TOPIC: R5: D&D5E Princes of the Apocalypse

Princes of the Apocalypse

Trouble in Red Larch

It is the year 1491 in Dale Reckoning – The Year of the Scarlet Witch. A group of disparate characters bands together out of mutual convenience as each travels the road to the Dessarin Valley. Most have set out from Waterdeep or it’s near locality. All are journeying to the Dessarin Valley for his or her own reasons.

Session One

Day One, 1 Mirtul 1491 DR

Bandits on the Road
The part espies a group of surly humans around a makeshift camp just off the main roadway. The bandits, on seeing the approaching party, fan out along the treeline set back from the road inent on requesting a toll to pass.

The party survived the encounter unscathed, excepting Viggi who, charging impetuously, took two arrows from a bandit’s short bow. She despatched two of the bandits (cleaving the head from her ‘first kill’), but even after healing (dressed during a rest, no magical healing applied) the half-orc’s wounds will be sore and bloody for several days and are certain to leave scars of battle.

After defeating the bandits (putting the last one to flight), the party debated how to deal with a caged bear and then sacked the bandit’s hideout (a small cave) for its meagre loot: 75 sp, 13gp, and trinkets worth about 50gp.


Red Larch
The party arrived at Red Larch, a town with ample supplies, comfortable accommodation and good communications – it is sited perfectly for exploring the valley and will therefore prove to be an excellent base of operations.

Exploring the Town
The party have so far drunk black flap and wine at the Helm at High Sun, visited Grund the dim-witted half-orc who makes and sells pickles on the edge of the marketplace (the market takes place only once a tenday when local farmers attend Red larch to sell their produce), took rooms at the Swinging Sword, a comfortable three-storey inn and stables, and defaced the entrance doors of the All Faith’s Shrine.

The latter act was perpetrated by Bort, the gruff mannered hill dwarf who professes a nefarious faith. The attendant priest at the All Faith’s Shrine, Imdarr Relvaunder (human, male, Priest of Tempus) berated Bort for his defilement, albeit in a non-confrontational manner.

Whilst at the Helm, Kahlan opened a conversation with the only other lightfoot halfling she has seen in town. Stannor Thistlehair (male, lightfoot halfling) is a carpenter who works at Waelvur’s Wagonworks. Asked whether he knew of anything unusual in town, Stannor (after negotiating a price of 4gp for his information) told Kahlan that his boss, Waelvur, acts strangely at times and disappears into a hidden entrance in the workyard behind the wagonworks, and that sometimes other folk do too – dressed in robes and masks. Kahlan, paying a surrupticious visit to the wagonworks after sunset, failed to find the hidden entrance alluded to. Does the hidden entrance exist, or did Stannor fleece her for a few gold pieces?

The proprietor of the Swinging Sword, Kaylessa Irkell (human, female) was impressed by the tale related by Bort that the party had defeated bandits on the road near Red Larch. She said that Constable Hauberk would be most pleased to hear that. She has heard many stories lately of strange things in the wilderness: increased banditry on the roads, river pirates operating on the Dessarin River, monsters roaming the wilds in increasing numbers, orc bands raiding farmsteads and small villages, and strange weather patterns over the last few months. To protect her trade (mostly gained from passing merchant caravans) she is keen to debunk rumours and deal with threats. She offers the party 50gp to investigate rumours of plague and monsters at a nearby place named Lance Rock.



Day Two, 2 Mirtul 1491 DR

Lance Rock
The party sets out after breakfast to Lance Rock, about a two hour walk south-west of Red Larch. Lance Rock is a landmark, a 25ft tall menhir of granite jutting out of the ground at a strange angle. All the stone in the immediate surrounding area is limestone, not granite.

Close to the stone, at the head of a small path through the brush is a wooden sign:
“Come no closer
Lest you catch
The disfiguring plague
That afflicts me!
The Lord of Lance Rock”

The path leads to a cave, the cave entrance leads to a dark passage. The smell of death hung on the fetid air. Kahlan and Viggi lead the way and spotted a lump lying on the floor in the absolute darkness. The lump was a human body dressed in rags, its necrotic skin looked like it was nothing more than a rotting carcass. And yet the carcass bites! Viggi hued off an arm of the rising zombie and after it was struck down, magical fire was cast by Burlap to burn its remains. In response to the sounds of combat and the light of flickering flames, the sound of monstrous moaning is clearly heard from deeper within the cave system.



