Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 46 [RPG]

[Sunday, 28 Sarenith 4708 A.R. continued]

 

In the aftermath of a sudden night-time battle against bulettes, the Boneslayers accompanying the Harrowed Heroes connect with the spirits of the land to heal their wounds.  Everyone manages to catch a few more hours of sleep, but in the morning, Anorak and Hargev are gone.  Ahalak reassures the others that the two are fine, explaining that Anorak had a vision in the night and set off to ponder what he had seen, with Hargev as an escort to make sure no harm comes to him.

 

The others continue their journey toward the Acropolis of the Thrallkeepers.  Using most of the remaining power in the magical wand provided by Thousand Bones, the travellers from Korvosa are able to shrug off the heat and make good speed.  Partway through their march, the group are startled by a giant lizard-like creature emerging from hiding nearby and darting off into the distance.  Ahalak explains it’s simply a horned spirestalker, and of no real danger.  But its appearance puts the travellers on alert, and they realise they’re being shadowed!  Five figures on horseback, barely visible on a distant ridge, are keeping a parallel course.  The Reckoner asks if the Sklar-Quah would follow them, and Ahadfar admits he may have accidentally let slip their destination when he entered Flameford to inform the clan about the massacre at Blazehearth.  The Reckoner says no harm has been done, and the situation can be dealt with if it becomes an issue later on.

 

[Moonday, 29 Sarenith 4708 A.R.]

 

A slightly-cooler day allows for another solid sixteen miles’ of marching.  The peaks of the Wyvern Mountains grow slowly but steadily larger, and as the sun begins to set in the west, it silhouettes a partially-collapsed tower bearing the mark of the strange, seven-pointed star known to historians as the Sihedron.  Just to the side of the Sihedron, a pair of twenty-foot-wide stone doors stand ominously ajar.  The Boneslayers agree to take the horses to a nearby creek, and to return at dawn each day for two weeks to see if the Korvosans have emerged with the Thrallkeeper’s Mark. 

 

Yraelzin, The Reckoner, and Goldcape (along with her ever-present companion Rocky) search the doorway carefully for traps and then descend a flight of dusty steps into complete darkness.  Goldcape says that if this complex was once under control of the same archmage now threatening Varisia from the Kodar Mountains, everyone in the group will have to strive to control their greed.  Yraelzin, however, says there were rumoured to be several so-called “Runelords,” and this complex could have been in a different territory than that ruled by the Runelord of Greed.  As the group descend, a magical light spell cast on The Reckoner’s battle-maul provides a small bubble of visibility, but walls of black granite decorated with Sihedrons and strange runes seem to swallow up the light.

 

The stairs end at a long hallway cluttered with dust and tiny mounds of ash.  Goldcape notices footprints in the ash—recent ones!  Moving very slowly, alert for any danger, the group pass through the hallway and into a massive, strangely cool, cathedral-like space.  The ceiling vaults nearly sixty feet into the air, while a narrow balcony rings the room and overlooks twin pools of dark water.  The footsteps lead to a stone door marked with the Sihedron.  By pressing the symbol, some unknown mechanism causes the door to rise slowly up into the ceiling.  And on the other side: Krojun and his Thundercallers!  The Shoanti are in a narrow corridor that has hidden eyeslits allowing observation of the entire central chamber.  Krojun laughs at being discovered so quickly, but is unapologetic about his reason for being here: to ensure that the tshamek do not disrespect the ruins and fake having obtained the Thrallkeeper’s Mark.  He also arrogantly demands to know what took place at the Bone Council Fire in the Kallow Mounds.  The Reckoner replies curtly that they don’t owe him an explanation, but Goldcape tells all—“spilling words like water pouring forth from a gourd”, in Krojun’s delighted estimation.

Under Krojun’s watchful gaze, the trio of “wetlanders” continue their exploration of the Acropolis.  The next chamber they explore is empty, but in the center of the floor is a hole surrounded by a ring of tangled runes.  The hole allows access to a shaft descending dozens of feet, with its entire length illuminated by brilliant emerald light.  Goldcape peers over the edge and swears she sees the shadow of someone or something near the bottom.  She calls down but gets no response.  The Reckoner asks Krojun what lies below, forcing the Sklar-Quah warrior to admit (reluctantly) that he’s never ventured far into the Acropolis himself—and has no interest in going further.

The seekers of the Thrallkeeper’s Mark explore another nearby chamber, and discover a strange bronze statue in the center of the room.  The statue depicts a half-snake, half-human creature with the lower body of a serpent coiled about a stand and the upper torso of a slender human woman.  The woman’s hands are crossed over her chest to clutch two objects at her shoulders: the right hand holds a large quill, while the left holds a jade-handled whip.  Six birdlike wings emerge from the torso’s shoulders, and instead of a head, it has a disk bearing a seven-pointed star.  Completing the uncanny effect, jade runes run down the statue’s belly and along the length of the woman’s snaky lower body.  Goldcape and Yraelzin examine the statue, but they can’t figure out what it signifies—or what the enchanted whip could be for.

