Khevoran Campaign Blog

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 14 August 2010 - Chapter 3 Finale

2010-08-17T02:30:00Z

The party takes care of miscellaneous business in Hillcrest until that evening, when Vlad and Poppy hold a funeral pyre for Warder Kev. The next morning they depart for Leitus' compound.

When they arrive, they find the facility abandoned, ten Elven Etu'sauri are on the premises, they have been sent to punish Leitus for his crimes and are hunting for clues as to his whereabouts. When Poppy inadvertently uncovers such a clue, indicating that Leitus may have fled into the Eastern Wastes, the Etu'sauri depart with the promise that if they find Leitus, they will return with any warpstone he may be carrying.

The party quickly finds the flooded mine shaft which leads to the goblin cave, after a few attempts, Gronk swims into the murk and discovers a plug left by Leitus' Dwarven engineers, and uses it to drain just enough water from the tunnel to open up space to breathe. Moriel travels to the fort two miles away and instructs 3rd Battalion to start their assault, then returns. The party strips down to their respective skivvies (except for Vladimir, who strips down completely, ritualistically painting himself in Warder wax paint. including, let us not any of us forget, decorating his privates as a dragon), takes only weapons what will not be harmed by submersion along with two small explosive charges Gronk brought from Hillcrest, and begins the long swim through the dark. Roughly halfway through the tunnel, they discover another warpstone sorting room that appears to have been flooded with its cache of stone intact, they continue on to the end of the tunnel.

When they emerge in the mine chamber, they find it empty, the goblins all distracted at the cave entrance defending their fortress against the assault of the Northland Army. After sneaking through the tunnels, they find their way inexorably blocked by the horde, with no way to proceed to a point where the explosives could properly seal the bloom. After some argument over what to do next, Banagher promptly lights the fuses on the powder kegs, grasps them, speaks a word of power, and vanishes, much to the party's surprise. He teleports himself to the head of the bloom, drops the lit kegs down the shaft, then teleports back to the party - but not before the goblins hear the commotion. They flood into the tunnel, and the party mounts a brief defense before retreating. Again, much to the party's surprise, Banagher somehow ignites himself in a holy fire, killing hundreds of the small goblins in the swarm and allowing the party to retreat to rear chamber and barricade the door.

The explosives detonate, collapsing the bloom and preventing more goblins from coming to the aid of their brethren on the surface. The army troops quickly overwhelm the fort and use fire to flush out the remaining goblins.

The party emerges from the caves to the shock of the assembled troops. Soaking wet, covered in goblin blood, and almost entirely naked (except, again, Vlad, who was completely naked, with a roused...dragon), the party serenely walks through the troops and into the woods back towards Leitus' compound as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 31 July 2010

2010-08-02T23:44:00Z

The party proceeds into the woods in search for the winged creature – several miles behind the lines they encounter it, a huge winged creature that appears to be a mythical dragon, it appeared to have tendrils of black mist encircling it which would occasionally contract, causing the beast to wince in discomfort. Gronk confronted the dragon directly, and during the exchange the dragon intimated that it recognized Gronk, that he was “the one from Karak ap’ Karak”. Eventually détente failed and the creature attacked the party. A fairly intense battle ensued where most of the party was seriously injured by the beast’s flame. (Two cutscenes occurred during the fight, both can be found below.) Eventually, a crack shot by Alton and a charge by Vladimir but the beast down before it would have a chance to escape. The corpse falls on Vladimir, forcing the party to hack away at the bulk of the creature to free him.

Just as Vladimir is freed and the party begins to recover, a Strangler unleashes fire on the party and continues a barrage of spells until he is put down. The Strangler wore a bracelet that appeared to be bound to the tendrils of fog that were surrounding the dragon.

The party spends some time tending their critically wounded, and then heads back towards Hillcrest (the head of the dragon dragging behind some of the horses). On their way they encounter small pockets of fleeing goblins and then scouts from 3^rdBattalion, who inform the party that the battle is won and the 3^rdhas been sent to the goblin cave-turned-fortress to besiege it and prevent the greenskins from mustering for another assault.

The battle at Hillcrest claimed the lives of roughly two thousand Northland army troops and the slaughter of tens of thousands of goblins. Of Society men, Cutter, Lassiter, Goblin, and Warder Kev were lost in the battle. The party findsVolkov sitting with the bodies of his last two men and helps him with their burial before separating for healing and food. The Society and the commanding officers of the five Northland battalions meet several hours later to discuss plans for the future. After discussing issues of logistics (it’s discovered that Goblin had been magically treating the camp’s water and preserving the teeth of the army from rot and disease), Volkov addresses the need to bottle up the goblins. With nearly infinite reinforcements from their bloom, there is no practical way to conquer the fort directly, and besieging it long-term is unfeasible. The party recalls that the bloom backed into a mine extension from Leitus’ compound, and volunteers to head back to the ancient elf’s demesne in an attempt to collapse the cave from the rear.

