Sapphire:Sessions:20220514
The Eastern Realm: -
- Helm's Deep
- Sun Time 11, 2437 (12:01 AM) to Sun Time 11, 2437 (11:00 AM)
- PC Cast
- Chalker Jackson
- Dain Keyfiel
- Intrinsius
- Nia
AUDIO LINKS
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjlrogdatZyFiD0xWA5W8O5DW_jx?e=W8mzaT
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjlrogdatZyFiD6udHBIKGpcx9DN?e=VR1G8P
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjlrogdatZyFiD-YwbrRYJVxWpZh?e=lgJZ5t
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AjlrogdatZyFiEAh2xtx7Z79dOz5?e=r8tKsW
Rebellion in Helm’s Deep
Nearing midnight the party returns to the Discovery Inn’s Ale house to meet and share the information acquired over the course of their day’s scouting. Chalker begins to discuss with the group the course of action, whether to wait until morning or set out for the home of Trask Loadbreaker right away. After some discussion, the group decided to proceed in a more cautious manner in the morning. After a short meal and some drinks, the party retired to their rooms with agreement to meet up again at 8am for breakfast.
During their sleep each member of the group noticed that someone was magically scrying for someone, although who or what was uncertain. Meeting for breakfast at the Alehouse, the establishment is already doing brisk business more than half full. The group discussed the magical intrusion of the night before as they enjoyed their breakfast. After discussion, it seems that the intrusion was a sophisticated form of the Sense Foes spell.
After discussion, the team decides to first search out Kray Stonemover at Chalker’s insistence. Leaving the Alehouse to walk deeper into Helm’s Deep to begin their search. As they leave, Nia checks the stone in her pocket to receive the message “follow your instincts”.
As the group moves around the city, they notice it is quite busy. The party also notices a big dark object in the sky far away. Traveling into the depths of the mountain city, they begin to check at shops for information on the location of Kray Stonemover. Entering the first shop, they are greeted with wide open arms by the shopkeeper who loudly proclaims, “There they are, the people I dreamt about last night”, immediately suspicious Chalker ask him his name which to the shopkeeper replies “Toff”.
Intrinsius subtly casts Sense Foes on Toff, from which he determines he is a foe, but maybe not a violent foe, while also discovering he has some mild magic resistance. Chalker views Toff’s Aura and discovers he has been in the presence of a demonic being.
Without noticing, Chalker and Intrinsius find themselves getting drawn closer to Toff. Meanwhile, Nia is being drawn close to some of the figurines on a nearby shelf. A female dwarf shopkeeper is watching Nia with keen interest. Nia has the feeling that the figurines are living and cursed.
Chalker asks the shopkeeper for books ands scrolls on Helm’s Deep, and as the dwarf runs off into the back room Intrinsius says he will help the old dwarf and quickly follows after to keep an eye on him.
Nia begins to arrange ruin stones around the central elven figurine to try to get feedback from the ruin stone about the figurine. Chalker walks over to view and Nia asks if he feels the evilness emanating from the figurine. Chalker is definitely feeling it.
The human mage Tye who had commissioned the group to come to Helm’s Deep casts a sleep spell on the female dwarven shopkeeper. Shorty after, Nia views the stone saying to her “Pray with Power”. Nia begins praying dramatically over the figure, looking somewhat like she was trying to do fortune telling at the figurine. Chalker looks into the figurine and is suddenly struck by horror and feels that it was the handiwork of a 2nd or 3rd chosen who is involved with the Elves. Nia feels resistance to the prayer emanating from the figurine, although Nia feels that she is winning this particular battle of wills.
Intrinsius is following Toff into the back rooms and he again casts detect foes and he sense an active foe in the room ahead. While Toff fills a box with scrolls and books for Chalker, Intrinsius investigates the corner of the room in which he sensed the foe, although there appears to only be a book there in a language that he is unable to read, and he believes that it is not actually a book, but something disguised as a book. Intrinsius request this book also be brought to Chalker.
