The Infernal Syndrome - Session 26: Infiltrating Aberian's Folly

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
Boecca – Half-orc inquisitor of Erastil

Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) wizard

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

Tavo Dechirent - Human cleric of Pharasma
Vaeden Corleone - Human rogue

Toilday, 14 Calistril, 4709 A.R.

Vaeden, Boecca, Tavo, and Carlos track down Nyxervex to his lair within the Rasdovain gatehouse and destroy the bone devil before it manages to heal itself sufficiently to rejoin the battle. They also discover ten citizens of Westcrown stacked like cordwood in two storage rooms in the gatehouse – unfortunate abductees of the osyluth devil. Tavo examines the Wiscrani and determines that they are not dead, but in a severe weakened, comatose state. The group begins transporting the unresponsive bodies out of the gatehouse and into an emergency first aid station set up by Tavo outside of ground zero.

Meanwhile, Alizander and Jancen begin to parlay with the halfling Aberten. Jancen attempts to convince Aberten and the other thieves to allow him to speak to Crosael Rasdovain, implying that he is a close associate of the Lord-Mayor’s former majordomo. Aberten cares little for Jancen’s attempts at diplomacy, however, and orders the thieves to attack. Alizander falls under the thieves’ rapiers, but the attack is aborted when several of the dottari guarding the south approach decide to intervene. Aberten escapes back into the manor, while Jancen manages to capture one of the thief henchmen.

Jancen revives Alizander and the two rejoin the rest of the Returners with the captured thief. The group decides to retire for the rest of the night. Tavo remains at the first aid station near ground zero to tend to the survivors found in the Rasdovain gatehouse. Jancen, Alizander and Boecca interrogate the captured thief, Dourik, and learn that he works for the so-called Council of Thieves under the halfling Aberten “the Dealer” Vittershins, who recently assumed command after the death of Lozendi, who was killed by the erinyes devil soon after the explosion at the site. They also learn that a second group of thieves is exploring the Nessian Spiral under the manor under the command of a cold, calculating elf woman named Avahzi. Given the choice, it becomes clear that the thief is glad he does not serve under Avahzi, even considering his present situation.

The group learns that the Council thieves infiltrated Aberian’s Folly several days before the explosion, with the assistance of Crosael, whom Dourik describes as a tiefling woman with features more cat-like than fiendish – a far cry from the human woman the Returners met at the Six Trials of Larazod after-party almost three months ago. Dourik explains that Crosael is an agent of the Council of Thieves, who, as far as he knows, has been working a deep-cover operation as the Lord-Mayor’s majordomo since he took office twenty years ago. Apart from this, Dourik knows little more information, and in fact admits that he is not quite sure what about the motives of Crosael, Aberten, and Avahzi, and believes they may be operating at odds to the Council leaders. Dourik insists he doesn’t specific Council leaders, but that many of Westcrown’s noble elite – the Drovenges, the Oberigos, and others – are surely counted among them. Satisfied that they have gotten all they can from the thief, Boecca, Alizander and Jancen decide to let him go.

In the early morning hours, Jancen sneaks back into the site at ground zero and makes his way (invisibly, with the aid of a potion) to the far side of the existing wing of Aberian’s manor, where he manages to access Crosael’s room. The tiefling (who was sitting at a chair, examining a text of some sort, even at this early hour) notices the intrusion immediately. Jancen manages to avoid a fight, however, and trades words with Crosael for several minutes, appealing to her tiefling heritage and revealing that he knows of the location of the Lord-Mayor’s contract with Liebdaga the Twin. Jancen finds himself drawn to the alluring tiefling woman – the timbre of her voice and its songlike quality; the curve of her hip; the shift of her cloak as she glides through the room – and readily agrees to retrieve the contract and bring it to her the following day. As he leaves, he begins hatching plots for turning Crosael to his own cause.

Wealday, 15 Calistril, 4709 A.R.

