Company Headquarters

After the party experienced a shortage of inn rooms (and the price hike that accompanied that) during the Festival of Erion, interest was expressed to purchase or rent larger, more permanent quarters. I quoted the players the price of buying a home, which turned them in the direction of leasing one. Thanks to Habdazar's high charisma, they managed to find a good price on a structure that suited their needs: a two story building with at least three-to-five rooms, possibly a stable.

Experience in the Watchfires & Thrones campaign largely comes from treasure and monsters, but I do award bonus points for the occasional great achievement or for contributing material to the overall "shared world" experience. This seemed like a pefect time to introduce one of those opportunities, so I offered a bonus of 200 xps to anyone who came up with an interior map of the new building. Pete showed up with not only a map, but with a drawing that subscribes to the unofficial motto of everyone but Tom in our group of "Any picture's better than no picture!" when it comes to art.


After I gave the players this option in an email, I never heard back from anyone stating that they were wanted to take a shot at it. I therefore assumed it would have to be me to come up with the building's layout. Since I've used fold-up buildings in the past during trips into town, I wanted to find something suitable to depict the former stables that the PCs are now living in. This was the result.




As it stands, the map above is accurate as far as the layout goes, but the exterior looks more like the photos than the drawing. A happy mixture of both player and referee input, which is what every campaign involving a shared world should be.

Watchfires & Thrones Session #7

Several hours previously, back in Rhuun…

Two bonded servants of House Bashari, Habdazar Doomwing and Kyrinn, were being entrusted with a task. Their master’s wife had recently been rescued from danger by the adventurer Fanta and his companions. Unwilling to be in anyone’s debt for long, their master entrusted to this sorcerer and fighting man the task of delivering a box containing a suitable reward to that adventurer. As the duo were rapidly approaching the end of their indentured servitude, should they successfully complete this task, they’d both be freed from bondage early. Readily agreeing to these conditions, Habdazar and Kyrinn ventured forth to find their quarry. When they were told that the party had departed the city, bound for an abandoned temple in the Hills of Scowling Bones, they too turned and headed in that direction.

Back at the Temple of the Black Goat, the party prepared to enter the temple pyramid itself. As they hobbled their mules and set Rynn the hound to watch over them, they detected the approach of two strangers crossing the wide plaza before the pyramid. These two quickly introduced themselves as soon-to-be former servants of the man whose wife the adventurers had recently rescued and that they bore a gift for “Fanta” and his comrades. The party eagerly opened the box, perhaps expecting coin or grants of land. Instead, they found a letter that informed anyone who read it that “Fanta and his associated comrades were in the good graces of House Bashari and should be awarded proper consideration and respect due to such individuals from any and all agents in the service of the trade clan of the Jasmine Circle.” The party was underwhelmed by the Basharian ideal of generosity.

With their servitude now ended and in need of coin, the newly-arrived sorcerer and fighter agreed to accompany the party on their explorations of the pyramid in exchange for a share of the treasure, bringing the party’s number up to twelve—plus two mules, a guard dog, and Mhyrakian watch lizard whose owner was beginning to experience buyer’s remorse.

It was decided that the entire courtyard should be explored prior to entering the pyramid. As the party circled the temple, they discovered two smaller statues that depicted the hermaphroditic god/dess, Ishnigarrab. Both of these statues stood above a trio of shallow basins and a grayish, watery milk leaked from the teats of each. Domdull was elected to sample this liquid and stepped forward without hesitation. Moments after dipping a finger into the stream and tasting it, his hand began to itch. Stripping his gauntlet off, he watched in horror as his flesh puckered and throbbed before finally splitting open, revealing three blind, cataract-covered eyes that stared sightlessly up at him from his hand! Despite experimenting with these new ocular growths, they seemed to grant the warrior no additional ability or hindrances—although they are unnerving to behold.
Upon discovering the second fluid-leaking statue, Domdull again sampled from the liquid, thinking that it might counteract the effects of the first statue. Unfortunately, this drink caused pus-filled boils to arise in his mouth and throat, making it impossible for the fighter to drink or eat, but still allowing him to draw breath. Bannath, “magic” dagger in hand, stepped forward to try and relieve the swelling, but the snake priest’s unsteady hand inflicted a minor wound upon the much aggrieved Domdull.

