Regailia Recovery for Royal Renunciation

Summary

Adventure: Regailia Recovery for Royal Renunciation
GM: Mandos
Session: Autumn 826 wk
Day: Saturday
Level: Low

Party

1. Nick Bone - Elven Necromancer - Heather
2. Haann Uberreich - Satyr of some reknown - Ben
3. Hrothgar Bronzebeard - Mad Dwarven Binder - Alex
4. Mattin - Halfling celestial psycho - Kyan
5. Athos - Dwarven Warrior / Namer - Martin
6. Fitzroy - Humanish Lightning Mage - Dean

Adventure Full

Employer

Silverwind - Former Guild member and freelance Mercenary. Also heir to the throne of the Elvan Kingdom of Thalarae on the plane of Ky'Thaan. Also elder brother of Dramus.

Mission

To recover the royal regailia hiddeen in a city that was previously overrun by Orcs in order to crown the new King and to remove his younger brother from the line of succession.

Zardoz: "remove his younger brother from the line of succession". Seems clear. Hey, Mattin, you up for this? Oh... "not like that"?  Umm... never mind.
Mattin: You called?

Pay

10,000sp per person plus loot.

Scribe Notes

After Haan has advised the party several times not to make eye contact with various elven women associated with Dramus.
Athos: This is a you problem, isn't it?

Athos: Pixie Dust? Is that a drug?
Haan: Not for legal reasons. It's not a proscribed substance. It's my natural musk.

This section recorded by Athos and translated from the Dwarven

The Library (Circlet)

We entered up the stairs into the library, an impressive building constructed of stone, wood, and crystal.

Our attention was drawn to the sound of voices and entering a central area we saw an Argument of elven philosophers (I believe that is the correct collective term). They were revenant shades but though undead they made no moves against us and appeared locked in a debate of some form.

Hann: People don't like when <servants> have notions

I have not learned the Elven language but unfortunately Fitzroy produced an item that turned their mellifluous nonsense into the worst form of philosophical gibberish by allowing us to all to understand elven.

The fundamentals of the perpetual argument were between static perfection and change for the greater good. We became aware that the circlet for which we were searching was held in the library and in some way this endless debate prevented it being retrieved. For us to succeed in our mission we would have to resolve the philosophers’ argument.

Fitroy: We are subtle agents of change.
Athos (eyeing Mattin): Subtle?!

I am well versed in Dwarven political wrangling but as in this case heads could not be knocked together nor beer used for social lubrication I left most of the debate to others.

While Fitzroy quickly realised that the logical answer to the debate was that a balance was needed, we came to understand that we needed to influence the philosophers towards the change answer in to break them out of their 40-year deadlock.

Haan: A Perpetual Notion Machine

One surprising omission of the library was books or scrolls or tablets or indeed any other form of writing or record. Magical detections indicated the library was itself a long living sentient and we became aware that it could provide answers directly from the crystal in the form of visions. The library itself is ancient beyond reckoning, some 60 thousand or more years, while the rest of the city dates back more than 15 thousand years.

The philosophers were 16 librarians that had sacrificed themselves to become guardians of the library some 260 years earlier during the time of a previous orc incursion.

Eventually we were able to use the information of their sacrifice for the greater good to influence the argument towards change and the following generations. This broke the deadlock and the Circlet we sought fell from a crystal orb above. The librarians, released from their debate, begin repairing the library.

We decided to make use of smaller rooms at the library to store gear before venturing back out into the city.

Haan: Are we going fully loaded?
Mattin: Leave yours pans behind...
Fitz: Pants?! Pants are not optional!
Mattin: Pans! Pots and pans!

A Note on Orcs

All orcs are bred by Darkness. There are many different breeds: goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, some form of ogre sized creature. even trolls. It appears that all goblinoids are able to interbreed or even cross-breed with some animals.

Athos: When a goblin loves its warg very, very much. <shudder>

The Temple Garden (Mantle)

Within the temple garden lay a pair of walls facing each other with magically energized hooks protruding from them, and between them the statue of an elven hero. We immediately suspected that the mantle we sought was part of the statue.

Haan: <Indicating the highly energized hooks> Don't lick it!
Athos: Who would lick it?!

We had seen from a vision in the library that when the city was operating some form of power flowed between these walls through lines or cables. On the ground in piles and scattered around the garden nearby lay lengths of coloured chain with hooked ends and it became apparent that these could be connected together and to the walls to recreate the structure that we had seen in the vision.

Magical investigations indicated that recreating the sculpture or power conduits would provide sufficient energy to reverse the petrification on the statue and free the mantle.

