The Crimes of Talon Campaign

Introduction

The west coast of the continent of Torria is a landscape of small dots of civilization, fighting back against the chaos and darkness surrounding them after the fall of Nerath. It is a rolling country of bustling seaside towns (Talon and Brambletree), important points of trade (Earlslynn, Fallon, and Aquilegia), and ancient artifacts (Quarry's Lane).

The party initially came together in Talon, where they have been investigating a variety of mysteries. They then discovered a huge, abandoned city beneath Talon, then unleashed a zombie invasion, which they are trying to revert via an artifact in the nearby town of Brambletree.

Just The Facts, Ma'am

What: A D&D 4th Edition campaign
Where: The Davis's house, usually
When: Saturdays, starting at 1:00 pm Eastern Time
How: Email Brent, letting him know you're interested in joining

Next Session: Unknown

The Players

The Group, as of July 25, 2009, has split. We believe that having fewer people in each group will help the game flow much more smoothly.

Brent's Group

Gregg Davis, Julian Quarterstaff, Half-Elf Paladin
Kelly McElligott - Uriel Myrthrahael, Eladrin Cleric
Justin Lott - Narin, Wizard
Sean McElligott - Vrane Ashborn, Human Avenger

Jason's Group

Justin Davis - Allie James, Human Monk
Ben - Bill, Avenger Human
Matt Thomas - Bob, Shamon Shifter
Brandon - Kio, Hybrid,Ardent\Sorcerer Half Elf

Characters not in action currently

Nicholas Davis, Eberk, Dwarf Cleric
Brandon Davis, Baray, Dwarf Wizard

Session Log

1 November 2008

The players followed up on a rumor that the groundskeeper at Willowhaven Cemetery saw something lurking around the cemetery at night. At the cemetery, the players found a small brick house with barred windows. They forced the cellar door and slipped into the basement, where they discovered freshly-dug soil and a chest full of herbs and liquids (all of which could be used as ingredients in potions involving the undead). This aroused some banging and calling out in the house above, so the players grabbed the potion ingredients and ran.

After much discussion, they decided to check out a rumor that Sergeant Scatterwold of the Watch wanted a few good men for a sting operation. They went to the Watch Tower, where he offered them 400 (then 500) gold to take down an illegal animal fighting and gambling ring in The Pits. They descended beneath the city into the sewers, and after fending off a few dire rats and a hell hound, they came upon a large room with a six foot deep pit in the center. Shortly thereafter, dozens of people streamed in, including a one-eyed Dragonborn and two bodyguards, leading a hell hound and a giant centipede on leashes. The players' attempt to stay hidden failed, as the one-eyed Dragonborn proved too perceptive. After a vicious battle–in which the players managed to throw One-Eye into the pit–the leader lay unconscious and his followers dead.

Each player earned 600 XP.

22 November 2008

The players bound Roc One-Eye, and left the betting pit to return him to the Watch. However, as they journeyed through The Pits, they were blocked by extremely agitated rats. Julian fired a ray of frost to bind them, then the players hurried to the surface.

They turned Roc One-Eye in to the Watch, where an impressed Sergeant Scatterwold gave them 500 gold, and asked them to investigate these rumors about Willowhaven Cemetery. The players then found a tavern, the Hooked Hand, where they ate and had a good night's sleep.

The next morning, they talked to an old woman named Sara, who lived near Willowhaven Cemetery, who complained that for the past week she'd seen a number of cloaked figures running around the cemetery at night.

The players then followed up on rumors that the mortician had inherited a strange orb. They traveled to the mortuary, where they found the mortician's young daughter playing with what a ghost out front. Inside, Julian asked the mortician (see image) for a tour (explaining that the players often encounter death and are in need of mortician's services), and he nervously showed them around the place. They then got him to explain about this orb. He'd received it from an odd uncle a week ago, and every night he found his daughter in his bedroom, staring at the orb. So he'd locked it away in an iron box in the basement. He showed them the orb; as soon as the box was opened, the orb looked like it had just stopped glowing, and it made Hi-Jo-Kyo (Kevin) itch and get a headache.

