On the 19th day of Snake, the armorsmith, Raith, arrived at the homestead to examine the dragon corpse. While he’d never crafted armor from dragon hide, he had a good idea of how to complete it. The hide could be used to make a suit of leather armor and a shield. They paid him 500 gp for the job that would take 3 weeks.
Slateholm
Aderian, Ferris and Tienarth rode to Slateholm to spend their shares of the loot taken from the dragon. The visit to Slateholm began with a visit to Benebil who provided 1,000 gp to Aderian for the naga eggs. They considered buying a wand from the halfling, but left empty handed.
Tienarth visited the adventurer’s guild for a week of training in combat tactics. Ferris visited several friendly societies and the cathedral, spending lavishly on the poor and the church. His penchant for philanthropy was gaining some notoriety. Aderian sought out artists to record his slaying of the dragon by hurling boulders in the annals of history. He found several willing bards and an avid painter in oils who listened well to his tales. The commission soon led to revelry. For a string of days, Aderian funded a lavish party at the Dancing Toad.
On the morning of the 25th, Aderian awoke laid out on the oaken floor of the tavern. His gold-bought friends were gone, though Ferris and Tienarth were elsewhere in rented rooms. Instinctively, the pirate reached for his prized dagger only to find it missing. He cried out in despair and then as quickly winced from the pain in his head.
Presently, Tienarth came to investigate and upon inquiring about the trouble, produced his crystal ball. Shadows danced within the globe to reveal Cashrina the bard, a female halfling, offering the dagger for sale to Benebil. Out the door they rushed and soon confronted the two halflings.
“I knew you’d soon be here, my friends!” declared Benebil. “I’ve seen similar dagger in my years in Slateholm.”
Suddenly, Aderian’s fist crashed against the dimmunitive bard’s jaw, sending her tumbling to the ground. Next, the burly pirate lifted the thief and threw her headlong into the street. “Let that be a lesson to you!”
Business done, the three mounted their steeds for home where they found Ghevont already returned from Lah. He explained his prayers were not answered this time, and the spell he hoped to learn remained in accessible to him.
Return to Tosasth
On the 26th, they packed supplies again and rode up into mountains with Grubb and Beyaya attending. Once again, they camped up high in the light snow near the lake where they slew the dragon. In the morning, they followed the old road as it circled the lake and then began to descend in to the Tosasth Valley.
A mile past the lake, the road led to a stout volcano, quietly smoldering. Gurgling mud pots appeared in various locations. Otherwise, the landscape around the volcano was a field of ancient lava. Eventually, they came to a crossroads they recognized from approaching the old city from the underground dwarven city.
They past the graveyard, leaving it undisturbed and headed into the city. Consulting maps from weeks before, they went first to a mansion noted by Ferris. As they approached the octagonal tower, skeletons and mummies approached from side streets. With the help of the bones of St. Jaludi, they distroyed and or drove away the undead.
Tienarth read the “Galmire” carved into stone aloud, and they realized they’d found another of the sealed estates mentioned in books they’d taken from the dead. Ferris climbed up to a second story window to gain access to the interior. He quickly found a box of gems described in the book.
While the others indulged in a discussion about whether to climb up a ladder or figure out how to open the main door, a spectre dove from above. It’s icy hands gripped Aderian before he had any chance to react. He felt his life fading away. Ghevont hurled the holy knuckle bone at the horror and it fled away as quickly as it had arrived.
Convinced of the need for haste, they clambered into the old house. It was composed of three floors. Inside, a gallery circled a largely open central area. Stairs offered access down to the ground floor and up to the third floor. In one room they found a library and began choosing books to examine.
Ghevont detected the presence of weak magic over all the volumes, presumably in order to preserve them. The first book Ghevont handled was bound with black leather studded with sparkling rhinestones. It felt evil, and he put it back.
Ferris wore his magical glasses in order to read the text. He found a book discussing surgery, then one about crystal gazing. Next, he found a book of poetry about Tosasth itself. Scanning over the poems, he recognized a few landmarks from his scouting weeks before. One poem told of the wicked master of the central tower, a location they’d already marked for visiting despite hearing that it contained a vampire. The book was named Ode to Tosasth.
After more searching, Ferris found a book on the subject of alchemy and application thereof for the production of healing salves. Ferris put this and book and poems in his backpack for later study. That night, staying in Lady Galmire’s mansion, they flipped studied the text by light of his glowing rock, making sure to keep the drapes well closed.
Retreat for Restoration
Back out on the street, they battled skeletons and ghouls with little trouble. They spied a fine estate with an iron gate between two columns. It seemed to be the Ethohin Manor, another sealed house with treasure inside. After some brief scouting and recovery of the treasure noted in the book, they recognized Aderian’s weakness as a major liability in the face of taking on a vampire. So, they rode fast for the mountain camp.
During the night, giant bats descended from the icy air. A few were killed and the rest flew away. The next morning, they traveled all day and arrived back at the Jonamor Estate. It was the last day of Snake.
In the morning, Aderian expected to ride to Lah for restorative magic against the chilling touch of the spectre.
End Notes
- Treasure
- A box of gems worth 2,232 gp from Lady Galmire’s Estate
- 1,300 sp
- 3,600 gp
- Various jewelry worth 15,130 gp
- Potion of Undead Control
- Wand of Magic Detection
- Kills – 6,744 xp
- 7 Ghouls
- 4 Ghasts
- 10 Skeletons
- 6 Gellybones
- 7 Skeletal Flayers
- 1 Spectre
- 8 Mummies
- 5 Giant Bats
- Characters
- Tienarth/Tre — avoid battle – 1,703 xp
- Ferris/Henry — climbing & lockpicking, decipher – 1,888 xp
- Aderian/Jason — battle – 1,871 xp
- Ghevont/Jeff — smite undead – 1,871 xp
- Grubb — 843 xp
- Beyaya — 843 xp