FXR's New Heroes of Blackmoor

[FXR]

Session 4

The characters dine with Lord Lyamford and his son Osric. Suddently, Baldwin hears a female voice chanting in the basement. The PCs and the Lyamfords climb down the stairs to the crypt and find Lyanna Lyamford, holding a scroll and pronouncing words in an ancien language. Suddently, her mother rises as a wraith, pushing back Lyanna and facing the PCs. Arthur's sword, Dirga's magic arrow and Baldur's magic missiles make short work of the undead. Balwin turns the wraith who (non-)existence is terminated by Lyanna's dagger, throwed by her brother. The dagger - Lyamford's Luck, is given to Baldwin. Lyanna is held in her quarters, Baldwin and Baldur are pleading for leniancy, while Mirko and Driga believe that stern punishment is in the order.

During the night, the Egg visits Mirko's dream again, offering him a chance to "go back to the stars from which he traveled to Blackmoor". Mirko denies, but the Egg presses on. Finally, Roweena appears in the dream and shatters the Egg's control on the alien's dreams. Baldwin is equally visited by Rowena who wishes to reassure him that she manages to hold "her former friend"'s power in check, she also suggest that Baldwin uses the dagger's Wish to annihilate the Egg's control on Lyanna. Driga dreams about his wife, whose disappearance weights heavily on his heart.

On the next morning, the paladin does use the dagger's sole Wish. The spell seems to work. The characters, with Lyanna, decide to go see the druid Lather, a close friend of Roweena and one of the few people who knew how to access her domain. Driga notices that the pine grove in which the druid has elected to live is strangely devoid of life. On the way, the PCs meet Anna-Bri, a druidess who explains that Lather's disappearance worries her. The PCs are suspicious as the story told by Anna-Bri is suspicisious. Baldwin detects her as an evil being. In the druid cottage, she offers them some food, which the PCs decline. She goes to the cellar with Mirko who sees the rotten cadaver of Lather held by a hook, just like it was a peace of meat. The druidess drops her magical disguise, she is indeed a green hag, who the party defeat, taking her magical ring (a ring of fire resistance), a potion of healing and Lather's meager treasure.

The characters decide to go and explore the two tombs located on a nearby ridge. The first one, made out of the same black rock as Castle Blackmoor, has a 30'-radius zone of darkness around it. Three shadows attack the characters, while their protective devices are cancel and fear grips their heart. The magical effect cancels the properties of Baldwin's amulet and the paladin is turned into a cave bear, riping out a shadow with his claw. The other shadows are dispatched by magic and blade. Only Driga and Lyanna decide to go into the tomb. They see several statues of women and men dressed in ancient costumes, some of them having aquatic traits such as webbed fingers, bulbuous eyes and others completely looking like hybrids of fishes and men. A sarcophagus holds a few bones and a wand of paralyzation.

The second tomb is made out of marble. Once the characters (all of them, this time) enter the massive door closes behind them, trapping them with thirtheen squeletons and a few odds and ends. On the wall, eighteen skulls, five of them still soft like clay, glare at them. Baldwin defaces the five soft skulls and the door opens.

Having decided to leave, the characters ride to nearby Williamsfort, to plan their trip to Archlis.

[FXR]

Session 5

After bidding farewell to Lyanna Lyamford, the party rides to Newgate and take a boat to Bramwald. On the way, the boat is attacked by a group of river trolls. The party and Father Neil Karl, a cleric of Odir manage to drive them away, albeit at a great cost: the boat is ruined and many members of the crew have died. The party hides in the woods, while two wyverns are prowling in the sky. The party, Neil Karl and the remaining crew manage to arrive to Bramwald for a much needed rest. However, troubles still abound as the party receive a case containing the body of the messenger they had hired at Lyamford to give Baldur's note to the Wizard Cabal. The local head of the Cabal has Baldur jailed. Only the timely intervention of the Regent of the Mines manages to save the wizard from being transferred to the Cabal's headquarter for an official enquiry. The PCs defeat wererats who were looking for the tapestry and the platinum needle founded in Redwind's tower.

