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Dunmari Frontier - Session 96

Shadowkeep Infiltration: in which the party confronts dark forces

Featuring: Seeker, Delwath, Kenzo, Wellby, Riswynn
In Taelgar: May 03, 1749 DR
On Earth: Sunday Apr 14, 2024
Shadowkeep

The Dunmar Fellowship disrupts a dark ritual at Shadowkeep and prepares to battle the vampire lord Rhodar von Glauer.

27 days until Apollyon’s escape

Session Info

Media

A creepy lullaby sung by Putrid Agnes, Hush Little Beet:

Summary

  • The Dunmar Fellowship teleports to Shadowkeep and strategizes to combat the vampire lord Rhodar von Glauer.
  • Seeker and Wellby gather intelligence using clairvoyance and a bat, revealing a frozen halfling and a vampiric peace deal discussion.
  • Wellby encounters a fey hag who offers information for a favor; Seeker scouts in gaseous form but is detected by vampire spawn.
  • Seeker releases a venom troll causing a diversion, and the party interrupts a dark ritual, trapping a Kinzal mage.
  • Delwath receives an accusatory message from Lyra about events in Chardon; the party locates Rhodar von Glauer for a direct confrontation

Timeline

Narrative

We begin on the morning of May 3rd, 1749, as the party began their day with a bold decision to teleport directly to Shadowkeep, the imposing lair of the vampire lord Rhodar von Glauer. The teleportation was expertly executed by Seeker, landing them on a snowy path near the foreboding keep, which glowed ominously with a red light from within. They quickly took cover among the jagged rocks of Drachen Peak to strategize. Their discussion centered on vampire lore, specifically the need to destroy their coffins to defeat them permanently.

Using his clairvoyance spell, Seeker scouted inside the mausoleum adjacent to the keep, spotting a large coffin and spectral wraiths floating amongst statues of Rhodar von Glauer. Meanwhile, Wellby employed a bat from his Hat of Vermin to gather intelligence. The bat’s exploration revealed the grim sight of a frozen halfling warrior outside the keep and various dangers inside, including a vampiric gathering discussing a peace deal with Ursk.

To create a diversion, the party decided to unleash a venom troll they had previously captured. This troll, released from a Mirror of Soul Trapping, would hopefully provide the necessary distraction for them to infiltrate the castle. While Wellby approached the halfling’s body, discovering it was a victim of vampires, he encountered Putrid Agnes, a fey hag emerging from the corpse. She offered information on Rhodar von Glauer’s coffin in exchange for a favor, which Wellby declined.

Seeker, using a potion to assume gaseous form, ventured into the castle undetected. He navigated through dangerous halls, dodging an acid attack and finding a treasure room, before stumbling upon a dark ritual involving a vampire, wights, and a Rodnya Kinzalmage. However, he had to retreat as vampire spawn sensed his presence.

Amidst this chaos, Seeker released the venom troll, stirring a fierce battle within Shadowkeep. The party took this opportunity to press further into the castle, aiming to disrupt the ritual and confront Rhodar von Glauer. Their efforts in the ensuing fight were strategic and effective; they managed to interrupt the infernal ritual, trapping the Kinzal mage in the Mirror of Soul Trapping and ending the chant that would have sealed an infernal pact between the vampires and Ursk.

As the party dealt with the aftermath of the battle, Delwath received an urgent message from Lyra, questioning their actions and accusing them of being the instigators of a terrorist attack in Chardon. Delwath blamed the disturbances on Apollyon. Meanwhile, Seeker encountered a cursed angelic statue, adding to the eerie atmosphere of their surroundings.

Wellby’s discovery of a secret door beneath the ritual room led the party into a tunnel shrouded in magical darkness. As they navigated through, they finally came face-to-face with Rhodar von Glauer himself, who declared his intention to confront them directly.

Thus, the session concluded with the party poised for a direct encounter with the vampire lord, their strategies and quick thinking having navigated them through numerous perils to this pivotal moment. The challenges they faced within Shadowkeep tested their resolve and abilities, setting the stage for a dramatic continuation of their quest.

Transcript

Preparations

  • The party, at the Voknaz Manor, decides to risk a direct teleport to Shadowkeep, Rhodar von Glauer’s lair and home base. Seeker is able to place the party perfectly on the snowy road to the keep, and is very confident in his teleportation abilities.
  • The party quickly hides in the craggy rocks of Drachen Peak, staying out of sight while they discuss their next steps. Shadowkeep itself is lit with a weird red glow, coming from the interior walls and shining through the windows. The structure has three main towers, as well as a mausoleum on the southeastern corner of the peak.
  • The party discusses how to kill vampires, realizing that they must destroy their coffins if they hope to kill a vampire permanently.
  • The party begins scouting with magic. Seeker uses the clairvoyance spell to look inside the mausoleum, finding a large coffin, two marble statues of Rhodar von Glauer, and noticing three wraiths drifting through.

