Characters

Amon / Barak Kutsov
Bairn Oberen the 2nd
Charles Oberen
Fabian Oberen
Kaede Oberen

Session Summary

Having survived Alexia Ciannor insane plans at Fort Rhyker, the Oberen Family raced back to Corvis to warn them of the impending attack. Captain Julian Helstrom does what he can to prepare the town, but warns the family that he alone cannot prepare the town. The Family take to the wind, rushing around Corvis and trying to alert various groups to rise up and defend their beloved city.

Preparation

Town Guard

Charles Oberen made his way to the gates and spoke with the guards he found there. While they thought he was more than a little confused (and probably drunk), they were willing to post men to watch after dark.

After dark, Thralls pour out from the sewers and attack the men at the doors near Charles. Thanks to his warning, they’re ready for battle. And thanks to his blade, the thralls are quickly destroyed. He rallies the remaining men and they rush to the Cathedral’s defense.

Cygnar Military outpost.

Having been a member of the Cygnarian military, Bairn Jr. went to their outpost in Corvis. Voices were raised, but he does convince them to at least have a standing group of men ready to fight if things go wrong.

Bairn leaves the outpost and hears troubles in the Grocer’s Bourg. Thralls are attacking a large party taking place in a beer garden. Women are defending themselves as best they can with cutlery and costume weaponry. He kills one quickly with his rifle before being swarmed. Realizing he’ll be quickly surrounded, he draws the thralls away from the women and runs towards the bell tower.

Fraternal Order of Wizardry

Fabian Oberen went to the headquarters of the Fraternal Order of Wizardry in Corvis, figuring that his wife being Gifted would help leverage the wizards to assist them. Unfortunately, the Order have a strong objection to women in the magical arts and slam the door in his face.

Hearing the thralls swarm out of the sewers and rivers, Fabian rushes to the bell tower to sound the alarm. Unfortunately, a group of undead assassins are waiting in ambush. Fabian quickly turns the tides on his would-be killers and nearly has the situation under control when Bairn appears in the distance. The two fight together to subdue the nearby thralls and race back to the cathedral.

The Mercenary Guilds

Kaede Oberen went to the Merchants Borg and the docks to talk to several of the mercenary houses in attempts to raising the hired forces as a defense. Unfortunately, all of the soldiers were out among the rest of Corvis celebrating Longest Night.

Walking back to the Cathedral, Kaede spots a strange raft in the harbor. Looking closely with his spyglass, he realizes it’s a group of dead party-goers lashed together, with two Thralls on top. He kills the thralls, but fails to notice a similar raft until it’s too late. The undead board a merchant ship and put it to the torch. Kaeded races to the crew’s rescue, killing the monsters so they are able to get the fire under control before it spreads.

The Faithful

On hearing the horrifying news of Alexia’s impending attack, Father Dumas sends runners out to all of the Morrow temples and shrines in Corvis. A few dozen of the faithful show up, clad in armor and carrying maces, ready to defend the Cathedral and the tomb. Barricades are built and Morrowians prepare to fight. with a plate-clad Dumas at their lead.

Amon realizes that the Cathedral might not be the most comfortable place for him, so he heads out to find members of his own faith. He heads to the Armorer’s Borg to a Menoth temple. The priest is eager to show Menoth’s fury to the evil-doers and a small group of them dress for battle and leave the temple with Amon. They find a group of Thralls riding a powder cart for mayhem. The Menites form up with their spikes and slay the horse as it tries to trample them, taking severe injuries in the process. The priest and Amon slay the two remaining thralls, much to the cheering of those nearby. The priest remains behind to tend to his followers while Amon makes his way to Cathedral.

Cathedral’s Defense

The family make it back to Cathedral Island not far ahead of Alexia’s horde. They’re doing well to defend the bridges onto the island until an unspoken signal changes the tactics of the thralls. Suddenly, they march unending towards the tomb, first through the rivers, then onto the banks and past all defenses. They overwhelm with their numbers alone – dying by the dozens but hundreds and hundreds pressing past. Once the hundreds have walled off the Tomb, Alexia and her undead companions float into the city and to the tomb. They ring the tomb and start destroying the magics protecting it, using the stored necromantic energies in the thralls to simply overpower the wards and crack the tomb. Thralls turn to dust by the hundreds, but the wards fall.

