Session 48

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 19th day) - countdown day 10

After diving all the loot from Ironforge the Sons spent the day looking up some things, not finding quite as much as they hoped about the Crystal Gong.

Day 271 (1st cycle of winter, 20th day) - countdown day 11

The next morning, the Sons decided to teleport back to Ironforge in order to check out the library. For a second, they had forgotten all about the Djinn in the library. Luckily they spotted him before he spotted them, and to avoid getting someone sent to Hell again, Nevron polymorphed into a mountain dwarf like those who had previously lived in Ironforge and that way got access to the library. For hours he studied the books, while prolonging his polymorph spell. Meanwhile, some wraiths attacked the other Sons. But once protected by the divine magic of Lathander, Arath and Urnyx made short work of the undead.

Day 272 (1st cycle of winter, 21st day) - countdown day 12

The Sons wanted to check out Faytown, but Nevron's teleport deposed them 400 miles to the south instead. They spent the day camping, reading and scribing some scrolls.

At evening, Nevron got a Sending from Elias.

Hi Nevron. Please return to your tower. I have had another vision.

Day 273 (1st cycle of winter, 22nd day) - countdown day 13

The Sons teleported back to Ironville and their tower and talk to Elias. He explained his vision.

I saw the good people of Starkhold going about their business.
Lots were wearing hooded black cloaks and carrying roses.
Then, from the west rose a black column of smoke
I then saw a temple room, a temple to Shar, with a black orb hanging in the air, dark energies pouring into it from 3 portals, 1 emerald green, 1 ebon black and 1 silver.
As the energy from the 3 portals were pouring in, it was pouring more and more energy up into the air.

The canny Sons quickly figured that the hooded black cloaks and roses meant the day of the dead, a holy day to Cyric, which takes place on the 34th day of winter.

Later during the day, Ruby and John-John (the halfling from Starkhold) showed up. The Sons were naturally suspicious of them, especially Ruby, but were (more or less) convinced that they could be allies - for the moment at least. John-John suggested that if the Sons wanted more info about either the orb or the demon portal, they ought to visit Marlin at the Arcane Academy. The Sons agreed and sent John-John back to Starkhold to find the Shar Temple from Elias' vision.

Ruby told them that the army from Faytown had left the town and headed up to the Great Crevasse and now lay in hiding in a nearby gorge.

Day 274 (1st cycle of winter, 23rd day) - countdown day 14

As the Sons teleported to the Arcane Academy, Ruby yelled them to stop, she had forgotten to tell them something. Luckily, that was easily fixable with a Sending. She told them Ter-Zoth already knew that someone had killed the drow priestess and had dispatched assassins to find the culprit and kill them.

Once at the Academy, they met with Marlin, who told them where to find some Storm Giants and that the portals from Elias' vision symbolized Gemnos, the Underworld and the Faerie. He also told them a few things about the Orb of the Void, that it was crafted by Shar herself, using a piece of her own heart. It is a sentient and evil artifact that can be used for many things, including fueling all things necromantic.

Nevron also scribed Legend Lore.

Day 275 (1st cycle of winter, 24th day) - countdown day 15

Legend Lore told them that there was no particular place or time to ring the Gong and that Aurac would arrive within 1 day. 

With that out of the way, the Sons teleported to the Mountains of Hratar and flew up above the clouds, at a height of 30.000 feet. There they found a huge palace of white marble built on 5 connected clouds. 

The Sons met with the Storm giants, gaining some info about the Dark Trio, but not securing their help. The Dark Trio apparently consists of Krakas, a nation-wide famous necromancer, Rau-Drogar, a Dracolich and Aziir, a wizard who had his glory days more than 1800 years ago. Due to Urnyx wearing the belt, he was challenged to single combat, and he lost. 

Day 276 (1st cycle of winter, 25th day) - countdown day 16

After spending a night in the clouds, the Sons teleported to the forest outside of Faytown and then made their way north-east towards the army. As they approached the camp, Nevron made them look like orcs, and they bypassed the patrols easily. Once inside the camp, they found out that they were waiting for the other army to arrive, in 13-14 days time. They also found the command tent, which was pitched inside a cave. Inside were creatures speaking infernal about the portal and the army, at least according to what Urnyx think he heard. The decided to strike the next morning.