The players then set up a watch, with Julian and Allie James in the basement with the orb out, and the others on the ground floor. That night, the girl made her way to the basement, but Baray grabbed her and returned her to her room, where he locked the door and stayed with her. The girl seemed more sleepy than zombie-like. The orb had no obvious reaction, though Allie James laid his hands on it and realized that the orb was sending out magical tendrils and had ensnared the girl.

They then decided it was a good time to investigate the cemetery. They locked the orb back in the iron box, then took the mortician and his daughter along with them. After a brief investigation of noises at the groundskeeper's house–where the mortician revealed that the groundskeeper's teenaged son has been acting strangely, wandering around with rings under his eyes and uninterested in carrying on the family business–Julian noticed a cloaked figure dash between two grave stones.

Upon further investigation, the players saw that a number of cloaked figures were sneaking into a huge mausoleum to Sirrah Dassock, a miser who died years ago and left no mourners and a massive grave. Hi-Jo-Kyo laid out a trap which knocked one of the cloaked figures unconscious. It was a young woman, wearing a small, circular pendant with two crossed horns on it, and carrying a scroll of invisibility. Baray recognized the pendant as a symbol of Orcus. Julian put on the cloak while Baray cast the invisibility spell on the rest of the party.

They then descended into the mausoleum, down a huge circular staircase. At the bottom, beyond several nooks holding chests, lay a large chamber, in the center of which stood a newly-erected altar. Around it stood about thirty cloaked figures, who proceeded to sacrifice animals on the altar.

But after only a few minutes, the chief priest stopped, put his hands in the air, and sensed the presence of intruders. He pointed at Julian and said, “A paladin! In the name of Orcus, take her!”

A fierce battle ensued. Julian clanged down her shield and stood her ground, the others spread out and attacked the cultists, and Baray floated upwards and cast a massive fireball on one corner of the room, which took out a large swath of cultists and set their ritual components on fire. After a short but pitched fight, several quick blows to the priest knocked him unconscious. The players then grabbed him (and a few chests), and ran up the circular staircase and out into the chilly night air before the fire engulfed the mausoleum.

Each player gained 750 XP. Justin and Gregg each got an extra 100 XP for good thinking and role-playing. Each player ended up with a chest.

28 November 2008

As the players hurried out of Willowhaven Cemetery, the head priest awoke and began ranting about an alchemist and poison. The players discovered that his cult had kidnapped an alchemist and forced him to create a poison that the cult would dump into the Westrush river from an old mill east of the city, thus poisoning the citizens of Talon.

The players rushed eastwards in the pre-dawn light, only to be attacked by a swarm of drakelings near the Temple of To Lat. Half the party continued east, while the rest stayed behind.

Those that continued east came to the mill. Julian kicked the door down and threw the head priest inside, calling out a challenge. Thus began a pitched battle against half a dozen cultists in the mill, then several powerful magic users in the floor above, where an alchemist crouched against the wall.

Meanwhile, the party that stayed behind discovered several scrolls in the belfry, guarded by a confused young woman. They knocked her out, then discovered an altar that lead down into a secret area below. They then left to find the rest of the party, meeting up with them in the old mill just as a spell ignited several barrels of poison, causing them to explode. At which point, the second floor began to collapse.

The players managed to get the alchemist out, then rested and headed back into the city, where they met with the priests of To Lat, and descended into the secret staircase beneath the altar.

Each player gained 750 XP. Nick and Gregg got an extra 50 XP each for bravery during the fight in the mill.

27 December 2008

The players continued to investigate To Lat. Uriel (Kelly) learned that To Lat had been an evil goddess, turned eons ago, and that Rhies had uncovered ancient scrolls proving this fact. This would devastate the current faith in To Lat, so she had hidden the scrolls in the tower, but was drawn back to them by their evil power. Uriel put the scrolls in the Feywild for safekeeping.

