3 - Candlekeep
On the road
The party left Baldur's Gate behind, and journeyed south toward Candlekeep to meet with Sylvana, the wizard who could potentially get the puzzlebox opened for them. Leaving the city they had to press through the throng of refugees from Elturel, who only have swollen in numbers during the time the PCs spent in town. The hungry crowd liberated the party of some of their gold, which they only noticed later during the day.
At the end of the day the party reached an inn where they would stay for the night. As they approached, they noticed a gathering of sorts which turned out to be a funeral service. A Hellrider knight called Reya Mantlemorn was performing the service for who they later found out was Gideon Lightward. Apparently Gideon was murdered in their sleep in the tavern - the PCs suspected Vaaz to be the culprit, but couldn't find any useful evidence at the scene.
The party and Reya shared information with each other regarding the events of the past weeks, and the knight decided to join the party on their journey to Candlekeep, in the hopes of finding out more about the fate of Elturel.
The doppleganger
The travelers were greeted with an unpleasant surprise as they reached the gates of Candlekeep: someone by the name of Falasker Fisk already gained admittance to the library today by donating the exact same book that the party was carrying: The First Charge of the Hellriders.
After managing to gain admittance by donating the issue of PlayGnome in their possession, they rushed to the quarters of Sylvana, and from there to the library in an effort to get to the wizard before Vaaz. The librarians informed the party that Sylvana requested to read the newly donated First Charge of the Hellriders in her usual private study room within the library.
Inside the study they only found an exact copy of the First Charge of the Hellriders lying on the table. Upon opening it, the party got teleported away to some unknown location.
The mysterious forest
After regathering their senses, the players found themselves inside a foggy forest. Their last memory from before was opening the book, and a strange poem:
Out of the fog, light is the keyChoose wisely and you shall be free
Setting sun over the plains of hell
Life seeping out at the toll of the bell
But if a secret you seek, foolish hero
You have to look back and choose anew
The forest itself seems somehow otherworldly: no animals can be heard in it, no stars or moons are visible in the night sky, but a perpetual eerie twilight looms over the place.
The party tried to scout for points of interest by climbing on top of a rocky outcropping, and managed to identify three noteworthy things:
1) to the south the forest seems to end abruptly
2) to the east, a building stands in the middle of a clearing
3) the sound of running water can be heard from the north
The hunting cabin
Our heroes decided to check out the clearing with the building, which turned out to be a hunting cabin. After not being able to see anything through the windows and no answer coming from the inside, the party tried to enter, springing a dart trap. Luckily the poisoned dart took no effect, and the party managed to enter unharmed.
The players found no-one inside, but they did spot a couple of curious things. For one, there was a locked magical door in the back wall of the cabin, but this door is not visible from the outside. Second, the cabin seems to be furnished as a retreat of sorts: a comfortable armchair is facing a fireplace, along with a cabinet of expensive drinks.
However, probably the most curious things inside are a couple of display cases housing an assortment of various items and trinkets: a rabbits foot, a glass eye, a bank receipt and a plethora of other curious things. Trying to make sense of this, the party spotted a signet ring among the items, bearing the twin-sun symbol of the Hellriders. This is when they come to the realization that they're probably looking at trophies of a serial killer.
---
Confronting Vaaz
The PCs then headed out to explore the island further. Unknown to them, they set off an alarm when trying to break into the cabin, and Vaaz was tracking them through the woods as they were exploring. As the party reached a lighthouse, they set off one of the traps of the assassin, which he chose as a good moment to strike, hitting the dragonbourne paladin with a poisoned dart.
Although the assassin wanted to stay hidden to poison the others as well, he was spotted and attacked by the party. They eventually overwhelmed the assassin and his displacer beast. Vaaz tried to flee but got captured anyway.
Following a bit of questioning the assassin explained that the place the party is at is a demiplane. The book is the key to the plane from the outside. To get back out one needs to activate the lighthouse and set it to shine with red color, in which case they get sent to the current location of the book. He later had a mage install a "back-door" to the demiplane in the cabin he built. Using the back door leads back to a magical homing-stone, which was also taken by the party.
Opening the Puzzlebox
Having apprehended Vaaz, the party soon found the wizard Sylvana Savikas hiding inside a cave behind a waterfall. They all headed back to Candlekeep and the wizard opened the puzzlebox for the party. They found a roll of parchment with the following text
In exchange for
which, Zariel, the Archduchess of Avernus and faithful representative of
Asmodeus, the Archfiend, Lord of the Ninth and Nessus, Supreme Master of the
Nine Hells, bestows the Gift of the Companion, a Solar Insidiator which shall
be placed in the sky above Elturel for at least the term of this agreement and
whose light will scourge the undead from the city. She further swears to render
whatever aid may be necessary to end High Rider Klav Ikaia’s reign if the Gift
of the Companion prove insufficient to this task.
In consideration
and honor of these mutual covenants, we sign in blood upon the day and year
first written above,
Zariel,
Archduchess of Avernus
High Watcher
Thavius Kreeg of Elturel"
Sylvana explained that this is an Infernal Contract, an immensely powerful artifact. Based on this, it seems that Elturel has not been destroyed, but instead transported to Avernus, and thus can be saved potentially by breaking the contract. To do so however, one needs to get hold of both copies of the contract - the other one presumably in the possession of Zariel - and destroy them simultaneously.
The act of destruction requires a means at least as powerful as the power that created the contract in the first place: perhaps an angelic intervention, or an artifact of massive power. Ezekiel claims that she can probably destroy the contract if freed. The shield that has her bound was created in Bel's Forge, a place located in Avernus. Perhaps it can also be destroyed there? Alternatively, the signees can both revoke the contract...
Back to Baldur's Gate
Since Vaaz could not answer questions raised by the party pertaining the demise of Elturel, but suggested that the Vanthampurs might know more, the party decided to head back to Baldur's Gate to talk to the Vanthampurs and hand Vaaz over to the authorities.
However, they were met by an unpleasant surprise: their former ally Liara Portyr refused to let them talk to the prisoners without giving any meaningful explanation. Adding insult to injury, when the party tried to seek out Thirstwell Vanthampur, they found the manor completely abandoned according to the testimony of the neighbor's butler.
The only person the party managed to get hold of was Nephyl, who explained that Coles also disappeared at the same time as the Vanthampur arrests. He is currently trying to fill the power vacuum that has been left in the wake of his disappearance.
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