Journey part 2
by Patrick SullivanThe next section of the adventure set in Western Karameikos:
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The party is awoken in the middle of the night, in an inn later on the night of their arrival in Allia-Colba. This time it is the innkeeper who awakens them, begging them to leave his establishment. It seems that alJusif's men followed the heroes to this inn. They burst in and told the innkeeper that his business would be burned down if the outlanders were allowed to stay. The soldiers inform them that they have learned of plans for a massive uprising, and alJusif did not want the characters to get involved. The innkeeper begs the characters to leave, and once they do, he refuses to let them back in.
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Lino leads the party to a barn at the edge of the village. The characters are exhausted, be sure to stress this to them, but if they ask about the barn, Lino tells them not to worry and just go to sleep. They curl up in the straw on the ground and go to sleep.
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The party is once-again awoken, this time by the returning inhabitants of the barn. Several goats wander in early the next morning, seeking refuge from the storm (either rain or snow) that has just broken. The goats, after a minor struggle, accept their new neighbours and settle in with them, occasionally trying to eat something in someone's hand. By the time the characters are recuperated enough to get up, the road is impassable from the storm. They'll be in Allia-Colba for a few days at least.
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The next couple days is spent hanging around Allia-Colba. AlJusif's men seem to have forgotten about the group, at least for now. The party gets to know some of the Traladaran natives better, and become friends with some of them. Lino seems always to be there except when he is needed. In such cases, he often cannot be found for hours at a time. The party learns of an upcoming festival to celebrate the beginning or middle or end of some season or another (in your campaign, it should probably be a bit more specific). The inhabitants won't say anything about it except that it's a huge event and the "Maiden of the Spring" (or Fall, or winter...) would ride in on the white horse (clever characters might at this point remember that they heard something about a horse festival in Allia-Colba. One of the PCs think they see Durlasan in the village, but he ducks out of sight before they can be sure.
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After the second night in he barn, a party member finds something buried in the straw: a Karameikan Fury in the West militia uniform. Several more are located before Lino sees and says, "it is best to leave these where they are. The village has taken you under its wing--it is best not to question it."
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If the party mentions to Lino a desire to see the festival, he tells them that they should not attend, that they would be unwelcome.
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The Traladarans tell the party they are more than welcome at the festival.
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The festival is well-attended by many Traladarans, as well as a large contingent of the Fury. The night of the festival begins with a procession of a dozen or so strangely-dressed dancers.. There is a withered old man with white hair and a heavy coat, a pretty young girl wearing delicate green, etc. If the players figure it out, or perhaps with an intelligence check, there is one dancer who represents each of the twelve seasons. There is a massive bonfire, and everyone dances around the fire until the arrival of the Maiden of the Spring, riding her white mare.. As the maiden joins the wild dancing, there are loud, boisterous cheers, which soon change to cries of "Achelos, Achelos!" "Achelos has returned!" and, even most frightening, "Achelos is among us!" Near what the characters perceive as the centre of the chant, they see Durlasan egging the villagers on.
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The Fury cavalry rides in, attacking with large clubs, even occasionally slashing with wicked-looking sabres. The party is forced toward the fire, and they must split up to avoid it. The Thyatian character(s) sees a young boy, about 12 years old, brandishing a burning branch at the oncoming Fury soldier. If he tries, the Thyatian can save the boy, but he is permanently separated from the other half of the group. He continues to have opportunities to save Traladarans as long as it seems practical.
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The Traladaran character(s), on the other hand, finds himself forced into the middle of a very different battle. Durlasan is leading a group of large Traladarans beating and torturing fallen soldiers laying in agony on the ground. They rob dying soldiers and stab others in the back. The character must make the decision who to help.
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More cavalry rides in from the outskirts of town, and all the Traladarans who can flee do, taking whatever PCs are with them. The party is reunited at Achelos' Fortress, a secret rebel base in one of the cave under the Black Peak Mountains. They are well-tended. A group of 4 men and one woman walk into the room, talking. Durlasan is telling them something; Lino and some other Traladarans are listening. As they enter the chamber, it falls quiet. After Durlasan finishes speaking, Lino nods his head at him and walks over to the party. Durlasan begins giving orders to various people hanging around the fortress. Lino explains that they are in Achelos' stronghold, and it is being considered whether they can be trusted to be let go. Lino sadly explains that he warned them not to come to the festival, for now, since no outlanders know of their secret, they might not be allowed to leave. A character should probably ask Durlasan for permission to leave. Durlasan will state that only Achelos himself may grant that permission, nodding toward Lino, who grins sheepishly.
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Unless the party has been really cruel to Lino, he grants them permission to leave, so long as they swear to tell no one. He also offers to journey with them again.
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The storm has mostly passed, and the party is able to leave. The first group of Traladarans to arrive after the refugees from Allia-Colba came up the River Achelos, and they arrive shortly before the group is ready to leave. The excitedly report that the storm had caused a fresh collapse at Achelos' Castle, allowing access to a secret dungeon beneath that no one knew existed. Lino suggests that they search this chamber, since it may provide clues to the final fate of King Achelos.
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It takes half a day to get to the "castle," sailing down the Achelos River. The castle is actually an ancient Milenian-style temple, collapsing from its great age. The party has to deal with soggy ground, unstable ruins, flooded chambers, and trapped creatures in exploring the dungeon. It is a fairly small underground area, and they can quickly explore the whole area. Give the players a couple minor monster encounters to keep them on their toes. They also see a shelf covered with figurines between 20 and 25 cm tall, ornately decorated and gilded in the costumes of the dancers at the festival. An especially observant character MIGHT notice that there are 15 figurines, rather than 12. Mixed in with the other figurines are three chess pieces of very similar construction: a Traldaran King, a Traladaran Queen, and a Patriarch of Chardastes. The three chessmen radiate magic, but each of the other figurines is worth at least 500 gp in Mirros.
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The real treasure in this secret dungeon, however, lies behind yet another secret door. In one passageway, there are a few feet of rubble littering the floor in front of an illusionary wall. Unless the characters climb unto the rubble or find another way of testing the phantasm, they don't notice the opening. Behind the opening they find a low table, unharmed by the age, on which rests a beautiful, ornately decorated giant onyx chess board. The entire Traladaran side, except for the King, Queen, and one bishop are there. On the Thyatian side, 2 pawns, a knight, and a rook are the only things. All these things radiate strong magic, so much so that any magi-using character, or any elf, can feel the powerful magic radiating from these items.
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Upon returning to the outer chamber, the group runs into Natasha Tibonerial. She (actually a projected image) thanks them for retrieving the artifact for her. She's bee searching for it for years. Now she can make sure that no one ever steals from her the power that is rightfully hers. She has a big long speech in which she explains how brilliant she is (classic villain speech), tells the heroes that it is rather ironic, they will die in the same place as King Achelos II did. She cackles maniacally, disappears, then begins sending fireballs in to collapse the tunnel.
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If the players are at least
semi-intelligent, they retreat into the secret room, then try to
claw their way out of their brand-new tomb.. They take too long to
get out, and they fear that Natasha is long gone. But she is up in
front of the ruins with Suleiman, arguing about who double-crossed
whom. Natasha soon flees, but then it is Suleiman's turn to cackle
maniacally, play the psychopathic villain, etc. It should be a
thrilling battle, but the party should hopefully eventually
triumph, perhaps with some divine assistance. However, Suleiman
should be allowed to escape to plot even more evil, and to take his
revenge on the players.