As a piercing scream emanates from the front room, the book disappears and a small humanoid creature appears with a dagger in one hand coated in some venom, and a wand in the left hand with extremely small ruins all over it, from which he sense elements. Intrinsius immediately punches the creature in the face while casting Flame jet. The wand was destroyed and the right leg and left hand of the creature were completely destroyed. The creature than jumps up and onto the hand of Intrinsius brandishing its dagger. Intrinsius grabs the creature with his left hand and hurls it across the rooms straight into the chest of Toff who falls unconscious as the creature dies. At the same time, the scream emanating from the front room ends.
Intrinsius loads Toff, the creature and the scrolls & books into a wheelbarrow he found in a nearby room and wheel them to the front of the shop.
Meanwhile, Chalker wakes the female dwarf and she seems relieved, saying that for some time something old and ancient has reared its head in their shop. As she explains this, she begins to ramble in dwarven “Where’s Toff?”. From the back of the store everyone can hear the squeaking of the wheels of the wheel barrow.
As Intrinsius appears in the front room, Chalker asks “Did you knock out the dwarf?”, to which Intrinsius stops and holds up the small creature’s mangled body missing foot and hand and says, “I through this at him and he just fell over”.
Chalker also turns to Nia and said, “Those were some very interesting prayers to Roo, never seen them done that way before.”. Chalker asks the female dwarf for a cup of water and when he receives it pours it onto Toff’s face to wake him up, which miraculously works.
After discussions with Toff, the group discovers that he had been supplying the rebels with cursed items under the control of whatever malevolent entity was inside the statue (or perhaps the creature), specifically remembering selling to Kray.
Intrinsius also asks Toff, what exactly this creature he fought was, and Toff responds that it was a book found in the Deepest parts of Helm’s Deep more than 200 years ago. They also learn that Kray is expected at around 12 noon, so the group agrees to wait at the shop for him to arrive.
Kray arrives and is introduced to the new members of Chalker’s group. He explains that there is a number of agents of as well as 2nd and 3rd chosen operating in the area attempting to setup their own domain with the blessing of some 1st Chosen.
The group decides to head to Baron Dozel’s residence to learn more. Before leaving, Chalker says to Intrinsius, “If we get in trouble burn everything.”
At Baron Dozel’s residence they are greeted by the guards and Chalker announced himself as an envoy from Dolyena. One guard says he will announce them and presses a hidden button in the wall and disappears into the keep. While the door is open, Intrinsius senses fire within, a fast moving intense stream of fire within the wall.
Entering the keep, the group finds a large foyer with a huge staircase leading in 2 directions, Intrinsius sees an odd shimmer on the right side of the path (as if sudden is hidden by a spell), while the group is lead off to the left. Chalker asks Dain to stay behind in the Foyer and make sure the door closes behind them.
Twenty steps down the hallway on the left the group arrives at a large door, which the guard then opens and invites Chalker to sit and rest in the primary Den.
Chalker walks in with Nia and the rest of the group while Intrinsius stays outside to investigate the glimmer. Inside the room, there are 3 people, 2 who have their faces obscured. The man that Chalker assumes to be the Baron is seated awaiting Chalker to join him.
Chalker sits down across from the Baron, while Nia and Ty take up guard spots on either side, Nia positioning herself in a place to be able to quickly climb up the wall. Chalker views the aura’s of the other people in the room, identifying one as a powerful mage who has traveled the planes, been in the presence of first chose and in the presence of demons (Mr. Chaos). The other figure in the room appears to be a powerful spiritual being, perhaps a priest (Mr. Order).
After discussion with these figures, Chalker discovers that both of these people are under contract with the Baron. Chalker invites the Baron to turn his inner eye onto him, which the Baron does and responds, “I do not know if you are blessed or cursed”.
Meanwhile, outside the room Intrinsius begins to return to the main stairs to investigate the shimmer’s he had previously seen. By this time, the shimmers have moved from the right side down to the bottom of either side of the stairs. Intrinsius is joined on the walk back by the guard who showed them to the den. The guard takes up position on Intrinsius’ left side assuming that this was his weak point. As they walk down the stairs, Intrinsius engages the man in conversation about working for the Baron, eventually revealing he knows that the Baron is in Trask’s pocket. As they reach the bottom of the stairs next to the hidden figures, Intrinsius pretends to fall while shoving the guard into one figure while shouldering into the other himself. The hidden figure that Intrinsius shoulder’s into is knocked unconscious, while the guard who stumbled into the other hidden figure seems to have recovered after running into the other hidden figure. Intrinsius apologizes profusely for “tripping” while the guard tries to pretend he didn’t run into anything on his side of the stair.
