Legacy of Madness

After the previous session when the party wandered off and avoided all of the encounters I planned this week, they stuck to the adventure. The adventure was based on the AEG D20 adventure Legacy of Magic and I had a time element included that heightened the tension. My players can be pretty mercenary at times but getting them to save their town did not take any effort. We were down to just 2 players for this session because other players had work to go to but it still worked.

Session 36: Legacy of Madness

Players: Lakima (Magic-user), Eathwund (Fighter), Carric (Elven Thief NPC), Domago (Human cleric NPC), Lantosh (Human Fighter NPC).

The Blue Dragon Synastarax has delivered an ultimatum to the Town of Edgerton and the Order of the Black Dragon has stepped up to save the town.

The company makes immediate plans to locate the Tome of Artifice demanded by Synastarax. They set out with a large caravan, all five members who are going are on horseback and they bring a team of mules led by their ostler Nash. By early evening they arrive in the small village of Whetwhistle. The Innkeeper (and business partner) Wexley Windham bring the group up to date on what has been happening in the development of the nearby Copper Mine they co-own.

They stay for the night at the Goose Inn and Lakima has a dream in which the blue mana flame at the Mana Well turns into a gout of red chaos flame. He hears the goddess expressing disappointment in him. That morning Lakima pens a letter to the wizard Malyn in Edgerton asking him to go to the Well and protect it. Wexley gets a neighbour's son to take it into Edgerton for a small fee. The adventurers get back on their horses and set out northwest along the Crescent River. There is light snow on the ground and the river is frozen over in places. It takes two uneventful days to get to the hamlet of Wayfarer’s End. The hamlet is no more than a trading post/inn and a few hunting cottages. The innkeeper, Marsden gives them some insight into the trail ahead. Telling them how to get to the Shroudlands. He also warns them that Trolls have been spotted along the trail. He tells them of the ruins of a village in the Shroudlands where a hermit has taken up residence.

It is another two days to get to the Shroudlands. On the first night, they got the feeling they are being watched, and Carric slips away from the campfire looking to spot the watchers. He does not find anything. But the next morning they find troll footprints in the snow near the campsite. They set out again and are attacked by a pair of trolls as dusk is falling. Lakima hits one troll with a Lightning bolt almost killing it. Eathwund stabs it with his sword enchanted to flame and the troll falls. The other troll fights with Lantosh and Domago while Carric and Nash lead the horses and mules to the riverbank. The troll that was seemingly dead begins to heal and get back up so Eathwund stabs it through the heart with his flaming sword and the troll stops moving. The other troll is kept at bay by Lakima using Atanazabir’s Acrid Finger. The troll is unable to regenerate the acid damage. Eventually, the second troll is driven off. Lakima takes the time to dissolve the first troll's remains with acid. Pushing on they make it to Northrun by evening.

Northrun is a collection of chimneys and stone foundations poking out of the snow. The ruins appear to have succumbed to nature and not any unnatural calamity. There is one intact, albeit shabby cabin. The adventurers hail the cabin but get no answer. After knocking on the door for a while the hermit of the cabin answers telling them to go away. Eventually, they convince the old man to open the door a crack. He tells them there are no dragons in the area and no old lairs. When they point out the clearly visible cave in a cliff a quarter of a mile away he tells them it is an ogre cave. The hermit slams his door shut and tells them to leave.

The heroes camp out in the lee of the cabin that evening. Nothing is seen from the cottage except a trail of smoke from the chimney and a single loud thump during the evening. The next day they walk for a few hours to get to the cliff face. Up the side of the cliff leading to a large cave entrance, they can see a ledge. Nash sets up a camp at the base of the cliff caring for the horses and everyone else climbs the ledge to the large cave entrance. Carric is sent in first. After a few minutes, he returns and tells them he spotted a pair of ogres sleeping in a side cave. The main cave continues deeper into the mountain past a wall of stalagmites.

Carric leads the way and the rest of the adventurers follow as quietly as they can. Lakima directs Carric across the 15 foot wide mouth of the cave leading to where he saw the trolls. Carric comes back and tells everyone he can now see four ogres. Two on either side of a pool of murky water in a cave. Lakima directs Carric to sneak forward so he can get behind the ogres when they draw them out. Then Lakima casts a Lightning bolt hitting two of the sleeping ogres. One of them alerted at the last moment dives to one side and survives the lightning blast. The other is killed. The remaining two ogres in the cave pick up clubs and move toward Eathwund, Lantosh, Domago, and Lakima, affording Carric the opportunity to sneak forward. Lakima casts Charm on one ogre and it succeeds. Meanwhile, Eathwund and Lantost are pummeling the other ogre.

Carric steps almost directly into the ogre that survived the lightning blast. Before he can draw his sword, a sling stone hurled by Domago strikes the ogre in the forehead killing it. The charmed ogre manages to convince the other remaining ogre to stop fighting and the battle ends. Lakima tries speaking to the charmed ogre but finds he cannot understand it. Luckily, Lantosh speaks orcish and the ogre is able to understand this language. They learn its name is Otun and it is the leader of this small gang. Searching through the bones and debris in the lair Carric finds a few gems of worth and a number of nearly worthless ones. They take the valuable gems only.

