Chapter
7: "Ruins of Ascore"
June
7 , 2003
Pasadena, San Juan
Mon Macutay, DM
Dramatis
Personae
Amenrath
Sethnakhtehamen, Jackalwere Psychic Warrior, CG ©
by Myk Roman
Quinntalis "DeadBane" Galendale, Elven
Curst, Ranger, CG © by Jet
Malcolm Silverbrow, Irda Paladin of Bahamut, LG
© by Chris Cruz
Xion Puremind, Human Psion, CG © by Oliver
Valencia
Alliana, Gold Elf Wizard, NG © by Prixie Tan
*Also
Starring (as NPCs)
Tarion
Gourn, Aasimar Fighter, CG © by Dindo Moreno
Jakob Firehand, Human Monk-Wizard, LN © BY
Tony Cruz
Co-Starring:
Dereth
Springsong
Emma Moonblade
Alavi'Yar - aide of the High Lady
High Lady Alustriel of Silverymoon
Darvin Nightcloak, Azuthian First Enchanter of Jalanthar
Back
in Silverymoon
17th
of Tarsakh of the Storms, 1371DR (The Year of the Unstrung
Harp)
|
|
|
The
High Lady of Silverymoon
|
Returning
to the safety of the "Gem of the North", Silverymoon,
the Company prepare for their next course of action. They
busy themselves purchasing magical items and equipment
needed for the investigative adventure to the ruins of
Ascore.
At
the palace of the High Lady, the Company plot their journey.
Malcolm initiates a detailed discussion/investigation
of their adversaries and discovers that, indeed, everything
finally makes sense. The factions of the Legion of Chimera,
the Thayan Red Wizards, the orcs from the Spine of the
World and finally, the Shade; are working together or,
at the very least, plotting something, which is related
to the abduction of Jakob and Dereth and the foiled orc
attack on Targos at Icewind Dale (not to mention the Netherese
scroll and minor treasures they unearthed).
But
why are they working together? What are their goals?
Amenrath
suggests that the ruins of Ascore may hold the answers
to the mystery before them. Jakob excuses himself and
sought the permission of Alivi'yar to "Gate"
the Company to Ascore. The High Wizard agrees.
Alas,
Jakob informs them that he is leaving and cannot accompany
the group on this adventure since his "master has
summoned him on a matter of urgency".
Meanwhile, Malcolm also excuses himself.
Finding
solace and serenity in the royal garden, he prays for
guidance and blessing from Paladine.
Paladine
shows him a sign that a great "darkness" shall
descend on Icewind Dale.
By
coincidence, the paladin catches a glimpse of the High
Lady tending to her flowers and orchids. Malcolm takes
the time to confide in Alustriel and seeks wisdom. Alustriel
tells him "there is a great disturbance in Icewind
Dale. Your god is counting on your strength and courage
to right this wrong…"
"Your
other friends will be faced with similar paths. They will
take these 'roads' and journey to discover answers to
personal questions… some more urgent than the others.
But, make no mistake, your Company will be whole again…"
Malcolm
thanks the High Lady and returns to the banquet hall.
The
others are making final preparations as Alivi'yar initiates
the casting of the Gate.
Ascore
 |
|
The
Shade... guardians at Ascore
|
The
once mighty gateway to the great dwarven halls of Delzoun,
Ascore is now a mere shadow of its epic past. The dwarven
citadel lies crumbling and now in ruins. But the great
granite statue of Moradin and Silverbeard still stand
proud and are mute witnesses to the Company as they step
out from the magical Gate spell.
The
rangers, Emma and Dereth, conclude that a recent shipment
of supplies (via wagons and horsecart) have been conducted
in the area.
They
also quickly locate a secret door leading to the dwarven
underground chambers.
Deep
in the bowels of Ascore, they encounter the Shade, the
fallen Netherese who have sold their souls to Shaar, goddess
of shadow and twin sister to Selune. Once, a proud and
cunning people, they are now fueled by the very essence
of Shaar and the plane of shadow.
Dispatching
the Shade after a furious battle, the characters discover
5 weird pyramids superimposed on a magical holographic
map of Faerun. The five points correspond roughly to the
following sites:
·
The High Forest
· The Dales
· Westwood (near Waterdeep)
· Icewind Dale
· Moonwood (Silverymoon)
Enter,
Darvin Nightcloak.
Darvin
Nightcloak (an Azuthian First Enchanter from Jalanthar)
confesses that he was abducted by the Shade to conduct
experiments and variations into Portal creation magic.
These portals would then be used the various evil factions
to mount an organized attack or invasion into strategic
points in Faerun.
Additionally,
his experiments included sacrificing individuals who were
born and raised in the distinctive areas so that he can
"tune" the portals precisely.
Dereth
suggests that this may explain why the Red Wizards are
about to deliver him to Ascore.
Nightcloak
also admits to having regular deliveries of weapons, armor
and supplies. It seems that the Shade and their allies
are gearing up for war.
Before
the others can question the Azuthian wizard, the ground
trembles violently.
The
Company, together with the rescued wizard, made haste
towards the exit. They manage to make it just in time
before the ruins of Ascore are finally destroyed by a
resounding, magical explosion.
Gating
back to Silverymoon, they quickly inform Alustriel about
the results of their investigations. The High Lady promises
to convene the Lord's Alliance immediately. She also feels
that the party's work is done. They are welcome to stay
in Silverymoon and join the Lord's Alliance as agents
or may freely do whatever they wish.
