Mother of Flies - Session 39: Walcourt Raid, Part II

Dramatis Personae

Alfaren “Alfred” Eredel – Elf transmuter

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer

Boecca – Half-orc inquisitor of Erastil

Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) evoker

Slavé/Jancen – Tiefling (in guise as a human) rogue/assassin

Tavo Dechirent - Human cleric of Pharasma

Oathday, 21 Pharast, to Fireday, 29 Pharast, 4709 A.R.

The brawl in Walcourt spills over into multiple maze-like chambers. Alizander and Boecca deal with the remaining dark stalker guildsmen in the Council offices. Carlos stands guard in the main guardroom, prepared for any other intruders to come through the four as-yet-unexplored doors. Slavé peers through the arrow slit into the dark hallway beyond the brutal spear trap he discovered. Alfred floats invisibly into the same room and collides with the also-invisible Slavé, who luckily manages to maintain his composure and continue manning the spear trap. Soon enough, three Council thieves make their way down the hall, and Slavé activates the trigger mechanism on the trap, sending a wall of spears through the flimsy wall, pinning the first thief to the wooden wall behind. The other two thieves push past their dying comrade and into the trap room, to find it apparently empty as they are unable to see the invisible Slavé and Alfred. Slavé sneaks back down the hallway he came from, hearing the sound of dark folk through one of the doors in the hallway.

The dark folk storm into the trap room, shouting at the two Council thieves in their strange, unknown language. The Council thieves back away from the dark creeper footpads, wary and perhaps afraid of the dark folk. Alfred, meanwhile, sees his time to strike, and invokes a choking cloudkill spell to waft over the tightly packed gang of dark creepers and Council thieves. The deadly cloud sends all of the dark creepers and thieves into violent convulsions as its poisonous vapours penetrate their lungs and bloodstreams. The dark folk die in flashes of bright light; a blinding series of brilliant white flashes, momentarily illuminating the halls and rooms of Walcourt in stark light and defined shadows.

Beocca and Alizander, meanwhile, discover what appears to be a Council conference chamber, outfitted with a massive slate table, leather chairs, and a number of what appear to be fine works of art on the walls. Alizander retrieves an ebony tinderbox from the table; it contains a small amount of ash that radiates a faint magical aura. Boecca jerks to attention when he notices a small, plum-sized semi-transparent sphere float very quickly through the air in the hallway behind him. Neither of the adventurers are fast enough to exit the conference room before it is engulfed in a series of chilling cold blasts from small nozzles hidden in the walls. Alizander and Boecca leave the room promptly after the trap is sprung, neither of them eager to face its frosty bite again.

Slavé heads downstairs, following several escaping dark folk, where he encounters a swarm of strange rats, more shadow-stuff than rat. He runs from the creatures and manages to avoid them, heading south through the east wing of the maze-like guildhouse.

The Returners upstairs notice the flying transparent spheres several more times, but hesitate to investigate their source. Alfred recognizes the spheres as the result of a spell called prying eyes, a powerful scrying spell. Carlos, eager to find the basement, decides to unleash his newly-created clay golem. The massive golem begins pounding on the floor, eventually finding a weak point and falling through to Walcourt’s first floor, directly onto a large oaken table holding the body of a badly-mutilated victim. Moth-eaten curtains of red velvet drape the walls of the square chamber; low-burning torches burn in sconces mounted between them. Carlos, Alizander, Boecca, and Tavo follow the golem – Tavo brandishing the Morrowfall before him.

Alfred makes his way back to the room with the spear-trap that was sprung by Slavé, and heads down the hall from whence the Council thieves came. Through several empty rooms later, Alfred comes upon another group of Council thieves, these ones waiting beside a narrow, cramped shaft leading to the first floor below, one of them wielding a noose as if to hook something from the shaft. Realizing five thieves could probably overwhelm him in direct combat, Alfred sickens them all with a stinking cloud and descends through the shaft to the first floor below, finding himself in a narrow secret passage between the outer wall and the rooms of Walcourt. At the bottom of the shaft is a collection of 13 hats of assorted sizes and styles hanging on pegs – none of them radiate magic, and their purpose is unclear.

