Shadows of the Moonchildren
Introduction
It is the year 998 YSK. The kingdom of Yondar has known nearly 700 years of peace. Elsewhere in Guulrath, the Wayfarer Gnome Expedition Company has established several colonies - and even three full-sized cities in the past 300 years. While this has resulted in great economic boons for Yondar, there are those who detest the colonization tactics said to be employed by the WGEC, and there are those who feel that their stranglehold on international trade has tipped the power in the realm from the crown to the merchants.
King J'aramé IV Vermitharr has spent much of his thirty-year reign taking the gold levied from the Wayfarer Gnome and using it to improve the infrastructure of the realm and combats poverty by being a constant nuisance to the Senatorium of Ardis (the reforms of 505 YSK under King J'aramé II officially limiting the power of the crown), as many of its members tout that the king is attempting to threaten the Senatorium's with his excessive edicts that benefit the needy.
Displaced goblins from Guulrath have taken the Rusted City and created a thriving city there, along with a new mint for the kingdom. In the Ashlands, Prigdenia has been seized by the crown and transformed into a massive prison citadel for all of its enemies. Established in 779 YSK, the Prigdenian Complex has housed some of the world's most dangerous criminals for two centuries.
The Grand Scion Matilda Colfox has withdrawn from her place in court for the past five years, instead focusing on researching the planar mysteries. The Arcanus Conservatory, under her leadership, has created a new campus in Gron's Pass, as well as the purple district of Londor. Also, the Conservatory Restoration Initiative - enacted in 445 YSK - has led to the construction of New Darlok, which has been growing for the past 120 years.
Session I
On the 27th of Auleon in 998 YSK, Commissioner Harrison Garfield of the Wayfarer Gnome Expedition Company was hosting a dinner event on the day of the serpent. At his table that evening were friends, enemies, and prospective talent for an upcoming expedition.
The guest list:
- Baresh, a bard of some renown who will entertain the other guests with his dancing prowess - while acting as a spy for the crown. Though he poses as a human, he is in fact a changeling.
- Torrhen Fields, a human fighter raised by the halflings of Stigg's Farm that has completed multiple missions for the Wayfarer Gnome Expedition Company.
- Eirnes Selar, a high elven healer and cleric of Darlos, who has spent the past few years on a tour healing people in the Guulrath colonies afflicted with the grey plague.
- Tilion Corso, a local human artificer who's mentor - Valdin Dorrim - died in an expedition led by Garfield when he was a captain.
- Aldor Granadon, Eirnes' comrade from his tour.
- Prince Zarus of House Vermitharr, the Duke of Wayfarton. (human)
- Frongod, a wealthy shipwright and proprietor of Frongod's Shipyard. (orc)
- Solomon Mardris, owner of Solomon's Goods and local wealthy merchant. (dwarf)
- Morris Langdon, local blacksmith and armorer - he provides the armaments of the city guard and Wayfarton Castle. (human)
- Sariah Amaith, owner of a local cottage. (elf)
- Agnes Garfield, Harrison's wife. (human)
- Thomas Garfield, Harrison's son. (human)
- Lara Fawn, a socialite and friend of Sariah and Agnes. (human)
- Loremaster Heddal, an archivist from the Temple of Ezra. (elf)
- Griffith Haden, a renowned equestrian and owner of Haden's stables. (human)
- Isadora Redd, a socialite and reformist on behalf of the people. (half-elf)
- Garth Reiner, captain of the city guard. (human)
- Randall Fell, proprietor of a shop in the mystic corner. (human)
- Carson Barrow, the butler. (human)
The commissioner had assembled these parties because years ago he had obtained the Key of Zrajbon on an expedition in the Razorleaf Jungle (the same expedition that took the life of Valdin Dorrim). He told the dinner party that he believed that hidden in Zrajbon were untold riches and magical artifacts ripe for the taking. He intended to appoint Torrhen, Tilion, Aldor, and Eirnes to take the key to Zrajbon and bring back whatever spoils they find. Aldor declined, indicating to the party that he was going to return to the colony of people afflicted with the grey plague just outside of Lake Straassus. In lieu of Aldor, Baresh was named as the fourth member of this party.
Just prior to the first course, Baresh did a very impressive dance to his drums as a hint of the show to come.
