After freeing the lands of Barovia from the rule of Strahd and also trapping the vestige of the dark god Vampyr in the Amber Temple, Julius the roguish Cleric and Valrick the Ax-gnome (with Bill the axolotl) set off in search of more adventure. They are joined by the half-elven Ix, a powerful Sorcerer-Wizard who was also trapped in Barovia by Strahd’s mists. Ix thinks he would surely have defeated Strahd himself, given just a bit more time. Time will tell whether this is just a vain boast…
The mists surrounding Barovia are no longer dark and cloying. Striding through the silvery mists, the group finds themselves suddenly weightless. The mists disperse and they are left floating in void, surrounded by far-off glowing clouds, and pin-pricks of light. Looking at each other, they realise that they are all now softly glowing in fractals of ever-changing colour. Behind them, a silvery pool vanishes.
They are in the Astral plane. Thought creates gravity, allowing them to move. There is no need to breathe, eat or sleep. Suddenly a light some way off intensifies, burning bright enough to be hard to look at directly. They notice a gentle breeze tugging them towards it. A silvery pool starts to appear off to the side and they head towards it. Also heading towards it is the silhouette of a humanoid. “Heyyy! Glad to meet some people in this empty place. I think this is our way out!” says a jovial voice as the figure overshoots the pool.
Valrick is just about to try entering the pool when Ix cries out “Get back, there’s something behind it!” A faint shimmer is visible behind the pool, and it solidifies into an inky black behemoth. The pool closes and they see that it’s the mouth. Ix launches two simultaneous fireballs at the creature and it is torn apart.
“Well, too bad.” calls the voice again as he comes back. This time slowing to a stop. It appears to be a dragonborn ranger. “I’m sure we’ll find a real door out of here. Hi! I’m Nagwen. I’ve been here a couple times before and managed to find a way back pretty quick. You just have to look carefully for a while for the right color pool to open up. Silver is what we want.” The winds are becoming stronger, and so they set out against the pull that the bright light seems to be causing.
Soon enough, they see another pool. This time, checking it carefully, they can see through the silvery surface that there is a blue sky, mountains, and a valley on the other side. They quickly push through together and there is a sudden boom as they materialise in the prime plane. Air is rushing past them as they realise they are over 1000 feet above the ground below. They have about 10 seconds before they hit the ground very hard.
Ix casts a fly spell with 2 targets selected, allowing Nagwen and Valrick to grab the other two, succeeding their strength checks, carrying them down to the mountaintop below. From there, they can see a valley stretching out, dotted with farms, a river running through it, and a large town far away at the very bottom. On a small mountain behind the town, there is a strange stone dome. In the other direction, the mountain range continues to get higher with each successive peak. Nearby is a small village with stone buildings, some carved into the mountain. A few dwarves are on a track a hundred feet away, staring at them.
The party approaches and the dwarves seem wary at first but then they make some religious signs and bow deeply. The dwarves ask if they were sent by Dumathoin, Keeper of Secrets Under the Mountain. “No, we come from far away lands.” they say. The dwarf replies “So ye’re not in league with the humans from the valley either then eh? Well, that’s somethin’. Anyways, perhaps this is part of Dumathoin’s plan to answer our prayers. Walk with us for a bit and share some ale at the village. We avn’t much, but we do ale.”
Nagwen seems to enjoy the ale liberally, though it is extremely sour. The dwarves proceed to fill the party in on why they thought Dumathoin may have sent them. Hundreds of years ago, Giants terrorized these mountains and the dwarves dug deep tunnels to stay safe. They discovered seams of gemstones, but were unable to leave the tunnels safely to trade them. They prayed to Dumathoin constantly, and one day a thunderous boom sounded above the mountains, and some dwarves saw a glowing figure descending slowly, wings unfurled. It was a mighty Deva named Galamond, who had been sent to lead them in battle against the Giants.
