Once we cleared out Greystone Keep and the haunted village,
we spent a long night drinking and discussing what to do next. At the end of
the night, we decided to embark on rebuilding the town and the Barony. Varus traveled
to Iron Master and hired messengers. He dispatched them south to Luskan with a
sealed message for Lord Rothgar. It informed him that Tyala had kept her part
of the deal with the help of her friends. We had secured the Keep and were re-establishing
the Barony. She requested that he send laborers and resources to help secure
this land in the far North to ensure its survival and extend his domain. We
also paid the messengers to stop along the way and inform the local lords that
there were jobs and land to be found at Greystone Keep. Varus made his way to
Ten Towns and spread the tale of retaking the Keep around the bars there, then
headed back north, performing along the way and spreading the word.
Within a month, people started arriving, looking for a new
opportunity or a new chance at life. The Keep and the town buildings were soon
repaired or rebuilt. Over the next six months, more people started arriving.
Laborers, hunters and trappers, rangers, and farmers at first, then merchants,
bankers, craftsmen, scholars, and more. With Tyala’s new title, Varus’
persuasion, Basel’s charm, Tomeck’s humor, and Unagi’s discipline, Greystone
Keep became the buzz of the North. The dramatic tale of the party taking back
Tyala’s rightful estate spread far and wide. New buildings for businesses and
homes sprang up. The Baroness subsidized families that wanted to move in.
Basel and Varus researched the magical pool and fountain circulating
system and tapped into it to power waterwheels and expand the existing system.
It provided power to mills and other businesses. At night, the city streets
twinkled in many colors with the expanded magical lighting.
Tyala decided that she and her friends could no longer
handle all the duties, and that we needed a Council of Advisors to help run the
growing town. She sent forth word throughout the North for applicants and told
them to come to Greystone Keep as soon as possible. Varus was surprised at the
number of applicants and their impressive qualifications. Were there advisors hanging
around just waiting to apply for a new position? There were at least 12
deserving applicants, and all petitioned in a lengthy interview process. All of
them had advantages and disadvantages, but Tyala insisted that we select three.
She abstained from the voting, entrusting the rest of the party to decide. The
party was quickly exposed to the realities of the political arena.
When all the candidates had been interviewed, the final
vote was taken. The choices were not easy, but Baroness Tyala basically locked
us in a room and made us decide. After long debate and many arguments, the
voting began. Lord Klavin passed unanimously on the first vote. J’eff passed on
the second vote, with Unagi dissenting. He preferred a more militant direction
to protect the town and did not like the idea of so much alcohol impairing
everyone’s senses. Maurice was the last one approved; Unagi was concerned about
establishing a social caste system if only mages were in power. The sorcerer,
bard, and paladin did not see this as an issue. Varus promised to help ensure
that did not happen.
The new members of the Council:
Lord Klavin the
Silver, our old friend the dragon! The only unanimous decision. We were
shocked to see him show up and asked how he could be here.
“I was quite surprised to find myself here not long after
all of you disappeared in the Temple of Tiamat. It appears that the worlds have
possibly merged.”
Lord Klavin’s advantage was that he was a dragon and would help protect the town.
He also influenced the town so significantly that it’s alignment was now
neutral good. He did require that the treasury be worth at least 10,000 gp, and
he would need to eat and sleep in the treasury. Varus solved this issue by
producing the fabulous chandelier from the underground quarters and offering to
have it installed in the treasury. Lord Klavin was delighted with the elaborate
piece as a starting point for the treasury and agreed to serve as treasurer.
(Our party gained 1 hp/level).
J’eff, the
Fermonmancer. J’eff was a magical brewer extraordinaire. His advantage lay in potions. With his facilities
and assistance, we could create 5 random potions for every 20 days of
individual downtime. However, his alcoholic beverages were legendary, and would
draw admirers from far and wide. Essentially, the town was always drunk. As a
result, our party would always be at disadvantage in combat for the first
round. He gave us poison resistance, which reduced the damage by half and
advantage on the saving throw.
Maurice, the Miracle
Worker. Maurice wanted to start a mage guild and college. He told us that
the Keep had been built by a legendary mage who had disappeared many years ago,
and he could easily attract students that wished to study the arcane arts here.
The guild would help produce wands and scrolls for every 30 days of individual
downtime. The downside was that, in a relatively small town like this, this
would lead to the formation of a magocracy and a caste of civilians. Any arcane
magic users received one extra wizard, sorcerer, or bard cantrip.
With the new Council of Advisors, the town continued to
expand. Lord Klavin brought a sense of security to bankers and investors.