As they depart to rest (and provide a proper Warder funeral for Kev). Volkov mentions that they should make haste, because when they’re done they’re going to have to go find out what the dwarves have been up to the last thirty years….

---

He wasn’t named Goblin at birth. But no one remembers his real name, not even the ancient, tiny black wizard from the swamps south of Lachtanburg. He’s lived longer than many elves, and it’s said that he has forgotten more ancient secrets of the universe than many civilizations ever cumulatively learn. He was a fixture at the College Arcanum in Teribain for over a century, and was the last one to leave the great tower before the Arch Wizard sealed it against Aril Flambeau. Along with his apprentice Deke Winters he travelled to the rendezvous point at Westergarde, but no other survivors of the siege of Teribain were to arrive. For twenty years he trained his apprentice and plotted his return to the South. When the Society rose up and threw down Tahl’Mearis, he signed on and marched with the army back to Hillcrest, using his abilities not only in battle, but his unique affinity to fire to allow a new, unique mithril alloy to be forged.
Today he crouches over a sand table surrounded by glowing runes in an unmarked tent in the middle of the army camp. Every time a shaman in the greenskin army begins to draw energy for a spell, the sand swirls around a point in the table, and the old wizard casts a spell on that point, incinerating the offending orc. He’s feeling his advanced years more acutely today, the effort of suppressing so many magic users on the battlefield, the crushing sadness at the murder of his apprentice, and the weight of the knowledge that he may truly be the last of the Teribain school wizards are wearing on him, dulling his wits; and while he incinerates threat after threat after threat, a circle of deep ones far behind the goblin lines quietly unravel the old wizard’s defenses.
Just as the old wizard feels the icy stab through his heart, a laughing dwarven face forms in the sand of his table. Goblin snorts and plunges his hand into the sand, gripping as if grabbing the spectral face by the collar. He pulls his hand back, lifting the sand-face further out of the table, its laughter giving way to consternation.
“Never...” groans the old wizard, “...ever...gloat.”

Simultaneously, both deep in the forest behind the goblin lines and in an unmarked tent in the center of the Northland camp, there is an explosion so hot that it incinerates everything within ten yards, leaving only a sheet of glass with no sign to be seen of a circle of deep ones, or of a tiny old man, whose name really wasn’t Goblin.

---

Cutter and Lassiter are Sergeants. This isn’t to say that they are ranked Sergeant, though both are, but more of a description of the very essence of the men. Together, they were conscripted into the Southlands army under Tahl’Mearis twenty years ago where they quickly proved themselves to not only be devastatingly effective warriors, but also unwaveringly dedicated to their peers, and their men. Like every other good Sergeant that preceded them, they were a little too rough around the edges, a little too willing to speak their mind regardless of the consequences to receive commissions and become officers - so they remained senior non-coms for the whole of their careers.
Together, they defected with their friend Sergei Volkov on the field at Westergarde, and so loved and trusted were they by their men that every single soldier in their units went with them. Together, they joined The Society. Together, they marched back across the Northlands, this time as liberators instead of conquerors. Together, they kept their men safe when both the North and the South were after their blood. And together, in a single act of betrayal, they lost all of the men under their commands in a single moment.
Today, they’re out in front of the lines of 2nd Battalion, flanking the goblin lines from the hills South of Hillcrest. There are no men under their charge, just Cutter’s axe, and Lassiter’s spear, and a red, blinding rage. When the huge Orcish Warboss takes the field, not only do they find a target for their rage, but the small bits of their minds that remain Sergeants knew that killing that one boss could save hundreds of lives, lives of hard-working enlisted kids. Together, they charge through the horde of goblins, who themselves are so driven with fear that they simply ignore the two men. The Warboss sees them coming and grins wickedly, beating his chest plate with his huge, twisted sword and roars at them in defiance.
They crash into the orcs surrounding the boss, Cutter sweeps them aside with his axe and Lassiter leaps past him. The warboss spits the man on his sword with a roar of triumph, but falls silent when he sees the grin on Lassiter’s face as he pulls himself a few more inches down the huge sword and plunges his short cavalry spear through the chieftain’s eye and gives it a twist.
Together, they lay facing each other in the bloodied mud next to the corpse of the Warboss. His Lieutenants are fighting amongst themselves for his position, and the goblin lines are crumbling without the whips and roars of the orcs to drive them. Cutter takes a long draw on the dirty stub of his cigar clenched in his teeth, snorts out a single, satisfied “heh”, coughs, and hands the cigar to Lassiter, who takes it in his bloody lips and takes a puff himself. He tries to hand the cigar back, but finds his friend staring at him with dead, vacant eyes. He sighs, pulls a small iron ball from his rucksack, taking care to avoid the massive sword poking from his midriff. He lights a wick on the ball with Cutter’s cigar, and weakly lobs it into the midst of the orc leaders.

“Fucking amateurs,” he growls, just before the bomb explodes.

