Honorbound: Episode 16

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==Recap==
The party starts in front of a large mountain sized door after just slaying a Black Dragon. Bowen investigates the door, finding it to be black iron with three glowing runes on it. One of the runes is on the left door, one on the right, and one in the middle. He finds that there is a forcefield blocking the way to the gate. Martur examines it as well, finding that the magic is old. He feels that the runes could be affected by the hammer, but he isn't sure what would happen. Martur thinks of Elen'thiel the Sage, and feels his blood boil, but nothing happens. Bowen notices that the Hammer is starting to glow. The party takes a rest and reflects on the door and how to open it. Thimble returns to the other castle to pick up Bowen's backpack. She finds it, steals the platinum necklace from inside, and then tries to hide the backpack. She accidently goes into the Minotaur room and takes a wedge of cheese, and the Minotaur blocks the door. Thimble convinces him that the castle has been ransacked, so the Minotaur goes to check and locks him in. Half an hour later the Minotaur returns and lets her out. Thimble purposefully leaves Bowen's bag in the Minotaur room. She returns to the party and tells Bowen that the Minotaur stole his bag. The party finishes their rest.
The next morning Martur hits the door with the hammer. The force field begins to crack, and Martur sees the familiar image of a tree as big as a mountain, a giant serpent eating its own tail, and a shapeless embodiment of greyness. The gate explodes into shards, and the way is clear. The party prepares lighting sources and begins to move into the tunnel beyond. Bowen and Thimble observe small cracks in the walls as they venture forward. They aren't cracks in the stone, but tiny threads of light that advance ahead of the party. The party informs Thimble of the moonstones as they observe a tiny humanoid creature that moves up to them. The pixie says "Come on, he's waiting.". Thimble names the pixie Thimblina. As they come to the end of the tunnel, they move into a lavishly decorated open area. They trees, plants and birds flying about, like an oasis in the middle of the mountain. The party sees a very old, white haired elf sitting in a chair at a table. The elf greets the Hammer wielder and the rest of the party by name, and introduces himself as Elen'thiel the Sage. Bowen casts Detect Good and Evil and gets a strong good aura. Bowen notices his consecrated necklace in Thimble's pocket. Elen'thiel asks the party to sit down and tells them to sit down, magically producing a meal at the table. The party asks if Elen'thiel can help the petrified Therin, but he cannot. The party eats at the banquet table, while Elen'thiel tells them an ancient story of the gods coming to earth in physical form. There was a time of prosperity and harmony, until a giant orb of white light was found beneath the surface of the earth. All of the peoples observed the sphere, and eventually brought it to the surface. After 33 years of rituals and trials, the orb was broken apart, revealing it to be a prison. The entity inside spread it's influence over the world, and the tranquility of the world was broken. The gods were hunted by their own followers, and many were corrupted. The remaining gathered together, along with the Old Guard, and attempted to combat the evil. The evil was defeated, but not before 9 of the 11 Old Gods were corrupted. The Old Guard (the Guardians) were tasked to watch over the evil. Elen'thiel has been standing his vigil ever since. The evil Asmodius, however, was only contained, and has been pursuing it's agenda. The prison that holds it is cracked, and it corrupted the son of the king in Martur's vision, allowing him to summon demons. Elen'thiel sealed himself in this cave to bait Asmodius here, and they defeated him. Asmodius was broken into 5 pieces, and the Moonstones were created to seal those pieces. Each Moonstone was guarded by a member of the Old Guard. One of the members, Isgariot the Silver Arm, has given up his pursuit to guard the stone, and is now attempting to free Asmodius. He tells Martur that he is the last of the Hammer Wielders, and that it is up to him to defeat the grey, as he is about to pass on. The final test of Solum will about to begin. The Nine corrupted old gods will awaken soon, and they must be faced one by one. He tells them the pixie will help them with whatever information she can provide.
Martur asks for some of Elen'thiel's blood, which he gives. Elen'thiel lets the party know that Thimble contains the old blood, and asks if they trust Thimble. The party begrudgingly agrees, and Elen'thiel produces a magical rapier for Thimble. Elen'thiel informs them that the Old Gods are imprisoned in the underworld. He also tells them that the dwarves of Goldfort are their allies. He directs them to find all the moonstones first, as the corrupted Old Gods are too much for them. Elen'thiel gives the party the locations of the remaining moonstones, and warns them that Iscariot wants to prosecute the genocide of all the races. Iscariot is currently imprisoning Felumbra in the underworld.
