Session Date: 1/12/2024
The cultists have given us 100% confirmation they follow Sochet. Rector is fixed from geas. Also, the Bishop is dead.
Notable previous sessions:
- Recovered clerk’s log book with records of where the cult has made payments to — how they’re laundering money, basically.
- Where we haven’t looked:
- Old Manor House of a Knightly Estate and the land was reapportioned, but nobody can quite agree on where the manor house is. There’s speculation that magic is hiding the location.
- Someone in the Marquis’ castle, but no name was listed.
- Drop location in a shepherd hut by a fjord. Based on some other information, this is where the missing cult priestess is. We went to the hut and fjord, found the stolen horse, and heard from the horse that she spends her days down in the fjord becoming crazy.
- Where we haven’t looked:
Calthel also receives a response regarding the Book of Sigurdrifa:
- Abbot of St. Epifain (Private Collection)
- This is where Sarras is from, so we should have access to this if we were to go.
- The other issue is that this is on the main land, which we cannot do right now because we have this shut down at the moment due to a sea monster. This would otherwise be 4-5 days.
- Baron of Calsedon
- This is an island about 60 miles due south.
- This is two days closer than the Grammary, but still a minimum of a 6 day round trip.
The plan is to hide out somewhere up here and ambush Azelais as she comes back from the fjord. We were trying to figure this out.
Maps of the area around the hut:
It’s about noon and we have until sunset until she’s back. We debate whether we should get help from the nearest knightly estate, which would be Orrinshire WIP .
We recall the Chuul that we fought and the cave we found. The Chuul was around 10’, so the monster that created it is easily in the upper end of the large category, or on the smaller end of huge. It would be possible for the sea monster to swim up the river, but it would not be unnoticed or subtle.
We ride north for about 1.5 hours and make it to the Orrinshire Estate WIP, which is a little run down. It’s not dilapidated or anything, but it could use a little bit of love. The groundskeeper is keeping things enough in shape, the paint is old but only faded not flaking, the roof tiles are ragged but aren’t leaking. This estate is smaller than the other manor houses, but it is also taller. It is 3 stories instead of 2 and has a humped dorm loft on half of it that goes up another story and has a little tower with a circular balcony atop that.
The party approaches the door and knocks, introducing ourselves as a servant ducks their head and lets us in. We explain we are here to see the knight and she will explain to us that the knight is at tea, and we shall be announced. She then leads the way up to the third story room to show us in with our proper announcements. In rather flowery high-church Celeviran announces us all.
Dame Norene Dunair of Orrinshire WIP
There are two bronze dragonborn ladies in the room, along with a little girl with a plush stuffed hobby horse that has its own seat at the table, the human man that announced us, and a rather bland blond half-elf of indeterminate gender. One of the two women introduces herself as the Dame, and explains that we come at a busy season. She asks what we are here for.
Sarras explains that surely the Dame has heard of the search of Azelais in this area, to which she agrees. Sarras explains we have reason to believe that she is hiding in a shepherd’s hut at the nearby fjord. We plan to lay an ambush, and we thought it prudent to see if the Dame could spare some men to help us as we are unsure of her full capabilities and she is clearly dangerous. We also thought it prudent to warn in the event that an evacuation or curfew may be required with regards to the otherworldly beings that Azelais may be consorting with.
The Dame says that we are very thoughtful. She looks at the other woman, who sighs and says Ortorch WIP or Dextershire WIP — she says to ride to Ortorch. Keep things calm, but prepared. The Dame says that she is afraid that she does not have any additional armsmen that she can spare, but she does have herself. She lightly complains that this is not the season for it at all, but she orders the half-elf to take a horse from the stables and ride to Dextershire to inform Ser Octavius. She says that if she can have an hour to prepare she will return with us. Her small daughter is watching back and forth, with the Dame leaning in to say a few words to her, leading her to galloping out of the room on her horse.
In the absence of everyone else, the human gentleman will ask us if we care for tea. We all sit for some tea and tea cakes. The tea cakes are a little floury and under-sweetened, while the tea is good, though the tea service could use some polish.
We meet the Dame after an hour and find an absolutely statue-esque horse that looks more like a draft horse than a war horse. She’s wearing full plate and has an axe that has a 6’ haft. We ride out there, and as we wait we are joined by the knight from Dextershire: Sir Octavius who is a blonde haired elfin man. He’s one of the fattest elves we’ve seen. Elves typically carry weight well, he does not. He has enormous shoulders and a suit of full plate and a lance. He is accompanied by his heir, a daughter who also has a lance. Her horse is sinister: a horse with an overbite that has a bit with fangs that would absolutely tear you apart if you let the horse bite you, and the horse very much wants to bite you. They are both high elves with offensive cantrips.
Aid on: Calthel, Ships, Dame Norene
Calthel is black and white C on the map. Sarras casts a mental alarm on the switchback in the road so that we know when she’s coming up the path to the hut. We all ready ourselves for battle.
