Dancing With Mr. D

(Scroll for tl;dr)

Back on the river, Smiley, Baphomet, Jarlier and Wolfgang were still on the keelboat slowly making their way to Yartar. They were arguing over who was in charge because Sorin had taken the captain’s hat with him. Baphomet decided to leave and find the other Adventurers™ while the other three continued to bicker.  Taking a hippogriff he flew via Yartar and Drillin’s Ferry to Wrath Keep.  Soaring through the night sky he approached Wrath Keep.  As he descended, a manticore flew past causing the hippogriff to panic but they managed to land safely.

Baphomet flew through the open roof, landing in the keep courtyard finding the others exploring an underground vault hidden in the keep.  The vault housed three gated alcoves, each locked with a chain and padlock.  Slumped outside one of the alcoves was a human skeleton.  Skonn took a closer look and found a glimmering greatsword that was cold to the touch and a pair of ornate gauntlets.  He put on the gauntlets and felt a little stronger.

Whilst Skonn was unsuccessfully trying to pull apart the chains with brute strength, Baphomet begin to pick one of the locks.  His first attempt was unsuccessful but after about 30 minutes he sprung the lock.  Inside were ten locked iron boxes.  Baphomet and Skonn worked through the boxes, with Baphomet picking the locks and Skonn smashing them against the wall.  Baphomet found 1000 gold pieces, 1000 silver pieces and some long expired credit notes while Skonn found the deed to the keep. The second alcove contained a desk with letters and other documents that recorded the history of the keep.  The third contained a single large chest emblazoned with a stylised W.  This chest was unlocked.  Inside the party found the skull of a young black dragon, 12 forest giant teeth on a string, a mithril chainmail shirt and a pair of huge bone gauntlets with a strange symbol on them.  The gauntlets seemed to be fashioned from animal teeth and claws while the symbol looked like a frowning tusked mouth.

With the party returning to the ground floor, Skonn flung open the doors to the room the manticore was last seen in.  Sorin went in, finding the creature’s nest and some gold.  Leaning against the wall was a mace which he stowed in a bag of holding.  The party explained to Baphomet that this was the mace mentioned in a letter found wrapped around a strange deck of cards, taken from the corpse of a Minotaur.  Baphomet was interested in the cards and after hearing they held terrible and wonderful magic he wanted to draw some.  He declared he would draw two cards.  

Baphomet and Skonn went out into the courtyard.  Balderpoor crouched behind a rock, Sorin watched from a safe distance while Arnogall stayed back in the large bedroom unable to see what would happen but he felt safer for it.  The party braced themselves.  The first card depicted a Hermit.  Baphomet’s mind suddenly went foggy.  He wondered for a moment where he was and why he was there before remembering the keep and his fellow Adventurers.  He also felt that it would be ok to draw a third card but that it would be a bad idea; he decided to do it anyway.   His second card depicted Death.  An Avatar of Death faded into view next to Baphomet, pointed a bony finger at the halfling and said, “THIS FIGHT IS FOR HIM ALONE.”

Baphomet struggled to hit the apparition.  As it severely wounded him, he tapped into his infernal nature and summoned flames all around him.  The flames greatly damaged the avatar but it mercilessly fought on, downing the tiefling. Fearing for his friend’s life, Skonn charged in and as he struck the avatar, another appeared.  Again this new avatar warned the others away.  Skonn was still hurt from the original assault on the keep and a few hits from the avatars had him bloodied and battered.  Sorin joined the fray casting healing magic on Skonn, causing another avatar to appear.  There were now three avatars in the courtyard but the tide of battle began to turn as Skonn managed to land some blows and Baphomet regained consciousness. The avatars were eventually dealt with and faded back into nothing. Baphomet’s last card depicted Justice which gave him a new found respect for law and order, seemingly changing his outlook on life. 

The Adventurers™ were keen to return to Drillin’s Ferry to quickly make some coin and move on to Yartar in the hope of purchasing the devastation orb for the Lord’s Alliance. Aubrey used his dancing lights to summon the Hippogriffs and the party headed to Drillin’s Ferry. Just as they left the keep, Arnogall noticed a worg and rider dashing towards it. He leapt from his hippogriff and with his cloak of featherfall greatly slowing his descent, Arnogall fired two arrows at the wrag, killing it. The rider tumbled forward and Sorin commanded his hippogriff to swoop in and pin the goblin to the ground. The goblin managed to roll away just in time but was then put to the sword by Skonn. They found a letter on the rider and Arnogall translated it for the party. It said "Koth, A new dawn approaches! We march in three days. Be ready. Azarr Kul."

The party returned to Drillin's Ferry and landed outside the house of the town wizard, Sertieren the Wise.  Skonn knocked on the door but there was no answer.  They waited in the tavern before collecting some gold from the blacksmith and selling more weapons to him.  They called on Sertieren but again there was no answer.  Returning to the tavern for breakfast their meal was interrupted by a knight who brought news of a roadblock towards Rhest.  The knight introduced herself as Teyani Sura, a Lion of Brindol.  The party, now in high spirits, paid little heed to her warning.  On mentioning the hobgoblins in the keep (now referred to as Skonn’s keep by Skonn) and the map they’d found, the knight became very concerned.  She resolved to ride to the keep and on to Cinder Hill with her two companions. 

Before Teyani left, Balderpoor offered to show her a magic trick and asked her to pick a card. Although slightly bemused she did.  The card depicted a High Priestess.  She threw the card back onto the table and stumbled backwards awkwardly.  She turned and left the tavern, bumping into the door frame on her way out.  As the Adventurers™ resumed their breakfast they heard the clatter of what sounded like an armour clad knight falling off a horse.  Balderpoor carefully returned the cards to his pocket.  

After breakfast the party went to Sertieren's for a third time.  Again there was no answer.  Baphomet tried the door and found it unlocked.  Inside, where there had been bookcases, lecterns with self turning books and delicate exotic instruments there was just a bare room . The only exception was a single table with five of the Foe Crusher arrows that Sertieren had for sale.  They were wrapped in a note which said, “You’re going to need these.”

The party set off to Speaker Wiston’s house to inform him of what they had found in the forest.  He greeted them in his hallway and was very worried to learn that hobgoblins had used the keep as a base and there seemed to be some sort of plan to attack the town.  Wiston started to panic.  He said he needed to have an emergency town council meeting and asked if The Adventurers™ would attend.  Worried that they would be delayed in their return to Yartar they were reluctant.  However, Wiston assured them that the council would be gathered in a matter of minutes as this matter was too important to wait.  They agreed to stay and were shown to Wiston’s dining room to wait for the council members to arrive.  


tl;dr Baphomet reappeared after some time, party looted the keep and skonn found the deed. Baphomet drew magic cards and nearly died. Back in town the wizard had done a runner and the town speak is getting seriously worried about the hobgoblins.