In the curtained room, Alizander, Carlos, Tavo and Boecca are attacked from secret doors behind the curtains. The Returners make short work of the novice thieves attacking them, and send most of them running. The clay golem smashes through the set of double doors in the room, exiting into Walcourt’s grounds. The other Returners examine the body on the table and realize after some investigation that it is none other than Vassindio Drovenge. The Drovenge patriarch’s lower jaw has been torn away. Tavo determines that the grandfather of Chammady and Ecarrdian Drovenge was tortured for some time before he was finally granted death. The Returners all remark on the strangeness of the room – a torture chamber as one’s first welcome through Walcourt’s front doors.

Treasure

· From the Dark creeper footpads

o Masterwork daggers (10) (worth 1500 gp total)

o Black smear poison (15 doses) (worth 2700 gp total)

· From the Dark stalker guildsmen

o Masterwork short swords (6) (worth 930 gp total)

o +2 Leather armour (3) (worth 6540 gp total)

· From the Council thieves

o Coins and jewelry (worth 900 gp total)

· From D11. Nightmaster’s Office

o Council documents (worth unknown)

· From D10. Daymaster’s Office

o Council documents (worth unknown)

· From D15. Council Chamber

o Tinderbox containing magical ash (worth 100 gp for ebony tinderbox; ash unknown)

Experience

· Dark creeper footpads (10) – 12000 xp

· Dark stalker guildsmen (2) – 9600 xp

· Novice thieves (4) – 1600 xp

· Council thieves (3) – 2400 xp

· Wasp arrow traps (2) – 12800 xp

· Cone of cold trap – 12800 xp

· Spiked pit trap – 6400 xp

· Total – 57600 xp

· Per PC – 9600 xp

Current XP Total per PC

· Carlos, Slavé – 101,902 xp

· Alfred – 99,347 xp

· Boecca – 99,327 xp

· Tavo – 95,257 xp

· Alizander – 93,917 xp

· Fame Points - 21

Mother of Flies - Session 38: Walcourt Raid, Part I

Dramatis Personae

Alfaren “Alfred” Eredel – Elf transmuter

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer

Boecca – Half-orc inquisitor of Erastil

Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) evoker

Slavé/Jancen – Tiefling (in guise as a human) rogue/assassin

Tavo Dechirent - Human cleric of Pharasma

Oathday, 21 Pharast, to Fireday, 29 Pharast, 4709 A.R.

Armed with the Mother of Flies’ knowledge, the Returners take care of some business before moving on to the Council stronghold of Walcourt. Carlos completes work on his clay golem. Slavé (with assistance from Carlos) heads to Egorian to search for magic items and visit the archives to search for historical evidence on Walcourt. Alfred flies over Walcourt (invisibly, of course) and notes the existence of several guards on the structure’s rooftop, despite its otherwise decrepit and abandoned appearance. Alizander wanders the city, while Boecca spends time with Jezeletrix at the Returners’ safehouse. Tavo, now one of the leading clergy of Pharasma in the city, ministers to the few adherents to her faith in Westcrown, spreading the unusual (some would say heretical) tenets of the Insolare sect.

Tragedy strikes on the 29^th of Pharast, when two of the Returners’ friends and companions suddenly go missing. Rhialto, Carlos’ mentor and surrogate father, disappears with little trace, save a scent that Boecca is able to track east to the river bank. Nagiphax, formerly an active member of the Returners, is abducted in the early evening from behind the bar of the Beer Golem Tavern. Witnesses describe the tavern being thrown into sudden darkness. Several recall an inky black figure caught in fleeting glimpses on the edges of the darkness before the common room was suddenly light again and Nagiphax was gone without a trace.

Starday, 30 Pharast, 4709 A.R.

With Carlos’ clay golem finally complete, the party makes its final preparations to assault Walcourt, hoping that their friends Nagiphax and Rhialto were kidnapped by the Council (and not some other, unknown threat) and that clues to their whereabouts may exist at the Council stronghold.

