Markessa The Many (Session 68)

Summary

The detail section is small so I didn't create a summary!

Detail

The party, battered from their recent battles, took stock of their condition in the dank, fog-laden depths of the Drakensgrab Hills. They were in poor condition. They rested and Pyreece used every healing spell she had just recovered, to get the group back up and moving. Oglesby got his AC to negative one and even removed his armor. He was using his Dex, Bracers, and Rings and such. No longer wearing armor allowed him to use the his skills to the maximum potential. His armor no longer impacted his skills.

Audra’s was the least injured so she took two watches back to back to let everyone rest and heal. The recent fighting had been brutal, far tougher than expected. With no healing spells left and potions scarce, the party debated resting again but the party, still battered, felt slightly restored and apparently felt ready to continue. They hadn’t searched all the rooms in this level of the dungeon, and a lower section remained untouched. Moving cautiously through the fog, Brandy took the lead, listening for threats. Oglesby, with his 80% climb skill, scaled a wall effortlessly and dropped a rope for Brandy to climb. The party followed, noting Audra had regained points lost to a shadow’s drain.

They moved toward a room they’d previously encountered, where bees buzzed menacingly along the southeastern wall. Staying clear of the bees, they pressed forward, finding dead bodies in a hallway and a room just outside the kennel area. They pressed on through the kennel area, and in coming out the other side, found the hallway still empty with many doors to explore.

They reached a locked door. Oglesby, with his 95% trap-finding skill, checked it and found no traps. His 95% lock-picking skill made short work of the lock, revealing a small room. Inside was a full-length mirror against the eastern wall, a painting of a blonde woman on the western wall, a wardrobe on the north wall, a bed, and a writing table with a yellowed document. Brandy, in a moment of levity, jumped on the bed while Kipp read the document aloud.

= = = = = Yellowed Note = = = = =

The Outlands that SK discovered through his little dead girlfriend is proving to be a wealth of quality inventory

Approx 200 slaves have been processed in the last few months from various sources: Wooly Bay/Wild Coast 37 Veluna 8 Urnst 11 Ulek 28 Kron Hills 8 Keoland 19 Sterich 13 Furyondy 6
Greyhawk and the Nyr Dyv 18 The Outlands 71

Under Nosnra’s ruthless command, the giants have been increasingly productive. Ulek’s widely dispersed mountain population is easily exploited.

Eclavdra has skillfully gained control of these primitive but powerful savages. Their integration into the greater society is proving profitable.

Surface Merchants Recently Tagged in these notes:

Estelrath Tancred - Operates slave trade primarily between Eastboro and Stoneheim

Alforas - Highport, Stoneheim, and Blue

Angus Scrimm - Steich, Istivin, Geoff

Jessikel - OakHollow, Gryrax, Ulek

Ryshley - Verbobonc, Veluna, Furyondy

Davra - Courwood, Enstad, Ulek

Mishten - Northern Wooly Bay, Nyr Dyv, Greyhawk

As Kipp read, Brandy noticed the wardrobe was pulled away from the wall, revealing a darkened passage to the north. Oglesby checked the passage, spotting a sliver of light from a slightly ajar door. Sneaking closer, he heard movement and a man’s voice complaining about a tough lock, demanding magic to open it. A woman’s voice—later identified as Guliyet—scoffed at using magic for a lock. Oglesby signaled the party, and they burst into the room.

Inside, they faced Guliyet, Devon, and a blonde woman who resembled Rowan, a figure they’d encountered before. The woman was Markessa, one of the nine Slavelords. Combat erupted. Kipp landed a hit on Devon. Guliyet cast a suggestion spell to close the door, but Kipp resisted it. Markessa, wielding a longsword with surprising strength, attacked Kipp almost breaking her weapon. Brandy moved in and fired her bow, hitting Guliyet hitting her twice. Audra moved in and attacked Markessa. Pyreece attempted a Hold Person spell on Markessa, but she saved against it. Kipp focused on Devon. Oglesby, hiding in shadows with a 95% success rate, began working his way around for a potential backstab.

The fight continued. Brandy’s arrows struck Guliyet again, felling her. Audra landed another 21 on Markessa for 12 damage. Pyreece and Elenor missed. Oglesby backstabbed Devon. Markessa, still fighting, hit Audra again, her strength belying her delicate appearance. Devon missed Kipp. In the final round, Elenor’s magic missile dealt 13 damage to Markessa, who collapsed, dead. Devon fell soon after, leaving the room silent.

