Assault on the House of Hidden Darkness
This is a summary of the last "live" game I ran for my current campaign before switching over to the play-by-post format I am using now. Some of the characters involved have since died in other adventures or their players have dropped out of the story. This group would soon rendezvous with the rest of their party and kick off the next chapter of their adventuring careers.
The House of Hidden Darkness (Prologue)
Upon their arrival in Tsuragol, Raven and Alisandra had been accosted by a group of thieves. The adventurers defended themselves but an unseen spellcaster attempted to shroud the fight with a globe of darkness the thieves could use to cover their escape. The pearl on Nightwatcher’s pommel began to glow and wispy streams of black peeled off of the orb and were drawn into the glowing stone.
Within seconds, the darkness was gone and the thieves were defeated. The spellcaster escaped into the night. The escapee reported to her superiors in the thieves’ guild and eventually told her story to her guildmaster, Katerina Ustunov.
Katerina began to devote the guild’s resources to finding the elven swordsman and his darkness-dispelling sword. When pirates attacked the city, Katerina dispatched her followers to defend the waterfront. Globes of darkness began appearing in or near each individual battle as Shar’s clergy tried to find the sword that absorbs shadows. The city’s rulers hired adventurers, Raven among them, to pursue the pirates and one of the guild enforcers, joined the crew of one of the ships to learn more about Raven and his sword. Upon returning from the sea voyage, she reported to her mistress what she had learned.
Kythorn 10th, 1369 DR
After the knighting ceremony on the front steps of the Battering Wave, Raven, Morn, Lucian and Thaedous took rooms (free of charge, due to their status as Honored Defenders) at one of the many inns located in Tsuragol. The rest of the party (Chronosaj, Cain and Kuna) remained aboard ship to protect the loot the party had not yet had time to sell. The guild enforcer watched from somewhere nearby and reported back to her mistress.
Once night had fallen and the adventurers have turned in for the night, the guildmaster sent her thieves to steal Nightwatcher. The sword’s ability to warn of danger approaching does not work unless it is planted firmly in the ground so it did not sound an alarm when the thieves arrive. Two full cells of operatives had been dispatched for what had become a holy mission for the clergy. The thieves made their way up the adjoining balconies. One observer climbed to a rooftop across the alleyway to watch for trouble and provide magical support if the operation goes badly. As the group members moved into position, they became deadly quiet, professional, and detached from worldly concerns.
Their high priestess wanted to destroy the elf swordsman’s abominable blade and her followers were willing to die to see her will done. One of the women made her way to the balcony door and drew lock picks from a hidden pouch in her sleeve. She crouched down and inserted the picks, carefully finessing the tumblers holding the deadbolt in place.
Raven, once again unable to enter the Reverie and too restless to find real sleep paced around his darkened room when he heard a tick-tick-ticking sound. He paused, silent as a shadow and lifted Nightwatcher from the foot of the bed. He drew the sword from its sheath and padded quietly over to the balcony door. He listened intently and realized that someone was trying to pick the lock. He placed one hand against the door jamb, measuring a few inches to the side and thrust the adamantite blade through the wood. There was a surprised gasp, followed by the sounds of the lock picks falling and blood began to seep under the door.
Throwing the door open, Raven stepped out onto the balcony and found himself surrounded by ten guild thieves. The ensuing scuffle woke the other adventurers who, one by one joined the battle. Caught between Raven and Lucian’s deadly blades, Morn’s magic and Thaedous’ archery the thieves fell quickly. Still, with the fervor of fanatics, they continued to fight, hoping to steal the sword and escape into the night. Morn spotted the watcher across the alley as she turned to flee and clipped her in the shoulder with a quickly-cast spell. She tumbled over the peak of the roof and disappeared from sight. The adventurers took up the chase, leaping across the alley to the rooftop in pursuit of the wounded priestess. They caught up to her before she reached the street and surrounded her. Some “gentle persuasion” soon revealed the thieves’ motive and where they came from.
The party marched the priestess through town to a two-story, wooden inn with a detached stable and covered front porch. She indicated that this was where the guild’s hideout was located. The party headed inside and found themselves in a large common room with four large round tables with eight chairs each. A large fireplace sat in the center of the common room’s far wall. She lead the group over to the bar itself and walked behind it, opening a trapdoor leading down into a root cellar. The root cellar was old, damp, and lined with stone. It was filled with casks of ale and crates of wine bottles. Baskets filled with potatoes and onions hung from the rafters. She ripped off her domino mask and slammed her hand against the south wall, calling out to her goddess. A blast of solid sound filled the air, battering and bruising the adventurers and killing the cleric.