They take on the Council guildhouse from the rooftop first. Alfred and Carlos swoop in from above, borne aloft by magical flight. Boecca uses his own magic to swiftly whisk himself, Slavé, and Alizander through an extradimensional space and onto the rooftop catwalk. The Council thieves on guard are taken by surprise and summarily dispatched, whereupon the Returners advance through the rooftop door into Walcourt’s second floor. Walcourt’s interior proves much better appointed than its decrepit exterior. The party sneaks through the mazelike conglomeration of rooms in the guildhouse. Slavé discovers reams of documents in what appears to be a commander’s office – lists of guild agents, current jobs, and invaluable information pointing to extensive riots, assassinations, and general mayhem in the Council’s near-future plans.

Soon enough, the Returners stumble upon a group of Council supporters – three dark stalkers pouring over plans and manuscripts in a small bedchamber. A fight breaks out in the confined space. The dark stalkers attempts to shroud the area in darkness are countered by Tavo, wielding the Morrowfall. Slavé scouts down a narrow side passage, certain other Council agents hearing the battle will soon come to the defense of their guildhall. He stops when he comes to a room with an elaborate spear trap. Hearing the sound of footsteps advancing down the hall opposite the trap, Slavé positions himself at the trap’s trigger mechanism and waits for the footsteps to reach him.

Treasure

· From the rooftop Council thieves

o Potions of cure moderate wounds (5) (worth 750 gp total)

o +1 Leather armour (5) (worth 1450 gp total)

o Masterwork rapiers (5) (worth 400 gp total)

o Masterwork hand crossbows (5) (worth 500 gp total)

o Coins and jewelry (1500 gp total)

· From the Rooftop Observatory

o Brass telescope (worth 1500 gp)

Experience Awards

· Council thieves (5) – 4000 xp

· Dark stalker guildsman (1) – 4800 xp

· Total – 8800 xp

· Per PC (6) – 1467 xp

Current XP Total per PC

· Carlos, Slavé – 92,302 xp

· Alfred – 89,747 xp

· Boecca – 89,727 xp

· Tavo – 85,657 xp

· Alizander – 84,317 xp

Fame Points – 21

Mother of Flies - Session 37: The Counsel of Flies

Dramatis Personae

Alfaren “Alfred” Eredel – Elf transmuter

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer

Boecca – Half-orc inquisitor of Erastil

Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) evoker

Slavé/Jancen – Tiefling (in guise as a human) rogue/assassin

Tavo Dechirent - Human cleric of Pharasma

Wealday, 20 Pharast, 4709 A.R.

Alizander leads the assault from the air, using the wand of quench to douse the bonfire burning near the leader’s camp, before heading quickly to the north towards the next closest fire. The large bearded man, who was conferring with a group of three tall, pale-skinned rag-shrouded folk, is momentarily surprised by the sudden dousing. He soon gains his composure and orders his men into action. The thieves and dark folk in the leader’s camp begin scanning the trees for signs of attack, and the Returners are only too happy to bring it to them. Dog’s Tongue is the first to issue forth, charging from the dark forest into the clearing, screaming obscenities as he slashes at a duo of dark creepers with his heavy scythe. The Returners make their moves in turn – Boecca firing his crossbow from the tree-cover; Slavé making his way to the east side of the leader’s camp under cover of the forest; Alfred and Carlos laying down spell artillery from the air; and Tavo issuing from the forest as if to take on the entire force of Council thieves by himself.

The dark creepers and dark stalkers seek to control the battlefield by shrouding it under a cover of magical darkness that they seem to be able to see through without hindrance. Tavo manages to dispel the blackness using the Morrowfall on several occasions, blinding the light-sensitive dark creepers and stalkers as a beneficial side effect. The bearded, axe-wielding leader attempts to circle around the battlefield, avoiding the magical darkness, Alfred’s choking cloudkill, and Carlos’ deadly wall of acid, in an effort to come up behind the attacking Returners. His efforts are, alas, futile, and the huge man, someone Slavé recognizes as a former member of the dottari, falls under the relentless efforts of the Returners.

In time, the group of dark creepers, dark stalkers, and Council thieves fall to the Returners. Alizander continues to douse bonfires throughout the besiegers’ camp, sowing discord and confusion and he makes his way around the massive trunk of the Maggot Tree. With each bonfire that goes out, strange birds and insect swarms issue form the tree to attack the besieging force. The other Returners deal with another group of Council thieves, ogres, warhounds and a hill giant before the Mother of Flies finally shows herself, issuing from the shrouded canopy of the Maggot Tree in a cloud of swarming wasps, flies, and worse.