The alarm is tripped, and then Kerran hears the sound of the door to the sheep’s fold opening — about 100’ from Kerran, but about 40’ from Ships, Sarras, and Calthel. Kerran readies entangle until she is within 30’ of the Sarras group. We all ready actions, and then attack once she’s in range. She fully ignores the entangle, but Sarras does get a moonbeam on her and illuminates her so that we can see. Calthel successfully casts hold person on her, and she is paralyzed. After some more damage with moonbeam and after she breaks free from hold person, Ships manages to knock her out with some ether.
The ether will keep her unconscious for 8 hours unless she takes damage, or we take an action to wake her.
Alezias’s clothes are very wet and she has a cane (the Rector’s walking stick) on her back, and a wand thrust through her belt. She has nothing else on her.
The knights show up and Sir Octavius congratulates us, and he explains that if we ever serve together he would gladly back our plan anytime. It seems that we have a horse from her: do we need anything else of the knights?
It is going to take maybe four hours back to the Baron’s estate. Orrinshire WIP is an hour in the dark. Dextershire would be 2 hours if we went slow. Calthel recommends that we return to the Baron’s estate in order to ensure that she is unconscious and easy to transport. Prima will help us return to the Baron.
While Calthel helps get the horses ready, everyone else searches the hut. As they search, the straw mattress shifts a little and when Ships looks into it, he will find a critter about the size of a small cat sleeping. They do not find the missing book of scripture in the hut. They did find a holy symbol (Octavian, not cult), a prayer book (Octavian, not cult), 5 sticks of incense, vestments, a set of common clothes, and a pouch containing 15gp, leather armor, a crossbow & 20 bolts, 2 daggers, and a mace.
The head is even larger than in this image, and the eyes are even larger to the head. Kerran is aware that this is something that crawled all over him while in the boat. Gwen and Ships have no idea what this creature is, but Charity is vaguely aware that this is an aberration of some type. She also knows that this is not an aberration that is native to this part of the world, though she doesn’t know quite what it is. She knows that she would know what it was if it turned up around here regularly in her time. Sarras goes out and works with Calthel to free up a saddlebag to bag this thing.
Calthel is also aware that this is an aberration native to the area, and Calthel also is aware that this is not related to his own patron, Fayruz.
Ships ethers the thing and we bag it up, and Sarras now has a bagged aberration in a saddlebag that Charity decides is now Mr. Chomps.
We head out on the road and everyone but Calthel and Prima feel a cold wind blow up from the fjord. They hear a distant, bubbling shriek on that wind. They explain to Prima and Calthel what they heard and Sarras recommends that we continue on as quickly and quietly as possible so that we do not disturb Azelais. We use Calthel’s familiar to warn Dame Norene of the noise and Sarras uses divine sense to check out what’s going on and she can sense multiple undead coming up our way. Kerran sees the water elemental from before coming up.
The undead that are with the water elemental look as to the right. Sarras has abjure the extraplanar up to be ready. It is clear that the creatures cannot make it to us on horseback, but Prima is walking her horse with the chest on it so she cannot go fast enough to avoid these things. We do some shifting around on horses to get Prima on a horse and we move fast enough to abandon these things in the darkness.
We lose these creatures and Kerran confirmed that the creatures met his gaze when he saw them, so they were clearly going for us. We are also aware that the noise that came in on the wind could not be made by the water elemental or undead creatures.
We do make it to Dextershire and Prima offers to let us rest and enjoy Sir Octavius’ hospitality. We decide to actually split the party: Sarras, Charity, and Kerran will stay to help Sir Octavius and his forces, while Ships, Gwen, and Calthel will push on towards the Baron with Azelais in tow.
Sarras, Charity, and Kerran get ready to fight alongside the men with Sir Octavius, readying after Prima warns them and her father. There are five additional armsmen with them and Prima, while Sir Octavius took the rest of the armsmen to check the rest of the estate grounds.
The enemies are not maneuvering with the intention to assault the manor in this case: they are still on the trail. It looks as if they are going to pass by, following where Calthel, Ships, and Gwen have gone. A large size dark blue frog-like creature with crab claws has joined the troupe of enemies as well.
Sarras instructs the guards to wait to attack in the event that her attempt to scare the enemies off with abjure the extraplanar fails. Kerran and Charity both wait until after Sarras’s attempt to scare the enemies off. The frog-like creature takes off running directly away for one full minute. They start attacking the undead and other creatures. Kerran attacks a zombie with guiding bolt and it dies, then attacks another zombino with the starry archer form.
All of the undead are dropped and now the water elemental starts to head toward Prima. Charity does a real number on him, and then Sarras tells him to leave with a command spell. The water elemental dismisses itself.
Sarras advises that they keep themselves on guard for the rest of the evening.