2.(Bill) Vorstag Iceslider, the Frost Giant's Son, lvl 5>6 Goliath Ice Reaver of the Tjokren Glacier (g-m), Assassin Rogue-5>6
3.(Jack) Zérda “The Defier” of House Saväschu, lvl 5 Atlantean Noble of Katagia (h-m), EK Fighter-5
4. (James) Cassandra, Bearer of the Black Book, Quodethi (h-f) Sorcerer-3>4
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| "Where's Finnris? They promised me Finnris!" |
Demons in the Darkness - by Aeshma
We return to the surface briefly to catch our breath after the fight with the Gibbering Mouthers. An urchin, recognising Vorstag’s affiliation with the Seven Knives, asks his help in dealing with a nearby haunted house where he meets up with Cassandra and a group of travelling elves. Finnris is struggling with the acid burns from the fight and goes to the Fighting Pit for the assistance of their medic.
Once Vorstag returns along with Cassandra we head back into the tunnels where Aeshma hears the sound of distant chanting that she recognises as a paean to Great Cthulhu. The next room we find is a complex of symmetrical hallways through which we can see the shimmer of ghostly forms. The tops and bases of several of the inner hallway walls show gaps so we conclude it is some kind of trap. After some debate we decide to use the Cube of Meng to protect us as we cross the room.
Things do not start well as the moment we enter the room vast sections of wall start to move, crushing us against the outer wall. Then we see the moving walls have revealed a large gap running down the centre of the room towards the exit door. With four of us pushing the cube forwards, the spectres are unable to impede our progress and we escape the moving walls trap.
Without the chance to take a rest we continue into an arena, its galleries filled with battered corpses propped up in their seats. In the centre of the arena stands a huge, powerfully built warrior that Zerda recognises as the infamous Ruk Nath, a bare-knuckle fighter and gladiator of fearsome reputation. He shouts out a challenge, growling his anger that Finnris is not with us as he apparently wished to resolve a long-standing grudge.
Vorstag calls on his Frost Giant heritage and grows to ten feet tall. Cassandra decides that she is particularly unsuited to an arena fight and, citing feminine frailty, climbs up into the stand where she has a better view of the arena – and an excellent vantage point from which to cast spells. In Finnris’ absence, Ruk Nath decides the giant Vorstag is the next best target and charges at him, striking him with his powerful fists.
Ruk Nath is appallingly strong and willing to cause himself damage for a little bit of extra power behind his blows. As punch after punch lands, Vorstag tries to employ his usual hit and run tactics, hoping that Ruk Nath will instead attack Zerda, but the Pit Fighter pursues him. Aeshma and Cassandra use Ruk Nath’s single-minded focus on his prey to enable them to land their own magical attacks. Between us we manage to defeat Ruk Nath, Zerda landing the final blow. As he dies he tells us we have survived the final test and that we are “worthy”…
The chanting has reached a climax as we enter the adjacent shrine where we see a naked Metira kneeling on a stone altar. Purple robed cultists surround her along with a pair of muscled thugs and a finely robed priest. We are startled when she climbs down from the altar and announces that she is the cult’s high priestess and that we are to be the next sacrifices. The cultists hurry forwards to seize us, but as half of them fall in the first few seconds Metira decides they need support and summons a Nightgaunt, a demon from beyond. To our alarm we notice the blood from the slain cultists starts to dribble towards the altar, apparently fuelling the ritual. Zerda throws down his cloak to soak up some of it before it can reach the altar while Cassandra attacks with fire magic, cauterising wounds even as she inflicts them.
As we are still hoping to take Metira alive, Aeshma focusses her attacks on the cult priest who is soon killed but not before he manages to briefly afflict Vorstag with summoned night terrors. Cassandra carefully manoeuvres to blast as many cultists as possible with her favourite Thunderwave spell, using her expertise to limit the damage done to Zerda who has been mobbed by the cultists whose effectiveness is bolstered by a Nightgaunt summoned by Metira.
At the apse at the far end of the room we can start to see the result of Metira’s earlier chanting as a creature of nightmare starts to appear. With her acolytes falling before us, Metira calls down a flamestrike which strikes Vorstag, Aeshma and Cassandra. Still wounded from the fight with Ruk Nath, Vorstag falls unconscious while Aeshma and Cassandra are seriously injured.
Ducking out of Metira’s line of sight Aeshma offers a fervent prayer to Mithra before calling on the Sun God to strike down the cult high priestess. Golden energy smashes into Metira, causing injuries that should be fatal but she looks down at the gaping wound as if it is a mere inconvenience. Despite her assumed insouciance, the shock of the attack proves sufficient to break her concentration and both the Nightgaunt and the nightmare demon are flung back to their own realms.
Zerda hurries forward to try to grapple her but even restrained she retains enough focus and presence of mind to start summoning another Nightgaunt. One of the few remaining cultists stabs Cassandra even as Aeshma revives Vorstag. Despite our serious injuries we manage to kill the last of the cultists, then, knowing we are in no condition to take on another Nightgaunt, Aeshma calls for Zerda to hold Metira steady as she no longer has any choice but to strike to kill.
With its summoner dead, the Nightgaunt vanishes before it can attack. Vorstag is able to staunch the flow of blood from Cassandra’s knife wound and in the now-quiet shrine we are able to take stock. A small chest holds the cult’s treasure: nearly 2700gp in coins and gems, a Ring of Warmth (given to Vorstag) and a Potion of Revivify (which Zerda takes custody of).
We wrap up the bodies of Metira and the Cult Priest in robes taken from the dead cultists and cautiously sneak through Quodeth to reach the Sedarnel palace. With as much diplomacy as we can muster we explain that Metira had somehow become corrupted by Cthulhu with a side comment that Prince Dredan might have had some involvement. We are asked to keep things quiet, but Aeshma points out that the Temple of Mithra will need to know about the presence of such a cult in the city.
Believing that Queen Deyane needs to be warned, Zerda urges Princess Jania to arrange for us to all attend the upcoming ball at the Palace and for us to have the opportunity to speak with the Queen in private.
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| Metira pretends to be the sacrifice |
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| Star Thing. You make my heart sing. |
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