With the Mother’s presence, the siege finally breaks, and the remaining thieves, ogres and hill giants flee the battlefield. The Mother of Flies approaches the Returners, dismissing the black clouds of insects as she gets closer. She is a hideous crone indeed. Her face is a grey mass of wrinkles, warts, and scars beneath a mop of coarse, bark-like hair. Her eyes are dark and sagging, but lack any indication of colouration – they’re flat black orbs. She leans heavily on a large gnarled staff and wears filthy rags and dozens of bone and stone fetishes. Perhaps worst of all is the layer of maggots and crawling flies that cover her. With every step, the flies take flight, only to land on her body again when she comes to a rest. The Mother of Flies cackles in unrestrained delight as she observes the Returners.

“My sweeties, yes what a gorgeous delicious bunch of darlings you are. So kind of you to help an old spinster; what would I have done without you, my lovelies? So pretty you are, covered in sweat and blood. Oh dear we shall have to wash you. Oh goodness, my flies seem to like you; don’t mind them.”

The Mother of Flies grandmotherly attitude continues for several minutes; the chaos of the surrounding clearing – Council thieves dying, strange birds and insects devouring their half-living remains, the Maggot Tree seeming to swell with life as the smoke clears – seems to exist in a different place somehow. The Returners are drawn in by the hideous crone’s incongruous nature. As they listen to the Mother of Flies, she begins to relate the story of her dealings with the Drovenge family. She tells the story of Sidonai Drovenge, the son of the patriarch of the family, Vassindio, came to her and her sisters (there were once three – the Mother, the Sister, and the Daughter of Flies) in 4686 AR, seeking an infernal heir. The Flies were only too happy to oblige, and procured a coin from the archdevil Mammon’s own treasury, instructing Sidonai to swallow it before bedding his wife. Little did Sidonai know that by accepting the gift, he was cuckolding himself – the coin in fact held the possessing spirit of Mammon himself, and the heir would not be Sidonai’s but Mammon’s own son, begat upon the world through a mortal coupling. When Sidonai’s son was born a fiendish freak 9 months later, Sidonai’s father Vassindio flew into a terrific rage. He ordered the deaths of all involved – midwives and house staff alike (the mother escaped this fate by dying herself from complications in birthing the infernal heir). While Vassindio tempered his rage when it came to his son (exiling Sidonai rather than executing him), and in the end could not bring it upon himself to destroy his fiendish grandson, whom he named Ecarrdian, the Flies did not escape his wrath.

Of the three hags, only the Mother of Flies was away when Vassindio’s forces stormed the Hagwood with a deadly combination of fire, assassins, and charmed giants and fey. The Mother learned of Vassindio’s rage and, nursing her own grudge against the Drovenges for the deaths of her sister and daughter, relocated deeper into the Hagwood and began the process of creating a new Maggot Tree. To gird herself against further Drovenge vengeance, she sought and found an unlikely ally among the dark fey of the Court of Ether hidden within the upper reaches of the Darklands. Her alliance secured, she set out on the slow process of slowly learning about her foe – Vassindio Drovenge, de facto leader of the Council of Thieves – and the many secrets of his criminal order.

Yet the Mother of Flies may have taken too long in plotting her revenge, for now things have changed in the Council of Thieves. Control has passed to the infernal heir, Ecarrdian, and his sister, Chammady. The Mother seethes with bitter anger towards both Vassindio and Ecarrdian – in many ways, he owes his very existence to her, after all! The Mother sees in the Returners her chance to visit vengeance upon the Drovenges, and relates her knowledge of the Council of Thieves secret guildhalls – one called Walcourt, in particular – and also says she has information that may drive a wedge between Ecarrdian and his strongest supporter – his sister Chammady.

