Book 1 Recap and Chopper’s Isle sidequest
Friday, June 14, 2013 @ Debbie & Barney’s
Day 9:
The party returned from Thistletop, with the heavy warhorse Shadowmist. They reviewed all the treasure they had accumulated and made sure it was distributed appropriately. (There is now a “treasure” tab at the top of this web page where treasure is tracked)
They reviewed Nualia’s journals and they were able to piece together her backstory. In short, she had a lonely childhood as the adopted aasimar daughter of Ezakien Tobyn, the town priest, treated more like a freak than a young girl. She welcomed the attention from Delek Viskanta, the first boy who showed interest in her, and soon became pregnant. Delek abandoned her, fleeing Sandpoint rather than risk Father Tobyn’s wrath, leaving Nualia in shocked rage. Tobyn confined her to the church, lectured her nightly, and forced her to pray to Desna for forgiveness, which nurtured her growing hate. When the runewell flared to life, Nualia was suffused with wrathful energies. She miscarried her child, which turned out to have been a monstrous fiend, and fell into a coma for three days, during which time she dreamt unhealthy dreams, awakening as a servant of Lamashtu. She burned the Sandpoint chapel with her father inside, and fled Sandpoint. Everyone assumed she died with him. Nualia then found Delek in Magnimar and murdered him with the help of the Skinsaw Cult. Nualia returned to Sandpoint, and found herself drawn to the Catacombs of Wrath, where she studied under the quasit Erylium. There, she received another vision, this time of an imprisoned barghest named Malfeshnekor. She made it her goal to free him, in order to achieve her vengeance against Sandpoint, and to cleanse her body of its “celestial taint,” becoming a monster herself.
Oz desired to purchase some alchemical supplies, which he was able to find at The Pillbug’s Pantry, a shop built into a house tucked between several old tenements, run by a short, rotund man named Aliver “Pillbug” Podiker. Podiker is of mixed Chelish and Varisian blood, but does his best to appear fully Varisian. Rumor is that in addition to legitimate sales of medicine and potions, Podiker also deals in less savory substances (poison), but this requires a password.
Mackintosh wanted to look into having some armor crafted, and remembered that Das Korvut, Sandpoint’s smith, had invited him to come see him at the Red Dog Smithy when Mackintosh defeated him in the caber toss at the festivities of the Swallowtail Festival. When the party arrived at the smithy, they observed some local children making fun of the surly smith as part of a hopscotch game, as large red mastiffs lounged lazily outside. Korvut shouted at the children, causing them to scatter, and the party overheard a parent mention that Das’ had been having his nightmares again. Further inquiry revealed that Das Korvut was haunted by the spirit of his son Simon, who he had believed to have been killed with his wife five years ago, when Chopper went on his murder spree. Das Korvut pleaded with the party to put his son’s spirit to rest, and suggested that Chopper’s Isle may be a good place to start. He provided a stuffed red dog, one of his missing son’s toys, as an example of one of his belongings.
The party crossed over to Chopper’s Isle from Junk Beach at low tide. The 120-foot cliff face would have been a difficult climb, but there was an easier route with ready handholds where the wooden stairs used to be. At the top of the cliffs, the party found thick scrub and oak trees covered in heavy moss.Nearly every tree has been carved in the shapes of hawks, eagles, and vultures. A careful search revealed strange claw marks, most likely by a large clawed quadruped capable of flight, and a cache of bones of many types of animals and humanoids of various sizes. Could this have been done by the Sandpoint Devil?
Chopper’s hut sagged beneath the weight of the weeds and vines that had overgrown it, and Nymeria located and disabled a precarious arrangement of damaged timbers which could have given way over a deep pit. A stone slab covered an opening leading down into some ruins built in the same style as the Catacombs of Wrath, and decorated with drawings of deadly and monstrous birds and hangings of feathers, beads, and bones.
Inside the ruins and down a spiral staircase lay a circular chamber with doors to the north and south, and a looming man-shaped wooden statue, with legs and talons of a giant eagle, two sets of eagle wings, a twisted, gem-studded avian head, and a snake in place of genitals. The statue was identified as being of Pazuzu, the abyssal lord of flying creatures. Mackintosh was extremely curious about the penis-snake, but the party quickly became interested in a voice that they were hearing. The voice alterated between whispered sobs and laughter, but no one was able to determine the source.
The door to the north featured a wall full of small alcoves containing preserved eyeballs and humanoid tongues. In a corner of the room was a pedestal with a dusty tome filled with pictures of bird demons, and scattered about the pedestal were similar unbound writings.
Behind the door to the south was a spiral staircase leading down. Nymeria led the way, and spotted a rusty knife lying on a step, and a hooded man wearing a cloak of feathers, mumbling and knocking his head against the blood-smeared wall. Before she could react, he turned to her, showing bloody eye sockets, blood dripping from his mouth. He pulled a small knife out from under his bird feather cloak and charged her, carving vicious bird forms into her skin. She made a fortitude save, and reduced the damage by half. She then failed a reflex save, stumbled, and tumbled down the stairs out of sight.
Nobody else actually saw this, however. All they saw was Nymeria jerking and thrashing in the air as deep red wounds in bird shapes appeared on her flesh. Echo channeled positive energy to harm the evil spirit, and Oz threw holy water on the knife. These seemed to be effective against it, and when Mackintosh sundered the knife, the spirit tried to enter him, but he resisted the effect, and the spirit was destroyed.
At the bottom of the stairs was a small, dingy room like a prison cell, the air thick with the scent of mildew and rot. Tiny bone carvings of horrific winged creatures lay scattered about the room, and a moldy blanket and leathery papers lay scattered amidst the rubble and shards of bone. Beneath the blanket lay a child’s skeletal remains, curled up in the fetal position, with a tattered and moldy stuffed dog, matching the one Das Korvut provided earlier. The papers contained more writings and sketches in worship of Pazuzu, but in the crude style of a child. Disturbing the remains revealed the source of the sobbing and laughter, the ghost of Simon Korvut, who had remained invisible until then. He immediately attacked with biting and touch attacks, but was woefully ineffective. He tried stealing Lisanji’s voice, but she resisted the effect.
After dispatching undead Simon, the party searched the papers carefully, and found a scroll of summon monster III which had been specially crafted to imbue the summoned creature with the ability to fly at twice its normal movement speed, including crocodiles, aurochs, and even SHARKS. All Hail PAZUZU!!!
In addition, Nymeria borrowed some ink from Oz, and rubbed it into the bird-shaped wounds she suffered from Chopper’s haunt, creating a tattoo which granted her a special ability. She may, once per day, attempt a DC16 Fortitude save to reduce by half the damage taken from a single attack dealing slashing damage.
The party returned Simon’s remains to Das Korvut, who was thankful for them putting his son’s spirit to rest. As a reward, he crafted a set of mithril armor for Mackintosh at half price.
TL;DR: The party returned to Sandpoint, and explored Chopper’s isle, destroying a haunt which was the manifestation of the Chopper himself, Jervas Stoot. They laid to rest the spirit of Simon Korvut, who had been abducted by Stoot five years ago, but had died insane, forced to become the protégé of a madman. The party returned his remains to Das Korvut for a proper burial.
Treasure:
Scroll of monster summon III (flying)
masterwork woodcarving tools
rusty knife
onyx gem (x2)
Special bonuses:
Mackintosh purchased a piece of armor for half price
Nymeria received a damage reduction boon
