Session 48: Into Darkness. 23/6-27/6/1480

PCs: 6 - Arya, Jareth, Pealias, Quinn, Dunstan, & special guest star Ardan the Untouchable 

21/6/1480 - Midsummer Ball
22/6/1480 - Lirael & Dunstan visit Baroness Amara. Quin meets Tanara Cothwick. Asks about buying Fishers Friend from Al (no). Asks Marsh Laval about buying Green Tankard (maybe). Karse Portal opened at sunset by Lady Moonfire, green energy arc from Loudwater to Karse. Tigerclaw invade Feywild, spied on by Pealias.
23/6/1480 Quinn in town at FF, makes 'friends' with Pamela Bardew, late lunch with Tanara Cothwick. Pealias to Northwood Manor, meets Ilvanus there, then to town. Visits Tammy. Long Pealias/Quinn chat in Fishers Friend. Thanes come in - Barstomun Thane has hired Ilvanus Tarc. Lirael & Dunstan visiting Downwater Shire Halflings.
24/6/1480 Lirael and Dunstan return to Northwood Manor. Arya & Jareth visit Rensard manor, Arya consults with Lord Myuni over the Red Comet. Myuni speculates that the Death Cyst is a 'Death Pole', an opposite to the Life Pole at headwaters of the Unicorn Run. Arya translates Ammarindar Plates. Myuni leaves.
25/6/1480: Jareth & Arya breakfast at Rensard - Myuni gone - then return to Northwood. Lirael has fallen sick.
26/6/1480:  Lirael very sick. Halvath the Green Regent can barely keep her alive. Death Cyst needs to be closed. Hallomak Stromm Sends to Quinn, asking how she's doing on closing Death Cyst - reached Phaervorul yet? Elf Ranger Ardan arrives at Northwood Manor, with news Death Cyst needs closing, and he can take the party to Phaervorul. Pealias sends message courier with 4,000gp to Tammy Hill to buy the Green Regent. Arya sends a message by courier (2 of Jareth's men) to Queen Esme, apologising that they will not be able to attend Shieldmeet. Quinn sends messenger to Pamela Bardew, asking her to go spy on Rensard Manor as a maid for a few days, for 100gp. Pamela goes to Rensard Manor and gets hired (evening, ca 8pm). Party eventually sets off from Northwood to the Endless Caverns - Arya Jareth Quinn Pealias Dunstan & Ardan.
9pm - Party reaches entrance of the Endless Caverns around sunset, go in. Halvath transfers the Death Cyst Necrotic energy from Lirael into himself.
27/6/1480 DR:
To 3am: Party treks for 6 hours, passing the Underdark tower of the Lich Nolav at about midnight - they sense they're being watched as they pass through his mushroom garden.
3am: Party camps just north of the Lake of Fire.
7am: Party attacked by Fire Giant patrol, defeat fire giants & minions. An Azer, Rylgoth, surrenders and agrees to join the party. He thinks Arya is a Primordial.  On Rylgoth's advice, to avoid further fire giant encounters the group treks on without having rested properly.
12pm: PC Group nears a rift, beyond which lies the deeper Underdark. Rylgoth says that Hook Horrors have been seen in the area, preying on those attempting to cross the bridge over the rift.
8pm: Messengers reach Esmerelda of Llorkh with Arya's message of apology.  That night Esme dreams of her Father.
28/6/1480
3.30am: Kitana & Goblins sack Rensard Manor. 5am - Kitana, Banites, captives & hobgoblins ride east on worgs, making  the 34 miles from Rensard to Llorkh in one day (ca 5am-7pm, 8 hours travel & 6 hours rest in the middle), while skirting Valeris' southern villages.
7pm: Kitana returns to Llorkh with Warlord Delderosh and captives including Jaela Rensard and Pamela Bardew.
9.30pm: Feast in the Great Hall.
 