The following day, the Returners head back to the site of Aberian’s Folly. They approach the north side of the remaining structure, where they are attacked by four shadows. The shadows are hesitant to venture into the daylight, and appear to be guarding the northern door into the structure. Tavo manages to wrest control of two of the shadows from their former master, whoever that may be, and the party defeats the other two shadows and enters the structure, bring the battle to Aberten and the rest of the Council thieves inside. Crosael takes a defensive posture, refusing to enter fight against the Returners, who clearly have the upper hand in the situation. Aberten falls under the relentless onslaught, and the rest of the Council thieves are either killed or driven away.

Treasure

· From Isavenda (erinyes devil) – session 25

o Longsword +1 (worth 1158 gp)

o Flaming composite longbow +1 (+5 Strength) (worth 4450 gp)

· From the Rasdovain Armoury – session 25

o Merciful arrows +1 (16) (worth 1328 gp total; 83 gp each)

· From the Rasdovain gatehouse – Nyxervex’s lair

o 450 gp

o Rings (4) (worth 400 gp; 100 gp each)

o Bracelet (worth 100 gp)

o Necklace (worth 100 gp)

o Anklet (worth 100 gp)

o Potions of cure moderate wounds (2) (worth 300 gp; 150 gp each)

· From the Council thieves

o Potions of cure moderate wounds (4) (worth 600 gp; 150 gp each)

o Leather armour +1 (4) (worth 2320 gp; 580 gp each)

o Masterwork rapiers (4) (worth 640 gp; 160 gp each)

o Masterwork hand crossbows (4) (worth 800 gp; 200 gp each)

o Crossbow bolts (40)

o Coins and jewelry (worth 1200 gp)

· From Aberten “the Dealer” Vittershins

o Punching dagger +1 (worth 1176 gp)

o Magic wands (2) (properties unknown)

o Leather armour +1 (worth 580 gp)

o Masterwork daggers (3) (worth 453 gp; 151 gp each)

o Magic ring (properties unknown)

o Illuminated Harrow deck (worth 250 gp)

o Pouch of gold dust (worth 100 gp)

Experience Awards

· Trap – glyph of warding (from session 25) – 1200 (divided among 7 PCs)

· Nyxervex, bone devil – 6400 xp

· Shadows (4) – 3200 xp

· Council thieves (8) – 6400 xp

· Aberten “the Dealer” Vittershins – 6400 xp

· Story Award (defeating Liebdaga’s faithful – Nyxervex and Isavenda) – 4800 xp

· Story Award (rescuing Nyxervex’s victims) – 4800 xp

· Story Awards (turning Crosael) – 4800 xp

· Total – 36,800 xp (divided by 6 PCs); 1200 xp (divided by 7 PCs)

· Per PC (6) – 6304 xp

· Nagiphax – 171 xp

Current XP Total per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 41,535 xp each

· Boecca – 38,780 xp

· Tavo – 37,790 xp

· Nagiphax – 31,657 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 15

The Infernal Syndrome - Session 25: Rumble at the Gatehouse

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
Boecca – Half-orc inquisitor of Erastil

Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) wizard
Nagiphax – Cyclops-kin rogue/barbarian

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

Tavo Dechirent - Human cleric of Pharasma
Vaeden Corleone - Human rogue

Toilday, 14 Calistril, 4709 A.R.

Nyxervex the bone devil uses its ability to assume invisible form to keep the Returners at a disadvantage. The Returners outnumber the osyluth by a considerable margin, however, and eventually force Nyxervex to retreat to the Rasdovain gatehouse, sealing the entrance with a magically-created wall of ice.

