Varus Journal: Episode 10, To The Barony
After the battle with the basilisks, Flidais, Unagi, and Valentia decided to return to Neverwinter to ensure our interests there as well as pursue their goals.
Varus used his new wand to identify Gauntlets of Ogre Strength, and we discussed who could best use
them. They didn’t help Varus’s fighting style, and Tomeck and Basel declined
them, so Tyala ended up with them; now our rogue was the strongest in our
party!
“You’re almost as strong as I am pretty!” joked Tomeck. We
piled back into the carriage, and Tomeck got the horses moving again.
As the four of us headed north on the road to Luskan,
Varus reflected on some the events that occurred before we left Neverwinter. On
board the Leviathan, he finally had
time to investigate the magical books that they had found back in the Dungeon
of Sythren’daal and was able to identify them. They turned out to be:
·
It’s a
Trap. Trap setting/disabling guide. +1 for traps after 10 days of study.
Tyala gleefully claimed this one.
·
Cockatrice
Writer. Instructions for working with animals. +1 for Ride or Handle
Animals checks after 10 days of study. With his undeniable love of horses, Basel
naturally claimed this one.
·
Arcane Spellbook
for a 6th-level Wizard. 1st-level spells: Magic Missile, Burning Hands, Shield, Identify, Mage Armor, Floating Disk, Detect Magic, Color Spray. 2nd-level spells: Acid Arrow, Scorching Ray, Web, Invisibility. 3rd-level spells: Fireball, Lightning Bolt, Fear, Fly. Bound in red dragon scales. Worth app. 9200 gp. Could have other uses.
·
Manual of
Constitution. +1 to Constitution and cap to Con after a regimen of 20 days.
Tomeck took this one to pump up.
·
Patronage:
A Warlock’s Choice. 45 downtime days to learn Eldritch Blast, or Chill
Touch, or Minor Illusion. Varus was intrigued by Eldritch Blast, and kept this
one.
· Crafting recipes: +1 magical weapon, +1 light or medium armor, +2 ring of protection, ring of invisibility, minor .
It turned out the battle with Tiamat’s servants had
affected all of us; we were now Foes of the Green Dragon Flight. It would be
easier to score critical hits (19 or 20) on green dragons and their offspring,
and we would do additional damage when we hit (d6).
Varus had also discovered he had been blessed with the Call
of the Fey Wild. He could call back the soul of a fallen ally (once per session)
at the cost of receiving a -2 Con penalty, which required 20 days of rest to
restore.
Varus was worried about Basel. He had been very down about
losing contact with his god and had taken to wandering the city and surrounding
countryside. We had tried to find him before we left, but could not locate him.
We left word with Harrag where we were headed and told him to join us when he
could.
Back in Neverwinter, Basel wandered the streets deep in
thought. He was on a spiritual quest, and barely noticed where he was in the
city. He was looking for a sign. His mind wandered; he remembered a time when
Tomeck had gotten totally trashed and was being particularly annoying. Basel
“cured” him of his drunkenness, leaving him completely sober. Tomeck had not
been amused. Good times.
Basel decided to visit some of the city temples and check
them out, to evaluate his options in this new place. He first came upon the
Temple of Helm. Helm was god of protection, and that appealed to Basel. He knew
that many in the city followed his faith. He went to the temple and asked to
enter. He was shown in to see the leader, Gorum Goldgraft.
“Hail Goldgraft. We got ourselves a healthy one!”
announced his clerical escort.
“I have lost my god. Helm intrigues me. I am interested in
pledging, but I would know more of your faith,” announced Basel.
Gorum spoke to him for some time, telling him of the
grandeur of Helm, The Vigilant One, The Watcher, and of the large and dedicated
following here in Neverwinter. Basel thanked him for his time, and told the
head priest that he would reflect on his words.
Next, he went unto the Temple of Oghma, a god of knowledge
and learning. It seemed like a perfect fit. The temple was lit by candles, and it
was more library than temple; books lined the walls, and there were arcane
marks that translated to No Fire Past
These Marks. He was greeted by a half-orc woman missing one eye; her name
was Tusk IronTeeth. She wore a necklace of teeth dipped in iron, which was her
legacy. Basel greeted her and they talked for some time. She discussed the
history of Oghma here in Neverwinter, and how the temple had been looted during
the Cataclysm and at other times. It became apparent to Basel that this temple was dedicated to returning
what was rightfully Oghma’s knowledge, not protecting the books or knowledge in
general. Basel thanked Tusk for her time and told her he would consider her
words.