With promises of purchasing the fighter an ointment when they return to Rhuun, the party entered the pyramid—finally—to discover the entryway bore statues of the now-familiar tree monsters, their tentacles holding the ceiling aloft. Spatters of ashen guano marked the floor and a shaft of the setting sun’s light indicated an airshaft above. In the stagnant air hung a musty-yeasty smell, similar to the same scent produced by the milky liquid outside. After carefully checking the ceiling above for bats, they found the entryway empty and moved deeper into the temple.

In the nave, they found a glyph-inscribed pool of the dirty gray milk, a pair of stairs leading down, and an open set of doors to the temple’s main worship hall. Kallen moved closer to the open doors and caught the sickly scent of over-ripe fruit in the air. Hurling a torch into the great hall, the flickering flames revealed a large statue of Ishnigarrab flanked by cold braziers and a stone altar covered by an alien vegetation. Purplish-yellow and covered by a glossy film, this plant was polypus and bore large fruit the size of cantaloupes. It was these strange fruit that perfumed the air.

After venturing into the hall under the watchful eyes of the rest of the party, Kallen lit the braziers and discovered two smaller doors leading out of the chamber. The party voted to investigate these before delving into the temple’s lower level. Skirting the strange vegetation cautiously—which caused it not to react to their presence—the party discovered that each of these doors lead to hallways which terminated in small utility rooms. One was a robing room that bore musty, threadbare vestment. After prodding about with their pole, the party uncovered a case that contained a protective scroll against magic—a well-received piece of loot. The other chamber held charcoal for the brazier, votive candle holders, and a selection of aged wines and liquors. Amongst those containers, two potions were found, one of which is suspected to be a healing tonic with multiple draughts.

The upper level cleared, the party ventured beneath the temple. There, they found a common area that bore crumbling furniture and two dry wall fountains. Three corridors exited the chamber—two diagonal corridors and a central straight one. When Mars Markus and Syl edged close to one of the diagonal hallways in order to peer down it, they witnessed a large drop of watch leak from the nearest fountain. That large droplet fell into the basin below and transformed into a spider the size of a poodle and composed entirely of water!

The watery arachnid leaped on Syl—after Mars Markus, feeling very close to advancing in his career as a cleric, fled with a yipe—and plunged its fangs into the soldier’s chest. The venom was not enough to bring down the doughty warrior, who quickly dispatched the beast with his enchanted blade. Afterwards, he considered speaking with several of the archers in the party and teaching them a new word—“friendly fire”—for in their zealousness to bring down the spider, no less than three missiles flew dangerously close to the warrior as he battled it.

The melee finished, Kallen detected more movement in the gloom down the central straight corridor and the party edged down it cautiously. In a crumbling chamber, they encountered dirty white rats scampering about rank puddles and collapsed masonry. These they dispatched in quick succession, the fighters making ample use of the “Chop when They Drop” rule.

The corridor continued on and, unable to pierce the gloom from where they stood, Kallen tossed his torch into the next room—just missing setting the entire papyrus-filled scriptorium that occupied that chamber alight. A cursory search was insufficient to find anything of value amongst the reams of paperwork, scrolls, and writing implements, but a dust-free path crossed the chamber and exited through a pair of doors. Along that path lay blood stains, dried viscera, and brains—the brains being what the players fixated upon for some reason and spent the next twenty minutes of real time bringing up in conversation and planning.

The doors were eventually breached and the PCs discovered a long corridor flanked by alcoves containing statues of Ishnigarrab’s favorite terror trees. Kallen stepped down the hallway until the first of six skeletons, their foreheads adorned with glowing silvery-green lozenges, lurched from the gloom behind the statues. In the short melee, two skeletons were dispatched before Mars Markus’ divine power forced them back along the hallway—until they reached the closed door at its end. The party would have to destroy these foul things if they wanted to press forward and that meant breaking the power that held them at bay.

In the battle that followed, the party demonstrated an admirable amount of tactical thinking by alternating their missile attacks and frontline fighters. They should be very proud of their planning and it demonstrated to me that both the players and the characters are really coming around to “old school”-style thinking. Unfortunately, even the best plans can only mitigate the odds and a lucky dice roll killed bold Kallen. Mars Markus barely escaped the battle alive as well thanks to a sundered shield. Had he not, he would have fell a mere 70 experience points away from 2nd level.
After clearing the way of skeletons, Mars elected to venture back to the mules to acquire a replacement shield. Although he initially meant to venture alone, he was ultimately joined by Malbane the Green and Domdull “just in case.” This was a very, very good thing because the wandering monster check determined he ran into something during his journey. So, as the trio reached the entry way, they were horrified to see six stirges returning to their roost via that chamber’s air shaft. Fortunately for the party, they won initiative and Malbane got off his sleep spell before they could swoop down and what beasts didn’t die from falling to the floor below were quickly stomped to death.

