5.1 Cult of the Dusk

SESSION DATE: June 15, 2024
PRESENT: Rory Emberscale, Thullahnyr, Thrahn, Wesson Smith

Deep Dive

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Adventure Photos

Adventure Song & Lyrics

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World Anvil Journal

sooo... i wint bak to witethpawow to thee if the sherf needth n e mowe hep and wile im thittin in the evrshadey tavrin i met thome new peepl naimd wethin and thwan and thunaweer. i wath jutht abowt to tawk to them to intwoduth mythelf but thin thome majik withardth bwoke thwu the dor in the tavrin and made witening come down and hit a buncha peepl hewe tho we had to put a thtop to that weel quik. the fite dint watht wong ath we wath much thtwonger than them thwan got the watht hit on the guy with the witening thkwole. wat wath weerd wath that win he casted the witening fwom the thkwol the thkwol dint go away wike nowmal thkwoleth. thath not wite. i pikd it up and gaiv it to thunaweer ath he wookd wike he mite no wat it ith but he dint weewy no to much eether. i will wet them taik cawe of that cuz i dont uthe majik.

well hewe cometh the sherf agin i feel wike i bin theein her a wot watewy and she wookth wike sheth jutht totawwy dun with all the cwap thath bin goin on awownd hear. she thaid mowe of thethe cult peepl in bwak and perpl wobeth hav showd up wethentwy and she needth a gwoop of peepl to deel with it and she thaid we wook wike we cud take cawe of it and were wike yah well do it. we fownd a map one of the guyth had that showth a camp and a obthverto... obthervaroty... a pwathe up hi on a mowntin were u can thee a buncha thtuff awownd it.

we dethided to hed to the camp firtht to thee if we cud git n e cwuthe abowt who thethe bad guyth awe. win we find the camp there ith a thurkel of fier pitth awownd a pile of thome bwack ash and thomewon dwawd thome kinda majik gwifth with it. thunaweer theeth a peeth of paper in it and pikd it up and win he pikd it up the fierth all wit up gween and thome shadow guyth popd owt of the fier. tiem to fite. well befowe i had a chanth to hit n e thing thunaweer kild a buncha them by doin thome cool bwite wite thtuff and wethin finisht them off wit hith gunth tho that wath quik.

they wed the peetheth of papew and thaid thith wath pawt of a jernle fwom thomewon cald thewen i think and he wath all wike IM GONA FIND THITH OVEWAN GUY AND WIN I DO IM GONA DETHTWOY EVWYWON THAT WONGED ME and we wath wike whoa mabee we need to find thith ovewen man and do thomethin abowt him. wile they wath weedin the buk i stompt owt the fierth and put durt on em tho they cudnt lite up agin and thin i wint a nokd owt the weerd gwifs on the gwownd.

we dethide we beter keep goin to the mowntin pwathe and finawy we git ther and haf to wawk up a buncha thtepth with the cwiff on are thide tho we gotta be thuper caweful tho we dont fall down thewe cuz that wud be vewy bad. wuckiwy we maik it no pwobwem but win i turnd the cowner and fownd the tower i got shot at by thome awchewth in tha windoze. thwan and me wath wike welp we gonna wush the dor tho we did and i bweethd fier on tha dor and he nokd them down tho we cud git inthide. we wath abel to take them owt eethy.

there ith a buncha bukth hewe but the otherth thaid thethe aint the bukth we wookin for but they did find a wownd thtaircathe goin down down down. befowe we go that way wethin thtopth me and givth me a wand to help find twapth and he shode me how to uthe it tho i go ahed and it workth it fownd one with a twipwarr and wthin ditharmd it.

thin we keep goin and find a woom with tonth of bodeeth on the fwor and thtachooth with weppinth and a weerd map on the fwor. thewe awe a wot mor of thothe bwack and purpel robe guyth ded in hewe tho we gotta be caweful not to git ded to. thewe awe thome mowe gwifth but thith tiem thwan can weed them and heth wike it thayth onwy the wite of the godth will cweer the path and we wath wike well u got thome god wite and he wath wike yah i do tho he wit up hith sord and thwammed it on the gwownd and BOOM THE DOR OPIND UP that wath awethome.

