Overdue Library Books

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Scribe Notes

Summary

Adventure: Overdue Library Books
GM: Martin
Season: Winter 798 WK

Party
Time on adventure
1 Frost 798 WK to 20 Frost 798 826 WK
Employer
Amelia and Mary-M
Mission
To find some black books that had been stolen from the Guild Vaults

Places visited

  • Seacroft
  • Sanctuary
  • Caron - sea town up the coast from Sanctuary
  • Ffenargh Swamp
  • Eylea - settlement in swamp, located on the river
  • The Monastery of St Theoderick - in Eylea
  • Lorge Island - somewhere in the swamp
  • The Black Tower of Caroc - on Lorge Island

Major NPCs encountered

  • Aloysius Took (Mary M’s father and ex-adventurer)
  • Koth Darkclaw
  • Koth’s gargoyle/half-devil familiar
  • Bill - a Sanctuary urchin
  • Goodie Atwater - innkeeper of the ‘Five Pipes’
  • Illora - fortune teller
  • Felix Dravin - fence/jeweler
  • Melliot - a scribe
  • Tobius Morgan
  • Brother Joseph - Michaline knight
  • Daniel Potter - reformed thief
  • Harkeem - storyteller
  • Lord Reynard De Molei (Mr Weasel) - Bowcourt noble
  • Jean-Paul - rescued Bowcourt guard
  • Clavados - monastery bailiff
  • Father Zebulon - head monk

Adventure Summary

01 Frost '98

Found out about the mission, the retrieval of three black books of power that had been stolen from the Guild Vaults. The books had been authoured by Caroc, an extremely powerful pre-Penjarre mage and brother to Sith.

Amelia and Mary M had brought them back from a previous adventure to the Ffenargh Swamp. The first book in the set had also been found but it was taken by Koth, an ex-adventurer and evil mage. It was suspected he was after the others.

Went to Seacroft to consult with Aloysius Took, an ex-adventurer who had adventured with Koth. Stayed the night and learnt more about both the adventures that had been in the Ffenargh (The Progress of Disease II).

02 Frost '98

Returned to Seagate and did various preparations. Left that evening on a ship to Sanctuary - last known sighting of Koth.

03 Frost '98

Arrived in Sanctuary that evening. Stayed at the 'Five Pipes'.

04 Frost '98

Acquired our urchin guide, Bill, who led us to a fortune teller. After that went to the 'Notched Axe' where Arthur met his contact who told us about Felix Dravin, who had fenced the books and other stuff. They weren't there not. We could also try a person called Melliot.

Went to see Felix Dravin. He worked as a jeweller and ran a shop. After some questioning many of the missing items were recovered but not the books, which he never had, or a stone cutting sword which had been sold to someone called Simon. The box of stuff had come from Tobias Morgan who ran a warehouse in the docks.

Next stop, Melliot. He had some books but they turned out to be copies of the original first book. He also told him that Tobias had tried to sell him other books in the set but they couldn't be opened. (This was because of the enchantments that meant that the books had to be opened and read in order but we weren't going to tell him that.) He believed they were fakes. He did tell us that the owner of the first book was the leader of a firecult.

Late afternoon, went to Tobias's warehouse. Amelia tried to buy the unopenable books but they weren't there. They had been bought by Madame Letitia from the 'Three Quills'. Went there but discovered the books had been stolen. Someone had cut a hole on the stone wall. Returned to the inn. Early that night there was a ruckus outside and a dead man, wrapped in a red cloak was lying outside. He had been stabbed by a poisoned dagger. A resurrection was done on him and we discovered that this was Brother Joseph, a Michaeline Knight from the Abby of Michael Defiant, located outside Ranke City. He was here looking for a demonic fire cult.

Apparently they had found him. We decided to join forces. He told us that the fire cult was located under a deserted temple in a set of crypts.

05 Frost '98

So we decided to raid the place and retrieve the first book. We found the deserted temple then made our way through the secret door, down the stairway and into a large room where we were set upon by phlegm golems that spat sticky, quick setting, mucus at us. We managed to get past them, past the horde of undead, then some of the party went after the mage. They killed him, grabbed the book and other stuff, but then the demon Belial turned out and to say he wasn't pleased was an understatement. We fled the temple as Belial had a temper tantrum, completely wreaking the temple with fire.

Once we returned to the inn, we discovered that, again, this wasn't the original book although it was a well crafted forgery - even down to illusionary duplicates of the original enchantments. At that moment Koth turned up and told us that the original book was safe. He had created this copy in order to get out of a 'difficult situation' and requested our help to get the other three books. Amelia refused.