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 17 July 2010

2010-07-19T00:59:00Z

When questioned, Volkov provides over a year of meticulous notes about mission histories, things that have gone wrong, and the compartmentalization of information. The party agrees that, assuming the information isn't invented, it shines a fairly damning (if entirely circumstantial) light on Lieutenant Stein. Volkov even mentions that Mengst and Stein are so inherently paranoid that they use Warders to pass mission orders between them instead of couriers.

When Alton asks about Donus and Fern, Volkov says that Fern felt she could convince Xander that it was all a misunderstanding and that Stein is suspect, but something obviously went wrong. Volkov had ordered his men to flee the area and knows no further details of the altercation except that it ended in Donus and Fern's death.

When Gronk questions why Stein would've sent the party to kill Volkov, Moriel notices that Shar'we has left the room and a strange smell is permeating the room. Everyone attempts to evacuate before the explosive detonates, but Lars, Steen, Kirk, and Bink are killed in the explosion. Moriel and Volkov pursue Shar'we out into the woods, where Volkov uses Alton's Mickleson rifle to kill the fleeing traitor at range. The elves refuse to let the party back into Sidarth'minwe, but send out wardens to help heal the multitude of small wounds and provide refreshments for the party while they wait for an audience with Etari'sul - whom Volkov has been learning a great deal of facts about the Ringwielders with during their self-imposed isolation.

Two-thousand years previously, Etari'sul went on an expsedition to the WayGate with Leitus and discovered a great deal of information about Kishara in the artifacts. He also says that some artifacts that are believed to be Ari Stonehand's belongings were discovered, and he believes they were taken by the dwarves and are held in the vaults of Karak'Ven or Karak'ap'Karak.

Very little is known about the nature of the Ringwielders except that they wield spectacular powers beyond the ken of even the most powerful wizards of Khevoran. Most believe they are priests channeling the power of their goddess Kishara directly through the rings they wear. The truth of the matter is that it is the rings themselves which contain the power. Cyan Marinetta, for example, is not the name of the woman bearing the Ring of Water, it is the name of an immensely powerful sorceress enthralled by Kishara at the dawn of time, her spirit and power bound to the artifact. These individual spirits are so powerful that they tend to completely decimate the personality of the ring-bearer, essentially granting the spirit a form of parasitic reincarnation. When the bearer is killed or grows too old for the spirit's power to sustain them, the ring is transferred to a new host and the cycle begins again. For this reason, the Ringwielders usually appear in public shrouded or masked in order to preserve continuity with the populace if and when they take new hosts.

Unbeknownst to just about everyone, Ari Stonehand is a little different. Stonehand was a geomancer of incredible power in his day, but unlike his peers was very grounded (no pun intended) and even-keeled. He was not seduced, but defeated and enslaved by Kishara and Tahl'Mearis. As such, his hosts are chosen differently than those of his peers (who tend to choose strong, attractive, weak-willed sods as hosts). Hosts for the Ring of Earth tend to come from the Stranglers - the Kisharan priesthood - and usually involve a lifetime of grooming a fanatically loyal and incredibly strong-willed psychopathic killing machine who can dominate the spirit of Stonehand and manipulate his power. This selection process, combined with the goddess' ability to destroy the rings and their imbued spirits essentially at will, has kept Ari Stonehand prisoner for millennia.

The party departs for Everwatch to warn Mengst of the traitor in his midst and to determine their next steps for retaking High-Guard. As they are crossing the foothills of the Massaan, they see in the distance one of the great peaks of the North/South range of the Massaan collapse along with a massive accompanying earthquake. None except perhaps Gronk understand the significance. When they arrive at Everwatch, they find the garrison in a heightened state of alert. They find Smoot, Cedric, and Goblin in their cups in the command tent. They relay that Stein near-fatally stabbed Mengst with a poisoned dagger and took the Ring of Spirit. In his escape, he also killed Company Wizard Deke Winter and Anabelle Cirrus, the latter sends Gronk into a vengeance fury. They discover that Stein was the personal assassin of Duke Stephen before joining up with Mengst. All of the Warders who were in camp left in pursuit.

In their absence, the goblins in the forest have been whipped into battle lines, and are threatening a full-scale invasion of Hillcrest. The next morning, Volkov (who is the ranking Society officer still on his feet) convenes a war council and instructs the party to circle around the battle lines, find whatever it is that's organizing and driving the horde, and eliminate it. That evening, the party observes from a distance waves of goblins crashing into the lines of the Northlands Army, and as they set off to sneak behind their lines, they see a great winged form in the distance, emitting a terrible shriek. Vladimir asks the obvious question.

"Ees dat a dragon?"

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 19 June 2010

2010-07-03T15:36:00Z

When Moriel recovers from the shock of seeing the protector golems, she reveals that Leitus ar'Shimrael Vin was one of the greatest thinkers of the Elven people and obsessed with what came before the Elves - of which there is no history or, indeed, evidence beyond the Waygate and its immediate vicinity. He is staggeringly old, well over seven-thousand years, and once you get that old you don't really think in terms mortals can particularly understand. Two thousand years previously, Leitus was involved in the Waygate excavation and found something that drove his obsession to new heights. It was never discussed what he found, and there is debate as to whether it was an artifact or simply a revelation, but he very rapidly began to distance himself from his peers and, eventually, left the forest altogether. There are rumors that he lives in a hovel somewhere in the wooded hills north of Karak'Fel. Moriel travels into Tir'Valar alone, as only elves are allowed to pass the guardians, and finds the city in the same condition as J'sta and Dorothea.

