Council of Thieves, Part 3: What Lies in Dust - Session 15: Within the Crux

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

Oathday, 29 Neth, 4708 A.R.

Tavo, Vaeden, Carlos, and Alizander return to the Adventurers’ Quarter to recover and nurse their wounds. Tavo accompanies the weak and sickly Vaeden to the Returner’s safehouse and gets Arael’s assistance in attending the rogue’s deadly affliction. When their initial ministrations prove unsuccessful in removing the effects of the mummy rot, Arael scours the city for help and finds it in the form of Barella, a travelling cleric of Arael’s own patron, Iomedae. Barella, a stout and muscular woman with a soft voice at odds with her rough exterior, agrees to aid her fellow brother of the cloth in exchange for a place to lay her head for several nights (in addition to the cost associated with her spellcasting). Barella is successful in removing the mummy’s curse from the near-dead Vaeden, and also cures him of the dreadful effects of the disease.

Jancen, before returning to the Adventurers’ Quarter, finds the Lord-Mayor in his villa and confirms their meeting for the following week. He also finds Crosael and tells the majordomo of Sian’s treachery. Crosael expresses shock at the news and berates herself for not being more diligent when hiring Sian. She is grateful to Jancen for returning the missing bust of Asmodeus.

Fireday, 30 Neth to Wealday, 12 Kuthona, 4708 A.R.

The party takes care of several items of business during this two week period. Nagiphax the Cyclops-kin decides her community would be better served if she remains behind the bar at the Beer Golem Tavern where she can keep an eye on those close to her. She remains a member of the Returners, yet decides not to accompany the party on further forays out of the Adventurers’ Quarter. Carlos scribes several spells into his grimoire and works on crafting magic items; Alizander strolls about the Adventurers’ Quarter extolling the virtues of the Returners and coming dangerously close to running afoul of the dottari on several occasions; Vaeden keeps his ear to the ground and gets a sense of the latest feelings among the former adventurers and disenfranchised nobles in the Quarter; Slavé / Jancen meets with Pontia and is later informed by one of Aberian Arvanxi’s messengers that the Order of the Scourge has been given the permits to establish a small base in the former Church of Erastil in the northern ruins of the city (the former hideout of the Bastards of Erebus); Tavo continues cleaning up the old Church of Erastil until confronted by Hellknights of the Order of the Scourge. Through some careful diplomacy, Tavo manages to broker a deal with the Hellknights and is allowed to stay on at the site as a resident mortician. After all, the Hellknights figure they may rack up a body count being located in the heart of the Dospera.

During this time, the party also consults with Arael, Janiven, and the Pathfinder Ailyn Ghontasavos. Ailyn is overjoyed that the party managed to retrieve the Chelish Crux, and relates once again her story of the Pathfinder Donatalus Bisby and his chronicler, Ilnerik Sivanshin (see session 8 summary), encouraging the party to open the Crux and continue its investigation into the link between the shadow menace and Delvehaven, the old Pathfinder lodge.

Oathday, 13 Kuthona, 4708 A.R.

Alizander is finally successful in deciphering the Chelish Crux puzzle box. The item snaps open, unleashing its contents onto the floor of the Returners’ safehouse. One larger item the size of a chicken rolls under a nearby pew and emits a loud, offensive keening in a raspy female voice. Retrieving the object, the party finds itself in the possession of a disturbing relic – the severed, yet very vociferous and very much alive, head of some devilish female creature. Between curses and epithets screamed in the Infernal language of the Pit, the party learns that, once upon a time, the head was known as Khazrae Kuelata, and that she was a mighty erinyes assassin who ran afoul of her master – the archdevil Moloch. Rather than slay her, Moloch had Khazrae’s body destroyed, wings and all, and left her a talking head so that she could endure perpetual humiliation at the hands of her former comrades. Over the centuries, Moloch tired of the increasingly mad Khazrae, and she was eventually lost in a gamble to a mortal wizard – one Dargentu Vheed, who later became the Lord-Mayor of Westcrown. Khazrae was afforded a place of honour on display in Dargentu’s home, until she finally overstepped her bounds and informed guests of Dargentu’s more delicate indiscretions. Khazrae has languished within the darkness of the Chelish Crux for decades.