At dinner, the following conversation points came up:
- Harrison mentioned that he had high hopes the four would take up his deal to go to Zrajbon. He guaranteed a payment of 5,000 gold pieces to be split among the party, in addition to further negotiation of magic items and artifacts recovered from Zrajbon. He was prepared to send them with two wagons, four draft horses, and a month's rations.
- Prince Zarus made several remarks about seizing Cragnox for the crown, presumably by force.
- Frongod passively warned Zarus that this endeavor would cost him greatly, however, he eventually offered up that he had the means to create the 100 warships he desired, though he demanded the WGEC make lumber from some forest to ensure they have supplies for normal commerce.
- Morris Langdon was very enthusiastic to declare he'd make the necessary armaments for a conscripted army. When he pressed Prince Zarus about funds for this venture, Zarus reassured him that somehow "the coffers will provide".
- Sariah Amaith clearly displayed affection for Thomas Garfield, through flirtatious looks and wordplay.
- Some of the party noticed an amorous exchange between Agnes Garfield, Loremaster Heddal, and Lara Fawn, suggesting that they may all be romantically involved.
- Solomon Mardris was the lone socialite who openly spoke out against the move against Cragnox. He hinted that starting a war won't obfuscate his malfeasance.
- Loremaster Heddal declared he was a great admirer of the work done by Eirnes and Aldor at the Straassus colony.
- Randall Fell stayed noticeably quiet all evening.
- Captain Reiner was drunk before the first course is even served.
Unbeknownst to Baresh, Solomon was a part of the same espionage efforts. At some point in the dinner, he stealthily handed Baresh a scroll with the evidence of Harrison's malfeasance. Within the scroll was a note from Solomon indicating that Baresh should attempt to accompany the search party to Zrajbon - that this was part of a larger, and darker scheme.
As dinner came to an end, the dinner table became enshrouded in a spell of darkness. Screams and footsteps were heard, doors slammed, and when Baresh dismissed the darkness with his bardic magic, the guests were stunned to find Harrison Garfield dead - his throat opened and bleeding out onto the table. Noticeably Randall Fell and Solomon Mardris were missing from the table.
Captain Reiner wanted to escort Prince Zarus back to Wayfarton Castle. Prince Zarus agreed and insisted that Aldor and the rest of Garfield's family join him there. In an act of emergency, Reiner appointed Frongod an emergency deputy and in charge of keeping the other suspects in the house until he returned to solve the murder.
Frongod demanded that the expedition party should search the house, that it was unlikely the murderer had time to flee. As the Duke and his attaché fled the Garfield manor, the doors to the exit were all magically sealed, prohibiting escape.
Before moving on from the dining room, the party wanted to check the corpse of Harrison to ensure that the key was still there. It took much convincing on Frongod's behalf to allow them to touch the commissioner's body, but he eventually yielded to reason. On his person the party found the key of Zrajbon, another ornate key that appeared to match the pattern on the locked door in the room, and a strange triangular coin:
Tilion recognized this as a coin of Xyvylzyx, a cult dedicated to the idea of peace through chaos. Commissioner Garfield was not known to have any affiliation with this group, and Tilion said nothing about it in the presence of the others as he pocketed it.
The party quickly moved to the kitchen, where they found the kitchen staff all murdered. The sous chef had their throat slit with their own butcher knife, the head chef had his head caved in with the meat tenderizer, and the pastry chef had been shoved into the oven. The party recovered the chef's recipe book - and pocketed it, as the commissioner had boasted at dinner that the chef was world renown. Tilion also discovered a small pouch of shard on the head chef's body.
The pantry yielded no sign of the missing guests and presumed murderers, though the party found the kitchen staff's gambling holdings.
In the ballroom, the party came across a beholderkin summoned by Randall and determined to stop the party from pursuing him. Though the party was not fully armed and any aberration is deadly, they easily slayed this six-eyed aberration. The party quickly went to the foyer to arm themselves, and then proceeded to the lounge where they found Solomon's corpse. He had nothing on his body of interest, just a pouch containing fifty gold pieces.
As they made their way to the stairwell, they noted that there was a painting of a beholder in the foyer, behind it was a strange note written with a purple ink in a language they didn't understand. In the windowed area of the stairwell were four suits of armor and a book on a pedestal. When Tilion lifted it, the suits of armor came to life and attempted to attack the party.