Returning to the shaft, The Reckoner attaches a grappling hook to its lip and lets a rope dangle down.  He begins climbing down the rope while Goldcape—a natural climber—starts scaling the almost sheer walls of the shaft.  Once they’ve descended several feet, they feel their bodies grow light and somehow buoyant in the air!  Realising that the emerald light is some kind of feather fall enchantment, The Reckoner lets go of the rope and falls some feet before grabbing hold of it again.  But when Goldcape seeks to replicate the stunt, she can’t get a grip on the walls of the shaft and falls (slowly) the entire way—and right into an ambush!  No less than four Red Mantis assassins are waiting at the bottom of the shaft to slaughter whomever lands first!  Goldcape manages to somersault out of the ambush as The Reckoner drops the rest of the way to come to her aid.  But the assassins are determined to make up for past failures and doggedly pursue Goldcape.  Without eyes in the back of her head, it’s impossible to dodge sawtooth sabres slashing in from every direction, and the vanaran is quickly on the ground—and just moments away from bleeding to death!  The Reckoner methodically smashes one assassin after another, but he won’t be quickly enough to save Goldcape.  Fortunately, the pair aren’t alone!  Hearing the shouts, Yraelzin uses magic to teleport right into the fray and staunch his ally’s wounds.  “Witness the power of Yraelzin!” shouts the cleric before retreating as the assassins turn their attention to him.  But The Reckoner is relentless, and soon the threat is ended.

Goldcape is revived and her wounds healed at the cost of rapidly-dwindling wand charges.  She joins The Reckoner (and Anorak previously) in deciding to don one of the assassin’s masks.  The Harrowed Heroes shout up the shaft to tease Krojun about his reluctance to come down, and he shouts back that battling gaudily-clad bug-headed men isn’t the same thing as obtaining the Thrallkeeper’s Mark.  During the shouting, the Acropolis seems to rumble slightly.  The Reckoner experiments with the light-filled shaft, learning that if something (like the body of a slain foe) is placed in the light at the bottom, it slowly levitates upwards.

 

Exploration of the lower chamber shows a long hallway heading north that terminates at a narrow opening in the wall.  But as they patiently search for danger along the way, the group discover what could only be a hidden door in the side of the hallway.  They’re able to open the door, only to find passage beyond blocked by a massive stone plug that must weigh tons!  They decide to leave that mystery for later, and pass through the end of the hallway and into another strange chamber.  In this one, the walls, ceiling, and floor have been painted to resemble a starry sky, giving the illusion of walking through space.  A ten-foot-diameter stone sphere floats above the floor, resting on three short metal rods that radiate outwards like a tripod—only resting on empty air rather than a solid surface!  The globe itself is carefully carved with tiny rivers, mountains, oceans, and forests.  Something seems off about the geography of the globe, but no one in the group can quite tell why; and although it’s clearly magical, no one can discern its purpose. 

The Reckoner decides to take a chance on touching the globe, and promptly disappears!  He finds himself seemingly floating in the void between stars, capable of travelling across the cosmos through the merest desire.  But The Reckoner is too strongly tied to his own world to go exploring, and tears himself free.  His body appears again in the chamber, standing next to the globe, but with a crucial difference: on his palm is a seven-pointed star—the Thrallkeeper’s Mark!

 

Although they’ve achieved their goal, the lure of the secret door—and the blocked passage beyond—continues to intrigue the group.  They try to push the stone plug out of the way, but it doesn’t move an inch.  The Reckoner asks Yraelzin if there’s any magic that could assist, and he promptly names three methods: turning oneself into gas, magically reshaping the stone, or teleporting to whatever is on the far side.  Alas, he says, only the latter option is within his means, and that only through a wand he carries.  The Reckoner is strongly tempted to take the risk to see what’s on the other side, but Goldcape says it’s too risky.  The pair argue for several minutes until The Reckoner decides he’ll go alone if he has to.  Borrowing Yraelzin’s wand, he teleports about fifteen feet east—and into solid rock!  Fortunately, magical safeguards built into the spell shunt him elsewhere, and he finds himself in the globe room with only minor wounds.  Undeterred, he tries again, going just a little bit further this time.  It works, and he appears in a small chamber containing five crushed skeletons and several stone niches filled with a veritable dragon’s hoard of treasure!  Gathering everything together, he uses the wand again to reappear next to Goldcape and Yraelzin. 

 

The delve into the Acropolis has seemingly been a complete success.  But instead of exultation, the group is instead split by dissension over questions of risk and reward—who should be entitled to a share of the treasure horde?  Has the Runelord of Greed won yet another victory?  Or can the Harrowed Heroes overcome their differences?

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GM Commentary

In past appearances, the Red Mantis haven't actually posed much of a threat, diminishing their reputation as fearsome assassins.  It was good that in this session they get a chance to use their sneak attacks and almost kill a party member.

I found the stuff with the globe (psychically exploring the cosmos) hard to run, and I don't think I did a very good job with it.  I was surprised the group didn't think to try to take the supports for it--they were immovable rods and quite valuable/useful.

The stuff with the treasure at the end was a real disagreement both in-character and out.  The issue was The Reckoner's player saying that, as he took all the risk to get the hidden hoard, he should get to keep all of it.  The whole situation did fit naturally into the Runelord of Greed theme, so that's how I handled it in the recap, but real-life tensions in the group remained high.