Plans laid, the group departs the frosty realms and travels along the roads back towards the Giant’s Causeway. The trip is largely uneventful with only a trio of trolls to provide a bit of entertainment for the travelers. Upon regaining the causeway, they turn northeast and ride for a few more days before veering off towards the edge of the vast swamp that separates the blighted plains from the walled city of Ausfang.
As they travel eastward, the terrain begins to descend and the second encounter is as they travel through the foothills. The flying mage reports seeing a largish group of ungern traveling westwards from the swamps. The decision is made to bypass them as there seems to be little profit in engaging the creatures.
More travel brings them to the wetlands that form the transition from solid land to the vast swamp. The ground begins to break up, with grass-covered mounds separated by ever widening streams as the terrain channels water towards the swamp. Eventually, the mounds become islands, separated by sluggish streams of murky water.
As the group approaches, their target becomes clear. Some distance away, a large tower is perched atop one of these islands. Barges are found on the western edges of the streams and the ranger opines that these were probably used by the traveling ungern, so it seems that they could be a raiding party or patrol that originated from the tower. Observation reveals that the tower is occupied, for lights are visible in the windows and there are thin streams of smoke that vent from the upper reaches of the structure. The group commandeers a barge and begins the process of poling through the swamp. The northern climate is not particularly encouraging to insect life and the journey is strangely quiet. It would seem that the ungern have convinced larger predators to seek other feeding grounds so the trip is long, but uneventful.
Although the journey is made in broad daylight, it is hoped that their boldness will be interpreted as then having a legitimate reason to approach the tower.
They choose the apparently less traveled waterways and make landing near the rear of the fortress, opposite the large main doors. They deploy a rope trick and rest until the wee hours of the morning.
The spider climbing paladin scales the side of the tower, reaches the balcony and lowers a rope. Once the elf and the cleric are aloft, they haul up the rest of the party members and gear. Once assembled on the balcony, they send the disguised elf to peer though the tall windows into the chamber beyond.
The room is lavishly appointed and apparently empty, so under the cloak of a silence spell, they bypass the door and gain entrance by smashing a window. As they enter they encounter a well dressed individual seated in an ornate chair. He says something and gestures towards the window with the large spear he holds. He seems displeased with burglars breaking and entering.
In for a penny, in for a pound and the melee begins. The Gal senses great evil and rushes to engage, followed by Lad and Kormier, while elf, ranger and mage clamber through the shattered window.
It becomes evident that there is mischief afoot as the mage rains an ice storm on the figure and smashes his chair, for he disappears into a ball of darkness and begins stabbing the paladin with his spear, blinding her and casting a confusion spell that steals the wits of the cleric and ranger.
The cleric wanders off to stand on the balcony and gaze at the landscape while the battle rages on. The action continues, with wights being summoned by the spear wielder (and swiftly dispatched by the mage’s recharged staff), and a bit of party member versus party member combat as the mage falls victim to another confusion spell and magic missiles the hapless elf a few times. Not to be outdone, the ranger uses his magical flail to beat the magic user several times. Things look grim.
A series of well delivered blows on the part of the party sees another globe of darkness envelop the spear bearer and the paladin – who fights on bravely despite her blindness. In the end, the paladin is swallowed whole by the devil – for a devil it is – but the beast is swiftly slain by the mage in a moment of lucidity. The group members still standing subdue the mage and use the silence coin to ensure no further mishaps of the spell casting type. They secure the doors and wait for the effects to wear off as they recover the paladin who was apparently vomited up as the creature was slain.
They wait in dread for reinforcements to arrive, but apparently the lord of the tower is not to be disturbed, for no one comes to investigate. The following day, the cleric restores the paladin’s vision and they loot the place, finding several magic items, maps of planned troop movements, weapons caches, ration depots and all the trappings of a planned invasion.
They investigate an unlocked door and leave a locked one untouched, instead deciding to follow a rope trick rope into the ceiling to see where it leads.
It leads to a large room covered in frost and dominated by two large frozen pools and a statue of the horned god himself. A narrow staircase set into the wall leads down into the tower and the rear of the room is dominated by five large stone doors. As they fan out, a tattooed priest strides into view and curses them for invading the fane of Unklar. He punctuates his invective with a roaring column of fire that nearly slays the Lad. Undaunted, the Lad hefts his axe and charges, the rest of the group trailing in his wake. A few swift rounds of combat ensue and the Lad smashes the priest;s head open with a mortal blow.
Apparently undisturbed by the loss of his brain, the priest leaps onto the ice, followed by the cleric while the elf dons his bat wings and attacks from the sky.
As the priest is defeated, the ice starts to shatter and reveals that the pools are not full of water, but are portals to the void! The cleric narrowly escapes the death trap and the group pauses for a moment. The tower top is a far more dangerous place than they had imagined. Devils, high priests that fight on after death…holyfuckingshit. What next?
Using the cleric’s x-ray ability to peer through the doors reveals little, so they open them one after the other. The first three contain vultures large enough to be ridden by a human and the necessary tack to saddle them as well a huge hunks of rotting meat. The opposite side of each chambner is a roll-up door through which the vultures can come and go.
The fourth contains the same as well as a terrified stable hand. Through questioning it is discovered that the Vessel of Souls is no longer in this place, having left on the back of a giant vulture with the other vulture tender. It seems that she escaped her imprisonment and wanted to fly to Ausfang, Instead, the vulture rider planned to sell her into slavery in the brothels of Grafika – unaware as to her real identity. When last seen, the duo was flying towards the east. When the group lets slip that the lord of the tower is dead, the hapless stable hand flings himself through the open door and to his death below.
Well now. This is an interesting twist. The immediate question is whether to investigate more of the tower in hope of learning more about the lady, Grafika or the plans of the horned one – or whether to set off in pursuit of the fugitive.
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