The four undead sorcerers leave with the body of Alexia’s mother, while Alexia grabs up the executioner’s sword. A mysterious man giving his name as Vahn Oberon appears near Alexia, disrupts her defensive wards, and stabs the teenager. The two scuffle and the sword skitters on the cobblestones towards the party. Kaede grabs the sword and runs towards the Cathedral entrance. Instantly, the sword sucks the life from him, aging him decades in moments. He collapses near the door, dropping the sword. Next, Fabian attempts to take the sword and suffers the same fate. The remaining family drag the two into the church, slamming the doors behind them. Alexia, badly injured from Bairn’s sniper shots, finally regains the sword and vanishes. At her departure, the thralls crumble. Vahn Oberon also vanishes into the night.

Session Rewards

Experience

• Gain 5 XP for the 5 Defend Corvis events
• Gain 1 XP teamwork and good roleplaying
• Gain 2 XP for the conclusion of The Longest Night story arc.

Money and Items

• TBD

Characters

Amon / Barak Kutsov
Bairn Oberen the 2nd
Charles Oberen
Fabian Oberen
Kaede Oberen
(Stephanie’s character)

Session Summary

Emerging from the church into the early morning fog, the Oberen Family are stopped by Captain Julian Helstrom of the Corvis Watch. He questions them on their involvement with Father Dumas and Alexia Ciannor before charging them with investigating Alexia’s apparent hideaway, Fort Rhyker. They’re not to fight Alexia’s force if they can help it, recon only. Captain Helstrom offers a reward if the family can find 2 members of the Watch he sent up a week ago to investigate the Fort and never returned.

Outside Fort Rhyker

The Family arrival several hours later at the stony fields surrounding the fort. Numerous teams of thralls are busy loading wagons with bones from mass graves that dot the moors around the fort. Fabian’s wife provides a distraction and the rest of the family rush into the gatehouse.

The Gatehouse

Investigating the gatehouse, they find the ingredients to mass produce an army of thralls. Further in the gatehouse, the family bump into their first experience with a more aware form of the Thrall process and seems to emanate a feeling of cold and brittleness. They quickly kill the monster and finish their investigation of the gatehouse. Discovering the drawbridge controls, they make their plans to detonate the powder kegs Captain Helstrom gave them as a means to destroy half the bridge and hopefully trap Alexia in the fort.

Attempting to cross the drawbridge to the fort proper, the family are attacked by a group of assassins. Fortunately, their sniper perch crumbles, causing the assassins to tumble to their deaths. One lands on the drawbridge and Bairn Jr recognizes a tattoo on the man’s hand. It’s the symbol of the Inquisition – a Cygnaran secret police from the time of King Raelthorne IV. After the Lion’s Coup, the King Leto disbanded the group and many members executed for their crimes.

The Keep

Investigating the keep, the family find a chamber where Alexia has been creating the more intelligent Thralls leading patrols around Fort Rhyker. Charles destroys the half-made creatures with Wraithbane, and Kaede grabs several pages of notes in a strange language (but not before the skull paperweight takes a bite out of his hand). Further investigation turns up a Gorax lair with the remains of the missing Corvis Watch members. The Family make plans to detonate the lair as well, since it has a passageway out of the Fort.

Heading up to the top of the Fort walls, Kaede gets the first glimpse of Alexia’s army in the courtyard. Hundreds of thrall warriors stand at the ready, with nearly a hundred of the lieutenants giving orders. Bairn Jr peeked in the windows of a building and sees Alexia and the reanimated witches mass-producing thralls for her army. Not wanting to risk discovery, the family make plans to detonate their barrels and head back to the gatehouse.

Both bombs detonate without incident, but attempts to raise the Gatehouse half of the bridge goes wrong when the ancient mechanika fails and the gate falls back open. Without any additional means of disabling the bridge, the family leave it as-is, hoping the destroyed other half will be enough to delay or trap Alexia and her army.

Session Rewards

Experience

• Gain 1 XP for participating in the session
• Gain 1 XP teamwork and good roleplaying
• Gain 1 XP for a milestone

Items

• 3 gems worth approx 250gp each
• A exceptionally crafted brass spyglass with the Shyr symbol for the Ioasan high house Wyshnalyrr engraved in the side. Carried by Kaede Oberen
• 2 bottles of Alchemical Restorative
• 2 jars of Healing Liniment
• Wraithbane: a mechanika great sword held by Charles Oberen

Characters

Amon / Barak Kutsov
Bairn Oberen the 2nd
Charles Oberen
Fabian Oberen
Kaede Oberen

Session Summary

The Oberen Family make their way into the secret entrance they found on Cathedral Island, only to quickly find themselves in a very treacherous sewer. Everyone ends up covered in filth by the time they exit the sewer and arrive at a set up steps that lead down to a forgotten catacomb of the church.