The party travels on to Sidarthe'minwe and finds the underground archive of the Elves protected by a fog-like barrier which both Gronk and Moriel recognize as an old anti-siege spell commonly employed by the Elves, indicating that the archive, at least, has been defended against the curse that has befallen the other Elven cities. They find indications that others had recently spent time at the edge of the barrier, but can otherwise not get the attention of anyone who may be inside the fortress.

After some discussion, it's decided that the party will head East and attempt to find Leitus' abode. After several weeks of searching through the goblin-infested woods East of Hillcrest, the party finally comes across the entrance to an underground complex, guarded by an Elf and a Dwarf. The party is invited in, the Dwarf mentions that his master has been waiting for "Mengst to send someone to apologize". They are led down into the complex which appears to be inhabited by several hundred peoples of all races, all of whom appear to look very slightly ill - a condition Gronk recognizes as likely warpstone poisoning. They are introduced to Leitus in his expansive laboratory, which also contained the bodies of a Halfling and a Human who had obviously recently been tortured, Alton recognizes them as Ferris and Shep - both from Volkov's unit. After some exposition it is found that the two rogue soldiers had attempted to infiltrate Leitus' compound in an attempt to steal his device - which he has been developing for over a thousand years in an attempt to seal the Waygate. Leitus is convinced that he can develop a counter to the Waygate, essentially sealing it closed, but he requires vast volumes of star-metal to accomplish his goals - which is why he has been mining the region as he's discovered impact sites - the mine behind the goblin bloom is one such mine (they collapsed and flooded it when they realized they wouldn't be able to keep the goblins out). The neutrality of the elven peoples hit Leitus hard, and for thirty years (a moment in time to him, really) he's harbored quite a bit of anger. So when it came time to test one of his devices - a device which shifts the very fabric of the universe around a locale - he chose Tir'Valar. The device essentially locks every living thing frozen in time. He freely offers the party all the star-metal they may need to construct Corky's anti-cannon device, on the condition that Mengst agrees to meet him to foster cooperation.

As Moriel becomes increasingly agitated, the party withdraws from the compound to discuss their options and to avoid a confrontation. While they are discussing their options, they lose track of Poppy, who presumably snuck off during the argument to take matters into her own hands. Roughly half an hour later, a plume of smoke begins to trickle from the underground compound, and Poppy emerges with Leitus' device, sprinting ahead of his very angry followers. The party escapes to Everwatch, where they brief Mengst and let Smoot and Corky discover how to operate the device. From there, they proceed in turn to Dorothea, J'sta, and Tir'Valar to release the Elves from their imprisonment. In Tir'Valar, Moriel is nearly set upon by Cutter, Lars, Steen, and Kirk, four of Volkov's men who were attempting to prevent Leitus from activating his device. Detente is established and the four men plus the party proceed on to Sidarthe'minwe.

The wardens of Sidarthe'minwe recognize Cutter's team, disarm everyone and lead them and the party in through some galleries to a small study, where they find the scholar Etari'sul, as well as Volkov and the last of his team - Shar'we, Bink, and Lassiter. It is revealed that Volkov was seeking Etari'sul to discover secrets of the Ringwielders and had been trapped when the Elves defended themselves from Leitus' plot. When pressed about his perceived betrayals, he rubs his temples and responds:

"You idiots...Stein is a Kisharan!"

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 12 June 2010

2010-06-17T02:05:00Z

The party convenes at a Company breakfast served up by Annabelle Cirrus, who intimates to Gronk that “Sir Sebastien” is alive, though infirm, and she must tell him about his son’s death. Since the man’s farm is on the way to the Ar’Avariel forest, Gronk informs her that the party will accompany her on the task. She parts, referring to Gronk by some name in Dwarvish that obviously gives him pause.

Lieutenant Stein briefs the party on their next mission, which is to trace down Master Sergeant Sergei Volkov and his rogue unit. Rumor has it that the team passed through the half-elf village of Faye’s Hope late in the fall.

The next day, the party sets off West, and after a day’s travel arrive at a small sustenance farm nestled between the foothills of the Masaan and the edges of the Ar’Avariel forest. The party passes two men in their late thirties who obviously recognize Gronk, and approaches one of the two homesteads on the property. They are invited in for tea by an aging man who seems to be slowly succumbing to infirmity, who greets Gronk and Annabelle warmly. They inform the man of the death of his son (Warder Joseph) and discuss a number of other points. The man and Gronk speak on and off in Dwarvish to one another. When Alton mentions that they sighted a man they believe to be the Emperor Altair, Sebastien becomes immediately agitated, and Annabelle rushes out to speak with the two men tending the farm – who appear by all accounts to be her siblings. Sebastien allows the party to spend the night in his home, and sees them off the next morning. Annabelle and the two men were nowhere to be seen.

