Expedition: Neegan - Orb Quest - 19 August 2021

[Dram]

Neegan leaves the orb. And goes back to the others. They made no attempt to come after the Orb. Lets seal this from the outside and head to Gaul. He motions for Sir Justins thief. If you could please trap this with your best trap.

[GreyWolfVT]

Galmit nods to Neegan and helps seal the place up as best he can.

[Jernau35]

Tollander watches the others go about their final tasks. He calls upon Gwanwen to bless their work and keep the Orb secret and secure. Then he turns to his young retainer. "C'mon Billy. Time to leave".

[Marullus]

The decision made, Neegan tucks the Orb of Endless Suffering in a corner of the stairwell below, between the pantry above and the kitchen below, leaving it behind. The scrabble of the hellish lemures can still be heard in the kitchen and there is little time to do other preparation. Neegan and Galmit inquire about setting a trap, but Agustin cannot make one without more uninterrupted time and the horses behind you are wide-eyed and nervous. Tollander prays for Gwanwen's protection over the hiding place and that, at least, gives you some peace.

Sir Justin leads the way out with the horses, past the dwarf skeleton that Galmit stripped on the way in, and to the outside door. You hear the infernal creatures ascending the stairs behind you and the mounts are skittish. After a few minutes of searching, Galmit finds a hidden catch which allows the external doors to open, releasing you from the sealed prison of the Spiral Vault.

Once outside, the fresh air helps you overcome the cloying, deathly miasma of the dwarfhold-turned-tomb. The doors close behind you, once more invisible on the hillside. You hope its concealment is enough.

You loop wide to the east to avoid the canyon which you know splits the Yoldessi plains north and west of you and spend three days riding back to the White Tower. You only have Sir Justin and not his dozen men to guard you this time, but it is enough, and you travel back without incident. You find the White Tower preparing for its fall festival and are glad for a time to be in beds and without the oppressive feeling of evil eminating from the Orb as your constant companion. You break up when you return to the town, some dissappointment at having no coin or real treasure to disburse.

The night after you return to the White Tower, Tollander wakes with a vision. He finds Neegan and Galmit having breakfast in the Golden Scales Tavern to share it with them. He saw the stairwell, the orb hidden within. An invisible being, only a dark shadow appearing on the wall. A feeling of oppressive, pure evil eminates from the figure. It plucks up the orb, then with a swirl of magic in the air and an audible pop, it dissappears from the stairwell.

Galmit pulls out the rent and damaged dwarven mail and the dwarf-forged battleaxe he took from the skeleton near the tomb's entrance, the only real goods taken in the expedition. At his request, Tollander checks it for enchantments and finds that both are imbued with the soul of the brave dwarven warrior who wore them, the last survivor of the Spiral Vault's legion. Magic item loot.
Decide among the three of you how you divide them.

Date: 01 Sept 2021
Distance: 40-45 miles
Effects: None
Injuries: Healed by Tollander enroute


You spend over a month recovering after your harrowing ordeal, taking in the Fall Festival, perhaps travelling to the other settlements around Gaul, before you are ready to consider your next endeavor. Erase all your remaining unpreserved rations. Then pay 38 days of room and board somewhere in the settlements. You can post to say where you go and how you spend your time. Game time advances to October 8.

Billy ends the quest in good spirits, glad to have lived to tell his tales. (Morale passed; you can recruit him again) Tollander approaches him about going into the swamps after frogs and the boy wrinkles his nose. Dead fiends are one thing; he's not interested in the wonders of a swamp filed frog hunt. (Failed recruitment.)


