A session log of our D&D adventure with ‘The Master’s Vault’ . Details in the contents page (link above).
Chapter 10: The Master’s Vault – Part 1
The morning of the next day. Well-rested for what might come next, Gwynfor, Rifma and Sephy gather in front of Elaria’s vault door, tiles in hand. The tiles grow warmer as they approach the door. Letters in blue appear over the indentations where the nine tiles should be placed. The letters read ‘Who is the master?’
All tiles looking quite similar, the party wonders how to place them. Randomly placing them doesn’t seem to do anything. Rifma says that the question over the indentations must be a hint. Gwynfor takes out Elaria’s will and wonders if there’s something in there. The word ‘Dawnforge’ floats into his mind, although he doesn’t know where he has heard it.
Looking hard at the blue tiles, he sees alphabets written on them very faintly in red, almost unnoticeable. He immediately places them on the indentations to spell ‘Dawnforge’. The door opens with a click. They both wonder who Dawnforge is, but decide to hurry and check out the vault.
The underground vault is dark, but Gwynfor, Rifma and Sephy has no problem of seeing since everyone has night vision. Ahead of them, they see three pedestals with a sword, a chest and a journal with a magic pearl on it. A map of Merriam Vale with various markings on it is hung on the wall. An image of a much younger Elaria appears in the middle, surprising the party.
She says that if the listeners are here then she’s probably dead. If they’re not necromancers, then they must be her final batch of students. She bequeaths the treasures on the pedestals to them, but says that the journal and map are the most important.
Elaria explains that her true name is Erris Dawnforge. She has changed it after she and her friends stole a precious artifact, the Eye of Death, from a group of necromancers called the Pact of the Lich. Being the only survivor, Elaria has hidden the Eye beyond the Dolor Forest, and the necromancers have killed her in search of it.
The necromancers plan to use the eye to change all the people of Skylark into undeads. So Elaria urges her students to guard the eye. She tells them that everything is detailed in the journal and that all of Skylark is counting on them, before smiling and disappearing.
A withering voice then greets the party. They turn around to see a pale bald man clad in black, hooded robes with four animated skeletons in front of him. The man is the necromancer Drazel Vibbin and he has come to take the map to recover his masters’ stolen Eye of Death.
Chapter 11: The Master’s Vault – Part 2
Gwynfor, Rifma and Sephy battle Drazel and his four skeletons. Sephy, angry at his master’s murderer, casts a powerful spell at Drazel and wounds him badly. Drazel fights back and rains down spells at the entire party.
The skeletons at his command charge at the party, but their presence activate Elaria’s anti-undead trap. Radiant beams shoot out at them from the wall, hurting them a little. Nevertheless, they continue their attack at the party with their swords and arrows.
Gwynfor manages to dodge, but Rifma and Sephy are hurt. Not wanting to take any chances, Gwynfor rages and takes Drazel down immediately. Drazel laughs wildly as he dies, saying that he won’t stop until they’re all dead. With his last command, his skeletons continue to fight.
Rifma and Sephy try to fight back, but are knocked out by the skeletons ganging up on them, leaving Gwynfor alone to deal with four skeletons. Gwynfor’s past of not being able to save his friends comes back to haunt him. He’ll finish this battle and not let his friends die this time, no matter what.
Elaria’s beam trap supporting him by chipping away at the skeletons, Gwynfor charges at two of them. He takes down one of them by himself. His pet kitten helps him take out the other weakened skeleton. The remaining two skeletons attack him. Gwynfor manages to take out one of them, but the last one shoots him down with its arrows.
Gwynfor falls to the ground, watching in despair with his fading consciousness as the skeleton makes its way to take Elaria’s map and journal. Rifma and Sephy lie unconscious as they bleed on the ground. Out of nowhere, they hear Elaria’s voice echo in their heads. She tells them that she doesn’t raise them to be like this, so they should stand up and fight.