Between rage-filled diatribes against Dargentu, Moloch, and every other former associate of Khazrae’s, the party discovers that Dargentu resided within the Pathfinder lodge of Delvehaven, and that Khazrae has some familiarity with the site. Finally, the party tosses the erinyes’ head back in the Chelish Crux, closing it to silence her Infernal ramblings.

The other items found in the Crux include a portfolio (which contains several Delvehaven accounting ledgers, a list of several missing Delvehaven Pathfinders, and a poorly-written poem entitled ‘Cugny’s Wedding’ that Alizander discovers is a cipher leading to a hidden Pathfinder cache at something called the Wave Door), several scrolls and wands, and a silver box containing four grave candles – necromantic items that permit communication with the dead via their mortal remains.

The list of missing Pathfinders identifies some names of interest and possible leads for the party to investigate prior to entering Delvehaven. It’s contents are as follows:

“Mayor Vheed,

Presented below is what I have been able to piece together regarding the Pathfinders who escaped notice after they sealed Delvehaven during the initial riots in the pre-Thrune unpleasantness. After the passage of seventy-some years, it would seem likely that only Sivanshin still lives, and if you wish, I can send my agents north to Nidal to attempt to find him. The use of grave tallow to interrogate those who have been dead these past several decades ironically makes them more available to interview than Sivanshin – provided we can find their remains, of course. I am happy to report that I’ve made some progress in that area.

1. Donatalus Bisby: Leader of the Amber Privateers and one of only two survivors of a journey to darkest Mwangi – he has firsthand knowledge of at least one magical artifact that could serve our needs for control. It would seem Bisby was sealed inside one of Delvehaven’s vaults as the others fled, but I’m unclear if this was a voluntary sacrifice.

2. Ilnerik Sivanshin: Bisby’s chronicler, a half-elf, Sivanshin fled Westcrown a week before Aroden’s Fall. Evidence suggests he fled north, toward Nidal, and with a stolen relic.

3. Coriana Heavenscape: A Westcrown native and, if rumour is to be believed, an aasimar. Coriana remained in Westcrown and organized the Father’s Bulwark, one of many groups of rebels glorious Thrune smashed in the pursuit of establishing order. She was slain and her remains collected by the Sisters of Eiseth – I’ve got them sifting through their holdings in an attempt to find her.

4. Loremaster Liriam: Delvehaven’s master of lore – no other would know more about the vaults below. Alas, no evidence of his survival has surfaced – like Bisby, his remains might still lie within Delvehaven. I do suspect he was the author of “Cugny’s Wedding,” and if so, your suspicion that it is a cipher may well be correct.

5. Venture-Captain Aiger Ghaelfin: Aiger was certainly the one who ordered the sealing of Delvehaven. My earlier research indicated that he planned on fleeing Cheliax for Absalom, but further investigation revealed this to be false. He remained in Westcrown and fought alongside Coriana in the Father’s Bulwark, but was laid low by a Thrune wizard who petrified him and then smashed the resulting statue. Scuttlebut among the blood bookie circuit is that the remains of the man’s petrified body have been in the possession of one of the lesser noble houses involved in bloodsport, but I’ve not yet determined which family (I suspect the Luccas). These filthy has-been nobles play well enough when faced with Thrune’s agents, but without the direct aid of your allies, master, I’m afraid I won’t be able to learn more….”

With the evidence provided by the Chelish Crux, the party decides to start their search by investigating the Wave Door alluded to in the cipher within the ‘Cugny’s Wedding’ poem, hoping to find more information in the cache described by the cipher. With Ailyn’s help, the party determines that the Wave Door is located over the water in Cutlass Cove, about a quarter mile from Delvehaven and Rego Sacero’s eastern shoreline.

Fireday, 14 Kuthona, 4708 A.R.