Session 6

After an uneventful boat ride to Archlis. The characters decide to reach an abbey of which Father Neil Karl told them. Unfortunately, the abbey has been taken over by yellow musk creepers and their "zombies". After defeating the plants, the characters find St. Fronaus's Sentence, a magical blade. The characters also find the culprit: a young cleric had called unpon a being named Tsathoggua who was said to grant wishes for his amusement (or so believed the priest).

Session 7

The characters move down South and enter rolling hills filled with strange tombstones made of the same black rock as the tombs near Lyamford they has explored two weeks ago. After meeting a deranged hermit/fisherman who had appointed himself as some caretaker of the graveyard and noticing that Redwind's was on their trail, the PCs hurried to a large mausoleum. Stairs leading to the darkess were garded by two huge statues while the ground was full of bones. The characters held up the needle and moved down. After dealing with ghouls, another weird hermit (a former skald of the Skandaharian people), the characters found a temple to Tsathoggua. Driga asked the toad god a question about his wife and saw a strange construction in a swamp guarded by men holding out "wands" like the one possessed by Mirko. Mirko himself asked a question and was answered that his actions could spell great disaster.

The characters also found a magical library who had great books about every single person who had lived in Blackmoor. Useful information was found on Roweena and Baldwin.

The character entered another temple who had three sections. The first section showed wizard draining magic out of the land, battling each other, afterwards, a single wizard killed the other and started to drain all the magic for himself, leaving the land dry and lifeless. A second section showed black-skinned warriors near a volcano. Thonians were led into a single file to the heart of the volcano where their soul was taken away and transformed into an hungry spirit. The third vision showed an immense flash followed by battle with great metal monsters. Another flash following by a rain of fire. Then, total destruction.

The characters met Redwind who clutched a book. He gloated that he had found the secret of the Ancient Ones. Unfortunately for him, he didn't see the great number of horrible fish-people who crawled from the nearby water and took him. While Redwind killed many, there were so much of them. The party only saw him dragged in the water and then, only bloody bubbles erupt from the water surface.

[Rafael]

Not to return a compliment, or what, but DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN SON. I like your style!
That is a damn good story. Damn good story.

[FXR]

Thank you. The chronicle is on hold for a few months, as we complete a chapter from our Vampire: the Requiem chronicle, than enjoy our next chapter of Star Wars Saga Edition before returning to the world of Blackmoor.

[FXR]

Session 8
(a very short session)

Following a swift gesture from one of the fish folk, the characters fell unconscious and woke up near the entrance of the ruined complex. They returned to Archlis which wasn’t that far away. It was a little strange that these ruins didn’t seem to be known by the locals, despite the fact that they were lying less than 10 miles away from Archlis.

At the inn, the characters discussed their next move. The visions they had seen had troubled them much and they wanted more explanation.

The wizard Baldur Wilde, believing (rightly) there was a link between the Wizards’ Wars and one of the vision, pleaded that useful information might lay in the archives of the Cabal at Vestfold. The alien Mirko, not wanting to draw the Cabal’s attention, and the paladin Baldwin suggested instead that the group asks the help of the Holy Thonian Church. Peshwah na Driga had no particular opinion on the matter. Finally, it was decided to seek the Cabal in Vestfold.

Upon learning the characters were leaving to Vestfold, the innkeeper asked them to check on the daughter of a friend named Jill who worked in a inn called the Fat Deer Inn, located between Booh and Vestfold. The innkeeper explained that Jill’s sister had been killed in the woods near the inn, a story which Jill didn’t believe. The young woman had decided to travel to the Fat Deer Inn to seek the truth.