Repeated blows from Vaeden, Nagiphax, and Boecca eventually damage enough of the icewall that the group can enter the gatehouse. There they find several of Nyxervex’s servants – oversized lumbering lemure devils – and battle is once again joined. The fight spills over into the looted and ruined Rasdovain manor as the Returners harry the lemures from a distance. Nyxervex eventually rejoins the fight, first trying to fool the group and wear it down using an illusory projection of itself, then wading headlong into the fray once it becomes clear the illusory projection has worn out its effect. Nyxerves is gradually beaten down by the group, but alas, manages to teleport away before anyone can land a final, killing blow.

As Boecca, Vaeden, Tavo, Nagiphax, and Carlos are busy dealing with Nyxervex and the lemures in the Rasdovain gatehouse, Jancen and Alizander head to the surviving wing of Aberian Arvanxi’s manor, and come to the large black door leading off from the now-destroyed dining hall. Jancen sets of a noisy alarm when he touches the door; Alizander manages to open the locked portal with a spell. The door opens to a long stairwell leading downwards. Jancen heads down and eventually exits into an underground chamber featuring banners hanging from ceiling to floor depicting the circled crimson cross emblem of Cheliax. The tiefling’s heightened sense of vision reveals several humanoid shapes behind the banners. Before he is able to react, Jancen is attacked by the four figures – three men and a woman, all wearing fine suits of leather armour and wielding slim rapiers. Two of the rapiers slip in between the greaves of Jancen’s armour, drawing blood on their way out. Jancen winces at the pain, then steps back from the four thieves and raises his own sword in defence, claiming only to be looking for Crosael.

“Crosael,” says one of the men, “well you’re a little off track then aren’t you? She’s upstairs in the house, unless that blasted she-devil got her. With any luck she’ll get “the Dealer” too, bloody halfling. I suppose you just happened to open the door upstairs by accident did you? Better start talking berk, if you expect to get out of here alive.”

Through some skillful diplomacy, and more than a little trickery, Jancen manages to convince the thieves to let him go visit Crosael. Jancen heads back upstairs and joins Alizander, telling him that he believes they have found the entrance to the Nessian Spiral – the dungeon underneath Aberian’s manor that houses Liebdaga the Twin. As the two are talking, they are set upon by four more thieves who emerge from a second doorway into the surviving wing of the manor. As the thieves get closer, Alizander and Jancen see that they are led by a halfling – rarely seen in Cheliax except as slaves and servants. As the halfling approaches, he seems to be absently toying with a small deck of cards in his child-sized hands.

“Only two of you hmm?” says the halfling, his voice tinged with a note of sarcasm. “No matter, with any luck the osyluth has taken care of your friends by now. We’ll have you delivered to the Council soon enough.”

Treasure

· Magic longsword (properties unknown)

· Magic composite longbow (properties unknown)

· 50-foot silk rope

· Masterwork longspear (worth 152 gp)

· Magic arrows (16) (properties unknown)

Experience Awards

· Lumbering Lemures (3) – 4800 xp

· Total – 4800 xp

· Per PC (7) – 686 xp

Current XP Total per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 35,231 xp each

· Boecca – 32,476 xp

· Nagiphax, Tavo – 31,486 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 15

Council of Thieves, Part 4: The Infernal Syndrome - Session 24: Ground Zero

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
Boecca – Half-orc inquisitor of Erastil

Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) wizard
Nagiphax – Cyclops-kin rogue/barbarian

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

Tavo Dechirent - Human cleric of Pharasma
Vaeden Corleone - Human rogue

Toilday, 14 Calistril, 4709 A.R.

Jancen and Boecca manage to come to a truce of sorts, and agree to deliver Aberian to the authorities. They convince Aberian that it is in his best interest to turn himself into the dottari, and the Lord-Mayor (still in Boecca’s shackles) agrees to accompany the two Returners. Jancen has other plans in mind, however, and leads Aberian through the city and into the Rego Crua (the northern ruins), where, much to Aberian’s dismay, he is handed over to Pontia and the Order of the Scourge for questioning.

