Journey to the Palace of the Silver Princess (Session 5)

Summary

Before leaving Threshold, the party identified and divided the magical items recovered beneath Caldwell Castle. Mira received the Farseer’s Eye and Everclean Chalk, while Faela took the Flint of the Hearthfire. Herbert kept the Sovereign Ledger, Lantern Dagger, and a ring of protection. The party also identified two potions of extra healing, an elixir of warmth, a magical short sword, enchanted arrows, and arrows of fire.

Their first day of travel passed without incident, but the roads became steep, rocky trails as they entered the foothills of the Altan Tep Mountains. Mira found signs of wagon and foot traffic, although fewer travelers had used the route recently. The surrounding pine forest was unusually quiet, and the party felt as though something hidden among the trees and rocks was watching them.

The trail eventually entered a narrow ravine where an overturned merchant cart had been placed between two boulders. When Lex approached to investigate, three brigands emerged from behind the cart and two archers appeared on the ridges above. Their leader ordered the party taken alive for sale at the flesh markets of Fort Doom. Lex charged while Mira and Elanduil fired from the trees, Faela and Auriel joined the melee, and Herbert used Sleep against the archers. The three brigands were killed, while the archers were subdued and disarmed.

One of the brigands bore the symbol of the Iron Ring, the slavers associated with the Black Eagle Barony. The sight reminded Auriel of Sennet, the deaf orphan boy whose disappearance had inspired her to leave home and oppose the slavers. Before the party could search the bodies, the temperature suddenly plunged, the wind stopped, and blood froze in midair. A silver chime sounded as shimmering fog surrounded them, followed by a radiant light that healed their wounds and restored their magic.

A translucent woman named Thandera emerged from the silver light and identified herself as the protector of the Silver Princess. She explained that the Valley of Haven had fallen into chaos and that the palace was trapped within a ruby glow created by the Eye of Arik, an ancient force that fed upon time and memory. Thandera had restrained the curse as long as she could, but it would soon spread beyond the valley. The party agreed to help, and after Lex broke the surviving brigands’ weapons, Thandera transported them to Haven.

The party appeared in a cold, mist-covered valley overlooking the damaged Palace of the Silver Princess. An unnatural crimson light covered the landscape, killing or calcifying the vegetation and leaving only a dark path to the gates. A mouse died instantly after entering the glow. When the party entered the palace, a massive portcullis crashed down behind them, trapping them inside a silent stone gateyard.

Behind the eastern door, Mira killed a frost-covered giant rat guarding a lever marked A. The western room held two chained skeletons dressed in the remains of palace livery. Auriel attempted to turn them, while Faela and Lex entered the chamber and Lex destroyed them both. That room contained a lever marked B. After Elanduil discovered an inscription reading “A + B,” the party raised both levers simultaneously, causing the two portcullises leading farther into the palace to open.

Following the western passage, the party entered a library whose shelves had been stripped of every book and scroll. Five frightened kobolds attacked from behind overturned tables, wounding Elanduil before the party killed them. At the room’s center stood a shattered crystal pedestal surrounded by evil ruby veins spreading through the floor. Among scraps warning that “the light is hungry” and “the ink is fading,” Herbert found an unfinished letter from Princess Argenta. It warned that the ruby was beginning to hum, the court was falling silent, and the princess had acted because she alone could keep the void from consuming the world. With the warning in hand, the party prepared to continue deeper into the palace.

This is where the session ended!

Please start the recorder!

Exp: 83 + 8 = 91

Detail

Before leaving Threshold, the party examined the magical items recovered beneath Caldwell Castle. Mira received the Farseer’s Eye, a magical spyglass that could clearly view objects up to a mile away and grant infravision once each day, as well as a piece of Everclean Chalk that never wore down and left marks resistant to ordinary fading. Faela took the Flint of the Hearthfire, which could ignite dry wood despite rain or strong winds. Herbert kept the Sovereign Ledger, whose pages could be endlessly reused, and received the Lantern Dagger, which produced light when the Elven command word “Amar” was spoken. He also took a ring of protection. The three unidentified potions proved to be two potions of extra healing and an elixir of warmth. The party also possessed a magical short sword, several enchanted arrows, and arrows of fire.

Their first day of travel passed without incident. On the following morning, they continued north through the foothills of the Altan Tep Mountains. The established roads gradually became steep, rocky trails surrounded by dense pine forest. The rising sun had not yet cleared the mountains, leaving the path beneath the trees in gloomy shadow. Mira examined the trail and found evidence of wagons and travelers, though the traffic appeared to have diminished recently. The forest was unusually quiet, and the party repeatedly felt as if unseen eyes were watching them from among the trees and rocks.

The winding trail eventually entered a narrow ravine and ended abruptly at an overturned merchant cart wedged between two massive boulders. Its axle was shattered, and ruined textiles lay scattered across the ground. When Lex rushed forward to see whether anyone needed help, brigands rose from behind the cart while two archers revealed themselves on the ridges above. Their leader ordered the others to keep the party alive because the flesh markets at Fort Doom would pay well for them.

