Session 55: Hunters Hunted

General Summary

The players are still in the house, and the group round the strange priest is outside. They are deciding what to do, and Archi decides to walk on out with the intention of going to the area they were warned to go to.

When doing so, Archi is seen and the creature points at him calling out in a strange language. Arne places Tongues on Magnar and the latter understands the creature. It is shouting "Unbeliever. The Unbeliever will be a sacrifice. Get him!". The crowd moves to get Archi.

He casts Invisibility on himself and runs. Going down he passes two gigantic conch shells acting as houses for the creatures. These are on either side of the road. Going on down, he passes the altar, and then a stinking bubbling dirty pool of water. Ending up at the back where there is graves carved into the walls of the caver. The lower ones are bodies of the First Men, the middle ones are the remains of Elves & Dwarves, and the top the bodies of the creatures.

He doubles back and hides at the altar and takes a mask & amulet on it.

The others, notice he's gone and forms a plan. Keller wild shapes into a spider and gets on Magnar's shoulder. They use Pass Without Trace. There they travel down the right side of the cavern noticing a cave in the wall that has had a cave-in at the entrance.

Getting on down they look around, and Magnar tracks Archi, getting him, just as the other group arrives at the conches getting help there.

Quickly going back, they get Arne and get to the caved in area and getting through at the top of the rubble. At the other side they find the old skeletal remains of two Svart Alves. Travelling on down a corridor here, they hid a gas pocket, and Archi passes out. Magnar picks him up and carry him to a stone door at the end of the corridor.

There they examine the door and it has a copper circle on it, and a copper hammer lies on the ground. Thinking of what to do, Magnar eventually picks up the hammer and hits the copper disc. Eventually 10 Svart Alves arrive, open the door, explain that the door hasn't been used in 40 years at least, and leads them to a Svart Alf town to the north.

There they camp in the tavern and having food & drink primarily involving mushrooms. Arne gambles and wind some gold, and sets up Magnar for a drinking contest. Magnar gets through 2 shots of a strong mead or mead-like drink, and vomits after trying the third. The Svart Alf wins and mentions that's the first time someone came close to finishing it & winning.

They go to bed and don't realise Archi has been in the room the whole time trying out the Mask and the Amulet. These are powerful magical items but he can't work out exactly what they do.

Waking up the next morning Archi is spooning Magnar and one of the group has morning wood.

Archi also had a strange dream as is he was in a flooded Underdark cave. There he seen what appeared to be an ancient city of strange shapes & proportions that seems 'off'. Fishlike people seemed to be swimming around in the distance and he could make out a couple of minor edges of two huge things in the centre of the city moving. Then he woke up.

They persuade Archi to take off the Mask and Amulet with Keller taking the Amulet and Magnar the Mask. They try to work out what to do with them even considering taking them back to the cavern with the cult.

They decide to take them to Joseph van Richten & Alcuin van Helsing and leave them there.

Keller Wild Shapes into a bat, and the rest make use of the Fly spell to travel down into the cave with the ash, and up to below the Library, eventually getting to where NINE is. There they made their way to where van Richten & van Helsing is (the Eschbach Shields), and hand over the items.

They are told it is the Mask of the Deep Ones, and the Amulet of the Deep Ones. They are used to protect the wearer, summon & find cult members and link their minds with the Star Gods. The yare given 500 gold for their efforts and both items are to be left with Father Tossil.

Arne then gores to his bed, Magnar goes to see Anselma, and Archi pays for the work done to the newly repaired Apothecary's building & starts studying the vampiric wyrm egg.

Keller goes to the grove to see Slythra, and informed his new staff will be ready the following day. He's also told the Star Gods initially appeared early on in the world along with the dragons, nearly ending up at war. With the Giants arriving the Star Gods slinked away and the other two started fighting each other. Only when the Hyperborean Age started, and the First Men appeared did this end along with the break up of Pangea.

Rewards Granted

500 gold.