The party purchases two rowboats and, after greasing the hand of a dottari port-guard, rows out to Cutlass Cove just before sundown. Even with the aid of Alizander’s wayfinder, It takes the group some time to find the location indicated in the poem – some 300 feet northeast of the black-sand beach on Wort Rock – and by the time they do find the spot, the sun is well below the horizon. Before Alizander is able to activate his wayfinder and recite the Delvehaven oath (one of the steps necessary to open the Wave Door), the group is attacked from below the (thankfully calm) waters by three undead shadows – clearly guardians of some sort. Tavo suffers the cold, life-sucking touch of the shadows several times, and falls utterly drained to the planks of the rocking rowboat. Alizander finds himself in the cold night-water, also weakened by the shadows’ deadly touch, before the undead are finally dispatched. Alizander is dragged back into the boat, and the party gathers itself for several moments before the sorcerer illuminates the now-dark cove with his wayfinder and begins to recite the Delvehaven Oath.

Treasure

· From the Chelish Crux:

o Erinyes’ head (Khazrae Kuelata)

o Scroll of heal

o Scroll of remove curse

o Scroll of scrying

o Grave candles (4)

o Wand of break enchantment

o Wand of death ward

o Delvehaven accounting ledgers

o List of missing Pathfinders

o Cugny’s Wedding (poem cipher leading to the Wave Door cache)

o Silver box (worth 250 gp)

Experience Awards

· Story Award (opening the Chelish Crux and recover the clues within) – 2000 xp

· Shadow – 800 xp

· Faded shadows – 1200 xp

· Total – 4000 xp

· Per PC (5) – 800 xp

Current XP Totals per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 16,495 xp each

· Tavo – 15,840 xp

· Nagiphax – 9135 xp

· Croso, Orem – 8200 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 10

The Sixfold Trial - Session 14: The Asmodean Knot, Part IV

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

Oathday, 29 Neth, 4708 A.R.

The Returners proceed through the heart of the Asmodean Knot, wending their way through its impossible angles and infinite staircases until they finally make their way through and into the final stage of the demiplane. Moving past half-finished areas of the Knot, the party meets a formidable challenge in the Flawed One – the mummified and animate corpse of a former servant of Dargentu Vheed. The Flawed One surprises the Returners in an old storeroom within the Knot, and gets a solid strike against Vaeden before being eliminated. Vaeden’s arm turns an ugly purple where it was hit by the Flawed One, and the weakness spreads quickly through his body, bringing Vaeden to the verge of death.

Finally, the party enters the final chamber created within the Asmodean Knot by Avengen Doskivari – the Crux Sanctum – a huge cavern half-filled with a nauseating grey-green sludge. The party fights the guardian of the Crux Sanctum, a strange and rare creature featuring traits of both a bearded devil and a sewage-loving otyugh. Szasmir recognizes in the creature certain characterstics of an old colleague, the bearded devil Molikandus, another former servant of Dargentu Vheed who betrayed his master long ago. Molikandus sends a small retinue of lemure devils against Tavo, Carlos, Vaeden, Jancen, and Alizander, all of whom are experiencing significant fatigue after their trials in the Asmodean Knot. With the help of Szasmir the group manages to defeat Molikandus and his lemure servants, and at last discover the object of their quest into the Asmodean Knot – the Chelish Crux. The Chelish Crux appears as a wooden and metal dodecahedron that measures about six inches in diameter. Each face of the 12-sided crux is carved with a different rune, and when one looks upon the thing, the observer has the unsettling sensation that he can see too many or too few sides at once. Alizander tosses the crux on the floor in an attempt to discern the method of opening it, to no avail. Exhausted after their time in the Knot, the party makes its way out of the complex. Szasmir takes his leave of the Returners, declaring their contract to be fulfilled, for now. Tavo, Vaeden, Carlos, and Alizander use a room discovered within the Knot that allows them to instantly teleport to their respective homes, while Jancen (Slavé) decides to make his way back through the Knot and into the Lord-Mayor’s villa. Jancen is confident that the revelers of the previous night will likely be still at the mansion, either comatose or just coming to following the night’s events, and wishes to speak to return the bust of Asmodeus to Crosael and speak to the majordomo regarding Sian Daemodus.

So ends The Sixfold Trial, part II of the Council of Thieves.

