AD&D Session 6: A Blast from the Past

In the last session, the party aided a selkie clan against the evil, eel-like Maylorites, discovered, but did not wholly recover, the treasure of the last count of Clifton, acquired a tavern, and received a visit from a dangerous-seeming dragoon captain. What shall follow from these events? What hidden dangers wait in ambush? Join this week's journey to find out...

The Party

Norbeth Yelfiel, elf mage/thief with a periwinkle wide-brimmed floppy hat, played by Finn

    Heathcliff, black cat familiar

Akiva ben Moshe, beetlefolk fighter with a short ponytail, played by Ali

    Ermi, ratling thief

Agatha, human paladin with a smiling-masked samurai helm, played by Anne

Innus Entus, goblin cleric/fighter with a bishop's mitre, played by Cao Linh

Ingvar Duram, human cleric with an extravagant tricorn hat, played by Jackson

Nachman, human mage with an open-faced plain helm, played by Ali

Dany Mossé, human ranger with a spike-and-plumed helm, played by Finn

Precious, domesticated rat

Casualties

Party unity

Nachman (knocked out, recovered)

Loot

A deal with the dragoons

Scroll of invisibility, enlarge, mending

Coin XXI (turned in to the Cathedral Severe)

5k silver

6k gold

775gp gems

12500gp platinum jeweled crown

A holy mission

The Game

22 Low Summer 1113

• A Zangaran dragoon captain, Captain Fen, had just appeared in the Cracked Flagon. As his soldiers blockaded the entrance with bayoneted steam rifles aloft, they made polite conversation. 
• Fen informed Norbeth that the prior owner had reserved a bottle of Orscean absinthe in the cellar for him, and asked Norbeth if it was still there. Suspicious, Norbeth went down in the cellar and could find no such thing; on his return, he admitted as much. 

HEATHCLIFF NO!

• Despite their worries, the dragoon captain dropped the issue entirely, produced a bottle of fine brandy and partook of it with the Order. He didn't flinch when Innus Entus purified it before drinking, either. He then informed the party that the cultists they had encountered in Stonehell, the Ultraviolet Flame, served his Emperor, the Witch King of Zangara (whom we determined looked something like Napoleon). Any action taken against them was action against the Emperor, and he would be duty-bound to stop that...
• ...except that the cultists in this region belonged to a foreign division, and had decided to place their own influence and advancement over the emperor's interests. He shared information about the cultists'  operations, and their attempt to kidnap a warlock dwelling in Stonehell, a servant of the Duke of Bones. The party's meddling had quite befuddled the rogue cultists, and Fen offered the party compensation is exchange for any further... befuddlement. 
• He and the party came to an agreement, and Fen left on business... but not before leaving behind a rather valuable scroll as thanks for their hospitality. 

23 Low Summer 1113

• On an otherwise ordinary day, as Ingvar and Innus Entus pray and prepare for bed, they find their new spells are somewhat different than requested: both of them had an additional light spell. 

24 Low Summer 1113

• Just a couple days later, on a rainy night after an unusual cold snap, the party heard a knock on the door of the Cracked Flagon. 
• Outside, they found Liam of Beegrove, the young altar boy to Father Abernethy, who had given Ingvar a sealed box. Liam, shivering and wet, asked politely to be let in, and Ingvar let him through. The boy warmed himself on the fire and told them that Father Abernethy, who had just returned from a trip up the river, had sent him to get the box back.
• Ingvar was prepared to hand it over directly, but Norbeth had a paranoid streak a mile wide, and kept the boy engaged in a long, personal conversation. Liam answered various questions about his dear aunt Martha... whom Norbeth had made up on the spot. 
• In the guise of going to retrieve the box, Ingvar gathered the party in the tavern's upstairs and made a plan. Agatha was, at that moment, out giving instruction to the local militia, and they didn't know when she would be back. They armed up and confronted 'Liam'. The boy's sclera turned black, and spoke out in a raspy voice. 

Demon: One more thing I forgot to mention... Father Abernethy is dead.

