======Fifty-first session - 28 January 2005 - Vargnin's Legacy======
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In attendance:
| Chris | [[Roderick]] | Cleric/11 |
| Dana | [[Drusilia]] | Rogue/4, Fighter/5, Tactical Soldier/1 |
| Dave | [[Aramil]] | Ranger/11 |
| Jim | [[Bigby]] | Wizard/11 |
| Ken | [[Ursa]] | Cleric/5, Monk/6 |
| Kurt | [[Pavo]] | Dwarf Sorcerer/1, Fighter/9, Dwarven Defender/1 |
| Val | [[Kesi]] | Monk/11 |
//Note: This session __concludes__ **"Beyond The Light of Reason"**,
written by Caine Chandler, and published in [[http://www.paizo.com/dungeon|Dungeon Magazine, Issue #96]]//
As the others have been unable to come up with any brilliant ideas to solve the
puzzle of Berronar's Pyre, [[Pavo]] takes the frost crystal from his pack and begins
some experimentation with it. He learns that while he can approach the flames
without danger, he cannot enter them as the power of the pyre seems to outweigh
the crystal.
[[Roderick]] then casts a series of spells to test the pyre. He starts by
constructing a stone altar to Imhotep, consecrating it, and casting a Flame
Strike counter-spell. This does nothing to the fire. Then, he casts a Magic
Circle against Law, which seems to interact with the flames, but is overpowered
by them.
Finally, he summons an Earth Elemental as a Lesser Planar Ally (and a Tongues
spell so he can speak with it). The elemental demands 2,000 gold pieces worth
of gems for his service, which [[Roderick]] agrees to pay.
After casting a Scrying spell to view the elemental, [[Roderick]] sends his new ally
into the stone to trace the route of the tunnel. However, after only a few
hundred yards, the creature finds a magical barrier that prevents his further
travel. It appears the only way into the Long Deep is through the fire-filled
chasm.
In addition, the party learns once and for all that summoned creatures (no
matter their alignment) cannot return home once they are brought into the field
around Berronar's Pyre.
With all their ideas exhausted, the party decides to return to the unexplored
regions of the temple to see if any information can be gleaned about the Pyre.
After climbing back into the vandalized inner sanctum, they proceed back through
an unused Augury room and find a man sitting on the floor. He has a scruffy
beard that has been braided into four strands that dangle oddly from his chin
and is hunched over as if exhausted. He wears gleaming chain mail with the
conjoined rings symbol of Berronar. When the party approach, he looks up
wearily and asks, "Is he dead?"
[[Pavo]] replies in the affirmative and the man says:
Then I can go home.
Berronar will not mind if you travel beyond her fire.
It is time for the fires beyond to either be quenched or released.
May she watch over you in the darkness you seek.
Before the party can ask the man any more questions, he slumps forward and
vanishes. In his place, a decades-old skeletal corpse lies against the wall,
still wearing the gleaming armor of the man in the vision. Next to him, [[Pavo]]
finds a magical mace. However, when he picks it up, a voice in his head tells
him, "I am not for you. Put me down."
[[Pavo]], never one to take orders from upstart magic items, studies the mace with
his magic-identifying lens and learns that it is a mace of disruption. He
doesn't need the lens to realize that the mace would likely prefer [[Roderick]], so
he hands it over.
Next up, they find a half-fiend Harpy whose song captivates several members of
the party. However, those who shake off the magic of her song are able to
defeat her.
Continuing on, the party seeks out the chaos that [[Kesi]] detected with her staff
on the way in. They find a fountain spewing black, evil goo and a horrible
abomination of ever-changing flesh, eyes, mouths, and claws. After a quick and
fierce fight, the oozing beast stops quivering and the party concludes it is
dead. However, [[Kesi]]'s staff still glows and she determines that some form of
chaos exists beyond the wall.
After a few failed attempts to get through the wall, the party moves on to an
adjoining room where they find a very well-concealed secret door. The passage
beyond leads down into what they eventually learn to be Vargnin's chamber.
However, guarding it is a Blue Slaad. [[Aramil]], who is expert at defeating such
creatures, charges the beast, but is held immobile by one of its spells. [[Pavo]],
however, makes it in and quickly fells the beast.
The chamber is found to hold a small laboratory, as well as a number of books
and tomes - and while many of them are interesting, none give any insight into
Berronar's Pyre. However, a locked chest remains. After some experimentation,
it is found that the chest is magically trapped and will unleash a Blade Barrier
spell if opened. [[Ursa]] attempts to dispel it, but is unsuccessful. [[Bigby]]
wonders aloud why a magician would set a trap that would devastate his own
laboratory, and then the party notices that there is a plane about one foot off
the ground throughout the back of the room where no valuables exist, and the
furniture has been damaged as if by blades. [[Pavo]] orders the others back and
stands on the table (which is above the plane). [[Bigby]], from a distance,
magically unlocks the chest and [[Pavo]] opens it with a rope. The blade barrier
trap springs to life, but harmlessly cuts away at the sturdy legs of the table.
Inside the chest, there are some valuables. But more importantly, under a false
bottom, Vargnin's journal is found! It is written in the language of Baka, the
plains tribesmen who live near the Lake of the Serpents. Since no one in the
party understands that language, they are forced to wait the night so that
[[Roderick]] can cast Comprehend Languages.