The party quickly dispatched the armor and collected the book, which was also written in the unintelligible language, however the title had been translated to the common tongue: "Secret Histories of the Aberrations". Before going down the stairs, the party checked the last room on this floor: the library.
Harrison Garfield's library was quite impressive; the party found several scrolls there amidst several rare books that they just happened to collect:
- Son of Londor - First Edition
- Meditations of the Moonchildren
- Iron Legacy: A History of King J'aramé Iron
- My Side of the Hammersongs
- Love & Life in Uller
- Aberrations & Atlases
- The Wars of Ascension: A Complete History
- Gospels of Aurelia - Second Edition
They also encountered a globe that was trapped with a poison dart that impacted Tilion, but within they found a black diamond worth 300 gold pieces. The globe displayed two continents that the party had never heard of upon it.
The party also uncovered a journal belonging to Harrison. It seemed that about a month previous, Harrison had written two last entries, both a sentence each. "I think they've found out." and "He must return". After that, the journal is nonsensical scribblings, all the markings of a mind descended into madness. As the party doubled back to go down the stairs, they noticed a small trail of blood on its red carpet.
In the basement, they found three doors. The first door they went through belonged to the servants. It was tarnished and old compared to the rest of the manor, a stark contrast to how the Garfield family lived. The next room belonged to Thomas Garfield. The party found a jewelry box with fife hundred gold pieces and several valuable gems, but they only took some of the loot and left the rest.
Finally, the last door led them to Harrison's bedchamber. Inside, the party found a secret door hidden behind a large bookcase. Torrhen was easily able to shove it out of the way. Down the hall, the party found Randall waiting in a secret altar with statues of beholders making a triangle. Randall cackled like a madman and said that he had to kill Harrison because chaos demanded it. That Solomon knew too much, and that the chefs were collateral damage. He summoned another beholderkin and attempted to slay the party, but to no avail. Through a courageous fight, Torrhen sliced the head off of the deranged warlock, and they recovered the second key for the ornate door.
The party climbed the ladder in the altar room and found themselves exiting the well just outside the house. They returned to the kitchen and the ornate door, and found a cache of magic items, a golden beholder statue, and residue of some sort of summoning circle burned into the floor.
After ransacking this room, they returned to explain their findings about the murders to Frongod, but Captain Reiner had returned. He said that the Duke wanted the party to report to him at Wayfarton Castle at once.
Session I Loot
The party reached level 6.
In addition to loot previously accounted for.
- Lock of Trickery
- Rival Coin
- Talking Doll
- Mithral Armor (Chain Shirt)
- Potion of Water Breathing
- Spell Scroll of Clairvoyance
- Helm of Comprehending Languages
- Potion of Poison
- Eversmoking Bottle
- Potion of Resistance
- Immovable Rod
- Enspelled Staff of Firebolt
- Spell Scroll of Bestow Curse
- Wand of Magic Detection
Session II
We returned to our heroes at the twenty-third hour of the day of the serpent, who made their way through the rain to Wayfarton Castle. There they gave Prince Zarus and his court mage Avros an account of all they had discovered in the Garfield house - the madness in Harrison's journal, Randall being responsible for the murders of the commissioner, Solomon, and the kitchen staff, all the beholder related iconography in the house, and the coin of Xyvylzyx on both Randall and Harrison.
Prince Zarus reassures the party that Captain Reiner and his guards will find out more about this cult of Xyvylzyx, but the most important thing is that the party take the key of Zrajbon and continue Commissioner's expedition. The party noted that despite his words, the matter of the cult is likely nothing that the guard will actually investigate. He produced contracts that Harrison had drawn up for the four of them, and told them they could find two wagons, four horses to pull them, and two drivers for the horses at Haden's stables upon the morrow.
After a night's rest, the party stopped by Merchant's Hill to sell their unwanted items and buy items useful for their journey, as it would take approximately 75 days to reach Zrajbon from Wayfarton. On the morning of the 28th of Auleon, they set forth through the Blackfang Mountains.
On the third day of their travel, they came upon a pair of stone giants who at first appeared hostile. Using the helm of comprehending languages, they learned that a band of hooded humanoids came through their village and killed some of their own, so now they were limiting passage. The party was able to convince the giants to let them pass in exchange for gold.
