The Ruby Phoenix Tournament

1489
Year of the Warrior Princess
Uktar 27

    After a few well deserved days of rest our party is summoned to the Harper's guild hall and waiting for them there is Ellanzo!  They have not seen him since mid-Ches, almost 5 10-days ago.  He greets them and thanks them for their efforts.  He also has a very important favor to ask them.  Ellanzo explains to the group about the Famous Ruby Phoenix tournament that is held in far away Kara Tur (the Orient) every 10 years.  It is held on a small island near the city of Khalab on Brightstar Lake.  Khalab is considered to be in Kara Tur, but also shows up on most maps of Faerun on the far eastern edge.  There are several reasons he explains, but he only mentions one right now.  "There are 7 teams from Faerun that have been invited to the games, the 5 major factions and a team from the nations of the Whisper Gnomes and the Terra-Green Elves.  You will represent the Harpers of course, but also we need to you assess the other teams from Faerun as well as the ones from Kara Tur.  Find potential allies in the war against the World Scar.  He hands Hannibal an envelope "Take this and open it once you get to Nethentir in Thay.  Find our contact Grand Master Torch.  He is an independent operator that works for the Harpers on occasion.  He is an expert at "finding things"; he will find fast transportation for you to Khalab.  Traveling with you part of the way (at least until Nethentir) will be the team from the Emerald Enclave led by Willow Stongtree."  The last champion of the tournament 10 years ago is a half elf named Marthysan the Righteous, he is originally from the Dalelands north of Cormyr, seek him out once you get to the games, he could be an ally for us and you.

Our Group's Route

The Five Factions most active in Faerun:

The Harpers - A loose alliance of free peoples across Faerun
The Order of the Gauntlet - Followers of Help, Tyr and Torm
The Emerald Enclave - Rangers, Hunters, Druids and other nature types
The Lord's Alliance - City states from the Sword Coast that have militarized against the World Scar
The Zhentarium - A shadow network of Spies, Assassins, and Rogues.  Zhentil keep leadership

   The party leaves the next day along with the team representing the Emerald Enclave, led by Willow Strongtree.  Willow and Landon hit it off immediately and become fast friends.  They ride across the Sea of Fallen stars on large sea mammals and turtles courtesy of the druids they are with.  The party makes good speed and are dropped off near Emmech.  On the way to Nethentir they are waylaid by 4 Bone Devils and 4 Bearded Devils!  They are hard pressed and Landon pays the ultimate price with his death coming a few rounds into combat.  After the fight Willow offers to cast a reincarnate on Landon out of friendship.  The party debates for a while with Hannibal and Azten out voting Riddick to take Willow up on her offer.  Landon is reincarnated as a Lizardfolk!  The rest of the journey to Nethentir happens without incident.
    After passing though the gates of the city, Willow announces that her group will part ways with our adventurers, good luck on the rest of your trip she shouts with a smile as they head off.  Hannibal opens the letter from Ellanzo.  It states they are to find Grand Master Torch at a brothel and to tell him some code words so he knows they are the ones he was paid to help.  Ellanzo also writes that another reason they are in the tournament is that the winner gets to take one item from a horde of items the Ruby Phoenix collected over her many hundreds of  years life.  One of these items the Harpers believe is a part of a very, very ancient artifact that can help them reverse Lolth's ritual. Hannibal has a drawling of the artifact to help them find it when the time comes.
    It takes a few hours but they find Grand Master Torch in a run down brothel in a seedy part of town.  He tells them he can help but needs them to "borrow" two artifacts from the Museum of Antiquities on display there in a section called "Elberron".  He gives them some cards from a modified Deck of Illusions that will render them invisible for 2 hours.  They sneak in near closing time and head to the Elberron area and duck into the bathroom.  They use the cards and then work on a plan to "borrow" the two items they need.  An unfortunate janitor got in the way of Riddick and was assassinated by him in cold blood.  The party figures out how to steal the items and makes their escape!   They head back to the brothel and Torch.  He takes the items, one he keeps for himself, the other he attaches to a carpet of flying!  They carpet will guide them to Khalab without the need for a map, very nice.
    On the way out of the city they are chased by police riding their own carpets!  A game of cat and mouse ensues with Hannibal using every bit of his ride skill to our maneuver the police and escape over the city walls!  As the group journeys out of Thay and into strange lands they are accosted by a group of Jinn.  Hannibal remembers the Thayian token he exchanged with Odolan back at the tower of Skullshank and the Jinn let them pass without issue.  Several more days go by and the party finally enters Khalab.  They descend and see the city is in the midst of a huge festival, the Festival of the Ruby Phoenix Tournament, the very one they will enter and try to win!