Expedition Summary:
Event: Recruiting at the White Tower
Event: Opening the secret entrance of the Spiral Vault
Encounter: The first dwarven horrors
Encounter: Dwarven horrors in the Kitchen
Encounter: Dwarven horrors in the Quarters
Event: Facing the Wards of the Spiral Vault
Encounter: Unravelling the Flame Wall
Encounter: The tentacles in the well
Encounter: Lemures of hell in the Great Hall
Encounter: Lemures up the stairs
Encounter: Lemure reinforcements in the kitchen [flee]

Total: 14,175
Neegan, Galmit, Tollander (as PCs) - 2,363 character xp / 1,181 item xp
Erien Laganthe, Malenor, Sir Justin, Agustin, Billy (as NPCs) - 1,181 xp / 590 item xp

Treasure (Galmit took from dwarf corpse):
Dwarven battleaxe +1 (4,001xp)
Heavily damaged dwarven chainmail +1 (8,001xp)

Billy morale [2d6] = 5 Billy recruit again [2d6] = 9[2d6] = 5[2d6] = 9[2d6] = 7

[Jernau35]

Tollander has no need or use for the two magic items. He needs a bit of cash though. He'd rather sell them, but obviously that's a bit silly if Neegan and Galmit want them. If they want to toss him a bit of cash to get him through 38 days of living in town, he'd be happy enough with that.

Edited to correct name screw-up.

[GreyWolfVT]

Galmit really could us both magic items. But depends on Neegan I suppose.

[Dram]

Neegan- Galmit I will let you take the B. Axe. We will sell the armor and Tollander and myself will split the value of that as our share. Will that work for both of you.

[GreyWolfVT]

Neegan- Galmit I will let you take the B. Axe. We will sell the armor and Tollander and myself will split the value of that as our share. Will that work for both of you.

Galmit "Alright, was hopin' ta get some better armor but fair is fair. Tha axe 'll prove more useful than me pick anyway."

[Jernau35]

Tollander

"I could live with that division of the spoils".

[Marullus]

The Dwarf Halls are honored to receive the blessed armor of a true dwarven hero of their clan and lineage. The imbued banded mail of the last defender of the Spiral Vault is purchased from you for 600gp.

After paying the Bard (Yes/no?) to favorably receive your expedition's tale, that leaves Neegan and Tollander with 250gp each. (Which is 25lbs encumbrance unless you spend, convert, or stash it.)

If you're feeling generous, you could spend 50gp to identify additional powers of the Axe for Galmit, in his portion.

Please confirm final choices and dispensation.

[GreyWolfVT]

Galmit will spend the 50 gp to identify the axe's powers more, 50gp to the bard, and another 50gp to donate to the Dwarrodelf Tavern and Inn. The rest he will use for resupplying and looking into getting better armor.

[Jernau35]

Tollander will split his 250gp like this: 50gp to the bard. 100gp to Billy, just to give him an acceptable share without getting into the math. From the remaining 100gp, he's required to tithe 50% to the Temple. He'll pocket the remaining 50gp. (If Neegan and/or Galmit don't want to pay the other 50gp for the bard, Tollander will obviously keep that money too: he can find stuff to spend it on!)

[Marullus]

There seems to be some confusion. The offer was that Galmit gets the Axe and no coin. Please clarify.

[GreyWolfVT]

There seems to be some confusion. The offer was that Galmit gets the Axe and no coin. Please clarify.

I didn't understand that, why was it mentioned about spending 50 to go learn more about the axe then? Galmit only had 48gp on him....

[Jernau35]

Sorry. Somehow I missed the part of GreyWolfVT's post about paying 50gp to the bard. If that's the case, then Tollander will provide the other 50gp. He'll also do this if Neegan pays instead of Galmit. If neither pays, he'll keep the money.

If Tollander keeps the 50gp, he's willing to pay something towards the cost of getting the axe identified.

[Dram]

Neegan will pay the bard 50gp. He will also help pay 50gp for Galmit to identify the axe.

[Marullus]

Okay, final disposition:

Galmit gets the Axe. It is identified by Pierpont to be +1, +2 vs Lycanthropes.

The armor is sold for 600gp.
- The group pays 50gp to identify the axe.
- The group pays 100gp to pay the Bard for expedition tribute. (+100xp for Tollander, +50xp for Neegan and Galmit)

450gp / 2 = 225gp each for Tollander and Neegan.

Tollander gives Billy 100gp and tithes 62gp to the Temple, keeping 63gp.

[GreyWolfVT]

Thank you Jernau35 & Dram. Sorry for the confusion on my part.

[Dram]

Your fine Ed. I am usually the confused one or lost in space.