Session 5x7

Session 5x7 occurred on 10 Apr 2021. The players were Artemis (Haunt), Hakuin (Morradin), StEsteban (Aravor Enfiel), Susan (Rosallia Gravenfoot) and Ghost (Harlac Wayfinder). Their goal was to help the villagers of Cask.

## Summary

The party set out from Ravenshrine, rowing their canoes north to Cask with the goal of finding the farmers who were rumoured to have been taken, possibly to the Orthos Family Crypt. The party attempt to gain entry to Cask, but are refused after identifying themselves as coming from Ravenshrine. They press on and camp along the coast, fighting off a giant crawfish during the night.

The next day, they find a broken silver necklace beside some drag marks, but are attacked by a ghostly frost snake. They defeat the snake and rest for the night, during which Aravor and Rosallia are plagued by nightmares. In the morning, they set out for the Crypt again, finding an abandoned campsite and some restless dead they easily dispatch.

The Crypt itself reveals little to them. Someone has burrowed into it, and a dead tomb raider is found within, apparently killed by poison. The party do not take any of the valuables they find, and are unable to open the heavy, barred iron door at the end of the entrance hallway. Rosallia seals the Crypt back up, hoping this will appease the snake ghost, and the party return to Dryvault without finding the missing farmers.

## In-character tales

### Aravor's tale

We had heard tales of farmers from Cask going missing, possibly being brought to the Orthos Family Crypt. Others had not yet been able to find them, and so a few of us likeminded individuals gathered to seek them out. I was pleased to accompany Harlac Wayfinder, whom I had previously spoken with at some length in the Flaming Spike Inn, and was eager to learn from a fellow wilderness expert. In addition, we were joined by the stone singer Rosallia Gravenfoot and two capable looking warriors, Morradin and Haunt. I had never adventured with these folks before, but Clay saw fit to have us walk this length of our journeys together, and thus did I find new companions I would trust with my life.

I was pleased to be introduced to Sister Avella at Ravenshrine. Grateful for our aid in restoring the Shrine of the Elf Queen, and for the efforts of Valdenar and the others against the kobolds plaguing their fledgling settlement, she graciously offered to train me in more advanced healing magic free of charge. Clay's purpose in joining my journey to Valdenar's seems to have been, at least in part, intended to bring me to this point. I have gained further knowledge with which to serve Clay's will, and am grateful.

We set out in three canoes our companions had crafted, rowing north to Cask. Rosallia attempted to negotiate our entry into the town, but the nightwatchman had some harsh words for us when we told him we came from Ravenshrine. We pressed on along the coast and I set up a camp, but to my great shame, failed to notice the large mosquitoes which swarmed us and made our stay quite uncomfortable. Harlac and I groused about the difficulties of camping for a bit; it seems he's been similarly thwarted in his efforts despite being quite skilled. Sometimes our fates appear to be borne of ill luck indeed, but that is the way of things.

Harlac raised the alarm shortly after, as he spotted something watching us from the water, with two long eyestalks peering up at us. Haunt expressed an interest in killing it for our next meal, and spoke fondly of slaying a rock crab recently. We set an ambush, and before too long, a massive crawfish clambered onto the shore not far from us. Harlac loosed an arrow and Rosallia a spell, while Morradin, Haunt, and myself charged in. One of Haunt's swings severed one of the creature's claws, and the crab retreated back into the waters to trouble us no more. Haunt cooked up the meat in the claw and served us a delicious meal. I was pleased to find his culinary talents on par with those of Valdenar or Arland, and consider myself truly spoiled to count these three among my friends.

In the morning, Rosallia searched our surroundings for signs of the missing farmers, and found what could be a promising sign. Some strange drag marks were near the path to the mountains to our southwest, and a broken off chain from some sort of silver necklace was found among these tracks. Before we could press on, however, I felt a chill wind settle in while keeping watch. Some sort of ghostly snake creature wreathed in ice appeared, the likes of which I had never even heard of before. This strange creature spoke to me in an archaic dialect of Rustic, but I was able to discern most of its meaning and converse with it. Despite promising not to rob the Crypt of any treasures and to confine our searches solely to the missing people, the serpent would not be dissuaded from calling us thieves. It seemed to imply the farmers were dead, and I angrily declared an end to our negotiations.