The party proceeds to the half-elven trading post of Faye’s Hope, where the party finds an ambush in waiting at the village trading post. Six men were arrayed to ambush the party when they entered, but upon seeing the party contained two Warders and one very similarly and terrifyingly-armored old Dwarf, decided against the ambush and attempted miserably to look like they were going about their business. When interrogated, it was revealed that they were mercenaries from Clearwater hired by Volkov to intercept anyone who may be on the rogue’s trail. The party allowed them to leave. Tanis, the proprietor of the trading post and an old friend of Moriel and Poppy, informs the party that Volkov did pass through in the late Fall - there were ten of them total at the time. Volkov was asking about a fairly renown Elven thinker named Etari'sul - last anyone heard Etari'sul lived in Sidarthe'minwe, deep in the forest - which also houses the Ar'Avarial Elves' Evarre'tenin - their Trust. The people of the village are ill at ease, most of them have a feeling that something sinister is happening in the forest, but they know not what. They haven't heard much of anything out of the forest for a while, which isn't particularly abnormal.

The party heads into the Ar'Avarial to Dorothea, home of Moriel and, briefly, of Poppy. They find the ancient Elven village completely empty, no people, no animals, no insects, and the structures themselves do not look as if they'd ever been lived in. The lifelessness extends in a perfect circle radiating from the center of the village, where the party finds the only sign of life - a scrape on a rock from a steel-shod boot. The next village over, J'sta, is the same. They proceed to Tir'Valar, the largest city in the Ar'Avariel forest and it too, in all its majesty, is deserted. The border of Tir'Valar is patrolled by golems taller than the trees - wardens designed by the elves to be left behind after their passing to keep younger races from their secrets. On a tree at the edge of the Tir'valar circle of lifelessness, the party finds the word "LEITUS" carved into the trunk.

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 15 May 2010

2010-05-22T20:50:00Z

The party discovers the aging Etu'Sauri Lucas is a member of Sir Robert's crew. When confronted, he tells the party that Erik got away from him in the mountain cave, killing young Billy in the process, and he subsequently came to Penshin to help his old friend Robert. He confirmed the party's suspicions that he had not been sent by the Kisharans and had hunted Erik for his own reasons.

True to his word, Pedro is found waiting some leagues south of Penshin on the coast with the much-needed supplies. The six week journey around the horn and up the coast to Werstergarde goes without incident, during the time, Lucas takes Moriel under his wing and begins to train her as an Etu'Sauri, and Gronk has a conversation with Sir Robert which results in him making even more haste. In Westergarde, sir Robert and Lucas depart and Vladimir uses his connections in the city to secure a job for Isabella as a lady in waiting for the Duchess. The party secures a carriage and authorization to swap their team out at the mail stations and spend the remainder of the winter travelling the Imperial road to Hillcrest.

Arriving, they find that the refugees from Riverton had arrived safely in the fall, as well as the half-giant Chumley. Itchy had died of his wounds from the explosion, and Shara Tev had taken over his position as Company quartermaster. There have been increased goblin raids from the East through the winter, and there had been some starvation amongst the army. The party, along with Corky, reports in to Mengst, who congratulates them on their mission and tells them to report to Stein in the morning to pick up the hunt for Sergei Volkov and his unit. That night, Poppy and Vladimir are approached by Warder Thomas and given the post of Warder, and Gronk receives a more impressive suit of armor than he bargained for when he originally placed his order with Itchy.

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 1 May 2010 - Chapter 2 Finale

2010-05-08T01:31:00Z

While the party is trying to catch a few moments rest, Gronk inquires of Corky whether there is anything he knows of that may disrupt the operation of the Bubblesneezer Cannon. After some thought, he produces some research and a demonstration about how a large volume of star metal can disrupt the Tablenhelm liquid metal for short periods of time. This should render the cannons non-functional and should return them to operation within minutes. The volume of star metal required for a device that could disable the High Guard battery is massive by any standard.

At the appointed time, the party proceeds to the wharf where they meet up with Sir Robert and his men - composed half of old men in their fifties and sixties, and half of boys who could be their teenage sons. After a short bit of planning, they row out into the bay on several launches. On their way out to the Stiletto, the necklace Vladimir received from the beggar woman in the marketplace becomes freezing cold and shatters, and time seems to stand still. He is visited by the same woman, dressed now in nobles garb, who walks beside him on the water. She tells him that he has been touched deeply, and that "She" will be able to sense him wherever he goes. She raises a hand in parting, revealing a delicate ring with a blue gem on her finger.

Upon arriving at the Stiletto, Moriel uses a lasso to yank a sailor off the rail of the ship, allowing the rest of the party to achieve the deck before the Peacekeepers notice. A pitched battle between the platoon of Peacekeepers and the party ensues. After several grievous wounds, the party emerges victorious, and Sir Robert's men climb the deck and begin to set the ship to sail. It is quickly found that all of the supplies brought by Sir Robert and those on the ship itself have spoiled (a result of a failed spell by Banagher during the fight).

