DF Soaring Phoenix, Session 106 - Last Game of Year

     This session was last month. The last game of the year in fact. 

Session Date:    Tuesday 17 December 2024

Party roster:

Ben, half-ogre barbarian, 233 points (PC)
Erizax Ofaris, human wizard, 292 points (PC)
Merrill Tangled Tail, cat-folk monk (martial artist), 234 points (PC)
Violetta, human warrior (barbarian), 161 points (PC)
Randall, human veteran (knight), 173 points (NPC Ally) 
Dagne Timar, human priestess of Metallys (cleric), 147 points (NPC) 
Hartwin Bertelot, human monster-hunter (knight), 128 points (PC) 
Maximilian "Stout" Grupher III, goblin cleric of Ishtanna, 199 points (PC)

Campaign Date:    15 and 16 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire. 

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-- We resumed with the party in the courtyard of the ruined castle. The four dwarves of the Shattered Axe had not long departed, having reluctantly handed over Hartwin's halberd  on the way out. 

-- The PCs continued their search for the enemies behind the zombie attacks. The courtyard, tower, shrine, and gatehouse all turn up empty. Nothing of note is found. It seems that the two people (believed to be the half-orc archer and half-orc cleric) had both left expeditiously once the zombies had fallen, each via different exits it seemed.

-- Rather than pursue the two miscreants, the party wanted to make sure the ruined castle was indeed empty (and locate any such items that they might have missed or left behind in a hurry). The PCs discussed which of the two remaining unexplored towers to search first. Their intent was to check both regardless. 

-- The SW tower turned out to contain the orc bedding and a mess of abandoned or discarded items that had probably already been ransacked. A thorough search turns up Hartwin's original possessions (or functionally serviceable alternative replacements thereof). The one exception was the broken metal cylinder which Hartwin's original party had recovered before they were ambushed in the forest by orcs... that cylinder was notably absent from the remains of his former companion's backpack.

-- While searching for Hartwin's stuff, Stout found a hidden stone trapdoor in the floor of the tower. Violetta opened the trapdoor easily. Merrill immediately jumps into the hole before anyone can object. The floor underneath turns out to be some 30 feet below, which Merrill discovers after crashing down upon a pile of junk and broken furniture; a slightly inelegant landing, but he was otherwise unharmed. 

-- The rest of the party looked down at the 30 foot drop, and concluded that they would not fair as well as the cat-kin. A convoluted plan develops, using the ladder from the wall and some old rope Violetta was carrying which Eleanor had previously scrounged up from somewhere...

-- A cursory inspection of the basement chamber by Merrill revealed that it was in fact wider than the tower above. The ceiling slopes up from the walls into a cone. Ah...

-- However underneath the broken furniture, Merrill discovered another trapdoor in the centre of the basement floor. This looked heavy stone and covered in what looked like writing etched into it.

-- Ben descended the rope, only for it to give way and send him crashing to the ground near to Merrill, who had sensibly stepped to one side. Erizax follwed by casting Apportation upon himself and floating down to the floor below. He gave Ben a healing potion for his fall, which mitigated some of his injury.

-- Inspection of the trapdoor by Erizax revealed that the writing was Vycenaean of some form... but absolutely magical, and part of an enchantment. Unfortunately he did not have the means to bypass the enchantment on the trapdoor. As it would turn out Erizax possessed extensive notes on the Lockmaster spell, but he had not yet found the time to learn it. Thus the portal for the moment remained inviolate. Some suggested brute force, but Erizax cautioned against this, in case the enchantment included a magical trap of some kind. Unable to proceed, they departed the SW tower.

-- The NE tower was found to contain more junk, interlaced with hard to spot spiderwebs, and some giant spiders. The fight was complicated by the terrain, but in the end the party dealt with the spiders. Searching thoroughly in the rubble, Stout found two unidentified magic potions.

-- Returning to the village the next day, the party reported to Magistrate Arlen regarding the ruined keep and what they had found there. He seemed visibly relieved that the threat to the village is abated. Certainly there may be one or two half-orcs roaming about, but they alone are not enough to constitute the immediate risk that a small army or tribe of orcs clearly were. 

-- There was a minor concern regarding the defiled shrine and the party's failure, so far, to cleanse it. However as both Stout and Dagne seem determined to return there and try again in the not too distant future, that was reassuring. The magical trapdoor doesn't pose a threat, for at least as long as it remains sealed, and Arlen is certain that no-one from the village should try. 

-- In thanks to what the party have done for the village, Arlen tells them that whenever they return to Fairhill, they may stay in the Noble's House, for as long as he remains Magistrate. This cottage, while smaller than the magistrate's own house, is a robust stone building normally used to house passing nobles or other dignitaries when they stay in Fairhill. In truth, it is about as big as a structure as the Drunken Cockatrice inn. Arlen keeps the key when it is empty, and (provided that it is not otherwise occupied) when they visit they may have the use of it for the duration. 

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    The players agreed that there would be a week of downtime for R&R in the village (to coincide with the holiday break IRL), so that the party could spend XP to improve anything used during the adventure. They elected not to pause for longer for more extensive training, as they felt there was still much that needed doing.

    While the party stays in the village for their week of R&R, it will soon become clear that both the farmer Fendrin and the blacksmith Voril are in contention for the Soaring Phoenix to help them first. Pretty much the whole village seems to know it, and everyone is expecting to hear the answer soon. There doesn't seem to be any doubt that the party will help, it is only a matter of who they help first, and whose need is the greater. 

    The presence of the vampire in the castle will still be a rumour around the village that doesn't die. However, the fact that the party haven't seen it in two visits so far, does make the risk of it less real to many.