Treasure

· Rope of climbing (from the Flawed One)

· From the Crux Sanctum:

o +1 keen short sword

o +1 defending short sword

o +1 cold iron light mace

o +1 returning javelin

o Necklace of fireballs III

o Ring of protection +1

o Ring of feather falling

o Wand of cure moderate wounds

o Wand of rusting grasp

o Golembane scarab

o Scroll of contagion (CL 9^th)

o Spellbook with 30 spells

o 1300 gp

o Andoran philosophy book (worth 200 gp)

o Illustrated book on Osirion (worth 230 gp)

o Libra Malfactum (3 volume work on the teachings of a spirit naga) (worth 400 gp)

o Ivory box (worth 800 gp)

o The Chelish Crux

· From earlier exploits in the Asmodean Knot:

o Pearl of power II (recovered from dead elf, formerly unidentified)

Experience Awards

· The Flawed One (mummy) – 1600 xp

· Lemures (4) – 1600 xp

· Molikandus, the Outcast King (barbazu-otyugh amalgam) (reduced for assistance from Szasmir) – 2000 xp

· Story Award (recovering the Chelish Crux) – 4000 xp

· Story Award (fulfilled contract with Szasmir) – 1500 xp

· Total – 10,700 xp

· Per PC (5) – 2140 xp

· Fame Points (infiltrating the Knot without direct observation – rumours that Aberian’s Folly has been “cracked” by a group of insurgents spreads over the next couple of months) – 2 points

Current XP Totals per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 15,695 xp each

· Tavo – 15,040 xp

· Nagiphax – 9135 xp

· Croso, Orem – 2875 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 10

The Sixfold Trial - Session 13: The Asmodean Knot, Part III

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

Oathday, 29 Neth, 4708 A.R.

The group decides to leave the chain-room and heads up the stairs into the room labeled ‘Observation’. There they encounter Livia, an unusually talkative (and perhaps half-mad) imp and former familiar of Darghentu Vheed. Livia claims to have been continuing Vheed’s work since his disappearance decades ago, and bids them enter the phobia rooms and retrieve ‘prizes’ from each for her. In return, they will find themselves cured of their insanity (of which they were unaware they were suffering from….) and she will answer for them six questions. Alizander, Jancen and Szasmir head into the phobia rooms, facing several creatures (vipers, spiders, stirges, and small fire elementals) while Tavo stays behind with Livia.

Szasmir speaks to Jancen, indicating that he knows that he carries a heavy burden (the runecurse), and that he knows of a way to be rid of the curse altogether. Jancen seems interested, and Szasmir says that he will tell him how to get rid of the curse if he will locate a person for him, a young girl he once had the pleasure to meet in Westcrown by the name of Amra Tailor. Jancen suggests that Amra may be dead, or very old, by now. Szasmir smiles and says, “Indeed, her body may have aged, but the soul remains the same.” Jancen agrees to help find her location and inform Szasmir when he finds out. Szasmir, pleased with the agreement, tells Jancen that the surest way to remove the runecurse is to turn it back on its creator by tricking them into accepting it. Szasmir says that he recalls the grey-skinned, red-haired woman who let Eliandru free referred to the elf as an ideal carrier, and believes that she may have been referring to the runecurse, in which case she could have been involved in its creation.

Meanwhile, Carlos, in disagreement with Alizander’s decision to parley with the imp, leaves the Observation room and heads further into the Knot, with Vaeden following. Carlos and Vaeden find a large cavern featuring a small lake of rank water, filthy with sewage and detritus. Carlos reads a magical aura on a small island in the middle of the lake, and succeeds in using magic to transport the item across the lake without venturing into the putrid water. Carlos and Vaeden are attacked by a elemental presence within the and Vaeden is hit by a watery appendage before the two manage to escape the room and leave the elemental behind. Carlos examines the item recovered and discovers that it is an unholy symbol of Asmodeus. As he analyses the symbol, he can feel a brooding intelligence within it, and is somehow possessed of the sure knowledge that the symbol contains a fragment of the spirit of its creator, Avengen Doskivari, the first mayor of Westcrown after the Thrune Ascendency and a powerful priest of Asmodeus. Carlos senses that he could communicate with the intelligence if desired, but quickly pockets the unholy symbol instead.