The rest of the party took the time to catch their breaths, but Fanta spent the time doing a better cataloguing of the scriptorium’s contents, allowing him to uncover both a scroll of healing and one that detected magical auras. This was lucky, because this hopefully starts a new trend where the party finds the hidden healing objects that have been placed about the campaign world rather than bypass them as they’ve been doing so far. I really am a kindly referee despite the campaign’s body count so far. They just keep missing the good stuff.

Once the party had reassembled, it was decided that the party would explore the two bypassed diagonal passage before pressing deeper into the temple. No one wished to leave enemies at their backs. These explorations were both quick and profitable. One corridor led to a chamber whose organic contents seemed to have vanished and a thick layer of yellow-hued mold had sprouted. This chamber was left along. The second hallway led to a decaying library. Although the religious tracts found within (including The Apotheosis of Saints by Father Buckwald Idell—determined by the oh-so-useful Dungeon Alphabet) were heavily decayed, the party did discover numerous shipping crates which contained a treasure trove of texts on alchemy, astrology, sorcery theory, etc. The library of Athkul had been discovered at last!

This discovery led to a debate regarding returning to Rhuun to acquire a wagon of some sort. Even from their cursory examination of the crates, the party could tell that there were easily 1,000 lbs. of texts present. This course of action was decided upon, but the party first wished to secure the library, which they did by placing a fake magical glyph on the door, and checking to see what was beyond the door at the end of the statue corridor.

Returning to that door, they discovered a cleared T-shaped chamber beyond and that the bloody, brain-speckled path led to a bare wall at the base of the T. Fanta easily discerned the secret door in that wall and popped it open.

An abattoir lay beyond, with skeletons and horrific half-corpses gnawing upon the bloodied remains of unknown creatures. Surprised by the dead, the party fought viciously for their lives but quickly turned the tide of battle thanks to the efforts of Mars Markus and Bannath, their divine favor forcing back the dead. However, there were a few more undead than initially realized and, when they sprang from the darkness, the party was forced to face them without the use of magic. In the end, despite this drawback, the adventurers were victorious.

A search of the room turned up many coins of all types amidst the gore and a shield in excellent condition. Although there appeared to be two more exits from the room, it was decided that the party would return to Rhuun to acquire a wagon and so that the two clerics could undergo initiation into their respective churches.

Rhuun: The Street of the Cobra During the Feast of Erion

Watchfires & Thrones: Session Six

Leaving the Temple of the Black Goat behind them for the nonce, the party trudged back to Rhuun to recruit and reequip, pausing in the journey only long enough to bury the earthly remains of Reddannon and Yodahlla under low cairns in the Hills of Scowling Bones. After an uneventful trip, the walled settlement soon appeared out of the desert haze, with the blue, red, and bronze of the town’s guardsmen visible in the late morning’s heat.

Even before they reached the gate, the party heard the sounds of music, laughter, and happy chatter floating through the air. One of the guardsmen halted them at the entrance and informed the adventurers that the Feast of Erion was underway in Rhuun and a therefore a feast tax and arms peace were in effect. After paying eight silver smerduks each to enter (plus five copper groats to cover Gladys the mule) and acquiescing to having their weapons bound, the party stepped through the gate and onto the crowded Street of Cobras.

Amongst the crowd of celebrants, snake charmers, dancing girls, acrobats, mummers, and the like were other itinerant adventurers, each of whom had recently arrived in Rhuun: the fighting brothers Xander and Lyrax Tonn, the novice sorcerer, Tigir, and Kallen Doomsong, another fighting man (and apparently, a gambler and thief).

Once within the town wall, the party wanted to head directly to Seno the Jeweler in order to see what the necklaces they recovered from the fungal dead were worth. Before they could attempt to push through the crowded streets, however, the cry of “The procession is coming!” rang through the air. The street before them cleared swiftly as the crowd moved to either side of the avenue.