Galamond rallied the dwarves and led them to victory after victory. In the final raid against the castle in the clouds Galamond slew Belnoth, and the dwarves started looting. Galamond walked up to a giant glowing pearl that was lighting up the massive throne room. He whispered one word, “Aster”, before touching it. A flash of light and he was gone. The disappearance of their champion spooked the dwarves. They quickly rolled the pearl into a chest and took it back to their stronghold to keep it safe, in case Galamond returned.
Galamond never returned, but the dwarves prospered by trading their gems. A hundred years ago, when a far off human empire fell into civil war, one general brought his legion to this valley to settle. After a bloody battle by the river, the humans claimed the valley and demanded the dwarven king pay yearly tribute. The dwarves had little choice, but their riches were depleted year by year. Eventually they could no longer pay and declared their independence. The human army used magic to sunder the gates of the mountain stronghold. The Mountain King was killed in the initial assault, and his ancestral Horn of Valhalla was stolen before it could even be used to call the vanguard.
The aging general and his son led the forces that gutted the fortress. Eventually they came upon the sacred chamber containing the giant pearl. Frustrated at not finding any wealth, the general grasped the pearl with both hands. He dropped to the floor instantly. The General’s cleric was unable to revive him, and the son angrily dismissed her, and ordered the force’s departure, taking his father’s body and the chest with the pearl in it back to the castle in the valley.
The dwarves heard in time that the humans started worshipping the orb as an artefact of a god named “Aster”. The humans generally left the dwarves alone from then on, if they stayed out of the valley, but the dwarves had been ruined, and rebuilding has been slow. They remain impoverished, still digging in the mountain, but finding no new wealth. They have been hoping Dumathoin would send another Deva to aid them… The look of hope in the dwarves’ eyes is fervent. “So ye can see why we thought Dumathoin may ‘ave ‘ad somethin’ ta do with yer arrival on the mountain.”
The adventurers sympathise with the dwarves but say they must head off to the town in the valley to look for work or passage elsewhere. They are not complete monsters though, and do give a few coins for the ale. Disappointed, the dwarves bid them farewell and direct them to a track leading down the mountain. The group spends the night on the mountain. On watch, Nagwen notices a pair of lions prowling around, and scares them off.
In the morning they reach a well-built stone tower housing a garrison of 20 human soldiers. The group is questioned, and after verifying they are just passing through and have nothing to do with the dwarves, they are allowed to head to the town. A few of the younger soldiers comment they wish they could head to town today for the festivities too, before being silenced by their leader. Apparently the king’s daughter is being betrothed today, with a large celebration in the town.
There is another stranger who has been playing cards with the soldiers also heading to the town. It is Teren, also a half-elf, who is “looking for rare items, as well as those who need rare items found”. He joins them for the walk to town which takes the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. They agree as outsiders it is probably best to stay together and watch each others’ backs.
The town is surrounded by a tall wooden palisade with a stone foundation. There is a line of people being checked at the gate. Because today is a feast-day, outsiders must pay a gold each. The guards glare at Valrick suspiciously and declare “little folk like them pay double”. Ix does not have much money and is also not impressed with the blatant racism, so discreetly casts Friend on the guard, and manages to get away with everyone paying half. As soon as they’re through the gate, Ix whispers “We’ve got about 30 seconds until the guard realises I charmed him, let’s get out of sight quick!”
The streets are crowded and they easily disappear among the bustle. Teren notices a shadowed figure in an alley making a thieves sign “come, alone”. Intrigued, Teren investigates and meets Luperta, a local rogue who offers assistance for a price, while also trying to find out what Teren and companions are doing here. Luperta leaves with a warning: the town guard is incorruptible, and as such the thieves here maintain a low profile. Don’t try anything without our permission or you’ll regret it.
The rest of the group has found a raucous tavern called the Hagshead. It’s overflowing with people, and has no place to sleep save for the straw floor in the crowded bar room. The group overhears people relieved that the princess is finally marrying, as she’s almost thirty now.