60XP

Session Two

Day Two, 2 Mirtul 1491 DR


Lance Rock
The party continued their exploration of the cave system near Lance Rock and fought and defeated a menagerie of zombies, skeletons and a disembodied hand. The latter almost killed a poor and unwary Kahlan. It took until evening to clear out the caverns and triumph in the showdown with the Lord of Lance Rock himself - a disturbed necromancer.

Treasure: 165 sp, 78 gp, four polished jet gems (worth 50 gp each), and a wand of magic missiles.

The party arrived back at Red Larch shortly before midnight and returned to their rooms at the Swinging Sword.


Day Three, 3 Mirtul 1491 DR

Breakfast
As promised Kaylessa, the proprietor of the Swinging Sword, pays the party the promised 50 gp for investigating Lance Rock. She also arranges for Constable Harburk to visit the party at the Sword over breakfast, as Harburk is keen to meet and personally thank the party for their efforts too.

Lunch
Kahlan visits Feng Ironhead (male, half-orc) at Ironhead Arms (arms and armour store) before going to the Helm and speaking to Stannor once more, handing over more gold pieces in the process.

The rest of the party ate a meal at the Sword. A messenger boy appeared to bring Alfalas a letter – or more correctly an invitation to meet Imdarr, the itinerant priest of Tempus, who attends the All Faith’s Shrine.

The Missing Delegation
The latest gossip around town is the news of a delegation that has gone missing somewhere in the valley. The delegation from Miribar was last seen departing Beliard more than a tenday ago, and has not been seen since.

Imdarr Relvaunder
Alfalas answers the invitation to meet Imdarr, priest of Tempus. Imdarr reveals himself to be a fellow associate of the Order of the Gauntlet. Imdarr talks about the missing delegation: it was a large, well-armed party journeying south along the Long Road. After staying at Westbridge, the delegation crossed the Stone Bridge that spans the Dessarin River and went to Beliard. After departing Beliard the delegation disappeared.

Imdarr relates that the Miribarran delegation were escorting the body of a knight, killed fighting orcs in the Spine of the World, to Summit Hall in the Sumber Hills. The knight was to be interred with honour at Summit Hall, the chapter house of an order of paladins known as the Knights of Samular. Also, the delegation included a prominent dwarf historian named Bruldenthar who was transporting his collection of tomes, important books of dwarven lore, to Waterdeep.

Session Three

Day Three, 3 Mirtul 1491 DR

Red Larch Investigations
Asking around Red Larch about news of the missing delegation the party have to sift fact from exaggerated rumour. The delegation is travelling from Miribar to Waterdeep. They departed Westbridge a couple of tendays ago and moved east to Beliard. After leaving Beliard the delegation was never seen again.

The party learned that the delegation was escorting the body of a fallen knight to a chapter house named Summit Hall somewhere in the Sumber Hills and that a dwarven historian named Bruldenthar who was transporting his collection of tomes of dwarven lore to Waterdeep.

A bric-a-brac dealer in Red Larch named Endrith Vallivoe (human, male) has just come into possession of a beautiful book of dwarven lore. Visiting Vallivoe the party learned that he had just purchased it from a caravan guard who bought it at Womford ,one of a dozen similar books available for sale in the small river port. He would sell it for 35gp, but the casting of a Charm Person spell soon reduced the figure to 5gp. The book is a one-off beautifully bound and written tome signed by the author - the dwarven historian, Bruldenthar.

Other talk in Red Larch included the tale of a local shepherd named Larmon Greenboot who had recently found four fresh graves in the hills.

The party deliberated about where to go next: Feathergale Spire (to investigate the Feathergale Society), Riverguard Keep (on the trail of river pirates), Summit Hall (known destination of the Miribar delegation) or Womford (the river port where Bruldenthar’s books turned up).


Day Four, 4 Mirtul 1491 DR

The Journey to Feathergale Spire
The party resolved to travel to Feathergale Spire, being the closest object of investigation to Red Larch. In the wilderness the party stumbled upon a band of orcs. Over the last few months, the Iceshield orc tribe (hated enemies of Viggi) has been encroaching upon civilised lands of the valley; with many raiders and scouting parties thrown out across the valley attacking farmsteads and small villages. The encounter was short and brutal. The party rested before moving onwards.

Continuing the trail the party came upon four freshly dug cairns. Each was excavated to reveal it’s occupant: a human guard wearing the livery of Miribar, a dwarf in artisans robes, a human warrior in strange armour and a human wearing a robe decorated with feathered shoulder pieces. All had died of wounds consistent with recent battle.