The party searched the bodies. Guliyet had a fine scimitar. Elenor also noticed that she had serpent eyes with vertical slit pupils. She pointed those out to the rest of the group. Devon wore plate armor, a shield, and a broadsword. Markessa had a ring, studded leather, and a longsword. They found 400 gold pieces worth of coin and gems among them. The didn't find any paperwork on them. In the room, a luxurious bedchamber, they discovered a chest at the bed’s foot containing bedding. Audra peeked behind the curtain. She saw a kind of makeup table with a mirror, hair brushes, and makeup items. There was a wand back there as well. They looked where Devon had been poking around and found a safe. Oglesby examined it and found a poison needle trap, which he disarmed with his 95% skill. Inside was a metal box with a ruby necklace (700 gold), earrings (300 gold), a gargoyle stick pin with ruby eyes (75 gold), and a purse with 50 gold pieces and three sapphires (150 gold each). Oglesby mentioned that he was interested in the stick pin, of course they'd need to check it for magical abilities first. A wand lay on the table, its purpose unclear. Elenor picked it up to test it later(#35).

They found two more notes. One was signed "M".

The eternal mists surround the ruins of Drachen keep. Her nature is clear to me. Do not be enchanted by her for she is skilled at such. She is driven by a desire that has nothing to do with profit or power. She has taught me much. How to manipulate the mists that she uses to hunt her prey. About other lands in our reach. Fertile lands for the hunt. I will show you but you know the price. M.

When next you come to the city you should be my guest. There are far more gratifying uses for the youthful bodies our labors provide. Set aside your work and come to the house. They will pamper you and fulfill your desires.

Also there was a note detailing experiments to create duplicates of herself. Subjects three, four, six, seven, nine, and ten—constructed from corpses—achieved high resemblance, mimicking her voice, gait, and mannerisms. Subject ten, possibly the Markessa they killed, believed herself the original and had seduced her bodyguard, they assumed was Devon. The notes mentioned four by name, Vessa, Tynnley, Rowyn, and Tanva, doppelgangers tied to Markessa’s experiments. The party recalled earlier encounters with Rowyn and discussions with Dirk about Markessa’s doppelgangers, suggesting the real Markessa might still be alive.

Subject #03 (female, age 34): Bone structure reshaped, facial grafts applied. Reanimation successful. Achieved 95% resemblance She mimics voice, gait, and mannerisms flawlessly. However, she insists she is the “original” and refers to me as “the echo.” Vessa

Subject #04 (female, age 36): Bone structure reshaped, facial grafts applied. Reanimation successful. Subject mimics voice, gait, and thought patterns. However, like #03 she insists she is the “first”. Tynnley

Subject #06 (composite of multiple cadavers): Achieved 98% resemblance. Subject developed obsessive behaviors—staring into mirrors for hours.

Subject #07 (female, age 36): Achieved 99% resemblance. Subject mimics voice, gait, and thought patterns. She even spoke in unison with me for 72 hours. Now operates idependently. Eloquent and fierce. Rowyn

Subject #09 (young female corpse, heavily modified): Reanimation complete. Achieved 98% resemblance. Subject wrote in my personal journal with handwriting identical to mine. She documented memories unknown to me. Clever and synchronized. Tanva

Subject #10 (composite): Constructed from six corpses. Features aligned with my own. Achieved 96% facial resemblance. Reanimation successful, but subject insists it is the “original” and I am the copy. Similar enough that she has currently managed to enthrall one of my bodyguards. False

Modifications Applied: Implanted vocal cords, ocular tissue, and neural fragments successfully. Infused soul-thread resonance successfully. Mirror-binding ritual gained full visual and behavioral mimicry.

Personal Reflections: The project is a success. I can be surrounded by myself. My progeny are limitless and capable. Memory conflation. I no longer know which thoughts are mine.

They also found a hand drawn map. It was the most detailed map of this land they'd seen so far.

Exploring further, they found a fireplace with marks indicating it could moved. Oglesby triggered a mechanism, revealing a narrow tunnel going north. Kipp and Brandy took the lead and scouted ahead, finding the passage split north and southeast. They went southeast first. The party followed, reaching a door. Oglesby checked for traps (none) and picked the lock, revealing a musty room littered with bones and a pile of leaves in one corner. Avoiding the leaves, they crossed to another door opposite them, which Oglesby cleared and opened, finding a long passage with more doors. One led to a simple room with a cot, a table with cold food, a glass of wine, a lock of blonde hair under the pillow, and a silver steak knife worth three or four gold pieces. The hair matched Markessa’s. They'd guessed it was Devon's room.

Another door opened to a fighter’s practice room with weapons, a quintain, and practice dummies. Another door in this room lead back to a secret door in the room before they encountered Markessa. They returned to the split and took the north tunnel. They found a door at the end. It led to a cavern with iron cages bolted to the floor, their bars stained with blood. The air reeked of sweat, fear, and rusting iron. Scratch marks and chalk tallies marred the walls, remnants of the slaves’ despair. To the northwest, a steep ramp descended into darkness, marked by large reptilian footprints. To the north and east, a passage smelled of bugbear urine. The southern passage showed smaller, human footprints. The party debated their next move, noting the reptilian tracks suggested a large creature below, possibly fed by the Slavelords. They began their descent down the ramp, ready for what awaited in the darkness.

This is where the session ended.

Please start the recorder.

Exp: General 1000 + 1250 + 125 = 2375