From around the corner came an odd parade. Four men dressed solely in loincloths, sandals, and brazen, full-headed dog masks appeared carrying a litter. Atop this sedan rode a woman dressed in vibrant white, her features hidden by gauzy veils. Behind them came numerous other men and women, each dressed in white and wearing half-face masks that also depicted the face and muzzle of dogs. A pair of draft lizards, each adorned with ribbons and bells, and ridden by a pair of men brought up the rear.

The party was prepared to wait for the procession to pass before venturing forth to take care of pecuniary business, but they soon found themselves in the midst of a conflict. Two men stepped from the crowd and halted the procession in the middle of the street. These two men confronted the lead litter bearer and insults were exchanged between the men and the bearer. As the crowd went silent, the adventurers could overhear the names “Bashari” and “Sulaj” mixed amongst the insult. Insults turned to pushing and shoving, and the threat of physical blows loomed nigh. It might have spilled over into violence had not two more men, each wearing a red turban, emerged from the crowd to try and broker a peace. Their efforts were initially rebuffed by the two instigators with words that they needed no help from “an Etar when it comes to dealing with Bashari filth!” Bannath, a cleric of Yg and enemy of Tarim, (whose church Erion is associated with) stepped close to the confrontation and did his best to stir the pot, hoping to incite a riot in which he could strike a blow against the Tarimites. Xander Tonn, a charismatic soul, attempted to calm the situation before it grew out of hand.

With things teetering on the edge of a knife, a scream arose from near the rear of the procession. Looking in that direction, the adventurers (and everyone else) saw that one of the draft lizards was now riderless: his master and handler, a man in his early sixties, lay on the dusty street after having fallen from the saddle. Whether overcome by the heat, the excitement, or perhaps his aging heart, the man lay unmoving on the ground.

The now-uncontrolled draft lizard—a beast the size of a rhino and looking like a cross between that animal and a Komodo dragon—began grunting and bellowing, shifting about nervously as the crowd backed away. Then, with a bass rumble from deep in its throat, the normally placid lizard charged the crowd, tossing bodies about like drop-me-sticks. The crowd screamed and ran—with the exception of the adventuring types who held their ground against the rampaging beast. In the rush to clear the crowded street, the four litter bearers dropped their passenger to the ground.

Between a barrage of arrows, sling stones, spears, and magic missiles, the party was able to bring down the large lizard before too many were injured and killed. In the aftermath, they discovered that they had saved the life of Shasira Bashari, who was the woman in white that had been dropped in the rush. She is apparently the wife of some powerful individual and promised to seek out the party at Qytuul’s caravansary later to offer them a proper reward for their actions.

The party departed the scene (after learning that the lizard’s rider was indeed dead) and paid a visit to Seno. There, despite efforts to convince me otherwise, they learned that the necklaces were of minor value. Multiplied by twelve, however, and with the much more valuable torc thrown in, the party walked out with a lot of jingle in their coin pouches.

Which led to the predictable purchasing of oil and animals—the two great combat upgrades of low-level adventurers everywhere. A guard dog, a rat, and a Mhyrakian watch lizard were all purchased, as was a barrel of oil to pour down into a certain fungus-filled crypt. Some armor upgrades were done and the party hired their comrades-in-arms from the street fight to fill out their ranks. I was busy stating up the dog and lizard during the hiring phase, but let me say that the terms of employment sounded pretty lousy to me. Had I not chimed in, I’m thinking that the party would have taken 25% of the newcomers’ experience point rewards as well!

Now that they were restocked and replenished in numbers, the party, after finding it most difficult to get lodging for the night in the festival-jammed town, decided to head straight back to the Temple of the Goat. They left a note behind, which told their would-be benefactress to leave their reward with Anwar (who remained behind to crack the code of the Brazen Tablets of the Viscous Mother).

On the return trip to the Temple, they ran across the path of SOMETHING in the desert night, but wisely chose to keep their nose out of strange monsters’ business unless imperiled by it. By 4 PM the following day, they had returned to the complex and were ready to finally venture into the pyramid itself.

After a quick side trip to pour 55 gallons of oil down a certain well and set it alight, the party approached the portal that granted entrance into the walled courtyard which held the stepped pyramid. A grotesque face adorned the iron doors and no keyhole was visible. After a quick once-over, they produced the symbol of Ishnigarrab and waved it before the values—which swung open with a groan. Beyond them lay a bricked courtyard and a few smaller statues of the hermaphroditic god. After learning that the gates don’t stay open long, the whole party ventured into the courtyard. A door on the side of the pyramid faced the courtyard’s entrance, and two gargoyles looked down on them from the corners of the stepped temple’s second tier. A loosed arrow failed to spur the gargoyles into action so the party prepared to enter the vulva-shaped doorway before them

That when the dogs came creeping around the sides of the pyramid and a fight broke out.

