What Lies in Dust - Session 18: Delvehaven, Part I

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
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

Starday, 22 Kuthona, 4708 A.R.

The party uses two of the grave candles retrieved from the Chelish Crux to hold scéance with the spiritual fragments of Venture-Captain Aiger Ghaelfin and Coriana Heavenscape.

From Ghaelfin, the party learns some details of the layout of the old Pathfinder lodge:

“Delvehaven, yes, a great museum it was. A museum and a gathering place for friends and fellows. It was a great lodge, in its time. Delvehaven is comprised of four levels:

The ground level: a stately and grand place, featuring the great library, the grand vestibule flanked by the foyer of reflection on one side and the foyer of fellowship on the other. The Nautalica: a grand and exotic feasting hall. No feasting occurs there now, I fear. The Rostrum of Vanishment, where we often practiced our ability to fight unseen foes. And finally the illuminated Council Chamber, where we discussed matters of great importance – ventures to unknown lands, archaeological expeditions among the ruins of the ancients – under a blanket of stars and a permanent image of the Glyph of the Open Road.

The upper level: apartments, guest rooms, the vanity room where Mirrorskin awaited each of us every morning.

The cellar: featuring the tavern, where we traded stories of our travels and the finest elven vintage. The Mariner’s Display and the Insect Museum – featuring replicas of famous ships and specimens of the rarest insects.

Finally, the vault below the cellar: where we kept our most priceless treasures, and the most dangerous.

But we failed in protecting Delvehaven, and in protecting the city of Westcrown against the depredations of those who care naught for history. Those who would rewrite history in their own favour, and damn us all to Hell in the doing. Alas, I failed my Coriana…oh my Coriana….”

At that, Ghaelfin’s spirit is wracked by choking sobs and remembered anguish. The spirit is no longer responsive.

From Coriana Heavenscape, the party learns that her good friends Ilnerik and Bisby had a falling out in the lodge’s final months, and that Ilnerik left without a word several weeks before the god Aroden’s death, and that in the days after his departure it became apparent that he took half of the strange relic that he and Bisby had recovered in the Mwangi expanse. Bisby himself had grown increasingly paranoid and protective of the remaining half of the relic. Coriana saw the complete relic only once – it was gold and black, with two heads – a bird head and a bat head. As far as she knows, Bisby remained inside the lodge after it was sealed.

Coriana also tells the party that she helped Loremaster Liriam create the extradimensional space in Cutlass Cove, and that the keys left there can be used to open the doors to Bisby’s chambers, the Summoning Room, and the triple doors leading to the Gauntlet of the Sun (as Bisby began referring to it after retrieving the relic) in the vault under the cellar.

As Coriana speaks to the party her gaze lingers on Vaeden Corleone, and the spirit appears to have a moment of reflection:

“I know you. Nicolo? Nicolo Davion; is it you? Are we dead? Yes, we were killed together by those Thrune soldiers and that wizard, Commandra. Commandra Voxlay. Aiger tried to convince me to leave the city; told me that it was doomed to suffer under the Thrune ascendancy. But I could not leave, and your house, House Davian, bravely resisted the Thrune tyrants. But Aiger Ghaelfin was right, wasn’t he? We were powerless against Thrune, powerless against the might of Hell. I should have listened to him. No. I made my choice, as did you. It is good to see you, even in this cold place called death. It is not what I expected – death. No elysian fields, no golden host to greet us on white steeds. Perhaps the gods are a sham, and Hell is but a dream of our own creation.”

The spirit of Coriana Heavenscape vanishes into the ether. Vaeden recalls the stories told to him in his youth by his keeper, the elf Alfred. He remembers the name Nicolo as that of his great-grandfather, patriarch of House Davion at the time of Aroden’s death. Coriana’s words suggest that there may be more to the story of House Davion’s fall than Alfred has seen fit to reveal.

Starday, 29 Kuthona, 4708 A.R.

After spending a week in preparation, the party decides to take on the task of exploring Delvehaven. Although it has sat largely undisturbed for the past century, rumours of haunting, dangerous wards, and strange goings-on surround the place. The lodge itself faces the meandering Adivian Walk, the road that runs along the eastern shore of the Rego Sacero; the far side of the road at this point overlooks a 30-foot-high bluff that drops into the waters below. The party arrives at the site in the early afternoon. The area is generally not well travelled (the notorious building keeps folk away). The party has little trouble bypassing the seized and rusted gate barring entrance to the expansive and overgrown courtyard. Once inside, Carlos, Alizander, and Vaeden detect the presence of numerous magical traps warding the grounds. The party members gingerly bypass these areas and approach the front doors of the lodge. The sagging veranda, its columns think and mildew-spotted with age, adorns Delvehaven’s façade. Two huge oaken doors stand in the centre of the veranda, a carving of a road receding into the horizon inscribed within a circle decorating each portal. A wooden placard above the doors hangs precariously from rotting joints, its face bearing an inscription that reads:

To liberate the Past for the knowledge of Today

To live the maxim that fortune is earned by the bold

To prove there are no boundaries

Amazingly, the doors leading into the lodge are unlocked and slightly ajar. There is little evidence of activity on the threshold, and the party moves inside.