Session 47

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 11th day)

The Sons planeshifted to Feywild, ending up in a swamp. They quickly made way through the swamp, killing some swamp monsters on the way, before they found the Magic Fair. There they met Gandolfo once again, and he told them where Sorrowsong's Tower could be found. Urnyx bought a magic book supposed to make him more hardy with some of his luck. While he didn't quite understand all the intricacies of the deal, he was definitely a happy half-orc afterwards.

After leaving the Fair for Sorrowsong's Tower, the Sons stumbled over a group of Fey Goblins who were trying to capture a unicorn. The Sons killed the goblins and freed the unicorn, which promptly blessed them.

During the afternoon, they arrived at the tower, which was now a ruin. As they entered it, they were jumped by a hungry troll. Further investigation after killing the troll told them that perhaps they were dealing with a draconic problem. 

They found Sorrowsong's diary in the debris and it told them that, 5 years ago, a green dragon named Vermilox moved into the forest, near the waterfall nearby. It’s mere presence changed the forest in the area Sorrowsong wanted to keep to himself, but he had several clashes with the dragon’s minions, whenever he exited the tower to find components or other things. He finally met Vermilox about 12 years ago. They had several negotiations of sorts and he was struck how protective she was of her three young sons, and how odd it was that they were still around. They were much too old to still live with their mother. Finally it explains that he is pretty sure her lair is behind the waterfall.

At night, while the Sons were resting, two of the dragon's sons arrived. The Sons tried to bargain with them, but it ended with two dead dragons.

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 12th day)

The next morning, they headed out to find the dragon lair near the waterfall. As it turns out, the lair was protected by lowhanging fog and a wall of living thorns. The Sons decided to fly over and flew around blind for a while, going by Urnyx' instincts and his hearing. Suddenly they realized they were being hunted by a dragon, and dropped down into a garden with 3 stone giants and some prisoners. The last son, which was on their tail joined the fight and things looked very bleak for a while, but the Sons managed to pull through, free the prisoners and teleport out of the lair. However, not being super familiar with the Faerie, the Sons ended up way down south, near the water, where Belcoast is located on Gemnos.

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 13th day)

Once they had rested, the Sons decided that they couldn't leave the prisoners they had free here. They struck a deal with Val'del, an eladrin prince. He would make sure the other got home safe, if the Sons could transport them all to his father's court. 

Once at the elven court, Val'del asked his father to let one of the court mages get the Sons back to Dragon Lake. 

So later that same day, the Sons were once again back in the dragon lair. At first they were attacked by some wyverns, but then they finally arrived at the waterfall, where the dragon mother was hiding out. Her pet Quickling came out, challenging them, keeping them occupied while the mother snuck out, surprising them invisible. The fight was extremely long and hard, and towards the end, no one was sure to make it out alive. But luckily for all, the Sons prevailed over the dragon. 

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 14th day)

The Sons spent a day identifying all the magical items they had found in the dragon's lair as well as deciphering the notes about Ironforge, supposedly the secret hiding place of the Crystal Gong.

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 16th day)

The next morning, the Sons planeshifted back to Gemnos and landed below the Howling Mountains, near the entrance to Ironforge. They walked the rest of the way and soon found themselves standing before the doors to the dwarven city.

As they touched the doors, two statues of dwarven kings animated and tried to stop them. The golems, who might have been able to keep others out, were destroyed by the Sons. 

Then they entered and started to explore the ancient dwarven city. Moving through the Commons, where the common dwarf lived, they eventually got to the center of the city, the Great Forge. There they managed to turn it on, creating creating some measure of light in the undead-infested city. While many of the undeads were no match for the Sons of the Phoenix, one ghost managed to possess Urnyx and the others had to beat it out of him. 

After hours of walking around, they made for the Military Ward to investigate there. The ward was occupied by some driders who had gotten in via a crack in the walls, which must have been caused by an earthquake. The driders ambushed the Sons, and for a long time, the foul creatures had the upper hand.

They also managed to break into the Iron Bank, which was full of gold, untouched by others who might have visited the deserted city.

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 17th day)

The next morning, the Sons continued their quest to find the Gong. In Tinker Town they fought small animated golems before they moved on to the Explorer's Hall and found a magnificint library, easily one of the greatest Nevron had ever heard of. 

There they met the enigmatic custodian of the place. As he wouldn't allow them to touch the books, the Sons moved on for now. They proceeded further into the Halls only to stumble over 4 Mind Flayers conducting sick experiments with captured humanoids.