we go thwu the dor and now we owthide agin but thewe ith thome buk shelfth up hewe and we awe thuper hi up the cwiff ith wike a canyin and we gotta be caweful not to fall down jutht wike watht tiem. tho we keep goin and i go acwoth the bwije ahed and find thome bwood and a shoo and a buk. i pikt up the buk and gaiv it to thwan cuz he can weed and heth wike ith calld the buk of fwameth but thin befowe we cud do n e thing elthe we git hit by thome tinticalth and wook up and ther ith a woper up above. i wath too buthy wachin my thtep to wook up and thee it and now wer in twubble agin thowy guyth. well i cant weech it with my akth tho i haf to shoot it with my cwothbow. it geth thwan and pulth him up to him tho we cant weech him now but thin it gwabbd me and tuk me up thew to and im wike oh yah thith ith were i wanna be. hit bite me and it huwt weel bad but i gotta do wat i can wile heth got me neer him tho i thwing my gwatethord awownd and git thome gud hith and evenchuwy we kill it and it dwopth thwan and me. wuckiwy we wand on the bwije but that wath cwothe.

we take a showt wetht befowe we keep goin. win evewybody ith weddy we keep goin thwu the hallway and i here thome voitheth but i dont no wat there thayin. i git too cwothe and one voithe wath wike show urthelf tho im wike okay and pop awound the cowner. welp i pwobaby shudnt hav dun that cuz they wath weddy. we fownd owavin and a buncha hith goonth. i chargd foward but thin one of them wath able to keep me fwom movin tho i cudnt fite and they jutht kept hitin me and hitin me. thwan wath abel to keep thome of them hitin me by putting thome kinda sheeld on me ow thomethin tho that wath gud but then wethin stept in and made the guy keepin me fwom movin stop keepin me fwom movin and now i can move tho ath thoon ath i tuk a thwing the sheeld wint away but at weetht i can help now. but thin the guy did it agin and thith time it wathted a wot wonger. and thin ath thoon ath wethin wath abel to git it off me agin owavin caim awound the cowner and hit me big tiem and i dont wemembew much aftew that cuz i wint down. the nektht thing i wemembew ith wookin up at thunaweer who gaiv me a heewin poshin to git me bak up, i thank him and thtand up and taik thome thwingth at watevr ith cwothetht to me and thin i duk behind cover tho they cant hit me. i take thome tiem to wecovew a bit befowe hedding bak in the woom. i thwow my javlin of witening at thome guyth and won of them ith hit but i mitht the othew won. thwan got a big hit on the wobed guy and tuk him owt. thin wethin gave me a poshin and moovd away for a better shot tho i tuk the poshin wich made me feel a wot beter. the onwy guy weft now ith owavin who nokd me owt earwier tho i walkd up to him and brot the pain as i wath wike u made me mad and thin tuk ith hed off thending it fawwing down the deep pit nektht to uth.

finawy we can taik a bwake for a bit. we make shure nuthin ith comin up hewe and thin thtawt wooking awound at wat we can find. we fownd wotth of cool thtuff and i got a new thord tho i cant wate to tetht it owt it evin hath thome fanthy julth on it tho ith pwetty and feelth nithe.

in the midel of the woom ith a valt hangd up by thome chainth wite over the pit. wethin twied to opin the vault wile we waited behind the piwwarth in the woom but he got totawwy bwathted by thome shadow majik ow thomethin it hurt him weel bad. we dethided ith betht not to twy agin tho we thtawted undoin the chainth to thend the vault and watever ith inthide down into the pit. but im wike wat if we do that and it thummonth thomething or maketh thingth worth and we dethided it wath jutht betht to wet the thing go down the hole wather than wet anybody who findth it hav it. tho we undid the chainth and down down down it wint into the hole. we never evin herd it hit the gwound tho it mutht be a thuper deep hole thath cwazy.

tho we taik a wong wetht befowe hedin bak to witethpawow to git are paymint. the sherf ith hapey to thee uth and thankth uth fow doin that for them. thwan dethided to go bak home wile wethin and thunaweer want to go bak to the wibwawy to thtudy. i wath gonna go home but dethided to thtay with them to pwotekt them tho we wint bak up the mowntin to the wibwawy for a few dayth. i wet them do motht of the wookin awownd thinthe i cant maik n e thenthe owt of the bukth but i did find won thcwol. i showd it to them and they towd me it was a fweething thfere thpeil tho that wath cool haha i maid nother joke thath funy.

thin we weft and hedded home. we made thome pwetty gud muny thith week tho i mite haf to do that agin thometime. that wath fun ekthept for the hole almotht dying thing.