The players were then summoned to the mansion of Duke Malinare, who runs the city. He explained he was impressed by their service for the town, and wants them to investigate a gambling den, the Knife's Point, about which people complained they were not getting their winnings.

The players learned the Knife's Point was an expensive establishment, catering to more extreme games of chance. This was confirmed when they investigated. Alley James attempted a few games of chance, but lost. Zar'roc and Alley James then staged a fight, allowing Baray to finagle 1,000 gold out of it. Uriel and Julian approached a guard, telling him a passphrase Uriel had heard of, and were led to a special fighting ring in the basement. The fight was over a sword that excited Julian; it was a match for his own sword. They both entered the fight themselves, and handily defeated their opponents.

Meanwhile, Ying-Shaken (Sean) found the record-keeper, and intimidated her into telling him that the Knife's Point is run by “Vain.” He also stole the establishment's logs.

The other players then found their way to the basement, where they observed a pale man watching the fight, and an ornate metal door, from which a pair of eyes peered out.

Each player earned 750 XP.

3 January 2009

After Julian and Uriel won their fight, the whole party was ushered into a small room where a nervous man named Xanathos offered them jobs as soldiers in his new army. Everyone except Julian and Uriel declined. The party then split.

Julian and Uriel then looked over the logs and found fishy details. They reported this back to Duke Malinare, though the Duke's chamberlain seemed very interested beforehand. The Duke showed great concern, and demanded quick response from the investigators.

Julian and Uriel then investigated the Golden Sunrise, and returned to the temple and delved down under the altar. After clearing away a giant spider, they found a vehicle in a small room, and another room full of scrolls. They were able to access the scrolls, but ghostly voices told them to put the scrolls away. They did so, then returned to the mortician in hope he would help them with the ghosts. But he wanted them to deal with the orb, which reacted very unkindly to their attempts to disenchant it.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party went to a small converted farm, where they barely had enough time to case the joint before being attacked by people on horseback. After running away, the party attacked the horse-riders, and after a brief battle returned to town.

Players earned between 800 and 1,000 XP.

28 March 2009

Julian and Uriel worked their magic on the mortician's daughter, and managed to lift her curse. However, upon returning to the mortician's house, they discovered it was a smoking wreck. The orb was gone. Julian, Uriel, and Baray graciously donated some of their money to help the mortician rebuild.

The group then returned to the Temple of To Lat—with the mortician in tow—and descended into the area beneath the altar, in hope of using the mortician's spectral abilities to deal with the spirits. (JD, Shifter) bluffed past a few of them, and past the monstrous spider, and they descended to the scroll room.

Uriel summoned a Hand of Fate to find scrolls that related to the orb and those that would active the rune etched in the floor of the scroll room. He discovered he'd need to spend a good year performing these rituals, etching runes into his body. After miraculously discovering a chamber that allows a year to pass like a day, Julian, Uriel, and Baray went inside; Julian and Baray carved themselves up to follow the appropriate rituals on the scrolls. Meanwhile, the rest of the party investigated the vehicle in the opposite chamber. (JD, Shifter) verified that the hot white light on the other side of the metal door was very hot, nearly killing him.

Meanwhile, Uriel and Baray activated the rune in the scroll room floor, unlocking the metal door in the opposite chamber, releasing a blast of hot air. The entire party then trooped down the tunnel that was revealed, coming out on a miles-wide vista. Beneath them was a flat plain, in the middle of which lay an ancient city. The center of the city was sunk deep, with spires and towers just visible within it. Small shapes darted about above the forlorn stone buildings.

They now find themselves in a completely unknown land.

11 April 2009

As the party approached the giant underground city, they saw it was divided into districts. Before them stood a district of squat stone buildings, to their right a district of spires, and to their left a wasteland.