The next day, September 8th, [[Roderick]] uses his Imbue Spell Ability to give [[Bigby]]
two Comprehend Languages spells. [[Bigby]] spends the day studying the journal and
learns not only how to bring down Berronar's Pyre, but also the story of how
Vargnin came to be in this place. Despite the obvious bias of the author, [[Bigby]]
is able to glean the following tale from the journal (corroborated in places by
observations the party made in recent weeks):
Just over fifty years ago, a group of humans who had sworn allegiance to the
dwarven goddess, Berronar, set out to reclaim the lands around the Long Deep.
The humans were considered at best outcasts, and at worse, a dangerous cult.
The dwarves in Clangdun felt they somehow sullied the dwarven religion.
Meanwhile, the other humans felt they had turned their back on the "human"
gods. The lands around the Long Deep were seen by the group as a means of
redemption. If they could resettle the land, they could then offer it back
to the dwarves and earn respect.
However, the lands were not only hard to farm, but also had become
infested with orcs, giants, and other unruly occupants. Still, the group,
lead by a priest named Narhalm, managed to establish an abbey to Berronar and
open a mine near an ancient dwarven temple - which they reconsecrated to
Berronar. While the mining operations funded their life here, they dreamed
of one day safely reopening the Long Deep. However, they were all too aware
that it was sealed for a reason!
Enter Vargnin, priest to the evil Nerull, an obscure god of death. Vargnin
appears to have come originally from Baka and was seeking an entry into the
Long Deep so that he could release the spirit of the fire wizardess,
Qo'aycin. His goal was to gain either her powers or her gratitude. When he
learned of the Berronar cult and their resettlement outside the Long Deep, he
suspected they might be secretly seeking the same thing.
Vargnin approached the settlers and lived among them for a short time. When
he realized they had no intention of reopening the Long Deep, he entered the
mines, killed the miners and took control of the ancient temple. Narhalm
went in to confront Vargnin and an epic battle took place in the cavern under
the temple. Vargnin had been using earth moving spells in an attempt to
pierce the magical protections around the Long Deep. When Narhalm tried to
counter them, they became unstable and a massive earthquake was triggered.
The lower entrances to the mine and the temple were buried and a rift opened
in the cavern, releasing a gaseous energy that ignited at the spark of one of
Narhalm's spells. The resulting explosion killed Vargnin outright and
wounded Narhalm severely, forcing him to flee.
When the healed Narhalm returned a few days later, he was dismayed to find
that Vargnin's body was not where he left it. In fact, Vargnin had been
granted the gift of undeath from Nerull and had become even more powerful.
Narhalm, unprepared for another epic battle, was unable to get Vargnin within
striking distance of his mace, and was severely wounded by Vargnin's spells.
He was forced to flee the cavern. He attempted to hide in the Augury room,
but Vargnin caught up with him and cast a death spell on him before he could
recover. As a final insult, Vargnin bound Narhalm's soul to this room,
leaving him trapped in a quasi-undead state.
Vargnin, however, found that his earthquake had released a mighty dwarven
magic. Combined with Narhalm's spells, it formed a massive, magical field
around the mines and beyond. Not only was he trapped within its boundary,
the good magic interfered with his undead form and he was unable to craft a
phylactery to house his soul. As a result, he was vulnerable to being slain.
He began a fifty-year quest to bring down "Berronar's Pyre".
At the beginning of this year, Vargnin noticed that the pyre's magic changed
slightly. He had no knowledge that this change occurred as a result of the
Shadowlord's invasion of the elemental world. All he knew was that instead
of pure good, there was a new element in the mix. While he never knew it was
called "shadow", he managed to research a spell that would diffuse the pyre
to the point where the power source for the spell would falter. However, the
dispersion would infect the entire temple (and perhaps beyond) with a
powerful (though temporary) aura of good. He would have to cast numerous
evil spells to protect himself during this process.
And so, it becomes clear to [[Bigby]] that the party can cast the requisite spells
to bring down the pyre. However, he also realizes that with a small tweak to
Vargnin's research, he can make the suppression temporary. He proclaims that he
(with [[Roderick]] and [[Ursa]]'s help) can bring the pyre down for perhaps a half hour
or an hour.
Treasure found:
**//Magic Items//**
* +2 Chain Mail (Narhalm's armor)
* Salinthine, +2 Heavy Mace of Disruption
* Potion of Cure Serious Wounds
* Divine Scroll: //True Seeing, Cure Critical Wounds, Prayer, Mass Cure Light Wounds, Find The Path, Divine Power,// and //Cure Moderate Wounds//
* Divine Scroll: //Scrying, Control Weather, Plane Shift, Commune// and //Helping Hand//
**//Money//**
* 700 pp
**//Gems & Jewelry//**
* Thin golden chain with a heart-shaped locket (250 gp)
* Six small sapphires (650 gp each)
* Slender silk glove backed with a fine golden mesh and adorned with five rubies (2,500 gp)
* Jade statuette of a coiled blue dragon (1,000 gp)
* Ivory scrollcase with images of tortured elves and chaotic tentacled creatures (200 gp)
XP awarded: 1,525 for [[Roderick]]; 1,625 for [[Aramil]], [[Bigby]], [[Kesi]], [[Ursa]], and [[Pavo]]; 2,000 for Dru.