Gygax & Greyhawk Session # 65 - Redspan

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 7 / Thief 6) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 6 / Fighter 6) 
Solcha (Elf Fighter 5 / Magic User 6) 
Chanee (Human Paladin 5)
[Baqua Irontoes (Halfling Fighter 4 / Thief 5)]

Date/Time

Planting 19 (mid-day) - Flocktime 1 (morning) 

After several days of unevental travel, the party arrives in Redspan. After settling in at a decent but not too fancy inn, they fan out across the cosmopolitan city on various business and errands. Chanee and Baqua focus on training, Skeef heads for the docks to look for transport south, Solcha searches for some new spells, and Goro heads for the temple of Heironeous to seek information on the 'evil' magic items they'd looted from the barrow. He he greeted somewhat cooly by the High Priest, and chooses to leave only the mace and wand; they let Chanee present the strange Midnight Opal to the temple of St Cuthbert.  

It takes a few days, but they learn the mace is a foul weapon intended for evil purposes, and leave it for the temple to destroy. The wand animates dead; being short of ready cash they decide to sell it rather than destroy it. How much harm can a few zombies do anyway? The Midnight Opal, however is a whole other matter. The priests of St Cuthbert inform Chanee that it is an artifact of great evil power, originating in the depts of the Abyss, crafted by the hand of Orcus, Lord of Undead. It's most chilling power is the ability to raise an army of the dead from those fallen in battle, potentially thousands at a time. The party wishes to do nothing but get rid of it, but neither temple will take ownership. Instead, the party is informed they must deal with it themselves. The priests of St Cuthbert do tell them how to destroy it; take it to the mysterious Ghost Tower and there place it with it's twin, the Soul Gem. The two artifacts, being of opposite and opposing matter, will destroy themselves once in contact. The problem is the Ghost Tower appears only when the two moons of Greyhawk, Celene and Luna, are new. A phenomena that occurs but once a year at best; next time is Goodmonth 11, about three and a half months from now. At least the Ghost Tower is on their way west, located on a islet in the Nyr Dyv. 

In the meantime, they party also discovers the Midnight Opal's aura of evil attracts unwanted attention. They are approached by three parties seeking the Opal:

• The magic user Polistera, whom they'd recently  released  from his magically induced imprisonment in the halls of the Frost Gant king. Of course they also robbed and tried to kill him, and Polistra has not forgotten. But is willing to let bygones be bygones if the party turns the Opal over to him.
• Representatives of the foul god Nerull, Lord of the Dead, Darkness and Underworld, lead by the priest Gyarnax Jorth.  They offer to pay the party any price they ask in return for the Opal. 
• A knight of Nyrond, Sir Evorzim of Haout. He offers to take the Opal from the party and quest to destroy it in Ghost Tower. This sounds tempting, but ever suspicious they prty uses magical means to learn the good knight is in fact very evil. And likes to stay in the shadows for some reason. 

All three interactions are surprisingly polite and non-violent. But the party suspects this will not last. And so, resigned to the responsibly of destroying the Opal, they start to plan how best to give the slip to all three interested parties and get out of town ... 

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

none

LOSSES

none