Once they had dealt with the Mind Flayers, the Sons went through the Forlorn Caverns, the slum of Ironforge. A very narrow and creepy place, but they found nothing of interest. They ended up in the Mystic Ward, where they found a divination room and a conjuring room, connected to a large temple to Erathis. With no info gotten there, nor in the ancient crypts, they opted to return to the library, thinking that the custodian might be bluffing. As it turns out, he wasn't. He turned into a Djinn and fought the Sons. The Sons were too powerful for him though, but during the fight, he managed to send Urnyx to Hell, evening the odds a bit. It was still not enough however, and the Sons killed him. As they didn't know what he was bound to (Contact Other Plane had told Nevron it was "the Red Sultan"), they suspected that he wasn't really dead and would probably reform the very next morning.

Either way, the Sons had a problem. Urnyx was in Hell, hiding from devils and demons and they had no way of getting to him before the next morning. Also, whether they could actually find him was a completely different question. Hell is infinite and they didn't have much to go on. They decided that this was a job for someone more powerful than themselves. Arath broke the rod and Garos arrived in a flash of divine light. He then got Urnyx out of Hell and dumped him unceremoniously on the floor in front of his friends. And then disappeared. 

In the library, they found info about the Gong. It had been placed in an underground vault below the throne room.

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 18th day)

The Sons headed to the throne room armed with the 4 keys. After finding the secret entrance by turning the throne, they found themselves in a room with 27 statues of dwarven kings, all with outstretched hands. A sphinx was guarding the place. It calmly told them that they had to place the keys in the right hands.

They failed and the time-controlling sphinx attacked. After a long fight, the Sons were victorious. Sure, the door to proceed further into the complex was open, but there was no gong. Finally they managed to deduce the correct clues and activate the room where the gong had been placed.

Hit by a stroke of intelligence, Urnyx sent in some animals from his magical bag, using the creatures to trigger not one, but two deadly traps. The way cleared, the Sons went into the chamber which held 4 gateways to the 4 different elemental planes. In the middle of the room was the greatest construct ever built, the Statue of Ironforge.

The battle was long and hard, worthy of 100's of songs, and in the end, the statue crumbled while the Sons stood standing, although barely.

Inside the pieces of the statue, they found a portal hole with the gong and a lot of other treasure.

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 19th day)

The Sons returned to their tower.

Session 46

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 9th day)

After a short rest, the Sons continued towards Ulafarad. They avoided some hook horrors and finally arrived at Ulafarad.

A large city situated in a huge cavern full of glowing mushrooms and large fields of what must be edible mushrooms. High walls protect the town, which is dominated by slender spires of black marble everywhere. 10.000 people of all sorts of races (human, dwarf, drow, duergar, gnome, shadar-kai dominate the population, but orc, goblin, minotaur and hobgoblins are also present in the Underdark trade and mercenary town.

The Sons find themselves an inn, but while Nevron is out looking for a formula for the bluestone Urnyx has given him, Urnyx get them thrown out of the inn and they have to move to the Dimwitted Halfling. Meanwhile Urnyx makes contact with Half-horn, an independent contractor who finds things that are hard to find for other people. A deal is struck and Half-horn promises to return within a week or so.

Later that evening, the Sons scope out of the compound of Illira Vronn. The compound of the drow is encircled by a 20' wall overgrown with living thorns. Inside the walls are some huge barracks, able to house more than 100 guards. The compound itself consists of 3 slender towers, each placed on  stalagmite cut in half, connected by small bridges.

Using Arcane Eye, Nevron scoped out the last tower. Aside from the temple to Lolth, it held only the private chamber of the high priestess. Nevron spied on her for a while, and at a point, she took out a message in abyssal saying: Make sure that at least 30.000 troops from the human towns of Highgarden Rosewall are at Devil's Point on the 4th day of the 1st cycle.

She then proceeded to draw in some arrows on a map, including from Faytown and Ironville, all pointing towards Devils' Point, a well-known place near the Great Chasme. 

The Sons spied some more on Illira, and then decided that no more would happen. They decided that even though that they had enough info to proceed, they wanted to kill the bitch.