XP
Roleplay & Investigations: 500
Fire Giant Patrol Group (4 Azers, 3 Hell Hounds, 3 Fire Giants): 9,100/6=1,516 (EL 16) x1.5=2,275
2,775+51,550= 53825
Need 57,000 for 15th level 
Recruited Rylgoth the Azer Minion. Worships Arya as a Primordial. 
Took 3 suits of dwarf-sized lvl 16 mundane masterwork adamantine-alloy chainmail from the dead azers (+9 AC, -1 armour check penalty). It's Forgemail in the PHB and the online character builder.

Lirael is very sick. When the Death Cyst ruptured, it seemed to poison Lirael. Halvath the Green Regent is suffering to a lesser extent. Those skilled in History & Religion (Arya) think it is because a True King is linked mystically to the Land - as the Land suffers, the King (or Queen) suffers. If Lirael dies, the poison will spread outward and poison the Gray Vale itself, eg the children now in their mothers' wombs will be stillborn. Sir Jorah offered to give up his own life to save Lirael - transfer the poison to himself. The Green Regent is channeling healing energy into Lirael working on a Ritual to transfer the poison away from Lirael & into himself - since he also has a mystical link to the Land - with Mielikki's power flowing through him he can survive longer, hopefully. However the best thing would be if someone could close the rupture. Arya had visited the Warlocks Jaela & Myuni and found some hints about that in some familiar looking Ammarindar copper plates that Myuni showed her. The rest of the group has just started into the Underdark, dispatching a Fire Giant patrol.

Re the Ammarindar plates, it looked to Arya that during the original Death Cyst incursion 1,500 years ago, Ammarindar sent 1,000 Dwarven Defenders (Paragon warriors) to aid Erylyndn in closing the Gate. The dwarven spearhead reached the incursion point, but the dwarves could not close the Gate from this side. Around fifty of their best warriors volunteered to enter the Death Gate and close it from the other side. They succeeded - the Gate was closed. The Dwarves never came home; statues were erected to their undying honour in the vaults of Splendarmorrn, beneath Adakmi on the Shining Falls.
According to Myuni, the Death Cyst penetrates from the Abyss through the Shadowfell into Toril. He also talked about a sort of energy 'Life Pole' on the Unicorn Run, and the Cyst as its opposite, a 'Death Pole'. The Elves have similar legends, that 'The Sisters' region just south of the Star Mounts, a stunningly beautiful series of escarpments and gorges created by the flow of the Unicorn Run, is a sacred place, the Womb of the World. The Earth-Mother Chauntea calls the new races of Faerun into being here.

LIRAEL 26/6/1480 DR, sunset: The red light of sunset is coming through the western windows of Rensard Manor, when Lirael's fever breaks. She returns to consciousness quickly but quite quietly, opening her eyes, becoming aware that Sir Jorah Blackthorn is sat beside her bed, face tense and full of concern. He's holding her right hand. In the shadows across the room sits Halvath, the Green Regent. Halvath speaks, in rumbling tone:
"My friend, 'tis done. She should awaken shortly."
Then Jareth sees that Lirael's eyes are open, and his worried face breaks into a relieved smile.
"Lirael!" he exclaims.
As Lirael's low-light vision kicks in, past Jareth's left side she can see Halvath more clearly now. The Green Regent is not looking too green. In fact he looks distinctly... wilted.

 Esmerelda of Llorkh 27/6/1480 DR - six days since the Midsummer Ball, three days after Kitana's departure, and four days until Shieldmeet, two tired looking soldiers on horseback arrive at the west gate of Llorkh, and are taken to Queen Esmerelda's throne room - big strapping young fellows in scale, their tabards show the flaming hand symbol of Jareth, the commander of Lirael's guards. They bow to Your Majesty, and one hands you a sealed letter. It's from Arya the Red Wizard. She apologises very nicely, but unfortunately critical matters in the west mean that the Heroes of Loudwater will be unable to attend Shieldmeet as requested, to oversee the signing of the alliance between Queen Valeris, Queen Esmerelda, and Thane Harvak of the Glintshield. Arya adds: "Lirael is gravely ill, and the matters that hold us from attending relate directly to that, once the matter has been attended to I personally shall call upon you to apologise for our absence."