They decided to split up. The larger percentage went towards the spires on the right, and the others towards the wasteland on the left.

The first group descended into city streets littered with skeletons. A great battle was once fought here, and the bodies of many humans and shifters lay about. Approximately half of the humans wore heavy battle armor, while the other half wore more simple clothing.

The party was quickly attacked by two types of creature: a floating orb that lay down an electrical field, immobilizing those around it; and a floating humanoid construct that either bashed them or fired electrical bolts. They were further hampered by traps that lay all around the city.

They got partway down the street before they found their way blocked by a tower that had fallen across the street. Moreover, a horrific coffin approached, its maw gaping wide and attacking them with chains, threatening to suck them inside.

They were soon joined by their comrades from the wasteland. That area had been crawling with undead, though they had managed to discover that the wasteland was once a place where many jobs were available.

Each member of the larger party gained 500 XP, while each member of the smaller gained 1,900 (?) XP.

9 May 09

The party decided to avoid a patrol of floating coffins and explored a nearby building. They discovered an underground chamber, adjacent to a long corridor of blue light. After fending off a couple of floating coffins, the party split up, one going down the corridor to the left, the other going down to the right.

The group on the left found themselves in a similar chamber, but surrounded by zombies. After making quick work of the zombies, the group ascended into a blasted plain of crumbled buildings. Zombies lurched about. Zar'roc (Bobby) spotted a mostly-standing warehouse nearby, and the party sprinted for it, stumbling a bit but managing to avoid detection.

Inside the warehouse, they found a chest containing a fair amount of gold. Beneath it was a sturdy trap door. Zar'roc attempted to open it, and was immediately blown across the room. Thanks to the potion he took, he was unhurt. In the pit beneath the trap door, the party found the skeletons of two children. They then tired of this place, and went back to reunite with the other half of the party.

20 June 2009

The party reunited in the depths of the underground city, only to unexpectedly spring a trap. Walls rose up around them, one half of the trap began to fill with water, and a cylinder topped with a malevolent eye rose in the center to gaze at the party. Worse, various denizens of the deep were attracted to the trap, and began to attack the party. After one of their members was pulled inside a floating coffin of death, Julian (Gregg) heroically switched places with him, and destroyed the horror from within. Meanwhile, Uriel (Kelly) and Ying-Shaken (Sean) clambered up the walls and investigated the cylinder. Baray (Brandon) attacked a frieze on the walls, which caused a sword to pop out of the wall. Ying-Shaken went down and played with it; pulling on the sword caused the water to seep away.

The party then adventured towards the glowing red center of the city. They passed safely through a corridor filled with stone guardians and a central lava pit—thanks mainly to Baray teleporting to the other side and pulling a lever.

The party found itself in a circular central chamber. The wall was covered in a mural, depicting a human with lizard-like features floating above many peoples, conquering them. It ends with the construction of a huge city. In the center of the chamber was a huge circular cylinder covered with runes of warding; Uriel wiped them away to reveal another mural, showing the city growing and adding new wonders.

The chamber had several altars and golden bowls within it. After some experimentation, Zar'roc (J.D.) figured out what to put into the bowls based on the symbols carved on them, and they could hear a huge boom. An opening appeared in the cylinder. The party entered to find a haze of red light, and a humanoid with lizard-like features floating in the center. As they entered, he floated down to the ground and interrogated them. He called himself the God-King, but the interrogation was short; as soon as Julian realized the God-King was evil, she attacked him.

The God-King fired crackling bolts of lightning which dealt much damage to the party, immobilizing them and generally causing havoc. They managed to dispatch him, though. The city continued to tremble, so the party ran out, back up into Talon, which had now fallen into twilight. They looked out a window to find that Talon burned. A huge hole gaped in the middle of the city, and from it red light poured out. Zombies walked the streets, but they were under attack from leaping humans covered in tattoos.

Everything was changing.

Brent P. Newhall's Musaeum of Fantastic Wonders

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