bringing the group into his personal study and library, Ser Rolf invited them to sit and offered them some mead from his cellar. After reading the letter, he expressed his excitement at their deeds for Romworth and asked what sort of information they needed in their future task.

Osiris informed Lord Whytton that he was seeking a book which would contain information on a "corpse-eating slug or centipede monster". The old knight stated that he had tomes on a wide variety of subjects, but currently his only books on monsters were on those of the sea to the east and those that dwell in the Skyspire Mountains. His tome on "corpse eaters and the unliving sort" had been loaned out some time ago to an arcanist and personal friend by the name of Cornelius Gladstone. Much to Rolf's chagrin, the mage had not been seen in nearly a year. Cornelius had been intent on establishing a base of operations in a partially damaged tower on the moor which was situated near the ancient ruin he wished to study.

Osiris took a keen interest in the news of this missing mage and asked about the location of the tower. Rolf stated rather plainly that the tower was located about a half a day's travel north into the Cairn Moorlands, but his patrols don't go nearly that far north, so he had no further information beyond its location. Osiris then requested to study the book which detailed monsters in the mountains, which the old man was more than happy to accommodate. Osiris then spent the next six hours reading and taking notes on things found within the tome.

Osiris' Notes

• Capra. Great goat, mythological, may live high in the mountains. Their hooves make a thunderous racket.
• Bone Stalker. Creature that dwells in rocky crags and caves in mountains: four long limbs, humanoid in shape, no bones, muscled cartilage. Loose and wiggly arm. Mouth of razor sharp teeth. Long, cone-like head. Known to skulk among the crags and descend upon unaware targets. It enjoys sucking the bones out of its victims.
• Harpy. Creature that is generally seen as a winged female: humanoid in shape with large avian claws, but its songs are the gravest concern. It can enchant men and lure them to their doom. If you find such a creature, you must find a way to deafen yourself lest you fall prey to it.
• Stranglers. Strange harry humanoid with clawed hands and feet. Long fey ears. Generally known as Stranglers. They are lithe and thin, with a wild hairy mane like a lion. Extremely good at hiding in shadow. Stalk their lone victims for quite some time in the night, then emerge to strangle and stab their victims to death with a dagger or sword.
• Mountain Men. Descended from beyond the Skyspire Mountains. Occasionally raid border settlements. Their numbers include savage, drunk, naked berserkers. Intimidate their foes with magical protection and charge into battle with nothing but their dignity. Among their people, it is considered a great honor to survive a battle in this way.
• Common Elk. Herds of elk in the highlands and the moorland. Excellent domesticated herd animals. Occasionally, strange gnomes ride upon them.
• Umdâgor / Grayskins. Much like men, they come in all shapes and sized. Bestial features, gray skin, slightly pointed skin, and often scarred due to their nature of violence. Scavengers of armor and weapons, and make crude and poor armaments themselves. Not particularly capable with sword or shield, but more capable than the common man. No match for a trained knight. They fight in numbers. Beady red eyes, and generally ill-kept teeth.

The Quest & the Hunt

While the magic-user began his reading, Ser Rolf requested a moment of Thaddeus' time. Taking a walk along the castle walls, Rolf informed the paladin that he had overheard rumors of a powerful relic of the Tree of Fire. He informed Thaddeus that he would like to see the magical armament find its way into the hands of a holy champion of the Burning Tree, but before he would provide further information, the paladin needed to prove himself worthy of such an honor. When Thaddeus asked what he must do, Rolf replied, "that is for you to decide. Undertake a mission worthy of a warrior of the Great Tree, and return to me after you have accomplished such a task. Then, I shall tell you what I know."

While Osiris read and Thaddeus talked with the old knight, Barry set out into the nearby wilderness in hopes of hunting down dinner. Sadly, all the barbarian managed to find during several hours of stalking the moor were 3 huge wolves with large bone spurs protruding from their fur and a huge humanoid figure with patches of rocky skin which had clubbed some sort of beast to death and was dragging it back to its cave. The barbarian cursed his luck and headed back to the castle empty handed.

