Session 21 - Chapter 4 - Undead of the High Moors

Hello & Welcome!

The wagon trundled along and joined the 4 Heroes who were busy clearing the road of the defeated monsters and the wreckage of the ruined wagon. What silks could be salvaged from Nyerhite Verther's wagon were set to be loaded amongst the different wagons and hauled back up to Wayfork. Nyerhite, it turned out was the merchant who had fallen ill from the previous Caravan heading south. Now healed, he had tried to catch up with his Caravan but he was ambushed. Thankful to be safe, he thanked all of the other Merchants who loaded up his wares and he would then regroup back in Wayfork and decide what he would do next.

Travel continued unhindered and they continued the journey to Wayfork. That evening they broke camp as usual and guard duty also went without a hitch. Chard again had the same nightmare as before - a multitude of Dragons taking flight, all heading to the same destination. He shrugged off the uneasy feeling - Chard was slowly getting used to these regular nightmares - almost welcoming them to see if there was going to be some new insight or revelation. None came with this nightmare. 

The next day the Caravan made good progress and reached Wayfork before sunset. Those who had made this journey before knew that this was the last settlement before they would set out into the wild untamed wilderness of the High Moors and it would be many, many miles before they would reach civilisation again. But the travellers were quite eager to at least have one good rest in the Wayfork Inn for it would be the last good rest for a while.

In Wayfork, the four manage to visit the shops before they closed up for the evening. They purchased some healing kits and some antitoxin potions. They would likely come in handy. Then they enjoyed the comfort of the Inn, much like the rest of the travellers. The next morning the usual preparations were done to set off again but there was unease in the air - they knew the next section was extra perilous. But they had to make the journey.

The wagons all set off and quite soon the landscape gave way to the more desolate and windswept plateaus of the High Moors. Known for its extensive swaps and peaty bogs. The lush trees from before vanished, replaced by stunted and twisted trees with lots of low and scraggly brush. They could see various rocky outcroppings off in the distance. And the wind seemed to bite more. Everyone secretly was hoping that it would only be the wind that was biting. The High Moors were known to be monster infested and they were known to have much sharper teeth than the wind.

They made their journey safely for two days. As they progressed they could see off in the distance the subtle outline of the ruins of Dragonspear castle up ahead. 

Torsion knew much about the history of the notorious landmark. He explained to his teammates what he knew. Once the majestic home of the adventurer Daeros Dragonspear, it is now a cursed landmark perpetually shrouded in mist and frequently occupied by malevolent forces.

The castle was built in 1255 DR by Daeros Dragonspear, a famous half-dwarven adventurer. Daeros amassed a vast hoard of gems after defeating a beholder in the sunken dwarven city of Kanaglym. During his travels, he rescued and befriended an ancient copper dragon named Halatathlaer. 

When the two decided to retire, Daeros built the castle directly over Halatathlaer’s lair to provide mutual protection. Daeros was famously seen riding the dragon into battle while wielding a massive, 40-foot-long spear, which gave the fortress its name.

Once complete, there was peace, but this peace lasted only 35 years until a Calishite mage named Ithtaerus Casalia coveted the dragon’s hoard and the castle’s strategic location.

Ithtaerus used magic to put Halatathlaer into a deep sleep and teleported the dragon away. He then created a false vision that convinced Daeros his dragon friend was being held captive behind a shimmering planar gate. Blinded by rage and grief, Daeros charged through the gate. This was exactly what the mage needed: the gate required a mortal sacrifice to fully open. Daeros was killed instantly, and the gate opened—not to a rescue point, but to Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells.

While Daeros was dead and Halatathlaer was later murdered by chromatic dragons summoned by the wizard, the portal remained. This gateway became a permanent "scar" on the world, allowing waves of devils and later hobgoblins to occupy the ruins, turning a once-noble home into the cursed landmark it is today.

Pipp eagerly listened to the explanation - she always enjoyed to learn things. Daeros was indeed a well known person of notoriety and she was familiar with the book "A Historical Treatise of Dragonspear Castle" - she just wished she had managed to read it before coming on this adventure. She had no idea that should would soon see it with her own eyes.

She did recall the words to Ballad of the Ghostly Chorus - it was indeed well known amongst contemporary Bards.

After Torsion finished his historical recount, she played the ballad on her violin and sang softly:

"The Copper and the Spear, they flew so high,
Two souls as one against the moorland sky.
But gold and greed brought a wizard's lie,
And beneath the ribs of the red, they both shall lie."