Alizander, Jancen, Szasmir and Tavo are successful in retrieving Livia’s ‘prizes’ (small gemstones) from the phobia rooms, and Livia rewards them by using magic to commune with dark powers. Jancen, Alizander, and Tavo ask her a number of questions and learn several items of information, including: that the shadow creatures stalking the streets of Westcrown were brought into existence by the breaking of an artifact called the Aohl into its twin components – the Morrowfall and the Totemrix; that the writhing chains in the room nearby hold a creature called a kyton and that it powers the Asmodean Knot by acting as a conduit to the Nessian Spiral below Aberian’s villa; that there are three fragments of Avengen Doskivari’s spirit in the Knot – a red crystal glaive, a book about a drowned adventurer, and Avengen’s unholy symbol; that the Chelish Crux (the object of their quest in the Lord-Mayor’s villa) is located in the Crux Sanctum, through the heart of the Asmodean Knot; and that one of the obstacles the party may face in retrieving the Chelish Crux is a creature called the Flawed One, which may be distracted by one or all of Avengen’s spiritual fragments. Finally, Jancen asks where he might find the woman Amra Tailor, and learns that she still lives in the Rego Sacero region of the city. Jancen gives this information to Szasmir, thus ending the deal made with the bearded devil.

Carlos and Vaeden rejoin the group at this time and the party continues its journey through the Asmodean Knot. They soon come to the heart of the Knot – a series of endless shafts stretching into oblivion above and below, with twisting stairs up and down that impossibly lead back to each other. Each circular chamber features several stone archways that are either open or sealed shut with stone masonry in random patterns, depending on when the party enters each chamber. As the group makes its way through the puzzling Knot’s Heart, they hear a raspy, female voice, “I see you managed to convince someone to set you free devil. Well, it is their mistake.”

“And who are you, anyway? Did Crosael send you? She has been far too concerned with my doings these last several weeks. I’m sure she wonders where I have been for the last two days. No matter, I shall dispose of you, learn whatever secrets you have discovered in here, and get out of this place. Crosael can put her mind at ease.”

The owner of the voice is none other than the grey-skinned, flame-haired tiefling woman spoken of by Szasmir. She attacks out of the darkness of the shaft, accompanied by a shadow companion. The party attempts to manoeuvre around the narrow steps to fight the woman and her shadow companion. Jancen decides to play the coward, and recoils from his attacker. He removes his backpack and tosses it to her, “Here, take it, you can have what we’ve found in here, just don’t kill me!”

The woman catches the backpack and slings it over her shoulder, spitting at Jancen in disgust before slashing at him with her barbed short sword. “You sniveling fool, stay there on your belly while I take care of your friends. I’ll deal with you momentarily.”

The tiefling woman dances around the confined battlefield in a dazzling display of swordplay. Finally, however, Jancen’s daring play comes to fruition. The runecurse in the backpack takes effect on the woman, and the bone devil Nyxervex steps from the fiery pit of Hell to claim its victim. The tiefling gasps in dismay, looks over her shoulder at the backpack slung over her shoulder, then to Jancen. Her screams echo up and down the infinite shaft as Nyxervex tears her into shreds before disappearing from whence he came, leaving little behind except the few items she carried.

Treasure (from Sian Daemodus)

· Spider venom (5 doses) (save Fort DC 14, frequency 1/rnd for 4 rounds, effect 1d2 Str damage, cure 1 save)

· Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (2)

· Potion of Gaseous Form

· Potion of Invisibility

· +1 Leather Armour

· +1 Short Sword

· Masterwork Hand Crossbow (19 bolts)

· Hat of Disguise

· Bejeweled bust of Asmodeus (worth 800 gp)

Experience Awards

· Giant spiders (2) – 800 xp

· Stirges (6) – 1200 xp

· Small fire elementals (1/2 normal due to help from Szasmir) – 600 xp

· Story Award (parleying with Livia and earning her aid) – 1500 xp

· Story Award (retrieved Avengen’s unholy symbol and avoided water elemental) – 800 xp

· Sian Daemodus (tiefling woman) – 3200 xp

· Story Award (avoided runecurse by turning it back on Sian Daemodus) – 4000 xp

· Per PC (5) – 2420

Current XP Totals per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 13,555 xp each

· Tavo – 12,900 xp

· Nagiphax – 9135 xp

· Croso, Orem – 2875 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 8

The Sixfold Trial - Session 12: The Asmodean Knot, Part II

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) wizard
Slavé/Jencen – Tiefling (in guise as a human) rogue

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

Wealday, 28 Neth, 4708 A.R.