From the cairn’s hill, Feathergale Spire could be seen in the distance. The party pressed on with their journey. Feathergale Spire is a tall tower built on a rock pillar standing at least 200ft above the valley floor below.

The Feathergale Society
The party were welcomed as guests and invited to join the Feathergale’s feast. The captain of the tower, Lord Commander Thurl Merosska (human, male), described the society as a ‘club for flying enthusiasts’, non-military and non-political. Thurl was quite charming and you’d love to believe what he says, but something didn’t seem quite right.

During the feast the doors of the Great hall were flung open: “Manticore! It’s on the Move!” came the excited cry. Thurl removed his ring and announced it as a prize for the man who brings him the beast’s head. The party were invited to join the manticore hunt, which involved being mounted on giant vultures and a search flight along the Sighing Valley followed by exhilarating aerial combat.

A group of Feathergale Knights found the beast first, but when our party arrived one vulture was riderless and two more knights being taken down. The honour of combat was passed to the party.

Burlap’s casting of Tasha’s Hideous Laughter sent the manticore spiralling in an uncontrolled descent to the valley floor. Circling down in pursuit, the vultures banked in formation to allow their riders to launch ranged attacks with spells and arrows. Although Kahlan was simply left clinging on to her vulture for dear life. Viggi guided her mount past the manticore and swung with her great axe. The manticore felt the keen edge of steel but in turn took a bite out of Viggi’s bird, sending the vulture and Viggi tumbling to the ground in a spectacular crash landing of blood, dust and feathers . After receiving many wounds, the fleeing manticore was finally brought down by Alfalas, whose arrow struck true to deliver the killing blow.



IIRC I awarded a total of 310XP each for the session. Character totals should currently be 610 XP each.

Session Four

Day Five, 5 Mirtul 1491 DR

Celebration of the Hunt
The party returned triumphant to the spire and Bort presented the head of the manticore to Merosska and claimed the prize - Merosska’s gold ring. Viggi, lost in the darkness somewhere on the valley floor, remains missing but everyone was confident she would find her own way back. Burlap, unconscious and badly wounded was tended to by the knights whilst Bort, Alfalas and Kahlan joined the knights in the celebrating of the hunt which lasted into the night.

Assassins
After retiring to their guest room, Bort fell asleep on the only bed, Alfalas sat to meditate and enter trance-state and Kahlan tried her best to sleep on the uncomfortable floor. In the silence and darkness Kahlan’s attention was drawn to the door which began to open. Two hooded figures entered, drawing their long knives. A fight ensued in which the would-be assassins were killed.

Morning
Burlap awoke just before dawn. The last thing he remembers is being overtaken by unconsciousness mounted on a giant vulture. And now he lies in a bed in a sparse cell, his wounds dressed. Outside the door voices are heard. The knights are in excited discussion about two of their number being missing. They had been given a simple job to do in the night but their fellow knights now discovered that they had not returned to their rooms. Burlap himself it would seem had been overlooked.

It would appear that the party’s gracious hosts of yesterday now had designs of getting rid of them. As folk rose with the dawn, a running battle ensued. The party won a resounding victory but not without some of the heroes receiving grievous wounds in the process. With the fall of Thurl Merosska in the Battle of the Great Hall, the last of the Feathergale knights fled the spire.

The Letter
Searching the spire lead to the gathering of loot, and the discovery of a letter on the desk in Merosska’s private quarters:

Merosska,
We are pleased to hear about the outcome of your altercation with the Black Earth cult, and we praise you for the capture of one of their prisoners. This noblewoman from Waterdeep has an interesting tale to tell, and we shall enjoy interrogating her further. Keep a close watch on the Sacred Stone Monastery. I want to know what our enemy is planning next.

Your beloved queen,
Aerisi Kalinoth

Treasure
Thurl Merosska’s ring (garnet set in gold) undervalued greatly at 25gp when appraised.
300gp in coins and trinkets looted from the private possessions of the Feathergale Knights.
320gp from Merosska’s private quarters.
Scroll of Beast Bond
Scroll of Skywrite
A vial of liquid (detects as magic)

Experience
450XP awarded for the session.
Each member of the party should have 1,060XP and level up to Level 3.

Next
The party has been journeying and fighting for five consecutive days and several characters have received a number of injuries. It’s time for a few days of R&R. Does the party wish to return to the relative safety of Red Larch, or set about making Feathergale Spire your new base of operations?

Alfalas would like to make the Spire a base for further quests

Yes. Make.a base. We will need some staff. A good cook and a few guards!