Lex immediately charged the brigands while Mira and Elanduil fired from the surrounding trees. Faela and Auriel moved forward to join the fight, and Herbert cast Sleep upon the two archers overlooking the trail. The three brigands near the wagon were killed, while the sleeping archers were disarmed and subdued. One bore the symbol of the Iron Ring: a shattered skull enclosed by a heavy iron circle. Auriel recognized it as the mark of the slavers associated with the Black Eagle Barony. It reminded her of Sennet, the deaf orphan boy who had disappeared after taking a river job, and of her decision to leave home when everyone else refused to confront the slavers who might have taken him.

Before the party could search the bodies or continue along the trail, the temperature dropped violently and the wind stopped. Blood hanging in the air froze into motionless beads, and a deep silver chime sounded from everywhere at once. Shimmering fog surrounded the party, cutting them off from the world. A gentle silver radiance then spread through the mist, healing their wounds and restoring their spent magical power.

A tall, translucent woman with dark brown hair, faintly green-tinted skin, and delicate Elven features emerged from the light. She introduced herself as Thandera, protector of the Silver Princess. She explained that the Valley of Haven had descended into chaos and that the palace was trapped within a suffocating ruby glow created by an ancient corrupting force known as the Eye of Arik. The entity fed upon time and memory, holding those within its reach in an agonizing, unmoving nightmare. Thandera had restrained the curse as long as she could, but it would soon spread beyond the valley unless the party stopped it.

Thandera offered to transport them safely to the outer edge of Haven, but warned that her connection to them would break once they entered the ruby glow. They would then have to escape on their own or destroy the curse and restore the natural passage of time. The party accepted. Before leaving, Lex broke the surviving brigands’ weapons and warned them against returning to evil. Thandera gave the party her blessing, and a blinding flash carried them away from the ravine.

They reappeared at the edge of a cold, mist-covered valley. Roughly half a mile away stood the Palace of the Silver Princess. The entire left side of the palace had been devastated, with blocks of stone and rubble spilling down the mountainside. An unnatural crimson light pulsed across the landscape. Nearly all vegetation within it had died or calcified into white thorns, leaving only a dark path leading toward the palace gates. Heavy bootprints marked the trail, and the ruby glow parted just enough to permit the party to approach. A mouse that wandered into the light died instantly, confirming the danger surrounding them.

The party entered the palace, and a massive portcullis immediately crashed down behind them. The ruby light pressed against the bars but did not cross the threshold. They found themselves in a silent stone gateyard with reinforced doors to the east and west and two smaller portcullises blocking passages farther inside. Elanduil examined the eastern door and found no traps. Beyond it was a small square room containing a motionless giant rat with silvery frost coating its fur and glowing red eyes. Mira shot and killed it before it could attack. A lever marked with the letter A stood against the southern wall.

Behind the western door, the party discovered two skeletons dressed in the tattered remains of palace livery. Heavy chains ran from their wrists into the ceiling, restricting their movement as they raised their swords. Faela and Lex entered the chamber, while Auriel attempted to turn the undead from the doorway. Lex destroyed both skeletons. A second lever stood on the southern wall, this one marked B. Pulling either lever alone accomplished nothing, but Elanduil discovered the inscription “A + B” with an arrow pointing upward near the sealed passages at the end of the hallway. When the two levers were raised simultaneously, both portcullises withdrew into the ceiling.

The party chose the western passage, where Mira had found the older tracks. Elanduil moved ahead using his infravision while Herbert carried the glowing Lantern Dagger behind him. The descending corridor turned south and passed several doors. Behind the first door, they discovered what had once been the intellectual heart of the palace. Scraps of parchment, broken pens, and dried inkwells covered the floor. Oak tables had been overturned to form barricades, but every shelf had been stripped of its books and scrolls. The room felt as though someone had deliberately erased its accumulated knowledge.

Five frightened kobolds were hiding behind the overturned tables. When the party entered, the creatures attacked. One wounded Elanduil, but Lex, Mira, Auriel, Faela, and Elanduil fought through and around the overturned tables used as barricades and killed them. A search of their makeshift bedding produced fifty copper pieces and several ordinary short swords.

At the center of the chamber stood a shattered crystal pedestal surrounded by glowing ruby veins that spread through cracks in the floor. Lex sensed evil within it. The dust patterns on the shelves suggested that some books had been removed recently, while other spaces might never have contained books at all. Scattered scraps carried frantic fragments such as “the light is hungry” and “the ink is fading.”

Herbert finally found an unfinished letter hidden beneath one of the shelves. It bore the name of Princess Argenta and read: “They’re coming. The ruby is beginning to hum and the court is falling silent. If you read this, know that I did not choose this, but I am the only one who could keep the void from consuming the world.”

With the kobolds defeated and Princess Argenta’s warning in their hands, the party prepared to continue deeper into the Palace of the Silver Princess.

This is where the session ended!

Please start the recorder!

Exp: 83 + 8 = 91