Gygax & Greyhawk Session # 53- The Paladin and the Cultist

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 6/ Thief 6) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 5 / Fighter 6) 
Chanee (Human Paladin 3)
[Svagola (Human Fighter 4)]

Date/Time
Needfest 577 Earthday (midday) - Needfest 577 Earthday (afternoon)

The party returns to the main chamber containing the split alter stone. They find a new pair of lemure have emerge from the gash and pushed the stuffed tapestries aside. Skeef uses his cloak to change self into the form of a cultist, thinking he might control the devils. But no luck and the party slays them instead. They go looking for other clues and ways to deal with the alter. Passing through the rest of the long gallery with the horrific paintings, they encounter more lemures. In the process of killing these, Goro look too closely at the paintings and is forced to run off into the unexplored darkness in fear. The rest of the party follows, and after finding Goro they backtrack to figure out where they are, and then continue on with their exploration. 

After a series of mundane rooms, they come to one suite of rooms with a quartet of cultists cowering behind barricades. In the ensuing melee and spell slinging, three are dispatched to Moloch and the last, the one in charge, is captured. Questioning is at first ineffective, until Chanee gives the captured cultist a hug and replaces threats with comfort and understanding. This confuses the captive, who becomes more cooperative. They learn little however, except that they have probably already dispatched about half the cultists but the leaders are still extent. Most interesting is that the lemures are not being summoned at the cults behest or control. 

After looting the remaining rooms in the suite (including an iron box that Skeef cannot open and the captive cultist is forced to carry), the party passes through another horrifically illustrated long gallery.  Off of this they find two more suites of more opulent rooms. Access to each is barred by a locked portcullis. The first Skeef in unable to open, and the party is driven off by the spell slinging cultists within. The second the druid/thief is able to unlock. Beyond the party finds a dark chapel with an alter and idol of Moloch. There they battle another trio of cultists and slay them without mercy. The room beyond is a vestry with a chair, armoire and a strange sigel on the floor. Skeef opens the armoire, finding a trio of fine velvet cultist robes and a lurking lemure which must be dispatched. In the armoire's locked drawer the thief finds nothing. But about that sigel ...

GAINS

51gp

12 gems (3x300gp, 3x75gp, 3x750gp, 3x250gp) 

Unopened iron chest 

Captured Cultist 

KILLS/VICTORIES

7 cultists of Moloch (1 captured)

10 lemures

LOSSES

none

 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session # 52- The Black Chapel

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 6/ Thief 6) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 5 / Fighter 6) 
Chanee (Human Paladin 3)

[Svagola (Human Fighter 4)]

Date/Time
Needfest 577 Sunday - Needfest 577 Earthday

Fully recovered from the excursion to Avernus, Goro is surprised to find himself summoned once more to the Temple of Heironeous, and in the middle of the Needfest celebrations no less! Brought before the High Priest, the Glorious Sonnen Tarrikastier,  he is told the faith once more needs his service. The last few caravans carrying platinum from the mines above Calbut have reported attacks by strange blob-like humanoids. A priest of Heironeous travelling with the most recent group identified them as lemures.  The High Priest heavily hints that the timing with the party's recent return from Avernus is uncanny, and he 'suggests'  it would be in the party's best interest to follow up and deal with whatever is causing the incursions. 

The party agrees and make ready to trudge through the deep mountain snows to the site of the attacks. Arriving after several days of travel, they leave their horses at a nearby farm and climb the pine covered slopes in the direction from which the lemures have come. After a few hours they approach a clearing; at the centre stands a square black structure about 100' across. And halfway between them and the structure stands a figure, back turned to them. The party approaches cautiously and hails the figure. It is a woman of one of the northern barbarian tribes by her dress, holding a red-rune engraved sword in her hand. But she is friendly, and they learn she too is on the trail of devils. Or to be precise, her sword Hellrazer is leading her on this path. They are also a bit startled when the sword itself speaks to them, urging them in hollow tones into the solid black stone building. And so the two join the party on their quest. 

