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Previously on Rime of the Frostmaiden
Starring:
Valravn, level 13 Eladrin Bard of Eloquence
Fray, level 13 Halfling Barbarian of the Beast
Celeste, level 13 Half-orc Sun Soul Monk (played by Fray/Heather)
Edmond, Level 13 Human Alchemist Artificer
Thimbleweed, level 13 Thri-kreen Swarmkeeper Ranger
Though the Marshals had acquired the treasures of the Tower of Conjuration, including the second line of the Rite of the Arcane Octad, they weren’t quite finished with it.
Note: I’m incorporating Dan Kahn’s excellent Ythryn Expanded Towers of Magic supplement to enhance Chapter 7 of Rime of the Frostmaiden. Now available on Roll20!
Library map: https://www.forgotten-adventures.net/product/legacybattlemaps/haunted-library-21×23/
The ice devil within the magic circle is ready to throw down with Edmond, who had just thrown a bottle of ink at the creature in the interest of testing its magical forcefield. But Edmond quickly talks it down. He assures the hulking insectoid that he has no problem freeing it, but he’s going to have to grab a friend to actually do it.
Enter Valravn (actually enter Fray first, who confirms that the creature is a devil, then explores the other door in the room and finds a portal to a permanent magnificent mansion). Valravn is hilariously unable to identify the scary but amiable creature (7 on a Religion check), and strikes up a conversation, where he learns that Edmond already completed the tower and is in possession of the clue they require (and a 1000gp ruby!).
The creature offers to complete any task in exchange for its freedom.
Valravn tasks it with completing the other towers furthest away from them, and gathering whatever information it can get — before Nass and Vaelish can do the same.
A contract magically appears that writes down the terms of the contract, and the creature signs it in an ancient language. Valravn is suspicious but after looking it over he signs his name. His hands automatically cast dispel magic, freeing the creature. The ice devil nods in acceptance and strides out of the tower. The DM is delighted to add another spinning plate to the story!
Exiting the tower, the party notes that the chardalyn construct is now moving away from them in its patrol. They hurry to the nearest building, which turns out to be the Library of Ythryn (Y9). They spot a living Bigby’s Hand flying out of a hole in the roof.
Inside the library is filled with walls of shelves and reading desks, still lit by continual flame spells. Rubble is strewn everywhere, and the dusty remains of magen litter the ground. Crawling around the library are several living spells, including more living Bigby’s Hand, living phantasmal killers, and a living demiplane. Roll for intiative!
Thimbleweed strikes first, charging at the nearest phantasmal killer, which appears as a shifting, shadowy humanoid. It transforms into Thimbleweed’s deepest fears (his mother!?), frightening and dealing psychic damage.
Another phantasmal killer is dismayed that Fray is immune to its fearful effect (thanks to the heroes’ feast she consumed last session in the Tower of Conjuration), and she charges at it.
Valravn casts calm emotions to shake off the fear from Thimbleweed and Lord Mabury. A Bigby’s Hand punches Thimbleweed, and when Edmond moves in to attack with his green flame blade, another hand grabs him. He’s feared as well, forcing Valravn to use calm emotions again to protect more of his party.
At the end of each round, the party hears and feels a burst of magical energy, and another living spell crawls out of a random book in the library, beginning with a living blade of disaster near Fray! The deadly sword moves in to engage, and for the first time in a long time, Fray is impressed by an enemy creature, as it slices into the raging barbarian for 40+ force damage!
As the living demiplane approaches, Valravn avoids getting sucked inside, but Vellyne is not so lucky, disappearing from view. The living hand grappling Edmond flies off to the back of the library, dropping the artifcer to the ground and punching it with its terrible force fist attack (critical hit!).
The artificer survives with only a few hit points! More importantly he spots the problem: a book on a lectern is surrounded by swirling magical energy. Is it creating all these spells?
Edmond yells as much, and Valravn sends Lord Marbury and its 80 fly speed to the back room. It just succeeds on the STR saving throw to fly through the booknado and grab the book, which ends the constant spawning after two rounds (and after a third Bigby’s Hand emerges).
Fray and the living blade are locked in a nasty battle. Thimbleweed and Celeste take out a phantasmal killer and a Bigby’s Hand, but the living demiplane arrives and swallows them up (and Edmond’s summoned wolf). Inside a 30-ft stone chamber, Vellyne explains that the extra-planar space responds to attacks, and Thimbleweed starts to stab the walls.
Edmond turns invisible (thanks to purple pear charm) to avoid death, and drinks several health potions.
The living blade hits Fray with a critical hit, dealing 80 (12d12) force damage, and taking the barbarian down to around 10 hit points. Wow! Undeterred (and always attacking recklessly), she finally destroys the void blade in one of her most satisfying and brutal duels.
Celeste finishes off another Bigby’s Hand, but Edmond’s still all alone in the back room, Lord Marbury having flown the book all the way back to Valravn (after nearly dying from a force fist attack).
Edmond casts haste, pops out of invisibility, and attacks the hand, and it clobbers him again. The following round he attacks twice with green flame blade — and misses both attacks! The mistake proves fatal, as the living Bigby’s Hand punches him with another mighty blow, downing the artificer.
Thankfully by then, most of the enemies were dead, including the living demiplane after Thimbleweed’s wall-stabs, as he and Vellyne (and later Celeste) are deposited back into he library. Everyone rushes up to finish off the last two hands and to stabalize Edmond.
The book that the pegasus removed is titled, Living Spells: A Treatise on the Ethics of the Arcane. It’s nonmagical; the lectern was the magic part. It’s supposed to function as a simple audiobook, but clearly some crazy malfunctioning from the mythallar caused it to spawn actual living spells throughout the library. No more spells should spawn, though the marshals aren’t sure how many are still roaming throughout the city.
For now, they help themselves to the treasures of the library, including some potions, a chime of opening, and a Netheril Primer (which is an upscaled version of the Quandrix Primer from Strixhaven: Curriculum of Chaos).
MVPC – Valravn
Live post-session discussion:
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