Although they managed to overcome the Hounds of the Great Mother, the sorcerer Tigir was brought to the edge of death when he waded into combat—perhaps unwisely—and Xander Tonn was slain when one of the Hounds landed a particularly nasty critical hit on the young fighter (12 points of damage!). After taking a break to bandage their wounds, quaff some wine, and wake up Hicks—err, Tigir—the party looted their dead and headed into the temple…

Watchfires & Thrones: Session Three

Upon returning to Rhuun, the party separated to visit their respective spell-casting employers. Bannath, Mordakis the Silent, Syl, Malbane the Green, and Reddannon returned to Jethal the Hexmaker with the skull of Athkul, while Mars Markus, Presto, Anwar, and Ravener stopped at Dhamel of the Sapphire Eye’s abode to give up the deceased sorcerer’s left hand. While they collected their various rewards, Bannath informed Jathal of their encounter with Dhamel’s minions, a fact that the Hexmaker took great interest in, rewarding the snake priest with additional coin. Malbane unwrapped the head of the guardian creature the trio had slain in the tomb’s main temple and asked if Jathal could identify the beast. After a quick inspection, Jathal pronounced it one of the “tomb herd,” but provided little more information. Over at Dhamel’s, Presto inquired about the possibility of learning new spells from the corpulent sorcerer. He of the Sapphire Eye invited the novice magic-user to return for training when he was ready.

Both parties returned to Qytuul’s caravanserai, their missions completed. As they entered the establishment, Malbane recognized a pair of faces in the common area. These two iterant adventurers, Azerran and Yodahlla, were old acquaintances of Danek, and had come to Rhuun seeking to join up with the (unknown to them) recently deceased fighter. The sad news was revealed, but with the forthcoming investigation of the mysterious Temple of the Goat looming, an invitation to join the group was extended to these newcomers. It was quickly accepted.

The following morning, Reddannon announced that since the coming evening was the night of the full moon, his present was required at the shrine of Uun. His mute dwarf companion, Mordakis, would be accompanying the moon priest since his crude sign language is only fully understood by Reddannon and he often needs him to translate.

With a full night’s rest behind them, Malbane and Anwar each prepared an incantation that would allow them to read the magical script inscribed on the brass tablets they recovered from Athkul’s tomb. Under the spell’s effect, the book reveal itself to be the Brazen Tablet of the Viscous Mother, a grimoire of unknown power but almost certain to contain rare magics and uncommon lore. The script was stilted and archaic, and it would require several days’ study to unravel the grimoire’s complete contents. Deciding that the lure of unknown magics was worth the time and possible danger required, both of the minor sorcerers decided to remain in Rhuun to work on the Tablets while the rest of the party investigated the Temple of the Goat. Ravener, one of the party’s fighters, chose to remain in town for his own purposes as well.

With the roster finalized for the expedition to the temple, the party reequipped for overland travel through the desert and pooled their funds to purchase a mule to help carry their load of food, water, and (hopefully) treasure. After naming the beast (Gladys) and waiting for the cool of night to fall, the adventurers headed out the town’s northernmost gate and onto the hardpan desert.

By midnight the party had reached the Hills of Scowling Bones and, aside from a jackal’s howl in the night, encountered nothing on their journey. Dawn saw them erecting crude shelter against the rising sun, but the day passed uneventfully. Come nightfall, the adventurers returned to the trail on a northward course.

Meanwhile, back in Rhuun, Anwar and Malbane made the first bit of progress deciphering the Tablets of the Viscous Mother. Obviously written by a madman, the plates contained copious information on the appearance and qualities of various forms of slimes and oozes—revolting reading to say the least.

Back in the hills, the party came across a series of buildings located at the bottom of a broad valley. A stepped pyramid rose towards the sky and was flanked by a pair of 120’ tall statues, each of which depicted a hermaphroditic goat/humanoid hybrid. Presto and Yodahlla elected to sneak down for a closer inspection of the site while the rest of the party and the mule sought concealment.