Meanwhile, Carlos scouts over the blasted ruin of the Lord-Mayor’s estate, both invisible and flying in order to avoid detection. He notices little activity, beyond several dottari guards at barricades blocking entrance on foot into ground zero, but does get a closer look at the deep crater left behind by the explosion. While in the crater, a growing sense of dread and fear builds until a panicked Carlos finds he cannot stay in the area any longer, and makes his way back to the rest of the Returners, whom he finds talking with a dottari lieutenant at one of the barricades.

Vaeden, Tavo, Nagiphax, and Alizander speak to the dottari, questioning the guards and the lieutenant about activity at the ruined estate. The dottari lieutenant is vague on details, muttering something about seeing several small, fire-shrouded devil-creatures wielding tridents entering the Rasdovain gatehouse just north of the ruin. Vaeden and Tavo sense something off about the distracted lieutenant, and determine that he may be under some sort of enchantment or compulsion. With the help of Carlos, they manage to remove the charm effect from the lieutenant, and learn that he was recently attacked and dominated by a lanky, feral-looking man who called himself as Jerusen and kept referring to the “Master of Shadows”. The Returners suspect that the Master of Shadows may be Ilnerik Sivanshin, the half-elf believed to be in possession of the Totemrix, twin to the Morrowfall and the other half of the Aohl artifact. The lieutenant is grateful to the Returners, and warns them to be on the lookout for Jerusen, who is surely aware that the lieutenant is no longer under his control. The lieutenant grants permission to the Returners to enter the area, and appoints one of the other dottari as commander of the barricade guard while he heads to a dottari guardhouse to make his report and seek protection.

Jancen and Boecca return and join the rest of the Returners at this point. Jancen and Vaeden decide to enter ground zero first and scout the area from the shadows. They avoid the raging tornadoes of fire that surround the crater, finding they give off almost no heat whatsoever until they approach within ten feet or so. The two rogues notice something lurking in the rubble as they near the still-standing east-wing of Aberian’s Folly. Unfortunately, the figure has also been watching them, and suddenly takes flight. A lithe and beautiful female form rises into the air on a pair of glistening black-feathered wings. She wields an ebony bow tinged with flecks of fire, and strikes an imposing silhouetted against the backdrop of blistering hellfire tornado and smoky night sky. The erinyes devil brings her bow to bear, and just as she readies to fire at Vaeden, Boecca lets loose an arrow from his vantage point about 200 feet away. The arrow flies true and strikes the erinyes at a critical joint where her wing meets her shoulder. Pain lances through the devil’s body, stunning her momentarily and sending her plummeting to the ground below. The rest of the party, still waiting behind the barricade, witness the event and rush into the area. The erinyes invokes the darkness and torment of hell in an effort to keep the Returners off of her, but the wound in her shoulder proves too great, and she falls under the attacks of the Returners. Before she succumbs, she manages to scream for aid from a being named Nyxervex – a name several of the Returners recall from their excursion into the Asmodean Knot several months ago. Nyxervex soon reveals himself, stepping from the Rasdovain gatehouse just north of the crater. The imposing 9-foot tall bone devil joins the battle, striking at the Returners with its skeletal claws and poisonous stinging tail.

Experience Awards

· Story award (delivering Arvanxi to the authorities) – 4800 xp

· Story award (removing enchantment from dottari lieutenant) – 3000 xp

· Isavenda (erinyes devil) – 4800 xp

· Total – 12600 xp

· Per PC (7) – 1800 xp

· Fame Points (for delivering Arvanxi to the authorities) - 1

Current XP Total per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 34,545 xp each

· Boecca – 31,790 xp

· Nagiphax, Tavo – 30,800 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 15

Session 23: Interim

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
Boecca – Half-orc inquisitor of Erastil

Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) wizard
Slavé/Jancen – Tiefling (in guise as a human) rogue

Tavo Dechirent - Human cleric of Pharasma
Vaeden Corleone - Human rogue

Toilday, 9 Abadius, 4709 A.R.