The Stonetop Inn is nicer but also has no rooms, and certainly wouldn’t let any customers pass out in the common room. As the sun sets, the town square fills with people and King Agrilus addresses the crowd from a balcony with his daughter Princess Seppora and her betrothed Prince Hanum of Dactris to either side of him.
The King’s presence is commanding. A wave of devotion washes over the crowd. Everyone, that is, except for the half-elves who manage to resist. Ix spots the rod as being the source of the compulsion. No wonder the army and the town are well-run. The wedding is announced to take place in 9 days, with the King of Dactris arriving in a week. Then the couple will leave for Dactris. King Agrilus is overjoyed his daughter is marrying, but will miss her dearly.
The town celebrates all night, though the party heads to the only place with a vacancy, the pretentious and over-priced Crownguard Court near the gate between the town and the castle. They get a good night’s sleep except for Julius (nightmares of abandonment by friends and deity) and Valrick (nightmares of Bill being cooked up and eaten by the party). They lose some maximum HP and have no rest.
They are in the dining room the next morning enjoying a mid-morning breakfast when a troop of guards stomp in. The captain (played by Jason Statham) addresses them “You lot the so-called adventurers from out o town tha’ arrived yesterday? Alright then, listen up. Today’s your lucky day. You weren’t my first choice but the King is in need of some assistance.”
King Agrilus the Third is there on his throne, looking old and despondent. No crown or rod. Army Commander Wintrope is near him looking implacable behind a large moustache. The Captain ushers the attendants out of the large room and two remaining guards close the door. The King looks up, with a little hope in his eyes. It appears that multiple magic items were missing from his bag of holding when he woke, and his Wizard confirmed all the wards on his room, including teleportation prevention, were all intact. Worse, the wizard Yosombi then rushed up to his study to check something, and was found soon after lying dead on the floor.
The party agrees to investigate, for a reward of course, and rush up to Yosombi’s study. Julius is unable to cast Resurrection, but does preserve the body with Gentle Repose. Ix sees Yosombi must have been casting a spell, and sees several books open on the desk referring to the Astral plane and Astral Projection. It seems safe enough, because you can return at any time, even when ‘killed’, unless something severs the silver cord connecting your projection to your body. A Githyanki sword is one of the few things able to do this.
A map of the area is on the desk with a GithZerai temple marked on it, two weeks travel away. They are known to be enemies of the Githyanki, and can be persuaded sometimes to aid a journey to the Astral plane. Another book notes the increased occurrence of color pools both to and from the Astral plane in the area. Teren and Nagwen both notice a chest that appears to be magically trapped. Ix is able to disarm the trap which seems like it would have inflicted psychic damage and then teleported the chest somewhere.
Inside the chest they find some extremely rare scrolls (meteor shower, control weather, time stop) as well as some greater healing potions, and a journal. Nothing too interesting in recent entries, but on the first page, one year ago, the wizard is ranting about the unfaithfulness of a Yugoloth fiend he summoned. Prince Hanum of Dactris had been recently engaged to one of the only princesses around, foiling the King’s plans to marry off his daughter. The wizard summoned a powerful Ultroloth to “take Prince Hanum’s betrothed as far away as you can”.
When word spread that the princess was eviscerated on the night before her wedding, the wizard realized that the Yugoloth had messed it up, although keeping to the agreement in a way. Yosombi vows never to have anything to do with treacherous Yugoloths again. The study library has several volumes on the subject of Yugoloths, with the most telling quote being: "A regiment of devils. A horde of demons. A company of yugoloths. The reason for this grammatical distinction will soon become obvious" -Archmage Baldirk
The party pieces together that the bad must have somehow been damaged, spilling the contents into the Astral plane, and that Yosombi attempted to quickly project there and search for them, but was killed there. Julius petitions his god for answers, and is able to ask 3 questions:
“Is the prince involved in the missing items or the death?” No
“Are the items from the King’s bag of holding on the material plane?” No
“Was Yosombi’s silver tether cut in the astral plane?” Yes
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