After the “fall”, the guard is searching for the other hidden person, seems to not find him and suggest that they go back to the den door to wait. Intrinsius briefly talks with Dain, and all 4 of them (Dain, Intrinsius, and the 2 guards) walk back to the den door together. The hidden figure is on the way to the door, and doesn’t appear to move as they walk towards the door.
Chalker has an intense conversation in the attempt to coerce the Baron from giving up his aspirations of rebellion against the empire. Saying, if he persists Chalker will have to kill him, and the experienced bodyguards he has hired, which he does not want to do. The Baron lies to Chalker claiming that he has no desire to work for Trask Loadbreaker nor any intention to rebel against the Empire. Chalker senses for metal finding none on the Baron with long daggers on both Mr. Order and Mr. Chaos. Chalker pulls a dagger from Mr. Order using his telekinesis and stabs the Baron. The Baron shouts “Take them” and Chalker pulls the dagger a stabs the Baron again. Nia watching from the right side of Chalker sees the dagger leave Mr. Order’s sheath and float across the room. Upon seeing this she immediately casts Haste, followed by quickly running and flipping onto the table. The Baron lashes out to attack Nia assuming that she was the one who buried the dagger in his back. Nia does an acrobatic dodge.
Mr. Chaos throws a black lighting bolt at Ty, missing narrowly. Mr. Order takes a step back and sees that his dagger is missing.
Outside Intrinsius and Dain hear the end of the conversation between Chalker and the Baron, and the Baron says take them. Intrinsius quick draws his swords, the katana coming out slowly while he quickly draws and strikes with his broadsword doing massive damage to the unwitting guard who appears stunned from the sudden frightening wound. Dain draws his big battle axe and prepares to fight the other guard.
Inside the room, Chalker takes a step forward and says “Flame on” stabbing the Baron in the head with the fire blade. Caught by surprise the Baron doesn’t dodge and takes the blade directly to the face. Ty throws a lightning bolt hitting Mr. Chaos. Mr. Order doesn’t appear to do anything, but is holding the knife he pulled from the Baron’s back. Nia notices the Baron is in significant distress and may be down, and decided to try to force him out of the fight quickly. Quick drawing one of her new throwing knives and casting a winged knife spell throwing it at the Baron, which he narrowly dodges. The knife embeds deeply into a nearby piece of furniture. The Baron, upon completing his dodge lashes out with his sword at Chalker who dodges to the side to avoid the Baron’s swing. He continues to slide across the desk after missing Chalker and falls onto the floor on the other side of the chair.
Intrinsius turns his attention to the other guard, since the first guard is obviously stunned. Attacking with his Katana in his right hand, he forces the guard parry his katana while the broadsword hits home doing significant damage to the guard. This is followed up by Dain attacks that same guard with his battle axe doing significant damage. The guard falls to the floor bleeding out. The obscured guard, thinking he is unseen tries to sneak attack Intrinsius with his war hammer, Intrinsius notices him and parry’s the blow with his flaming Katana.
Chalker pursues the Baron across the chair and stabs at him again with Flame On, prone on the floor the Baron is unable to dodge or parry, but suffers little damage. The Baron stands up. Nia again throws a throwing knife at the Baron using the Winged Knife spell hitting him in the vitals. Ty throws a lightning bolt at Mr. Chaos, who dodges.
Dain notices that Intrinsius has blocked an unseen attacker, so instead finishes off the first guard. Intrinsius attacks the unseen attacker missing badly with his katana and burning himself in the process, but his broadsword bites deeply knocking the unseen attacker out of the fight. Intrinsius hears some noise coming from the door that sounds like additional guards on their way.
The Baron is lying on the floor face first, but appears to have been healed. Nia looks down and says, “this is perfect”, casting Glue, sticking the Baron’s entire body to the floor. Ty throws a lightning bolt at Mr. Chaos, finally hitting him. Chalker slashes down at the prone Baron in an attempt to behead him. Sword traveling all the way through the Baron’s neck, it appears that he has been beheaded.