Skullshank and the Sinking Spire part 2

1489
Year of the Warrior Princess
Uktar 23

 

    After taking a short rest our party continues to explore the tower.  They encounter a reading lounge with a hidden door running the length of the wall.  The hidden area is a permanent Magnificent Mansion!  They plan on coming back and making this one of their bases. (If they can keep the tower from sinking into Tar, which may be difficult since none of them are trained in engineering).  Several rooms offer some challenges the hardest so far is a Tar Roper that makes some trouble for our heroes. The room after this is perhaps the most difficult one faced so far.  With the tower on a 15% slope they enter a room that used to be a lab but now all they see is broken glass.  Riddick attempts to move across the room, but is surprised by a Imp in the form of a hyena!  The hyena trips Riddick and Riddick slides under a pile of junk and out of the tower through a hole in the wall!  Joining him two rounds later is Hannibal!  Riddick and Hannibal start to take damage from the extremely hot tar which burns for several rounds after they get out of it.  The rest of the party led by Landon and Azten dispatch the imp as Riddick and Hannibal climb up the tower.  They find a very important jewel in a broken display case, this will aid the Harpers greatly.  Also in the room is a Helm of Brilliance which Hannibal dons proudly.  In the final room they find two injured agents of Thay, Odolan and Virkus, both sent here on the same type of mission as our party.  After some parley in the form of diplomacy from Hannibal, both sides agree to part in peace.  As a symbol of respect and a possible future alliance, Hannibal gives Odolan his Harper's pin and Ololan gives Hannibal his Thayian badge.  The group then makes the long trek back to Saerloon.

Skullshank and the Sinking Spire

1489
Year of the Warrior Princess
Uktar 23

    Our party has rested and are creating items to aid themselves in the upcoming fight for Faerun.  During this down time they are approached once more by one of the Harper leaders and are asked to investigate the hidden tower of the Wizard Skullshank for any magical artifacts or tomes that might aid the Harpers.  (He happens to have been the brother of Shendankin the Sorcerer).

   What they are told of Skullshank is that he was known to be an expert on summoning evil creatures from the outer planes.  These are the same type of creatures that are streaming out of the World Scar since Lolth's ritual went awry. His hidden tower was rumored to be on the middle of The Vast Swamp, near the border of Sembia and Cormyr, not much more than a few day's ride from Saerloon.

Map of the vicinity the party is at now.

    After several days of investigating the swamp, they come upon a clearing cut from the very forest itself.  The clearing stretches several hundred yards across, dominated by the black twisted spire they have been seeking.  The tower lists to one side, leaning slightly to the east at a 15 degree slant.  Rumors led them to believe that the tower was 5 or 6 stories tall, but only 3 sections can be seen.  They also realize the tower is in the middle of a tar pit 100 years across!  Riddick scouts ahead and spots some type of contraption made of metal on the far side of the clearing so they move to investigate.  They get to the structure but no one has training in engineering so they can't make anything out of this mysterious device.  Before they can set out, they are attacked by two large Deinonychus!  These large reptiles are strong and dangerous, but stupid.  Hannibal and Landon use tactics to their advantage while Azten fires spells and moves away to a safe distance.  After several rounds the beasts are dead and our party works out a plan to get to the tower without going through the tar pit.  They settle on casting fly Hannibal so he can carry over those that can't fly or levitate themselves.  Half the group makes it to the top of the tower while the other half is on its way.  Before they get there a Black Dragon attacks!  He announces that his name is Tarfoot and that he is Skullshank's tower guardian.  The party looks to be in some trouble when the fight breaks out.  Luckily, Azten is there to cast a spell on Tarfoot that reduces his intelligence and other mental skills to that of a mere animal.  The fight is still hard, but not nearly what it could have been.

    The remainder of the party makes it to the tower and they enter from the top.  Riddick is in the lead scouting ahead followed by Hannibal, Landon, Azten, Rusty, and Seriade.  As they go room to room, they encounter an Assassin Vine, a trapped Chaos Beast (which was handled expertly by a wall of fire), and a lab and library filled with strange equipment.  Some decent loot was found along with several maps of magical ley lines (some running through the World Scar), and a few books on devil and demon summoning.  Having explored the top and middle levels, they decide to take a short rest before clearing out the last level.

The Sorcerer Shendankin part 2

     1489
Year of the Warrior Princess
Uktar19

   Back in Saerloon, our party rests and tries to figure out where to go next.  Since they are supposed to sound the Horn of Tudines over deep water they decide to head on to the Lone Ait.  They are offered a free ride aboard a deep sea fishing vessel as thanks for helping the city with the ship King Xeros.  After several days they are getting close to the small atoll and at this point the decide to sound the horn.  Something marvelous happens, the largest sea turtle they have ever seen or imagined comes to the surface!  It seems to wait for them to do something.  After a while the party notices there is some kind of odd construction on the top of the turtle and they go and investigate.