• They launched into battle. The boy's body collapsed, and a smoky shadow rose over him: eight feet tall but hunched over, with vestigial black wings, and upon its forehead, written in crimson numerals, the number XXI. 
• Akiva and Innus Entus dove into melee, but found the creature difficult to damage, and though Ingvar protected himself from evil, he could not protect himself from the furniture it tossed about like toys. Its dark wings spread over the tavern, darkening the candlelight and striking them full of a dread fear. Then Ingvar remembered the previous night's premonition, and filled the room with light. 
• The demon recoiled as the magic light burned it, and its fearsome aspect departed. Innus Entus joined in this, and Akiva and Norbeth now found the creature more solid and easy to hurt. Though it attempted to flee, it was cut down, and as the shadowy wisps dissipated, a single silver coin clattered to the ground. 
• They attended first to Liam, who was out cold but bodily unharmed. As the boy recovered, he spoke of cleaning up the church late one night, only to be suddenly taken by darkness when he stepped out of the threshold. He also had fragments of memories not his own: a darkness striding across the road, Father Abernethy dead on the roadside like carrion. 
• It was at this time that Agatha returned from her engagement with the militia, and found the Cracked Flagon in utter disarray. 

Agatha: What the hell happened here?

Norbeth: Never trust children!

• The Order brought Agatha up to speed, and then made haste to the Clifton church, where they informed a vigilant priest about what had transpired. The priest was horrified, especially by mention of the coin.

Priest: Demons don't leave change!

Party: Well this one did!

Priest: I'm calling Father Caleburn. 

• Soon, the Cracked Flagon was host of Father Caleburn, Clifton's chief exorcist, who was not at all happy to be dragged from his bed. With his aid, they secured the coin: it was a chunky silver piece, not unlike that used in the kingdom, but upon the head was an angular profile reminiscent of the devil Asmodeus, and on the tail was a depiction of Hell's open gate. In the ridge, a series of nicks made the numeral XXI. Given its size and weight, Ingvar suspected that Father Abernethy's box contained yet another coin of the same sort...
• Father Caleburn told them that these were not just any silver coins... these were two of the Thirty, the thirty silver coins paid by Hell to the Nameless Traitor in days of yore. The coins had a special power: each could be used to buy any one thing that a person owned.  According to tradition, the first coin bought a city from the king which ruled it, the second bought the princess from her mother, the third bought an army's loyalty from a general, and so on. The twenty-first coin bought a tribe from a barbarian chief, who subsequently saw his people slaughtered for a minor offense. The traitor saved the thirtieth coin until the last day of his life, when the reaper came knocking. From death, he bought his life, and thus sought to escape Hell's grasp... but while the reaper sold him his life, his soul was forfeit. So it is said that the Traitor dwells in Hell, watching his still-living body walk the surface, a toy for whichever devil wishes to inhabit it. 
• There is one more key to the story: each of the thirty people who took a coin were later corrupted into shadowy monsters bound to their coins. The twenty-first, which the party just faced, was among the weaker of the Thirty. 
• Recognizing that they held two powerful evil artifacts, and that more of the Thirty were likely operating nearby on behalf of their infernal masters, the party decided to take the coins to the city of Cascabel and secure them in the holiest site in the region, the Cathedral Severe. 

29 Low Summer 1113

• They set out the next day on their week-long journey, going west along the Hale river, crossing at Giantbridge, and looping back east to get to Cascabel city. Along the way, coincidentally on the night the Order passed through Giantbridge, they celebrated Akiva's birthday. 
• Akiva also picked up a henchman along the way, a ratling thief named Ermi, with whom he had a great affinity. 

6 Mid Summer 1113

• Arriving in Cascabel, the party heads directly for the Cathedral Severe, center of the faith in the Cascabel region. It's packed and busy, but with Father Caleburn's letter of introduction, they are able to receive an audience with Bishop Hailborough. 
• The Bishop had received ill omens, and knew the party had something nasty for him. He confirms that the object in the box is another of the Thirty silver coins, and sends for both to be secured in the cathedral's vault. 
• The party wants to know more about the coins and what can be done to stop them, so the bishop hands introduces them to High Inquisitor Michel, a great paladin from the Free Cantons visiting Cascabel for the Midsummer rites. Michel impresses on the party that the church's operations against the Thirty are a dangerous and secretive matter, and once involved, one will either see it through or be killed by it.
• Norbeth and Akiva say thanks, but no thanks; they're rather more secular types, not likely to waste their lives on a holy suicide mission. Agatha, Innus Entus, and Ingvar accept. 