We formed a tight circle, shivering and keeping an eye out for the creature's inevitable attack. It was Harlac who spotted it coming, and we were able to avoid its attempted ambush. I called forth the magics Sister Avella had taught me to combat the undead, sending forth a stream of blue-white flame, scorching the snake and wounding it heavily. We were easily able to follow it now, as it left scorch marks everywhere it went. Haunt lunged forward, but his sword passed through - it seemed the ghost had no corporeal form, and despite his vicious swing, no harm was caused to the ghost. Harlac followed up with a fire arrow, which found its mark, before Rosallia finished it off with an unnerving scream accompanied by her stone magic. As far as songs go, I must confess I prefer Bea's, but there can be no faulting Rosallia's effectiveness.

That night, nightmares plagued my dreams. I envisioned a dark pit, with my companions standing behind me at the base of a massive stone statue of a cobra. The ghost we had fought lunged at me, but I held firm and felt no fear. I awoke in a cold sweat, but no worse for wear. In the morning Rosallia told me she had a nightmare, too, seeing visions of a knight with snakes pouring from his armour.

We pressed on, and found a campsite, seemingly abandoned recently. We took what looked useful and pressed on toward the Crypt, when Harlac spotted two groups of four men engaged in battle. They had the look of some type of adventurers, and I proposed we speak to them, attempt to mediate their dispute, and hopefully recruit one or both groups to aid us in our exploration.

That turned out not to be an option, as we drew closer and saw the men for what they really were: undead, fresh by the looks of things, inflicting grievous wounds from which blood did not flow upon each other. We attempted to circle around them, but Harlac mistakenly loosed an arrow at them - how one does such a thing, I do not know, but these restless dead turned their attention to us and charged.

Harlac dropped one in its tracks before they could even move, and fell back to a safe distance. The rest of us stood ready to engage them. The majority surrounded Haunt and Morradin, while two charged Rosallia and one charged me. Haunt killed two of those facing him in rapid succession, a truly impressive feat, and Morradin struck out with one of the fiercest blows I've ever seen, striking down another. Harlac continued firing away to great effect, and between his arrows and the heroic efforts of Haunt and Morradin, we quickly reduced our foes to two. One clumsily swung a mace at me, a strike easily parried, while a wounded Rosallia struggled to face another. I struck the one attacking her, seeing she was bleeding and unarmoured, staggering it enough that Rosallia was able to finish it off with a torrent of stone shouted towards it. Morradin dispatched the last of them, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

As these men had not been dead long, their equipment was mostly damaged, but in reasonable condition. We took what looked useful and pressed on to the Orthos Crypt. We found the entrance to an area where a knight named Sir Orlock Orthos was interred, according to an inscription written in an archaic form of Rustic similar to that spoken by the snake. The crypt seemed to have been broken into by mining implements; we found a pickaxe and shovel outside the entrance, disconcertingly covered in blood, and another shovel in the hallway within. We took these with us, as well, and Harlac went ahead to explore the inside of the Crypt.

There were four small rooms off of the main hallway, with a heavy iron door barred from the outside at the end. Each of the four side rooms contained a sarcophagus and a clay statue; two were of warriors, and two of scholars, according to what they held in their hands. Disconcertingly, a half-elf was lying dead in one of the rooms, clutching a shattered statue in his hands. Rosallia inspected the corpse and determined he had likely been killed by poison. I had no desire to meet this same fate, and we all agreed not to take any valuables we found or move the statues in any way. The dead tomb robber, however, bore a fine cloak, bearing the symbol of a centuries old society called the Searchers. We claimed this for ourselves, as well.

Hoping to find some clue of the missing farmers, we attempted to gain entry into the inner portion of the shrine. Morradin knocked loudly upon the door and called out, but we were greeted by naught but echoes. Harlac and I both attempted to assist him in lifting the heavy bar that blocked our progress, but we were unsuccessful. Rosallia offered to seal the shrine up again with her magic, and none of us saw any reason not to. I know not if this will calm the ghostly snake at all, but we can hope it will, and at least can deter any further plunderers. Rosallia's stonework was masterful, restoring even the runic designs upon the Crypt's entrance. Disappointed we had not found the farmers, but still bearing some useful information and a not insignificant assortment of goods, we returned to Dryvault to report what we had discovered.

Valdenar informed me that Sister Zythra had set out in search of this tomb upon our return. I sincerely hope we did not seal her within, but hope we can search further for the missing farmers, as well as explore the rest of the Crypt at some point. May Clay's will guide me to the truth.