Boecca’s interrogation of Jancen nearly leads to blows between the two, but Jancen decides to step away from the conflict once several other party members enter the argument, deciding compromise over conflict is in his best interest at the time. Jancen gives the Morrowfall to Carlos, who begins to work out the capabilities of the artifact.

The Returners finish their exploration of Delvehaven, returning to the cellar level where they discover the secret lounge and several interesting artifacts still remaining there. They exit the lodge in the late afternoon, just prior to sunset, and make their way back to the Returners’ safehouse before it gets dark. There, they confer with Ailyn Ghontasavos, who is overjoyed at the success of the group in infiltrating the abandoned lodge and ridding it of most of its undesirable squatters. She gladly thanks them for the news of Bisby’s unquiet spirit and the evidence of Master Liriam’s passing before indicating that she plans on leaving for the great city of Absalom in the coming days, where she hopes to bring her case to the Pathfinder Society and return with a group to reclaim old Delvehaven. She expresses her hope that the Returners find success in retrieving the Totemrix – the shadow-half of the Aohl – from Ilnerik Sivanshin, and that they are able to merge it with the Morrowfall and put Bisby’s spirit to rest, as well as eradicating the shadow presence from Westcrown. That, she says, will cement their influence with the populace if nothing else will.

Wealday, 10 Abadius, to Sunday, 12 Calistril, 4709 A.R.

Rumours of the Returners successful infiltration of Delvehaven ripple through the city, spread in part by the supporters of the Returners. Alizander, Carlos, Tavo, Vaeden, and even Boecca are recognized on the street, especially in the Adventurers’ Quarter, where support of the Returners’ revolutionary ideals is strongest. The groups’ old friend Nagiphax reports increased patrols of both dottari and Order of the Rack Hellknights in the Adventurers’ Quarter, although she points out that the Hellknights were the more belligerent of the two, and in fact some of the dottari professed a certain respect for the Returners – after several pints of the Beer Golem tavern’s strongest oatmeal stout, on the house of course.

The party members return to a semblance of normal life during this period. Carlos begins plans for a magic and curio shop of his own, even convincing Vaeden and Boecca to return with him to Delvehaven to retrieve the remains of the model frigate in the Mariners Museum room. Alizander makes a return to Delvehaven himself, and successfully frees Mirrorskin the water elemental from its bonded state in the vanity room before dismissing it back to its home plane. Slavé, ever the black sheep of the group, dissociates himself from the Returners for a time and reports back to Pontia Runario at the Order of the Scourge headquarters. Pleased with Slavé’s observations in Delvehaven, she tests his loyalty by giving him a new task: track down and deliver justice to one Marduzi, a Hellknight armiger who was recently caught with contraband material (personal items related to the worship of Cayden Cailean). Rather than face punishment, Marduzi deserted his post and sealed his fate. Slavé tracks the deserter several blocks from the Red Duchess tavern in the Rego Crua and, after a brief exchange with his young wife, tricks Marduzi into believing he is a friend. Inviting Marduzi for a drink at the Red Duchess, Slavé delivers Hellknight retribution to the poor berk in the form of a poisoned shot of whiskey and a dirk in the back.

Toilday, 14 Calistril, 4709 A.R.

As the sun sets in Westcrown the streets grow silent. Wiscrani shutter their windows and lock the doors at night; the shadows remain an everpresent threat in the city, and fear keeps the citizenry out of the streets. Dottari patrol the main streets, carrying large halorans to light the way and keep the shadows at bay.

