Session 33: Into Kilgrave

The party caught up with Lucky and realised the route to the so-called Butler led downstairs. Entering a hallway within Bane’s version of Kilgrave, known as Acheron’s Keep, they encountered a hill giant called Dorf standing guard. Lucky flashed Bane’s symbol like a hall pass and convinced the giant they belonged there, gaining entry to the ballroom beyond, where the group appeared ready for war.
  The scene shifted to the present day and the cult of Malyk. A frog-like preacher stood before a jeering crowd under a banner that read, “Chaos is the truth. Order is a lie. Prove me wrong.” The creature, an intelligent grey slaad, challenged Lucky to debate the merits of order. Over three rounds of sharp exchange, Lucky’s arguments won the crowd, and the slaad vanished down a trench in frustration.
  Believing the slaad might carry a key to the upper corridor, the party pursued it through the layered timelines of Kilgrave. Back in the castle’s opening era, Bob found himself challenged to a duel by Lord Merigo Gauntweather, a pompous fencer eager to prove himself. After a brief but fierce fight, Bob emerged victorious, sending the nobles into panic and confusion.
  Exploration revealed Kilgrave’s unsettling secrets: hidden corridors, spyholes overlooking bedrooms and parlours, and signs the grand opening had served as a honeytrap for blackmailing visiting nobles. Following the slaad’s trail through the shifting timeframes of Bane’s occupation and Malyk’s chaos, the group stumbled into a potion bar where Bob’s curiosity led him to sample several unstable brews with Bob eventually becoming slippy and forced to slide along after the party.
  In the ballroom, Lucky encountered the legendary bard Ellywick Tumblestrum and was drawn into a dance competition. Despite a dazzling display, he narrowly lost and missed out on a Fool’s Blade offered as a prize. Ellywick seemed unbothered, hinting she had other business within the castle before departing.
  Their search led below the ballroom to a sealed chest containing a strange iron sphere, protected by intricate wards. Beyond it lay a hidden training enclave of War Wizards, revealing Kilgrave’s deeper purpose as more than a noble residence. In other eras, these same rooms appeared as an abattoir and armoury, part of Bane’s infernal war machine. The castle’s design, espionage tunnels, and divine residue suggested Kilgrave had always been tied to secret power and manipulation.
  The Guardians began to understand that the castle itself existed across three points in history: its grand opening, where nobles were spied upon and trapped; Bane’s transformation of it into New Acheron, where Mystra’s pure energy form was held captive during the Time of Troubles; and its modern ruin, where Malyk’s cult now seeks to harness the lingering divine energies.
  Emerging into the overgrown gardens, the party finally cornered the grey slaad near a foul pond. Once confronted, it shrieked and attacked, joined by Kuo-Toa guards. The debate was over, and the Guardians braced themselves for battle.
  Each time period within Kilgrave seems to hold a path toward the top floor, where the Guardian’s Tear awaits. The Tear, a divine relic said to have been formed from Helm’s grief at Mystra’s death, may be the only artefact capable of countering Pestilence’s spreading plague. As the fight begins, the timelines continue to twist, and above them, Wildstorm the Drow sorcerer apparently conducted a ritual with the Tear, intent on becoming Malyk’s avatar on the mortal plane.