Attempting to move a chain however activated a dozen small but tough wooden golems who immediately wrestled the chain back into its original position. Though they took no other offensive action we were unsure whether what they would do if directly attacked. The puzzle then was how to connect the chains against the resistance of the golems.

After some consideration and experimentation Hrothgar, using his unusual ability to animate many objects, and with the party working together to hook up chains we were able to outmanoeuvre the golems and get first one then two and finally all three chains connected. Enormous amounts of magical power flowed over the edifice.

With the chains connected and power flowing the mantle fell from the statue and the golems retreated to their egg-shaped hutches where they begin to regenerate.

The area powered up and we noted new growth in plants, topiaries repairing themselves, and even the side of the library nearest the garden beginning to regrow.

The area provided dangerously high mana which Fitzroy could not help but experiment with. Fortunately, he came to no lasting harm but has apparently created a calming air effect across the entire city. We returned to the library with both artefacts and built a safe in one of the rear rooms with stone walls. Consideration was given to warping but as the power structure was now causing regeneration there was concern that deadwood could become alive.

Two down, four to go.

War Memorial (Sword)

After some discussion we decided that the next best artefact to seek is the sword supposedly hidden in the War Memorial mausoleum under the barracks area.

We headed back to the wall and made our way around to the South. At one-point Mattin spotted a lumbering creature off in the distance, but it is the only sign we saw of habitation.

Fitzroy backfired spells, first making his hair purple, truly something of an improvement, and then turning his shoes to iron which had the beneficial side effect of preventing him casting further spells. Hrothgar was able to remove the shoes using his Binder magic and metal-working expertise.

We exited the wall near a garden with the subterranean entrance. The 45-foot-wide corridor sloped down, the ceiling magically lit, and the walls inscribed with elven names. We sent Mattin ahead to check for traps. After a while he found one when a section of spiked floor sprung up and impaled him. The traps prove well-made indicating a high degree of mechanician ability.

Fitzroy: <regarding the spikes> Is there is anything nasty on them?
Athos: Mattin. 

Further on we found nets attached to the ceiling with a tripwire to drop them. They appeared extremely obvious and it is only sometime later that we realised this corridor has only recently become lit as a result of the arcane artwork we reassembled in the map temple gardens.

We manoeuvred past other traps. Some we avoided, some Mattin found with his feet.

Haan picked up a number of minds below us; some anxious, some stupid, some waiting with anticipation. We passed a staircase down to the right and temporarily blocked it with noxious vapours and a Wall of Starlight.

We continued further along the corridor. Names after names after names, the styles changing through the ages. Eventually we reached the ends of the names. We conclude these last were the people who died during the sacking of the city 50 years ago. There are none since but we're not certain whether this is because they would not have been citizens of the city, or whether the names need to be recorded somewhere else in order for them to be inscribed here, or if it was simply that there was no power flowing.

The tunnel terminated in a large circular room where high above a domed ceiling with stained glass scenes of battle stood open to the light in a parade ground. In the middle of the room a martial elven statue was surrounded by six pedestals with dished tops, something like dry fonts.

Physical and magical investigation indicated that some form of metal globe-like object was placed in these depressions which were designed to contain mana-fire. The globes are however missing from their cupboards in the plinth of the statue. A further search of the room revealed nothing more and using Pixie dust for temporary flight we investigated the dome, but it too provided no further clues.

Orc Tunnels

Retracing our steps we reached the descending stairs and made our way down into roughhewn workings that were blocked by a portcullis and continued on to a room where fire light could be seen. The portcullis was lifted using the crank on the far side; animated by Hrothgar. Its unmaintained mechanics made a terrible screeching noise, and we knew there would be no stealth here.

Hrothgar unpacked his golem and we prepared for battle while hoping that it might be avoided.

Reaching the end of the corridor revealed a large room with a score or more goblinoids mostly between five and seven feet tall. The smaller (orcs) looked alert and well-organized, armed with sword and shield, while the heavily muscled larger creatures appeared to possess some troll characteristics, limited intelligence and were armed with large clubs (trogs).

Fitzroy make use of his resonator so that we might speak with these creatures but as soon as we began one of smaller creatures yelled "Protect the Lords" and the front rank of orcs unslung crossbows while in the rear smaller goblins escaped down a tunnel. It appeared that this group would remain in order to protect the escapees.

At this we assumed hostilities were about to start and opened them ourselves. Hrothgar’s golem unleashed its full load of grenadoes into the smaller goblinoids and we charged. Melee and mayhem ensued.