Carefully working their way down into the valley, the duo noted that the air grew moist as if an oasis or other body of water lay nearby. In the light of the two moons above, they were able to make out more details of the temple complex before them. At the bottom of the valley was a small lake filled with black, brackish water and dying plant life. The temple complex sat in the center of this foul body of water, its building rising above the black, still surface of the lake. The stepped pyramid was surrounded by a defensive wall and connected to a half-score of plain stone buildings by a web of walkways that rose 2’ above the water. A large central plaza lay in the center of the complex and the only access to the site was via a slick ramp flanked by two strange statues—-things that can only be described at 20’ tall tentacled trees.

The two scouts returned to report and soon the entire band descended into the valley and approached the entrance ramp. After some initial attempts to stir the tentactled statues into action by pelting them with slung stones, the adventurers tentatively ventured onto the raised walkway with their eyes peeled for danger. The party quickly darted towards the large plaza in the center of the complex without incident. Tactics were discussed with some favoring a direct investigation of the pyramid, while others wished to explore the outlying buildings first. It was eventually ruled that leaving the unexplored structures at their back might not be the wisest course, so the party headed towards the largest of the outlying buildings.

As they approached the structure by way of one of the 10’ wide raised walkways, Yodahlla, at the head of the party, caught site of four bulbous batrachian eyes glaring up at him from the murky water to the left of the platform. Wishing to avoid confrontation, he edged towards the right-hand side of the walkway in an attempt to put as much distance between himself and the gigantic frogs that lurked below the water’s surface. Alas, this tactic met with two more frogs suddenly launching themselves from the water on that side of the walkway and landing amidst the party with wicked claws and viscous fangs slashing.

Once the adventurers were engaged in battle, the two frogs on the left sank beneath the water and disappeared, leaving their croaking brothers to do battle. Yodahlla suffered grievous wounds during the fight, but the killer frogs were dispatched in haste and the party paused to take a breath—one that was quickly interrupted by the reappearance of the initial pair of frogs, who launched themselves from the water as if to avenge their slain froggy friends!

This second melee almost ended the life of Yodahlla. Had it not been for two near-miraculous interventions of his shield [David rolled two natural 20s back to back on his save vs. death when using his shield to block the damage that would have killed him. I ruled that a natural 20 means that you not only avoid taking damage but the shield itself does not splinter as normal, allowing it to be used again], the Old Blood fighter would now certainly be food for frogs deep under fetid lake’s surface. But Mog was with him this day and the frogs soon joined their brethren in death.

After a twenty minute break to bind wounds and partake in some well deserved vino, the party continued on to the large building ahead. The stone door failed to open under their efforts, seemingly having been knocked off kilter by their initial inept attempts to pry it open. Rather than make the long journey back and around to the building’s other entrance, the party moved to investigate a smaller but closer building instead—-a decision that would prove to be fatal for one of their number.

This smaller building seemed to be an odd shrine of ancient origin. The building was divided into three 20’ x 20’ chambers, each separated from one another by open archways. These rooms held numerous low altars placed below niches that contained smaller versions of the tentacled trees depicted at the complex’s entrance. Other than this, the building appeared empty.

As the party was about to leave the structure through a second exterior door they had found, Presto poked his head into one last unexplored room. As the rest of the party watched in horror, a ghastly creature suddenly appeared from thin air. Loathsome of form, resembling an albino hybrid of lobster, mantis, beetle, and crab with a carapace covered by dozens of teeth-filled mouths, this beast pounced upon the curious sorcerer and, in an eruption of fine red mist, Presto was no more.

The party fell upon this creature with missile and melee weapons, quickly cutting down the beast before it could slay another of their number. After gathering what still-useful equipment they could from the slain sorcerer and thoroughly examining the beast for treasure, the party prepared to depart this grisly site. That’s when Mars Markus noticed one last alcove in the building, a much narrower chamber that held only a larger altar and idol, and lay beyond a final archway. Probing cautiously ahead with a 10’ pole, Mars felt the wooden shaft grow suddenly cold in his hand and, once removed from the chamber, noticed a fine rime of frost on the stave’s end.

Boldly, Yodahlla volunteered to enter the room and, after tying a rope to himself and anchoring the line to Gladys, he stepped beyond the archway. Immediately his form was subjected to a blast of frigid air that inflicted minor damage upon him. He wisely retreated and the party debated on their next course of action.