The crew of the Decimator, the largest warship in the Penshin Navy, notice the disturbance and set sail to intercept the Stiletto, signaling her to heave to and prepare to be boarded. Sir Robert sets the Stiletto on an attack course, a patently suicidal maneuver weighing the Stiletto's eight captured guns versus the Decimator's twenty. At the last minute, Sir Robert flings open his robes, revealing his mithril plate armor bearing the Seal of the Emperor and the Seal of the Order of Leopold upon its breast, he casts a spell and launches himself into the air, then casts a series of fireballs down upon the deck of the Decimator, exploiting a weakness in the design of its powder magazine and causing the entire vessel to detonate, leaving nothing but splinters and a burning keel.

The Stiletto lines up for its shot against the flotilla of troop transports, and Vladimir takes aim and fires the twenty rounds from the model gun in just a matter of seconds. The thought of batteries of full-sized automatic cannons seems to horrify the watching crew, none more than Corky, who flies into a rage and begins beating on Vernon and screaming. He takes Vernon and wraps his bindings around the model gun, pulls the spite pin, and launches the whole incredibly heavy mass over the rail of the ship, taking Vernon to the bottom of the bay with it. During the exchange, the warping sensation of the Tablenhelm WayGate is felt by all.

The shells detonate as expected and shower burning naphtha down on part of the flotilla. Sir Robert adds a few extra shots from the Stiletto's guns in passing, but it becomes clear that, at most, only a few dozen of the two hundred troop transports will be destroyed by the attack. Banagher seems to become awash with power, being overwhelmed by the rush from the WayGate's opening, and manages to rain down a shower of fire over the flotilla, setting the whole thing aflame.

The chapter ends with the Stiletto sailing off into the night, lit by the raging bonfire behind, and Sir Robert and his crew singing the Imperial anthem.

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 17 April 2010

2010-04-19T02:28:00Z

Diego and Vladimir ask around the docks in search of a crew with which to secure a ship and discover through the grapevine that someone else was doing the same thing. After some asking around, they discover an older man in fancy dress operating out of the back room of a dockside dive named The Drowned Rat. He proposes that the party aid him in securing the Stiletto, one of the fastest ships in the Penshin fleet, but they must move that evening. When faced with speculation, he encourages Diego, whose name and situation he seems to be familiar with, to arrange an introduction between Gronk and he and assures them that Gronk will vouch for him.

Diego returns with Gronk, who instantly recognizes the man as Sir Robert Kirk and they seem, apparently, to be old and friendly acquaintances. They arrange to meet at midnight that night to proceed out to the Stiletto to secure it. The party will be responsible for taking the main deck while Sir Robert's men will secure the gunnery deck. In exchange for their services, Sir Robert agrees to deliver the party to Westergarde or any spot they choose along the route.

After sundown, the party proceeds to the manor of Count Richelieu. Alton sets a house ablaze a few blocks away to create a diversion and the rest of the party quickly dispatches Richelieu's house guard, allowing Diego to slay the count himself and rescue his sister Isabella. The band returns to their hideout beneath the University of Invention to await the appointed hour on the bay.

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 3 April 2010

2010-04-04T14:37:00Z

At the sound of the soldiers coming down the alley, Gronk orders the rest of the party up through the roof hatch to flee, taking the magic device from Vernon in an attempt to provide a distraction. They flee across the rooftops of the slums, noting an entire company of Peacekeepers, a Strangler, and an Avenger in the alley, queuing up to assault the safehouse. After fleeing across a few row houses and hearing the one-dwarf battle rage on behind them, Alton returns to try to aid Gronk from the rooftops.

Gronk finally succumbs to the overwhelming numbers against him, but as he starts to fall, seven Dwarven Slayers enter the fight shouting the battle cry "Kara m'arou" - Gronk remembers all of them from miscellaneous incidental contacts during his journeys through the Southlands. The Dwarves decimate the Peacekeeper forces with Poppy and Alton providing support from the rooftops above, but in the process all of the Dwarves save Gronk are slain.

The party rents a room in a boarding house a few blocks away to regroup and continue questioning Vernon and discover that Corky is being held in a laboratory in a hidden sublevel beneath the University of Invention. The group takes to the sewers and finds a concealed escape route from the University, granting them access into the lab. The party finds Corky along with the plans and a working scale model of the auto-loading mechanism for the Bubblesneezer Cannon. They convince Corky to aid them in destroying the flotilla and to escape to the North.

They spend the remainder of the day liquidating the gems awarded by the Godfather, upgrading a few weapons, and procuring the necessary supplies to execute their daring plan....

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 20 March 2010

2010-03-27T00:32:00Z

In light of the information from the mysterious woman, the party decides to move straight to the University of Invention in the middle of the night and attempt to interrogate Bubblesneezer about Corky. Poppy scales the tower and drops a line, Gronk folows, but Vladimir slips and attracts the attention of the Peacekeepers patrolling the plaza. Some quick thinking by Moriel and Banagher ease the guards' suspicions, but at the end, only Alton, Gronk, and Poppy make it to the top of the tower.