The characters readily agreed and boarded a riverboat. Their trip wasn’t uneventful until they arrived in the forest near the inn…

[FXR]

Session 9

Magnus, Baldur’s pseudodragon familiar (or associate, depending on whom you ask), noticed the strange alluring woman who was spying on the group, her hair was of the same grey as the tree’s bark, while her skin and clothing took the same dull colors as of the last days of autumn.

The sound of a wagon being pulled by poneys made her leave promptly while the characters’s attention turn to the West. Two halflings were driving the wagon. The driver looked like a merchant but seemed troubled while the other, a warrior, seemed cheerful. The halflings introduced themselves as Benny and Mitch Doverson and, since they were going to the Fat Deer Inn, suggested to the party that all of them travel together, as the forest was rumored to be quite dangerous, as the characters had heard on their trip.

Peshwa Na Driga noticed something hiden by bushes: three orc cadavers. Following his suggestion, the group hurried to the inn.

The inn’s owner was a large bearded fellow named Merrod and warmly welcomed the characters.

Driga noticed the horses were nervous but couldn’t identify why. The stable lad, while no Peshwah, seemed proficient enough and was not at fault. He took a deep breath, concentrating on his surroundings and felt the presence of aberrations. Their localization and number he could not know, but he knew they were there.

Baldur tried to engage the conversation with Jill, but it was difficult because of Merrod’s constant eavesdropping. Nevertheless, the high Thonian, true to himself, sipped the best wine the inn could find. In fact, it was quite surprising a small inn between Vestfold and Booh could supply such a wine.

Mirko was not the worst judge of characters. Merrod’s cheery personality seemed fake to him. He also noticed that Merrod’s was trying (and succeeding) to make Mitch Doverson talk a lot, by offering the Halfling drink after drink.

There were others troubling aspects: several employees of the inn had simply disappeared over the years.

Adding another layer to the mystery, Driga noticed that one of the guest was a slaver, one of the band who had circled around his camp when his bride had been abducted. The slaver was not willing to talk to Driga and Baldwin, dryly stating that he had renounced slavery and was looking for more profitable activities.

During the night, the characters were woke up by howls of wolves. Driga, Baldwin and Baldur were surprised: why were wolves howling at such a time? It didn’t seem natural.

On the morning, the characters noticed that the Doverson had left. Driga could easily find their tracks who went to a clearing near the nearby woods. The tracks were joined by those of elves. Neither elves nor halflings had survived, as both went on their way and got ambushed a mile or so from the clearing.

The party waited until most guests left, including the (ex-?) slaver, to find much information. Jill, sensing she had allies, gave the characters a message stating that the other serving girl, Daisy, had noticed a basin full of bloodied clothes in Merrod’s room.

Mirko and Driga searched Merrod’s room and found an hidden trapdoor. They quickly descended and found themselves in a complex. The other men who were lounging on wooden boxes transformed themselves into wolf-men hybrids. The battle was engaged. Mirko’s punches and kicks made quick work of one of the werewolf, while the other surrendered and was tied down.

Meanwhile, Baldur and Baldwin confronted Merrod who summoned his three guards. One guard didn’t survive Baldwin’s lightning bolt spell, while the other flew. Merrod himself transformed into a werewolf but was cut down by Fronaus’ Sentence, Baldwin’s sword. Jill arrive, sword in hand…

[FXR]

Session 10 (part one)

The party examined the loot obtained by the werewolves. Among the furs, cloth, silverware and gold, there was a spell focus, which Balder took, and a ring which was slightly warm to the touch, who, according to the wizard granted its bearer cold resistance. It was decided that Driga would take it. A treasure map was also found, along with a parchment filled with elvish script.

While Balder was casting a spell to decipher an old script, Jill and Baldwin went upstairs to deal with the remaining staff of the inn. A promise that they would be paid a full month of wages and the proposal to bury the bodies did convince the inn.

Balder’s magic made him understood the elvish text:

Once, a great evil rose in the North. A dark cult threatened both the Thonian and Elven way of life. Their headquarter was the forbidding the temple of Id.

