Runelords SSF

Latest Update 18-3-2010
Last time our intrepid adventurers returned from Jorgenfist, the fortress of the evil Stone-giant Warlord Mokmurian where the giants were massing troops for war. There they rescued citizens that were kidnapped from a scouting party’s attack on Sandpoint. Amongst their number was the half-orc Go who joined their ranks. They managed to navigate their way through the underground ruins to an ancient Thassilonian library before returning to Sandpoint for a bit of respite unknowing of the troubles that had arisen there during their forage into the mountains.

A mysterious sinkhole had opened beneath Sandpoint at the same moment Mokmurian had been defeated far away on the Storval Plateau. After a Heroes greeting by the citizens of Sandpoint the party was contacted by the Mayor and Father Zantus. They asked the group to explore the nearly 30-foot wide hole that had opened up beside the city garrison. Guards had been sent into the hole to explore but they never returned, after that night horrid unnatural howling was heard from below, accompanied by bloodcurdling screams.

After a good night’s rest the group braved the sinkhole to go through the ancient Thassilonian ruin they had found earlier below Sandpoint, however, something had changed. A previously clogged staircase had been opened up and gave access to further catacombs even deeper underneath Sandpoint. Carving their way through otherplanar hounds they finally met up with an ancient being who had been a double-agent between the Runelords Karzoug and Alaznist, who also complicated matters by being devoted to a third master – Lamashtu, Mother of Monsters.

As at the same moment Mokmurian was vanquished, the already gorged Runewell of Karzoug achieved a new level of potency and as the initial activation of the Runewell several years ago caused ripples in other Runewells scattered throughout Varisia, this one had caused a much larger burst of power and it was this eruption of power that caused the destruction of the rock above the well. This eruption didn’t go unnoticed by the gods either and Lamashtu reacted instantly, her triple gaze saw the unquiet of one of her greatest (and most ancient) minions – the Thassilonian Thaumaturge Xaliasa, known in his final days as the Scribbler, so she infused the Scribbler with her divine grace and resurrected him as the divine guardian of her ancient temple.

The group confronts and vanquishes The Scribbler, and they also find and manage to translate the Scribblers Rhyme:

“If magic bright is your desire, To old Runeforge must you retire! For only there does wizard’s art, Receive its due and proper start.

On eastern shores of steaming mirror, at end of day when dusk is nearer, Where seven faces silent wait, Encircled guards at Runeforge gate.

Each stone the grace of seven lords, One part of key each ruler hoards; If offered spells and proper prayer; Take seven keys and climb the stair.

On frozen mountain Xin awaits, His regal voice the yawning gates Keys turn twice in Sihedron – Occulted Runeforge waits within.

And now you’ve come and joined the forge, Upon rare lore your mind can gorge – And when you slough the mortal way, in Runeforge long your work shall stay.”

They interpreted the Scribbler’s rhyme as follows:
 * 1) It introduces the idea of Runeforge as a place for wizards to perfect and hone their craft.
 * 2) The word “mirror” is a metaphor for lake (a somewhat common usage in ancient Thassilonian poetry), they deduce that Lake Stormunder is known for its plentiful hot springs and geysers. Seven faces may mean the seven stone heads that someone had heard have been seen standing at a mysterious stone circle on the western slope of the mountain known as Rimeskull on Stormunders eastern shore.
 * 3) Each of the seven heads represents one of the seven schools of Thassilonian magic, so perhaps casting a spell of the correct school on the correct stone should somehow produce a key from each, after which they should ascend Rimeskull via an ancient set of stairs.
 * 4) After their ascension of the stairs they should enter through a gate where they are to use the keys which should open the way to Runeforge
 * 5) Those who enter Runeforge should find a place of unbridled learning and raw discovery.

So after restocking and trading of equipment in peace the party’s next goal should be to seek the mystical Runeforge, a place lost for ten thousand years after the cataclysmic fall of the Thassilonian Empire. Whether they venture by the Thassilonian library underneath Jorgunfist for additional info is still undecided.

In any case, the journey continues...

Back to D&amp;D: Pathfinder, or Home.