Rise of the Runelords Recap # 67 [RPG]

[28 Abadius 4708 continued]

As the adventurers continue pushing through the rugged landscape despite the blizzard that obscures their vision, they hear what can only be described as a loud trumpeting ahead of them.  Seconds later, a tremendous rumbling noise seems to come towards them from the north.  With no idea what they’re about to face, the adventurers brace themselves for attack only to find massive boulders rolling over them from out of the swirling snow! Kang and Ava are badly bruised, while Jinkatsyu somehow darts on top of one of the boulders and escapes unharmed.  But Nerissa and Salma are neither so lucky nor so strong, and each is crushed to a veritable pulp by the cascade of rocks.  Ava reacts quickly and is able to magically pull Salma back from the blackness of death, and the weakened wizard’s only thought is escape.  She magically teleports everyone back to the day’s previous campsite a few miles further south.  Ava rushes over to Nerissa and tries to repeat her feat, but it’s too late—Nerissa has slipped away.

Salma conjures a magical dome to keep out the wind and snow.  The others talk about how what happened wasn’t an avalanche, as they weren’t buried under a cascade of snow and jagged rock—just smooth boulders.  Obviously, a trap of some type, but they can’t figure out how the defenders knew they were coming.  Ava prays to her lord Sinashakti, the Walker of Worlds, for the power to bring Nerissa back to life and, fuelled by the sacrifice of a flawless diamond, the supplication works.  Nerissa slowly regains consciousness, looking wan and pale from the ordeal.  Ava’s joy at the miracle is short-lived, however, as she realizes she has no more diamonds to fuel further magicks of the same sort, and not enough money to buy more even if she were back in Magnimar.  Salma suggests simply stealing some, as they’re now far more powerful than any jeweler’s bodyguards, but Nerissa and Ava are strongly against the notion.

Gargoyles are obsessive

collectors of souvenirs

from their kills.

The adventurers’ much needed rest that night is interrupted when Salma realizes that some of the rocky outcroppings near them have moved slightly over the night—gargoyles!  As has proven the case so often in recent battles, the foes cannot withstand the pure destructive conflagration of Salma’s fire magicks and Kang’s explosive bombs.  Searching a crevice in the rock, Salma finds some old trinkets and battered gear that the gargoyles must have collected from past travellers over the years.

[29 Abadius 4708]

In the morning, despite the urgency of their quest, the adventurers settle on going back to Magnimar immediately and then on to Sandpoint the next day so that Ava will be present for the legal proceedings brought against her by Nagol Scarnetti.  Kang again offers to act in her defence, confident that his self-proclaimed status as a “genius” will make up for any lack of legal training.

Salma’s teleportation spell is successful, and the adventurers instantly find themselves at a beautiful public park (lightly dusted with snow) in the city’ exclusive Alabaster District.  Nerissa’s interest in finding a tavern, despite the early hour, leads her to ask a wealthy couple for directions.  Alarmed at her vagrant-like appearance, the couple motion for a nearby member of the City Watch to escort the adventurers away and down from the Summit.  The group decide to find someplace to sell some of the spoils of war they’ve accumulated in their recent adventures and eventually make their way to the Bazarre of Sails in Dockway.   Here, despite the cold, hundreds of stalls have been set up to form the largest free market in Varisia.  Nerissa is enchanted by the array of exotic foods and spices from all over the continent and even further afield, while Kang makes fast friends with a dwarf named Bartol Ehdrick who has been experimenting with mechanical wings, spring-loaded boots, and ink quill finger gloves to write ten messages at once!  Meanwhile, Salma, Jinkatsyu, and Ava learn that the best place to purchase flawless diamonds of the type they’re seeking is at the Bronze House—the regional headquarters of the Aspis Consortium.  There, they speak to a gaunt Taldan named Maiveer Sloan, who is willing to sell them “blood diamonds” from the Mwangi Expanse.