It was a sad and solemn tune, but it seemed appropriate for this part of their journey. 

That evening they made it to the ruins and made camp in the shadows. The usual evening preparations commenced. The next day would be a day of rest. Normally this would be welcomed news to the troupe but no one wanted to spend more time on the High Moors longer than they needed to, but a rest was needed. The legend of the portal to Avernus was well known to everyone along the Sword Coast and no one wanted to take unnecessary risks.

On the day of rest, the team decided they would do some quick exploration of the ruins. It was indeed a landmark of significant Lore and so they did not want to miss the opportunity.

The sun was in the clear sky but there was still a chilling mist rolling off the High Moors, clinging to the jagged ruins like a burial shroud. As the Adventurers approached, they were met with Draogonspear's primary landmark - the colossal, sun-bleached skeleton of an ancient red dragon, its massive ribs arching over the broken roof of the main keep, a silent testament to the legendary battle that broke this place.

The four stood their a moment, in silence. The truly colossal site of the skeletal remains took a moment to set in for each of them. They would likely come toe to claw with one or more of these fearsome beasts during their quest to stop the Dragon Cultists. It was quite the scene to take in and digest. The rest were surprised to see a new level of furrowed eyebrows on Torsion's expression they had not seen before.

It was Dafnae that broke the silence. "Let's take a quick look around. But keep your wits about you as we don't want to accidentally trip over that portal to Avernus ...".

Then they continued a quick tour around the ruins They came to The Hold of the Battle Lions, the shattered remains of a shrine to Tempus, the god of war. It once housed elite guardians tasked with sealing the darkness below, but now only rubble and cold iron cages remain. They found the Anteroom, in the keep’s main hall, where four weathered marble statues of ancient champions still stand, their stone eyes watching intruders with a frozen, warning gaze. And finally, they found the Fallen Glory, a mosaic floor of cracked stone, and the air is heavy with the smell of damp earth and something sulphurous rising from the depths.

It was an impressive site to behold, but they were glad to return to the campsite. Part of the visitation was not just to act like a tourist, but it was more so intended as a safety scout of the perimeter. Luckily they didn't see any other tracks of signs of recent occupation so perhaps they would be safe from from any attacks from the ruins.

Back at the camp, as the aftermath of the early evening dinner was being cleaned-up, a deep thick fog started to roll in off the High Moors. It felt very unnatural, foreboding. It gave the whole camp quite an uneasy feeling. 

It wasn't just the campers that were uneasy. There suddenly was a large disturbance coming from the areas where the horses were kept. The handlers were unable to calm them and the Heroes heard their lead Merchant, Achreny Ulyeltin, call out, chastising his laborers - Kamil and Hanto - "Oi, you sad lot - calm those horses or it'll be you sorry sods pulling our wagon tomorrow!"

Kamil and Hanto struggled and they could not keep the horses restrained when they broke free and made a mad dash. Achreny continued his shouts at poor Kamil and Hanto, using far more colourful language than before. The four quickly stepped in and said they would go after the horses and bring them back. Achreny replied "And be quick about it!".

So they gathered their gear and quickly found the tracks and tracked them. Going deep into the thick fog, they eventually heard the whinnying of them not to far off in the distance and they moved in to restrain them. They found themselves in a bit of a cliff enclosure that the horses managed to get themselves into, and so at least they were cornered which should make collecting them easier. 

Pipp and Dafnae worked to calm and tie the horses while Chard and Torsion stood guard at the entrance to the cliff enclosure. 

The fog started to dissipate, slowly rolling back away from the entrance. Staring keenly out into the High Moors, Torsion saw what he believed to be new shadows in amongst the stunted trees that he had not noticed before. 

And sure enough, as the fog continued to roll back, the two of them saw 4 Zombies slowly lumbering towards them, each letting out the occasional deathly groan. Then as the team looked among their other immediate surroundings, they noticed skeleton archers forming up on the cliffs behind them. It was time for Initiative Rolls!

The Zombies lumbered forward slowly, their blank expressions gazing towards them. The Skeletons readied their Bows but Torsion was quick to react. 

