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Keys from the Golden Vault Session 51
Starring
Chéri Powder, level 9 human Illusionist Wizard
Elowen Fernwhisper, level 9 wood elf Circle of the Moon Druid
Stayzie Diamondz, level 9 orc Champion Fighter
Taveen, level 9 aasimar Warrior of Mercy Monk
Varrow, level 9 gnome Thief Rogue/Gloomstalker Ranger
As the puzzle door opens, the matriarch of the Dolindar family attacks. She’s been transformed into a Lonely Sorrowsworn, and she strikes out with a smokey, tendril-like arm, snagging Stayzie and dragging her through the spike-filled room!
It’s painful, but Stayzie is also more than happy to be in melee range of the monstrosity.
While Varrow scoots back to the treasure room for extra looting, Chéri tells a particularly excellent joke (Tasha’s Hideous Laughter) incapacitating the decrepit creature!
He orders Chonk the orgre zombie to carry him and being lumbering forward, calling for others to grab on — let Chonk take the spike damage!
Taveen doesn’t have need the fleshy safety net, however. The monk can simply run along the walls to reach his enemy, and unleash his flurry of blows.
Just being near the Sorrowsword causes some psychic damage, and Taveen is still quite wounded from previous battles and psychic attacks, prompting Elowen to cast mass cure wounds on everyone.
She and Eldon jump onto Chonk as he lumbers over the spikes, taking quite a bit of damage.
Stayzie and Taveen continue to wail on the prone creature, and just when she shakes off the effects, Chonk comes in and slams his fist down, ending her!
(This mission is taken from Chapter 1 of Vecna: Eve of Ruin. The alternate dungeon map is from Tessa Presents 56 Maps for Vecna: Eve of Ruin.)
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Eldon confirms that the coffin is their way out, and Chéri convinces him to go in first. When he disapears, they decide that’s good enough!
The party begins escaping throgh the coffin, calling back to Varrow to join them.
The rogue finishes looting the rest of the treasure, quickly grabs his immovable rod, and leaps.
Just as the back door opens to a group of curious vampire spawn, Varrow activates his rope of climbing, nimbly flying over the spikes and into the portal.
Everyone awakens inside an old tomb. After a bit of nausea, they open the door and are delighted to find themselves back in the real world, the proper smell of cool air, and the sight of Neverwinter.
They check on the Hallix Mausoleum, but the sight has completely collapsed. Oops, sorry Noblin!
They make Eldon check in with Bryseis and give her the update, then settle in for a long rest before making the trek back to Waterdeep. Stayzie identies her new magic items as a mace of terror, and necklace of adaptation, the latter of which she attunes to.
Before they leave, Eldon catches up with them. He reports that Bryseis was very concerned about their Vecna sighting, and how he appears to be gathering power. She has assigned him to the party, where he can unlock and run a Scriptorium in their Bastion.
And report everything to Bryseis and the Zhentarim, of course. But the party’s cool with it.
They finally return to Waterdeep, and to Mr. Trench. It has been a while since they’ve been back. The initially left for the Shard of the Accursed mission to get the shard out of Stayzie, then got sidetracked by the Neverdeath mission by Bryseis.
Despite two non-sanctioned Golden Vault missions in a row, Trench offers them a stipend of 1,000gp for continuing to do good work.
He’s intensely interested in how the party left the plane of existnece, however. When Varrow asks how he knows that, he admits that their Sending Stone earrings he gave them have locaters that track their movements.
Except when they went into the Shadowfell.
At first Varrow is evasive, but Stayzie name-drops Vecna.
Trench’s calm, debonair demeanor briefly melts away. He drops his smoking pipe, though smoke continues to billow from his nose and mouth, until he conjures another. He drops back into a chair, extremely concerned that they had a metaphysical encounter with The Whispered One, and that he’s apparently gathering power.
Trench swiftly stands up and begins casting a spell. Stayzie tries to grab him, but he’s surprisingly nimble, and jerks away. He assures them that he needs to discuss this with some others, and that he’ll return, with answers that they deserve.
Then, he blinks away in a high-pitched ringing sound, and the faint smell of brimstone.
Live post-session discussion:
Next session: A new adventure!
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