As he continued, deep in thought, someone spoke to him.
“I know you. You’re a hero!”
Basel looked down to see a peasant boy.
“I am no hero, boy. But you may be. Take this javelin. The
role of a protector is to protect.”
“You can take my dad’s horse as payment.” The boy pointed
to a horse.
“What? Where is your father?”
The boy pointed to a man.
“My dad has both legs, but no eyes. My daddy is Helm.”
“That is not Helm.”
Basel cast Zone of Truth on the boy, who revealed that the
horse indeed belonged to the man. The man was blindly swinging at anyone
passing near him. Basel approached the man. As he neared, the man struck his
armor with the club.
“Sir, manners please.” The man whacked him several more
times.
“If you continue this behavior, I will beat you to death!”
Basel intimidated the man, and he stopped.
“I will give you a gold piece for your horse. And I offer
something much more valuable than coin.”
Basel cast Lesser Restoration on the man and cured him of
his blindness.
“I can see! I never thought I would see my son again!”
“In payment, please take care of the kids in the orphanage
of Helm.”
Basel took the horse and walked back to the Beached
Leviathan, getting acquainted with his new steed on the way. The horse took a
liking to Basel.
“I shall call you Helm!” he beamed.
When he got back to the Leviathan, Harrag informed him
that we had headed north. He grabbed his gear, saddled up, and rode north as
fast Helm would carry him. After two days of hard riding, he caught up to us.
We were quite surprised to see him and his new mount.
“What is the horses name, Basel?”
“This is Helm!”
“You named another horse after a god?”
“Indeed. It will bring me luck.” Varus looked around at
the others, and we burst into laughter.
As we neared Luskan, Tyala started recalling the night in
question. She had gotten a Lord drunk, then she got drunk, and then she beat
him soundly at dice. He lost badly (usually the case when you gambled with
Tyala) and offered her the Barony in payment.
“Well, let’s go get her, highness!”
Many of the homes here were made from fine mason stone to
protect against the harsh winters, but there were also many hide huts and
wooden structures. The smell of fish, oil, smoke, blood, and spices filled the
air.
Varus wanted to go into town in disguise and investigate to
see if the situation was as it appeared, for he feared the letter was a
deception, but the group thought this overcautious. We drove around town a bit,
asked a few questions along the way, and found our way to the great house where
the Lord of Luskan could be found.
Varus cast Minor Illusion on the carriage to make it
appear more regal, and Tyala donned her costume as a noble of Luskan, rocking
the Barbarian Formal look. We pulled up to an enormous wooden longhouse that
was 200 feet long and had three smokestacks. We piled out of the carriage and
approached the two 10’ tall doors, which were open. The guards barely reacted
as we strode into the longhouse.
Inside, huge wooden beams supported the ceiling. Three great
fires burned in large pits with chimneys. Long tables filled parts of the
enormous room. Next to the center pit were round tables. The well-to-do and
well-connected sat at these tables. Barbarian nobility, tattooed, dressed in
furs, with piercings and bones in their hair, conversed with lords that were
obviously from the South, based on their fine dress and jewelry, and more
formal speech.
Varus addressed one of the servants.
“Have you seen Luscious?”
“Ooh, you pronounced my name correctly! I identify as
Luscious, dear boy.” The group turned to see that the voice came from a man
with red skin, a long tail, and horns coming out his head. Varus recognized him
as a tiefling.
Tyala pulled out the sheet of parchment and solemnly
presented it to Luscious, who was absolutely dazzled with her.
“Oh, yes, of
course, I remember you now!”
“I would like to speak with the Lord to discuss my claim.”
“Yes, of course. Oh, Rothgar!” One of the barbarians
turned around.
“You have a guest. She is redeeming her claim!” he
tittered.
“Come, my dear, join me, and we can talk.”
“Can my companions join me?”
“Eh…they can join Luscious. I would speak with you alone.”
Tyala joined him as the others sat with Luscious at
another table. She presented her claim to him, and he nodded.
“It was fairly won. I recognize my debt to you.” He drank
to her, then continued.
