Timberlands Campaign, Session 10: "Tracker's off scale, man!"

February 22-28, Caudex Annales, 71 AUP

The party parleyed for a bit with Baron Burgrave Duke Rictovarius, the new master of Hemmelmark (or what was left of it). Rictovarius was immensely disappointed over the loss of the weapons and armor in the personal possession of the various undead commanders, speculating that they must have been of exceedingly great power. (He was specifically interested in the presence of plate mail or swords, but seemed totally unfamiliar with the iron crown.) Additionally, he expressed concern about the failure to locate and destroy any essential binding items such as lich phalacteries or mummy-lord canopic jars. The leadership of Hochgrube immediately began preparations for a massive excavation operation, including sending for slave labor and taskmasters from the south as well as sufficient guards and necromantic overseers to cope with any reconstituted undead not permanently killed by the cave-in.

Meanwhile, the party received a summons to the White Tower for an academic conference, the apparent result of Shayna's diplomatic aerial tour of the coast. After several days of uneventful travel the party arrived at the village surrounding the tower, and worked their way around to the covered loading bay area below the cliffside entrance. After a cursory scan for cursed artifacts, the supervisor waved them through, remarking on the fine quality of their collection of gems for magical research purposes.

The tower was already bustling with new arrivals, as arcane authorities from the entire coast had been filtering in over several days. The receptionist at the desk (a blue-skinned fey with a diaphanous gown) assigned them to rooms and passed along the conference agenda, which started the next morning on the open-air skydeck level of the tower, 14 floors above. She also passed along a set of private letters, one from each of the headmasters. Upon opening them in private, they revealed a curiously coordinated message: Each headmaster suspected another of the high-ranking wizards of being untrustworthy, passing along classified information to some outside organization.

The conference featured presentations by each of the college headmasters to a colorful assortment of several dozen thaumaturges, magicians, and theurgists, with some introductory remarks from the chancellor. The presentations featured the following speakers.

• Chancellor Typho Lock (miniatured in some research mishap, carried in a purse by a dire troll): A general overview of the rival factions active in the Green Pass region where the party began, including the acolytes of Orcus (currently still at war with Durnovar), the necrolytes of Nergal (including Lord Varghoulis and the Black Legion) and their masters in Nerigos (the probable culprits in cursing the region with undeath and winter), and the necromancers of Sutekh (the allies of Rictovarius currently occupying Hemmelmark).
  
• Eldred, Starchapel master (old and withered, rides a floating disk of force, whispers remarks to his assistant Nathalia): A brief history of the Timberlands region (the current map) in pre-human times, when it was ruled by a doomed empire of humanoid amphibians who went into deep stasis by drying out and becoming dormant. They are long dead due to the change in climate, but prone to returning as mummies. Starchapel seemed less concerned about the necrolytes and their agenda, and more concerned that the old empire would renew its attempts to summon an avatar of its own froglike god from a forgotten temple. Starchapel believes in knowledge as the key to victory, and requests the aid of the party in helping to test their "dream arena", a device to extract information from the residual traces of ancient dreams that endure in the extraplanar Dreamlands.
  
• Enoch Teacandle, Dunston Eyot master (gnome, met the party earlier, pastel-orange suit of full-sized mechanical armor): A quick mention of his own-going literature search for any artifacts related to previous wars against the undead. He invited the party (or anyone else) to visit him later for a more detailed overview of the uncovered lore. Dunston Eyot believes in artifacts at the key to victory.
  
• Chlodwig Vance, Quaffmere headmaster (childlike, bald and roundfaced, easily distracted, three monkey familiars): A short overview of powerful ritual casters who might be persuaded to counterspell the rituals of the High Council of Nerigos, the presumed architects of the undead invasion. Possibilities included The Outcast, an anonymous dark elf wizard powerful enough to defy the matrons and retain residence in the underground city of Emru-Marol, and a couple of the Undying Lords from the east side of the Barrier Range who specialize in necromancy and/or frost magic. Quaffmere believes in high-level ritual magic as the key to victory, although Vance was upfront about the fact that any permanent solution would necessitate destroying the high council itself.
  
