SourceMaterial-Avlis Campaign 5, Part 2

This is Avlis Source Material ⚠️Use of this material has NOT been authorized on the NWN Avlis Servers.⚠️ To use any of this material IC on NWN Avlis Servers, you must request approval of this material from the Avlis Team. Send a PM to the Dungeon Masters group on the Avlis forums to begin that approval process. To learn more about what Avlis Source Material is, please click here. You may use this material for non-server-related Avlis events, such as D&D/PnP.		Campaign Title Part Avlis Campaign 1 The "Jade" Campaign Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Avlis Campaign 2 The West End of Time Part 1, 2, 3, 4 Avlis Campaign 3 Vanoviel and The Godslayer Part 1 Avlis Campaign 4 Rune Quest Part 1, 2 Avlis Campaign 5 The Western Underdark Part 1, 2, 3, 4 Avlis Campaign 6 Daggerspace Part 1, 2, 3 Avlis Campaign 7 Into The Wastes Part 1, 2, 3 Chapter 5 Returning from their successful operation for Lord Verint, the group was ushered back to the Demon Lord's throne room for a grave announcement. Lord Ternus has declared that worship of any other deity but himself within his territory is now illegal, and he was instructing his vassal lords to wipe out all temples other than his own, or force the clerics to convert. Given that the highest authority in the land issued that order, it fell to Lord Verint to help enforce it, and he had a mission for the group to begin immediately: eliminate the occupants of the local temple to the Dead Dreamer. The temple, according to Lord Verint's operatives, was located in the north part of Batumawberk on a small island within one of the tiny underground lakes found throughout the cavern. Normal access is granted via ferry. Bookers, Lana, Jobil, and Maher would need to make their way past the guards and onto the ferry where they could infiltrate the temple and begin the cleansing. With minimal fanfare and distraction, the party managed to take control of the ferry and make its way to the temple, where it found the inhabitants in disarray. Many of the clerics had already escaped but left behind various summoned monsters and prisoners to fight off invaders. The party encountered these and dealt with them accordingly with Mahar's growing druidic powers, Lana's powerful runes, and Booker's barbaric might. At one point, a helpless group of clerics surrendered, and the party agreed to allow them out of the temple without being killed. No one spoke of this again afterward, for it violated Lord Verint's orders. However, by the end, the temple was clear and their mission was accomplished. Chapter 6 Clearing out the Dead Dreamer's temple increased the group's status in the ranks of Lord Solwark Verint's household, and he decided to give them a more pressing and discreet next mission as a result. It turned out that Lord Verint was not in total agreement with the orders of Ternus, and neither was Verint's direct vassal lord, Lord Gerinald Stonesmelter. Outside the city, in the small village of Gor'Retgag was a shrine to the deity Qinoxitl, which was famous for its prophecies and fortune tellers. These services had in the past been useful to both Lord Verint and Lord Stonesmelter. Additionally, Lord Stonesmelter's daughter was one of the clerics serving at the shrine and he was not thrilled with the prospect of her elimination. Lord Verint ordered the party to head to Gor'Retgag and save the shrine's clerics from death, while rescuing Lord Stonesmelter's daughter. They were to secure any remaining clerics and bring them to safety at the local inn, The Serpent Maw. Once reaching the inn, they were to enter through the back door and ask for "Uncle Stonesmelter". The owner of the inn would know whom to contact for them after that, and they would be allowed to leave the clerics in the care of "Uncle Stonesmelter" where they would be led out of the territory. After some dust-ups with competing adventuring groups out to eliminate the clerics, and some men from other competing Lords from Batumawberk, the group managed to secure six clerics from the shrine, including the daughter of Lord Stonesmelter. Upon delivering her and her compatriots to The Serpent Maw, "Uncle Stonesmelter", who turned out to be a kharakuro and the brother of Lord Stonesmelter, greeted his niece and took the clerics to a hiding place within the building. He bid the party goodbye and send good word along with them back to Lord Verint. Chapter 7 Lord Verint thanked the group for their success in rescuing his liege lord's daughter and the clerics of Qinoxitl while keeping their operation secret from anyone loyal to Lord Ternus. He immediately had another similar matter for them to help solve, since they had proven their loyalty to him and his agenda. More clerics of Qinoxitl were in danger, and these were located within the city of Batumawberk in a safe house all the way out to the eastern quarters. He charged the party with rescuing those clerics by gaining entry to the safe house and escorting them out of the city, or to the safety of Lord Verint's compound without being seen or discovered by anyone loyal to Ternus. Exhausted, the group agreed to the mission but first decided to spend some time relaxing at The Wingover Inn located at the center of Batumawberk in the Market. This was the inn near the site of the blacksmith shop they helped get out from under the oppression of The Forsaken Waifs Guild earlier. While at the inn, the group sat down and was approached by two figures intrigued by their surface-dwelling trappings. One was a surface Romini human named Maloney. The other was a sereg'wethrin elf named Ash. Ash and Maloney were not expecting to see surface dwellers in Batumawberk. Maloney, being from the surface, was glad to see someone like him, or close to it. Ash had been