J’eff’ built a large facility and started brewing his amazing alcohols and
magical potions as well. He was soon supplying all the bars and taverns in town
and started shipping barrels south as production grew. Maurice started work on
the mage school immediately, renting some buildings and hiring workers to build
a brand-new campus according to the plans he had drawn up. He hired several
arcane instructors and set up curriculum. Classes were already filling, and the
new students brought income to families and others that wanted to rent rooms. In
the new laboratory facilities, Maurice and his apprentices created a steady
stream of magical items, specializing in wands and scrolls.
Greystone was quickly becoming a magical college party
town.
The Barony collected taxes on a portion of all of it. The
monies went into the treasury, and Tyala and the Council worked on budgets and
planning. Lord Klavin hired a personal guard for Tyala and soldiers to protect
the lands. Tyala enlisted arcane and clerical magic users for support and
rangers for scouting. She asked Unagi to train them, and had barracks built to
house them and an armory to store weapons. Shielded ballistae and catapults
were put into place to protect the Keep and the town. As part of his agreement,
Maurice provided magical protections for the Keep and for those serving the
defense of the Barony.
Tyala had large greenhouses and magically-lit underground
growing caverns built to ensure food production during the winter months. They
were watered by the magical irrigation system that flowed from the spring.
These greenhouses were available for crops and personal gardens.
Lord Klavin set up a small mint to issue money in the name
of the Barony. The first coin was a copper piece…with Varus’ face on it! The
phrase, “Let’s talk about it” was printed on the bottom. The townspeople called
them coppers and they were soon the most commonly seen coin around town.
After more than six months of this, the party members were
getting restless. Tyala might now be a Baroness, and she was surprised she
enjoyed it as much as she did. But she was used to traveling around in disguise,
gambling and gamboling with the rich. She might be royalty now, but she could
not sit around all the time in meetings and civic planning.
An opportunity arrived while Varus and Basel were
investigating the mage who had built the magical complex at Greystone Keep.
Over at J’effs, after many brews, this guy told us about it.
“Yeah, I heard about it from Ernie, he heard about this
gig from his ex-boyfriend, where you could go and play this weird party, but no
one that had gone had ever returned. That was where the great mage lived, but
now he had disappeared.”
On further investigation, Basel and Varus discovered that
the mage’s name was Jo-ardan Freeman, and he had disappeared or died over 50
years ago. He was rumored to be an aspect of the great god Ao, The One Above
All. He had gone missing at his estate, which was even further north, into
Icewind Dale. No adventurers that had set out to discover his fate had ever
returned.
Basel and Varus told the party of this, and we resolved to
find out Jo-ardon’s fate. Tyala left Lord Klavin in charge and told him to keep
their forces on alert until she returned. She also left her personal guard
behind to protect Lord Klavin. It was a relief to change back into her leather
armor and traveling gear. We set off in the traveling coach with Basel riding
his mount and headed deeper into the North. The trip took a week, and it seemed
like forever since we had ridden into the unknown. As we rode into the
foothills, we could see signs of frost giant activity. Icicles fell from the
sky—most likely an indication of white dragons flying high above. It felt like
we were on the edge of the world.
We finally arrived at a cobblestone road that was made of…platinum!
Tomeck inspected it and found it to be to be a major illusion spell. Varus pulled out his orb of augury and asked
if they should follow it. The stone answered. Weal and woe. We proceeded until we came to a grand gate surrounded
by mountains on either side. The gate was crumbling, and the grounds inside were
unkept. The buildings of this grand estate were decrepit. In the town, a small
keep or fort seemed to be crumbling brick, but the doorway was full of green
swirling energy. There were six larger buildings and scattered smaller ones.
We tied up at the crumbling tavern and proceeded to the
keep. Basel opened the door and cast Zone of Truth. We entered a foyer. Unagi
inspected the elaborate curtains and found they were no illusion. Standing on a
landing was a ghostly image of what must be Jo-ardan Freeman. It was a magical
simulacrum, a major image or magic mouth spell, as well as Varus or
Tomeck could discern.
“Hey Jo-ardan are you alive?” asked Tomeck.
“I will be if you can stop what’s trapped in my body. This
is one party that you should never invite a demon to. Oh, one piece of advice,
if a flaming circle is cast around you, don’t walk out of it.”
“O…kay.”
“Where are these demons from?”
“From the Abyss, of course.”
“Where is your body?” Varus asked.
“About ten floors up.”
“How many floors are there?”
“There were eleven. One has fallen.”
We heard horses whinnying to the left, and Varus heard a
hammer clanging on an anvil. Tyala said she would check it out and vanished.