Private Notes

• Cult of the Dusk: A number of robed and hooded figures step through the front door of the Evershady Tavern in Whitesparrow. The figure in the lead draws a large scroll from a bag at his side and unfurls it. He whispers dark words, and suddenly, bolts of violet lightning crash through the building. A commoner named Eldith, the butcher's assistant, is the first to be struck by the lightning. Smoke rises from the body as the figure continues his chanting. INITIATIVE!!!
  • More cult fanatics from the previous adventure to fight. Yay!
  • They immediately begin taking out the innocent tavern patrons.
  • Thrahn gets the killing blow on the leader guy with the spell scroll. On doing so, the clouds disappear with the scroll falling to the ground.
  • Rory gets the final blow on the last guy. Combat over.
• For loot, we find:
  • 3x Jeweled Dagger, 20g each
  • 1x black opal, 50g
  • 30g
• Rory immediately picks up the spell scroll on the floor to prevent anyone else from being able to use it should they come around the corner.
• This spell scroll isn't really a spell scroll in the normal sense. This scroll provide ancient shadow magic and doesn't seem to consume the scroll when used. Interesting.
• Some people dressed in black and purple robes recently came through Whitesparrow. One of them is known to the town. His name is Theran, a young, eager and naive sort. Once a stablehand, he left Whitesparrow two years ago in the company of some monkish figures.
• After the craziness in the tavern, Sheriff Ruth Willowmane comes in just about to pull her hair out and explains that this activity has really ramped up recently with the lizardfolk issue from last week and now this happening.
• We also find a roughly drawn map in his sack. It shows a route from Whitesparrow to a campsite nearby, then from there to an observatory in the mountains. It's a several day long trip there.
• Wesson speaks to the sheriff asking what they're going to about this. She says she's about to retire because this stuff is crazy, but really what she needs us to do is help them take care of the problem. She says we seem capable enough. She throws a bag of coin at Wesson because she's just so done with it all. Inside is 400g. She'll pay out the rest
• We make our way toward the camp site. It's located near a canyon. Someone has drawn a number of glyphs using black ash found piled around a circle of fire pits. Inside are burnt pieces of parchment. As Thullahnyr picks up one of the pieces, the fire pits roar to life with a flash. Out from the flames come Shadow creatures. INITIATIVE!!!
  • The Shadows attempt to drain Rory's Strength. If they do, this is NOT good for him at all.
  • Thullahnyr uses his Channel Divinity to cast Radiance of the Dawn, taking down four of the six Shadows.
  • Wesson gets the killing blow on the final two. Combat over.
• The burned pieces of parchment we found were part of a journal kept by Theran, the guy we saw at the tavern. The details of a library and Oravin's hunt are written here. It talks of a tome that Theran hoped to use. "The master is near finding what he seeks. When he does, I will destroy those who wronged me."
• While stomping out the fire pits, Rory finds six obsidian stone with glyphs carved into them. They were carved to allow the cultists to command the shadows. Their magic is spent, but are worth 20g each.
• Rory also hands over the scroll he picked up from Theran at the tavern earlier to Thullahnyr as he may be able to get some use out of it. Thullahnyr determines it's highly unlikely he can use it, but Wesson says he may be able to extract its powers as an artificer, so Thullahnyr hands it to Wesson.
• We continue following the map for four more days and eventually find ourselves at the peak of a mountain. A set of stairs rise up a sheer rock cliff 200' up. There upon stands a building with a dome offering a fantastic view of the night sky. We arrive in the early morning, almost midday.
• Rory leads the way up the remaining stairs to the observatory, carefully watching for traps and loose rocks.
• In front of Rory is the tower, doors closed. The second story has some arrowy slits. Out of each one of them comes some attacks. Arrows rain down from above as Rory is hit with one of them. INITIATIVE!!!
  • Rory takes a pot shot at the nearest one through the window and misses, then ducks behind the cliff wall along the path for cover. He warns the party about the archers and that we'll need to use our ranged abilities to combat them.
