Wrath of the Lich King session two: The Vrykul Pillar of Lore

Now, it's not a physical pillar, sorry to disappoint. But I'll get to that!

Unity Point (continued)

When the session began, the players came to Tirion with their decision, with of course, requiring 'payment up front.' Tirion mentioned their ring forger died in the assault the previous night, and gave them four rings to choose from (one for each). From what the players knew, they needed to gain the support Vrykul in the Fjord (or at least, have them not against them). To do that, they wanted a guide.

Since they asked for someone who spoke giant (though one of the players could, but forgot), as well as a guide, they gained a new ally that would travel with them: Solessa Moonhollow.

She wasn't in the actual chaotic battle because she was passed out drunk. She doesn't like the ocean, so she drank to get through it/she's a bit of an alcoholic.

To note, she's a Draenei, and a brewmaster monk - based on the character I play, if I'm honest. Draenei and brewmasters are a custom race and a monk archetype, as well! She's a peppy character, optimistic, which really sandpapers with one or two party members because they're 'too cool for school' types. This is actually a pretty accurate picture of how I imagined her.

Image credit: Katheairene on deviantart

Solessa used to live in the Howling Fjord, training with some of the monks in one of the settlements, and actually knows one of the four Jarls. Vrykul society is split into four major cities, each based on the "Four Pillars of Vrykul Society," which are: Blood (family) in Guomarsh, Community in Halstaff, Lore in Cragmire, and Strength in Ragefall. Solessa knows Jarl Jorg of the Strength settlement.

###

Cragmire (The Pillar of Lore)

The players decided to go to Cragmire, which is on the far (opposite from them) west side of the Fjord, around the side of Utgarde mountain. I went with a teeny bit of narrative here.

(I played "Ikora" from the Destiny 2 soundtrack here)

"While close to Utgarde keep and the drake-riders, Cragmire is filled with stone slabs along the roads and homes engraved with various Vrykul symbols, some that are pages of books, others simple quotes, and other words in various languages. Several of the Vrykul out and about have their noses in books, and many are of an older generation with long, brittle white strands of hair peeking out from their hoods, and weathered faces. There are many vendors sitting with spectacles adorning their wrinkled noses, selling various books and scrolls. In the center, lies the statue of a Vrykul woman with a light hunch to her posture, and a meek smile with a book under her arm that reads “The origins of the vrykul runism.”

Shortly after, they reached the Jarl Algriff's home, who beckoned them over. He asked them their intentions, and why they would be in his settlement of all things. They spoke a bit about his attitudes toward the Lich King, and quickly found that Algriff, as well as the Lore settlement as a whole, are not fans of Arthas - due to the fact that their magical history is barred from them, and they cannot cast spells of an arcane nature.

He spoke of the old woman's statue, who was the leader of the 'Runecarvers' in the far history of the Vrykul. The power of the old ways surpassed most other magical forms, and the other old races joined together to stop them, and make sure they could never retrieve the old knowledge.

At this time, A Vrykul woman wearing simple robes came around the corner, behind a few Vrykul who yelped and ran out of the way and into their homes. the woman was flanked by two larger guards with great swords, and frost-covered wights as well.

She introduced herself as Lady Svala Sorrowgrave, one of the two lieutenants of King Ymiron. Jarl Algriff, while presented as wise, immediately seized up and bowed his head to her and her demands. She asked to have a meeting, with all of them, inside his home, which Algriff allowed. During the conversation, it was clear she was zealous about her role, and enforced that no dealings with the outsiders should be done, and no disturbances by the party - else there be severe consequences. It was peculiar, and through some sense motive checks they could clearly tell she was threatening the Jarl, despite her seeming so 'nice.'

Image credit: Nathalia Gomes

Shortly after she left, and after a few more words with the Jarl about his...feelings...toward Lady Svala, screams echoed from outside. By the time the party made it there with the Jarl, Algriff's son had been pinned to a post at the town centre, and slashed by two blades in a quick stroke, though not those of the size of Svala's guards' great swords. she then told Algriff that he should have followed the rules - saying that the son had been practicing arcane magic. With that, happy with the example she'd made, she walked from the town with her guards.

