Rise of the Runelords Recap # 88 [RPG]

[23 Calistril 4708 continued]

When Erik goes to collect Veznutt Parooh and Brodert Quink for a dinner out at the Rusty Dragon, he can tell that the two oldsters are pleased about having hatched some sort of secret plan.  It all comes out when the adventurers find a surprise party waiting for them, with several of the townsfolk of Sandpoint ready to give testimonials about how they’ve been helped by the group and their predecessors in the months since the Swallowtail Festival.  Having heard that the adventurers will be departing on a trip to the far north, the town’s residents use the opportunity to express their gratitude and wish the adventurers well on the next stage of their quest.  The night passes quickly in feasting and general merriment.

[24 Calistril 4708]

In the morning, as the adventurers prepare for their departure to Runeforge in hopes of finding powerful weapons against the coming of the Runelords, they realize that Yuzo is nowhere to be found.  As he was last seen in the company of Sister Celia at the Rusty Dragon the night prior, the others decide they can come back for him when he’s ready to depart.  Ava’s teleportation spell to the the area works flawlessly thanks to the descriptions gleaned from the Scribbler’s riddle and Veznutt’s interpretation of it.  They arrive on the western slopes of Rimeskull Mountain, the peak of which rises thousands of feet into the chilly air.  The ground is rugged and mountainous between the mountain and the shores of Lake Stormunder further to the west, but in between the two the land levels off to create a circular hill.  Amongst the rocks and tenacious shrubs that poke through the scattered clumps of snow on the hilltop are seven stone heads, each ten feet tall, their faces angled inward at each other.  Each statue seems perfectly preserved and each is distinct from the others, but the adventurers aren’t able to determine exactly who or what they were supposed to represent.  Yet another ancient face leers at them as well: about two hundred feet above ground level, on the side of Rimeskull, the carving of a gaping mouth forms a cave entrance reachable by a stairway of stone.

For how many millennia have 

these guardians stood waiting?

The Heroes of Varisia decide to seek Runeforge inside the cave, noting that a sihedron has been etched above its entrance.  The steps are slippery in places, but prove no major obstacle to ascent.  However, once they reach the landing in front of the cave’s entrance, the adventurers are startled by two massive creatures of dirt and stone that somehow glide out of the rock!  The behemoth earth elementals are almost forty feet tall, and a single blow from one’s mighty fist is enough to knock Jinkatsyu off the landing to plummet into the snow at the base of the mountain!  Erik opens fire and gets knocked off the cliff as well, but the wings that form part of his angel-touched heritage allow him to avoid falling.  The battle is a hard fought one, but Kang’s bombs prove incredibly effective, and Ava’s skilled channelling of divine healing magicks keeps anyone from perishing.  Down below, Jinkatsyu is even able to get to his feet, badly hurt but still alive.  He grumbles that the experience was just like when he fell from Hook Mountain several weeks prior!

The intrepid explorers continue through the cave entrance to see a long tunnel gradually descending hundreds of feet into the mountain.  Past another pair of statues, the tunnel becomes quite icy and slippery.  Jinkatsyu loses his footing and almost suffers another terrible fall, but Kang sprouts his dragonfly wings quickly and manages to catch up to the kitsune and halt his slide.  The others find a nearly invisible ledge above the floor of the tunnel that seems safer to walk on, and the group’s progress continues.  Eventually the slope ends at the edge of a gaping chasm of darkness, with huge icicles hanging from the ceiling and coils of mist rising up from below.  The hidden ledge winds around the side of the chasm like a ramp.  The adventurers continue their descent into the darkness until suddenly they hear the sound of a massive bulk shifting amidst the clinking of metal.  A terrible voice booms up from below: “Who dares intrude upon my domain?”  Erik drops a coin imbued with magical light into the chasm, and the source of the voice becomes clear: a massive white dragon resting atop his hoard!  Before anyone can react, Ava activates her teleportation magic to whisk everyone back to Sandpoint.

But in her panic, something goes wrong with the spell.  The adventurers arrive in front of a tavern, but it’s not the Rusty Dragon—and if the town is Sandpoint, it’s like no Sandpoint they’ve ever seen before . . .

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Director's Commentary

The bit at the beginning with the "bon voyage" party was because I wanted the PCs to know how grateful the townsfolk in Sandpoint were.  It was possible, even likely, that the PCs wouldn't come back to Sandpoint after this point, so I wanted to make the most of it.

Yuzo's player missed the session.  It was around this point, if I remember correctly, that she started missing a lot of sessions.  And then she dropped out completely, with absolutely no notice!  Real life happens and players come and go, but I do find it annoying when players can't even send a note.

The arrival at an unfamiliar place was caused by Ava rolling extremely poorly with the teleport spell.  It happened right at the end of the session, giving me a week to think of exactly how I wanted to portray it.

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