At mid-evening a terrible thunder tears through the city, rattling windows in their frames and knocking books from shelves. The Returners – some sharing stories at the safehouse in the Rego Sacero (Priest Sector), others at the Beer Golem tavern in the Adventurers’ Quarter – rush out into the night to witness a disturbing sight. A ball of fire and smoke rising into a mushroom-shaped cloud rises to the south, more or less directly above Lord-Mayor Aberian Arvanxi’s sprawling manor. Several party members notice something particularly unsettling – as the ball of fire and smoke rises into the sky, it seems at times almost to resemble a leering devilish face, with eyes of hellfire and teeth of white-hot ash. The initial explosion is over soon enough, but what remains behind is even more unusual. Fire pillars of fire, like stationary tornadoes of flame, spiral up into the sky around the explosion site, trailing into the dark night sky and lighting the southern view with an infernal radiance.

As knowledge of the explosion spreads, the city descends into chaos. Wiscrani rush into the streets, heedless of the dangers of wandering shadow-spawn. The Returners head toward the location of the pillars of fire as fast as they can, but the going is slow through the choked streets. Tavo gathers several of the lesser-known Returners (Sclavo, Amaya, Vitti, and so on) and sets up several first aid stations en-route to ground zero to assist citizens in need – those with broken and twisted ankles, broken bones from flying debris, and worse injuries from looters and the still-present shadow-creatures. A dottari duxotar (captain) recognizes the party and asks them to be on the lookout for the Lord-Mayor, as the dottari desire very much to question him on the explosion. The duxotar insists that if he is found that he be delivered to the dottari, as they suspect the Hellknights would transport him to Citadel Ravid, never to be seen again. The party members hear several other rumours as they make their way to the Lord-Mayor’s estate, including one that Sascar Tilernos, of House Tilernos, has gone missing since the explosion, and another that the Mhartis family home, located near Aberian’s estate, is apparently “cursed”, and perhaps the disappearance of guards and servants at the Mhartis estate has something to do with the explosion.

As the group comes closer to ground zero, both Slavé (as Jancen) and Boecca notice someone watching them from a dark side alley. Before they can react, the figure steps into the light and reveals itself to be the Lord-Mayor. Aberian is in terrible condition – his clothes are filthy and torn, blood cakes his head and hands and stains his clothes, and his expression is one of fear and terror. He beckons the party closer, moving back into the alley to stay hidden.

“I must warn you of something of dire importance. I know you don’t believe me, but I tell you the truth when I say that I love this city. I haven’t been the best mayor, and those who hate me have reason to, but what’s happening up the hill will ruin everything. You’ve doubtless heard the rumours – that there’s a devil imprisoned under my home and its infernal power is the source of my manor’s extravagances. Those rumours are correct. The devil’s name is Liebdaga the Twin – he’s an infernal duke from Avernus, and the House of Thrune put him there. But now something’s gone wrong. I caught my majordomo, that bitch Crosael, trying to steal the contract that details the conditions of Liebdaga’s imprisonment from a hidden safe in my chambers, and now the ruins of my home are crawling with devils, thugs, diabolists, and worse. Seems Crosael’s more than she appeared – not only is she actually a damnable tiefling, but she’s been working for the Council of Thieves all this time!”

Aberian begs the party to venture into the dungeon under his ruined manor – a place called the Nessian Spiral – and keep Liebdaga the Twin from escaping. The party learns that Aberian has a copy of the contract consigning Liebdaga the Twin to the dungeons under Aberian’s manor – a place called the Nessian Spiral – and that he is willing to sign partial ownership of the contract over to them. Aberian insists that this should grant the party a bit of leverage against Liebdaga when they confront him, and they might even be able to use their ownership of the contract to bypass some guardians and traps in the Nessian Spiral. He points out a clause that states: “The undersigned shall be considered bound by this contract, and shall be granted access to the Nessian Spiral’s workings should the need for repairs or adjustments arise.” The contract mentions a method of shutting down the infernal engine within the Nessian Spiral safely – somewhere in the Spiral are five cooling pools, where waters from the River Styx are drawn in from the Great Beyond to regulate the infernal energies drawn off of the pit fiend, and in the event of a cataclysmic failure, the flow of the waters from the Styx can be shut off with the application of a device called a Stygian Keyrod once kept by the Spiral’s Keepers. Shutting off this flow of unholy water should throttle the engine’s energy output, and while this could cause the engine to falter and fail, it is a much preferred solution than the destruction of the engine and release of its occupant. The contract itself closes with a notation that “This contract remains binding and legal for all perpetuity so long as the consigned component of the infernal engine be a viable source of power, as witnessed here by Signatory Vaccha, Kolyarut of the Scriptures of Adamantine.”