Immediately, they find a makeshift office of Alexia’s and meet the girl face-to-face for the first time. She hides little of her plans to restore the entire coven to life and punish the wicked city that murdered her mother. Charles tries to rush the young girl, only find her an accomplished magic user. He nearly crushes poor Fabian, whose caught behind his heavily armored brother. Alexia makes her retreat, leaving the party to figure their own way out of the catacombs.

Alexia’s Lair

The following bits of info are found in Alexia’s lair

Stack of Papers

• One piece of paper has a list of names on it: M. Monsonata, K. Sylva, H. Gadock, R. Sunbright, H. Hopless, S. Burkett, and C. Fullet. These were the seven jurors in the trial of the Corvis coven. Each name has a neat, methodical checkmark by it.
  • Below the juror’s names is the note Executioner?? Borloch’s friend of the lightning eye.
• Another page has these notes: Execution sword… Ancient relic. Witchfire? Forged before Orgoth? How old? Drains, stores essence. Key to restoration. Who was executioner?
• A third paper has the beginning of a letter to Father Dumas. Dearest Uncle, I wish I could make you understand… Besides this, the page is empty.

Sheets of Parchment

Among a pile of pillows, there are sheets of parchment. Each has scrawled some mysterious, elaborate glyph labeled with a phrase.

• Strength
• The Maker’s Sigil
• Fortitude
• Mind

The Catacombs

The party find their way out of Alexia’s lair via a hidden passage and explore a hidden section of the cathedral catacombs. They discover the animated corpses of all seven jurors, as well as several plague victims buried here. All attack, just like those left in the tomb out in Widower’s Wood.

Notable Discoveries

• A domed chamber lined with fine black marble arches over a decorative sarcophagus. The heavy stone lid bears a granite sculpture of a weeping griffon. The phrase “Temptation Begets Darkness Eternal” is carved repeatedly into the floor encircling the sarcophagus.
  • The characters left this room undisturbed.
• A high domed ceiling, with soft light illuminating every corner. In the center of the room a marble statue of a man stands upon a three-foot tall dais. Lettering upon the marble dais reads, “Ulbrecht Sambert, Ascended 605 BR.”
  • There was an intricate chest with a golden ring inside. The inside of the ring is engraved with the saying, “To follow in his footsteps,” which is a common expression in the Church of Morrow. The party took the ring
  • There was a long-dead body in the room, believed to be a religious man. Fabian Oberen placed the body in a burial pose and said some words.
• The party found piles of dead bodies with iron plates around their neck that read PLAGUE.
• Six doors were nailed shut. The party opted to leave them that way.
• Beyond a room filled with piles of dead bodies with iron plates around their neck that read PLAGUE, the party found a locked door that led to the maintained portion of the catacombs under the church.

Conclusion

Making their way out of the catacombs and church, the party was stopped by a figure in the fog shouting “Halt!”

Session Rewards

Experience

• Gain 1 XP for participating in the session
• Gain 1 XP teamwork and good roleplaying
• Gain 1 XP for a milestone

Items

• One simple engraved gold band

Characters

Amon / Barak Kutsov
Bairn Oberen the 2nd
Charles Oberen
Fabian Oberen
Kaede Oberen
(Stephanie’s character)

Session Summary

At the Tomb

While marching Bork out of the tomb, the Oberen family hear a noise in the Widower’s Wood swamp. Fabian Oberen notices the figure as his bride, (Stephanie’s character). The two newlyweds are excited to see each other, leaving the rest of the family quite confused at the youngest’s choice in women.

Back in the tomb, the family breech the room with the smelly boxes and find 6 skeletal warriors posed to attack. The family try to stay together, but that leaves them open to being charged by the thralls. Charles and Fabian fall in the fight, but the remaining family members are able to dispatch the undead menace. Things are tense as duo slowly bleed out, but Bairn Jr. is finally able to stop the bleeding with the assistance of (Stephanie’s character), or at least her surgeon’s kit.

Kaede searches the room and finds all 4 tombs to be empty, save for a spool of black thread and a needle. Each tomb has a brass plaque with the name of the accused, Doromia Smythe, Kellwyn Sikes, Morgan Innswood and Aria Black, along with their sentence, “Beheaded for the Crime of Witchcraft in the Year of Our Kingdom 593” There are also dozens of completely burned red candles around each tomb, along with arcane symbols in a red sand. Amon records the symbols in his journal.