Francis Heylighen

Into the Cairn Moorlands

The group stayed with a local farmer for the evening, and discussed their encounter with the dragon. The farmer told the party, "don't worry. I've heard the baron is mustering his forces and he will be setting out any day now to slay the beast." Venali laughed at the idea, stating that the baron wasn't going to do anything of the sort. The man took great offense to accusations that his liege was a coward and almost kicking them out of his home.

The next morning, the party discussed next steps. Osiris was keen on trying to find the missing mage, or at least what might remain of him. Agreeing to this, the group set out into the moor, heading north towards the ruined tower that Ser Rolf had mentioned. For everyone in the party, save Barry, trekking across the damp grassland, while avoiding open ponds and peat bogs was a new, unpleasant experience.

Roughly three hours into their journey, the group spotted another, small band of humanoids wandering across the terrain, roughly 500 feet to the west. Barry was able to determine that the other group was between five to ten individuals. Unsure what the other group was doing or who they might be, the party decided to simply continue on their way. When the other group began to follow them at an aggressive pace, the party became concerned.

Taking just a moment to get a better look at these people, Venali stopped on a small rocky outcrop. These were not men at all. Instead, she realized this was a small patrol of red-scaled reptilian creatures in chainmail. Their armor was adorned with bleached bones and they wielded metal weapons in their clawed hands. The elf quickly sprinted back to the others and informed everyone what was following the them.

Climbing over an earthen rise, the party spotted the tower in the distance, but the bellow of a warhorn and the sharp cry of a unknown language informed the group that their pursuers were hostile. The party broke out into a run, heading for the ruined tower as fast as they could. Chucho, the man-at-arms traveling with the party, stopped for a moment to fire off a crossbow bolt which traveled well wide of the mark.

Ascending the wooden ramp, party flung open the tower door and cambered into the foyer of the tower. While most of the group rushed to the room's window slits to see if they were about to be attacked, Barry pulled out his hammer and used an iron spike to ensure the banded, wooden door would remain closed for as long as possible. The group was relieved to see that their pursuers had stopped roughly 500 feet from the tower. Likely fearing being peppered with ranged fire as they approached thanks for the errant crossbow shot from Chucho.

The Witcher 3

The Ruined Tower

While Barry and Chucho kept watch on the red-scaled warriors, the rest of the party looked around the dusty, ill-kept entrance room. Either the tower had been poorly maintained or it was entirely abandoned. The group opened the door into the next room and discovered a dismal scene. The room was covered in blood stains and gore. There were no signs of dead bodies, but something grisly had happened here. A hatch led down into the lower floor which the group determined was the ground floor of the tower. 

The group realized that the reptilian warriors had decided not to assault the tower, and were heading away. Free to explore the tower without the fear of being attacked from behind, the group decided to ascend the stairwell. At the top of the stairs, they entered into a room with a cold fireplace and two doors, north and west. Osiris listened at the western door and heard the faint sound of bats coming from within. The group choose instead to search the north room, and found empty bedrolls and abandoned belongings. While searching, Venali sent an old tambourine clattering across the stone floor. The noise echoed off the silent, stone walls and the door to the west opened.

Barry stepped forward with his torch raised, revealing a numbered of small, sapient bat-like creatures on the walls and ceiling of the western room. Upon seeing his torch, the creatures hissed and lunged at the barbarian. Barry, Venali and Thaddeus rushed toward and butchered several of the creatures in short order. The remaining bat-creatures fled further into another room. Barry quickly pursued them.

Coming into a large storage space, Barry's torchlight revealed that the creatures had simply retreated to setup an ambush and seven more of them leapt from the shadows. One creature almost bit into the barbarian's neck, but Barry sacrificed his shield to avoid being bitten. The rest of the group then rushed in and quickly dispatched another three of the beasts, causing the rest to fly out the small tower windows.