“You may claim this Barony of Greystone Keep if you can
plant the Luskan flag there, but I must warn you, it is still well north of here. Still north of Ten
Towns, which is at the ends of civilization. It is in the hinterlands, a
forbidding place of harsh snow and fierce monsters. The Keep has been abandoned
for many a year. Yet, you look like a tough woman that can handle snow and ice,
ice dragons, and barbarians.”
“It sounds like it possesses little strategic value. Why
do you want to claim it?”
“It may prove useful as a northern garrison.”
“When we plant this flag and return, we will discuss other
opportunities. And you will reward our party.”
“Agreed!” He shook Tyala’s hand and then turned to our
table.
“Luscious! Drinks for everyone. It’s time to toast.”
Luscious had the servants make sure everyone had a drink.
“To Tyala. The new Baroness of Greystone Keep! Welcome to
family! Luscious! Everyone! Drink!”
Later that day, Basel decided to visit the Temple of Helm,
a prominent temple here in Luskan. He entered the temple and received the blessing
of ointments from the priests. Then he walked through the Hall of Dedication
there, which honored the feats of the Luskan barbarian paladins. He meditated
here, and he felt the call of Helm! He knew that he wanted to be a protector.
After he finished his meditation, he went to the head priest.
”Sir, I am Basel Leaf. I am here to take the Oath of Devotion
for Helm.”
“I have observed your meditations here, brah. You do see
the most righteous path of Helm. Go forth and show his path to others, bro. First,
you must take the oath. So, stick up your right hand, with three fingers. Helm
is cool, Helm take us to school, Helm helps a friend in need, and friend in
need is a friend, indeed.”
Basel repeated the oath.
“Thank you. What is your name, priest of Helm?”
”I am Smasher, on account that I get smashed!” He chugged
the rest of his ale and smashed the mug on the floor. “Ha!”
“Ah, yes, I see, very good. Can I get a helm? Like yours?”
“Uh, well, we had some major grindage last night!” He looked
around the hall, which showed all the evidence of a huge party.
“Here you go!” He pulled out a hat with ale tankards on
either side and siphons leading out of them to the wearer’s mouth.
“Your helm, paladin of Helm. Drink deeply!”
“Fantastic. Do you think you could modify this for horse?”
“Whaaaat? That’s rad, dude!”
“I will pay you 2 gp to have it ready by the morning.”
While Basel was at the temple, Tomeck and Varus went to the market to see what was available. We were headed
into extreme conditions and needed to be prepared appropriately. We procured heavy
furs and warm woolen undergarments and mittens, cured meats, and firewood, and
loaded them into the carriage. We were also lucky enough to find two potions that
would protect us against the elements (for up to 8 hours).
Early the next morning, we left Luskan and headed north.
After three hours of driving, the temperature plunged at least 20 degrees. At
one point, a huge shadowy figure appeared through the snow. It looked like a
huge ape, and it was…dragging an elk! Based on the size of the elk, the
creature must have been at least 14 feet tall. It turned and looked at Basel,
its eyes peering into his soul.
“Wah!” Basel started violently, then shook his head, as if
to clear it. The yeti turned and disappeared through the falling snow. “That is
the yeti. Its gaze can sap the strength of a man. That is an ice man ape!”
“I would like to ride that magnificent beast! What a team
we would make!” cried Basel. That brought on an extended session of laughter
and discussion concerning the ramifications of Basel riding a yeti. Tomeck drew
a picture of the two.
“Riding the yeti! Yeah!”
“I can cast a suggestion spell on it for you, Basel,”
Varus offered with a grin.
Sometime after that, we saw greater wolves in the distance,
then heard their chilling howls. The snow began to accumulate. Visibility declined,
and the light started to fade early.
A storm came in; gusts of wind pushed at the carriage and
almost tipped it over at times. Tomeck had his hands full with the driving, and
he was tiring. Basel hooked Helm up to the lead of the team, and the horse and
his beer helmet led the way. It was well below freezing when we rolled into Bryn
Shandar, the capital city of Ten Towns, and we were all happy to have arrived.
We stabled the horses, then piled into the nearest tavern,
which was the Googly Eyed Goblin. Obviously a franchise place, decorated in
garish colors, with various diversions for young humanoids. An old lady gnome wearing
goblin nose and ears approached us.
“You work here?”
