Moving to the West Side

The Saturday game, recapping 10/24/20 -We are at A Pair of Black Antlers Tavern where four minotaurs are battling undead. South of them, two bone devils and three merregon observe. Unseen by them, we prepare a surprise opening salvo against the undead; therefore, forming an unlikely alliance with the minotaurs. From the roof of the tavern, the Archer kills one of the merregon in one shot while the other members attack the wraiths. During battle, one of the minotaurs falls dead, but our combined efforts rip through the enemy. As they see the battle turn against them, both bone devils vanish. After killing the lot, we speak to one of the minotaurs who invites us inside the tavern to meet their leader.

Entering, we see the first floor filled with broken furniture, devils’ corpses, and three sleeping minotaurs. Our guide opens the door to what must have been a meeting room where their leader appears among piles of dead humans. As we have seen before, mazes were carved into their bodies. The leader says the humans were already dead when they arrived.

We further explore the tavern. The kitchen is empty while stairs lead down to a cellar and up to the second floor. Heading upstairs, we find a room that is larger and better appointed than a typical room. We surmise this must have been the quarters of the paladin/owner Leah Shandra. We find two scrolls which the Wizard takes. On a broken alter to Torm, a phrase is written in Celestial. None of us can read it, but Lulu happily translates, “Torm’s words lead the way from the cellars of our soul to the highest of halls.”  Under the bed, the Druid finds a loose floorboard. Secreted below it is five pounds of jerky, a blood-stained bag containing two potions and a key.

In another room, we find someone hiding in a rope trick. The Paladin convinces the person to let him up. Climbing the rope, the Paladin enters an extradimensional space where a wizard has been hiding. The Paladin convinces the wizard named Lessit Leezum to join our party.

As the remaining rooms are unremarkable, we climb down to the basement. Our new wizard friend remarks that the owner had said there was a secret tunnel down here. Using the Wand of Secrets, we find a hidden door behind a banner hanging from the wall. As we try to open the door, an explosive trap goes off. We recite the prayer to Torm before trying again and open the door. A long hall leads to a room decorated with tributes to Torm. Within, a large cache of silvered weapons and ammunition is stored along with two great axes. Standing by itself, is the paladin’s longsword, Holy Avenger, we have been seeking. We take everything and decide to go back to the High Rider’s camp at Shiarra’s Market to rest, identify items and give some of the weapons to his forces. Along the way, we find a corpse of a paladin and liberate one silvered long sword and a potion.

After discussion, the party decides to head north to Torm’s Reach bridge. By crossing there, we can proceed to Helm’s Shieldhall in which we believe are allies. We stop by the tavern on the way, but the minotaurs have deserted it.

In scouting the bridge, we find many merregons, spined devils, ice devils and Erinyes patrolling its span. The Cleric recognizes runes carved into the bridge as symbols of Torm to defend against the undead. If we can activate them, they will cause harm to fiends and the undead. The Rogue launches a risky plan to do this. He turns invisible and walks to the bridge, but one of the ice devils can see through invisibility and asks him what he is doing there. The Rogue pretends to make a deal with them for his soul, but states he has to cast augury about the terms of the deal. As he casts the bones, his ruse gives him the time to activate the runes and say the prayer written on the alter at the tavern. Lighting up, the runes create massive damage with almost every monster on the bridge dying. The ones that survive disappear rather than face a battle. The bridge is clear with not a single shot fired!

As we pass Maiden’s Leap, a woman approaches us. She claims she is a mystical engineer who has created a device that makes a bridge that spans the chasm between the two sides of the city. This bridge can only be seen by those with true sight. She also notes that you cannot fly over the chasm because the Companion, now called the Solar Insidiator, lightning strikes anyone who tries. She asks us to test the bridge in exchange for a reward and the Archer agrees. The device starts up, but the bridge created only runs fifty feet, well short of the other side. The Wizard notices the device starting to malfunction and calls to the Archer who comes back safely. As promised, the engineer hands us a velvet pouch containing two pearls.

As we approach Helm’s Shieldhall, we see smoke coming from behind the large white stone wall and hear screams come from the interior. A battle between an army of undead and devils appears before us. Archers atop the wall shoot into the crowd to defend the Shieldhall. A horned devil appears outside the courtyard and seems to be the leader of the attack. A siege engine in the courtyard explains how they breached the hall’s doors. When the Sorcerer cast Storm Sphere, many of the undead fall before the Paladin strikes the final blow to the horned devil, looting two soul coins and cutting off its head for later display at Trollskull Manor. As the devil dies, the undead fall to the ground. The archers finish the other enemies quickly.

From some rubble, we dig out and heal a townswoman. She tells us at least one devil is still within wreaking havoc and many of the townspeople are hiding in a vault on the third floor which can be reached via secret stairs.