Joseph left to report to his abbot, taking the illusionary copy with him. Meanwhile we had discovered who had stolen the other books, a Daniel Potter, so we went looking for him. During the search we were attacked by a bunch of drugged-up fire cultists.

Daniel was found in a cellar above a sign shop, dead from a rapier or estoc wound. After resurrection he told us that 'the nob' had the books. 'The nob' was described as a small weasely man with a goatee and had hired Daniel to get the books from the 'Three Quills' with the help of Simon. Daniel told us that the man's name was De Molei and he was staying at the Three Crowns Inn. He was accompanied by a lady who he had addressed as M'Lady or Melody.

Headed for the Three Crowns but De Molei had left. We departed Sanctuary in pursuit. Suspected that Koth was following us so we stopped and laid an ambush. Got horribly stormed on instead.

06 Frost '98

Continued the pursuit.

08 Frost '98

Discovered that De Molei's party planned to take a ship from Caron, the next town up the coast, so Arthur and Gerald went ahead while we carried on with the horses. On the way, Mary M was chased by a gargoyle - Koth's familiar. Meanwhile Arthur and Gerald arrived in Caron and discovered that De Molei was planning to leave that evening. Gerald arranged travel on another ship for us. A bit later on, a body is discovered in the inn's stables and it is taken to the bailiffs. Gerald and Arthur sneaked in to retrieve it as they discovered it is one of De Molei's escort, which implies either Koth, or his son Claude, was now disguised as the guard. By the time we arrived, De Molei's ship had left. We sailed off towards the Ffenargh. On the way, the guard was resurrected and questioned. He had no idea who hit him but did confirm that De Molei had the books. He also warned us about the two large guards whom he referred to as Fear and Loathing and also mentioned it was rumoured that M'Lady dabbled in the occult.

11 Frost '98

Arrived at Eylea, in the Ffenargh Swamp that evening. Stayed at the monastery. Told that more adventurers had been through and had gone into the swamp.

12 Frost '98

Punted into the swamp. Reached Lorge Island and discovered a black tower rising from the ground where Lorge Hall used to be. Managed to find a way in from the top. Made our way down past the old library where the books had been first found, through the remains of an alchemical lab then down to a larger room with an ornate pentacle plus other runes etched into the floor including a large triangle. A crack was discovered running around the triangle. Distracted by an illusionary weasel. Arthur went to investigate but disappeared. Mary M nearly netted by the familiar. Amelia went after the familiar and it's companion - another half devil but they got away. The triangle had transportation magic on it and we discovered how to use it to descend to the next level. There we found a large dark room from which four staircases descended. The stairs descended around the inside of a large cylinder, the top of which was fog shrouded and the bottom covered in small bubbles which had condensed and dropped from the stalactites in the ceiling. Protruding from the floor was a large ziggurat. When we neared the bottom of the stairwell we encountered De Molei and some guards including the two big ones at the top of the ziggurat. After some bantering the guards attacked. The two big ones had wings and DAed as some sort of devil. After a fight they were dispatched. As we crossed over to the ziggurat, De Molei was joined by M'Lady and a tall wizened figure dressed in robes. M'Lady conjured up three female winged creatures while the wizened one used a spell to render our invisibilities useless. He then caused flaming walls and black tendrils that acted like Hands of Earth to erupt all around the ziggurat. De Molei had been doing something with a spherical object until one of Gerald's arrows stunned him. A small shape next to the wizened one took the opportunity to take the sphere so it, and De Molei started wrestling for it. During the fight, the sphere broke. M'Lady tried to attack the wizened one but that was ineffectual. Meanwhile he did something that caused all the bubbles to rise and swirl rapidly around the cylinder before soundlessly exploding in a burst of light. When our eyes cleared we noticed that the fog had gone and the wizened one was no longer wizened. Instead he looked fully regenerated. We suspected this was a rejuvenated Caroc. Also, in the centre of the ceiling was a large black stalactite that had pieces dropping off it. Caroc leapt to the apex and opened his mouth side to catch the first falling drop. Gerald tried to deflect the drops but they managed to swing back on course. One of the remaining guards flew up to meet up with another figure who had been watching from another stair and they both left. M'Lady also sprouted wings and flew up. We decided to leave because, as Caroc swallowed a drop, he became larger and more draconic looking. By various means we made our way out of the tower. On the way, M'Lady was caught up with and dispatched. Mary M and Silverfoam flew off to warn the monastery.

13 Frost '98

Made our way back to the monastery and found the others, including Arthur who had spent some time in Koth's pocket. Koth had released him with a message to warn us before fleeing himself. Made our way back to the Guild.

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