The Second D&D Tarak Campaign - Tough Choices

about 5 hours ago

Welcome to the ongoing saga of a Dungeons & Dragons campaign I ran a little while back. It started off using The Sunken Citadel module from the Tales From The Yawning Portal source book, but was then fitted into my Homebrew setting and moved on from there.

In the last post, the party finished sacking the stronghold the orc invaders had been digging in the Vildar Mountains near Oakhurst. It was a bloodbath, but most of the blood was orcish.

I hope you enjoy my D&D campaign write-ups, and the commentary I add to them. Questions, comments and feedback are welcome !

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On return from the orc stronghold, the party found that Oakhurst had filled up with refugees, mostly farmers from outlying areas fleeing orc raiders. Luckily, it was high summer, and much of the harvest had already been gathered in.

As they settled back into their lodgings (above an inn, as is natural to any group of adventurers !) to divide up their loot, they were approached by two of their key contacts simultaneously.

Yusdrayl, the shamaness leading the kobold tribe they'd rescued from the Sunken Citadel asked for their help by rescuing a part of her clan which she'd heard had been cut off by orcs in the Vildar Mountains. She said the kobolds were still new in town, very grateful for the help the party had already given them but could offer little in reward. They'd had a whip-round, and had 200 gold, 200 silver, and a dozen assorted bits of fluff and twine.

She also advised that kobolds work best at night. They wouldn’t know the party were coming, but should respond favourably if they saw the orcs being dealt with. The party could use Yusdrayl’s name (which the cut-off kobolds would know), but should be careful to watch for traps the kobolds had set.

Kerowyn told the party that she, however, could offer a sensible reward. She had been approached discreetly by one of her customers (a trade contact from Magoran), who would pay handsomely for a certain key.

It is ancient, bronze, and would have a faint aura of conjuration magic about it. The key is a medium-large key with a bronze handle and platinum shaft but no actual bit at the end.

She believed the cut-off clan of kobolds either had the key or knew where it was. (they actually stole the thing a few years ago, the latest in a chain of thieves who'd acquired the thing.) Keroywn didn’t reveal what she'd been offered for the key but would pay 1200 gold on it’s safe return.

However, a higher priority was to let the authorities back at Tarak (the capital) know of the orc invasion and the plight Oakhurst found itself in. She would therefore really prefer that they go there first and attempt to rescue the kobolds and key on the way back. Yusdaryl piped up at this point to argue that it might be too late by then.

A tough choice for our heroes !

What neither the party nor Kerowyn knows is what the key is actually for, only that someone will pay very handsomely for it. It was actually for the Tower of Ramdas.

This is some very deep lore from my setting; it is one of the Portal Towers, unusual, incredibly ancient and virtually derelict structures scattered in remote places in the world. They can only be operated by pairs of these keys, and there are only a few of each key left. There's a rhyme known to the Frost Giants which tells of the four known towers;

Gold is for Mardas, the ivory keep of prosperity
Bronze is for Dasram, the blue tower by the sea
Silver is for Sadram, blood on the fallen snow
And Mithril is for Ramdas whose place is for no man to know

In fact, none of the players know there are actually twelve towers, although they could work it out from the very simple structure of the names. The keys allow instantaneous teleport from a tower to any of the others, with the destination determined by the position of the two keys in the locks on the portal platforms.

The person looking for the key is Merielle, from Magoran. She already has one of the pair, but needs both to pass to Lady Teren, the Drow viceroy of the duergar city of Gorgar. Both Merielle and Lady Teren have popped up in previous tales I've posted over the last year or three.

With the keys, Lady Teren can bring in a duergar army to save King Gortig's army as they battle a tide of undead outside the ruined city of Peldar. This is actually the story arc of another party composed of a totally different bunch of players. So their fate would be totally dependent on whether this party successfully retrieved the key, but neither group knew it yet.....

Next time; a decision is made.....

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