Player Characters
Maps:
- Cave of Horrors (Rock Marsh)
- Banipal's Cave
Miscellaneous:
Activities/Quests:
Day 0:
- The members of the (still nameless) adventuring company had each found their respective paths to the town of Larkingwood. You did not yet know each other. But with ominous storm clouds moving in, each of you chose to pass the evening in the safety of the Temple of Vitiniba.
Day: 1
- The violent storm awoke you in the middle of the night. Come morning, multiple Sunmothers of Vitiniba entered the temple and urged you to go out into the city and help those in need. They particularly encouraged you to render aid at the east edge of Larkingwood, the area hardest-hit by the cyclone.
- You rescued a young boy from a high ledge on a collapsing building, following a cyclone in the town of Larkingwood. (Session 1)
- You spoke with Artum Varan amid the storm wreckage at the east edge of Larkingwood. He asked you to check on the outlying farms, and possibly see if some food could be sent to aid the survivors. You visited Arets Vitor at Whiteflower Farms and Savu Bari at Mistwood Fields. In the process you also came upon a farm wagon that had been thrown by the storm into the edge of the forest. You gathered some food from the cart, which was being looted by pine goblins, and returned it to the east edge.
Day 2:
- Varan had also mentioned a boarding house to the south of Larkingwood, "Shemen's Roost." Now that a couple days have passed since the cyclone, you are uncertain whether you would still be needed to check on that property.
- A local noblewoman, Lady Hedra Kitto, is being scammed by a woodcarver. Her caretaker is upset about this but appears uncertain how to address the problem.
- Strange lycanthropes called "martenweres" have raided outlying farms and dwellings and even sent packs of vicious bloodmartens into Larkingwood itself. Savu Bari suggested you could find these martenweres living in caves within the Rock Marsh
Day 3:
- You have traveled to the Rock Marsh in search of the martenweres. You quickly found and killed one that was living in a cave. But you quickly discerned that several other caves were present nearby/
- You continued to explore the Rock Marsh and dispatched a second martenwere. This one had a chest, inside which you found 40 crystal cones that you believe were created for use in casting the arcane spell, cone of cold. To open the chest, you needed to use a magical command word, "Alarkama Batikann."
- You also discovered a strange pink mist that jets into the cave periodically through deep underground vents. The mist had healing powers.
- On further exploration of the Rock Marsh you came across a cave occupied by Sione Bari, a third son of Savu Bari. It turns out that Sione was clawed by an infected bloodmarten and acquired lycanthropy. He told you there are several additional weremartens, one of whom he believes is a priest or shaman of some kind.
- You discovered an excellent stone statue of the sentinel Aisul Awar on a cliff face in the Rock Marsh. The statute marked a trail up the back side of the stone formation, and from the summit there is a view of the entire Rock Marsh.
- You discovered a burial mound marked by an "S" made of bleached white stones off the trail in the Rock Marsh.
- You discovered another cave in a rock formation southeast of the Aisul Awar statue. Inside you encountered poltergeists and slimes. You therefore began calling it the Cave of Horrors.
- Brin Corso ran off in terror after encountering poltergeists in the Cave of Horrors. Tristan attempted to restrain him but was not able to do so, and Corso disappeared into the darkness. The company later found his boots alongside a pool, in which dwelt an aquatic ooze. It appears likely Corso perished in this pool.
- You came across the "glitter shade," a particularly bizarre entity with some apparent connection to the negative energy plane, also in the Cave of Horrors. It moves slowly across the floor, not aggressive but seemingly very dangerous. For an instant you caught a glimpse of the Eagle of Awar, a heraldic crest that appears from time-to-time across the Fertile Pocket.
Day 4:
- You entered a fourth cave in the Rock Marsh. Giant, acid-breathing lizards live there, as you discovered when one attacked you and badly wounded Ailier Solenight.
- The lizard cave was previously occupied by a mage called Asorin Itall, who built a small house inside the cave. He evidently abandoned the property some time ago, leaving behind a minor elemental servant--a "smoke mephit"--who still lives the chimney. For this reason, the mephit is quite sore with Itall and expressed his intense hatred for the mage.
- The smoke mephit has also observed the various martenweres in the Rock Marsh and disclosed that Banipal, the snake priest martenwere, occupies the northernmost cave along with two others. Banipal, it seems, has taken the place of a previous snake priest--who is the being interred under the S-marked barrow mound.
- The company was able to complete a long rest atop the central rock tower.
Day 5:
- You trudged through the Rock Swamp to the final major crag. On the way, you passed over fust heap that nearly swallowed Ailier Solenight whole. The cleric Brodrath pulled Ailer to safety, but Ailier lost substantially all his gear in the monster's great maw. The party was then able to kill the beast with burning hands and spear thrusts.
- Upon reaching the final rock tower, Sione Bari joined the party and led them into the underground lair of Banipal. He warned the company to be on their guard, as the party members' scents would likely alert the lycanthropes to their approach.
- Deep in the tunnels, the company came upon a refuse chamber in which several carrion crawlers picked over bones and debris. Despite trying to avoid the crawlers at first, one eventually attacked and the company decided to destroy the others rather than risk an ambush. In the battle, several characters were temporarily paralyzed but fortunately their companions were able to defeat the worms.
- Soon thereafter, the party came upon a den of bloodmartens. In an intense battle, Sione Bari was badly injured and lost the force of will that had enabled him to resist transforming into a werebeast. In a furious moment, Sione morphed into a beastman and raged uncontrollably against his blooodmarten enemies. Fearing the company would be next, Vagar loosed two silver arrows into Sione. Critically wounded by the arrows, Sione fell to his knees and the remaining bloodmartens finished him off.
- Following the loss of Sione, the company continued exploring the cavern and eventually came upon a series of occupied areas. Most significantly, the company found a large underground shrine, where two martenweres and the snake cultist weremarten Banipal stood waiting for the party's approach.
- The company fought Banipal and the remaining martenweres, Arhein & Delinda--along with about a dozen summoned bloodmartens and several undead bloodmartens that Banipal animated. After the two martenweres fell, Banipal retreated to his personal chamber. The party pursued him there, and defeated Banipal along with four greater bloodmartens that defended him. Sadly, the dwarven cleric Brodrath perished in the battle.
- In searching through Banipal's belongings, the company found a number of interesting items including:
- Banipal's notes, evidently for a sermon he had given or was about to give;
- The diary of Zanthar, the cultist who had led the Salomirakians to the Rock Marsh;
- Various books, seemingly the most important of which was Jubilex's Garden by the elven sage Ioka Mase. The books are damaged but partly legible. Other titles include:
- a pair of Salomirak religous texts written in Suexian (Sunburden: Contagion of the Sky and Zero Water: Reflections on True Purity) by Igbann Jha.
- The Darkest Time, an account of selected Vulcan Age battles (author unknown).
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