The party leave the masquerade room and enter back in, not before throwing in an apple first after caution from Ereborn they may age. A very different scene awaits them. A ruined old open field hospital, evidence of some ancient battle that took place hundreds of years ago.
Searching another room, Ereborn finds 2 magical stones, which Salazar divines as being imbued with Sending spells, allowing two people to communicate remotely with each other. Trym as the scout and Salazar take one each.
They then enter a Sitting room that seems to have survived the ravages of time. On a table they spy 4 decanters: The First has spoiled wine that has turned to Vinegar, in the second a slow acting poison worth 200gp, in the third a healing draught that restores 4d6, and the fourth a fine whiskey that has aged perfectly and is worth 1000gp.
On the walls they find 3 elvish tapestries . Of interest: The First has elves in forest hard to see. In front of the second tapestry of houses and a waterfall was a wooden stand indicating something has been removed. Perhaps we need to find this item?
Ereborn suggests putting the items they are taking into Salazars Leomunds chest, so they can later sell and buy more equipment (muttering something about Jarpi Warhammer and fine dwarven plate). Inside they put the fine whiskey, the poison, 1 tapestry and the chandelier that they gauge will be worth a fine amount of gold, and wrapped in blankets for safekeeping. Heading out to the courtyard they see magical candles and walking back in they feel rested (akin to having a long nights rest). Heading back to the throne room, they find it ravaged and in ruins by the passed Eons of time.
They then move into a room that looks like a meditation zen garden. Salazar finds enough herbs to make a minor healing potion, and Kildrake finds some spices and edible plants.
Next, they enter a collapsing room, lined with bookshelves. But there are signs of creatures living here, with bones and excrement on the balcony. Moving to the next room, it leads down to a well looked after wine cellar that smells of sweat and corpses. It leads into a chamber that Ereborn senses is currently being used by someone, and an ambush is imminent.
Kildrake shoots lightning breath at a crate, exposing 2 bandits and their leader Tamara. They say they have set up camp here searching the castle for some weeks and that they will allow the Stormbearers to leave alive.
The Stormbearers announce they are on a mission for the King of the Castle and will not. After getting information that there are catacombs below and that Elves were not buried there. She also says that there are many bandits to intimidate the Stormbearers, but they know she is bluffing.
Kildrake threatened that if they didn’t answer their questions to his satisfaction, they would die. To which 6 more appear and the bandits attack him, reigning in blows and arrows and severely wounding him. Salazar casts a successful Hold Person on Tamara, immobilizing her.
Ereborn steps forward, and summons a sleet storm, with the bandits with bows all falling prone in the icy, obscured conditions. He loudly proclaims for them to stand down. They hesitate but still attack as Squall cuts several down.
The bandits with bows again jump up and attack, and even disadvantaged by the sleet, further wound Kildrake with 4 arrow hits, putting him at risk of going unconscious if hit again.
Kildrake withdraws and Ereborn stands over Tamara who was helpless, telling them to stand down or he will strike her down. That enough is enough and to stop.
They stop attacking and Ereborn offered her a hand up to de-escalate the conflict. In response she tries to stab Ereborn through his armor, at which point Squall kills 2 more to prove the point. They accede and offer up more information, and the party allow them to leave, with some advice on avoiding the chronostorms lest they age them, minus their accumulated treasure, as the following:
Sacks: 6000cp, 1200sp, 500gp
Barrels: mummified Eaglardi remains
Crates: Silver statue of a woman in a Toga (800-1000gp), 8 rolled up portraits of High Elves (150gp each), a Vase of Exquisite workmanship notes as similar to something else they recall having seen in the castle (1000gp), a miniature wooden tree caring that seems to have come from one of the empty pedestal in the sitting room, and another 10000cp.
The party barricades the entrance to the catacombs and settle in for a long rest and take turns on watch. Lucky they did, as strange sounds emanate from below during the night. Feeling rested, and with new powers gained, they venture upstairs to a tower, to survey the castle surrounds. As they reach the top, with storms raging above, a huge, many mouthed purple glow worm landed from above them. The warriors moved in to attack. Ereborn called lightning, aided by the storms, as Zorron inspired them to victory. The creature was bested, with Squall throwing it off the tower in victory.
Role play observations: As we progress to higher levels, the success in the game is not just about rushing into/victory in combat. It can be a perception of a small detail, an NPC who could provide vital information, a scouting exercise, a search of an area, reacting to how your character would in their class, demeanour or Alignment. The DM will generally award these things as your character grows in a manner consistent with “what would my character do or how would he react” in a situation. Doing something to seize power or riches may not be a valuable as learning a secret or clue. I tried as Ereborn with the bandits to bring the battle to conclusion without killing them, because they had been there for weeks and could provide valuable insights on things within the Castle, even though we knew that Bandits generally would never willingly hand over their loot.
Home 
Calendar 
Latest images 
FAQ 
Search 
Memberlist 
Usergroups 
Register 
Log in 
).