Vaeden empties a bag of marbles on the stairs, sending one of the lacedons tumbling back down to the first landing. It doesn’t take long, however, for the rotten, bloated undead to reach the prison cells, where battle begins in earnest. Alizander and Vaeden fall prey to the lacedons’ diseased maws, and are stricken numb by the sickly poison oozing from their black, rotten fangs. Jencen begins reading from the book recovered earlier in the Knot, and succeeds in distracting the leader, whom the group assume to be the Drowned Jabe referred to in the book.

In the heat of battle, no one notices the exchange between Jencen and Alizander, and are not there to intervene when Jencen shoves Alizander into one of the empty cells with Drowned Jabe, barring the door closed behind the stunned sorcerer. Jencen mutters a curse to Alizander through the door, damning him for passing the runecurse on to him, before turning away. Alizander manages to escape and, for the present, puts the episode out of his mind.

The lacedons’ paralyzing attacks begin to take their toll on the party, and Tavo brokers a verbal deal with Szasmir in a risky, last ditch attempt to save his companions. Szasmir agrees to the hastily-worded terms, and gives Tavo his word that he will assist the group to navigate through the Asmodean Knot, with the understanding that they will help him to destroy his former master, Dargentu Vheed. In the event that Vheed is no longer present, the party and Szasmir will agree to part ways, never to see each other again. The deal signed with a word, Tavo releases Szasmir from his prison. The mad devil destroys the remaining lacedons with glee, and the strange red crystal glaive he weilds seems to absorb the creatures’ thick, black blood.

With the drowned ghouls defeated, the party decides to shore up defenses in the prison cell area and recuperate for a time. Szasmir paces and mutters to himself throughout the night, setting most of the party members on edge. The bearded devil frequently slips in and out of lucidity, speaking to himself or his red crystal glaive at one moment, and calmly asking Tavo and other party members if they have had enough rest the next. The party discerns several names from Szasmir’s mutterings, including that of Molikandus, who they determine may have been an associate of Szasmir’s at one time, and Elandriu, an elfin thief that the party decides must have been the dead elf they discovered in the Knot’s entrance. Szasmir also refers in spits and curses to a silent, slight woman with blood-red hair, skin the colour of brushed steel, and a mouth and eyes that glow as red as the pit of Hell. The woman apparently set Elandriu free, deciding that the elf might be a useful carrier (whatever that implies), but dismissed Szasmir outright.

Oathday, 29 Neth, 4708 A.R.

Upon waking, the adventurers continue deeper into the Asmodean Knot with Szasmir at their side. They move quickly through the damp, rank room with the pool that hid Drowned Jabe and his brethren, and thence down a rough hewn, steep tunnel. There, the party comes to a doorway leading to a series of steps – one leading up in the centre and two leading down to either side. Vaeden briefly explores a side passage leading to a deep, red-glowing pit with a mass of iron chains writhing above it, seemingly attached to shadowy stalactites thirty feet above. Within the tangle of chains appears to be a mutilated humanoid body. Bits of flesh, torn muscle, and splinters of bone seep through the links in the centre of the sphere of chains.

Experience Awards

· Drowned Jabe (lacedon ghast) – 600 xp

· Lacedons (3) – 1200 xp

· Deal with Szasmir – 1600 xp

· Total – 3400 xp

· Per PC (5) – 680 xp

Current XP Totals per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 11,135 xp each

· Tavo – 10,480 xp

· Nagiphax – 9135 xp

· Croso, Orem – 2875 xp

Total Current Fame Points – 8

The Sixfold Trial - Session 11: The Asmodean Knot, Part I

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) wizard
Slavé – Tiefling (in guise as a human named Jencen) rogue

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

Wealday, 28 Neth, 4708 A.R.

The party takes some time to discern the properties of the items taken from the dead elf. Alizander is shocked when he realizes that the tattered parchment he withdrew from the backpack is in fact the vehicle for a runecurse – an insidious curse that subjects the one who accepts the cursed item to some future calamity (often a hostile visitor from Hell or something equally as undesirable). The infernal text on the parchment indicates the name of an osyluth devil – one Nyxervex – as the one to carry out the curse. Alizander pockets the parchment, knowing that unless he can somehow get someone else to accept the item, this Nyxervex will come for him.

