SourceMaterial-Avlis Campaign 7, Part 3

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 10 Upon sighting the tower, the group new they could be in trouble. If they waited until full night, the bandits would probably come out and attack. If they made it through the night, the bandits would probably attack in the day. Either way, they were probably going to see violence. They resolved to sending Katar alone on horseback to scout ahead of the wagon. He kept about 500 to 600 feet in front of the wagon while it lagged behind. Soon Katar was accosted by hidden bandits in the underbrush. He managed some deft talk to convince them that he and his buddies had nothing of value, and the bandits allowed the group to pass for a mere silver and copper. Crisis averted! Not long after the bandit tower, the group found another small town, even more peculiar than the one filled with half-giants. The guards at the main gate spoke no Common, though they looked human or half-elven. Eventually, a male drangonari elf stepped out and spoke to the group in Common. He said they called the town Bridgetown, and the inhabitants, which were variously human, elven, dwarven, and even a few shaahesk, all spoke drangonari elven. Beyond that, they were all pretty dimwitted, except for the drangonari elf, who decided to let them stay at the local tavern while the town prepared a feast for their visitors. At the feast, the drangonari elf told them the story of the town of Bridgetown. His band of drangonari was caught in a crossfire long ago between Grantir and Drotid, so it moved to the border between M'Chek and T'Nanshi.... where it was once again caught in a crossfire during the Human-Elven War, also known as the M'Check T'Nanshi War. So once again, they moved. This time they wandered as far as The Seven Cities to the west, but once again they did not find peace there because they were caught up in the hostilities brewing between The Seven Cities, Brekon, and The Kurathene Empire remnants. So, they traveled east again, all the way. The found themselves in The Wastelands, and they thought that maybe since it was such a terrible place, no one would bother them there. They were right. Unfortunately by that time, most of the drangonari had died off, and slowly the town took on more wandering residents of other races who were dimwitted, dull, and aimless from wherever else they came. So, the drangonari elf, who was the last of his kind in the village now, taught them his language and how to survive out there. The feast ended without any other hitch and the party retired. Back inside the wagon, Torvald's illness was getting worse. The group had a discussion about who would do the mapping if he passed. None of them had the ability to do it. They were all just there to protect Torvald while he mapped. Torvald suggested that one of his old apprentices could do it.... though he was not too sure, because this particular apprentice always disappointed him. In fact, Torvald said he had decided a couple days back to do a Sending to fetch that apprentice to the wagon to replace him. The new apprentice would arrive in a couple days.... if the wagon would stop moving. It became necessary to stay at Bridgetown another two days to wait. Meanwhile, Senjae busied himself with spell research and managed to further modify his magic missile spell into a positive missile spell. He tested it on their resident ghost, Terpen, to see if it hurt undead. It did. Then he tested it on Torvald to see if it made the old man feel better. It did, but it did not cure his illness. Torvald decided to show Senjae and Bearclaw some things before he died. He announced that he was leaving the wagon to the group when he passed, so it was time to reveal all its secrets. Underneath his bed was a hatch which led to a lower floor. Now, the wagon itself was already enchanted. The door of the wagon to the outside had a Reduce/Enlarge spell on it, so the inside of the wagon was very large.... but really, that was because the people would shrink when they went through the door. Torvald, as a powerful Artificer could do this. The basement floor, however, was different. It was an extradimensional space. No portable holes or bags of holding allowed! Torvald led the two men through the area and their jaws dropped. There was another library, better than the one up top. There was a complete artificer's station with the old models of stig suits. There was an area where coffins of past group members were kept. There was a summoning room, where Torvald tried to summon celestials to cure his illness but failed. Then finally, there was another room for necromantic activities that housed a big magical cage. Inside the cage was a unique undead creature... a ghostly female elf who looked like she was perpetually underwater. She called to Senjae and Bearclaw with a sweet voice, but Torvald shooed her away. He said no one must ever open that cage. She was a powerful undead, and the daughter of the being under the lake. Mother and daughter did not get along, however. Torvald surmised that the mother was trying to collect worshipers so she could ascend to godhood. According to the daughter, the mother was trapped under the lake by the daughter. They really did not like each other. The two of them did share the ability, however, to possess living beings, but only elves. Senjae pledged to study this creature and a method of curing Torvald. Unfortunately, Torvald was certain he would die anyway, and when he did, he planned to trap his soul in the summoning room of the wagon. It occurred to the group that the lady under the lake was probably one of the Nine Lords of The Wastelands. Katar looked in the book The Further Prophecies of Myrtle, and thought that she might be the one known as "The Black", but it wasn't clear. It could also be "The Unascended" or "Malafoge". Torvald then came clean with everyone. The Wastelands has serious problems, namely that when people die there, their souls do not depart. The souls stay around. Sometimes, the souls try to return to their original body and are partially successful. That creates a feral humanoid version of the former person. Other times, the souls just wander and continue to blight the land. Granted, there are other mysterious forces that harm beings from walking around there, a mysterious radiation. Whether those two things have anything to do with one another is unclear. The Nine Lords of The Wastelands all deal with the soul issue differently. Each thinks their way is the best way. They can't let the souls wander around, so they all have means of collecting them and using them. Tzeentzch uses them to create living animal hybrids, like Drac and various other people the group has met. Tzeentch is wrong, but that's how he deals with