13 Mid Summer 1113

• In the remaining days, the group enjoys the festivities as the city is celebrating two high holy says back to back. At the same time, Norbeth and Akiva take the Sheriff of Clifton's letter of recommendation and successfully apply to become a Free Company: now chartered by the crown, they have access to a great many privileges, including the right to bear arms and armor within walled cities; on the flip side, the kingdom can call them to war, and with the recent string of peaceful years it's unclear if things are quiet or if a war is overdue. 
• By the 13th, the group splits. Norbeth and Akiva remain in the city, possibly to return to Clifton, while Agatha, Innus Entus, and Ingvar board a ship heading upriver with inquisitor Michel. They are joined by two other souls recruited by Michel: Nachman the mage and Dany Mossé the ranger. Dany and Agatha share some commonality, though they can't tell exactly what. 

14 Mid Summer 1113 (Team Holy)

• The second day of their travels, the group traveling upriver (whom shall henceforth be called Team Holy, as opposed to Team Secular) finds their vessel slows to a halt on the wide river. Tendrils of algae swarm onto the deck, coalescing into humanoid mounds of vegetation!

• The fight is joined, and though the mage Nachman is seriously wounded by a vegetable fist, he remains with the living. Innus Entus comes to the ship's rescue with his trident of fish control, burning a scarce charge to summon the perilous giant gar which infest the deeper waters to rip apart the creatures holding the boat to the river mud. These gar continue to escort the ship for some distance, warning off other opportunistic predators. 
• With the creatures routed and the passengers safe, the Order picks through the remains and finds, against all odds, one of the vegetable attackers contains a hard-packed core; within that core is a disintegrating mummy, still carrying a jeweled scepter and precious metals. Inquisitor Michel celebrates this as God's favor, granting wealth to those who do not seek it. Even after the generous cut Michel takes for the church, the Order still acquires a great deal for their coffers.

15 Mid Summer 1113 (Team Holy)

• The Order finally arrives in Chamrousse, the City of Bridges, on the 15th, Midsummer's day. Down the river, this is Crowning day, though here in the Free Cantons that event is much less revered. Brother Michel conducts the party to the palace of Count Claude Malevol (who is, despite the name, an all-around good fellow), where they meet his court wizard, Idred the Most Omniscient, his chief officer Boroth Swinney the Joyous, and his spymaster, Longo. 
• In conversation with these august figures, the party learns of the events of ten years past: how the Thirty silver coins first came to influence these lands, how the treacherous anticleric Corby deceived them and stole away the Grayl of Good and Bad Destiny, and how what must be done. But that is a tale for another day...
• Or, you know, for this blog's archives. 
• The session concluded there. What mission awaits Team Holy? What will our more secular PCs do without religious supervision? And what was the deal with that hurricane, exactly? Join us for next week's session of Cascabel!

Takeaways

This report was waaaaaay delayed, mostly because I was quite busy on the tail end of the year. This was in large part because I was finishing House of Pestilence, but also for non-RPG reasons. Now, however, I'm back home and in-person gaming should soon commence anew!

I've had difficulty dialing in the rate of advancement in this campaign so far, and I thought this session would be lighter on treasure and xp to give the PCs some room to breathe so they aren't taking two-weeks breaks all the time to level. And then a random encounter drops something on the high end of treasure type D on them. Goes to show, the dice make liars of us all. 

As long-time blog readers will know, the players have just bumped into the old Castle Xyntillan PCs! Though this world was not at all developed when I ran that campaign, I've integrated its continuity into this one: the events of CX took place a decade prior, with considerable effects upon the region, and Corby has become a new opponent! The knock on effects of random decisions from years ago continue to influence my games, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

The session dragged around the middle-end, mostly because, with the group split, two players made new characters which, contrary to my expectations, quickly had to fight a combat, and so there were periods of alternating play and character creation. Still, the fact it was possible to make characters that quickly does speak well to the system. 

I also feel that the end of this session was a bit too much of me talking and trying to get all this Important Narration out before a rapidly approaching close time. That one's just on me. 

I look forward to seeing how the campaign continues with party split in space and time, and likely in level as well. Though we're only a few sessions in, I feel that the premise of a grand campaign, with many characters, tangled webs of causation, and big nonlinear stories, is beginning to bloom. 

That's all I have for now. Until next time, have an excellent week.