Session 18 – Shrine of the Corrupter

Campaign I, session 18. Previous: Session 17. Next: Session 19.

Having triangulated a best first-pass at where to search the sewers, Dreyfuss (PC Sakkalin watch-hound) spends a bit of time sniffing around the surface, hoping to find the best place to begin searching. The sealed sewer grate that Casino (PC Reforged spellcarved soldier) had stumbled upon earlier turns out to be the one most likely to lead to some kind of concealed clue. Pash (PC venturer) is too put off by going into the sewers, and Alwyn (PC thief) is busy setting up a spying hijinks, so they sit out this adventure and send some of henches in their place.

Immediately upon unsealing the grated and descending into the sewers, the party sees a collapsed wall in the sewer tunnel. The dwarven henches suspect that it was deliberately collapsed to hide a tunnel, and assess that it will take about 6 hours of work for a team of 10 to clear the rubble. The party decides to get to work clearing it out. While working, they hear some speaking in the distance (that fades as they investigate), and encounter a giant frog that snaps up a few stray rats and watches, running away only when Tassi warns it that the kobold followers are planning to eat it.

About halfway through the clearing, the party is attacked by eight berserksers! Being familiar with the conjure berserkers spell, the party correctly surmises that there are mages beyond their line of sight, and after a few rounds, several wererats join the fray! Eventually, a few wererats are slain by the party’s magic weapons and the remainder (including the wererat mages in the back) retreat – “Screw this! We signed on for immortality!”

Unfortunately several kobold followers are slain, as is Abiyir (hench orcblooded paladin) – his guts spilled out into the sewers. Singil (PC orcblooded shaman) and Ebba (hench fighter) retreat up to the surface with his body to seek magical aid while the remaining group continues clearing rubble. Abiyir is restored to life, and in the process is endowed by Numilvara with feathery wings and hollowed bones – this halved his CON score, reduced his weight, and gave him the ability to fly. He will need four weeks to fully recover and has informed Singil of his intent to seek a personal spirit quest in Numilvara’s name (retiring from the party).

Singil and Ebba rejoined the party and continued to clear away the rubble. The party avoids and evades the remaining wandering encounters, and Rotgrum (hench dwarven delver) hears a high-pitched chime that escapes the attention of the rest of the party – an alarm has been triggered!

The party makes their way through a mess of old buildings, mostly covered in filth. With clever use of oil, they defeat several rat swarms that seem to be defending the area. They discover two sets of sleeping quarters, one of which has some treasure. Following the scent of the most recent movement, Dreyfuss leads them to what appears to be a dead-end. His nose has not lied, however, and after some thorough searching they find the latch to a secret door. A choked fight with rats, wererats, and conjured elementals ensues, finally revealing a shrine to Dyrrn the Corrupter, a Daelkyr known for weaving flesh and mind control. The party smashes up the shrine and uses holy water to break its power.

NOTES:

• PCs found twice as many beds as wererats slain.

• PCs might want to take one or two bodies up for identification (may impact the number of wererat scalps collected?)

• Calc XP and treasure allocation

• Reminder: other door

  • Show the

• JUDGMENT CALL: unless there is an objection, I will fast-forward a bit.