Session 22, Freeing Allies

We are in the third layer of the dungeon trying to find a firebird. Remember… right? Of course you remember: We need allies to defeat the Nightwalker, and the Firebird is a promising ally. If we can free it. And if it doesn’t eat us.
 
We enter a passageway with several doors. This area has transitioned from cavern at the upper level, to stonework with many Elvish and Orcish ruins below that, to this level, which has yellow, precise brickwork. The writing here is an older version of Elvish. Eowyn decrypts it, “The door on the left leads to a pit of lava. The door in the center leads to a room filled with deadly gas. The door on the right leads to a Aerounic Ban that hasn’t eaten in a month.”
 
I state the obvious, “If it hasn’t eaten in a month when the ruins were carved, then it hasn’t eaten in centuries.” OK, maybe it died of starvation. Perhaps, maybe whoever put it there used some high-level divination magic paired with some conjuration magic to predict when adventurers would come along, and magically feed the beast up until 30 days short of the divined visit. Of course, I’m not even sure what a Aerounic Ban is.
 
Eowyn suggests we try the door with the Aerounic Ban… at least that is something we can fight. I was thinking the door with the gas, due to my Necklace of Adaptation. These doors are obviously traps… if only we had a trap expert… I turn to Julia, “What do you think would be the best option?”
 
Julia says, “I’d look for a fourth door.” She looks, and quickly finds a hidden door. Vardai swings her maul, and knocks the fourth door open. We see stairs going down, with some sort of arcane symbol above another door at the bottom of the stairs. Eowyn determines that symbol has signs of fire, poison, and nature, which correspond with the aforementioned three doors.
 
I cast Dispel Magic on it. It takes quite a bit of effort. The ward was definitely put in place by a caster with powerful abilities. You see, some spells are easy to dispel. Those cast by novice casters merely require that I do the Dispel Magic spell properly. But for this one, I had to focus really hard and draw upon all of my willpower. I succeeded, even though the ward was put in place by a caster at least as practiced as me, if not more so.
 
The door opens. The floor is covered in ice, which immediately starts to steam. A large, magnificent bird starts shaking the ice off of itself. It then looks at us threateningly. But then, it sees Ember, my wildfire spirit, and softens its glare. It speaks. Fire and lightning accentuate its voice. We cannot understand it, but Vardai translates as “Are you here as my captors or to set me free?”
 
Vardai talks to the firebird. After some discussion, Vardai says that the firebird will aid us. The firebird also has an affinity for Ember, as Ember is an embodiment of fire herself. But, how do we get the firebird out through the narrow passages. Easy, Ember teleports the firebird out!
 
After a few hours’ journey, and much discussion with the firebird, which we learn can also speak Sylvan and common, we arrive at the camp. Rather than resting, we decide to push on to the prison to attempt to free the second potential ally. As you recall, the second potential ally is a Captain in the Acathan military who is currently imprisoned in Migwick Fort. He commands a group of rangers (See Session 21, The Nightwalker and the Simulacrum).
 
Will has been to Fort Migwick before. He describes it as shaped like an oval with a small moat. There are usually one or two patrols. I ask what the plan is. Are we going into under the guise of doing an inspection? Are we bringing a “prisoner” into the fort? Is there another way in?
 
Will thinks on it. He briefly suggests that we bring in Fassad’s simulacrum as a prisoner, but then says there’s a better way. He knows the cook, and he knows of a secret entrance through the sewer.
 
Vardai casts Pass Without Trace on us. We sneak around back and enter a sewer pipe. It is large enough to stand in, but we still have to hunch over. It smells. OK, I haven’t been keeping myself as clean or my hair as brushed as I did even a few months ago. But… this is horrible. It will take a very long bath to get this smell out. Eowyn recommends a spell that she calls “Fabric Softener”. She claims the spell will clean us up. I’m not confident that that is a real spell.
 
We come to a grate in the sewer. Will makes some bird whistling sounds. After a few minutes, someone approaches. Will calls out to Phillip the cook. Phillip opens the grate and lets us into the kitchen.
 
“It’s been too long. I miss those biscuits you used to make,” Will says.
 
