Aotearoa - Rime of the Frostmaiden - Episode 7 - The Caers
After putting a violent end to the Cult of Levistus that had taken over Caer-Dinerval The adventurers began negotiating with Speaker Crannoc to restore him as legitimate duly elected speaker. It quickly became apparent with he is an arrogant, demanding, overbearing and utterly without charm. As the elves saying goes “descende cum tyranno, vivat tyrannus” Down with the tyrant long live the new tyrant.
Besides a small amount of coin found on the cultists and some bottles of alchemists fire the group only manage to liberate Merekith from servitude.
The upper levels of the Caer are secure but Avarice the Arch-mage still lurks below, and the missing townsfolk are still unaccounted for. Cautiously the party stealthily descend through a trapdoor to the lower levels. As has become his custom Cal loudly fell down the ladder landing unhurt but clanging like a Temple bell (he really should travel some distance behind the others if they wish to be undiscovered).
In the corridors below the main level more cultist bodies were found laid out reverently under blankets and a water cistern containing sunken bodies. Using the curious lodestone like attraction exhibited by the cultist Chardlyn pendants the party surmises that there looks like a dozen(?) villagers deliberately drowned as part of the cultists activity.
Utilizing a small rowboat, the party investigated the rooms surrounding around the cistern. They discovered some musty damp wheat and little else in the first room and must move past a creepy 8-foot-tall horned figure that frozen in a pillar of ice, before encountering the Arch-mage Avarice.
Attempting to engage her in conversation is far from successful as she is focused solely on her work. She dismisses the adventurers out of hand until mention is made of the search for the Netherese city. Avarice suggests that she would be pleased if the group was able to find her “Friend” Vellynne Harpell, also a mage with interests of a more necromantic nature. She should not be hard to spot as she is an elderly white haired and eye patched woman. The party also negotiated the removal of the “Guests” being held nearby. Avarice states that a lever in the next room will allow access to the villagers.
Malumak encounters the starved and cold villagers who seeing an opportunity to escape immediately set out to overpower him. He manages to allay their fears when he points out that he is not of the cult of Levistus.
Returning to the main entrance the party decides to send Merekith with Twitch back to Brynn Shander on Finger the Axebeak. While the rest of the party returns to the Uphill Inn and must deal with the negative consequences of putting the cult down. It seems that no-one considered that the cultists henchmen had families. No amount of reasoning (regarding the freedom of the speaker or the sacrifice of the villages) will make the inn keeper will change his view and the party learn that they are no longer welcome. The party has however grown from their experiences and have over time become more skillful. After discussion the group heads further up the Lake to Caer Konig to investigate the earlier rumors of invisible thieves.
Arriving in Caer Konig they are greeted by the inebriated Dragonborn Speaker Trovus (this is why you keep dragonborn away from alcohol…) who repeats the stories of invisible thieves and then drunkenly repeats them again. The party learns that some goats and a magical lantern, that changes color, have been stolen from the Northern Light Inn and some Pearls have gone missing from the Frozenfar expeditions.
The group are shown the most recent tracks which Bugz and Malumak perceive are likely from the fallen dwarfish, Duergar. They head off towards Kelvin’s Cairn. Fearing the group is not properly equipped to tackle a possible ascent up the mountain they return to Frozenfar expeditions to negotiate hiring some mountaineering gear and Jarthra of the Frozenfar expeditions says the pearls originated from a group was recently searching for Oyaminartok a positive mountain spirit that has bear and human form (but not pig). Returning to the trail of footprints the group finds some sort of fortified building on the mountainside. To assist with Cal’s lack of Stealth Malumak invokes a spell of ‘Pass without trace’ to allow the group to sneak nearby.
The question remains what the Duergar are up to and is it related to Xardorok Sunblight?
Is the Magical color changing Light somehow going to ward off communicable diseases?
How did pearls get up a mountain?
