Session XX - Hard decisions

Like thieves in the middle of the night, the group shroud themselves magically and slowly creep their way towards the crypt underneath Summit Hall. Blinking through the gates, a strength enhancing spell previously cast by Tico allows Elthas to lift the stone slab covering the tomb of Samular Caradoon, founder of the Order of Samular and brother to Renwich Caradoon the lich. 

Although they know him to be dead for many hundred years, Samular's body appears as though he was alive but yesterday. Tuning his attention to magical forces permeating this place, Halvarth realizes an aura of evocation magic is emanating from the deceased body and permeating the entire area. On Samular's right had, a finely inlaid golden ring of immense power is pulsating with magical energy. With an identify spell, the rings reveals to be a Ring of Samular, one of three artefact required to operate Kezefbane, a siege engine of immeasurable power. 

With the knowledge that Samular's body is most likely the source of the blessing on Summit Hall, our heroes are left in a predicament. On the one hand they have had nothing but pleasant interactions with Renwick who proved to be an ally, who's claim to his brother's body is entirely legitimate and has promised rewards upon returning the body to the Sacred Stone Monastery. On the other hand, stealing the body would undoubtedly turn their other allies against them and deprive Summit Hall from the Hallow blessing which it seems to be desperately needing granted the flock of refugees it currently harbours. Expecting Renwick to have more interest in the ring than his brother, Halvarth performs the ritual allowing him to speak with late Samular. 

Q: "Can your brother Renwick be trusted?"

A; "I loved my brother very much. He was everything to me and I would have given my life for him. He can however hold a grudge."

Q: "Do you wish your body to be returned to him?"

A: "Where my body lies in death is of no concern to me."

Q: "Why did you turn him into a lich?"

A: "After losing our younger brother Amphail The Just, Renwick and I made a pact to cheat death so one would not have to live without the other. We made arrangement to obtain potions of lichdom which I administered to him when he heroically fell in combat at the end of the Troll War. When my time came, I urged him to leave me die peacefully as I had found my true calling in religion and wanted not to offend the gods. He gracefully obliged."

The conversion leaving the party without much of a direction, Tico decides to contact Renwick directly to try and shed some lights in his true intentions. The latter replies that both his brother's remains and the family heirloom he still wears were stolen from him by the order and belong to him by right. 

Weighing the options and potential escape situation in order to avoid taking blame from the Order of the Gauntlet and the Lord's Alliance for stealing Samular's body, the party argues late into the night before deciding against helping Renwick. 

In the morning, they brief Ushien, Belmont and Garael on their intent of investigating Tyar-Besil. Clearly, something evil is brewing down in the abandoned dwarven fortress and time is not on the alliance's side. Garael suggest they enter through the door located at the Feathergale Spire since, from their accounts, it seems the Howling Hatred cult is the weaker one. 

On his way out, Trash leaves an important amount of gold coins with Ushien Stormbanner to help with feeding and finding shelters for the refugees. 

Following Garael's advice, the party beelines for the entrance. Having taken notes of the passphrase, arriving at the stone slab, Trash touches one of the blood vials to the stone and says the words:

"Now but a shadow of its former glory,

Wondrous Illefran has fallen away,

But lest ye lose hope of great Illefran's revivalin,

Know that we dwarves will yet have our day"

The slab emits a low hum before slowly lifting off the ground, sliding in the cliff side. The dark opening reveals an ancient but expertly crafted corridor in the typical dwarven fashion. The party enters and walk for many miles on a slow descent before reaching steps leading them further down into the darkness.

Eventually, they notice an enormous chasm that splits the earth as far as the eye can see in the pervasive subterranean darkness. A crude, narrow stairway hugs the rock alongside the chasm, twisting madly in hairpin turns around sharp outcroppings. Jagged and uneven, the stair threatens to spill travelers into the chasm's mouth. After several treacherous miles, the stairway terminates on a broad, flat landing that juts out over the immense black chasm. In the gloom, a lost dwarven city lays in ruins beneath the glittering cavern vault. Broken statues stand in the midst of empty plazas, staring sightlessly into the darkness. A huge step pyramid rises at the edge of the precipice, and from the moat that surrounds it a misty waterfall whispers over the chasm's ledge.

The carved reliefs of two dwarves face one another in profile to complete an arch beyond the ledge. Through the arch, the blocky contours of a lost dwarven city sprawl in the subterranean night. From somewhere within comes an agonized wail, followed by a breathless ramble of whimpering pleas. Then the whole city seems to join the chorus with screams of creatures mad from torment. 

Wasting no time, Elthas grips the cliff overseeing the chasm and makes his way around to an opening towards the waterfall, shortly followed by Halvarth riding a griffon. Trash and Kella pry open a heavy stone door leading to a squat gatehouse and carefully make their way through an arched corridor which zigzags pas sturdy stone walls where arrow slits squint from every angle. 

Forgetting to trigger his magical boots of concealment, Elthas trips on his own feet while climbing down from the ledge stumbling in front of an half-moon elf flanked by half a dozen Howling Hatred cultist. He loses no time before turning invisible and sprinting out of the field of view. The cultists, alerted to intruders, notice Halvarth on his large flying mount, hovering above the chasm and start flinging enchanted darts at the mount.

In the corridor, Tico scans the area with some mind reading sorcery. He notices four beings in a close proximity. Moving forward, Kella and Trash are quickly assailed by Kenkus behind arrow slits. 

A raging battle ensues during which, the party are at the receiving end of the half-moon elf's magical shatters and the cultist's enchanted darts, lose Halvarth's griffon. In response, the wizard turns into a giant ape, angrily yeeting cultists down the cliff. 

Meanwhile, Tico uses more mind tricks, turning a kenku against his own allies, Elthas cribbles them with arrows, Kella goes to town with Orcsplitter and Trash jaunts all over the place, acting once again as a protector for the other party members. 

Off to a rough start, the party sees the magic user slip their grasp but manage to hold on to the mind controlled kenku ready for questioning.