Aberian says he knows little of the Nessian Spiral, save that it is maintained by a group of tieflings that live in indentured servitude in the dungeon known as the “Spiral’s Keepers”, though Aberian prefers to call them “tunnel rats”. The tunnel rats currently serving there are the fourth generation, and Aberian remembers when Thrune agents arrived to install them and take the old ones away. He recalls the tiefling priest who Thrune selected to be the commander of the keepers – Veladness, a dark-eyed, evil-looking mongrel with glowing spidery stripes along with sides of his head and whose grating voice sent chills down the mayor’s spine. Aberian left details of shipments of food and supplies to the tieflings to his majordomo, Crosael.

As the Lord-Mayor makes ready to depart, Boecca steps in to stop him, insisting that he tell the dottari the same story he told them. Jancen tells Boecca to let him go, and Aberian turns tail and attempts to run. Boecca casts a hold person spell, freezing the Lord-Mayor in place, while Jancen rushes up to him and drags him into a nearby building. Alizander watches, carefully weighing his options and wondering whether he should assist in capturing the Lord-Mayor or let him go.

Treasure:

- From session 22: Whisperlash, +2 defending mithral rapier (worth 4160 gp); Hand of the Pharoah of Nagas (as luckstone, worth 10,000 gp), 5 ancient treaties (750 gp - 150 gp each)

· From the Delvehaven Tavern

o Elven spirit wine (4 bottles, 4600 A.R. vintage) (worth 700 gp total – 175 gp each)

o Potions of cure moderate wounds (2) (worth 300 gp – 150 gp each)

o Potions of lesser restoration (2) (worth 300 gp – 150 gp each)

o Potion of levitate (worth 150 gp)

o Potions of mage armour (2) (worth 50 gp – 25 gp each)

o Potion of protection from arrows (worth 150 gp)

o Potion of reduce person (worth 25 gp)

· From the Private Lounge

o Pre-Thrune Chelish banner (worth 75 gp)

o Oil of daylight (worth 375 gp)

o Scroll of sending (worth 562 gp)

o Scroll of lesser invulnerability (worth 350 gp)

o Talisman of the Orc Mother’s Fury (worth 6000 gp)

Experience Awards

· Haunt – Bisby’s bickering – 2400 xp

· Story Award (releasing Mirrorskin – Alizander) – 2400 xp

· Story Award (returning to Delvehaven and retrieving frigate model – Carlos, Boecca, Vaeden) – 2400 xp

· Story Award (assassinating Marduzi, the Hellknight defector – Slavé) – 2400 xp

· Story Award (setting up first aid stations following explosion at Aberian’s Folly – Tavo) – 2400 xp

· Total – 12000 xp

· Per PC (6) – 2000 xp each

· Fame Points (for successfully infiltrating Delvehaven) - 2

Current XP Total per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 32,745 xp each

· Boecca – 29,990 xp

· Tavo – 27,410 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 14

The Sixfold Trial - Session 10: The Cornucopia

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) wizard
Nagiphax - Cyclops-kin rogue/barbarian
Slavé – Tiefling (disguised as a human named Jencen) rogue

Tavo Dechirent - Human cleric of Pharasma
Vaeden Corleone - Human rogue

Wealday, 28 Neth, 4708 A.R.

Janiven and Arael provide the group with several healing and restorative potions, unsure of what they might face if they are successful in gaining entry into the Asmodean Knot while at the Lord-Mayor’s party.

