Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 49 [RPG]

[Wealday, 1 Erastus 4708 A.R. continued]
 
Having freed the House of the Moon from the red reaver which had taken it as a lair, the Harrowed Heroes discuss their next steps.  With the Truthspeaker not guaranteed to arrive until the night of the full moon—a full three days away—The Reckoner and Anorak overrule Goldcape’s suggestion of just waiting and instead decide the group should set out for Flameford at sundown the next night. 
 
Goldcape, however, notices Yraelzin speaking with one of the Moon Maidens and hears something about a journey to the north—away from Flameford.  When the vanara approaches, Yraelzin makes a stunning announcement: he’s leaving!  He explains that it’s become apparent to him that he’s no longer needed, now that Anorak has become so skilled at identifying magic items, The Reckoner prepares himself for every battle with magic boots and wands and armor, and Goldcape can handle the healing when the group’s rare injuries occur.  He’s not leaving permanently, he adds, seeing her look of dismay, but wants to go somewhere he’s really needed.  Yraelzin says that if it’s true the best chance of stopping the giant army’s advance is while they’re besieging Urglin, he may be able to help the orcs turn the tide—and there have been rumors that other tshamek adventurers might be in the area that he could link up with.  Yraelzin promises to check in, via magic, each week, and return to the group as soon as he can—plus, one of the Moon Maidens has agreed to escort him there. 
 

But it’s clear to keen observers that a deeper problem has been brewing within Yraelzin for quite some time: an identity crisis.  Having gradually ceased mentioning Razmir in recent weeks, Yraelzin now makes a symbolic break with his faith: he removes his mask, hands it to Goldcape, and asks her to destroy it for him!  He admits his foray into Harrow reading may have been a desperate attempt to find something else to give him meaning, and that it didn’t really work.  But hopefully, he adds, some time away will give him clarity—and besides, he adds, if someone has to stop the giants, why not “Yraelzin, Master of Magic!”  After the others say their farewells, the former Priest of the Third Step of the Living God departs.

 
Earlier, while Yraelzin was conversing with Goldcape, The Reckoner hatched a plan to lure the Cinderlander into a trap by disguising himself as a Lyrune-Quah Moon Maiden!  Although grateful for the group’s assistance, the real Moon Maidens think the plan too risky and can’t be persuaded to participate.  Nonetheless, The Reckoner walks for two hours into the desert, with Goldcape and Anorak flying some distance away on Rocky’s back.  But the Cinderlander doesn’t appear, and the Korvosans return to the House of the Moon before dawn for some much-needed rest on a day that has mixed joy and sadness.
 
[Oathday, 2 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
 
During a day spent camping in the shade of some rock outcroppings to escape the omnipresent heat, Goldcape calls forth a magical thunderstorm and brings down a bolt of lightning to shatter Yraelzin’s mask.  Once the sun finally starts to slip over the horizon, the travellers continue moving, aided as always by their escorts from the Kallow Mounds.  The Boneslayers don’t move quickly, but they do move cautiously, and help the city-dwellers avoid the many risks an unwary visitor to the Cinderlands might encounter.  A solid sixteen miles in the direction of Flameford are covered before the group set up camp just before dawn.

Dawn is also when the wyverns strike!  Fortunately, the warriors are still wearing their armor and have weapons nearby as the blue, sixteen-foot-long draconic beasts streak down from the sky.  Goldcape, her eyes accommodated to moonlight, sees them first and conjures more nature magic: a heavy hailstorm that batters one of the beasts.  Anorak and The Reckoner still can’t see them as they get ever closer, but then the dwarf’s eyes pick up the lead attacker and he launches a fireball that briefly lights up the night’s sky.  Goldcape conjures more hailstorms and the Boneslayers launch a volley of arrows, wounding the lead wyvern so severely that, when it lands, The Reckoner is able to finish it off.  But the other wyvern, apparently seeking dominance of the skies and irked by an intruder, dives for Rocky!  The roc’s lamellar barding blunts the wyvern’s talons, and the combined ferocity of Rocky’s slashing claws and Goldcape’s magic rapier fell the foul-mouthed attacker just as it decides to flee.

With spirits high from the fight, it takes some time before everyone is able to settle down to sleep.  Anorak and The Reckoner notice that the star markings they received on their palms in the Thrallkeeper’s Acropolis are beginning to fade.  They decide to test out the strange magical gift that accompany the mark, and each calls forth a being from another plane of existence!  The Reckoner summons a fierce-looking bralani from Elysium; the warrior, named Mercil, looks confused to learn there is no evil nearby to smite and fades away.  Anorak makes a very different choice: from the Ethereal Plane, he summons a creature that is completely invisible!  Speaking only in a harsh whisper, the creature (dubbed “Hunter” by the dwarf) promises to do whatever its “master” wishes if it were to be summoned again.
 
[Fireday, 3 Erastus 4708 A.R]
 
Waking again at dusk, the group make good time apart from a quick detour: Anorak is intent on renewing or adding to the magical power of the Thrallkeeper’s Mark by touching the globe in the Acropolis again!  However, nothing happens.  He and The Reckoner try to persuade Goldcape to touch her palm to the globe, but she refuses, saying the risk of being trapped in the globe forever isn’t worth it.
 
After travelling a few more hours, the group again set up camp just before dawn.  The Reckoner is fortunately a light sleeper, because he wakes when he hears a voice—a voice coming from inside his head!  Bishop Keppira d’Bear of Korvosa is sending him a magical communication: “Situation deteriorating.  Church of Abadar swore allegiance to Queen.  Korvosan Guard disbanded, Kroft in hiding.  Grau’s band growing—secret funding? Our plan still on track.”  The Reckoner uses his opportunity to ask whether the mission can be delayed a week, but no response is forthcoming.
 
[Starday, 4 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
 
Travelling by the light of the full moon, Anorak spots the distinctive fins of land-sharks heading to intercept the group.  The dwarf revels in the awesome power of his master of evocation, releasing wave after wave of fire on the predators until they’re utterly incinerated.
 
Criss-crossing the Cinderlands, the Harrowed Heroes have never failed to overcome any foe.  But are they losing the one challenge that perhaps matters most: the race against time?
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GM Commentary

One of the things I'm proudest of in my running of the campaign is Yraelzin.  Since we only had three players to start, I added him as a GM-PC to round the group out to four.  He really came alive during the course of the campaign, and I think his personal story arc evolved in an organic and compelling fashion.  I had him depart here for the rest of Chapter Four to illustrate the "reality" of the danger from the giant armies, and also because, just as he said, he wasn't really needed anymore.  Yraelzin's specialties were identifying magical items and buffing the group, and other PCs took those roles themselves.  Since combats were being won very easily, it seemed like a good time for a story development.

We have a house rule that low-light vision allows you to see normally in dim light.  That really came in handy for Goldcape in the battle against the wyverns, allowing him to see and fight them when the other party members couldn't.

I used the magical messages from Bishop d'Bear to keep up the time pressure in the Cinderlands and to remind the players that the situation in Korvosa wasn't static.