Back to Corvis

After a brief rest, the family head back to Corvis and arrive just after nightfall. Bairn Jr. goes to check the tomb, while Kaede and Amon speak with Father Dumas. He’s horrified at the evidence and is convinced that a Thamarite is operating in or around Corvis. He’s heard from his congregation of a strange woman named Rusalka that lives out in Widower’s Wood that could be a Thamarite, but he has never met the woman and doesn’t know if she matches Bork’s description.

The family leave to rest for the night, setting up watches. During the second watch, (Stephanie’s character) notices some movement in the abandoned buildings on Cathedral Island. She leaves the dormatory to investigate, leaving Charles to watch over the others. She keeps catching glimpses of a woman in white with long black hair, but turns a corner and suddenly finds herself at short alley that dead-ends in a wall with a low grate draining into the sewers. She notices small footprints in the gutter leading up to the grate, but nothing after this. She returns and tells her tale to Charles, who insists they wake up Bairn Jr.. The trio race off to examine this sewer grate, leaving the remaining members of the family alone and asleep.

While examining the wall, Charles notices a loose bar. It pulls to one side and the entire wall slides almost effortlessly up to shoulder height. A series of grated steps lead into the darkness below. Bairn Jr. insists on showing the secret entrance to Father Dumas.

Before heading to the entrance, the group check in on Alexia, under the guise of her safety with strange people lurking about the cathedral. After no response, Father Pandor unlocks the room and finds it empty. Alexia is missing!

Session Rewards

Experience

Gain 1 XP for participating in the session
Gain 1 XP teamwork and good roleplaying
Gain 1 XP for a milestone

Characters

Amon / Barak Kutsov
Bairn Oberen the 2nd
Charles Oberen
Fabian Oberen
Kaede Oberen

Session Summary

Stakeout

The characters stand watch over the tomb of Lexaria Ciannor in shifts all night. Although the do discover that Alexia Ciannor is missing at the start of nightfall, Father Dumas doesn’t seem worried and she’s returned by morning.

The Witches’ Tomb

A few hours of travel take the party cross-country by foot in the Widower’s Wood to the site where the witches are buried. The granite doors of the tomb, shaped into a grotesque face, are broken open at their arrival and scorched bronze plate nearby. At the entrance, just outside the massive doors, is a large stone circle with odd runes carved in the edge, which they record in hopes that Father Dumas can give some insight into their purpose.

The character reckon that the doors have been open perhaps a week or so, and find some signs of habitation in that supposedly sealed tomb. A set of heavy iron bars are broken and bent out of the way, slightly further into the complex, showing major signs of damage. Beyond this room, there is additional signs that there have been someone, likely swamp gobbers, living in the complex for some time. They find a few rooms that look to have been used as sleeping quarters and a forge room with a large hole in a ceiling to vent smoke from the fires. Bairn suspects some gobber or small human/elf could come and go that way.

The Lake

At the end of a long natural passage, where water seems to flow, the group find a sandy cave with a small lake. There is a narrow passage leading out of the back of the lake and a small canoe on the shoreline. In trying to destroy the canoe, the group run afoul of a pair of squid-like creatures living in the lake and fight the pair for their lives.

They find a few odd coins in the sand, as well as a very peculiar dagger that Bairn opts to hold onto.

Bork the Gobber

In one of the chambers, the party find a mostly deaf gobber by the name of Bork. Bork is nervous of their presence and declares them trouble, just like the witch girl that’s been causing trouble for Bork and his clan. He says she showed up recently with “bone men”, made a mess of things, and went to the room with smelly boxes. She left later with grey women, but the bone men stayed and they’re the real problem.

Bork agrees to take them to the room with the smelly boxes if they promise to deal with the bone men and give Bork a portion of the treasure from the lake. They also have to tell any gobber they meet that Bork killed the monsters in the lake. He leads them through a few twists and turns to a large stone door with another bronze plate. He refuses to go in and quickly scampered off once he collects his payment.

With the gobber vanishing into the darkness, the character ponder their next move.

Session Rewards

Experience:

Gain 1 XP for participating in the session
Gain 1 XP teamwork and good roleplaying

Money and Gear

• Silver Ornamented Magelock, heavily greased and in need of maintenance, 3 runeshot-carved rounds.
• 1 gold coin with odd symbol
• 5 tarnished silver coins, unknown minting
• 10 gold coins, unknown minting
• Dagger: approx 9", black steel blade with bright copper runes. Hilt is wrapped black wire, obsidian in pommel. Found in black leather sheath, neither blade or sheath show any signs of decay. Inscription on crossguard in unfamiliar language
  • Dagger held by Bairn Oberen the 2nd

Characters

• Amon / Barak Kutsov
• Bairn Oberen the 2nd
• Charles Oberen
• Fabian Oberen
• Kaede Oberen

Session Summary

The Oberen Family took a mercenary job from the Caravaneer’s Guild as a way to finance their trip to Corvis to meet Fabian Oberen’s new wife. About two weeks into their trip, and less than a day from Corvis, a group of swamp gobbers attack the caravan. They are little more than a nuisance and are quickly dispatched, but only after a trap of theirs kills a horse on the lead wagon. Fabian helps get the horses back in sort and the group arrive in Corvis late at night.