On the eleventh day of travel, the party sustained a fair amount of damage in a rockslide high in the mountains. After a night of rest and tending to their wounds, the party picked up on the trail of a band of trolls on the twelfth day. On day thirteen, they surprised the trolls on the road and quickly dispatched them. The adventure will resume on the 11th of Menursus 998 YSK at the eighth hour.
Session II Loot
The party reached level 7.
No loot was recovered during this time.
Session III
The 11th of Menursus marked the fourteenth day of travel for our adventurers.
They continued through the mountains until on the morning of the 25th day of travel (the 22nd of Menursus), after bidding farewell to Aldor - who was making his way to Straassus via Cragnox - at the edge of the Feywood they were confronted by three hooded aberrant cultists. The party also noticed that the forest was eerily silent, unlike any wood they had ever been in before.
The cultists were wearing the same symbols on their bodies that the party had come to recognize as Xyvylzyx. The leader of the cultists demanded that the adventurers hand over the Key to Zrajbon. At first, the party was able to attempt to reason with the cultists. The party was invited to their temple in Barton to hear the truth of their beliefs and join their ranks. However, the cultists made it clear that the adventurers were unfit to set foot on the hallowed ground of Zrajbon in their current state. This disagreement naturally led to a combat.
Though the aberrant cultists were powerful with their ability to call upon chaotic planar energy, our heroes quickly dispatched their foes, leaving one of them alive. They left the cultist Gaxyg manacled to a tree, giving the party a day's ride lead on him. They also had him provide a drawing approximating the location of the cultists' temple in Barton. Thus the party continued on their way, the sounds of the forest seemingly returning.
On day 26 of their journey, they entered the Feywood and marveled at its beauty. The trees were tall, ancient, and the green, yellow, orange, red, and brown of the autumn leaves enveloped them all. As they went along the narrowing roads, a light fog set in, putting the adventurers on edge.
On the 28th day of their travel, they noticed that the path was lined with thousands of mushrooms of all different kinds. The fog cleared, and the trees grew brighter, the sounds of the animals became almost musical, and the flowers seemed to follow them wherever they went. All but Torrhen realized that they had stumbled through a Fey Crossing, making their way to Feyadanna, the realm of the fairies.
Along their way, they met a chipmunk that loved the music Baresh played so much that he decided to engage in conversation with Torrhen about the goings on here in Queen Alodia's woods. He warned them that the queen and her Splendid Court (consisting of Queen Alodia, the centaur Thereus, and the satyr Dardelion) were very wary of outsiders, and may execute them just for being here. He said that it was quite likely that Thereus was already tracking them, and that their best bet to reason with them would be through Dardelion. He also told the party that the court had a cache of magic items stored in the moat, should they have use of some extra items.
When they continued their voyage the next day, they saw the centaurs approaching. The party used their best negotiation skills to explain that they had no interest in disturbing their realm, or even being in Feyadanna at all. Thereus was hesitant, but agreed to escort the adventurers back to the court to stand before the queen. The party was quick to successfully hide the cult masks and pendants they had collected from the cultists.
In the night, that same chipmunk returned to speak with Torrhen and said that he was surprised they were able to stay Thereus's blade.
The party was brought before a great host of pixies, centaurs, satyrs, and the three leaders of the Splendid Court. Queen Alodia was hostile towards the party, stating that they could be in league with the cultists, who had murdered a unicorn days past. There was word that this has happened in multiple places around Feyadanna. Though Alodia was hostile, Thereus and Dardelion heard the wisdom of the party, and agreed to send them on their way out of world of fairies, as long as they swore not to return.
The party did inquire after the items in the moat, but the court became very defensive and indicated through tone that the party had information they should not and should stop talking about it immediately. After three days of travel, they found another crossing and when they returned to Arnessia, they were at the northern edge of the Feywood.
They noticed immediately that the terrain looked different, as though the weather had drastically changed, and it was now spring. As they ventured towards Barton, they passed a traveler on the road, who explained to them that it was now the 26th of Aurel 999 YSK. Five months had passed on the material plane with their time in Feyadanna.
They progressed on to Barton. The next session will resume at the bridge of Barton at the 10th hour of the first of Voxolûn.
Session III Loot
The party reached level 8.
No loot was recovered during this time.