King Uhlmar, Lord of all Elves, had seen many Thonian Kings be born and die since he first encountered this race. He now proposed an alliance of Elves and Thonians against the Cult of Id. Lord Aquassiru, Uhlmar’s friend and general of the elven armies warned the king of the change of Thonian attitudes for he had felt a dark shadow had passed over Blackmoor. His counsel was not heeded, as King Ulhmar had confidence in the Children of Odir.

However, as the elven army marched on the forces of Id, the Thonians pulled out, leaving the Elves to fend for themselves. Drawing his sword, Lord Aquassiru bravely charged the enemy, demonstrating such courage that all his elven warriors were inspired. The elves came out victorious and the Temple of Id was destroyed, but the victory had taken its toll on the elves.

The aging king, Uhlmar, was gravely saddened by the loss. Many elves now turned against the king, blaming Uhlmar for putting too much trust in the humans. The king was even more deeply hurt to learn that the leader of these elves was his own daughter, Princess Ceridrone. The princess declared herself ruler of the elves of the west. Her followers called themselves the Westryn and vowed never to trust humans again. Uhlmar was dying of extreme old age. As a young prince, he had been one of the elves to first venture outside the forests. At the end of his reign, he was now seeing the decline of the elven race. On his death bed he cursed his daughter and the elves of Westryn, a curse that would lay on this race until this day:

May no child ever be born from the union of Westryn and humankind.

It is said that Ceridone, then known as the Black Queen, in her quest to lift her father’s curse, laid her slender fingers on the pages of an old tome, whose pages were bound in the skin of a creature foreign to the North. This book had been written by beings who hailed from the Stars.

As her eyes gazed upon the countless lines of script, she slowly recited every word of a long incantation in an ancient tongue who had not been spoken in a millennium.

Her mind was filled with the words of the ever hungry toad god:

I, Tsathoggua, will provide you the answer you seek. The curse of your father became the law of the Elven folk and as such, can only be lifted by the rightful king of your people, the one who will bear the Crown of Elves, reuniting both soul and mind.

As you tore the soul of the Elven folk from its mind, as you lead others on the path of hatred and anger, know that I will grant your wish. You shall be alone, forever unbothered by Your kin and the children of Odir you despise.

The Black Queen hurriedly closed the book and wept. All around her, wherever she looks, she saw her servants, her maids, her guards, her councillors, her friends sickened to death, while the paths to her palace twisted into nothingness. The restless dead rose to harass the Western Elves, forever dragging them into an hopeless war for their land.

As mighty Tsathoggua had declared, the Black Queen lives alone, in a prison of her own making.

Some may wonder why Princess Ceridone who had advocated the isolation from humankind cared much to lift the curse. The answer is simple, she had learned from a gloating demon the reason the Thonian army had not intention to commit treason toward the elves, but had been laid astray by sinister powers.” (apologies to Havard)

Jill was upset that she couldn’t find her sister’s ring. It was decided that the party raised explore the cavern where the werewolves dumped the eaten bodies. The group lowered a rope on a pile of trash and bodies, disturbing two carrion crawlers of which they made quick work.

[FXR]

Session 10 (end)

The night was uneventful despite that the captured werewolf had manage to flee, probably by shapechanging into a wolf.

The stairs at the East end of the cavern descended deep into the Earth and laid to another cavern filled with animal bones. The party navigated among the stalagmite when one of the stalagmite came alive and surprise the characters. It threw tendrils whose grasp weakened the body. Mirko, drank his potion of levitation and raised himself up to the roof of the cavern where he dealt kicks and blows to the roper. Driga’s arrows peppered the monstrosity along with Balder’s spells. Baldwin and Jill tried to escape the grasp, but to no avail.

Finally, the creature could take no more and fell dead on the floor.