  • Thrawn mentions he's going to rush the door so Rory takes him up on the offer and runs up to the door, looking back at Thrahn expectantly.
  • Thrahn follows behind Rory.
  • The wooden doors are somewhat thick, so Rory attempts to set them on fire by breathing on them. It does pretty well, but not quite enough to break through. Thrahn is able to bust them open afterwards. Teamwork makes the dream work!
  • Thrahn warns us of traps inside the building.
  • We kill the remaining archer. Combat over.
• We find:
  • 20g
  • Locket worth 20g (silver with sketch of handsome man)
  • 2x Scimitar
  • 2x Dagger
  • 2x Heavy Crossbow
  • 2x Studded Leather
• We've found the library. Thousands of books are strewn about the wooden rubble inside the stone building. Rory doesn't care much about books since he can't really read. The others look through them to see if anything catches their eye. They find mostly mundane, normal books. But what they do find is a small hidden spiral staircase leading down deeper into the area.
• Wesson hands Rory a Wand of Secrets to help find traps. Rory will use it to best of his ability. It works as we head down and find a hidden tripwire trap that would've tripped a crossbow trap. Rory points it out and with Thullahnyr's help, Wesson is able to successfully disarm the trap. Wesson hands Rory the poisoned crossbow bolt that was loaded in the trap and tells Rory to use that as his next shot.
• Wand in hand, Rory rounds the corner into a room. A giant celestial map is engraved in the floor. Tiny crystals mark points of interest on the map. Corpses of purple robed figures lie surrounding the map. Several statues line the walls, and each statue has curved swords in hand. A couple suits of armor lie on the floor as well. A heavy door is at the opposite end of the room.
• Thrahn determines the glyphs on the floor are an ancient script that reads "Only with the light of the gods will the path be clear." Thrahn likely has the best godly light as he is a paladin. Let's see if that works!
• Once Thrahn lights up his sword, he feels it being pulled toward the center of the map. He feels inclined to strike it upon the map. He does so, and we hear the click and hiss coming from the large stone doors. Nice! We open the doors and continue moving along the path.
• We're entering the Cleft of Wisdom within the Forgotten Library. Cold wind cuts through the passage as we walk through. A narrow walkway follows the walls, with thousand-foot drops just waiting to claim lives of those with an uneasy step. Three-story outcroppings are carved along the walls. Treading carefully is the key here, I think. We continue make our way toward the library.
• We see a pool of blood and a sandal at the center of the bridge ahead. There is also a book lying here. Rory picks up the book and immediately hands it to someone who may be able to read. Thrahn is nearest, so Thrahn gets it.
• The book is called "The Book of Flames". Suddenly we hear the whip snap of a slimy set of tentacles. Looking up, we see a tentacled enemy with a single eye and a toothy maw. Rory was too concerned with the potential to fall to look up to see it before the surprise round. INITIATIVE!!!
  • The Roper misses his attacks on the first round, but makes contact with Thrawn and Rory on the next attempt. We're Restrained and Grappled, and he pulls Thrawn up to him and takes a bite, dealing lots of damage. He then pulls us a further distance up. Luckily he seems to be staying over the bridge in case we fall. It'll surely be a difficult test to land on the bridge, or hold on to it for dear life, as we fall.
  • Rory drinks the Potion of Fire Breath he got last adventure and uses it to break Thrahn out of the Roper's grasp, which works. Thrahn falls, taking some damage, but he says he'd rather be down here than up there, so it's all good!
  • Rory gets pulled up to the creature like Thrahn did, but this is where Rory wants to be as he swings away at it while in range of the creature itself.
  • The Roper crits the snot out of Rory but doesn't let go. OUCH.
  • Combat over.
• The Book of Flames we found contains the Wizard spells Scorching Ray, Burning Hands and Fireball.
• A full examination of the library would take weeks, but anyone spending a week can gain the knowledge of spells found within. Nice!