Approaching the Grand Vestibule, the party members take a moment to let their eyes adjust to the dim light before moving on. They move as a group through the Foyer of Fellowship and back into the Library of Inducted Experience, where the party members read several books that seem to draw the readers into their mesmerizing pages, leaving each of them shaken but possessed of new insights as a result of reading the strange tomes.

It is within the Nautalica, the old feasting hall of Delvehaven, where the party meets its first challenge. The animated and shadow-infused skeleton of a huge beast, some tri-horned reptile from a long forgotten land, steps from behind the murky waters of the Nautalica’s massive aquarium. Luckily, the cautious party manages to act before the beast attacks. Vaeden begins to circle around the aquarium, intent on sneaking up behind the creature. Alizander and Carlos hurl spells at their foe, while Jancen and Tavo retreat to safer positions. The shadowy creature responds by exhaling a greasy black ray towards Alizander, missing by inches. Another barrage of spells from Carlos and Alizander ensue before the two move back out of the room themselves. The creature follows, and Carlos receives the full-force of the beast’s central horn. The shadowy triceratops punches the bony horn through Carlos’ stomach, lifts the wizard off his feet, and slams him against the wall. Carlos slides off of the horn and into a bloody, lifeless heap.

Jancen manages to get in and pull Carlos body out of the way while Alizander gets the beast’s attention, moving backwards down the hall. In a moment of inspiration, Alizander summons a powerful gust of wind and physically blows the shadow-stuff off of the triceratops skeleton. The shadowy tendrils float behind the skeleton, inching through the air back towards the host. For the moment, however, Alizander is successful in rendering the creature bereft of its shadow-power. Vaeden continues to sneak up behind triceratops, hoping to get in a single, tactical strike.

Treasure:

· From the Library of Inducted Experience:

o Pathfinder Chronicles collection (75% complete) (worth currently unknown)

Experience Awards

· Story Award (scéance with Ghaelfin and Coriana) – 1500 xp

· Isolation sphere traps – 4800 xp

· Transposition trap – 2400 xp

· Total – 8700 xp

· Per PC (5) – 1740 xp each

Current XP Total per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 20,835 xp each

· Tavo – 20,140 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 12

What Lies in Dust - Session 17: Massacre House

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
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

Fireday, 21 Kuthona (winter solstice), 4708 A.R.

The party decides to investigate the goings on within the base of the Sisters of Eiseth, the so-called ‘Massacre House’, and retrieve the ashes of Coriana Heavenscape. The night of the winter solstice coaxes out the day and illuminates Westcrown under a waning gibbous moon. The city is uncharacteristically cool and crisp; it puts Alizander in mind of his own Varisia, far to the north yet always near in memory.

The Returners draw their cloaks more tightly over their bodies to keep out the cold. They creep along the ruins and black alleys of the Parego Dospera. In the distance, out of eyesight, a pack of feral dogs fight over some choice morsel. The orange embers of an abandoned fire pulsate in a sheltered alley, sputtering out their last breaths of smoke. There is little life on the streets of the Dospera after dark. Here, separated from the lit streets of the Parego Spera and the dottari patrols, the shadow menace of Westcrown is most keenly felt. Slavé, in guise as Jancen, leads the Returners near the old Church of Erastil, formerly the demesne of the Bastards of Erebus, now the Hellknight Order of the Scourge. The nearness of the Scourge headquarters offers some respite from the oppressive dark of the Dospera at night, well-lit and guarded as it is by Hellknight recruits in scarred breastplates and horned helms. The Returners head past the old church, keeping their eyes focused on the shadows. Every strange sound, every pair of cat’s eyes and glint of moonlight on wet cobbles draws the Returners’ attention.

Finally, the Massacre House looms into view, a six-sided building of black granite, whose slate-shingled roof comes to a sharp triangular peak. The gibbous moon sits atop the peak as if skewered. The Returners draw closer to the northwest entrance. A faint halo of light reveals itself around the heavy rosewood door set within the deep vaulted entryway. Vaeden slowly removes two glass vials from a fold in his coat. He drinks the first and disappears from view as if imploding upon himself. He drinks the second and becomes as the mist. Invisible and gaseous, Vaeden seeps under the doorframe and into Massacre House and enters a preparation chamber of some sort – a room featuring a pair of large tubs flanking a low metal table. Several doorways lead out of the room. Looking through the doors, Vaeden can determine that the central room, at least, is occupied. Two women in crimson and gold robes – one kneeling and praying at a low table, the other sitting in a spartan chair with a leather-bound book in her hands – occupy the room.