The Mother tells the Returners that while the Council maintains numerous secret guildhalls throughout Westcrown, it is the one known as Walcourt that may house their greatest asset – control of the night. Walcourt is located at the eastern edge of the Rego Laina, in a former guild lodge once dedicated to the followers of the Founder Crucisal. Falling into ruin over the years since the god Aroden’s death, Walcourt was used briefly as an orphanage and then later as a flophouse – both secretly serving as fronts for the activities of the Council of Thieves and overseen by none other than Sidonai Drovenge. Most recently, she’s come to believe that Walcourt has been given over to serve as the lair of one of the Council’s most dangerous leaders – and one of the greatest allies of the Drovenge siblings – a mysterious figure known as the “Lord of Shadows.” According to the Mother’s research, this Lord of Shadows controls the movements and actions of the shadow beasts that plague Westcrown’s nights, and the fact that he’s been allied all this time with the Drovenges explains a lot as to how they and their treacherous allies could move about the city unseen and unmolested at night. An invasion of Walcourt could not only reveal much of the secrecy surrounding the Council of Thieves but also give the Returners the opportunity to lift the curse of shadows from Westcrown’s nights.

About the Drovenge siblings themselves, the Mother says that their greatest strength is their complete devotion to each other – between Chammady’s guile and Ecarrdian’s prowess in combat, the two are a formidable pair. Yet it may be possible to sow the seeds of anger between them.

Unbeknownst to Sidonai Drovenge, when he willingly swallowed the gold coin of Mammon gifted by the Flies, he entered into an infernal pact with the archdevil. The seal for that pact is Ecarrdian himself – the fruit of the pact’s execution. As a resul, Ecarrdian’s very existence is a link to his infernal pater familias, embodying his very traits of lust and greed. The infernal pact created a connection between Ecarrdian and his closest familial tie – not his father Sidonai, but his devoted sister, Chammady, the only family member to show him any love and affection during his painful childhood. Ecarrdian’s very existence is bonded with that of his sister. With each personal success and increase in power by Ecarrdian, Chammady’s soul has become entwined further and further with Mammon’s, such that if Ecarrdian truly comes to rule Westcrown, as seems to be his goal, Chammady’s soul will be eternally forfeit to the Infernal Court of Erebus, a plaything for Mammon’s every whim. Chammady’s loyalty to her brother is great, but the Mother of Flies suspects that not even her filial ties to her tiefling brother could overcome her desire to not succumb to such a fate – a fact that could very likely create an irreparable rift between the siblings.

“And then,” the Mother says, “things should get very interesting. We are, of course, speaking about a pact created in Hell, and as with all things originating in Hell, copies exist in triplicate. The pact between Ecarrdian and Mammon will exist in written form, signed and sealed.”

With that, the Mother of Flies bids the Returners farewell, promising them safe passage out of the Hagwood, but delivering a stern warning that they may not receive such a warm welcome if ever they return.

Treasure

· From the Council thieves and Stiglor

o Potions of cure moderate wounds (4) (worth 600 gp total)

o Coins and jewelry (worth 1600 gp)

o Breastplate +1 (worth 675 gp)

o +1 Cold iron battleaxes (2) (worth 4620 gp total)

o Masterwork composite longbow (+3 Str) (worth 350 gp)

o Cold iron arrows (20) (worth 1 gp total)

o Belt of mighty constitution +2 (worth 2000 gp)

o Key

o Papers and documents outlining Stiglor’s orders

· From Dark Creepers and Dark Stalkers

o Black smear poison (24 doses) (worth 4320 gp total, black market only)

o Masterwork short swords (4) (worth 620 gp total)

· From the Mother of Flies

o Potions of cure serious wounds (12) (worth 4500 gp total)

o Wand of restoration (14 charges) (worth 9940 gp)

o Wand of secret door detection (10 charges) (worth 75 gp)

o Scroll of resurrection (worth 6137 gp, 5 sp)

Experience Awards

· Council thieves (7) – 5,600 xp

· Dark creeper footpads (12) – 14,400 xp

· Dark stalker guildsmen (3) – 14,400 xp

· Stiglor – 6400 xp

· Warhounds (6) – 1200 xp

· Ogres (2) – 1600 xp

· Hill giant – 3200 xp

· Story award (breaking the siege) – 9600 xp

· Total – 56,400 xp

· Per PC (6) – 9,400 xp

· Fame Point (for breaking the siege and sending the Council army packing) - 1

Current XP Total per PC

· Carlos, Slavé – 90,835 xp

· Alfred – 88,280 xp

· Boecca – 88,260 xp

· Tavo – 84,190 xp

· Alizander – 82,850 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 21