Scouting

  • Wellby pulls a small bat from his Hat of Vermin, and uses beast sense to fly within the bat as he scouts.
  • As the bat approaches the castle, it sees the dead body of a halfling warrior, mostly frozen in the snow outside.
  • The bat enters the left (southern) tower, and is immediately attacked by a hand of some kind of ichor, which it manages to dodge. The bat then scouts, and finds a locked door in this hallway of ichor.
  • Exiting the tower and entering the right (northern) tower, the bat sees a vampire and a vampire spawn standing and discussing the upcoming peace deal with Ursk, as well as 10 coffins in the room.
  • The party debates what to do next, deciding that releasing a creature from the mirror, the venom troll they captured long ago, might provide a distraction necessary to allow the party to sneak into the castle.

Entering Shadowkeep

  • The Seeker decides to use his potion of gaseous form to enter Shadowkeep, as an invisible cloud, while Wellby sneaks closer to investigate the dead halfling. Delwath casts invisibility.
  • Wellby approaches the dead halfling. He infers the halfling was originally from the Eastern Green Sea, and probably died either directly or indirectly as a result of vampires, as indicated by the puncture marks on his neck.
  • While searching the body, Wellby hears an eerie lullaby, and watches as a tiny fey hag emerges from the mouth of the halfling, and grows to adult human size.
  • The hag, Putrid Agnes, offers to make a deal, to tell Wellby the location of Rhodar von Glauer’s coffin; in exchange, Wellby will retrieve her beet necklace from the Voknaz Manor. Wellby refuses, although not before learning that the coffin can be accessed from Shadowkeep.
  • Seeker, in invisible cloud form, enters the hall of ichor, and is attacked by an acid hand, but it cannot grapple him given his gaseous state.
  • Seeker slips under the door at the end of the hall, and finds a treasure room, where a strange black mist floats over piles of coins.
  • Departing, and dealing with acid hand again, Seeker exits the hall of ichor and passes in front of the main door, which swings wide open.
  • Seeker enters, and passes through the antechamber to slip under the door to the westernmost (back) tower.
  • In this tower, a ritual is being conducted. A vampire and three wights are chanting, a burning pentagram is etched on the floor, and as they chant, words swirl around a Rodnya Kinzal mage, while shades watch from the pews.
  • Seeker retreats, heading back to the antechamber, where vampire spawn are gathering, having sensed his presence somehow even though they cannot precisely locate him.
  • Wellby notices the vampire spawn, and warns Seeker telepathically.
  • Seeker decides now is the moment to release the venom troll, and materializes with the mirror in hand, speaks the command word, and dimension doors away, but not before getting attacked by a vampire.

Distractions and Rituals

  • The party, reunited in their hiding places, decides that with the venom troll creating a distraction, now is the time to attempt to enter the keep and search for Rhodar von Glauer’s coffin.
  • Wellby, Delwath, and Kenzo, still invisible, sneak across the room in which the venom troll and vampire spawn are fighting. Riswynn and Seeker, visible, dash.
  • A complicated fight ensues. Seeker, with his arcane knowledge, quickly realizes that the infernal ritual is powered by the death of the shades: when the last one dies, the contract will be complete. Kenzo uses his Fist of Planar Power to great effect, both to move the vampire into the room with the troll, and to keep the Kinzal mage in Delwath’s sickening radiance spell. Meanwhile Riswynn rapidly destroys undead with her holy power, and Seeker Slows the Kinzal mage and some wights.
  • As the party prevails, Seeker uses Reduce, in combination with Delwath’s mage hand, to shrink the venom troll and lure it into the war room, where there are now five vampire spawn, two vampires, and ten coffins.
  • The fight ends with the Kinzal mage trapped in the Mirror of Soul Trapping, the infernal ritual broken with the death of the three wights who were keeping the chant going.
  • While the party searches the room, Delwath is interrupted by sending from Lyra. “What in the nine hells is going on? In our brief meeting I didn’t sense Pandemonium madness in you. But now you’re a terrorist?” Delwath replies: “Lies spread by Fausto, who serves a lich - Apollyon. He has been corrupting people with chalyte. We disturbed his plans. He has been hunting us.”
  • While investigating the organ, Seeker is frightened by a cursed angelic face weeping blood. Kenzo investigates, but finds nothing beyond the face.
  • Wellby finds a secret door, leading to a dark tunnel, underneath a floor tile in the center of the room.
  • The party follows this dark tunnel, arriving at secret underground chamber, in magical darkness. The session ends as Rhoder von Glauer appears, saying, “Fine, I’ll deal with you myself.”