So, it's with apologies to the 2 people who read this blog that so many updates have been missed. But it's with a) the best of intentions to keep this journal up to date in future and b) to provide a written record of the rather unexpected turn of events after the defeat of Paldemar.
An Update:
Mignola’s Marauders finally tracked down the disciple of Orcus, Paldemar, in his lair under Thunderspire Mountain and confronted him. But before facing him in a final battle he revealed to them that they had been the unwitting pawns of another: Valthrun the Prescient, the sage from the town of Winterhaven.
Paldemar told them that Valthrun was a worshipper of the necromantic god Vecna and that they had been used by him to defeat Paldemar so that he could get his hands on information that Paldemar had of “the treasure of Sir Malagant” that lay on the Isle of Manaw in the Gaelic Sea.
After their battle against Paldemar was won Valthrun revealed himself to them in Paldemar’s library and thanked them for their assistance before vanishing into the shadows.
In order to track Valthrun down the party decided to travel to the Isle of Manaw and returned to the Seven-Pillared Hall to find a map for their quest.
On 27th October they set out, heading north, through the mountain passes, aiming for the port of Conwy on the coast of Cymru, with the intention of finding passage on a ship to the island.
On their second day of travel through the mountains of Eryri, in the kingdom of Gwynedd, as the party moved through a narrow defile they heard the sounds of battle up ahead. Scouting forwards they saw a small party of eladrin coming under heavy assault from a group of monstrous bandits. The bandits were led by a barghest battle lord and included a hill giant, ogres and hobgoblins. One of the ogres turned out to be Brugg, the brutal former enforcer of the Seven-Pillared Hall who had been exiled by the Mages of Saruun after the party had revealed his treachery.
After a long and desperate battle the Marauders won the day and rescued the beleaguered eladrin. The grateful leader of the eladrin told them her name was Edith and gave them a ring from her hand, crafted in silver in the shape of a swan, telling them that if ever they should find themselves in trouble in either Englaland or in the Feywild that they should mention her name and present this ring to someone in power and it may help them. Leaving the eladrin to bury their dead the party pressed on into the north.
The Last Breaths of Gogarth – Session 1
28th October
After finding a suitable site on the northern edge of the main range of the Eryri Mountains to camp for the night the party settled down for a much-needed extended rest. But in the small hours the rain began to fall, and on the horizon to the north flashes of lightning from a larger storm could be seen.
29th October
By dawn, with the rain still falling, the group donned soaked armour and broke camp in low spirits. Now in the foothills of the mountains they could see that their route was taking them further into the storm and as they trudged onwards the wind drove the rain into their faces and the shepherds’ paths turned to mud. By mid-morning Angus, Mignola and Grimslade began to suffer the effects of exposure and by the end of the day it became obvious that they would need to make some sort of shelter in order to survive the night without further side-effects.
Fortunately, Mord revealed himself to be the saviour, displaying hitherto unsuspected talents as a survivalist. With Tilly and Grimslade finding suitable ground and materials, Angus cutting logs and hauling rocks and Mignola following expert instructions, Mord managed to create a bivouacked camp in a bole in the hillside which gave sufficient protection from the elements to allow a recuperating night’s rest.
30th October
In a dawn that barely lightened, the party continued northwards, following the direction on their map. But with the weather worsening all the time and the trail becoming heavier and heavier it took all of Mord’s skill to determine the route according to the instructions. After a full day of trudging through the plains they finally reached the coastland, emerging on a desolate and wind-swept heath, broken only by the occasional blasted tree and ruined shepherd’s crofts.
As the daylight started to fade, however, they found themselves on a road. Mord did his best in the storm to identify the direction they wanted and they moved on. After a short while they came across another group of people on the same road. The leader of the group, a half-elf who introduced herself as Terza, told the Marauders that they were a long way from the road to Conwy and that they would do better to travel with her to the nearby village of Gogarth. She said that she and her companions were heading there for an annual trade fair; apparently this small fishing village regularly finds rare and valuable treasures in the sea and she was heading there on behalf of the Goldleaf Consortium of Worcester to purchase suitable items for re-sale in Englaland.
Just as the final scraps of grey daylight faded into night the travellers moved around the coast road and saw the village of Gogarth before them, lit by the flashes of lightning of the storm raging around them.
