The session began with the party traveling, with Harald Markgaard, Agnar, Arndt, Ninax, Scarlett and the wayward rangeress Largatha, daughter of Harald, as well as a host of mounted men-at-arms from Markheim, traveling through the thawing, ice, snow, mud and debris-strewn melting mountain passes. Winter-like weather still clung to the area, though a hint of Spring was in the air.

The invisible book has not been identified, although a grim sense of woe radiates from it. The party is also in possession of the legendary Cultes des Ghouls

• a.k.a the “Ghoul Cults”.

Fire In The Crevasse#

Having applied what healing we could, we ventured forward. Cathal, Menka and Kyril on horseback rode in the van with Harrold and Captain Ninax. Gonchar, Lycoyne and Flint mounted the flying carpet followed, aloft. Tim and Seamus made their way on foot. It was a half day’s uneventful ride to the river, we should be there by night.

Harrold pointed to the surrounding valley walls and the polar bears feasting on the frost giant bodies. Kyril suggested we leave them alone as long as they showed us the same courtesy. We did.

We had been teleported due west and now faced the long journey east. The trail was rough and had not been traveled recently by a party this large The rangers at the vanguard were working hard to scount and clear a path, assisted by mounted warriors, some of whom moved brush and cleared snow; some of whom stood guard.

Meanwhile, Kyril, Menka and Ninax, riding point, saw that a recent avalanche has closed the trail ahead. The horses stamped nervously as the trio looked across a 100’ snow drift, utterly impassable. It filled a natural low point in the valley. We could see a waterway halfway across, slowly melting the snow drift. Those on the carpet scouted ahead and declared the way unfit for man or beast.

All of a sudden we saw a red glow forming under the ice halfway across, the heat melting the ice above. As we backed away 15-20 feet of hot worm burst through the ice and snow, red hot, reaching up and attacking Gonchar on the carpet, doing 23 points of damage!

• initiative loss
• 10’ of snow cleared around the creature when it moved
• Tim zapped it for 35 points with a lightning bolt
• Gonchar nailed it for 28 points in retaliation
• Cathal slashed the creature for 12 points
• Menka, Flint and Lycovyne jump on the carpet and go UP
• the creature began to melt back into the crevasse
• initiative win
• Gonchar nailed the creature for 24 points
• Cathal sliced the hot worm wide open with a natural 20 and then sliced it open again just for the fuck of it, killing it utterly
• remorhaz, 110 hp

As the creature kicked the bucket and settled back into the valley a 40’ path across the center became passable. Menka cured Gonchar’s more serious wounds, getting him to 54/100.

Cathal hung on to the carpet as it made its way back to the party. Kyril fired off a Wall of Fire in a ring around the party and we made our way slowly across the crevasse, melting the snow and ice as we went. The horses were skittish around the giant worm corpse. We melted our way through the pass and after numerous hours of uneventful travel made out way back to Markheim.

We returned Lagartha to Maeve with minimal ceremony. Maeve was relieved and thankful to have her daughter back. Kyril ushered Cathal out of the room, thus preventing the knight from screwing things up by flapping his lawful good jaws.

Markehim#

The party decided to shack up in Markheim for a week or so to level up and catch our breath. Hearing that we had returned, the Aesil asked us to visit her in her tower at our earliest convenience.

Cathal holds the invisible book and Cultes des Goules in his Bag of Holding. The invisible book radiates evil, strongly. Menka has the other book (DM??). Tim was able to thumb through Cultes des Goules and created “yif balm” per the recipe on pg. 98.

Yif Balm#

Tim was able to create 4 “doses” at a cost of 400 gp (such an expenditure is required to accumulate the various materials required).

Flint needed 10,000 gp to pay his training costs at the Diamond Spider. When he approached his guild with the idea to pay in gems and items they agreed but the cost went up by nearly 4,000 gp. To pay for his training he fenced, through the guild:

• Crown, 6,000 gp
• 2 necklaces, 4,000 gp
• 2 rings (of 7, total), 2,000 gp
• bracelets, 2,5000 gp

He will be “employed” at The Diamond Spider Inn for 5 nights.

Seamus found a possible high-level monk in a monk in The Bottomless Keg, but he was mistaken. The man was in fact a cleric of a dwarven drinking god, hence the mistake. The dwarven cleric told Seamus he may be able to find a senior monk of his faith in Aesil’s tower.

We hired horses, leaving Flint to his training in Markheim. The trip to the tower of the sorceress was uneventful. The light show kicked in as we approached but was canceled when we were recognized by the chamberlain.

“Oh, it’s you.”

Aesil was as warm and welcoming as the last time we visited. We spoke with her in her audience chamber. It should be noted that Cathal detected no evil in Aesil.

I do not recall if we discussed the details below with Aesil. The notes make no mention of it at all. I include it as a reminder.

Aesil was willing to transport us south if we ran an errand for her\footnote{The general plan is to head south and knock out Menka’s quests in the deserts (including the task for Aesil), then return north again and pick up Cathal’s storyline while Menka scouts out locations for a church.}.