Phillip offers us biscuits, which are quite good. I scarf down one or two… or five… Did I mention they are really good?
 
Phillip tells Will about the situation. “There are rumors of an invasion. And the king… well you’ve missed a lot. There is always a reason to close the roads and do inspections on travelers. Out of here, there is always an urgent mission of the day.”
 
Will asks, “Where’s the Captain being held?”
 
Phillip answers, “I’m assuming you don’t want the commander to know you are here… as usual. Vince is on duty right now. He is easily distracted by snacks.”
 
Now my brain starts working. We can distract Vince, and then use an illusion spell to make the hallway look empty as we cross it into the cell. Eowyn says that she has a way to distract the guard. Will tells Vince he is going to have to tie Vince up for the plan to work. Alright! The plan is ready. Now all we have to do is bungle it!
 
Julia casts Silent Image to fill the hallway with emptiness. Eowyn channels some sort of magic to make the guard go into hyper focus. Eowyn starts talking to the guard about some journals that she wrote. I think she calls it the “Tome of Eowyn”. I guess a grand dissertation of literary works qualifies as a distraction, as it seems to work. The guard really is very distracted or very bored. This might actually be some sort of sleep spell Eowyn is using!
 
Will enters the cell block and quickly finds the captain. Ember teleports the captain out. We get back into the kitchen… mostly. Eowyn is monologuing an eloquent dissertation of her tome. The guard is still intrigued. As we signal to Eowyn that it is time to leave, she signs the Tome, leaving the guard this keepsake to remind him of the time he allowed adventurers to infiltrate his prison and free his captive. At least, with the Tome of Eowyn in his possession, he will know exactly who the culprit is.
 
On the way back to the camp, Will asks the captain who is responsible for capturing him. He replies, “The commander of the outpost.”
 
Will relays that the commander is Andrew, a cousin of Chandler (whom I do not know), and in line for succession to the royal throne. The commander speculated that the archbishop is probably running the kingdom. Will then introspects that he believes the royal family is being used as bait for the Nightwalker.
 
Soon after returning to camp, the captain departs to go get the Acathan Rangers. He will meet us when we engage the Nightwalker.
 
As we sit down at the campsite eating, prior to going to sleep, the firebird tells us a story. Long ago, its brethren roamed the world until the Time of Troubles came. There was a fight with three sisters who were queens. The brothers were hunted down and imprisoned.
 
After telling his story, the firebird asks that he might ask us a favor after our quest here.
 
We set up watches and prepare to get some rest. I take the second watch with Will. Suddenly, a Boneclaw teleports in. Crap!
 
Will fires some arrows at it while I scream for everyone to wake up. Vardai is quick out of her tent and hits it with her Javelin of Lightning. I am able to cast a Scorching Ray, but two of the rays miss it. Eowyn comes out of her tent, muttering something about Fassad’s Simulacrum’s slowness, and channels a Turn Undead. Julia isn’t slow, as she engages quickly with her Psychic Blades. Suddenly two more Boneclaws teleport in and drop Will and Eowyn.
 
I must take time to note, Will seems to go down often in combat. We need to get him some better armor.
 
Each Boneclaw looks into a tent, as if they are searching for something. Finally, the Simulacrum comes out of the tent. He casts a spell off of a scroll rather than using his prepared spells. You see, a Simulacrum is created with only the same prepared spells that its creator has at the time of creation. The simulacrum can never get the spell slots back. This one is obviously trying to conserve his slots.
 
In the meantime, I have Ember teleport Will and Eowyn away from the Boneclaw while I impose my body between the Boneclaw and them. This is going to hurt.
 
But the onslaught is abated. The Boneclaws search the final tent, and then do their shadow jump teleportation thing away. Will and Eowyn quickly recover.
 
The next morning, we return to Grandma Willow’s hut. She points us to the Acathan capital, where we enter her portal to go to. Crap! Crap! Crap! The city is overrun by undead! I think the Nightwalker is close…
 
• Thank you to George Sanders, his Anhult Campaign, and World Anvil. Thank you to Lassastrix for proofing.