Once in the village they found The Smooth Sailing Inn & Tavern and rented rooms from its objectionable landlord, Powell, although the barmaid Relina who took them to their rooms showed them that not all the locals were as unfriendly.
In the common room of the inn they met other travellers who were in the village for the trade fair. Mattias Creel was there representing Surrens, Creel & Blackwell, based in the city of London. Mattias reveals that traders who had attended the fair in previous years had been known to disappear either to or from the village. However, the items that had been on sale by the villagers were of such quality that the risk seemed worth taking; although he had made sure to travel with a retinue of eight guards for security. He also mentioned that the roads were less safe these days because of the dangerous political situation in Englaland where a succession crisis was building with the soon-expected death of the king. Terza added to this information by mentioning that one of the contenders for the throne, the Earl of Wessex, was hoping for an alliance with some of the Fey Courts.
The other visitor to Gogarth was a jeweller from Caerdyff called Jandal Phen, who had also heard the stories of people going missing but had also been lured by the promise of riches. The heavy amounts of backstory and foreshadowing exhaust the party and they head upstairs for bed. Tilly preserved her feminine mystique by occupying a single room, Mord – presumably to prove his masculine credentials – asked to share a room with Mignola, leaving Angus the dubious honour of sleeping in the same room as the hideously deformed Grimslade. Mord asked Grim whether his scarring was caused by acne and then asked Angus to let them know whether it’s restricted to his face.
31st October
However, the group are not permitted a full night’s rest. At around 4am they are awoken by a hideous keening noise that drifts in across the sea and over the village. Tilly, Angus and Grimslade all find themselves drawn irresistibly to the sea and leave their rooms to walk into the waiting waves. Unfortunately for Tilly she had rigged a trap on her bedroom door to soak any intruders with a chamber pot full of urine which spills on her unwitting head as she leaves, joining several of the other guests in a procession towards the waves.
After a couple of fruitless attempts to grab or distract the charmed individuals they become frustrated and use violence on their friends, triggering an immediate opportunity for a saving throw to be made. Once this simple but brutally effective method is established they have no hesitation in attacking their comrades however they can.
Although the party manage to save themselves before any of them are taken by the sea, other residents of the inn are not so lucky. Despite Mord and Mignola’s best attempts, four of the eight guards who were also affected give themselves up to a watery grave – two of Terza’s Goldleaf members and one of each of Mattias’ and Jandal’s men. After ten minutes the hideous call fades into the night.
As dawn tries to break in the stormy skies a panicked review of who may have been lost is held back at the inn and the guests realise that none of the locals have been present throughout this. Terza offers the party 500gp to protect her and Jandal says he has another 300gp to do the same. Mattias demands that the adventurers do the same for him, but refuses to pay them to do so.
The party moves outside to look for answers to the mystery. Selecting the nearest house to the tavern they kick the door in and discover a villager cowering in an upstairs room. A brief attempt at an interrogation leads only to the villager saying that they have no idea what is going on and claiming that the dreadful sound had been heard a few days ago.
They move on to investigate the own hall and the house of Sir Owain ap Ritter, the lord of the manor but find nothing to tell them what is going on. They are about to move on to the church on the hill above the village when Tilly spots candlelight in a window of a house beside a large grove of trees in the middle of the village.
As they move to the door of the house armed men rush out of the rain and attack them while others chant incantations and attack them with spells. A desperate battle is fought in the middle of the village, with Mignola going unconscious more than once, but eventually the party kill all the assailants apart from one, who escapes into the muddy streets of Gogarth.
XP: 540 each and level up (after extended rest)
Campaign Info:
Englaland was ruled by the Varangians until a quarter of a century ago. Also known as the Dragon-Bound, the Varangians come from lands across the Northern Sea and ride dragons into battle. Their rule was ended by the rightful king, Edward, after the Varangian king, Cnut, died and a dispute between his sons broke out.
Edward had been living in exile at the court of the Dukes of Normandy since the age of seven, initially under Duke Robert. Duke Robert died 20 years ago and was succeeded by the current ruler, Duke Guillaume. Normandy is known as being particularly dedicated to the worship of Kord and has been aggressively expanding its borders under Guillaume's reign.
King Edward, a paladin of Bahamut, is now old and has no children. It is widely expected that his death will cause a crisis of succession, with the liely pretenders to his throne being the Earl of Wessex (who has the support of the English nobility), Duke Guillaume and the Varangian king, Harald.
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exhausted