Alizander, Carlos, Nagiphax, Slavé (as Jencen), Tavo, Vaeden, and the rest of the main players in The Six Trials of Larazod arrive at the Lord-Mayor’s party in full costume, and are ushered into the monstrous villa’s main hall, where they are introduced to the Wiscrani elite. The party – called The Cornucopia – unfolds in a series of six decadent courses, featuring ever-more exotic dishes and increasingly intoxicating wines and spirits. The group trades gossip with several of Westcrown’s most decorated citizens, including members of the nobility (the shrewd Eirtein Oberigo, the lush Sascar Tilernos, and the beautiful but dangerous-looking Chammady Drovenge), General Vourne (the Commander of the Gemcrown Fleet, based out of Egorian), Crosael Rasdovain (the Lord-Mayor’s most knowledgeable majordomo) and the Lord-Mayor Aberian Arvanxi himself. From these individuals the party learns several important pieces of information, including:

· that the rumours of the Lord-Mayor’s villa being powered by an imprisoned pit fiend in the dungeons below the manor (the so-called Nessian Spiral) are purportedly true, and that the pit fiend was a gift from House Thrune to the first Lord-Mayor (of the Thrune-era) 70 years ago;

· that the Lord-Mayor is concerned by the minor glitches and troubles he has been experiencing with the powered lights, running hot water, and fireplaces in his villa of late;

· that the wine and narcotics being served at the party are especially potent and that if they wish to remain sensible by the party’s end they should pace themselves and eat with caution;

· that Crosael is concerned about one of the newer hires – a servant by the name of Sian who’s been missing for two days now along with a valuable bust of Asmodeus;

· that the Asmodean Knot is said to be a pocket dimension that is accessible from a special mirror hidden somewhere in the house, and that it is likely guarded by devils and shadowy undead; and

· that Sascar believes the stories that Aberian Arvanxi has a sick, deformed son locked in the attic.

As the 40 or so patrons of the Cornucopia partake of the final course and reach a state of orgiastic, inebriated oblivion, the Returners head surreptitiously upstairs and begin looking for the entrance to the Asmodean Knot (Vaeden ensures that Calseinica, his costar in The Six Trials of Larazod, is safely asleep in her room before heading out). It doesn’t take them long to find the special mirror located in a secret room in the attic. Merely touching the metallic surface of the mirrors whisks the party-members into a long, corridor paneled in an unusual, polished grey wood – the entrance to the Asmodean Knot. At their feet in the hallway is the corpse of what appears to be an elven man wearing old, tattered wizarding robes. Alizander picks up the dead elf's backpack and begins rooting through it for clues and information.

Treasure

· Potions of Cure Serious Wounds (6) – from Janiven and Arael

· Potions of Lesser Restoration (6) – from Janiven and Arael

· Backpack (unidentified, moderate conjuration) – from dead elf

· Pearl (unidentified, strong transmutation) – from dead elf

· Scrolls (5 – unidentified, all radiate necromancy) – from dead elf

· Wand (unidentified, moderate conjuration) – from dead elf

· Tattered parchment (non-magical, not yet examined) – from dead elf

Experience Awards

· Learning Gossip (Lord-Mayor Aberian Arvanxi) – 800 xp

· Learning Gossip (Crosael Simiin Radovain) – 800 xp

· Learning Gossip (General Vourne) – 800 xp

· Learning Gossip (Eirtein Oberigo) – 800 xp

· Learning Gossip (Sascar Tilernos) – 800 xp

· Finding entrance to the Asmodean Knot – 3400 xp

· Total – 7400 xp

· Per PC (6) – 1200 xp

Current XP Totals Per PC (after session 9)

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 9655 xp each

· Nagiphax – 9135 xp

· Tavo – 9000 xp

· Croso, Orem – 2875 xp

· Total Current Fame Points - 8