Vaeden moves back to the entrance from whence he came and becomes substantial once again. Still invisible, he slowly releases the latch keeping the massive door locked. The latch gives mighty click (at least in Vaeden’s mind) as it releases. He waits for a moment and, not hearing any noise from the room with the Sisters, opens the door. The door creaks on its frame.

“Did you hear that?” asks a voice from the central room.

“Hear what, sister?”

Jancen, Carlos, Alizander, and Tavo move into the room with Vaeden. Jancen stealthily glides into position near a second entrance to the central room. Vaeden moves, still invisible, near the primary entrance to the central room. Alizander steps lightly over the wide planks of the pine floor. Carlos comes in next, carefully testing each footfall so as to avoid any creaking planks, and promptly slams his shoulder into the door frame, causing the heavy rosewood door to swing open and hit the wall with a mighty thwack!

“That, I heard, sister.”

The Returners spring into action, ensuring they are in optimal position when the Sisters of Eiseth come out of the central room. A few moments go by with little happening; Vaeden and Jancen hear movement within the central room, and the sound of another door opening. Finally, Massacre House erupts with action. A crimson-robed Sister comes through the double doors near Vaeden to find herself staring down the double-barrel of Carlos’ wheel-lock pistol. Momentarily confused by the strange weapon, she is unable to avoid the magic missile that erupts from the weapon and takes a hit in her right shoulder. A second Sister follows her, and Vaeden strikes, pivoting around the open door in between the two Sisters. He lunges and stabs out with his short sword at the first Sister, plunging the blade through her spine. The Sister drops in a heap. In the same fluid motion, Vaeden backsteps and rotates the sword’s haft in his hands, jabbing the point behind him and into the hamstring of the second Sister.

A third Sister exits the door near Jancen, who, like Vaeden, responds instantly with a thrust of his short sword. The third Sister proves the faster, however. She rolls to the right out of the blade’s range, twirls in mid-air and loosens a long, bladed scarf from her gold and crimson robes. Still in mid-air, she snaps the scarf at Jancen and wraps its barbed length around his left leg. The Sister lands in a crouch and jerks the scarf towards her, pulling Jancen off his feet and onto the pine floor.

The battle continues for several rounds, with the Returners and the Sisters of Eiseth each seeking the upper hand. Three more Sisters join the battle, but they are no match for the well-prepared Returners. Finally, the Sisters of Eiseth fall under the blades and spells of the Returners.

Gathering their breath and wits, the Returners go about a thorough search of Massacre House. Another large chamber in the upper level of the house reveals the massive furnace used to dispose of the Sisters’ charges – the bodies of those they were hired to kill. The furnace’s denizen – a bound fire elemental – proves to be a practical-minded being. Although at first hostile towards the intruders, Alizander manages to calm the somewhat dimwitted creature by promising to provide more fuel for the furnace than the Sisters recently have, starting with the Sisters themselves. The fire elemental, mollified by its decades of bondage within the furnace, acquiesces readily and begins immolating the bodies of the Sisters as they are fed into the furnace.

Meanwhile, downstairs in Massacre House’s ossuary, Jancen, Carlos, and Vaeden search through hundreds of urns of ashes – the remains of the numerous victims of the Sisters of Eiseth over the centuries. The urns are catalogued by date, and it becomes clear that the Sisters were a force to be feared in the first couple centuries of its existence. The number of urns in the century since Aroden’s fall, however, drops off significantly. Finally, Jancen discovers an urn with the name the Returners are looking for: Coriana Heavenscape, date of death - Gozran, 4608 A.R.

Treasure:

· From the Sisters of Eiseth:

o Potions of cure moderate wounds (2)

o Potions of lesser restoration (2)

o Masterwork bladed scarves (6) (worth 936 gp total)

o Masterwork light crossbows (6) (worth 1005 gp total)

o Poisoned (black adder venom) bolts (18) (worth 1089 gp total)

o Black adder venom (6 doses) (worth 360 gp total)

o 250 gp

o Ashes of Coriana Heavenscape

· From Ailyn Ghontasavos

o 1000 gp (reward for retrieving Coriana’s ashes from Massacre House)

Experience Awards

· Sisters of Eiseth (6) – 4800 xp

· Story Award (retrieving Coriana’s remains and claiming Massacre House in the name of the Returners) – 3000 xp

· Total – 7300 xp

· Per PC (5) – 1560 xp each

Current XP Total per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 19,095 xp each

· Tavo – 18,400 xp

· Nagiphax – 9135 xp

· Croso, Orem – 8200 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 12