(G251 12/06/2015 via Roll20 - Guru(GM), JF)(5e 3)

(G251 12/06/2015 via Roll20 - Guru(GM), JF)(5e 3)

I wanted to go back and get Gurudor's body at some point, but with a dragon out there it was best not to be hasty.
We spent a few hours skulking in the darkness and formulating plans, mainly based around what spells to memorise for the next day.

Once that was done we had a bite to eat and to keep our spirits up Sylvia told us another Random story.

....

Whether Random ever made it north to seek out revenge and the magic staff he wanted we were not told. The story skipped forward a few months and dealt with Random's encounters with Varis the warlock and mentor of his twins.

This was after Skeldrog went to Lothorel and the fall of the Thieves Guild.

At the turn of the year there was a period known as the Long Dark Night, a time of no sun and wild magic. People returned to the cities and kept the streets well lit while the countryside was prowled by monsters.

This was the perfect time for Varis to commune with his demon lord Bel Gal (the 14th General of the 8th Layer, Ruler of the horned devils). He planned to travel to the castle of his mistress and take Wyvern and Naga with him. Random had been keeping a lot from his wife about the whole thing, not least of which was the fact that Varis was a vampire. He decided it was best to travel with his kids, just to keep an eye on them.

Rita, Random's wife, asked about the trip and Random replied, 'They have to meet some of their demon family. Say hello to Great Aunt Belzeebat, that sort of thing.'
'Oh I don't know Random. They may be family, but are the twins ready to meet full on demons?'
'Come now dear. No one likes their in-laws. We will be there and back before you know it!'

Before they departed Random went to talk to Calib and arranged a fellow thief to accompany him, a sturdy fellow known as Rodger the Robber. He would pose as a sort of servant but he was really a partner in crime.

Varis would be providing transportation and food for the children, but Random and Rodger would be attending to their own needs. The journey would take them through the old abandoned mining town of Twisted Turn and would take around ten to fifteen days depending on the road and the amount of dragon activity.

With the dangers in mind Random took the following items from the Thieves' Guild supplies:


Two weeks food
Hand axe
Small wood saw
Bandages
Paper and Pen
Bed Roll
Towel
Tinderbox
Small cooking pot and spoon
Waterskin
Pocket Knife
Map
Lantern
(Winter Clothes)
Explorer’s Pack

And so they set off. Varis owned a decent wagon and six horses. When Random took a look at the team he realised the creatures were undead, dressed up to look like real horses, given away only by their dark glowing red eyes. Must have cost him a packet, mused Random.

They would be travelling day and night, with Varis taking the reigns at night and Random and Rodger during the day. They left through the city gates in evening. It was winter time so it was already dark. A small child tried to steal something from the wagon but Random spotted him. Wyvern knew the boy and said, 'Benjamin?'
Random growled 'Beat it kid' and the urchin ran off.

To chronicle the journey then:

DAY 1

A day of uneventful travel through the snow covered lands west of Riverbek.

DAY 2

While travelling Random spotted some weird webbed footprints and he followed them a short while. He judged that the tracks belonged to Drowners and this meant they were probably heading to the river that was about two hours walk away. This was too far from the road though so he headed back to the wagon and left it at that.

DAY 3

While they were gathering nuts and berries by the side of the road one of the kids noticed smoke rising far off down the road. It was sundown, but even so, Random scouted ahead first. Wyvern cast a spell of invisibility on him so he could get all the way up the source of the smoke without detection.

He saw a grisly sight. A group of drows were making a funeral pyre for a stack of dead humans dressed in dark robes. Random noticed the symbol of Torus on the robes, a noble family of Riverbek. As he watched he also spotted two graves. It appeared to him that the leader of the drows was in one of the graves as they seemed indecisive in their actions. There were twelve of them, but only four were soldiers.
They all wore tabards that depicted a skinny looking spider and an elven rune that Random could not
decipher.

When he reported back to the others they decided to wait until the drows had moved on. They approached the pyre, which was now burned down and looted the remains, recovering the following:

Ornamental elven dagger
48 Suits of chainmail
A vial of yellow liquid, which looked magical.

They moved on as it began to snow heavily.

Later that night the wagon was attacked by a strange shadow creature, some thugs and an evil acolyte.  It was a one sided fight though as the wagon contained three warlocks. Rodger was badly drained by a shadow but Varis charmed the acolyte and Random magically suggested that one of the thugs should drop his stuff and run into the forest.
This lucky fellow would be the only survivor as the kids destroyed the shadow with eldritch blasts, the other thugs were slain and Varis sucked the blood out of the acolyte and killed him.

A job well done, they looted the bodies and carried on.

DAY 4

They arrived at the Twisted Turn where there was an inn, one of the few inhabited places left in this old mining town. They stayed the night and sold some of the loot.

Random talked to the innkeeper and played his lute, but the place was not very busy.

That night he had a dream that the ground was shaking and the sky was red with fire. He assumed it was a dream, but not far away, on the horizon you could see the local volcano which I have temporarily forgotten the name of.

DAY 5

After a big breakfast they set off once more. Towards evening they passed a group of people on foot, farmers with their animals. Random asked them about the road ahead and they warned that the way through the swamps was dangerous as it would magically shift to confuse travellers.

Varis didn't see this as a problem though as they were now in the lands of his mistress.

DAY 6

Today was uneventful.
Varis ordered the kids to start eating the 'demon meat', to prepare them for their meeting with Bel Gal. They did not care for it, but did as they were told.

DAY 7

They travelled through the swamp today. Through the night Random awoke and looking out of the front of the wagon saw dark clouds shrouding the stars.

DAY 8

Early in the morning they arrived at the semi-ruined castle of Varis's mistress, Queen Elisa. Even Random, dark souled villain that he was, was starting to get nervous about this expedition now. Rodger was quiet literally shaking in his boots as they approached the foreboding cloud shrouded vampire castle. The children were loving it.

The first gate was guarded by the gate itself, a large stone head carved on the front that had to be persuaded to open. In the grounds of the castle Random saw the dark forms of wolves or large dogs roaming around.

They passed through into the court yard and thence into the stables. Random saw six good horses and a nightmare.

Once inside they were taken to separate rooms by servants and hand maidens where they were groomed and dressed fit to meet a queen. A gnomish tailor measured Random for a suit of refined clothing.

Not long after this, it seemed that a pre-dawn breakfast was the evening meal for vampires, they were ushered into a large dining hall where there was a throne for the queen and five tables for the guests.

Random had already been briefed by Varis and was able to make out:

Queen Elisa IV (vampire)
Ormund the wizard (vampire)
Aktair the diplomat (high elf vampire)
Trash the jailor (ogre vampire)
Varis the Demonbinder

In all the hall contained three hundred people, mainly humans and servants. Random estimated that forty of them were vampires.

The children were presented to the Queen, and then Random and he turned on the charm while casting his eyes over the jewellery she was wearing. Even the basic stuff alone he estimated to be worth 10,000gp. The magnificent headdress she wore was beyond his capacity of estimation.

For the moment though he contented himself to stealing the silver cutlery when he was back at his seat. He glanced over at Rodger and gave him a nod. There was rich pickings in this castle for a burglar and his mate. Random was literally giddy with the thought of it.