Athos held trogs at bay while Mattin transported in behind them and did what he does best. Fitzroy fired lightning over their heads of those in front stunning more of our adversaries before becoming the lightning himself and slashing through their ranks.

<Fitroy lightning crackling overhead>
Athos: <in dwarven> Hey, Hrothgar, I didn't think I was religious until today.

Hrothgar and his golem fired shots into the stunned smaller creatures taking out their leadership before the golem engaged more trogs in melee. In the rear Haan tried to take control of a trog. A couple of badly injured orcs escaped down the same passage that the goblins had taken at the beginning of the battle.

One of the orcs managed to make it to the large and clearly heated forge that lay at the side of the room and opening the hood caused an enormous gout of flame to wash over Fitzroy, Mattin, and Athos, leaving Fitzroy incapacitated. The same flame took out many of the orc’s allies.

Haan <regarding Fitzroy> They call him "the Flash".
Athos: They call him lots of things.

Mattin eliminated the orc at the forge, Haan tended to Fitzroy, and we slowly cleaned up the remaining trog forces.

The fight over we stopped to take stock.

Haan helped get Fitzroy back on his feet while Mattin checked on our downed foes to see if any were still alive, and to ensure that they were not.

Haan: Empathy is more efficient and doesn't require touching - some people have a problem with that.
Athos: Elven women?
Hrothgar: All women?

We examined the room in which the fight had occurred and looked over the bunk area and the workshop. Work benches were set at a height appropriate to dwarves but the abandoned tools indicated a design for hands smaller even than a halfling lending credence to the idea that the goblins were responsible for the fine work. The door through which they and the two wounded orcs had escaped was well constructed and had slid down into place after their exit preventing pursuit. It reminded me more of a dwarf mine pressure door than something I would typically expect from orcs and goblins.

We found a magical though much mistreated Elven cloak, and two intact sets of magical orc armour.

Examining the two large forges revealed a pair of bright heat sources in one and three in the other and magical investigation revealed these to be five of the six mana-fire globes for which we searched. It was not clear how we would retrieve these from the forges as they were intensely hot, and we decided to push on down the escape passageway.

The Cavern

Hrothgar used binding elements to bypass the iron door and we followed the escapees. A long, excavated passageway leading north sloped slowly down for hundreds of feet before opening into an enormous cavern. The open area appeared a combination of small natural caves that had been linked together and mined out extensively. Near the entrance were hastily abandoned mine workings with discarded tools near a goodly seam of iron ore.

Further in we discovered to our considerable surprise a large and well organised farm with stock pens holding goats, pigs, and rabbits and with crops such as wheat maturing hundreds of feet underground. This area was suffused with an odd green glow and approaching it we discovered the last off the crystal globes, this one emanating a life-like effect that we came to understand was the living earth “Erda”.

Further in still a stone barn structure was revealed, filled with pregnant animals, some score of wolves, two cows off the shaggy highland variety, and to our utter surprise a pair of elephants.

At the northern end of the cavern four huge iron drop-doors marked exits from the cavern and gave signs of having been recently used. It became clear that our escapees had raced to the cavern to alert a large number of goblinoids all of whom had taken flight through the northern doors slamming them shut after the exodus.

Another passage was found leading up to an enormous kitchen, mess hall, and storeroom arrangement, large enough to seat and feed a battalion at a time and giving signs that this was the primary logistics hub of the city garrison before their recent destruction at the hands of the liberating elves. We also discovered a number of pits, only one of which was occupied by four orc cubs end the remains of a wolf. The cubs were apparently deposited here to fight among themselves until only one remained and climbed out. We did not understand the full significance of the wolf carcass at the time.

From here a passageway led up to ground level inside a gutted house in the northern residential area. We discussed next steps and Fitzroy in particular was concerned for the welfare of the animals in the cavern and their fate should the crystal globe be removed. It was also clear that until recently there had been thousands of goblinoids still present in the city, presumably unknown to the elves, and there was the possibility that they could return. We felt under the circumstances that reporting into our employer was the correct course of action and we repaired to the library for information on the orbs and to retrieve the two artefacts we had already secured.

At the library we sought information on how the crystal orbs might be deactivated or moved into a more manageable state than blazing heat concluding that they would take on the form of one of six elements if touched by magical or physical manifestations of the same. We also discovered the probable traditional order of these elements, with earth to the north followed by fire and darkness and then their opposing elements completing a circle of six points.

An Interview with Silver

With time of the essence, we took the circlet and mantle and using Mattin’s flight returned with haste to the Elven camp where we tested the alertness of a mercenary company.