After consoling the shaken Varisian, the party continues into the Asmodean Knot. The hallways beyond the entrance are guarded by a trio of large, spine-covered hellish hounds that bray a maddening, incessant howl. The howlers send Alizander into unconsciousness before finally being dispatched. In the shadowy hallways that the howlers prowled, the party finds a collection of books focused on methods of torture (both as a means of interrogation and entertainment). One book in particular stands out for its relative newness and lavish illustrations – Drowned Jabe and His Miserable Brothers and Sisters. Jencen (Slavé) peruses the work; it tells the tale of a thief and his companions who came to the Asmodean Knot and drowned there, only to live on after death as ‘Drowned Jabe.’

The party moves deeper into the Asmodean Knot, navigating through a mind-numbing series of rooms featuring shafts and stairs that, impossibly, seem to twist and turn back upon themselves. The party narrowly avoids the undead shadow beasts that guard this bewildering place. Indeed, Tavo succeeds in bending one of the shadows to his own control, and bids it follow them as they leave the looping shafts and enter an old, forgotten prison are of the Knot. Within the prison, the party finds only one surviving inmate – a leering, rambling, somewhat insane bearded devil gone mad from years of imprisonment. Jencen is the first to spot the barbazu, and immediately thinks the runecursed parchment may be linked to the devil. Alizander (still somewhat delirious from the howlers’ braying, and increasingly distraught by the runecurse) offers the parchment to Jencen, who, in a moment of addled wits, accepts it, and thereby transfers the curse from Alizander to himself. Alizander skips happily away, eager to leave the devil behind and continue into the Knot. Jencen, realizing his error, watches as Alizander disappears down the hall, his eyes like black daggers. Tavo, Vaeden, and Carlos come down the hallway and join Jencen. They turn their attention back to the barbazu.

The devil holds and caresses a strange, red crystal glaive. He slips in and out of lucidity, one moment shouting in rage at ‘Lord Vheed’ (whom several party members recall as the former mayor of Westcrown, prior to the current Lord-Mayor Arvanxi) for some past slight, and another begging for release. The party learns that the barbazu’s name is Szasmir. Tavo, Jencen, Vaeden and Carlos debate over the wisdom of making a deal with the devil, while Alizander leaves the prison and continues downstairs, arriving in a large and dank room featuring a large pool of churning, muddy water. Alizander fires a bolt of electricity into the water and is answered by a trio of rotting, waterlogged ghouls dressed in tattered rags that burst out of the muck. The three undead creatures are followed closely by another, larger drowned man with empty, black eyes. The stench that emanates from the larger one is overpoweringly horrid. Alizander bolts from the room and runs upstairs, waving his arms and gesticulating wildly before slamming hard into the half-orc Carlos. The drowned undead quartet follows close behind.

Treasure

· Book – Drowned Jabe and His Miserable Brothers and Sisters – 400 gp (grants +2 competence bonus on Knowledge (religion) checks made on topics relating to undead)

· Handy Haversack – from session 10

· Scrolls (chill touch, command undead, ray of exhaustion, vampiric touch, false life) – from session 10

· Wand of Restoration – from session 10

· Runecursed parchment – from session 10

Experience Awards

· Howlers (3) – 2400 xp

· Shadows (2) – 1600 xp

· Total – 4000 xp

· Per PC (5) – 800 xp

Current XP Totals per PC

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 10,455 xp each

· Tavo – 9800 xp

· Nagiphax – 9135 xp

· Croso, Orem – 2875 xp

· Total Current Fame Points – 8

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

The Sixfold Trial - Session 9: The Six Trials of Larazod

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer
Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) wizard
Nagiphax - Cyclops-kin rogue
Slavé – Tiefling (appears human) rogue

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

Moonday, 26 Neth, 4708 A.R.

The actors are paraded through the streets of Westcrown, from the Parego Spera to a barge on the eastern shore which ferries them across the River Adivian to the Parego Regicona, the fortress island that houses the nobles and elite of Wiscrani society.