• We take a moment for a short rest before continuing further.
• At Thullahnyr's suggestion, Rory starts up the trapfinding wand and continues.
• Walking down the path, there's light ahead and voices. Rory tries to be as quiet as possible, but his metal scale mail armor makes it impossible as it echoes through the halls. The voices yell "Show yourselves!" Rory says "You don't have to tell me twice" before quickly heading around the corner.
• In the octagonal room ahead, a metal vault suspended by four huge chains mountain on huge pillars surround an eight-sided metal vault in the pit. Each of the faces have a glyph. Inside the pit are a handful of enemies, including Oravin, who says "Just kill them." INITIATIVE!!!
  • Rory gets himself into a bind as he stands right in the middle of the doorway, raging and huge, when one of the enemies casts Hold Person on him, paralyzing him.
  • Thrahn helps by placing Sanctuary on Rory, keeping him from taking a couple hits.
  • Wesson steps in and damages the caster enough to cause him to drop Hold Person. Nice!
  • Rory takes a couple swings at a target, dropping the Sanctuary, but making contact only once. A healing potion helps with his health.
  • Just about then, another Hold Person comes at Rory, and once again he is unable to hold it off, becoming paralyzed again.
  • Thrahn helps with healing Rory as he takes more hits.
  • In typical Rory fashion, he just can't break out of the paralysis thanks to absolutely abysmal Wisdom Saving rolls. Not good!
  • The group is slowly taking out the lesser enemies. Working on the bigger enemies as well, but at least some of the others are down!
  • The paralysis drops again thanks to Wesson!
  • Oravin casts a Death Bolt at Rory, knocking him unconscious. Down goes Rory.
  • A couple of the lesser cultists try to attack Rory while he's unconscious on the ground, but have luckily been failing. Hopefully this continues, or Rory pops back up.
  • Thullahnyr administers a Potion of Greater Healing to return Rory to consciousness once more. Rory's body may die, but his gratitude is eternal.
  • On Rory's next turn, he stands up, takes a couple swings at the nearest enemy, dropping it. This causes Oravin to use his reaction again, so at least that's something, even though he uses it to raise another dead enemy. Rory apologizes to the party for chickening out around the corner to wait for his next turn out of the line of sight of those inside.
  • On Rory's next turn, he carefully maneuvers into the room and finds a position which allows him to throw his Javelin of Lightning to hit both remaining enemies. The one in the middle takes lightning damage but misses his actual target. At least it's something!
  • Thrahn gets a huge crit on the fanatic and takes him out. And then there was one!
  • Wesson takes out a Potion of Greater Healing and sets it down next to himself and Rory for Rory to pick up next turn.
  • Somehow Rory is the one to get the killing blow on Oravin thanks to the assistance of his friends! Combat over.
• Oravin was seeking something from what we recall. This is likely what he was seeking when we intruded during his investigation. The only thing we can really discern about what's inside the vault is that it's powerful and potentially dangerous.
• We take a long rest to recoup after that mess of a fight. TNGBU.
• Wesson tries to open it, but gets blasted by negative necrotic energy that could have nearly wiped him out in a single blow. We decide to cut our losses and drop the vault into the seemingly endless pit below.
• As for other loot, we find:
  • 70g
  • Bracers of Defense
  • Sack of gemstones (200g)
  • +1 Studded leather
  • +1 Jeweled Weapon
  • Wand of Magic Detection
  • 4x Scimitar
  • 5x Leather armor
  • 2x Dagger
  • Scroll of Blindness/Deafness
  • Potion of Water Breathing
  • Potion of Diminution
  • Potion of Flying
  • Potion of Supreme Healing
• We head back to Whitesparrow to claim our payment from Sheriff Ruth Willowmane who gladly pays up and thanks us for our assistance.
• Thrahn goes back to Urithiru while the rest of us stay back at the library searching for scrolls for a week. Rory is there mainly to help protect the others from intruders, but decides to take the time to try to find a scroll himself. He ends up finding a Scroll of Freezing Sphere (6th Level). Nice! That's some extra gold for Rory.

That's it for this session!