We waited in our rooms and not long after Prince Silver joined us. We handed the two regalia items over to him and apprised him of the situation in the cavern. His instructions were for us to slaughter the pregnant animals as they would be gestating new orc forces and to move the green globe back to the mausoleum as it formed part of the city defences. He seemed relatively unconcerned by the quantity of orcs that we had encountered.

Discussing the possibility of smart goblins Prince Silver told us that orc tactics had changed some 80 years ago, and that before that they were only a rampaging horde that would loot countryside before retreating to the mountains and had no capabilities in siege warfare. This began to change with better organisation, better discipline, and with war engines being deployed, culminating in the sacking of the Capital 40 years back.

We returned to the cavern via the northern access point and returned to the barn. Detect Aura indicated that the wolves were gestating orcs, the cows trogs, and the elephants trolls. we let a gleeful Mattin dispose of the animals. He also set the elephant carcasses on fire at my suggestion in case the developing trolls had regenerative properties.

Questioning the Dead

Returning to the site of the forge battle, Haan spoke to the spirit of one of the deceased orcs and we discovered or confirmed interesting information.

• Goblins are the smart troops of the horde.
• Goblin intelligence is a recent thing.
• All Lords are goblins though not all goblins are Lords.
• Goblins are born of goblins.
• It appears that a being, possibly demonic, contacted the orcs less than a century ago and made the goblins smart. *The identity of this being was unknown to the orc spirit but its symbol was that of a Raven’s head, a mark we also found on many of the goblin tools.
• The orcs and trogs that we had fought in the forge where the bulk of the remaining combat troops in the city.
• After this fight fewer than 10 remained.
• They had not been expecting any reinforcements.
• Thousands of goblins had however remained in the city along with 30 or 40 Lords.
• The doors to the north of the cavern lead to escape tunnels heading back towards the mountains.

Restoring the Globes

Returning to the cavern I found the green globe easy to move but as it appeared fragile head Hrothgar create a box to protect it. This did plunge the cavern into darkness and in hindsight might have been better left until after we released the penned animals.

We made our best efforts to release the goats, pigs, and rabbits in a way that would get them to the surface and outside of the city but in all cases the animals obeyed their natural instincts and scattered somewhat. I expect the city is going to have a large feral rabbit population from this point on.

The remaining orc cubs were also despatched. With what we now know it appears a gravid wolf was lowered into a pit where the cubs were birthed (perhaps by gruesome means) and then ate their mother before beginning their hideous fight for survival.

Heading back to the forge, Mattin used darkness, and then when that began to get out of hand sprinkles of dirt to convert the orbs to their Erda form making them easy to transport.

We took the six back to the mausoleum room and placed the first on the northern pedestal causing a beam of green light to spring from it to the stained-glass ceiling indicating that we were on the right track. We placed the second to its left and the bean went out but when we changed the second orb to fire two beams of light struck the ceiling. We continued in this way until all six orbs had been placed and their correct elemental states initiate at which point a hidden compartment opened on the statue revealing the regalia sword. We handed this to Hrothgar for safe keeping and even use if necessary.

We returned to the library to plan our next steps.

End of translated Dwarven section

Royal Regalia Retrieval Requirements

(by Haan)

Forty years ago, as the capital fell to the invading Orcs, each of the items were taken by a retainer or adviser to the royal family and hidden in a way they felt that no Orc would be able to decipher. Most them when didn't return, so consequently not all the locations are know, and the method of recovery is unclear for all of them. That's where we come in.

Circlet of Wisdom - The Library

Defenses: 16 philosopher revenants in circular argument. Notes: Once we injected a bit mortal common sense to help them resolve "Is an Elves live a masterpiece to be perfected or a leaf that must, in time, fall from the tree to nourish the roots?" the philosophers returned to their other decades long conversations, and a crystal node dropped from the ceiling, freeing the circlet. The library (a huge living crystal that squirts knowledge into your brain upon request) was useful in locating the next spot.

Mantle - Temple Garden

Defenses: Wood golem gardeners who were programmed to us reassembling some Modern art made of coloured chains, designed to conduct an intense mana currents. Once the chains were connected, the field they created allowed the Mantle to separate from the statue of a warrior it has been fused with. The golems seemed happy with us getting the art installment functional and returned to the regenerative egg cubbies.

Blade - War Memorial (or Mausoleum / Caverns)

Defenses: unknown

Amulet - Cathedral

Defenses: unknown

Lyre - Hall of Echoes - Natural Amphitheater ?

Defenses: unknown

Mirror of Memory - Burial Caverns ?

Defenses: unknown