Session One Hundred and Seventy-Two (Graveyard of Empires Summary)
SESSION 172 – October 11, 2017
We explore and find a message burnt inside the cube that reads “Moved to walking stone. K the E.” It is difficult to puzzle what this means. {Larry suggests the T-1000 automaton.}
We find the place mostly abandoned. Edan wants to check the quarters of the giant, in case there are any helpful things left behind.
Before Edan can do it, there is a tremendous earthquake. The solid constructionof Glavnon hold and we are not buried in rubble. The shaking lasts for what seems like an eternity, about ten minutes. Once it stops, there is a huge aftershock. The undying we found are battered to “death”.
We hear voices coming of some of the human guards from outside, one is sure that he has to go down and tell the Dark King what is going on. When they enter the cube room, Amodeus charms the leader and the rest go along with it. They take us to the teleport ring. A piece of missing “stone” must be put in place for it to become functional.
Before it is put in place, Edan Webs them. Helen and Rallion slay the two that were not held. The rest surrender. We get lots of intel, and that there is a huge cloud filled with fire an lightning off the coast to the south. We also learn of some fellow named Aubry is the “Righteous Halberd.” (Aubry as in Grodecop, Em’s boyfriend.) We also learn that the Dark King has been working for a very long time, and acts like any warlord. The Countil of 12 have to “consume” live people to survive so long. Some obey so that their families aren’t “food” for the ancients. Others are “true believers.”
We also learn that on the other side of the portal is a staging area with various automata, and the “T-1000” is there and isn’t acting right. This seems to tell Edan and the others that this “Liar” is in this “walking device.” It opens to the elevator at the base of the spire for in the tombs/necropolis. It is the War Machine & Nanocarbon storage.
Edan heads off to the office, and makes a vast find of schematics, especiall the new triangle batteries! We learn that a lot of things were ordered by Marchmain.
Prix and others stay to watch the webbed guards, and several of us go to look out and Edan tells us about some “sonic device” that must have set off an undersea volcano, as there is now a mountain to the south that wasn’t there. We fear for what has become of Vargen. Is it still there? What of Midmark?
While wondering what has happened, etc. There is a muffled “knock” at the gate. It is the undead bodies of the captain of the ship we hired to go check out the wereshark, Garmuth. Also the crew and the hirelings of Thorfus. Notably absent is the one we later learned was a spy with an inquisitor mask. (Was the hireling ever a “real” hireling or always a spy?)
Amodeus had decided to leave us, and since the undead only want the statue, and since it is in Midmark, which Edan told them, they seek revenge and the death of the Starchy Boyz, in the current case, Edan and Axel. Are there any others? Perhaps Sturloc, Belisent, and Lambertus…. Amodeus decides to wait until they break open the door.
We find a place to hide one of the mini portals, so we can use them as a quick escape from the other side of the big portal.
So we know that the mermen – both factions are wiped out and that Vargen and Midmark – and it’s navy are crippled or destroyed. Do we know anyone friendly to us in those towns who is still alive?
The Dark King’s forces were moving to invade Vargen. Was the timing such that they don’t need to invade or did we luck out and that force get destroyed/reduced? With Midmark evern more weakened, the Dragon Empire can more easily move in.
We also learned that the gnome illusionist betrayed us to the dark king and it was a trap that Ilska captured the skiff and two of our party, one of whom died? Chuq or Belisenete??
Ilska has made the gnome keep the gateway open and the Dark King hopes to use it as a bargaining chip for the invasion fleet to not destroy this world, since there is an untouched world awaiting conquest….