Stepping deeper into the cave the adventurers see a line of natural looking but unnaturally placed stalagmites that form a rough wall. Suspended on rusty chains looped over the stones are skulls. Most appear to be human but some are larger than human and one is that of a dragon. At the edge of the stalagmites, they see the frozen corpse of an ogre. Otun relays through Lantosh that this is Gizor. Otun sent Gizor and another ogre named Irek to check the back of the cave but they did not return and he saw Gizor killed by a blast of frost. Carric checks the area carefully but is unable to find any traps. Eventually, Carric dodges past the stalagmites. As he makes it to the other side he is hit with a blast of frost and injured. The adventurers check for a trigger again but still cannot find anything. Eventually, they give up and all of them run through the frost trap, even Otun (the other surviving ogre retreats to ogre cave). The second last to go is Lantosh and he stumbles and falls and is frozen solid by the trap. Lakima drags the unlucky adventurer out of the cloud of frost. Domago checks over Lantosh but shakes his head. He cannot hear a heartbeat.

The Frost Trap

Looking around the adventurers see another wall of stalagmites blocking the entrance to a cave leading west. But in this area, they see white stone flagstones laid over the cave floor. On the perimeter of the flagstones are four life-sized statues of wizards and sages on pedestals. The adventurers spend several minutes trying to figure out the meaning of the area and the statues without success. Pushing, pulling them, lifting flagstones, nothing works. Lakima casts Detect Magic and sees that one statue radiates strong magic. The statue depicts a sage with his arms outstretched, palms pointed upward. They try placing objects in the hands but nothing happens. Then Lakima directs Otun to pick up Lantosh’s body and rest it in the embrace of the statue. Nothing happens for a moment and then the statue begins to glow. As the glow fades they see Lantosh is breathing again. Injured but alive. Lantosh tells them that he felt an intense cold when the trap was triggered and then nothing.

With the group at full strength again (plus 1 ogre) they examine the next obstacle. In the cave beyond the next barrier of stalagmites they see the corpse of an ogre lying face up on the cave floor. Its body is riddled with puncture wounds. Overhead they see the ceiling is covered with short metal spikes. As Lakima draws near he sees an area of magic outlined on the floor of the cave. His detect magic spell is still working. Around the edges of the magically glowing area, he can just make out a narrow path. Lakima carefully steps around the magical area and marks the path with chalk. The rest of the adventurers follow. Another more sparse wall of stalagmites stands before them. On the other side, they can see a cave extending a short distance. On the far wall of the cave is a set of steps leading up to a passageway. This passage and the steps are lined with stone blocks on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Lakima can see the glow of another magical trap on the rough floor of the cave. He leads everyone around the trap and into the passage.

The passage travels a short distance and then enters a large stone-walled chamber. Pillars hold up the ceiling (though one has fallen). Before them is the awesome sight of the lair of an ancient dragon. Mounds of gold and silver coins are scattered on the floor. Resting on the bed of silver and gold are the bones of a large dragon 25 feet in length. The adventurers approach cautiously with Carric in the lead. As Carric nears the dragon bones a cold breeze enters the chamber and the ghost of a dragon rises up out of the bones. The apparition forms and looks gravely down at them. In common the dragon says, “What news of the world do you bring me?”

Lakima steps forward to speak with the dragon and immediately opens by telling it of the threat to Edgerton and the demands of the dragon Synastarax. The ghostly dragon tells them he has never heard of Edgerton and he is sorry for the town’s misfortune. But the dragon tells them that when he tried to create the Tome of Artifice he failed. He created a Tome of Logic which slowly stole his wisdom and drove him insane. He only regained his sanity after death which came at the jaws of his son Lethnearinos. He does suggest a possible solution. In the chamber beyond lies a false tome created by Lethnearinos using his notes. A fake tome of Artifice. He is willing to part with it. This book contains his notes from a hundred years before he attempted to create the Tome of Artifice. At best it should take Synastarax 100 years to get to the point where he can create anything dangerous. But he warns them not to continue into the next chamber where the Tome of Logic rests protected by a Bronze Dragon guardian. The adventurers agree to the bargain and proceed via a secret door already located by Carric. In the chamber, they find an impressive book on a stone lectern that is radiating magic. The book has no title on its cover or spine but when Lakima opens it he sees the title, “Tome of Artifice”. He flips through it briefly and is impressed by hundreds of pages of notes on the construction of artifacts.

The dragon again asks Lakima to tell him of news from the outer world. He has lain here for hundreds of years without visitors. Lakima sits down and spends a half-hour conversing with the ghost of the silver dragon. He learns that its true name is Yahfyonaron. When they prepare to leave Carric asks how they will get past the frost trap again without dying. The ghost shows them the lever to turn off the traps but it needs to be reset after they leave to protect the Tome of Logic from being discovered. Carric suggests using Uton to reset the trap but Lakima does not want to sacrifice the ogre. As they prepare to leave the ghost asks that they deliver a message of forgiveness to his offspring Lethnearinos. Lakima realizes who Lethnearinos is and he says he has a solution to resetting the trap.

The adventurers and Uton leave and make their way to Nash’s camp. The young man shouts and runs to hide when he spots the ogre who is with them but they manage to convince him it is okay. They return to the ruins of Northrun. Lakima heads up to the cabin and calls out to the hermit. The hermit is surprised they have returned and tells them they are fools they do not know what danger they have unleashed. Then he polymorphs into the silver dragon Lethnearinos. Lakima tells the dragon that it is only the fake book they are carrying. He asks Lethnearinos to reset the traps in the dragon lair. Lethnearinos reveals that he set some of the traps and agrees. Lakima also tells him about the message from Yahfyonaron. Lethnearinos is surprised and tells him he is in his debt. Lakima immediately asks for a favor. He tells the dragon of the Well of Mana (which Lethnearinos seems to know nothing about) and asks him to protect it. Lethnearinos agrees on the condition that first, he must hear that the blue dragon Synastrax has left the area with the fake Tome of Artifice.

With the agreement struck, the adventurers set out again following the Crescent stream south.