On the other side of the secret door the cleric struck, two guards snatched up crossbows and began firing into the root cellar. The party bashed down the secret door, setting off a hail of needles that peppered their armor but did no real harm and quickly overwhelmed the two guards.
Room by room, level by level, the party swept each chamber for threats, declared it clear, and moved on to the next. They passed through a kitchen, several storage areas, a mess hall and training room filled with bell-strung dummies. The guild’s armory and library both caught their attention and the group made plans for a more thorough inspection once the guild had been neutralized.
Finally, they reached the chapel. Flickering purple faerie fire torches rested in sconces along the sidewalls of this large chamber. Ten pews flanked the center aisle, which had a pair of basins, filled with unholy water at each end. The pulpit stood atop a raised dais with a stairway leading up to it on either side. Every surviving member of the guild had fallen back to this position to take advantage of the chapel’s magical properties. As the adventurers entered the room each was inundated with a mind-numbing will-sapping sense of hopelessness. Morn shook off the effects of the spell first and pulled forth his lyre. He struck up a martial tune to inspire his allies. As his bardic magic starts to take hold, a discordant tone fills the air. Across the chapel, dressed in black and white harlequin attire, a rather plain young woman struck jangling chords on her mandolin disrupting and cancelling out Morn’s rousing melody.
The fight began in earnest.
Gradually, each of the adventurers shook off the effect of the spell. Lucian and Raven dove into the room, swords cutting and stabbing through the massed Shar-worshippers. Morn’s whip-dagger lashed out keeping the rogues at bay while the front line fighters cut a withering path through the massed foes. Thaedous fired arrow after arrow into the room. Few, if any of his shots found their target but he kept up his relentless pace and tried to provide some cover for his allies.
Raven finally reached the pulpit, planted one hand atop it and began to pull himself up toward the priestess standing atop the raised dais when she shouted at him “Go to HELL!” with a voice filled with malign magic. A portal ripped open in the floor beneath his feet and a rushing wind began to pull at him. He tightened his grip on the altar and clung desperately for the few desperate seconds it takes for the portal to close. Seeing that her spell had failed, the priestess stepped back from the shrine into the shadows and called upon her goddess. Melting away into the darkness, Katerina sent herself across the room, rematerializing beside Thaedous and turned to flee up the stairs.
The adventurers descended upon the priestess without mercy and within seconds she lay slain in a stairwell of her own guildhouse and temple. After ensuring that the other thieves and clerics were dealt with, the party climbed out of the urban dungeon to summon the city watch to secure the location while the adventurers returned to their rooms for some much-needed rest.
The House of Hidden Darkness (Prologue)
Upon their arrival in Tsuragol, Raven and Alisandra had been accosted by a group of thieves. The adventurers defended themselves but an unseen spellcaster attempted to shroud the fight with a globe of darkness the thieves could use to cover their escape. The pearl on Nightwatcher’s pommel began to glow and wispy streams of black peeled off of the orb and were drawn into the glowing stone.
Within seconds, the darkness was gone and the thieves were defeated. The spellcaster escaped into the night. The escapee reported to her superiors in the thieves’ guild and eventually told her story to her guildmaster, Katerina Ustunov.
Katerina began to devote the guild’s resources to finding the elven swordsman and his darkness-dispelling sword. When pirates attacked the city, Katerina dispatched her followers to defend the waterfront. Globes of darkness began appearing in or near each individual battle as Shar’s clergy tried to find the sword that absorbs shadows. The city’s rulers hired adventurers, Raven among them, to pursue the pirates and one of the guild enforcers, joined the crew of one of the ships to learn more about Raven and his sword. Upon returning from the sea voyage, she reported to her mistress what she had learned.
Kythorn 10th, 1369 DR
After the knighting ceremony on the front steps of the Battering Wave, Raven, Morn, Lucian and Thaedous took rooms (free of charge, due to their status as Honored Defenders) at one of the many inns located in Tsuragol. The rest of the party (Chronosaj, Cain and Kuna) remained aboard ship to protect the loot the party had not yet had time to sell. The guild enforcer watched from somewhere nearby and reported back to her mistress.
Once night had fallen and the adventurers have turned in for the night, the guildmaster sent her thieves to steal Nightwatcher. The sword’s ability to warn of danger approaching does not work unless it is planted firmly in the ground so it did not sound an alarm when the thieves arrive. Two full cells of operatives had been dispatched for what had become a holy mission for the clergy. The thieves made their way up the adjoining balconies. One observer climbed to a rooftop across the alleyway to watch for trouble and provide magical support if the operation goes badly. As the group members moved into position, they became deadly quiet, professional, and detached from worldly concerns.
