Pyrotechnics MVP - Nightwick Abbey - Session 37

Previously, in Nightwick Abbey...

Session 37 - 10th of November 1391

This week's adventurers:

Sotar (Cleric 4)

Blossom (Rogue 3)

Mayfly (Magic User 3)

Anston (Fighter 1)

Liminal Space (Changeling 2)

Cherwe (Cleric 3)

Mechtild (Fighter 1)

Maelwyn (Cleric 1)

Yevegniy the Coward (Cleric 1)

Hirelings:

Ticze (Changeling 1)

Downtime In the Village

We didn't meet last week, but now we're back and ready to return to level 3 of the dungeon. Mayfly spends his downtime studying the book that he previously recovered from the abbey. It's in Crowleyan, a language no one in the party speaks, but he's able to decipher the magical parts of the text enough to determine that it's discussing the cardinal directions and the breaking of seals. We suspect that this is talking about the glowing runes we've discovered previously on level 3. Sotar finishes scribing a Bless scroll and begins work on a Hold Person scroll. (The level 2 clerical spells represent a big boost in power, but Sotar's limited to 1/day. My strategy now is to make several spells to beef up our arsenal for big fights.)

Back to Level Three

The party returns to the abbey and takes a familiar route to level 3. We get through the first two levels without any complications and arrive on level three. Mayfly scans the area around us with ESP as we walk back to the vermicelli room, but doesn't sense anything of interest or danger to us except for a ghostly mind in the distance.

The Four Seals

Past the vermicelli room are the two glowing seals where we fought the cultists last week. As we approach, we can see, now that we're not in the heat of battle, that the walls of the seal rooms look "infected" - it seems the abbey is not happy with the seals. The clerics note that the seals use clerical and not magician magic. Exploring around it, we find two more seals to the south. Our exploration is halted when four skeletons, their bodies tied to breaking wheels, come rolling into us, cackling. Mayfly lights one on fire with oil and two more are put down with spears and mace. The last two run over Sotar and Maelwyn and attempt to do the same to Mechtild. After a couple more rounds, they're finished off by our combined arms.

Into The BONE ZONE

Beyond the seals, we discover a labyrinth of ossuaries - rooms whose walls are covered in bones. The first one is contains nummerous skulls inserted into pelvic bones. Mayfly, using ESP, senses a large number of minds to the northwest and southeast of us. We decide to avoid those rooms and go west into another ossuary. This one is covered in broken arm and leg bones. They have red stains where they are broken, as if broken recently. We continue on to a 3rd ossuary that contains nothing but skulls. We notice a glint of sliver inside each skull and use a spear to knock whatever it is out of one. A silver coin drops out and the skull attempts to clamp down on the spear as we do so - good thing no one used their hand. Our thief estimates that the room contains a total of 1,500 sp - and we spend the next 20 minutes carefully extracting all of the silver coins. From this room, we see some doors to the north and behind them Mayfly detects some human minds. Focusing on them, he finds they are discussing the recent disappearance of a warlock and two brothers - we assume this is the group we dispatched last week. We avoid them and go south to an empty ossuary, covered in the white, stringy ectoplasm encountered earlier. 

The Emperor of Lies

We go down another hallway and turn to a room with three other doors. There's a worn path in the stone, from the west to the north. We hear a kind of low chanting to the west and decide to go north. We enter into a room with a large mural covering three of the walls. We see the figures of four demons, with lines of sinners going up to them, posed as if whispering secrets. The clerics and otherwise knowledgeable among the party recognize the four figures. The figure on the west wall has purple eyes and must be Armadaezus, the Emperor of Lies, King of Hell. The figures on the north wall have blue and red eyes - Orobas, Master of Things Unseen and Eligos, Master of Things Seen respectively. We've met and made deals with Orobas previously. The figure on the east wall has green eyes and is Valax, Master of Things Hidden. These three are the Dukes of Hell and serve Armadaezus. We notice that, among the sinners, are Liminal Space and Mechtild, who previously shared secrets with Orobas in exchange for information about Nightwick Abbey. A lengthy discussion about historical incest ensues among the players and referee.

The Master of Things Hidden

We leave the room and continue exploring the area. We enter a room containing a statue made of black iron of a wraith-like figure with no head. There is a crown and two points of green flame where its eyes should be. It is Valax - a Duke of Hell. Liminal enters the room with his face hidden, but nothing happens. Mayfly comes in after him and hears a voice say, "come here" and ask, "what is your name?" Mayfly lies and give "Pawel" as his name. "What do you wish to know?" the voice replies. 

"The location of Eldric's lost spellbook." 

"You will find it in the lair of the one they call Rulesmaster."

"How will I know where that is?"

"The Rulesmaster will be in it."

Blossom, too, hears the voice beckoning her and asking her name. She, too, gives a false name ("Rose") and she hears nothing more from the voice. 

Brawl with a Sword Brother

We leave the room and go into the hallway beyond. We see some robed figures in the darkness ahead on the left-hand side of the hallway and make a plan. Mayfly casts light up ahead to help us see and we also notice some devilmen in a different room to the right. We form up outside the room containing the robed figures - Sotar with protection from evil active in front, spears in the second rank. When the figures don't react to us, Liminal shoots at one with a bow and then they start shambling towards us. There's a total of 6 robed undead with 1 figure behind them wearing a winged great helm - it must be one of the remnants of the Sword Brothers, who first built the abbey. With Sotar blocking the doorway, they can't get past him and can't attack him directly. In the mean time, Yevgenly, Mayfly, and others pelt them with flaming oil until they all die. We recover the armor and an amulet from the sword brother and decide to leave the abbey. On our way out, we pass those devilmen. They're just sitting and smoking a pipe, having watched us fight. One gives us a spooky wave as we pass but nothing else happens.

Back at Nightwick Village

Back in town, we sell the loot for a total of 4,000 sp, in addition to the 1,500 sp previously recovered. This is enough to bring Anston and Yevgenly both to level 2 and we celebrate our safe return.