The party is about to leave when the plants, birds, and trees around them quickly die. They two creatures side by side, and the visions of tree, snake, and shadow play out in front of them. Two of the Old Gods awaken, and Elen'thiel and many fey creatures attack them to no avail. A blinding flash of light occurs, and Elen'thiel and the fey creatures are no more. The party sits and waits at the table, hidden from the creatures around them. The Old Gods, Lenios and Korriman, move out of the cavern, as a formless shadow appears. It speaks to the party, wishing them luck, and saying it will be a good show. The shadow then disappears, and the cavern is silent. Thimble comforts Thimblina in her loss. The party returns to the top of the tower as Martur grabs some silver from the dragon hoard. The party climbs down from the tower, and goes to retrieve his backpack and items. Bowen pulls out the horn and blows it, teleporting the party back to the tower in Goldfort. The party returns to find the castle on fire, parts of it in ruins, and a battle going on.
The party descends the tower and finds that there is civil unrest, with dwarves fighting dwarves and sisters of the shadow fighting other sisters. Bowen notices a grey band around the arms of the warriors on one side. The party battles their way towards Balor Hammerfist and Sir Balrog, who are engaged with two knights and a spellcaster. Martur casts Magic Missile at the spellcaster as the two knights close on him. Martur casts Shield and blocks most of the blows. The spellcaster casts Hold Person on Martur, freezing him in place. Bowen casts Crusader's Mantle and boosts the strength of his allies, while Thimble moves behind the knights and stabs one from behind. Balor Hammerfist steps up and decapitates the mage. The knights again attack Martur, landing one blow as he Shields the rest. Thimble stabs one of the knights and takes him down. Bowen leaps into the mass of soldiers as Martur, Thimble, and Balor take the last knight down. The party fights their way through the masses to reach Lady Schala. They step out of the front gate to see a massive warrior standing over top of the lady, with seven robed figures standing and observing. Martur taunts the figures, who flee. He then activates his Blood Power for 30 temporary hit points. The large warrior approaches him and Martur casts Hold Person, but the warrior shrugs it off. Bowen advances towards the gate as Thimble continues to dark through the mass of combatants, picking off enemy warriors. Balor stabilizes Lady Schala as the massive warrior engages Martur, stabbing him with his spear and bashing him with his shield. The party's allies surround the massive warrior as an injured Martur disengages. Bowen casts Healing Word on himself and advances on the massive warrior. Thimble continues to dance around the remaining knights, stabbing as she goes. The parties allies land multiple hits on the massive warrior, but he continues to battle on. Martur casts Ray of Frost and slows the massive warrior. Bowen charges his flail and smashes the massive warrior. Thimble and the allies in the castle finish off the rest of the knights, while the allies outside the gate finish off the massive warrior.
Balor informs the party that weeks have passed, and right as the party was about to return members of his own guard turned against him. Martur informs him that the old Gods have been released, and there is a madness upon the world. The party tries to stabilize a few of the allied warriors, and Martur feeds Lady Schala a healing potion. She awakens and informs the party that some of their prisoners broke out and stole the Heart of the Cloud Giant, that allowed the fortress to fly. The party retreats into the castle to rest and recollect themselves. Balor informs them that there is a war that has started between the Elves and the Orcs. In Valis, Lord Francesca has set up a dictatorship, under the rule of the Cult of the Serpent. Martur plans to stabilize the region and gather allies, to be ready to combat the grey. He suggests trying to dismantle the Order of the Silver Arm. Martur informs them that the old Gods Korriman and Lenios have already been freed. Thimblelina informs everyone that Korriman will try to retake his army in the desert to the north. He will seeking an Orb of Life to help restore his Orb of Wisdom, and this will take time. She says that Lenios will try to become involved with the Order of the Silver Arm. Lady Schala tells them that there is an Orb of Life in the Skygarden. The party decides the first step is to take care of Valis and the Order of the Silver Arm. Balor informs him that the Elves left two Griffons behind, and the party can use them to travel quickly. The party rests for the night.
==Experience==
The party gains 5000 XP, and the whole party levels to 6.
* Martur gains 5 HP (37 total)
* Bowen gains 5 HP (33 total)
* Thimble gains 8 HP (46 total)
: The group switches to the variable resting rules found in the DMG at the start of episode 16 part 3
Category:Honorbound Episodes