the souls in his area. The Forgemaster does it differently. He collects the souls and puts them into metal bodies. That's what Stephus is. The Forgemaster thinks that if the soul is in a metal body, it won't blight the land and it can be repaired indefinitely. His way is also wrong. Each of the Nine Lords has a method, and it is good to be careful of not falling prey to it. If this lady under the lake is one of these Nine Lords, she probably has some method too. After relaying this information to the rest of the party, the new cartographer showed up. He is an aasimar named M'Nemmeth, and he is Torvald's son. He had no idea his father was sick, and he was crushed to hear it. Since he was a sorcerer, he would not be able to see Torvald without getting sick, so they talked through the walls in the wagon. Chapter 11 With M'Nemmeth doing the mapping as they go, the group continued to trace its way around the crater lake. They encountered several villages with unique inhabitants as they went. As they approached a larger village, they noticed a steeple from a temple of Dru'El toward the center of the town. Drac and Katar wished to stop and pay their respects to their deity, and to find out the nature of a temple in such an unexpected place. Inside, they met another Avenger, a drangonari elf named Djaginkwaith Eauck'niiss. He told them he was on a holy mission to eliminate the enemies toward the east. His descriptions were vague. He saw them as undead but also referenced mechanical people like Stephus. His quest from Dru'El was unclear, but all he knew was he had to kill something and that was enough for him. Drac and Katar took this lonely Avenger into their care at the local bar and explained to him how death works in The Wastelands. They explained that killing his enemies wouldn't rid the world of them, not here anyway. This shattered Jaquen'quath's resolve and he became depressed for not being able to fulfill his mission. His Avenger brothers suggested he come along with them on their mapping mission, and perhaps along the way they would find out more about the possibilities of what Dru'El wants for him. He agreed and joined the crew. Back at the temple, Senjae also bartered with the priest for a piece of the temple relic: the dirt that once laid at the bottom of Dru'El's cell when he was a prisoner of the Negerai. Senjae believed that there could be some healing properties in it that could help Torvald. As Senjae joined the Avengers at the local bar afterward, he noticed the inhabitants of the bar were strange: it turned out they were all changelings! Slowly as they began to expose themselves, the gathering became a fiesta of form exchange, which Senjae was told was a common way his kind would gather and have fun. Senjae indulged by showing off a few of his forms he had picked up along the way. Chapter 12 As the group continued its journey around the lake, Senjae had time to taunt the creature in the cell at the bottom of the wagon. The undead creature was the daughter of a being that lives at the bottom of the crater lake. This being desires to become a god and gain power, but she is kept prisoner there, apparently by an even larger, more evil being. Aside from these clues, Senjae could not pull anything more of the of the creature, other than cryptic phrases. As the wagon came to its next stop, there was an abandoned camp. Upon exploration of the camp, insectoid creatures rose out of the ground and attacked. The halfling Bearclaw was advised to shoot at them from the top of the wagon, but he instead opted to remain on the ground and fire from there. There was a brutal battle with these insects known as "ravagers", and Bearclaw died. The group retreated into the wagon and pulled away in time. Chapter 13 Continuing on around the lake, the group next came to a large fortified temple to The Harpinger. The structure was like a castle, with three towers around the outer walls and a central tower rising out of a two-story main building. Sensing evil, the Avengers in the group advocated attacking the temple immediately. Others in the group, like Echococo and Senjae wondered about the wisdom of attacking a temple for no reason when it wasn't bothering anyone. That's when the Jechranian noblewoman traveling in the wagon spoke up. La'Naya told the group that she thinks this building could be the hub of a new trade route to the north and south, and she was prepared to pay the group extra money to take it over. Torvald agreed and offered to foot some of the payment. The sense of purpose for the mission converted Senjae over to the idea, but Echococo was still hesitant. The group created a plan, which essentially consisted of barging in through the front door in broad daylight and taking them on. They figured the temple would probably be more active at night, so it was the best option. As they commenced their attack through the front door, Senjae wiped out the first group of clerics with a fireball, and the attacking party immediately forced its way inside. To their horror they found clerics of The Harpinger as well as clerics of the Dead Dreamer in there, along with a human-looking woman bound up on the altar. No one was sure of what to make of it, so they pressed the attack. While the fight progressed, and the inhabitants of the first floor were wiped out, the group freed the bound woman who introduced herself as Ashakti, paladin of Gorethar. She was imprisoned there as a sacrifice, along with others, and she was determined to visit retribution on this temple. So the fight continued... As they cleared the first floor and went up to the second, the group realized there were a lot of nooks and crannies in this building for people to hide. Numerous fights ensued, and several prisoners were found chained throughout the place. Ashakti found her armor. Echococo put on a cursed tiara. The group found a bag of holding, and their various cuts and scrapes were repaired as best as possible by Senjae. Eventually it was time to start ascending the towers and clearing them, but which one first? The group chose one of the outer towers and found a couple of bards making themselves at home there. The bards had no interest in fighting, since they were only visiting the temple, which they did frequently for payment for their musical services. They noted to the group that the temple was currently being contested by adherents of the Dead Dreamer who believed their dead god might be hiding in the lake of the crater. The followers of The Harpinger were trying to fend them off, with limited success. One of the church officials, a brute, lived in the floor above the bards and came down at night to proposition them before moving on to church business. The group decided they would rest first and then go kill him...