### Harlac's tale

**Day 1**
We set out from Ravenshrine in the canoes to rescue the farmers of Cask from the skeletons of the Orthos crypt. However, upon reaching Cask, the gates were closed for the night. Rosallia announced we were from Ravenshrine and asked to be let in... but they don't like the Raven Sisters here, so we were not let in. We pushed on through the evening to set up camp on the lake shore.

Aravor and the rest worked on getting camp set up while I kept watch... but Aravor picked a spot with lots of mosquitoes, and a giant crayfish/crab thing crawls out of the lake. A few arrows and sword slashes and it retreats.

**Day 2**
Fighting in the middle of the night is not conducive to setting off into a crypt, so we take the next day to rest and recover. Rosalia finds half of a silver necklace, along with what appears to be intermittent drag paths.

That evening I am awoken by Aravor - while keeping watch he caught sight of a shimmering ethereal serpent, and the air grew chill. As we circle up anticipating an attack, it speaks, accusing us of being thieves - apparently it senses that we intend to go to the crypt. We try to placate it that we are merely trying to rescue the farmers, but it does not believe us and attacks.

Aravor casts forth holy blue-white flames at it. Haunt stabs at it, but his blade passes right through; this is a ghost snake and mundane weapons will not touch it. I tie a scrap of cloth around an arrow and light it before shooting, this seems to have some effect. Rosallia shouts magic at it and it dissipates. Aravor is sure that it has not been permanently dispelled. This is no normal ghost, to be sure. Who's ever heard of a ghost *snake*? Or a snake that *talks*?

**Day 3**
We climb into the mountains toward the crypt, and come across a recently used camp, and hear a skirmish not far off. It seems to be a skirmish between two adventuring groups. Aravor moves forward to try and intervene, perhaps make allies of one or both factions... but then notices that they are all already dead, animated by foul magics. The general consensus is to circle around them, but I 'stumble' and draw their attention. The risen dead must be put to rest. It's not a hard fight at all.

The tomb seems to have been broken into recently - this must be why the snake ghost thing was so upset. Maybe even why Cask was attacked in the first place. Above the entryway are runes that read "Here lies the soul of Orloc". Apparently Orloc is a first name, so some poor soul named 'Orloc Orthos' must have been entombed here.

The tomb consists of a hallway with four small antechambers, two on each side, and a barred wrought iron door at the end. We find a few mining tools and a dead tomb robber inside. They are wearing a fine cloak with the sigil of an old group called the Seekers. They were from a hundreds of years ago though and were brought to ruin by the Rust Brothers, so it was probably stolen from another tomb.

Each of the four antechambers contains a sarcophagus with a clay statue on top - two in the shape of warriors, two in the shape of scholars. The dead robber was clutching the broken statue. It is hollow inside, and contained a golden amulet and some bones. Rosallia identifies that the thief was killed by some sort of nerve-damaging toxin. There's a lot of snake imagery around, so I think it might have been snake venom. Regardless, we decide not to take our chances and leave the amulet untouched.

The iron door at the end of the hall is well sealed. Morradin, Aravor, and myself tried to lift the bar, but it would not budge more than a fraction of the distance needed to remove it. Content that the robbers must not have been able to break in this far (and having seen no sign that the missing farmers were ever here,) we decide to depart the tomb. Rosallia stone-sings the sealing stone back together, even imparting the knotted-ouroboros symbol that is all over the place here. Hopefully that will be enough to put the snake ghost to rest, at least until some other morons break in again.

### Rosallia's tale

Rosallia Gravenfoot, analysis of "Orthos Family Crypt".

The Crypt of the Orthos Family appears to be haunted by some sort of serpentine spirit, angered by tomb robbers and now attacking any who seek the tomb.

The spirit can apparate from place to place making it tricky to pin down, a further pain to its apparent immunity to physical harm. Fire and Magic are all that strike true.

The cyrpt itself had been broken open by the aforementioned thieves, one dead of some poison upon attempting to steal a clay statue.

The most notable however was an iron door at the end of the hall; sealed by a rod of iron so heavy, even our strongest all together failed to lift it.

Whatever is sealed inside must be powerful if it required such a hefty seal. I have sealed the tomb once more in hopes the spirit will be pacified. A warning to all who desire to steal from here, be weary for poisons and the massive snake spirit.