Loose threads two hippos owned by a kobold named Gokdi, investigating Merry's tower, the Commander is out and about, more information in the gwyddfa
Participants The Ashen Hawk, Jirel Flyr, Cornix the Beaker, Lanliss Ashscribe, Hecret, Zinlynndise Imare
Locations Unekawa's Reach, Selementai Sanctum
Short summary:
Ashen Hawk and his friends go to Unekawa's Reach, follow some tracks east, find an ancient map, and take a mountain resort vacation. They find a fortress in the mountains where Merrythe Immortal is hanging out. They learn some new information and leave a pile of corpses in their wake.
Full Report
Ashen Hawk, reporting in.
I assembled a team from a pair of trackers, a pair of undead hunters, and a pair of battlemages to hunt down Merry the Immortal, last seen during the events of Two Sides of the Same Coin.
Our first stop on the trail is Unekawa's Reach, or what's left of it after it was destroyed and collapsed in The Edge of Entropy. Between Lynn's knowledge of nature and my Object Reading spell, we learned that Merry had moved up to some mountains. The bugbears from the Republic of Jagriarius, ones we think deal with necromancy, were gone as well, and their dead had been removed. Jirel found some tracks traveling east, and so the party set off following them for several days.
In there, we fought some hippos. We subdued them nonlethally, and on their collars we found a Draconic name, Gokdi. We did not pursue this.
Eventually, we find some mostly-destroyed ruins. Jirel finds a pressure plate that, when pressed, opens a hatch leading down into the ruins. We proceed in and find a single room containing an orrery-like device. Even though Cornix and I detect undead, I lead the charge in. Corpses in the water surrounding the orrery come to life, and we defeat them. One curses Jirel, however, and it takes several minutes of Cornix and I saving her from drowning before she can shake off the curse. Notably, Jirel took harsh damage from Lanliss's Divine Wrath spell, but she's hesitant to discuss it later.
With his knowledge of occultism, Cornix activates the orrery. Jirel later identifies it as a Gwyddfa. This device is a magical map constructed by ancient elves, and Cornix is able to identify several structures in the area. One structure is Unekawa's Reach, identified as Tirion-ofaire. Another is the Dread Citadel, which apparently was a luxury island resort for the elves. Finally, a mountain fortress is identified as Tanoronti Shin, to the east, with a mountain road leading up to it.
Cornix has a mental beacon from the gwyddfa pointing him to our destination, so we trek through the mountains to reach it, eschewing the road in case it was the wrong one. After a long trek through mountains, slowed by weather, terrain, and acclimation, we run into a terrible thunderstorm. It becomes clear after a few days that it won't abate, so we eventually push through it. Lynn, Cornix, Jirel, and I all know the storm is magically produced, but we disagree on the possible sources.
Eventually, we reach the fortress. The athletic among us cross from a nearby cliff up the fortress wall, carrying a zipline for the less athletic. We nearly lose Lanliss, but Hecret saves him. Meanwhile, we're being struck by lightning. I cannot impress upon you how terrible this trek has been.
Down into the main courtyard of the fort, we see frozen bugbears. Past them is a large central building, but we hold off on going in due to a sense of danger. Jirel finds hidden doors into the walls of the courtyard. We eventually encounter Republic bugbears entering into the secret passage from one of the guard towers, and we slaughter all of them. We find their rooms, but press on into the side of the large building rather than through the front door.
The same bugbear scientist working with the purple worm from the Reach was here commanding ice golems and dragon skeletons while she was researching the weather. We dispatch of her crew and take her hostage. She calls herself The Commander, having traded away her name to The Sun-Sellerthe same way I traded my color. She provided lots of information and a key to the central hatch in the courtyard.
Notably:
- The worm and Merry were working towards the same goal, the destruction of this realm
- She is a deserter to the Republic
- Merry is in a tower accessed by a portal in that central hatch
I make the choice to let her go. This is not a popular choice, but I don't execute prisoners.
Jirel turns into a bat and scouts the portal; the first room is guarded by animate statues. Satisfied, we left the fortress. We will be returning shortly to kill Merry.