After preparing a grappling hook and line, the party managed to snare and then topple the statue in the room beyond, breaking it into two pieces. However, the chill remained. They chose to throw the corpse of the slain lobstrosity into the chamber as a final test. After doing so, they noticed that it began to smoke and mist as if slowly dissolving away—-a most curious development.

Although unconvinced that the alcove didn’t hold additional treasure or secrets, the party nevertheless pressed forward, leaving the building of many altars behind. A short stretch of raised walkway later, the party faced a third building. This one was squat in construction with a much lower roof than the previous structures. Its surface was covered in a slimy film and numerous patches of water mosses clung to the ancient sandstone blocks. Another stone door separated the adventurers from the building’s inner secrets, but they chose to return to the house of altars to reconsider their next step…

Watchfires & Thrones: Session One

The Player Characters:

Bannath: Hunted cleric of Yg, Father of Serpents. The Yg sect has been all but eradicated in these lands—a development Bannath intends to correct.

Danek “Armbreaker”: Dim-witted man-at-arms. A charismatic warrior once you get past the mouth-breathing and slack-jawed stare.

Malbane the Green: A novice magic-user whose talent for climbing comes in handy in a scrap.

Mordakis the Silent: A horribly scared dwarf. As if his scars weren’t bad enough, Mordakis’ tongue was cut out, leaving him mute.

Reddannon: Red-headed cleric of Uun the Unknowable (until we flesh out his religion that is).

Syl: A fighter who pursues his vocation with quiet competence.

The Game Session

The characters had arrived several days ago in Rhuun, a trade outpost on the edge of the Desert of Demons. For different reasons, each was looking for the anonymity and opportunity that this wasteland settlement could provide. Unfortunately, a three-day-long dust storm effectively closed the town down, making sleep and finding employment almost impossible.

Just as things were about the get desperate, each of them were visited by a sending from the sorcerer, Jathal the Hexmaker, who promised them work and coin if they arrived on his doorstep before the Hour of Scorpions the following day.

The next morning saw our six PCs standing on the portico before Jathal’s house. After brief introductions and confirmation that they all received the same sending, the six were granted entrance by the sorcerer’s seemingly mute slave.

Inside, the lanky wizard offered the assembled adventurers 50 gold jitais and his good favor if they would provide him with the skull of Athkul, a sorcerer of modest repute whose tomb lay in the Hills of Scowling Bones just northwest of town. Eager for coin, the sextet departed after gathering their gear and filling their wineskins.

From a map provided by Jathal, they had no difficulty finding the lopsided pyramid that served as Athkul’s tomb. Venturing within, they found a large temple chamber which seemed empty aside from peeling frescoes, pillars inscribed with an alien alphabet, and an unearthly idol placed in a niche above an altar of volcanic rock. At least, it seemed to be an idol.

When the black-bronze and bat-winged thing launched itself from its perch to fall upon them, the PCs unleashed a hail of missiles at strange creature and striking it down before it could injure any of their band. Having proven their merit in battle, the six continued to explore the tomb, uncovering a large cell haunted by skeletons (which proved little threat with two clerics in the group), a room full of religious accoutrements (where they lifted some silver candlesticks and decided to don the midnight-blue robes they found there”just in case”), and a empty study /library that was overseen by the mosaic of a bald, bearded man. Despite a thorough search and the fact that the mosaic seemed to be focusing its attentions on a certain stone table, nothing was discovered therein.

Finding the stairs to the tomb’s lower level, the party ventured deeper into the complex. A walled-up niche was broken open to release a desiccated corpse that even the clerics’ mighty faith could not dispatch (but spears and axes could) and which held a well-made falchion of possible enchantment. A fight with a few more skeletons (quickly turned) and a giant scarab beetle (quickly squashed) left the party facing a door that leads still deeper into the complex…

Jethal the Hexmaker

Apperance
Tall and thin, Jethal is usually dressed in yellow robes that give him a jaundiced appearance. His black hair is cut short and high in the back and slopes down to form long bangs that hide his smiling face. He regularly applies kohl around his eyes, making his eyes appear as if peering out of deep, dark pits.

Bio
Jethal the Hexmaker dwells in a hexagonal building on the Lane of Scales in Rhuun. He shares his abode with a bald and aged manslave and a seemingly docile leopard. Known to engage in magical experimentation, he utilizes a cadre of agents and the occasional adventurer to procure the ingredients these processes require.