Hannibal sounding the Horn of Tudines

   They find a lever at the top of the turtle's shell and use it to open a hatch inside the strange beast!  There are several twisting passages and in one room they run into several dead pirates, perhaps looters that Shendankin caught and imprisoned here?  At the end of the passageway they come across a large jellyfish suspended in mid air with treasure inside it.  Riddick skillfully slices open the "chest" and finds what they are seeking: A key to the prison where the sea princess is being help captive.

Not Riddick getting attacked by the jellyfish.

    Our intrepid band of adventures then heads onto the Lone Ait.  The water surrounding the Lone Ait is oddly still and black. The breakers that lap the islet’s shores are slow, ponderous things that
glisten with an iridescent sheen. A rich, chemical odor, like warm pitch, hangs in the air and they notice several spots of white dotting the black tide. A closer look reveals these to be the dead bodies
of sea birds. With that realization, it becomes clear: the Lone Ait sits in the middle of a great patch of tarry water! A body of primordial asphalt burbles to the surface here to form an eternal oil slick around the islet, trapping birds and discouraging visitors to this barren hunk of rock.  The prison itself stands 40 feet tall and about 200 feet square.  Opening up the door they see that the floor is covered in a mix of sea water and pitch.  Dropping a torch in here could be dangerous!  Riddick leads the party onward followed by Hannibal, Seriade and Landon.  Rusty and Azten decide to stay on the fishing boat to make sure it stays there so they are not stranded.

   As the party progress from room to room they over come several challenges, a cave-in room that is unstable, and the ever present tar that presents a danger.  Each room seems to have odd symbols and they spend some time recording these.  They finally make it to the princess' prison chamber and find her in a water bubble along with two hand maidens.  They free her from the bubble and start to carry them outside.  Something feels wrong... It is!  Its a trap!  The princess and her handmaidens change and they attempt to tear into the helpful adventurer's necks. The party notices a sudden change overtakes their formerly comely features. The princess' face acquires a shark-like aspect. Her eyes turn completely black, her mouth elongates, and rows of razor-sharp teeth replace her smile. Her handmaidens transform into horrific mixtures of a woman and grouper.

    The princess battles the party, she ridicules them for releasing her, telling them the truth about her imprisonment and mocking them for negating all of Shadankin’s efforts to save her. The Imperatrix laughs as she relishes both the PCs’ imminent destruction and the genocide she plans for her former subjects beneath the sea.  What a combat!  They slay the princess and one hand maiden, the other one a spell caster that escapes and is not seen again. 

    While on the return trip, they come across an emissary from the kingdom beneath the sea.  He thanks the PCs for the service they unwittingly rendered to the people of Ru. He reveals the full tale of Queen Cealheewhalool, pausing to produce her crown, now repaired and gleaming, free from the corrosion and filth that discolored it for so long. When the crown returned to Ru, the emissary says the people knew their cursed queen was at peace, free of evil’s taint. Ancient magics tied to the crown led him to the PCs and he’s come to reward them for ending the Imperatrix’s long nightmare.  He gives them each a black pearl with magical properties!  The group finally makes it back to Saerloon for a well earned rest.

The Sorcerer Shendankin part 1

1489
Year of the Warrior Princess
Uktar16

 

 

   Several days ago, while the party was in Old Rachikan, they picked up an old carving of a sea maiden while looting the cleric of Asmodeus.  That night they all had a dream of a beautiful sea maiden, the one depicted on the carving.  She explained that she was being held prisoner by a power sorcerer named Shendankin. She was being held in a prison called the Lone Ait, and that she is getting weaker and will die if not rescued; she also offers a large sum of pearls and sea gems upon rescue.  Now before the group left to aid Saerloon with the mysterious King Xeros, Landon asked that their lore master looking into the sorcerer and the name Lone Ait.

   A few days after the party returned, the lore master told them several things.  One, the sorcerer Shendankin was known in these parts as a recluse that had a tower some 20 miles up the coast line.  Most people remember him as being quiet, mysterious, and not very friendly.  Two, the Lone Ait is a very small atoll some 3 days out to sea.  It is so small it doesn't even show up on most maps.

   The party decides to investigate the sorcerer's tower, even though that may be the more dangerous option.  Thanks to Hannibal's cadences they make the trip in record time!  They spy the old tower about 50 yards out to sea off the cliff face.  There is a stone ramp connecting the shore and tower, which the group uses to gain entrance.  There is an odd first room with many murals on the walls:

The front hall of the Tower of Shendankin

    The party continues into the tower and have several fights with Sea Morlocks!  The most exciting of the battles takes place in a room where the floor is 40 feet down but to get across to the exit they need to hop to and from on suspended tortoise shells!  They eventually make they way down to the lower level and discover several more murals one depicting a horn inside a very large clam, and what appears to be Shendankin inside some weird suit:

Another mysterious mural

     Later the party discovers some barrels that contain some of these weird suits, and from there down a long passageway is a huge underground sea lake.  In the middle of this lake is the clam from the mural however it is guarded by a 15 foot long hammerhead shark!  Rusty's summons keep the shark at bay for a decent amount of time but it does take some attacks against Riddick.  Landon (wearing one of the suits) is smart enough to hide under the clam while the melee types continue the attack.  At one point the shark takes a good amount of damage and begins to frenzy!  After several touch-and-go rounds our heroes defeat the the monster and retrieve the horn from the clam. They lean it is called the Horn of Tudines, and it has an inscription of: "Sound me over waters deep to raise the treasurers that you seek".  What does this mean?  Surely this tower is not over waters deep...  Is it related to the Lone Ait? Our group ponders this question on the way back to Saerloon to rest and resupply for what appears to be an sea voyage.

King Xeros Returns!

1489
Year of the Warrior Princess
Uktar 14

     Our group has just returned to Saerloon, their base of operations away from home in Waterdeep.  They are approached by Harbor master Kim Leigh, who in a rushed voice calls them into his office.  The legendary King Xeros has appeared in our harbor!  The group agrees to investigate this potentially dangerous ship and sails out to the vessel.  The "ship" is an amazing feat of engineering, and is made to just not sail on the water but also across planes of existence.  When the party arrives, there seems to be a large commotion going on the top deck, it appears the harbor guard went aboard early and tripped some automated alarms!  After a hectic fight they are able to save most of the guards from the defenses (thanks to Rusty's summon spells that soak up attacks) and continue with their search.  Riddick has some difficulty with the dangerous traps and loses several levels that leave him at less than 100% capacity.  With only a partial party, Seriade, Hannibal, and Riddick descend below decks past the trap room.  They are soon attacked by some stealthy Xill, and almost perish if not for the clever use of Hannibal's leadership and abilities.  Soon after the remainder of the group joins the party and they welcome Landon and Rusty.  They rest of the ship is explored and the main antagonist appears to be a xenophage creeper, a plant like being that mentally controls its foes.  It was using captured creatures to fuel the ship.  Once this thing was destroyed, the auto-pilot resumed control and the group barely made it off the vessel before it shifted to somewhere deep on the Astral plane!

Into old Rachikan

1489
Year of the Warrior Princess
Uktar7

    After meeting with Ellanzo and a retired Harper, Benton Grone, the group decides it is now time to shake the rust off and continue their adventuring Benton explains that his nephew has gone missing.

    One week ago, Benton Grone, a retired Harper and Eldis’ uncle, approached the Ellanzo for help. Benton explained that two months earlier, he received a letter from his nephew requesting a meeting. Eldis never showed up and Benton feared the worst. Benton begged the Harpers to send agents to return his nephew and gave the Society information on lost Rachikan’s location. He provided the Harpers with a tarnished coin displaying the undeniable mark of the Jistka Imperium, a temple-foundry. More importantly,the Harpers immediately recognized a familiar landmark in the background, the Pillars of Anferita.

    The group has teleported into  Cormyr and from there took a ship to the Pillars.  The Pillars are located to the North of the Sea of Stars just south of the World Scar.  As they were scaling the Pillars of Anferita, they were attacked by Erinyes!  Luckily Riddick was able to levitate and Landon hit them with effective spells.  Hannibal and Rusty were more hampered, but they defeated their enemy and gain a couple of nice flaming bows as loot.  At the top of the Pillars, they came upon some guards directing slaves. They were able to push past them somewhat easily and continued into a building at the top of the Pillars.  Here they found one of the leaders - a fallen Harper named Talia!  After a hectic mine car chase, and a well placed force spell by Landon, they put an end to Talia and her crew.  Walking down the rest of the way our party enters an dilapidated building from the top entrance.  After walking down a few stairs they are ambushed by a tribe of Morlocks!  These simple (but dangerous) denizens of the ruins of old Rachikan put up a bloody fight against the party but were defeated.  In the end Hannibal parlayed with their leader and made an honorable exchange of weapons.  Hannibal gave up a well worn but working long bow, and their leader gave Hannibal an old artifact.  Their leader also warned Hannibal to make haste, that more Morlocks would soon come and he did not hold sway over them.  The party hurried to their final destination, the Temple Foundry of Rachikan.  As the group approached the foundry, they were stopped outside by the enemy leader, a Thayian Cleric of Asmodeus!  He mocked the group, and started combat with them.  Hidden among the temple pillars were his followers, many using stealth.  The fight went on for several minutes, as the cleric's followers also had pet wolves that joined the fray.  The enemy was eventually vanquished, and they found that Eldis was indeed dead, having been killed and then turned into a zombie by the evil cleric.  With heavy hearts the group quickly leaves the broken city, as they can see see many Morlocks pouring in from the ourskirts.