Looking over the boxes, the party realized they were full of gear intended for adventuring and dungeon exploration. Party members quickly refilled their own supplies of rations, torches, rope and oil. The group was happy to find the supplies but were confused about why such things would be here, and still in good condition.

Rudy Siswanto

The Nightstalker

Heading to the next floor, the party discovered this level led out onto to crenelated roof of the smaller part of the tower. From this height, Barry and Venali were able to see the moor stretched much further to the north, as well as a small forest to the west. As the group searched the room, they made little attempt to be quiet, and due to their disturbance, the only closed door on this level flew open.

Ser Thaddeus, who had been standing near the door, turned towards the dark room, but could only make out a dark silhouette, backlit by faint light coming from this floor's fireplace. The creature that had been in the room let out a screech and dove forward at the paladin with its huge fangs and managed to land a grazing wound against him. Overcome by whatever supernatural power the beast had, Thaddeus toppled to the ground, unconscious.

The rest of the party rushed to their companion's aid before he could be killed by this hulking, bat creature. Osiris, now sporting a small cache of daggers, pulled one out and threw it at the monster. The dagger lodged itself in the creature's torso among its matted fur. Chucho, who had been standing behind Thaddeus when the monster appeared, pulled the trigger on his crossbow. The bolt found its mark, hitting the creature between its eyes and exited out the other side of the monster's skull.

The party placed their friend on the wooden table in the room, and made sure he was still breathing. To their relief, it appeared that the monster had simply put him into a deep slumber. While the party waited for their friend to wake up, they searched the room that the bat creature had been in. In the corner of the room they discovered a chest which contained thousands of silver coins, all arranged in neat stacks. Given the hodgepodge nature of the coins, the group concluded this must be the result of delves into a dungeon or other similar structure.

After ten minutes, Thaddeus awoke without further incident.

Laexil

The Strange Case of Cornelius Gladstone

Ascending another flight of stairs, the party came to a closed door with a sliver of light peaking out from underneath. Barry decided to kick the door in, hoping to get the drop on anyone within, but found the door to be locked. A voice from beyond the door demanded to know who was in the tower, asking if the party was a group of brigands. 

During a brief exchange, the party stated they were looking for a missing mage, and were suprised to learn that the man behind the door was, in fact, Cornelius Gladstone. The man promised to unlock and open the door, but on the condition: that they remained calm. The party agreed, though Barry stood at the ready to attack if necessary.

Cornelius opened the door, but instead of a typical bearded old man in a pointy hat and robes, before them stood a large, bestial creature in an evening coat. The party stood in the hallway in stunned silence, which made this the perfect moment to end the session!

Final Thoughts

This session was as much of a ride for me as it was for the players. Though we had established last week that they would head to Darthollow Castle, I had no way to know what the players would after they got to the castle. This is truly where my extended campaign prep (and a big-ol hex map) really started to shine. I suspected that the part would likely investigate the missing Cornelius, but they were just as likely to head back to the grotto, or trek off in search of a site on their treasure map.

I hope to make sure that Osiris' decision to spend several hours reading up on monsters and chaotic bands of monstrous humanoids feels like a worthwhile investment of the party's time. It is the magic user's primary role in when playing at such low levels. They figure out how to kill the thing, but then point the warriors to go do the deed.

The biggest twist of the night was certainly the appearance of the wandering patrol of red-scaled reptilian creatures that stalked the party across the moor. Given the relatively short travel distance, I had expected a fairly uneventful journey, but the random encounter die had other ideas. Thanks to the presence of the nearby tower, the pursuit ended up doing little more than reinforcing how dangerous the moorlands are, and let me enjoy a moment of emergent narrative.

Next week our brave heroes will have a conversation with Cornelius Gladstone over afternoon tea. After that, I have absolutely no idea what they might get up to! Until next time...

Onward to Adventure!