In this play report the PCs travel back to the elven ruin of Omiron. They had been sent there by Lord Blanbot, to clear out the new cult that appears to be worshipping a demonic entity named Tranz’grozan.
Characters
Malik – Fighter 2 – A Thalazian blade master and leader of a gang of land pirates.
Aetos – Magic-user 1 – An Urr experimenter in the arcane.
Thalzir – Barbarian 1 – a blue skinned warrior with a short temper.
Retainers
Cornelia Nerva – Normal Human – this noblewoman was saved from Thouls in session 12.
3 pirate thieves – two are light footmen and one is a thief 1.
Sharif – Thief 1 – Aetos’ trusted retainer.
Zont – Fighter 1 – a brawny swordsman.
Tib – Elf 1 – a light footed marksman.
Forta – Magic-user 1 – a pot bellied academic.
During the party’s downtime there had been a little rest and travel. Malik had been training Cornelia in the way of the sword. The cleric Andros ordered his two magic user retainers to craft spell scrolls. The large party of twelve travelled 18 miles west from Renton on Fie on their horses to the villa of Lord Blanbot, who was becoming a patron of theirs.
At his villa they discovered he was raising a mercenary force to head back to the black mound of the dragon who had slain him. Malik informed the Lord about the cult inside the old temple of Omiron. That they were using women to recruit men into their ranks, and that he believed these men were being used as sacrifices to some dark deity.
Blanbot gave the order to execute all known cultists, and hence bring the rule of law back to the region. For the clearing of the temple he would pay the party 500gp. Then he set about organising his campaign to the south.
Aetos the mage was still residing at Blanbot’s manor, and had been staying there for about six weeks since session 6. His player took up control of him once again and he joined the party on their ride back to Renton on Fie.
The party spent one day in the lake-side town, gathering up rumours, and employing some extra retainers. Zont, a fighter. Tib, an elf. Forta, a magic user. Each was offered one share of treasure, except the elf who made a deal for one and a half shares.
This large party of eleven hopped on their mares and rode out to the temple, deep in cultist country.
When they arrived it was around eleven in the morning. They surveyed the temple. This time there were only to guards at the temples large doors. Each wore black togas, and bronze face plates, carrying halberds. The lighter armed members of the party, Tib, Sharif, and the three pirate thieves, snuck up to one hundred and fifty yards away and rained stones and arrows on the two men. They fell quickly.
Then the rest of the party approached the doors, pushed them inwards, and again stared into the dark vestibule of the temple, lined with it’s many columns. In the centre was a strange fungal man who gave out a terrible high pitched scream. The party charged into it and cut it down. But beyond the two northern arches there came a rattling bell. The denizens of the temple knew someone was here.
The party very carefully marched towards the two archways in the north. They heard a lot of shuffling about in the next room, but no-one came through the portal. Clearly a trap was being laid for them. The party decided on moving to the eastern archway and marched forward through it. Beyond, they saw halberds held aloft and sandalled feet on the ground. The party launched burning oil down in front of them, hoping to harass the waiting warriors. But the lines of the enemy reformed after a few seconds, several men rushing past the arch. Then, a huge clatter of doors echoed from the north, followed by terrible screeching and the quick steps of clawed feet. The birdmen reinforcements were arriving. The bring lantern oil slowly diminished, and the party decided to rush through the arch and attack before the bird headed beastmen could reinforce the enemies ranks.
Malik and Thalzir took the front line, dashing forward to meet three cultists wielding halberds. Three vulture headed men were just to the east, rushing forward in a frenzy. Now that the back ranks of the party were in the tunnel of the archway, more cultists charged through the eastern arch, seeking to flank the interlopers.
Luckily the party won the initiative. Malik hit multiple cultists with his magical sword. Thalzir bound the enemies blades, the spear armed thieves in the second rank thrust and stabbed. Cornelia, who had all but six days of sword training, rushed to defend the back rank from the flanking cultists, along with Sharif.
The birdmen collided with the parties front rank, they were being pincered in the narrow archway. That was when Aetos loosed his sleep spell. Every single one of the enemies fell asleep, and their throats were promptly slit.
The party moved through next area that bore a huge pit in the centre. Then they moved north into the inner sanctum of the temple. This was a huge domed space, in the centre was a black ziggurat. In the north was an ancient high altar with a pantheon stood atop, only each of the statues had been smashed from the hip up. The party marched around the ziggurat towards the high altar. The northern wall of the ziggurat had three doors leading inside, and the high altar itself had a single stone door.
The party listened at both, hearing nothing, then entered the high altar room. Inside, amongst wretched stench and offal, were six bird headed beastmen, and a dog with the head of a vulture. A quick battle took place at the doorway. With their newly found halberds in the second rank, the party made light work of them, slaying them all. Around the largest birdman’s neck was a gold medallion and a key. This Birman also carried a silvered halberd of elvish design. All were pilfered.
This key, they found, opened the central door into the ziggurat. Inside there was a smashed room where three terrible fugal men lurked. The party charged into them and within two rounds had cut them all down. Beyond were two more doors.
They opened one door and found a silk lined room, hazed with the smoke of fragrant hashish. Amongst the smoke, fourteen scantily clad women basked and writhed. The party didn’t go inside this boudoir, worried they would be drugged from its atmosphere.
They instead tried the other door, and after moving through a desolate room of smashed carvings, found a room containing an old crone wearing a bird mask. This woman dangled live worms into the gullet of six featherless bird-headed children, who squawked and hopped for their meal. The woman began to sermonise how her sweet children would grow up to form a powerful empire.
The party briefly considered slaying all inside the room, to which the crone began intoning the name of her dark deity, Tranz’grozan. The party slew her immediately, but let the accursed children live. These chicken fleshed boys began to devour their brood mother’s carcass immediately.
The party decided to leave, for now. But on their way out they encountered a dark cleric. This decadent fellow was clad in leather armour and a bearskin cloak, he called out for reinforcements and began swinging at the party with his mace. They made light work of him, decapitating him in the same round Tib had cast light into his eyes. Malik scooped up his glowing head like a lantern, and out they all marched.
They rode their mounts back to the village of Renton on Fie and took a few days rest, selling the golden medallion for a good price. Then they proceeded back to Blanbot’s villa to collect his reward of 500gp. The Lord was still away on his crusade to the dragon mound in the south.
Judges note.
I would normally show the party’s map, but the temple uses a commercial map which I have keyed. Cornelia has now levelled up to become a paladin.
Dreadlord Games 