The troupe is transported with much fanfare to the Nightshade Theatre, a colossal theatre dressed in Egorian black and red; Lord-Mayor Arvanxi’s most recent architectural paean in honour of excess and extravagance. At four o’clock sharp, Robahl Nonon welcomes the audience, Visbarontess Delour sings an aria introducing the Six Trials of Larazod, and the curtain rises.

The actors proceed through the seven acts of the play, enduring ever more dangerous and deadly trials as the show progresses. The plot and background of the play are as follows:

Larazod receives a vision from Asmodeus in which the dark god unveils a prominent Chelish magistrate—the sinister Paraduke Montigny Haanderthan – as a traitor to Cheliax, who has compacted with demonic powers and plans to bring the worship of Asmodeus to a sharp and brutal end. Burning with unholy justice and diabolical purpose, Larazod, along with his stalwart companions, sets out to expose the highly placed traitor Haanderthan. They are greatly overmatched, as Larazod is a minor scion of a piddling noble house whose influence lies tattered in the wake of Thrune's seizure of power in Cheliax. Undaunted, Larazod vows a smoldering blood oath to Asmodeus to see the traitor fall before Haanderthan's actions bring the dark glory of Cheliax low.

Larazod's actions swiftly bring him to the attention of the Paraduke, who has the young tiefling scooped up in the crushing grasp of the law and brought before his dark tribunal for questioning. There, a dire confrontation ensues wherein Larazod reveals his vision and heaps accusations upon Haanderthan in full view of a well-attended tribunal session. Outrage and scandal threaten to topple the order of things, and Larazod's enemies grow in number. Only one high-placed member of the tribunal takes his part—a beautiful daughter of House Sarini and rival of Haanderthan named Ilsandra. A sultry love affair between Ilsandra and Larazod develops as the pair seeks to topple the treacherous Haanderthan.

Haanderthan, using the awesome influence granted a man of his stature, forces Larazod to undergo six trials to prove the truth of his accusations, stating, "If Asmodeus truly granted you this vision, then his almighty black hand shall shield you from dismemberment and disembowelment in the trials we've planned. Surely your faith does not waver?" Larazod agrees to the trials, blasting the magistrate with unholy oaths to see his foolish plans undone.

The trials follow. Combat with foul beasts and grievous tortures leaves Larazod and his companions brutally maimed both in body and soul. At its climax, though, Larazod emerges unharmed and is vindicated as Asmodeus himself drags the nefarious magistrate to Hell.

The party survives the deadly play – suffering through torture and self-mutilation, immersion within an acid-filled statue of a vast serpent, and battle with demon-spawn and skeletal beasts – to the great amusement of Lord-Mayor Aberian Arvanxi and his fawning audience of nobles. Arvanxi thanks the troupe before their exit, and tells them to expect formal invitations to a party to celebrate the success of the once-banned play at his villa in the coming days. The troupe makes its way back to the Limehouse theatre in the Spera, arriving soon before nightfall. Thesing leaves early (clearly perturbed by the party’s popularity), and Delour makes her exit excusing her need for beauty rest. After several bottles of Robahl’s best vintage, Vaeden and Calseinica explore their budding relationship further. The other party members celebrate the success of the play well into the early morning hours, returning to the Adventurers’ Quarter only after the sun has risen over Westcrown once more.

Treasure

· Payment after completing the Six Trials of Larazod - 1500 gp per PC

Experience Awards

· Act II – Trial by Torture - 800 xp

· Act III – Trial by Pleasure - 1200 xp

· Act IV – Trial in the Belly of the Beast - 1200 xp

· Act V – The Birthing Trial (5 lemures) - 2000 xp

· Act VI – Trial by Combat and Love (2 troll skeletons) - 1600 xp

· Story Award (surviving the Six Trials of Larazod) - 4000 xp

· Total - 10,800 xp

· Per PC (6) - 1800 xp

· Fame Points (based on Popularity points garnered) - 3

Current XP Totals Per PC (after session 9)

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 8455 xp each

· Nagiphax – 7935 xp

· Tavo – 7795 xp

· Croso, Orem – 2875 xp

· Total Current Fame Points - 8