Poppy swings into the top floor windows and opens the roof trap for the others. They apprehend the sleeping Bubblesneezer and collect a number of documents from his office before sunrise forces them to bundle the gnome up and flee with him their prisoner.

Back at the safehouse, an interrogation takes place, but after a time, Banagher detects a magical device on the gnome's person, and tears a small magical ring from his chest. The session ends with the sound of troops marching down the alley to the safehouse....

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 20 February 2010

2010-02-22T13:56:00Z

The party, sans Moriel and Poppy, converge on a spot in a busy marketplace and observe an entire neighborhood street in Penshin completely deserted. A beggar in the street makes an enigmatic mention of how "she isn't a goddess, just an obscenely powerful woman" and how she needs sacrifices to become free of her chains. After selling Vladimir a trinket, she seems to change subtly and become less than she was during her soliloquy.

Meanwhile, Moriel and Poppy are surprised to find a man sneaking in through the roof of the safe-house. They ambush him and slay him, but not before Moriel is poisoned. Her life is saved only by Banagher's magical intervention after the rest of the party's timely arrival. After some investigating (and drinking by Vladimir gathering information in seedy taverns), it is discovered that the assailant is an Elven assassin who has been down on his luck in recent years and has been relegated to doing minor courier work for a local crime lord. It is a safe assumption that the "tomatoes" left on the doorstep were intended for him.

During the time when Gronk, Vladimir, and Diego go out to research the assailant, Banagher and Moriel pay a visit to the University of Invention, posing as travelling scholars, and book an appointment with Dean Bubblesneezer in six days.

While everyone is out on the town, Poppy sneaks out on a rooftop-to-rooftop quest to secure a cinnamon sticky bun, Pedro is conscripted to dump the body of the assassin, and Alton stakes out Richelieu's estate in preparation for a raid.

During the day, the party feels a twisting sensation, like a shudder through the air (except for Banagher who suddenly feels flush with magical power). Pedro and Diego inform the party that this is what happens when the Waygate at Tablenhelm Keep is opened as it is every few months since the invasion.

That night, the party travels to the appointed meeting-place to find a strangely dressed man with many piercings and tattoos who speaks no language in common with Gronk waiting to receive the package. The "tomatoes" are turned over and he departs without incident. On their way back to the safe-house, they encounter a large black carriage waiting for them, a man inside thanks Gronk for his service, proving trustworthy beyond most measures, and is rewarded with a palm of gems.

Moriel and Banagher, on the way to the rooming house they retained as part of their scholarly cover, encounter a finely-dressed woman who Banagher finds strangely familiar and who waves her hand in the air and causes Banagher to pass out, saying that "she doesn't like being watched". She warns Moriel that "she is looking for you, avidly, I don't know how she knows you're here, or what you're here for, but you should do it and get out". She goes on to warn Moriel that she is hiding the party's presence from "her" but can only do so for another few days.

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 6 February 2010

2010-02-08T14:06:00Z

The party spends their first evening in Penshin attempting to gather intelligence from around town. Diego and Banagher visit an upscale supper club (though Diego steps out for nearly two hours without remark), Alton and Vladimir a working-class tavern, and Moriel and Poppy sneak across town and stake out the University of Invention for a few hours. Unfortunately, nothing particularly useful is gleaned from the time.

In the dead of night, everyone is stirred by a knocking at the door of the safehouse. The party discovers a small wooden box left on the doorstep with an attached note. The note instructs parties unknown (perhaps those who had been squatting in the safehouse in the months since the underground abandoned it) to deliver the box of "tomatoes" to an individual one night hence. Opening the box reveals the "tomatoes" to be diamonds, nearly twenty-thousand sovereigns worth. A very drawn-out debate begins over whether to follow the instructions on the note or to keep the...tomatoes.

The next morning, after having decided to deliver the...tomatoes...as if they were the intended recipients of the box, the party acquires some basic foodstuffs to get by a few more days. An aggravated Vladimir goes for a walk, Gronk pursues. Alton checks for job postings at the university, but finds none. Diego and Banagher, on their way to the docks to collect information on the troop transports out in the bay, encounter Diego's cousin Pedro, who informs him that his mother, whom he thought dead for many years, has instead been alive until just the past month. It would seem that the merchant prince who destroyed Diego's family, Count Richileau, took his mother and sister Isabel in and has used them harshly in the intervening years. The three turn from the docks and head back to the safe-house.

Khevoran 2 Session Notes - 23 January 2010

2010-01-25T18:14:00Z

The party works out the details of hitching the team to the carriage and gets on their way. A few miles down the road, the carriage comes to a roadblock manned by three Peacekeepers and a High Strangler, using their spare time to torment Chumley, the erudite half-giant from Riverton. The party attacks, and nearly all of them would have been slain in an explosion of magical fire from the Strangler had there not been divine intervention. They eventually overwhelm the Southerners and free Chumley. The party patches him up and he heads off to find Jacob Dain and evacuate with them to the North.