to the surface a few times and noticed some strange markings on Lana's skin and wanted a closer look. He was also curious about their business and how he might use that information. The meeting went off without a hitch and it was revealed that the party had close connections with The Burning Page through Lana and her mentor Yarlan Wayforth. The conversation revealed that The Burning Page offered a good measure of protection to its employees in The Underdark, and had access to a lot of artifacts found within the depths of Avlis' crust. Both Ash and Maloney were pleased by these prospects and asked to be further introduced. Bookers' group stated that they could make the introduction but it would require some service to Lord Verint in order to get there. They themselves were using Lord Verint's missions as a way to gain strength and carry out eventual revenge against Lord Ternus for his destruction of Bookers' and Lana's village back in Ferrell. Maloney and Ash agreed to tag along for the time being and the group told them about the current mission of rescue. When a night of rest passed, the group set out from the Wingover Inn and was almost immediately attacked by The Forsaken Waifs. Understandably, the guild wanted blood for its treatment at the blacksmith shop earlier when the party exterminated some of its members for trying to shake down one of Lord Verint's blacksmiths. The fight was long and had its ups and downs, but eventually the party prevailed with the help of Ash and Maloney: it was revealed that Ash was a sorcerer and Maloney was a Magus with some wizardly talents. Making their way to the safehouse, the group was accosted again, but this time by a hobgoblin claiming to be a member of the Rocs Guild. The hobgoblin thought the party was out killing clerics under the orders of Ternus and pointed them to the safehouse but said it was locked. He offered to let them in there by telling them of a secret passage one house over, but said house was occupied by The Forsaken Waifs who were holding some of his mates hostage. If the party took care of The Forsaken Waifs, they could get to the safehouse and kill the clerics. The party did not trust this hobgoblin and debated the merits of his story but decided to check it out nonetheless. Maloney used his weasel familiar to climb a ladder to the roof and scout the place. Their empathic link relayed something strange going on up there, so they decided to send Ash up to investigate using his powers of stealth. On the roof, Ash spied a lone soldier wearing the livery of Lord Ternus. Almost immediately, Ash attacked the soldier and with help from Maloney and Bookers, dispatched him promptly. Unfortunately, by the time the rest of the party made it up the ladder to the roof, they found there were other Ternus lackeys up there searching for a way into the safehouse too. The party decided they would not let Ternus' troops kill the clerics in the safehouse, so a battle ensued. Most of the troops went down easily, but the party had trouble with the leader of Ternus' thugs who used clever stealth and spell tactics to make quick hit-and-run passes at the party to attack them. Unfortunately for that leader, however, he took some hits and tried to backflip away but wound up falling off the roof and dying. With the roof clear, the party found a secret hatch leading into the house supposedly occupied by The Forsaken Waifs. They searched and soon found a sleeping guard in a nearby bed. After ambushing the guard and binding him, they found out there were indeed hostages from The Rocs in the house along with several other guards. They put their newly captured rogue on the roof and went about clearing the place. After a battle on the first floor, most of the captors were dead, except for the leader and one other who fled. The party freed the hostages and allowed them to escape. Soon, they found the secret passage to the safehouse and sure enough the clerics were huddled timidly inside. After some wrangling over wardrobes and disguises, the party managed to get the clerics through the streets to Lord Verint's compound, where he thanked the party and whisked the clerics away to safety. In return, he offered Ash and Maloney a place in his household, which they accepted. Exhausted once again, the party took a break. Chapter 8 When they went back to Lord Solwark's compound, the vassal lord thanked the group for its service and welcomed Ash and Maloney into his household. He then informed the group that Lord Ternus has announced his upcoming marriage to Demon Empress Hurana Leorthan, and the subsequent union of their territories. This has created a stir of excitement in the streets, and Solwark tells the group that he will be attending the wedding in 3 days with a retinue to include them. Meanwhile, they are free to wander the city as they wish and recuperate or buy gear. Soon afterward, they all wound up back at the Wingover Inn, where they kicked back for some drinks and relaxation. Bookers came close to getting in trouble when a kharakuro bar patron knocked his tray of drinks out of his hand and tried to trip him. The inimical drunk did not appreciate the surface dwellers and their surface god emblems which were technically illegal in Batumawberk. Maloney stepped in and prevented a more violent confrontation and the group simmered down. After some gear repair and shopping, the group passed the next few days at Solwark's compound. Finally the day came to attend the wedding. Lord Solwark's household was part of a grand procession, whereby each vassal lord's house marched out of its home compound and toward the center lane of the city. As houses marched toward the center, lower vassal lords would fall into line with the processions from their leige lords. As the leige lords' processions