He moved towards the centre of the enclosure and pointed Torm's Blessing towards the clearly visible Full Moon and he called out a prayer to Selune and Turned Undead. As he said his prayer, the bright moonlight glinted off of his War Hammer and as he finished his prayer the reflected light started to get brighter and brighter, far brighter than it should be. It was Selune's blessing, hearing Torsion's prayer and the bright light beamed out towards the Skeleton Archers atop the cliff. Of the 12, 7 of them burst into white light and burned to ash instantaneously. Chard launched his Eldritch Blast towards one of closest remaining ones, he made a Critical Hit, his purplish energy blast hitting the Archer square in the rib cage, splintering it into bones and fragments that clattered all over the ground. 

The four turned their attention to the advancing Zombies and noticed that the fog had rolled back further, revealing 3 Ghouls beyond the Zombies. Attention shifted to the advancing Zombies. The team landed big blows to them but they rose again. Before the Ghouls arrived, one of them was fully put down with a massive hit.

The Ghouls were advancing quickly and the Zombies were proving hard to fell. Dafnae was trying to get in good sneak attack hits to deal high damage while dodging around the other enemies. Pipp, trying to deal with the few remaining Skeletons was surprised to see Dafnae's Rapier pierce through a Zombie advanicng on her. She was able to land the extra blow to put that Zombie down for the count.

As the fog continued to roll out, beyond the Ghouls, the party were surprised to see a Ghast, Wight and also a Wraith advancing. These undead were very determined! 

The Ghast advanced, its putrid flesh emanating such a horrid stench it took everything Pipp had not to retch. 

The Party fought hard, but were taking heaving damage. 

Chard was getting surrounded and taking heavy hits and he fell. Alarmed, Pipp tried to quickly heal him to see if he could make an escape. The Wraith advanced as well and landed a deathly blow onto Chard which seemed to drain the life from him. 

The Ghouls were ravenous and eager for their meal. So they all swarmed on Chard's unconscious body and landed Critical Hits, giving him immediate Failed Death Saves.

The three tried to advance to make way but they were unable to get to Chard's aid in time. They watched in horror as the Ghouls tore into Chard and they cried out in anger as he reached three Failed Death Saves and died.

Fuelled by rage and risking her own safety, Pippa ran into the fray and cast a Shatter spell on where the enemies were still swarming around Chard's lifeless body - screaming loudly, arm pointed towards the enemies, The rolled damage was high and the enemies were so focused on their meal that they all failed their Saving Throws, taking heavy damage. The Ghouls, Ghast, and few remaining Zombies all exploded in a gooey mess.

Torsion and Dafnae also redoubled their efforts and threw caution to the win and stormed forward to attack the remaining Wight and Wraith to avenge their fallen comrade. 

To add insult to injury, the Wraith raised a Spectre from Chard's body and sent it to attack the remaining three - ripping Chard's soul from his body, corrupting it into another undead denizen under its control.

As if the loss of their friend was not enough, they were newly horrified by this new apparition attacking them. It had the form of Chard but it had a contorted and tortured visage of the former Chard - a facial expression locked in pain and agony.

They fought off this Spectre easily, it vanishing in a flash of light once defeated, with wisps of black smoke heading back towards Chard's body - it must have been the remains of Chard's tainted soul, freed once the Spectre was slain.

Meanwhile more Skeletons were destroyed, bones flying everywhere. More attacks with the the Wight and Wraith were exchanged, Torsion landing a heavy Guiding Bolt onto the Wraith, until eventually they too were defeated. The last remaining Skeleton Archer crumpled to a pile of bones once the Wraith was defeated.

All of the Undead defeated, they all rushed to Chard's body. Pipp crying, Dafnae slumped down beside her, and Torsion calling out to Selune to hear his plea. He was angry with  himself for using his 3rd level spell slots and so he was not able to cast Revify. They all crouched around him, shocked, unsure what to do next.

---

Chard's eyes suddenly opened widely. He was laying flat on his back on brown dirt. The air around him arid and smoky. He could smell burning off in the distance, the sky a brownish-red colour much like the dirt around him. He was alone. The last recollection he had was falling on the boggy grass of the High Moors, surrounded by Ghouls, their claws and jaws closing in on him. 

And then darkness, blackness, nothingness. He had a vague feeling of floating towards his friends, the look in their eyes showed terror, and for some reason Torsion swung his Hammer at him. But this felt like a strange fever dream.

But this new place he was in felt familiar. He had seen this landscape before in his nightmares. Was he dreaming again?

No, he had died. He could still feel the subtle piercing pains of the Ghoul's teeth on his arms and sides. 

No, he sensed he was now in Avernus.