Session 50 Summary

August 7th, 2010

Heroes: Dashiell (+6.5 PLPs), Donner (+6.5 PLPs), Lysandros (+6.5 PLPs), Rhinox (+6.5 PLPs), Rufus (+6.5), and Thorgan (+6.5 PLPs).

Game Date: Solisdain, Evernight 19, AD1017

This all started with an inquiry for information. The Fate Seekers found the information they were after stolen. Dashiell was excited to learn that the thieves were associated with the Cult of Vecna. The group has tracked the thieves to a village in the hills to the north. After fighting living darkness and searching through deep dank mines, they found a mausoleum on the other side of the hill from the village.

The heroes learned that the mayor of the village had joined this cult and was using the miners for his own means. After the villagers were done with whatever they were working on, they were made into slaves, undead minions of the cult. It was Dashiell and Lysandros’ pleasure to bring down this cult and bring justice for those that suffered by the hands of the mayor and the followers of Vecna.

The adventurers climbed the hill and entered the mausoleum. They found more undead minions of the cult and some of the members themselves. Room by room, chamber by chamber, the Fate Seekers hunted down the evil that sought sanctuary in this place. They all fell at the hands of the heroes, but one thing was missing. Where were the items that were stolen from the King’s Vault?

The heroes could not figure it out. They had gone through the entire mausoleum and found nothing from the vault. The cult was all but decimated, but where was the information? Another thorough search revealed a secret passage leading deeper into the hill below. The Fate Seekers found a deep dark cave with more undead and other defenders. They were on the right track. They are now rested and ready to continue their search for answers. Woe to any dark follower that gets in their way.

Moving On

After their rest the group dropped back down into the cavernous underbelly of the mausoleum. They retraced their steps and returned to the large cave where they fought the roper creature that resembled a stalagmite. Rhinox tried to find tracks to follow, but he only succeeded in finding the tracks of the walking dead mulling about the cave, and their own tracks of course. They found another passage leading off of the cave and followed that.

The Bridge

After wandering through the natural passages under the mausoleum, they came upon a bridge spanning a wide chasm. The bridge was long and it was a 50-foot drop into unknown waters below. Their path was clear, and the fact that it was a trap was also quite obvious. The adventurers only got a few steps onto the bridge before the cultists came out of hiding on the other side and started shooting.

The group moved across the bridge to engage the enemy. The cultist stood two-by-two and when the heroes came within melee range, the first two cultists dropped their crossbow and pulled out their heavy flails. With wide arcing swings and crossbow fire they assaulted the Fate Seekers. Thorgan and Dashiell were up front trying to push the enemy back, or push them off the bridge entirely. Once there was an opening Dashiell maneuvered through the crowd and worked his way behind the cultists. He discovered a cultist mage was hiding in the corner.

Rhinox and Lysandros moved up into a supporting position waiting for an opening. Too their surprise, the enemy came to them. A four armed skeleton came scurrying up on the bridge from somewhere under it. Suddenly they were in a melee of their own. Donner moved through the crowd following Dashiell and they were able to form two powerful fronts against these amateur combatants of the Cult. One of the cult guardians even tried to jump off the bridge and take his chances down in the water below. It did not take long for the Fate Seekers to close this deal and move on.

Lord Talos or Latalos?

It wasn’t much farther beyond the bridge. The heroes found a door at the end of the natural passage. Once again Thorgan wasted no time throwing the door open and moving in. A small antechamber led the adventurers into the large sanctum of the cult. Directly across from the entrance was a throne chair, occupied by a skeletal figure with three heads. He was flanked by more of the boneclaw guardians, with long claws that can strike at incredible distances. Scanning the room, the adventurers found a large stone table to the left covered with papers, scrolls, and other items. A closer look revealed the King’s personal insignia on many of the items there.