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 10th day)

After a night of rest, the Sons were ready. They flew up to the top of the cave and then tried to float down to the tower, Unfortunately, they were discovered by the guards on the wall just as Nevron passwalled into the tower. Inside they found the high priestess who promptly summoned a yochlol. 2 guards joined the fray, and things got bloody. After a long and hard fight, which was prolonged when a wizard arrived, the Sons grabbed the chest with the maps and the gold, and once again flew out of the hole in the wall. Unfortunately Nevron was hit by a crossbow bolt and the spell of flight faded, landing the Sons within the compound. Things looked dire, with men on the wall, men above them and more guards surely on the way. Urnyx, more dead than alive, covered Nevron with his shield, while Nevron pulled out the proverbial rabbit, a teleport scroll and teleported them all away. Unfortunately, there was a mishap with the spell, and the Sons got hurt by the mystical energies, so much that Urnyx was barely standing when they arrived in the safehouse of Mask in Starkhold.

Session 45

Day 244 (2nd cycle of autumn, 20th day)
The next morning, when they woke up, Urnyx wasn't feeling well. They spent the day identifying their new magical ring, the potions and dividing loot.

Day 245 (2nd cycle of autumn, 21st day)
Urnyx was still unwell, and the Sons spent the day to find out why that was. As it turns out, he was cursed, but they couldn't find out why. So they decided to head to Alkabar, the gnome town on the edge of the Howling Mountains, to find more info about the Ulafarad.

Day 250 (2nd cycle of autumn, 26th day)
On the way to the gnome town, Urnyx became worse off.

Day 252 (2nd cycle of autumn, 28th day)
The Sons arrived at Alkabar, a noisy town of about 4000 gnomes filled with wondrous mechanical devices. After buying ear-plugs, the Sons settled at the Lost One inn, run by a jovial one-eyed-patched fellow named Duncan. Urnyx, who was exhausted, went to bed. Nevron bought a mekka-globe, a mechanical flying device that could follow him around in the Underdark. Nevron bought directions to Ulfarad and got a gnome priest of Erathis to come check on Urnyx.

The priest quickly determined that Urnyx was cursed and that the curse had a strong touch of the Faerie. The Sons realized that something must have gone wrong with the planting of the acorns.

Further talks made them realize that Urnyx had planted the seeds in the wrong forest.

Day 253 (2nd cycle of autumn, 29th day)
Quickly the Sons left for the east, heading towards Faytown again. Urnyx was getting worse by the day, so they hurried all they could.

Day 261 (2nd cycle of autumn, Day of the Moon)
The Sons arrived and by magic found the acorns.

Day 268 (1st cycle of winter, 7th day)
The Sons arrived near the portal to the Faerie and Urnyx planted the acorns, effectively lifting the curse.

Day 269 (1st cycle of winter, 8th day)
The Sons entered the Underdark, determined to find Ulfarad and kill the dark elf bitch that had been behind the wars that had plagued their nation.

First the Sons ran into a behir, which swallowed Urnyx, before being killed. Then they ran into some Umberhulks which burst through the walls and confused everyone for a while.

Day 270 (1st cycle of winter, 9th day)
After a long rest, the Sons continued to make their way towards Ulfarad, until suddenly they were ambushed by driders. They managed to kill the three monsters, but not hassle.

Session 44

Day 243 (2nd cycle of autumn, 19th day)
After sleeping, Nevron opened the chest and inside they found some gems, a ring and some books. They decided to spend the day reading some of the books, in order to see if there were any pertinent information with regards to their mission.

At some point Nevron went out to buy ink, and found out that an announcement was forthcoming about the nightly attacks.

Sometime after midday, the announcement came. It was indeed vampires and people were advised to stay indoor in their own homes, as vampires could not enter those without permission. The Sons decided to seek out a homeless shelter just before sundown and wait.

They waited about 4 hours before the vampires came. They killed two and took the last one prisoner. Using magic, more magic and bluff they found out where they had been created. 

Heading down into the sewers, they used more magic to locate the one thing they knew Metrova had, an old oak staff with his family crest on. They found the secret entrance and soon found themselves face to face with Metrova. Protected by magic, the Sons soon had him on his heels. Most of the bats he summoned got trapped in a spell of web, and Metrova was dying. Then he turned to mist and disappeared out through a pipe. The Sons quickly followed, using polymorph and dimension door to pass through the wall, only to find more empty sewers. The hunt through the sewers began, a hunt which eventually led them back to the secret hideout, where Metrova had returned, now healed and with another awakened vampire there. 

This time the fight was more even, as the Sons had no magic protection. Metrova caught Nevron in a corner and drained him of blood in few seconds. Things looked bleak but Arath managed to get him back up and slay Metrova with his holy mace.

Before leaving, they cleared the lab of notes and all sorts of different things..