“It’s a living,” she sighed in a deep, gravelly voice. She
seated us and brought out some bread burnt to look like a human. Those that
were hungry enough to eat it soon regretted that decision. We asked if we could
upgrade our rooms. An old dwarven man with goblin nose and ears appeared.
“We can pay.” We upgraded to the Ochre Jelly suite, which
was a terrible Bob Ross off-yellow.
“Tomeck, if you would be so kind?”
Tomeck cast a Cleaning spell so that the place was bit
fresher and we wouldn’t have to worry about catching anything.
After a poor night’s rest, we rode out the early the next
morning, eating our supplies rather than another meal at that tavern. Two feet of fresh snow lay on the ground.
As we continued north, we could now see that the Ten Towns were fishing
villages located on the waters of the large lakes in the area; Redwaters to the
south, connected to Lac Dinneshere to the north, and Maer Dualdon, to the west
of Kelvin’s Cairn, the lone mountain in the area. Many of the villagers were
fishermen, and the lakes were filled with many fishing boats working.
We were on a barren stretch of the “road”, when we heard
large wings beating the air, a screech, and a flash of blue light in the sky.
Ice pelted the carriage as a large creature flapped its wings and alit on the
large rock near us.
It was a white dragon! A dragon of the north that breathed
freezing death. It roared and tensed to leap on the carriage.
Webs shot forth from Tomeck’s hand, and trapped it against the rock.
It tried to tear free, but Varus cast a hypnotic pattern around it, and it
succumbed to the spell. Basel cast searing smite and ran up to attack. Both strikes
bounce off the dragons impressive scales. Tyala bounced an arrow off of it, and
it returned to her. A boomerang arrow!
The dragon could not break out of the webs. Tomeck cast a
firebolt, but it bounced off. He recast it as a quickened spell and that attack
slammed into the wyrm. Basel came in right behind that, landing one blow, and
following that up with a critical blow.
Tyala hit it with a sneak attack. The dragon could not
break out of the hypnotic pattern or the web. Tomeck hit it with another firebolt,
then Basel missed with his first strike, but connected with the second. The white
dragon went down.
For the next several hours, Basel, with help from the
others, proceeded to process the dragon. He cut off the head, removed a third
of the scales, and harvested the heart, lungs, and several other organs.
Fortunately we were able to put much of it on ice. Scavengers assembled during
that time, then came in as soon as we headed out.
We were in the hinterlands, a desolate place where no one could
survive without shelter. Barren, frozen tundra stretched to broken lands in the
far distance. The one mountain, Kelvin’s Cairn, dominated the northern horizon.
We sped through small copses of dark, twisted woods, anticipating an attack at
any moment. Near nightfall, we finally entered the small village of Iron Master.
It had been raided several times in recent history. We could see a shadowy keep
about a half a mile distant. We decided to stay in a local tavern and head out
the next morning. As the sun set, we watched the beams of light reflect from
the walls of the Barony of Greystone Keep.
The next morning, we headed out early and quickly arrived
at the keep. It was in ruins; the door had been busted in for some time.
“Oh, I believe we’ve arrived, Your Highness!” grinned Varus,
bowing low.
“Let’s go in and look around!”
“How long do you think it has been abandoned?”
“From the looks of it, at least 500 years. It’s
practically falling down. We should be careful.”
Basel cast Detect Evil and extended his senses to the keep;
he sensed both good and evil; there was some sort of undead, and also something
Abyssal. Probably a creature of the lower planes. He informed the rest of us,
then cast a Protection from Evil spell on us.
Tyala activated her ring and disappeared.
Tomeck opened the broken door and entered the keep. This was
obviously the main throne room. Ghostly figures wandered around, some going
about their business, some seeming confused or aimlessly wandering. At the far
end of the room was the throne. On the throne sat a fearsome creature. A large,
purple, devilish-looking abomination that looked like it was made from bone!
It’s eyes glowed red. Large spines covered its back from head to tail, and at
its joints. It had a long spiny tail with a fearsome stinger at the end curled
over its head. It arms ended in huge talons with claws.