reached the center lane of Batumawberk, they all merged into a grand procession for Lord Ternus and from there they proceeded north to the temple. Once at the temple, they marched up the steps and took seats in the main sanctuary where they saw contingents from Leorthan's realm as well. The ceremony began and ended without a hitch, proclaiming the two Demon Lords as one and their territories as one. From there, the guests marched down to the basement of the temple where a grand hall housed the wedding banquet. For a while the party went off well, and the group stuck near Lord Solwark except for Bookers who noticed Yarlan Wayforth standing in the crowd next to some other similar-looking runed individuals and went over to talk to him. The crowd stopped and looked up when Ternus called for a toast at his table. He made the overture for his new wife and everyone drank deeply. Several seconds later, Hurana Leorthan slumped over the table in front of her, along with her nearby retinue. Promptly, Ternus pulled out his dagger and removed her head, killing her. The remaining guests of the late Hurana Leorthan were furious and immediately attacked anyone loyal to Ternus. Lord Solwark was gravely injured in this attack by a mysterious spell caster who engulfed the nearby area in lightning. He went down. Bookers, Maher, Ash, Maloney, Jobil, and Lana were caught up in the chaotic fighting that ensued. The floors of the hall ran red with blood as their group made its way closer to link up with Yar's group and continue fighting. The decision was made to try to fight their way out of the temple and get so safety somehow. Maher gave some minimal healing to Lord Solwark before heading off with them. After much combat to get out and some more in the streets, they made it safely out. Yar explained that their time with Lord Solwark, if he survived, was done. He left them in Solwark's care so they can gain some familiarity with the Underdark and now that they had that, he wanted them to help Yar's work in the The Burning Page. Bookers reminded him that the reason they came down to the Underdark was to take vengeance on Ternus for destroying his and Lana's village in Ferrell. Yar explained that they would get a chance to do this, but instead of doing it alone, they would do it with other Demon Lords as allies and with the power of The Burning Page behind them.... if they could be patient and lend their aid to Yar in return. The group agreed and camped outside the city for their next course of action. Chapter 9 With the city in chaos, half from celebration and half from outrage, Yar took time to explain to the group about The Burning Page and its newly forming sub-organization, The Glyph Bringers, which are comprised of rune casters called Saemilists. He introduced them to a fellow saemilist colleague of his named Kiv, who was to be the focus of their next mission. Yar assured the group that if they could help him and The Burning Page become more organized and powerful, their goals of getting revenge on Ternus would be accomplished in the process. Meanwhile, Maloney would gain valuable insights into other forms of magic and other magical items, perhaps, for his own use. Although Ash was not completely convinced, Yar also noted to him that he might find purpose among the ranks of The Death Runes, which was the mercenary and trade arm of The Burning Page. Bookers, Ash, Maloney, Maher and their accompanying friends Lana and Jobil agreed to give Yar a chance and see what he wanted. Yar obliged and told the group he would like them to escort Kiv to a new Demon Lord territory, under the rule of Demon Lord Hutha. This neighboring territory and its Demon Lord were in league with Yar and the Glyph Bringers. Demon Lord Hutha claimed to be interested in learning runic magic and disseminating it among her soldiers and expressed a desire to pay The Glyph Bringers dearly for the privilege. Kiv was a learned kharakuro saemilist who would be up for the task. Yar had a contact in the small village of Darkstone in Hutha's territory where the group would be able to drop off Kiv and receive their next mission. The village was about 100 miles away from their present location and multiple routes were available for travel, a couple of which Kiv was vaguely familiar with traveling. The group agreed and set off. While traveling, they decided to stick to a main road until reading the Planerift River and the village of Riftside which lies on its shores. Along the way they passed many travelers without incident, for the road was a main thoroughfare. Many of the travelers bore the livery of Lord Ternus. One such caravan approached and was found to be keeping a prisoner under some tarps on a cart. Bookers made the inquiry as to who was trapped under there and a fight ensued. After resolving the fight in their favor and killing the adomkuro, sereg'wethrin, and kharakuro guards, the group found an adomkuro woman tied up under there. She thanked them for her rescue and showed them to a place off a side tunnel where she bored out a home for herself. There, the group saw an alchemical setup with many potions, poltices, and other concoctions. She begged the group to lodge there and eat, and when she served dinner some of the members of the group, Maher and Bookers, became paralyzed. The lady then revealed herself to be a cavern hag and immediately dropped a fireball at her feet, in order to cook everyone she was about to eat. Though the blast injured many members of the party, everyone was still able to fight. A long battle ensued and ended when Jobil successfully cast a Hold Person spell on the hag and Ash executed a coups de gras. Bruised, burnt, and spent, the group fortified the home and stayed for the night and then continued on to arrive safely in Riftside.