A bridge laid further. Upon close inspection, it seemed it was made of bone, hair of an unknown creature and some wood. The characters advanced further and arrived into another cavern, this one filled with giant mushrooms. Mirko took a few steps toward one. A net entangled him while a grey eyeless humanoid striked him with a stone hatchet. Mirko’s ring of free action made him escape the net, but battle was engaged between the party and a group of such humanoids supported by weird snake-like creatures whose head ended into four tentacles.

The characters were victorious but decided not the press against those who flee away to the south. There was a narrow passage that went to the North and Balder sent his pseudodragon to explore, sharing its sense.

The northern passage laid to another cavern, this one filled with stone statues of men, elves, dwarves, giants and dragons. A giant was carefully carving another statue. The characters decide to explore.

The giant, named Vaklavastar, was friendly. Fortunately, he spoke dwarvish, which both Balder and Mirko understood. He explained that he had been carving statues for centuries, as the Ancients willed him. The giant simply felt more than understood what the next statue would look like.

Among the cavern, there was a scene carved on a wall featuring the characters and Jill gazing at the statues. Baldwin found out that many statues were picturing gods, such Odir, Hak, Zugzul and elvin and dwarvish deities. Tsathoggua was absent. Two others were of interest: a carving of Driga and one of Roweena the wokan.

In the center of the cavern, was a strange monolith made of the strange black rock that the characters had seen before. The writing on the monolith seemed distantly related to Galactic, but Mirko couldn’t decipher it. Once again, Balder used his magic and found out:

It was decided to leave this land, now poisoned by our foolish quest for the knowledge of the future. It is a dark heritage we leave to those who will follow us until the end of the World.

In the abyss where we will now live, we will lie between wide awakeness and sleep. From our dreams, gods will be born. Gods that will be worshipped by those who wil follow us. May they help them to resist to the hunger of Tsathoggua.

The characters bade farewell to Vaklavastar and took the southern passage where the humanoids had flee. The entered into a strange temple, where a crude idol of Tasthoggua held a bowl filled with a blackish liquid. A grey humanoid priest was incanting, while his followers readied their weapons and three of the snake-like monstruosities advanced toward the character.

The battle was engaged again. The blackish liquid move on the ground, taking different shapes as it approached to the characters. It acidic touch burned Mirko. Fortunately, fire was found to be useful and was used in a liberal fashion to take care of the thing.

The characters were once again victorious, but decided not to press further, a passage went up and, after two miles, everyone was feeling the pine-scented air of the forest on his cheeks.

[FXR]

Session 11

The party arrived in Vestfold. The former capital of the North was as busy as ever.

Balder reported to the Wizard’s Cabal, noting for the first time that the doors of the Ardenn fortress had some pieces of the strange black rock from which was made the tombs near Lyamford and the monolith in the cave. He gave to the Cabal the spell focus he had found in the basement of the Fat Deer Inn, after having copied one of its spell.

Peshwan na Driga decided to inquiry about the location of Dragonsgate Geyser. He also paid the fine of a drunk dwarf, who leeched his money. Driga ended up leaving. Finally, he also saw the mysterious mercenary he had met at the Fat Deer Inn exiting a nondescript house.

Baldwin, Jill and Mirko went to Fitz Abbey. Jill was to be sworn as a paladin, but her lack of knowledge of religion dismayed the abbot. He decided that she would need to spent time in vigil and see what Odir had for her.

Baldwin and Mirko left to sell the loot they had acquired. The paladin’s purse was stolen by a thief, which Mirko pursued in the sewers. The thief was not found, but Mirko ended up in a strange room where a circle and runes had been drawed on the floor and some sort of barded creature acted as a guardian. The alien withdrawed, not before encountering the body of a dwarf, with a missing arm, a half-eaten torso and a missing heart.