The Twice Crowned King#

A huge diamond with healing powers, called The Fire Drake’s Bane is rumored to be buried in the Tomb of The Twice Crowned King. This excellent and admirable creature is a giant with two heads. It’s name is Heimfell. In years past, Heimfell united forces of evil and ruled the immediate environs for a long, dark period until an army of men, elves and dwarves united and deposed his grim host and drove him to retreat to a remote location in the south, where he converted himself to a state of undeath and still lurks, it is said, in a tomb-vault-complex with his servants, treasure and much peril. It is said, she notes, that the \magic{Fire Drake’s Bain} is in his sarcophagus.

She said that a drunk currently forming a puddle at the Spider Inn could be shaken down for more information about the location of the tomb of “the king” and his entourage.

Apparently the Twice-Crowned King once controlled all the lands surrounding Markheim, with many giants, ogres and goblins in his host. Each of his heads is capped by a crown of great power, and a green gem hovers behind him between the heads at all times. The king and his host had destroyed many acres of forest to build weapons.

As stated, he ruled the land for many years until the forces of law and good drove him undergound, slew his orcs, smashed his goblins and drove his ogres and giants into the forests, hills and mountains.

Two days’ ride south, near the border of a great swamp, the Twice Crowned King is said to have buried himself, his family, his court and his servants beneath a great mountain made of red stone. There his sorcerors sacrificed his family and raised them as undead servants.

The Yellow Seer#

At Aesil’s tower Seamus was introduced to the Yellow Seer and the two monks wandered off to have their … interview. Seamus returned some time later battered, bruised and beaten. His training had started. At the end of the week of training, the Yellow Seer will let Seamus know where Heinfell’s fortress lies.

The Yellow Seer could not agree to accepting gems or items for training the monk and insisted on a bag filled with pieces of gold. The party pooled coins and assembled 7,000 gold pieces for this purpose. This left each party member with 1,178 gold pieces apiece added to their pouch from the most recent adventuring. Of course, we still have quite a haul in gems, jewels and loot (listed below).

The Yellow Seer told Seamus how to find the Twice Crowned King. Head south, keeping the mountains to the west. When a rushing stream flows southeast out of the hills, follow that stream south to the swamplands. Hills will be visible when the stream reaches the swamp. Proceed south through the hills. Look for the red hill.

Shaking Down A Drunk For Information#

Later, Cathal, Menka and Tim would speak with this inebriant, named Gorm, at the Diamond Spider Inn. Flint had gotten the skinny on him (Gorm, not Cathal) through his connections at the Inn. Not a young man, nor a beneficient of clean living, Gorm was a rake at the gates of hell, well past his prime. Cathal bought a round of drinks and Gorm refused to discuss the Twice-Crowned King until he had been plied with many, many strong liquors, at which point he drunkenly described his and his comrades’ sojourn into the Tomb of the Twice-Crowned the King. How much of this was true, or exaggerated fantasy is unknown.

Gorm told us about a pair of huge doors in a red hillside emblazoned with twin crowns and a green gem. Giant fiery arrows filled the air over the water as Gorm’s party tried to approach. They mounted a rope bridge, crossed it and fell upwards, hitting the cavern roof. They crawled UP through an ice slide, over bodies under the ice. Burned by dripping slime, they reached the tomb, finding themselves knee deep in the bones of the King’s servants. Thousands of voices filled his head and he went insane, fleeing in fear. He slew many enemies, personally killing a goblin king in the hills around the Tomb, then rode for days to the north, pursued by howling wolves and goblins, making it back to Markheim and hasn’t adventured since, nor will he again. He makes his copper, silver and gold doing menial labor and caravan-guarding, and that pays for his drink.

Tim, casting ESP, was able to verify all the detail in Gorm’s spoken tale - he believes it, at least, although as many memories are, some may be created, especially the parts about slaying goblin-kings. However, Gorm believed what he told us. Cathal paid the bartender and left 5 gp for Gorm.

Loot and Treasure#

Potion of Healing (Gonchar)

Tim’s Identify Parade

• Wand of Secret Door and Trap Location (DMG pg. 136, 4 charges)
• Ring of Power, Unique (Seamus)
  • +2 to hit open hand
  • punch for 6d6
  • 2 charges for double damage, 5 charges total
• Ring of Electrical Resistance (Tim)
  • Similar to Ring of Fire Resistance (DMG pg. 130)

Scroll with 2 clerical spells (Menka):

• Heal
• Neutralize poison

Prayer Beads (Menka, DMG pg. 151)

• Blessing
• Karma
• Curing
• Summons (!!)

Kyril created a scroll:

• Water Breathing
• Fire Trap
• Warp Wood
• Stone Shape
• Know Alignment

General Loot (not yet fenced or otherwise sold)

• 16,424 gp
  • 7,000 gp to Seamus for his training
  • 1,178 gp per party member left over
• Manual of Golems
• Manual of Iron Golems (??)
• 8 jeweled hairpins (800 gp)
• 5 rings (5,000 gp)
• 17 gems
  • 1 x 1000 gp gem
  • 3 x 500 gp gems
  • 7 x 100 gp gems
  • 6 x 25 gp
• 3 brooches 2,300 gp (1,400, 450, 450 gp)
• two handed sword (ornate but non-magical)
• From earlier adventuring, 2 huge diamonds worth 6,000-9,000 gp each.