Citadel of the Sun-Kings Campaign Diary
Session 10: Everything All at Once
The Party
Also present:
What Happened
The session opened in Najad. The party first visited Tirah, Priestess of the Eternal Flame, who was calming a frightened crowd. They asked her about the mushroom-covered pilgrims. She explained that the cultists seemed non-violent and were worshiping some strange god, though she did not know who or what this being was.
Next, they visited Jahair the apothecary, newly returned to his shop after a stint in prison and a flogging for “free thought.” He had a few potions for sale, but the group decided not to purchase anything.
The Black Dagger Alliance
Heading north to the Black Dagger Camp, they sought out Madala. In her tent she first rebuffed them with pomp, but once in private she softened. The party offered her a share of Cassim’s hoard if she would bring the lion-pommeled sword of Cassim to the hideout. Madala agreed, though her terms were steep. She demanded three shares: one for herself, one for the sword, and one for the cadre of men she would bring. The party grumbled but agreed, not wishing to fight her entire camp for the sword.
The next day, Madala rode out on a black stallion, eight hardened bandits at her side. The company set off for the Pillars of Marnak.
On the second day they crossed paths with Nassan the Reaver, leader of the Sand Jackals, a notorious bandit lord. He declared his intent to march on Najad with Madala and demanded that he alone be the one to slay Bulat, Lord of Najad. Nassan was clearly bound to his massive sword, speaking to it as if it were alive. Suitably unsettled, the party watched him ride off with his men to join Madala’s camp.
The Hideout of the Thief-King
At the dead-end ravine in the Pillars, Hasoom opened the secret way. Madala presented Cassim’s sword to the forty skeletons that rose from the bone-littered courtyard. To no one’s surprise, the sword did nothing to dissuade the undead. The party mounted up. Hasoom and Madala charged across the courtyard toward the vault doors while the rest fought the skeletons.
The brass double doors were flanked by massive columns, each half bearing part of a lion’s face. Hasoom noticed blood on the lion’s teeth and half-expected Madala to lose her arm. Instead, the Sword of Cassim slid into the narrow slot and unlocked the way.
Inside, they found a low, domed chamber, walls covered in faded murals, the floor strewn with coins and dust. A long-dead figure slumped in a chair clutching a brass bottle: Cassim himself, stabbed through the chest. Hasoom darted forward and seized the bottle before Madala could, realizing instantly it was something more. Madala was not pleased.
Outside, Kheperkare, Ramu, and the riders finished cutting down all forty skeletons. The hoard was theirs, even after splitting shares with Madala.
The Emerald Beam and the Eclipse
On the road back, something unprecedented happened. At midday, the sky darkened, and to the east a sickly emerald beam of light lanced upward, striking the sun. The sky went black in a solar eclipse. Hasoom summed up the moment best: “What the hell is going on here? It just keeps getting worse.”
Back in Najad, hysteria gripped the streets. Mushroom pilgrims proclaimed their god “Yoth-Hul” with renewed fervor, and fear of the end of the world swept the city.
The Wreck of the Ghamemnor
The party was not deterred. Instead, they went west to the mesa where the cursed ship Ghamemnor was stranded. Producing the brass bottle before Captain Thurimeas, they read the etched word on its base—“Basbousa”—but neglected to say it. When opened, the djinni Jhitra emerged free of their command. She confirmed she was the one who had cursed the sailors, and was delighted to hear Cassim was dead. After some negotiation, she agreed to release Thurimeas and his crew, then departed beyond recall.
True to his word, Thurimeas gave the party the Ghamemnor. The enchanted ship could sail across land as easily as sea, gliding over the desert as if the earth itself were water. The party’s solution for launching it? Kheperkare pushed the ship off the mesa. It sailed down the rock face unharmed, settling at the base. Without a full crew to man the oars, the party tied their hishral beasts to the prow and dragged it east like a giant desert barge.
The Beast of Kul-Mazaak
Despite the looming emerald eclipse, the party decided their next target was the Beast of Kul-Mazaak. At the Pale Mirror, the salt flats shimmered in the distorted light. As fate would have it, the Beast surfaced again. Thirty feet long, its skull-like head ringed with salt spikes, it sprayed brine to immobilize prey.
The fight was brutal. Salt spray coated several PCs, but holy water, arrows, and Kheperkare’s brute strength turned the tide. At last, the guardian fell. From its carcass they carved the ossified heart, a pulsing arcane organ heavy with power.
Into the Realm Below Night
With the Beast’s heart in hand, the party returned to the Dome of the Iron Behemoth and entered the mirror they knew waited within. Passing into the Realm Below Night, they pressed on into alien darkness. There, they encountered something even stranger: a floating brain with a beak and ten barbed tentacles. That is where we ended the night.
Campaign Notes
- Major Developments:
- Treasure hunting alliance with Madala
- Meeting Nassan and his strange sword
- Cassim’s hoard looted
- The djinni Jhitra was freed from her bottle and the Ghamemnor now belongs to the party
- The Beast of Kul-Mazaak was slain, and its heart was recovered
- Emerald eclipse event sends Najad and the desert in the literal dark
Referee’s Notes
It seems my players decided to cash in on all of their rumors in a single mad dash. Find the thief-King's hoard, free the cursed sails and get their magic ship, and slay the Beast of Kul-Mazak all in a single 3 hour session. Add to that the sudden appearance of the giant green beam of sun-stopping and we have one of the most eventful sessions of a game I've had in years.
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