The creature seemed to be the puppeteer on the throne,
controlling the ghosts in the throne room. Tomeck did not hesitate, but cast
firebolt on him twice. The first one hit, with little effect. The second one
missed, but the creature caught it
and threw it back at us, barely missing Basel. What sort of creature could
catch a magical attack and throw it back, like Unagi re-directing an arrow or
bolt? The devil stood up; it seemed to be made of bone, and was quite tall (at
least 8 feet) but thin (about 100 pounds). It leapt and landed in the middle of
us. Bone spurs shot out and sliced into several of us.
Varus sang, and purple flames illuminated the evil
creature. Tyala reappeared as her flaming sword bit hard with a sneak attack. Basel
dropped his shield and swung his axe twice, hitting both times. Varus moved to
the right and up against the wall, and then a hulking figure crashed through
the wall behind him. Looking up in horror, the bard could see (and smell) that the
huge thing was obviously undead. A zombie giant. It smashed down at Varus with two
huge fists, but the lucky bard somehow evaded both attacks.
Tomeck drew his magical longsword and slashed the bone devil,
then slammed it with his shield. The devil caught the shield and tried to wrest
it free, but Tomeck prevailed and kept his hold! It attacked the sorcerer, but was
thwarted by his shield defense. Tyala totally missed, but Basel struck true and
landed two solid blows with his axe. Black fluid started to gush from its wounds.
Varus sang, and Dissonant Whispers hit the giant zombie’s
mind, even as an undead creature. It fled back into the room where it had
busted through the wall. Varus saw three other creatures with purple skin in
the room. Based on his studies, they looked like ghouls or ghasts.
Tomeck used his shield to cast shocking grasp on the devil
twice; it responded with an all-out attack, but it was only able to swipe him
with one claw.
Tomeck’s shield strategy seemed to be working quite well. Tyala used
the opening to dash in and plunge her flaming sword into the evil thing again.
She hit where its kidneys would be, and the thing roared and then split in half
as it died. The Baroness was staking her claim!
Basel cast Turn Unholy and moved into the throne room. The
ghosts dissipated as he walked, and he felt like a warm springtime morning.
Evidently, his spell produced a feminine hygiene product effect as well. Or
perhaps it was some type of blessing from Helm.
Varus drew his wand of fireballs and fired it into the room with
Solomon Grundy and the Ghouls (possible band name?). The giant zombie picked up
one of them and used it as a club to slam Varus hard. He tried to push Varus
into Tomeck, but was unable to do so, as Varus surprisingly resisted the
undead giant’s enormous strength.
Tomeck cast scorching rays into the room, then webs. Tyala
missed and retreated as Varus blasted another fireball into the room, taking
down the last ghast. Basel hit with a javelin.
“Go fuck yourself giant!” Basel yelled.
“Thanks, Basel!”
The giant tried to pick up Varus and use him as a club, but again Varus resisted the
giant’s strength and would not be moved. Frustrated, it tried to hit Basel, but
he easily blocked the blow with his shield.
“You’re really bad at gianting,”
Basel taunted. Varus was not
complaining. He would probably be a smudge on the floor by now if the giant had
been more proficient.
Tomeck hit with a scorching ray, Tyala missed, and Varus sang
of song of chaos in its mind. It managed shrugged off the effect, but that gave
Basel an opening and he finished it with a final stroke of his axe.
“I have one thing to say,” announced Tomeck, “Goanna!”
With the bone devil and its undead servants out of the
way, we inspected the interior of the keep. The stairs that accessed the second
floor had rotted away.
“We can’t access the second floor. The first floor is
accessible”.
We approached the throne at the far end of the room. It
has been worn in to the point of falling through the floor. We checked out the
rest of the room and found that most of the evil had been removed. The remaining
ghosts were harmless, spirits of the people that had once lived here.
After a very thorough search, we found 3 potions in one of
the rooms. Tyala found and unlocked a secret door that contained a 5-foot pit.
There was a small chest at the bottom. Tomeck and Varus used mage hand to lift it out. Inside we found
several small pearls, 12 gemstones, and a fist-sized ruby.
Basel blessed the place in the name of Helm to help rid it
of any further evil and protect it. Varus made a rousing speech. We raised the Luskan
flag over it. None of us really wanted to be here when night fell again. We
piled back in the carriage and headed back towards Luskan.
Financials
·
2 potions of Endure Elements
·
Dragon parts: head, scales, various organs (Basel)
·
3 unidentified potions
·
Several small pearls, 12 gemstones, and a
fist-sized ruby
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