B1E1 The Termalaine Mine

B1E1 The Termalaine Mine

Donobis (Tiefling paladin, Bill), Mareshi (human Cleric, Tony), Draggo (Dragonborn Barbarian, Brian), Thokk (half-Orc Warlock, Duane), Knott (Firbolg Druid, Matt)

Due to the eternal night, every town makes some sacrifice to appease Auril (the goddess of winter). Whether food offerings, miscellaneous items, or human (rigged lottery?). Termalaine sacrifices warmth. At least the elders were smart enough to not sacrifice their main output of fish (caught per ice-fishing).

The Meeting:

Thanks to Auril casting a spell to keep the eternal night lasting, night with the northern lights and moonlight makes for the best daytime. No wonder Speaker Oarus Masthew (lawful good half-orc) set the meeting at midnight.

We gathered at the Blue Clam (dockside tavern) run by Vernon Brig (another half-orc) who served up kava (liquor made from moss- considering plant life scarce per lack of sunlight).

Hlyn Trollbane- elderly female dwarf ranger.

Vellynne Harpell- scholarly wizard.

Masthew offered “50 gold plus whatever gems you find. All you need to do: clear the mine infested with kobold; even the winged one. Make it safe to reopen and resume mining. The kobold arrived a few days ago, driving out the human miners. One is missing.”

Overheard: mention of another wizard (Nass Lantomir) who supposedly stole something from the wizard tower in hopes it might help cancel Auril’s spell and restore sunlight. He hasn’t been seen for years.

Hlyn is offering 125 gold bounty for the murderer of prominent citizens in Easthaven, Targos, and Bryn Shanders. “Beheaded. They are some of the towns who offer human sacrifice to Auril. I hear the primary suspect is Sephek Kaltro- a barbarian who does not wear a coat.”

The Mine:

Entrance, Stage Left- human and kobold tracks led in/out of the middle and right passage while LARGE rat tracks led left. We went after the bigger threat first: left. Passage to a waterfall: 2 rats slaughtered and dumped into the flowing river.

Cavernous pit with wooden (via feratta) ledge- 2 kobold were tampering with the understructure. Till Mareshi cut their safety line: “Aaaa” the kobolds disappeared into the bottomless pit.

Lower-Level Waterfall: bucket ride down then right into a chamber behind the waterfall. Where a Grell attacked Draggo! Melee till it flew up, then ranged weapons and spells. Killed by Eldrich Blast during its retreat.

Lookouts- 2 kobolds dispatched but not before one wounded Draggo (again), keeping the cleric busy.

Kobold nest- past another chasm with via ferrata ledges to access the side chamber where 3 kobold nested. One (Trex) wore wooden wings but he spoke perfect common, “We did not kill any miners. We came seeking shelter after being driven from our lands by a Yeti near Kelvin’s Cairn. The human miners left on their own; probably escaping that Grell. Losers weepers, we claimed the mine.” Thokk ready to kill them. Mareshi parlayed, “Perhaps we spare your lives if you are willing to work for the locals.”

The ghost:

Knott reached to shake Trex’s hand to seal the deal: Trex’s voice changed back to draconic, as a stupefied look crossed his face while Knott’s face twisted in ponder. The ghost that HAD controlled Trex now joined with the slightly-more intelligent Knott. Knott learned the ghost was Janith Alowar: a druidic explorer killed by the Yeti. The link: the satchel Trex had picked up in the Yeti lair.

Janith told what lay across the rope trolley: gems and a skull. While Draggo watched over the kobold, the others took the rope trolley to the other side where they collected numerous gems. As for the fossilized skull: 2 large eye sockets divided by a thick vertical ridge but no nose-nostril yet 4 holes where teeth would be. Knott tried to dig out the skull, only to destroy it. Thus revealing a large crystal behind it!

The crystal- Thokk grabbed it as surely it not natural! Draggo sensed its magical aura “Enchantment. You will need to identify it to learn more.”

Back in town:

Speaker Oarus welcomed the kobolds as new citizens “as long as you work for a living. You can start by cleaning our latrines.” He also sent a team to inspect the mine before rewarding the group for cleansing it and determining what happened to the missing miner.

Draggo offered up a dozen shovels collected from the mine “worth more than those cheap gems the others found.”

Knott described (never asked Thokk to show) the crystal to Hlyn. Her best guess, “A Mind Flayer’s skull perhaps? They don’t like the cold and would seek shelter in caves.” Vellyine offered, “For 25 gold, I could identify it for you. You don’t have enough coins? Perhaps if you solved the murders in Bryn Shandar…”

Mareshi bartered for half pay upfront that provided coins for the Identify spell components. Thus, Vellyine identified the large gem: a scrying crystal enabling one to telepathically communicate with someone within 10 yards. Thokk was disillusioned by the gem, “I can speak to anyone within that range. What a worthless…”

Mareshi gladly took it off Thokk’s hands and used it to talk to the ghost (Janith) who knew of the missing wizard named Nass Lantomir. But also in those moments of crystal use, Mareshi also heard a faint voice (deep-speech) as if distant echoing from the south.

Highlights

Termalaine: Speaker Oarus Masthew, dwarf Ranger Hlyn Trollbane, wizard Vellyine Harqell. 

Missing wizard Nass Lantomir,

Easthaven- prominent citizens beheadings,

Mind Flayer crystal. 

Rumors for their next journey:

Targos: A band of adventurers planned to go to Kelvin's Cairn to search for a lycanthrope.

Bryn Shandar: Dwarves lost a shipment and are looking for someone to help them find it. Also, murders in town.

Next Episode: https://wjrrofm.blogspot.com/2024/01/b1e2-bryn-shander-via-targos.html