The caravan’s first delivery is to Father Pandor Dumas as the Morrowan Cathedral. At this point, they’re paid for the services and left to their own devices. Father Dumas, however, is in need of some adventuring sorts, and offers them free use of the dormitory if they can look into something for him. Seven graves have been disturbed and the bodies taken over the last month.. Bairn and Kaede Oberen head out to a tavern, while the rest of the family settle in for some sleep

They learn that The Longest Night festival is coming up soon, and is a major celebration in Corvis. They also hear a few bits about the infamous Witch Trials that happened 9 years ago. Bairn, eager to impress the locals, is determined to prove he can hold his beer, even when served Trollkin Ale. He makes a fool of himself, but Kaede is there to drag his unconscious brother back home.

Search for Missing Bodies

Eastern Boneyard

Awful place, smelling of rot and decay. A sea of muck and unmarked graves, where the poor bury their dead. They find the spots where Ham Hopless and Senn Burkett were buried. The ground is disturbed, but a recent storm has made a mess of things since then and there are no real clues. Fabian approaches a slightly unhinged fellow named Egger and engages in conversation. Egger tells Fabian he saw a beautiful woman in the graveyard recently, about the same night as the Family think the body snatchers were here. Unfortunately, Fabian spooks the man, who takes off shrieking.

Gadock Family Farm

Small farm east of the Eastern Boneyard. When the Family arrive, a middle-aged man is working on a steam engine near the main barn. He’s happy for the assistance from Father Dumas in this matter and shouts for his wife, Betilda (much to Bairn’s dismay). She, with child in tow, lead them to the family graveyard beneath a massive apple tree. A dozen or so family members are buried here, but only one grave is disturbed. Same problem as before – a recent rain storm has masked most evidence that would have existed. Fabian bribes the shy child with a sugar cube, and he tells them that he saw Great Grand Father, Hagger Gadock (for which he’s named) walking towards the swamp the night of the storm.

The Sunbright Estate

Rich part of Corvis, this mansion sits behind a low wall with an ornate gate. Banners for the Longest Night hang from the balconies. A butler shows them into a foyer to wait, but after seeing (and smelling) the Family, has no patience for their questioning. He all but throws them out of the estate.

Fullet Family Farm

Similar to the Gadock farm, but north of the city. The Family meet Lorna Fullet at the farmhouse. She is obsessively superstitious and nearly faints when the Family tells some of the other names they’re investigating. Without being prompted, she tells them the remaining names. Lorna explains that her husband, Chander Gadock, and the remaining names on the list, were jurors in the Witch Trials 9 years ago. She explains that a brave man, Magistrate Ulfass Borloch, uncovered a coven of witches and had them executed for their dark crimes. Lorna is nearly certain that all of the jurors have died since and mumbles something about the witches casting a death curse.

Northern Graveyard

The Family meet Gum Broker, the caretaker of the Northern Graveyard. He’s a old man, having been caretaker for nearly 50 years by his own admission. The bodies went missing overnight exactly two weeks ago he says and he’s spent a lot of effort to repair the graves to look normal since (thereby destroying any evidence that might have existed). He smelled a bit of alcohol, but nothing as stout as the odor coming from Bairn.

Back to the Cathedral

The Family return to the Cathedral after nightfall. Father Dumas is still awake and eager to talk to them. When they point out that all the dead bodies are members of the jurors from the Witch Trials, he insists they go to the tomb in the Widower’s Wood to make sure it’s still sealed. Bairn worries that the witches walk among them already and asks for any photograph that might exist of the witches. Father Dumas explains that one does exist, but it’s not available to the Family. The head witch, Lexaria Ciannor, was Father Dumas’ sister-in-law and the mother of his ward, Alexia Ciannor. Alexia has a small portrait of her mother, but Father Dumas couldn’t imagine her being willing to part with it.

Session Rewards

Experience:

• Gain 1 XP for participating in the session
• Gain 1 XP teamwork and good roleplaying
• Gain 1 XP for a milestone

Money

• 25gp each for caravan duty