The four characters decided to enter the sewer. They found what was probably an entrance to a safehouse of the Thieves Guild and the body of the dwarf which Driga recognized as the drunk he had met earlier today. The room had no creature and no circle. It had, however, a secret passage which led to the cellars of the Kimball Moneylenders. The party emerged in the offices of said bankers. The employees, believing that the adventurers were thieves, alerted the guard. The characters patiently tried to explain their enquiry to the sergeant of the guard, who was suspicious but didn’t want to have the trouble of apprehending an inquisitor.

The Kimball Moneylenders, brothers Philipp and Humes, explained much. Philipp was cheerful and explained that the basement occasionally served as a meeting room for the Circle, a group of merchants and petty nobles who fancied themselves as patrons of the art and culture. Humes was not so cheerful, to say the least, and blamed a certain Joanna Gladstone for convincing Philipp to participate in “useless moneywasting”.

The party decided to pay a visit to Joanna Gladstone. She simply dismissed the PC’s concerns, explaining that the circle Mirko had no magical purpose, but was simply a symbol to impress future members of the society.

The next morning, the characters were visited by a pleasant man in his fifties, who introduced himself as Old Slyboots and warned them that he would not tolerate a bunch of adventurers bothering his friend Joanna Gladstone. Old Slyboots also added that there was a burgeoning criminal organization in Boggy Bottom which hired slavers, and that he didn’t like the competition.

[FXR]

Session 11

The party arrived in Vestfold. The former capital of the North was as busy as ever.

Balder reported to the Wizard’s Cabal, noting for the first time that the doors of the Ardenn fortress had some pieces of the strange black rock from which was made the tombs near Lyamford and the monolith in the cave. He gave to the Cabal the spell focus he had found in the basement of the Fat Deer Inn, after having copied one of its spell.

Peshwan na Driga decided to inquiry about the location of Dragonsgate Geyser. He also paid the fine of a drunk dwarf, who leeched his money. Driga ended up leaving. Finally, he also saw the mysterious mercenary he had met at the Fat Deer Inn exiting a nondescript house.

Baldwin, Jill and Mirko went to Fitz Abbey. Jill was to be sworn as a paladin, but her lack of knowledge of religion dismayed the abbot. He decided that she would need to spent time in vigil and see what Odir had for her.

Baldwin and Mirko left to sell the loot they had acquired. The paladin’s purse was stolen by a thief, which Mirko pursued in the sewers. The thief was not found, but Mirko ended up in a strange room where a circle and runes had been drawed on the floor and some sort of barded creature acted as a guardian. The alien withdrawed, not before encountering the body of a dwarf, with a missing arm, a half-eaten torso and a missing heart.

The four characters decided to enter the sewer. They found what was probably an entrance to a safehouse of the Thieves Guild and the body of the dwarf which Driga recognized as the drunk he had met earlier today. The room had no creature and no circle. It had, however, a secret passage which led to the cellars of the Kimball Moneylenders. The party emerged in the offices of said bankers. The employees, believing that the adventurers were thieves, alerted the guard. The characters patiently tried to explain their enquiry to the sergeant of the guard, who was suspicious but didn’t want to have the trouble of apprehending an inquisitor.

The Kimball Moneylenders, brothers Philipp and Humes, explained much. Philipp was cheerful and explained that the basement occasionally served as a meeting room for the Circle, a group of merchants and petty nobles who fancied themselves as patrons of the art and culture. Humes was not so cheerful, to say the least, and blamed a certain Joanna Gladstone for convincing Philipp to participate in “useless moneywasting”.

The party decided to pay a visit to Joanna Gladstone. She simply dismissed the PC’s concerns, explaining that the circle Mirko had no magical purpose, but was simply a symbol to impress future members of the society.

The next morning, the characters were visited by a pleasant man in his fifties, who introduced himself as Old Slyboots and warned them that he would not tolerate a bunch of adventurers bothering his friend Joanna Gladstone. Old Slyboots also added that there was a burgeoning criminal organization in Boggy Bottom which hired slavers, and that he didn’t like the competition.