• Alaric Wainskirtle, Seadom Hall master (physically imposing, military demeanor): A plea for allies to compensate for the currently overstretched condition of Durnovar. Wainskirtle suggested making contact with the leaders of Woldwatch (elves and other nature-oriented neutrals on the far side of the Barrier Range), as well as recovering the celebrated Axe of the Dwarvish Lords, which would rally the scattered dwarves who used to dwell in the rift valleys of Hojenhold Vale -- since conquered and occupied by both a balrog (released from the deeps, dug too greedily, yadda-yadda) and a dragon (initially hired to fight the balrog, but they turned out to be an old friends and divied up the treasure). Seadom Hall believes in diplomacy as the key to victory.

The conference was cut short by the arrival of a flotilla of gargoyles, who went straight for the top of the tower. The assembled mages launched a barrage of fireballs and other evocations at them, but an elite core of the gargoyles landed on the towers to attack the tower masters. The party, as the only real melee fighters available, stepped forward as a last line of defense, just barely rescuing the chancellor from being carried off in his purse. (He seemed very grateful afterwards.)

As the attendees broke up in the aftermath of the excitement, the party was invited down to the 10th floor for a tour of the Dream Arena. Nathalia met them and invited them to test the device, an arrangement of cots connected by organic vine-like tendrils to a central machine. The party was initially suspicious, as Nathalia reassured them that the residual dream fragments left on the Dreamlands were completely unable to affect them in the real world, and that even if a powerful entity from the Dreamlands did notice their presence and attempted to assault them with mental attacks, they could still be extracted relatively quickly.

Nathalia initially requested that they scout the capabilities of the Herald of Tsathoggua, an emissary of the frog god which had ravaged the countryside centuries ago in anticipation of the true avatar's long-delayed arrival. The party mostly declined the offer, but Shayna volunteered to enter the Dreamlands to conduct some aerial surveillance.

Roster

• Edw...ina(?) Sir Dame Winsley, 5th-level dandy mystic (Andrew)
• Jeeves, 1st-level butler-paladin
• Zelmar (...is he a henchman now? Is Anatolia here? I'm a bit confused...)
• Frigodria Dawnbringer, 5th-level paladin (Reba)
• Herrobrin, 6th-level summoner, and his scads of spooky scary skeletons (Kyle)
• Grurdev Onyxvault, 5th-level dwarven lightbearer (Sion)
• Need to check about henchmen here also...
• Merda Strega, 6th-level witch (Will)
• Viserion, 5th-level young white dragon (Zac)
• Adonirim, 3rd-level mage
• Shayna, 6th-level shaman (Kim)

Mercenaries and followers:

• Army o' skeletons (400+ at this point), with a few abominations as champions

• Aksel Steelheart, 9th-level vaultlord
• 10 dwarven lieutenants:
• 4 5th-level vaultguards
• 3 4th-level vaultguards
• 2 3rd-level vaultgaurds
• 2nd-level vaultguard
• 18 fire dwarf infantry
• ~ 90 light-infantry pirate survivors from the defeat of the Charybdis crew in the Saberstrath campaign

Not appearing in this adventure, but potentially available now that everyone is back in the area:

• Ur khla lu khbea, 4th-level gladiator (Jonathan)
• Slarus (Austin)
• The very young white dragon, Namazu, reporting back on the frost giants
• Sir Rock Boulder Fist, dwarven 5th-level summoner
• Anatolia (at chapel with Zelmar)
• Sir Robin (badly injured)

Retiring, unless they somehow resurface:

• Zalgesh
• Jarrus Velt, 5th-level thief
• Thorvald, 6th-level spy (Zac's Mom's PC, not a henchman)
• Togast, 6th-level skinscribe (Juston is happily married)
• Tu'a'than, 5th level spriggan

Casualties

None

Magical Items

None, although the mage tower loading dock foreman seemed interested in the treasure from the crypt

Valuables

None

Experience

Killed: 7 margoyles [5600 xp], 9 four-armed gargoyles [3600 xp]
Total: 9200 xp

Total experience from treasure: 0 xp
Total experience from kills: 9200 xp
Total experience from exploration: 0 xp
Total experience: 0 xp
Total experience per member: 1022 xp

Total experience per henchman: 511 xp