Donner didn’t waste any time, he immediately charged the 3-headed skeleton he viewed to be the diabolical leader of this cult. The boneclaws lashed out but had very little effect on Donner’s agenda. He lashed out with his greataxe forcing the cult leader to go on defense, dodging the attack only barely. When the creature recovered, he met Donner with a vicious stare from one of his faces. The dread look was so unsettling Donner was dazed and his simple mind left him susceptible to the skeletal creature’s commands. Donner became a thrall to the cult, doing the bidding of the cult leader himself.

Donner fought off the domination only to succumb to its affects once again. Again Donner was able to fight it off, but the cult leader persisted. The last domination attempt took very nicely; Donner was thoroughly a thrall of whom the Fate Seekers believe is the true Latalos. Donner was not alone in this dilemma. With a single powerful command Dashiell also came under the control of the cult leader.

The battle raged on but two of the Fate Seeker’s toughest melee fighters were now on the side of the enemy. It was as if Donner and Dashiell had completely turned to the side of the cultists; it didn’t seem like they were fighting it at all. The fight was long and difficult but the heroes battled on.

Donner and Dashiell continued to fight on the side of the cult, much to the other heroes’ dismay. Rhinox and Rufus tried to help Donner but the simple minded goliath was too far gone. Luckily for the Fate Seekers, the two dominated party members were too dazed and out of it to use much of their trained skills in combat. They were still dangerous, but they were slow and clumsy with their weapons.

The 3-headed skeleton was nearly out of defenders. The two boneclaws were destroyed and the servant by the table was finally slain by Rufus. That was when the cult leader showed yet another one of his surprising powers. He commanded one of the boneclaws to rise, and once again the guardian creature stood in undeath to threaten the adventurers. A few moments later Latalos revived the second boneclaw; the battle not looking good for the heroes. The heroes were persistent in their pursuit of this retched creature. Latalos was weakening as a solid strike on him crushed one of his heads. His power was now diminished, but he still had his thralls.

Once again another heavy strike destroyed yet another head, this one being the face that dominates its victims. If only Donner and Dashiell could fight off the effects, they would be safe from it happening again. Finally, their prayers were answered. Dashiell finally broke away from the domination and joined the Fate Seekers once again. It was a long fight and the servant of Vecna proved to be a worthy adversary, but in the end he finally fell, crushed under the wait of the Fate Seeker’s strength. Once the leader was dead, the servants quickly followed, and Donner finally fought off the effects of the domination.

Return to Eluren

The enemy was defeated, the cult was destroyed, or at least this portion of it. Dashiell knows this was not the Cult of Vecna him and Lysandros has been searching for. It was time to get what they came for. The stone table was covered in papers so they searched through them and focused on the information from the King’s Vault. They learned more about the gnoll shaman ascension and why the King wanted to help him. They learned of a new organization called the Chaos Titans; who they are exactly is still a mystery. They gathered everything they found, especially the valuables, and headed back to the village of Tinaras.

When they arrived in the village they called out to the people; they had good news to pass on. They met with a man named Crysward who was the acting mayor of the settlement since their last mayor has disappeared, and will never be returning. Crysward was happy with the news, but sad about all the dead miners. He extended hospitalities to the Fate Seekers and told them they were always welcome in their small mining village.

It was time to get back to Eluren. When they returned there was not much difference but there was some improvements from the events before they left. Dashiell and Lysandros went to the Tower of the Arcane Eye just on the outskirts of town as Donner and Rhinox went to return the lost items of the Vault. Lysandros was able to pick up a ritual book and some components, while Rhinox met with Lord Alder du Kriegieh. Rhinox confided in the new Lord of Eluren his predicament and asked for assistance. Lord Alder offered what he could, but it wasn’t much.

All is well once again in the adventuring world of the Fate Seekers, or is it? Why did the King want to help the gnolls? It turns out the blood of an Exarch was needed as a key component in a plan to free or awaken a Primordial; one of the most dangerous beings in the cosmos. What is this machine fragment Thorgan keeps having visions about? What is it for? What does it do? Why does he keep getting a vision of only a piece of the machine, a broken piece? Who are the Chaos Titans and what do they want?

All is NOT well in the lives of the Fate Seekers after all. Where do they go from here, and what will they find there?

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License