Inside the building they find that is it dedicated to Moloch, arch-duke and viceroy of the seventh level of hell (Malbolge), ruling in the name of Baalzebul Lord of Lies. There is also evidence that postulates must shave their bodies  before entering the viceroy's service. There is a stairway descending steep and deep below the surface, leading to a corridor of statues. These are of bald humans dressed in grey robes. On each base is a sigal that Skeef understands to be the names of the figures on the plinth. Two plinths are empty, tagged with the sigal for 'self'. Their exploitation is interrupted by a pair of robed figures armed with scourges, who attack but are successfully defeated. 

Further exploration leads to a massive ceremonial chamber hung with banners of black and red. At the centre is round black stone, split down the middle as if by great force. As they examine the stone, 4 lemures pour forth from the split and attack the party. When these are defeated by sword and holy water the party tears down some banner and stuffs them in the crack before moving on.  A side passage leads to a long narrow gallery painted with frescoes of diabolic torture ranging from banal flagellation  to truly horrific and unspeakable deeds. This causes the paladin to break, and Chanee runs in fear from the awful images. 

Collecting the now bashful paladin, the party pushes on, entering what appears to be a small office. An opened lock lies on the table, and the walls are covered in shelves of identical leather bound books. Skeef takes several down and find they are full of names and nothing more. The books range from brand new to old and brittle. Suddenly a robed figure rushes out of an adjacent shadowy room, but the attacking figure is soon slain. They recover a key from the body. Examination of two adjacent rooms uncover one filled with spare robes, both old and new. The other is filled with a variety of objects, neatly stacked, and giving the uncomfortable sense of having been taken from victims ... 

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

3 cultists of Moloch

4 lemures

LOSSES

none

 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session # 51- Back to the Prime

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 6)

Solcha (Elf Fighter 5 / Magic User 5) 
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 6/ Thief 6) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 5) 

[Chanee (Human Paladin 3)]

Date/Time

????? - Needfest Sunday

Leaving the Sundered Tower behind them, the party begins to retrace their steps as much as possible, descending from the wind-swept barren crags down onto the first of the funeral plains. As they begin the trek towards the next mountain range, a half dozen flying forms are seen overhead. These slowly descend, circling the party, who in turn gather close together in case of protection need. The creatures prove to be more erinyes. But they are not inclined to immediate violence. A lust for respite and Skeef's devilish new cloak draws a deal out of the horrid things; safely guide the party to the gate in return for all the respite the party still holds by then. Contract made, the she-devils once more go aloft and lead the party on.

Striking further across the plain, they soon observe in the distance a sight not there on their first crossing. A massive stone gate on the horizon, like that marking entrance to a vast graveyard. Standing to either side are a pair of tall figures, and as the party watches the gate opens and a multitude pours forth. Their erinye guides tell them it is a company of bearded devils and a pair of ice devils; obviously some captain of Hell from the lowers layers is bringing his forces to drill and train on the plains of Avernus. The party wisely has their scouts lead them away from danger, even though it adds more exhausting time to their trek. 

Climbing over another wind blasted ridge, the expedition drops onto another grave-filled plain. In the distance they see what appears to be a vast number of slain creatures, thousands of them, scattered and piled among the tombs. They choose to not investigate, but again go around. And after more exhausting climbs over crag and canyon, the party approaches the three gates. Here the erinye take their payment, and in accordance with the bargain struck, take leave of the party. Approaching the gates, three shadows slip out around the stone edifice and attack. But these are  slain quickly, and the keystone  inserted in the center gate.

The party pass through and find themselves back in the Hellgate tavern. At mid-day, and their appearance causes something of a shock to the patrons. But the party nonchalantly walk out the door, followed by the Usborn the gnome , who has been watching for them all these days. She is accompanied by a new face, the paladin Chanee, who has made the gnomes acquaintance and whom Usborn (conditionally) invited to join the party. The party agrees, and after a couple days rest and recovering in Oxton, all head through the drifting snow to Nevnend Nevond. There, Goro makes contact with his god and fulfills the terms of his quest, and now finds himself filled the the capability for more divine favor. Goro. Skeef and Ranzel all take advantage of the good graces of the priests of Heironeous to heal their Hell-induced hurts. 

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

3 shadows

LOSSES

none