Feeling a comforting healing spell patch up a little of their wounds, Gwynfor, Rifma and Sephy wake up. With the blessings of their master, they charge at the skeleton. Gwynfor defeats it.
Chapter 12: The Eye of Death
Drazel and his minions defeated, Gwynfor, Rifma and Sephy investigate Elaria’s treasures. It’s unfortunate for Gwynfor as there’s nothing he can use as to heal his condition. Rifma says that they can’t just leave the Eye of Death lying around. It’s too dangerous and the necromancers might find it. Gwynfor and Rifma decide to read the journal and find where the Eye is.
Gwynfor, Rifma and Sephy head to the Dolor Forest. Following the map, they discover that the tree they climbed when fighting the wolves at the start of the journey is where Elaria has hidden the Eye of Death.
They reminisce about how far they’ve come together since then. Gwynfor and Rifma smile in a bittersweet way, each seemingly thinking about something. Following hints in Elaria’s journal, they dig out a small chest from the roots of the tree, unsealing its magic seal. They open the box and find the Eye of Death in it.
Rifma is about to take the Eye, but Gwynfor grabs it before him and puts it on the ground. Such a dangerous object shouldn’t be allowed to exist. He readies his sword to destroy it, but then Rifma tackles him to the ground, snatching the Eye.
Gwynfor asks him what he’s doing. Rifma reveals his identity as the Yuan-ti’s spy, summoning two of the flying snakes that he has befriended at the Cliffs. Sephy hisses at the snakes, remembering how they’ve bitten him unconscious before. Gwynfor is shocked.
Rifma’s true reason for coming here is to see if there’s anything he can take from Elaria to help revive his people’s god of destruction Merrshaulk. Merrshaulk’s revival is brought about by wreaking as much pain and suffering as possible in the world. Rifma doesn’t expect that something as powerful and evil as the Eye of Death would be in Elaria’s possession. It’ll certainly make up for their failed attempt with the poisonous black dragon all those years ago.
Gwynfor reacts, filled with both shock and rage upon discovering that his fellow classmate Rifma works with the people who killed his friends and poisoned him in the past. Finding out Gwynfor’s identity as the hero who slew the black dragon, Rifma thinks that the Yuan-ti will be pleased if he brings him home as a sacrifice to his god.
They fight. As a cat, Sephy has no idea what’s happening, but he hates the snakes, so he fights them. Rifma ignores Sephy and charges at Gwynfor. Dagger clashes with longsword as they dodge and wound each other.
Eventually, Sephy manages to take out both snakes, but the weakened Rifma lands the last blow on Gwynfor, knocking him unconscious. Sephy looks at Rifma and meows. He’s concerned for Gwynfor, but doesn’t understand that Rifma’s an enemy. Panting hard and exhausted, Rifma kneels down next to the unconscious Gwynfor.
He pulls down Gwynfor’s collar to look at the scar peeking from under it, confirming that it’s indeed a bite from the Yuan-ti’s black dragon. Gwynfor’s certainly a powerful enemy of the Yuan-ti and it’ll be wise to end his life. Rifma readies his dagger, but remembering how they’ve helped each other so far, his emotions get the better of him.
Convincing himself that Gwynfor is no threat to the Yuan-ti in his poisoned and weakened state, Rifma lowers his blade. He holds the Eye of Death and studies it, before pocketing it in his pouch. With that, he pats Sephy’s head for the last time and wishes him farewell. Rifma leaves the Dolor Forest, never to be seen in Merriam Vale again.
When Gwynfor wakes up, a few of Parabor’s townsmen are surrounding him, saying that the boy he’s usually with has called for help before leaving. Sephy looks dejected and worried. Gwynfor is aghast when he realizes that he has failed and Rifma has escaped with the Eye of Death. He stands up with a grave look, heading back to Parabor with the townsmen to warn Skylark of the incoming great disaster.
END
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