The party travels without incident down the Imperial roads for ten days before coming to Penshin. When they glimpse the massive Imperial city for the first time, they notice several hundred troop transports moored in the bay, and more under construction at the city's dry docks, presumably preparing for a sea invasion of the North. After some clumsy legerdemain at the city's gate, the party passes into the city unhindered, stows their carriage at a boarding house for a week and ensconces themselves in Harfur's safehouse in the darkest slums of the city.

Khevoran 2 Session Notes - 9 January 2010

2010-01-11T14:04:00Z

After a brief gathering in Alton's quarters, the party rests for the evening and gathers for breakfast with the leaders of the Riverton underground. In attendance are Peruppi Dentkettle-Stoutfoot, the halfling folk hero Harfur Stoutfoot, druid Jacob Dain, and the head of a local shipping cartel Shara Tev. They discuss how Peruppi's original mission for Mengst in the South has failed - they are certain that Lieutenant William Melvar has been taken through the Waygate to Tablenhelm and is lost. There is some talk of how the Underground plans to abandon their position in Riverton in the spring when they can make it across the mountains because, according to Peruppi, there is simply no one left to save in the south. The party volunteers information about the cave system they used to enter the south as an alternative to waiting for the spring thaws.

They also discuss the party's plan for Penshin in depth and request material support for the endeavor. In addition to supplies and the location of the Underground's abandoned safehouse in Penshin, Harfur provides the party with a carriage and team to help smooth their journey across the Southlands.

The party is woken from their slumber very early the next morning to cries of alarm - the Ringwielder Aril Flambeau has arrived with little warning in the night with a company of Peacekeepers and several companies of soldiers to retake control of the purloined city. Peruppi and Harfur stay behind to buy time while the party, along with Jacob Dain and several dozen refugees who had been hiding in the city, make their escape through the sewers and caves. The party observes Peruppi standing fast against the Ringwielder in the courtyard of the mayoral palace (cutscene text below).

After parting ways with Jacob and the refugees, the party is ambushed by a platoon of Peacekeepers and a pitched battle ensues in which Moriel is seriously wounded by an arrow. After the battle, the party finds where their carriage and team has been waiting for them...and realize the none of them particularly know how to drive....

---

Escape From Riverton

At one point, you pass through a hall with open-air crenelations that give you a glimpse of the courtyard of the mayoral palace. The rain is pouring down.

There are easily over a hundred armored Peacekeepers, and even more army regulars arrayed in an arc around the huge wooden doors of the palace, Aril Flambau's red and black displayed prominently on soaked banners and tabards. Standing out in front of the troops in the center of the courtyard are two Stranglers, both appearing to be incredibly old and twisted in their robes, and between them, a step in front, a woman. She is dressed only in britches and a long-sleeved buttoned tunic, both of black silk and pasted to her petite figure by the rain. She is floating, her bare feet are hanging idly some inches over a puddle. Her skin is porcelain-white, and her hair is a vivid, shocking red - it appears to be the only thing in the whole courtyard that is dry, and it is blowing in a wind that touches nothing else. Strange green and violet flames dance from her hands, which are held palms-up, slightly extended from her sides. The Ring of Fire on her left hand sparkles in the flame.

Facing her from the steps of the palace, stands Peruppi. She is standing on the bottom step, her diminutive form armored in her shining steel plate mail. There is a white glow emanating from her, so bright that it is casting long shadows behind the gathered troops. Her shield, emblazoned with the sword of Aluviel, and her mithril war hammer are both bathed in white and azure flames.

"Lay down your arms," says the Ringwielder in a soft, sweet voice that still somehow fills the entire courtyard.

Peruppi's eyes flicker up to you, no doubt noting your eminent escape, smiles slightly, and wipes a strand of wet hair from her face. She half-steps, half-hops down off the last step, landing in a puddle with a splash. She giggles slightly, and sighs deeply, a happy, serene grin on her face.

"Come and get 'em, bitch."

Khevoran 2 Session Notes: 19 December 2009

2009-12-21T14:11:00Z

The party patches up Poppy as best they can. Gronk finds a mithril medallion on Warder Joseph bearing the symbol of the Knights Leopold - the order of knights sworn to protect the human emperor. Continuing alone through the caves, they pass through what appears to be an abandoned dwarven highway before emerging on the southern end of the Masaan range.

The party travels a week into the southern plains, sleeping in cold camps, before coming upon an Imperial road, which they follow at a distance towards Riverton. At one point, they observe a column of reinforcements heading in the direction of High Guard. Gronk and Diego swear they see a man who could be the spitting image of Emperor Altair in the slave wagons, but they can do nothing but watch the caravan pass by.

As they approach Riverton, they are met by Peruppi Dentkettle, a former member of the Society and one of the leaders of the halfling underground, who escorts the party through cave and sewer to the mayoral palace in the center of the city, where the party are all given rooms. Vladimir has an intimate encounter with a serving girl, but it turns out to be an unsettling dream.