Session 429 – The Horn of Tacines

The Story So Far

Ash - An expert in the occult and a skilled monster hunter. Ash uses his talents and budding alchemical expertise to battle what people fear most for a price.

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Ryobi - A monk of the embattled Order of the Warriors of Mameka. Ryobi is given an important mission: retrieve the holy blades containing the souls of his brother knights, which were lost in the recent Rethemi civil war.

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They are joined by Vinzent, a bard with a morbid demeanor and a haunted past.

This is the continuation of Session 426 – A Man who wants to Die.

30^th of Kalen (Spring) 729TR

After a botched mission, the heroes become outlaws, wanted for mass murder, robbery, and blasphemy. They have escaped to the distant, enigmatic Karejian Islands.

The illustrious trio has been hired by Tryfon el Frangatos, a sickly noble not far from death, to kill the mighty Aegesir Karkanos and supply him with a sample of its venom.

The legendary Horn of Tacines is believed to be able to summon and weaken the epic monster. The artifact has been lost for centuries; however, merchant Vasso el Rematos allegedly discovered it in an underground chamber he found while renovating his villa in the City of Perstrona. Vasso has hired the wizard Xenagoras to extract, intact, from a wall of “solidified goo.”

The heroes, using the research supplied by the scholar Spyridon el Lorilis, have had a copy fabricated and now race to Perstrona. They plan to “acquire” the genuine Horn of Tacines and substitute it with a fake.

Location: On the road between the city-states of Galatsa and Perstrona.

Part 1 – The Magical Rooster

A bizarre, diminutive monstrosity assails the heroes on the road after bursting from the underbrush. It has the appearance of a twisted, bloated, fiendish rooster with a long, serpentine neck and covered in feathers that constantly change colors. Disturbingly, it is surrounded by a sickly prismatic halo of multicolored light. From its exposed heart, a soft, distorted heartbeat can be heard, which induces madness; however, the iron-willed heroes resisted this foul magical compulsion (for the most part).

Nevertheless, the bizarre creature is eventually slain as Ash quickly identifies its weaknesses. Its green heart glows visibly, and Ash instructs Ryobi how to strike this vital and vulnerable organ. The Coquecigrue proves to be no threat to the seasoned heroes.

Location: City of Perstrona.

Part 2 – The Mausoleum of the Great Hero Tarcines

The heroes see the walled city of Perstrona come into view. Of more interest off the road is a 30-foot-tall statue of an impressive warrior bearing a spear and a round shield. This is the famous Mausoleum of Tarcines, where the remains of the mythical warrior are said to be interred. His spear and shield, venerated relics, are on display in the adjoining temple of Varani, the goddess of water, trade, and the honorable warrior.

Ryobi, a devoted worshiper of Agrik, the evil god of war and fire, shows contempt as he passes by.

Part 3 – Spying on the Rematos Villa

The Rematos Villa, home of the noble Vasso, whose renovations it is believed have uncovered the Horn, is located near the docks. So, not to appear suspicious, Vincent entertains the crowd poorly while Ryobi and Ash conduct some scouting. They spot the wizard Xenagoras, a massive bear of a man, leaving the villa at the end of the day with a guard and some workers. It doesn’t look like he has recovered the Horn yet. The villa has a convenient window on the second floor, which should provide reasonable access, and there are only a small number of guards. They think sneaking in should be pretty straight forward.

Part 4 – Break in

The heroes, with their appearances magically disguised by Vinzent, sneak into the villa at night. Unlike previous stealth missions, this one proceeds smoothly, although Vinzent accidentally knocks something over and attracts the attention of a servant; however, the trio remains undetected. The servant blames rats for the noise. Ash finds an entrance to the family crypt, unlocks the door, and the party descends into darkness.

At the far end of the crypt, the trio notices that part of the wall has collapsed, exposing an underground passage system. Also, Ryobi notes dusty footprints leading away from this opening. The passage does have a threat; over a small chasm is a makeshift wooden bridge. From below, two strange insect-like creatures arrive, covered in a spikey, sharp obsidian shell. They rush to the party; however, Ryobi casts a Grease, prompting one of the opponents to slip and plunge deep into the crevasse below, allowing the hero to concentrate their attacks on one Obsidian Shard Beatle. The heroes destroy it, but as they strike with their melee weapons, they slash their hands on the beetle's sharp carapace.

The remaining Shard Beatle bursts from the ground beneath Ash, catching the heroes by surprise, but it is soon destroyed.

Part 5 – The Horn of Tacines

The eastern wall of the final chamber is covered in a solid, shiny back material, similar to obsidian, but not as fragile. Embedded in the wall is what appears to be the mythical Horn of Tacines. The wizard hired to extract it appears to have carefully disintegrated much of the solidified material, sealing it in place. It is almost free, and the task will probably be completed within one or two days.

Ash considers crafting a strong acid to dissolve the black material, but Vinzent suggests caution. He casts an Augury. Only Woe will result from Ash’s plan, so the party decides to leave well enough alone. They cover up evidence of their visit and escape the mansion undetected. They will wait for the wizard to recover the horn and then come up with a plan to steal it.

Created Content

City of Perstrona.

Related Reports

Nothing this week.

Player Characters

Ryobi - Human - L13 Monk

Background - Temple Guard.

Archetypes - Barbarian/Fighter.

Ash - Human - L13 Thaumaturge

Background - Weaponcrafter.

Archetypes - Alchemist.

NPC Companion

Vinzent - Human - L13 Bard

Background - Cursed.

Archetypes - Blessed/Disciple of Thalia.

Next Session

Session 431– The Divine Deception.