She crept up to find a large room, obviously a blacksmith’s forge and stables. Ghosts
of blacksmiths walked around working at the forge and anvil. Along the right
wall were stalls that held…fiery horses! Tyala recognized them as nightmares or
fiends. There was one nightmare out on the floor, being ridden by a giant undead
man… She thought it might be a zombie. It had a falchion engulfed in blue
flame. It also had a key ring with several keys on it. Tyala crept back and
reported what she had seen.
The zombie groaned, and a plague of insects issued forth
from his mouth and smothered Basel, who dropped his mace. The zombie gestured
at one of the blacksmiths to pick it up and charged past the paladin and the
invisible Tyala to attack Tomeck. Basel tried to slam the horse but missed as Unagi
attacked the zombie. The zombie hit him with a purple ray from his falchion.
Invisible, Tyala daringly swung up on the nightmare as it
went by, expertly pick-pocketed the ring of keys right off the zombie’s waist,
then appeared as her flaming short sword plunged into the zombie.
The ghost blacksmiths attacked, and one of them ran to
release a hellhound. Another picked up Basel’s hammer and slammed him with a
critical blow, and Tomeck was hit by another ghost. The zombie dismounted as
Varus cast hypnotic pattern on the
nightmares and the ghost that was going to release them to keep them out of the
fight.
Unagi sunk his intelligent sword in the chest of one of
the ghosts. Electricity crackled along the blade as he pulled out the thing’s
heart and it went up in smoke right there. He spun and struck another down, and
then used his chi power and to stab and finish a third one! The monk was a
force of destruction in battle.
Tomeck slashed the zombie with his sword, bashed him with
his shield, and knocked him down. He then somersaulted over all the opponents
and Tyala with his magical boots! Basel grabbed his hammer slammed the zombie.
Holy energy erupted, eating away at the zombie. It started to regenerate, but his
second blow blasted it again, and it faded into dust. The remaining ghosts
faded away, leaving only the mesmerized hell hounds.
We inspected the forge and stable area and discovered the
room of the zombie forge master. Tyala found a blacksmith hammer with a plaque
on it. The Dreadguard Redhorn. He
must have overseen the forge and stables in life. And then in death, or,
rather, undeath.
His belongings were quite impressive. A full set of fine
plate mail with a symbol of a horse on it (+2), his sword of purple flame (+1
to hit, deals an additional 1d6 fire and 1d6 ice damage), and a gorgeous
burgundy cloak (cloak of resistance, fire) Tomeck took the cloak and Varus took
the longsword.
Unagi found a set of reins. Varus identified them as reins of summoning—it allowed the owner
to cast the phantom steed spell
2/day. Tyala found small golden bars that could be used to create magical
horseshoes.
We found a door on the other side of the entry hall. Tyala
tried her thieves’ tools but could not open the lock. With a laugh, she
remembered the ring of keys she had daringly pick-pocketed! She opened the door
to reveal a corridor curving down into darkness. It was filled with webs. Tomek
stepped forth and blasted the corridor with flames. They burnt quickly, and we
could hear screaming coming from the webs. We headed down until we came to a
portcullis, which was unlocked. Fire erupted from Tomeck’s fingers again and
the webs burned as several spiders tried to flee unsuccessfully. With some of
the webs burned away, we could see bodies on the ceiling held in place by
webbing. Tomeck suspected they were magical it they survived the deadly flames.
Coins started raining from the ceiling. Thousands of coins
and some gems, clinking and ringing as they hit the floor of the large corridor.
Tomeck inspected the things in the webbing on the ceiling and saw that they
appeared to be mimics; they were stuck to the ceiling and the coins were leaking
from them. To everyone else, they looked like amorphous blobs. Tomeck convinced
Unagi, and he saw the monsters as well, then Tyala. We then collected all the
coins and the gems. There were 6 gems worth 120 gp each and 60 gems worth 40 gp
apiece.
Unagi wanted to test the properties of his new sword, so we
gave him one of the less expensive gems. He held the ruby next to his
intelligent sword, and it absorbed the gem! Unagi’s skin seemed to crystallize
and take on the color of the gemstone. A powerful weapon, indeed.
There were several magical items, and Varus identified
them with his wand:
·
A sword with a bronze blade and a fist-sized
ruby embedded in the hilt; it was a fire
sword (+1, Flame On activation
word, sword gives off bright light, 2d6 additional fire damage). Unagi claimed
that.
·
A shield with an open hand on it; it automatically
blocked the first blow that would have landed by an opponent. Basel claimed
that and strapped it on.
·
A belt with an image of a frost giant on it, and
Basel claimed that as well (Belt of Frost
Giant Strength ; increases strength to 23!).
·
A ring with a picture of a scroll engraved on it;
a ring of spell storing (3 spell
levels). Varus claimed that.
·
A chain mail shirt (+2 elven chain shirt, Medium
armor proficiency), which went unclaimed.