Finally,
the Company decides that it is now time to part ways.
Emma Moonblade gets a piece of parchment and asks each
member to tear a piece. She promises that the paper will
be whole again in exactly a year from now in Silverymoon.
Epilogue
Malcolm,
Alliana, Dereth and Emma head back to Icewind Dale. Dereth
and Emma will continue their investigations into the Legion
of Chimera while Malcolm and Alliana try to resolve Paladine's
vision.
Amenrath
will travel east back to Anuaroch. There, he will report
back to Achmed and the Bedine. He will also try his best
to unravel the mystery of the Prophecies as foretold by
the Netherese Scroll.
Quintallis,
the "Deadbane" vows to journey back to the Standing
Stones to give Rhistel a proper burial and pay his final
respects to a fallen comrade. From there, he stands committed
to discovering more of his past (and maybe kill scores
of Myrkul worshippers while he's at it).
Xian
Puremind is considering staying in Silverymoon for the
meantime. Maybe try his luck at "games of chance"
and ultimately discover his "inner self" to
release more of his latent psionic talents.
Jakob
Firehand is summoned by his legendary master, Nataz. Perhaps
to go on some planar-spanning errands? Only he and his
crazy master know…
Tarion
Gourn admits that his prayers to Torm now fall on deaf
ears. He has made up his mind and will consider training
under the great treant, Turlang as a ranger.
And
so ends Book I of Winter's Twilight. In the second book
of the trilogy we hope to unravel more of the mystery
of the "Unholy Alliance". What their schemes
are and how they intend to accomplish it. We may also
see the 'Signs' of the Prophecies which centers on Amenrath
and The Company of Targos. Finally, we find out more on
what the other protagonists did and how it affected their
moral and philosophical views and how it will affect the
campaign as a whole..
Quel
Mart. Tenna' ento lye omenta, (Good Luck. Until next
we meet,)
A Word from the Dungeon Master:
My
Dear Players,
As
Book I of Winter's Twilight comes to an end, I will forego
the "Quotable Quotes" section and instead take
this opportunity to personally thank all of you for a
wonderful campaign.
It
is with mixed emotions that I write this. You can safely
say that I am happy, tired, sad and grateful that we close
the first book of Winter's Twilight. Happy because of
all the joy and fun that we had… tired, due to all
the sleepless nights spent doing the background materials,
writing plots, running the game, updating and maintaining
the WT website and all the zillion things a DM does. (But
ALL was worth it! … honestly) Sad, due in part that
the story will take a short hiatus and finally, grateful
to ALL my players who, without EACH AND EVERYONE, this
project wouldn't be as successful as it is.
To
Chris, thanks for your moral (and technical) support.
For being a super-host at Ramagi and also for helping
me with story suggestions and other great gaming ideas
(too many to mention). For continuing to believe in me
and convincing me to finally break my self-imposed exile
from gaming and run another campaign…
To
Prixie - for being the "heart" of the Fellowship
and for her patience with "rowdy boys getting all
excited by rolling dice". For also trying her best
not to fall asleep and finish most games, for surprising
me with her "wild ideas" and solving most of
the puzzles (you are indeed a "Seasoned Gamer"
now… you go, girl!)
To
Dindo - for heeding my challenge to play another race
and class. Also, thanks for researching and procuring
the digital gaming library which the Fellowship is so,
very proud of! Most of the ideas and details for WT were
due largely to your contributions, dude!
To
Myk - for also believing in me and pleading me to DM again.
I thank you for being yourself and sticking to the story
(even if it means some sacrifices on your part). For being
a true "role-player" and a true friend.
To
Jet - my apologies for that incident. We DMs are human,
too. Anyway, past is past and I hope that our friendship
won't take the stake for it. Remember, it's also fun for
a character to get hurt and "bleed" from time
to time… (imagine Rocky without the bruises?)
To
Oliver - many thanks for putting a smile on my face when
stress gets the better of me. For always surprising me
with your out-of-this-world characters and ideas…
To
Erwin - with his great wisdom, logic and common sense;
the man I often turn to when I need to make a "reality
check". Thanks for seeing the campaign from 'outside
the box' and helping me flesh out details of the Forgotten
Realms (whom you and I both love as a Campaign Setting).
To
Aris - for taking time out from your hectic schedule and
playing for 1 chapter. Your insights and contributions
to gaming will never be forgotten.
To
Tony - for living up to the standards of being a "best
friend". A man I can count on all occasions. For
coming up with the 'Nataz-insipired-background for Jakob
Firehand' (and for also boring me to death with Jakob's
2-hour C.S.I. investigation into the murders of Ulbrec
and Emma!)
To
the other Fellowship members not part of the campaign,
I also thank you for your contributions. Glenn for his
cameo roles, Benjie, who I always turn to to get a "second-opinion"
and who I can always count on to see matters as a fellow
DM. Roderick, for his inspirational ideas and artwork.
Mike Rodil (who, by the way, is one of the people I designed
the campaign for but never got to play), thanks for at
least "intending" to play.
Gaming
and Winter's Twilight in particular, has revived my blood.
It is almost impossible to stay away from it. But most
importantly, it has brought back OLD FRIENDS. Friends
who have broadened my horizons, inspired me, believed
in me and spent time with me (and had a blast) in a hobby
that we all love.
Until
Book II.
Elen
sila lumenn omentilmo (A Star shall shine on the hour
of our next meeting),
