Session Sixteen Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)
Session 16, October 21 2020
Introduction
We continue at 5:00PM on the 14th of Tenrilden with the party just about to cross an underground river when they hear an explosion from the direction in which Braadlur went exploring ...
Session Summary
Rallion's Recollection
Rallion leads most of the others to the sound of the explosion and the last fish folk flees into the river.
We find Braadlur and Fisher surrounded by fishfolk body parts. We are able to stabilize them. Felix revives both Braadlur and Fisher.
The bodies are looted, we get crystals from the altar.
In addition to the boat with two oars and two coils of rope, there is a chest is a small intact building and this settlement is the former base of the Righteous Halberd, Aubry Grotecop. We found his map and journal of battles and a crude image of EM.
Braadlur found another chest with 5,600 gp and 400 pp and we each took some platinum. Some of the dwarven coins had the dwarven images scratched out and replaced with spiders for drow. The chest also contained a scroll of Protection from MAgic.
We make good time on the river. We are slowed by some sort of sludge in a cavern occupied by mushroom folk. they watch us carefully, as the presence of Jharlaxus worries them, since they are a delicacy to the drow and others. We pass them unscathed.
On the journey, Jharlaxus gets talkative and we learned that he lost a contest with the Dark King to be the new Lord Marshall and as punishment his fiance was at the controls of the dwarven machines in the necropolis that made him a drider. He wonders if the lack of magic has halted these machines? We think, from the notes Kauri has, that it may have power not reliant on magic.
Before we get to the mixed gnome/draw city of Malgrim, we disguise Jharlixus and the troglodyte and Oskar and don't stop when greeted by gnomes on the docks. The river passes under the city.
Just as we near the branch of the river we are seeking to try and cut off the drow party we are pursuing, some devil fish, one by the name of Severin.
Kauri gives up 8 vials of ambergris to learn the secret of magic. It requires sending something out to another dimension or bringing something in. the transfer of power of something foreign to this dimension is needed to "unbalance" the equation.
- DVLs
- Stone gods
- Something from Different Dimension
- Blood Magic/Life Force
- Shadow stepping we would have magic there, but not once we returned.
- Spider chest might be a way if it didn't kill those attempting it
The devilfish agree to push us upriver and we make good time. We reach a cavern and the point to return to land. We beach the boat and take the two coils of rope.
Jharlixus goes off and soon comes back, those we are pursuing are 15 hours ahead of us, and will be in Vilgram in 5 hours, ten hours before we can make it.
There is a trading post on the way, that we can enter, but without papers, we can't enter Vilgram. We learn that Majilus had such papers.... Herasib doesn't even recall the drow house for sponsorship, so it limits out ability to forge documents.
Braadlur tries stone sense and failed.
Rallion prays to the matriarchs while holding the feather and fails.
Rallion wonders if the feather can be used to power things, but it doesn't have the blue glow Kauri normally sees. Perhaps our world has a different source of magic that is native?
We muse can we enter the trading post and join a caravan to Vilgram?
Jharlaxus said they might take the chest on to the city where Lolth lives, Tralvig. There is the Great Web, that legend says can take you anywhere....
If they take the chest on to Lolth, it will be in a heavily guarded caravan and might go either through the Necropolis, or if that is not safe, the river. Right now we have no way to know.
Do we press on to get the chest of infinite spiders, or leave it in the care of Lolth?