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Previously on Rime of the Frostmaiden
Starring:
Valravn, level 10 Eladrin Bard of Eloquence
Fray, level 10 Halfling Barbarian of the Beast
Celeste, level 10 Half-orc Sun Soul Monk
Edmond, Level 10 Human Alchemist Artificer
Thimbleweed, level 10 Gnome Swarmkeeper Ranger
Following the harrowing, surprise boss battle with a trio of remorhazes, the Marshals return to Skytower Shelter triumphant, but respectful. The Goliath hunting party had all lost their lives, but they went down fighting. The dragon was dead (though slain by the remorhazes!) and the threat neutralized.
Chief Arn is satisfied, and agrees to meet with the other Goliaths at a neutral site, and restart the once friendly Goat-Ball games.
At Wyrmdoom Crag, the party receives a similarly warm welcome, especially from their ally Kapunuk. The Goliaths reward the party with gems — including a Blue Sapphire Elemental Gem that can summon an air elemental!
But the real prize is their weaponsmith. The goliath weaponsmith originally forged the Runic Axe Fray has been wielding since the Mountain Climb quest, and offers to further enhance it as a reward for helping bring their fractured people together.
The Runic Axe gets an additional +1 to attack and damage rolls, more charges, and a new runic ability that allows her to cast Spirit Shroud, and use it while raging.
After a Long Rest and a level up to 10 (and where Fray decides to respec her one multi-class Fighter level into Barbarian), the party heads towards the Lost Spire of Netheril.
The coordinates were deciphered by Edmond from a pamphlet confiscated by Dzaan before he was executed in Easthaven back in Session 22. Dzaan was one of the Arcane Brotherhood sent to look for Nass Lantomir along with Vellyne and Avarice. He had hired an adventuring party to take up him Kevlin’s Cairn, a mission where they were all killed except for him (and he had murdered the final adventurer himself).
His journey brought him to this location: a massive piece of chardalyn jutting out of the ground in the middle of the tundra. The party was expecting a tower, but what they get is a buried, upside-down tower!
A steep tunnel leading underground gives the Marshals a chance to show off their impressive, high-level traversal abilities, including teleporting, levitating, and monk water-walk surfing.
The underground entrance is magically lit, and features a door flanked by two statues on the ceiling. Which is the floor. The ceiling-floor. Look, everything is upside-down, okay?
Celeste jumps and grabs onto a statue, triggering the magical defenses. The statues glow and manifest a large spectral hand that attempts to grab her, but she nimbly dodges out of the way.
Fray runs and jumps into the doorway, and again the large hand appears. This time it’s successful, grabbing and crushing her, then depositing her back toward the entrance.
Valravn has seen enough and casts Dispel Magic, though he needs Edmond’s Flash of Genius to turn his poor skill check roll into a success to dispel the higher level spell.
Beyond the door lies a hallway choked with rubble, and two doors.
The north door leads to an empty workshop full of broken bits and pieces, and another door. That door leads to a storage room with more broken bits, specifically glass and frozen liquid, and a chest bolted to the ceiling-floor.
Edmond, using his newly infused Winged Boots, flies up and picks the lock. Half a dozen preserved potions come tumbling out, with only Fray underneath. Both attempt to catch a potion, and both fail miserable with poor DEX saves. The poor potions shatter on the ground. Valravn suggests getting on hands and knees to quickly slurp them up. Or not.
Celeste opens the southern door in the hallway, revealing a destroyed library full of broken shelves and scattered books, as well as a 5-ft wide tunnel leading down.
A few interesting, ancient, nearly crumbling books remain, written some unknown language.
There’s another, more recent item in the room. A hastily written note, written in Common:
Have to get out while I still can. I’m sorry. Once they put you in a cage, I knew they would come for me next. We’re too…perfect. Too whole.
The device is clearly malfunctioning. Maybe it was always broken, or something we did to it. But they’re [scratched out] we’re getting worse. And they’re [scratched out] we’re not stopping.
Weird! The tunnel in the floor-ceiling leads deeper into the upside-down tower. Fray slides down, quickly followed by Valravn after he hears voices.
On the second level they find a pair of person-size cages, one of which holds a scraggly, mutilated humanoid. The man has clearly lost his mind, and keeps speaking of Dzaan in cryptic ways. The party isn’t sure what to make of him, but with a 28 Insight roll, Valravn is absolutely sure he’s the spitting image of the man that was executed in Easthaven.
Who is the real Dzaan? What happened here? What are those voices coming from deeper in the tower? We’ll find out next week!
MVPC – Edmond
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