Their high priestess wanted to destroy the elf swordsman’s abominable blade and her followers were willing to die to see her will done. One of the women made her way to the balcony door and drew lock picks from a hidden pouch in her sleeve. She crouched down and inserted the picks, carefully finessing the tumblers holding the deadbolt in place.
Raven, once again unable to enter the Reverie and too restless to find real sleep paced around his darkened room when he heard a tick-tick-ticking sound. He paused, silent as a shadow and lifted Nightwatcher from the foot of the bed. He drew the sword from its sheath and padded quietly over to the balcony door. He listened intently and realized that someone was trying to pick the lock. He placed one hand against the door jamb, measuring a few inches to the side and thrust the adamantite blade through the wood. There was a surprised gasp, followed by the sounds of the lock picks falling and blood began to seep under the door.
Throwing the door open, Raven stepped out onto the balcony and found himself surrounded by ten guild thieves. The ensuing scuffle woke the other adventurers who, one by one joined the battle. Caught between Raven and Lucian’s deadly blades, Morn’s magic and Thaedous’ archery the thieves fell quickly. Still, with the fervor of fanatics, they continued to fight, hoping to steal the sword and escape into the night. Morn spotted the watcher across the alley as she turned to flee and clipped her in the shoulder with a quickly-cast spell. She tumbled over the peak of the roof and disappeared from sight. The adventurers took up the chase, leaping across the alley to the rooftop in pursuit of the wounded priestess. They caught up to her before she reached the street and surrounded her. Some “gentle persuasion” soon revealed the thieves’ motive and where they came from.
The party marched the priestess through town to a two-story, wooden inn with a detached stable and covered front porch. She indicated that this was where the guild’s hideout was located. The party headed inside and found themselves in a large common room with four large round tables with eight chairs each. A large fireplace sat in the center of the common room’s far wall. She lead the group over to the bar itself and walked behind it, opening a trapdoor leading down into a root cellar. The root cellar was old, damp, and lined with stone. It was filled with casks of ale and crates of wine bottles. Baskets filled with potatoes and onions hung from the rafters. She ripped off her domino mask and slammed her hand against the south wall, calling out to her goddess. A blast of solid sound filled the air, battering and bruising the adventurers and killing the cleric.
On the other side of the secret door the cleric struck, two guards snatched up crossbows and began firing into the root cellar. The party bashed down the secret door, setting off a hail of needles that peppered their armor but did no real harm and quickly overwhelmed the two guards.
Room by room, level by level, the party swept each chamber for threats, declared it clear, and moved on to the next. They passed through a kitchen, several storage areas, a mess hall and training room filled with bell-strung dummies. The guild’s armory and library both caught their attention and the group made plans for a more thorough inspection once the guild had been neutralized.
Finally, they reached the chapel. Flickering purple faerie fire torches rested in sconces along the sidewalls of this large chamber. Ten pews flanked the center aisle, which had a pair of basins, filled with unholy water at each end. The pulpit stood atop a raised dais with a stairway leading up to it on either side. Every surviving member of the guild had fallen back to this position to take advantage of the chapel’s magical properties. As the adventurers entered the room each was inundated with a mind-numbing will-sapping sense of hopelessness. Morn shook off the effects of the spell first and pulled forth his lyre. He struck up a martial tune to inspire his allies. As his bardic magic starts to take hold, a discordant tone fills the air. Across the chapel, dressed in black and white harlequin attire, a rather plain young woman struck jangling chords on her mandolin disrupting and cancelling out Morn’s rousing melody.
The fight began in earnest.
Gradually, each of the adventurers shook off the effect of the spell. Lucian and Raven dove into the room, swords cutting and stabbing through the massed Shar-worshippers. Morn’s whip-dagger lashed out keeping the rogues at bay while the front line fighters cut a withering path through the massed foes. Thaedous fired arrow after arrow into the room. Few, if any of his shots found their target but he kept up his relentless pace and tried to provide some cover for his allies.
Raven finally reached the pulpit, planted one hand atop it and began to pull himself up toward the priestess standing atop the raised dais when she shouted at him “Go to HELL!” with a voice filled with malign magic. A portal ripped open in the floor beneath his feet and a rushing wind began to pull at him. He tightened his grip on the altar and clung desperately for the few desperate seconds it takes for the portal to close. Seeing that her spell had failed, the priestess stepped back from the shrine into the shadows and called upon her goddess. Melting away into the darkness, Katerina sent herself across the room, rematerializing beside Thaedous and turned to flee up the stairs.
The adventurers descended upon the priestess without mercy and within seconds she lay slain in a stairwell of her own guildhouse and temple. After ensuring that the other thieves and clerics were dealt with, the party climbed out of the urban dungeon to summon the city watch to secure the location while the adventurers returned to their rooms for some much-needed rest.
Comments
Post a Comment