·
Finally, there was a beautiful animal horn that
had been crafted into an instrument; a horn
of magic missiles (Perform skill check: 10 or below, 1st level,
15 or below, 2nd level, 20 or below, 3rd level, equal to
CH mod times per day. Failure removed the remaining charges). Varus requested
this as well; it would help to do some damage if his usual spells were not
effective.
We headed down this corridor, and the temperature quickly
dropped. We saw stalagmites, stalactites, and then…an image of a black widow. Several
of us recognized it immediately…the sign of Lloth, the evil Spider Queen, chaotic
goddess of the feared dark elves, also known as the drow. We stopped in our tracks, looked at each other nervously…and
then beat a hasty retreat, closed the portcullis, headed up the curving
passage, and shut the door. The Underdark would have to wait until another day.
We went back upstairs and opened another set of doors to
discover a magnificent but moldering banquet hall. To our surprise, there was a
party on, in full swing. People were dancing to lively music and feasting. It quickly
became clear that they were ghosts and apparitions. A gorgeous half-elf in
magnificent dress turned and greeted us.
“Welcome my friends. Enter and join our party. There are
games to play!”
Varus knew this must be Morose, the legendary bard and
companion of Jo’ardon. We entered and join the ghostly soiree. It was a most
well-kept room, but only illusion. The food on the tables was rotting. Someone
offered Tomeck a mug of drink, which glowed green. He puts some on his finger
and felt invigorated in places he had never been invigorated., Basel cast Protection from Evil on Tomeck and
Unagi.
The other party-goers with Morose appear to be starving;
he looked much healthier.
“What happened to Jo-ardon?” Tomeck addressed him boldly.
Morose clapped his hands.
“Play my games, drink! Then I may answer your questions,
if I feel like it. But not until you play my drinking game. It’s been so long
since we had someone new.”
“What kind of games?” Tomeck asked.
“Devil’s games. Bureaucrats and bouncers.”
Tomeck did not like the idea of a drinking game with the
green glowing liquid.
Morose regarded him. “I also have spirits.” He laughed loudly. “That one always slays my audience.” He giggled.
Varus consulted the stone. Is this game fair? It answered:
weal and woe. He stepped forward.
“I am feeling a bit thirsty. I will play your drinking
game if you will answer our questions.”
“Excellent. There will be three rounds of drinking the phantasmal
punch. This punch affects my ghostly companions just as it affects mortals. You
will drink against Bonemaker. If you triumph, I will answer your questions and
provide aid. If you lose…you will join our little party.”
With these high stakes, Varus was determined to prevail. When
the contest began, he started ribbing and joking with Bonemaker. In the first
round, he insulted with Vicious Mockery. Bonemaker failed his save and drank
with disadvantage and failed. Varus drank and saved against the damage. He did
the same thing on the second round and triumphed again. On the last round, he
did the same, but Morose insulted him with his
Vicious Mockery, and both drinkers failed. Varus won the competition, but the
phantasmal punch kicked his ass.
“Haha, you have triumphed, my friend, using your wit and
magic. You have my respect, young Varus. What do you wish to know?”
“Why are there demons here?”
“The demons came because Jo-ardan asked them to. He should
be careful who he invites to these parties, but…ah, what can you do? If you
wish to see him, head down this hall. Oh, and thank you. That was a great party”
With that, Morose and all his companions collapsed on the ground.
Varus was quite wobbly from the effects of the phantasmal
punch, and his companions steadied him as they headed down the hallway.
Found Items
·
Reins of
summoning – cast phantom steed 2/day. Unagi
·
Small magic golden bars that would make magical
horseshoes. Tyala
·
Full set of plate mail with a symbol of a horse
(+2)
·
Cloak of
fire resistance. Tomeck
·
Purple flame longsword, +1 to hit ice flame,
deals 1d6 fire and 1d6 ice. Varus
·
A sword with a bronze blade and a fist-sized
ruby embedded in the hilt; it was a fire
sword (+1, Flame On activation
word, sword gives off bright light, 2d6 additional fire damage). Unagi
·
A shield with an open hand on it; it
automatically blocked the first blow that would have landed by an opponent.
Basel
·
Belt of
Frost Giant Strength ; increases strength to 23! Basel
·
A ring with a picture of a scroll engraved on
it; a ring of spell storing (3 spell
levels). Varus
·
A chain mail shirt (+2 elven chain shirt, Medium
armor proficiency), which went unclaimed.
·
A horn of
magic missiles (Perform skill check: 10 or below, 1st level, 15
or below, 2nd level, 20 or below, 3rd level, equal to CH
mod times per day. Failure removed the remaining charges). Varus