The Jarl took the body of his son home, and and told the party if they took revenge, they wouldn't have the strength. There were too many conflicting parties within the society. The party pushed him to make a decision, to do something about it - and he asked them to reclaim their lost knowledge.

The power of the Runecarvers laid in a tomb at the base of Shandra's Cove, a large lake half a mile below a cliff face that was a few days south of Utgarde mountain. In exchange for reclaiming it, the party would gain his support, and he would craft whatever ring they would need if they had the materials (he's a talented ring forger). The trick was, was that the Vrykul couldn't open the tomb - only those of other races could. This was because all the other races sealed the power away.

###

Shandra's Cove and the Tomb of the Runecarvers

At Shandra's cove, an inscription was embedded in the stone cliff just below the water's surface: “The ones bound by life are those that fall. Those bound by undeath, never enter the realm of the dead without sacrifice." 

After a couple of things by trial and error, they figured out they needed to have a spell or ability using positive energy (i.e. channel) in order to sink directly to the bottom of the lake with the ability to breathe. Our death knight Soren is injured by positive energy - thus, requiring sacrifice.

They walked along the base of the lake through a cavern at the bottom, leading eventually into a cave above the water, where an inscription in common read "Only our enemies may give back what is ours."

(One of my favourite songs here. "In a limestone cave" from the Xenosaga III soundtrack)

Image credit: Ray Lenderer

The stone hallway was lined with statues of various Vrykul with names below. Various men and women in robes, breastplates, leather, and some even in plate with staves and weapons and books all the same, they all looked toward a circle in the center, where a large intricate design laid in the middle. Using the read magic spell, they discovered it meant "Open" and they had to speak a command word on that space to open the massive stone door into the tomb.

Above the door, was a riddle that was connected to the door, and the open rune. 

"Abandon your blood, abandon your mind, forget thine deities and prophecies of the divine. We wield no elements, nature, nor undeath or planes--if the world is creation, we wield the reins. We make no statues, regardless of name, but with our power and work, we are artists, one in the same."

At this point, there was a bit of confusion. They used knowledge history (with a low roll) to find out it had something to do with the order the magic belonged to. After a few random guesses of runemaker, runism, runecaster, I kept saying they were close, but after another knowledge history check, they remembered that Algriff called them the runecarvers. This, when said, opened the door!

The door revealed a massive forum with statues and markings all along the walls and ceiling. In the center was a sarcophagus, with various lines leading down 4 different hallways in each corner of the room.

Each had a word above them, representing the four credos of runecarving: design, open mind, emotion, and intent. 

Each had their own little challenge. 

Design had a 16x8 section of a room where I gave them a pathway to follow and one minute to memorize it. After that, I took it away, and told them to cross. One didn't make it and got injured, but Rosalia made it across! 

Open mind was an role play room. I asked each player questions, typically targeting their own beliefs, seeing who was open minded, or if they were closed, were able to admit it. They did well here.

Emotion was a combat room, where each corner of the room they entered had one situation: a man falling and doing comedy on stage, another with a furious chained man writhing, attempting to escape, another panicking in a corner saying they're coming over and over, and finally a woman leading a man upstairs. 

In turn, each said:

"Why do you laugh?

"What makes you angry?"

"Why do you love?"

"What do you fear?"

At this point, each character made a will save, and were either affected by the spells hideous laughter, rage, unnatural lust, and fear. Then they had to fight four wraiths.

The final room, Intent, was another RP room, where I asked the players what they wanted. Seeing if they were truthful, things like that. I enjoy these rooms, but it was a little too similar to the open mind room.

After the final one, light formed a full circle around the sarcophagus, instead of opening, it revealed a set of stairs going going lower. 

They came to the final room, a crypt with one burial sarcophagus, and the same statue from Cragmire, the slightly hunched Vrykul woman. As they approached, a blue, incorporeal spirit emerges from the statue. She tilts her head, and asks, “Why would such a strange group of mortals come to see a boring old vrykul like me?

Image credit: Amanda Lanford

They asked for the knowledge of the runecarvers, and were quite honest in saying it was a bartering tool to give to her people in order to gain their support. Considering they were honest, and willing to give the runecarving power back to the Vrykul in order to free them from the Lich King's control - she accepted, but said she only gave the knowledge to those she tests.

But that's the end of the session! You'll have to find out what runecarving does in the next post, along with what happens next!