The rest of the afternoon passes quickly, with only Ava’s sobbing (caused by Kang referring to her and the others as “acquaintances” rather than “friends”) marring the day.  At sunset, the adventurers walk to Defiant’s Garden, where Kang intends to see Lord-Mayor Grobaras and collect some sort of reward for having discovered the fate of Fort Rannick.  Unfortunately, he can’t talk his way past the guards outside and is turned away.

The adventurers decide to spend the night in Sandpoint, and teleport into the room at the Rusty Dragon that Salma carefully memorized in past stays.  However, they’re not prepared for the fact that other guests might stay there after their departure, and they find themselves suddenly standing next to a half-dressed, terrified couple screaming for help.  Seconds later, Ameiko Kaijitsu bursts through the door, rapier in hand, and has harsh words for the adventurers’ foolishness.  Jinkatsyu’s attempt to charm her is shut down hard, as he can’t escape the indignity of his embarrassing practice duel in the common room from days earlier.

The adventurers are lodged in different rooms, and spend the evening in the common room.  Nerissa’s alcoholism becomes more alarming as she challenges the crowd to a drinking contest and finds no takers.  When she offers to pay for the wine herself, she’s invited over to a table in the corner with a trio of well-dressed young men sit.  Soon, she realizes that she’s sitting with Nagol Scarnetti and his friends and they’re mocking her for her association with “freaks.”  Nerissa places one of the spicy peppers she obtained earlier from the markets in Magnimar into a flask of wine, and challenges Nagol to drink it after she takes a sip with no visible effects.  He drinks the concoction down and then gasps in agony from the pain before rushing outside to dunk his head in a snowbank—leaving Nerissa chuffed at how well her prank on Ava’s tormentor worked.  Meanwhile, Jinkatsyu, who is down to his last coppers, hears how Ameiko gives a discount to anyone who entertains the crowd with a story or performance.  He takes the stage and tells the moving story of his family’s death at the hands of a coven of hags—there’s barely a dry eye in the room when he finishes.  Ava braves the stage to tell a joke that is surprisingly well-received, but Kang’s follow-up leads to boos and minor outrage in the listeners.

[30 Abadius 4708]

Veridian's map of Jorgenfist could be crucial for the heroes.

In the morning, the adventurers visit local cartographer Veznutt Parooh in order to sell him a copy of the map of Jorgenfist they obtained from Veridian.  Veznutt wistfully expresses his desire to accompany the adventurers, mentioning how the only true death is living the same day over and over again!  He says he’s come across a few mentions of the Black Tower in his work—apparently it has stood since the days of ancient Thassilon, and no explorer who has entered has ever been known to come out alive.  Legend has it that a great storehouse of knowledge exists under the Black Tower, but this has never been confirmed.

After their visit to Parooh, the adventurers hurry over to the Town Hall for Ava’s court proceeding.  They see Nagol Scarnetti in the hallway, accompanied by a well-dressed and imposing barrister from Magnimar named Edgeworth.  Edgeworth makes his way toward the group but instead of speaking with Ava or her “legal advocate” Kang, he instead hands Nerissa scroll.  “You’ve been served my dear—poisoning a Scarnetti has consequences!”

The adventurers’ initial push towards Jorgenfist has been repelled, and now they’ve become wrapped up in local matters.  Will they get on track in time to stop Mokmurian from launching his planned invasion of Varisia?

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Director's Commentary (May 5, 2019)

The adventurers had alerted enough patrols in previous sessions, so I thought this time the stone giants would have a sense of their route and prepared some defences.  I didn't expect to kill anyone outright with boulders though, and dropping two of the PCs certainly derailed things for a bit.  It led to the group teleporting to Magnimar for more diamonds and other supplies.  I think I did a pretty good job depicting Magnimar this session, but one of the things that surprised me this campaign was how much time the PCs spent there--I had very good prep for Sandpoint, but not as good of prep for Magnimar.  In retrospect, I would have set aside more time to really bring the city to life.  In other respects, this session was a solid "downtime" sort of session, with a lot of good role-playing, some development of subplots, and a few hijinks with plenty of laughs.