Session One Hundred and Fifty-Five Summary (Graveyard of Empires: After the Fall)
Session 155, October 4 2023
Introduction
We continue at 6:30AM on the 12th of Anurilden (00.000.08.18 on the Apocalypse Clock) with the party leaving Dun'Khel aboard the Gilded Gusset with the stated intention of sailing to Feldmark. However, the group's real plan is to seize the ship and sacrifice the sailors from Armada to resurrect Prixithalma before heading up the Khelrun river to investigate the location of one of the ancient dwarven fortresses. Contigent on the outcome of that expedition, the party will then meet up with Nigel Arkenstone's Bronze Wizard and the Oswithan survivors before heading to Feldmark to recover the Matriarch artifacts lost there to the infected abomination. Will the mutiny go smoothly? Can the group bring back Prixithalma yet one more time? Is there anything to find at the location of the ancient khel? Find out next time; or not.
Chris's Summary
Phil new to party - Gnome (Glompus) /w warrior Mastiff (Snuffles)
Summary from last week: Leaving dwarves fortress - Dun ‘khel. Plans is to take over ship, then head to find Matriarch artifacts on the island.
Meet Capt Chen on ship and he mentions it takes 1 1/2 days of travel up the Kelrun River.
Plan to take crew out tonight
25 crew members counting new refugees recruits
Random Encounter - Port side movement on open water. Spy class to see rogue wave approaching the ship.
Kauri uses lighting bolt, monster loses saving throw. Disappears next round
Round north tip of island, see bonfire. Thorfus uses his spy glass to listen in to bonfire area to hear heavy breathing. Velkin shadow steps to the bonfire. We stop the ship and take small boat over.
Velkin hides and then throws a finger towards the dog. Gnome runs towards us screaming about a killer. We meet Glompus with Snuffles
Return to ship; Velkin slips a dose of knockout juice to captain in wine and crews stew. After dinner, Druul charms 17 of the crew and then says to go to sleep. Kauri cast Sleep.
Captain comes out of his quarter. Thorfus tackles him while Kauri hits him with magic missile.
DECEASED: Captain Chen (undead now!)
Gilded Guisset has been commandeered by the party.
Velkin sacrifices the crew, bleeding each sailor. We use a sail to capture the blood in the center. Prix blood is set in the center. The ritual is a success as Prix emerges again. Kauri cast animated undead to on 7 of the crew to help clean the carnage.
Druul shows Glompus the land map of the ruins we are head to who hails from Feldmark. Glompus confirmed it is a dwarven ruin with overrun with monster. Monsters seems to be corrupted and deformed. Bloops of eyes, twisted figures, and cuts through out their forms
Larry's Summary
From Thorfus:
We sail aboard the pirate ship a day and a similar or the same sea creature attacks. Kauri drives it off with a lightning bolt.
An hour before sunset we see a bonfire on shore.
Thorfus scanned with his telescope blessed by the Mothers and heard heavy breathing or panting.
Velkin shadow stepped over while still invisible and saw that it is a gnome with a large dog with a saddle and saddle bags.
Velkin shadow stepped back to tell us what he found.
Captain Chen shouted down and asked Thorfus what it is. Thorfus tells him a gnome. Chen doesn't know what a gnome is. Chen doesn't want to investigate or pick it up. Thorfus says we need to investigate.
Renthark and the clerics stay on the ship. Druul told Renthark to stop Chem from sailing off without us.
Chen comes in a bit closer and drops anchor. Thorfus, Druul, Kauri, and Peronelle row the boat to shore.
When the party nears shore, Velkin tosses a finger near the fire. Glompus the gnome sees it and comes running out shouting murder.
Thorfus jumps out of the boat, drawing his frostbrand waiting for trouble, only to realize it is Velkin when Glompus describes the finger.
We exchange names with the gnome and Thorfus explains that we are trying to save the world from the DVLs and that Dun Khel is the larges intact settlement and it is only the giant undead monstrosity that keeps the DVLs away from the island.
Glompus agrees to join us and goes back to the ship with us.
Velkin shadow steps ahead and drugs the captain's wine and the last bit of stew to make it easier to subdue the crew.
Druul plays andcharms most and Kauri sleeps the others. Captain Chen stumbles to the deck and tries to wake the sleeping crew on deck. Thorfus grapples him to the deck and Kauri nearly kills him with magic missile. Thorfus binds his wounds and drags him amongst the others.
Kauri sleeps the charmed ones, then goes below and charms the six in hammocks.
Velkin slits the throats of the 20 crew that we arrange on sail cloth with Prix's blood in the center. We chant and Prix pulls herself up from the blood.
Thorfus gets her a blanket and leads her to the captain's cabin, where she quickly falls asleep.
Glompus tells us about his village and the strange undead and they come up out of a round hole.
We let him know about the ancient dwarven khel that seems to be driving away the giant undead monstrosity.
Glompus is concerned because it is near his village where he was fleeing now that there seem to be no more survivors to convey to Dun Khel. He knows about the zone where the strange undead seem to avoid.