(I am not intending to profit off of any of the photos I use, they're all the property of Wizards of the Coast)
Greetings and welcome back to my blog! For this post I'll be discussing my most recent session regarding my Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign. If you want to check on what has happened here's a link to some of my group notes. Meanwhile, if you're interested in looking at the characters, I believe I discuss them here. Regardless, let's begin.
The heroes had been delving into a mine to understand what, exactly, was going on between the Kobolds that were inside of it. However, after defeating a monstrous aberration from the Underdark, the heroes found themselves in front of a small group of kobolds, led by an exceedingly articulate "winged kobold," Trex.
Trex, the leader of the Termalaine Gem Mine Kobolds
Trex informed the heroes that he was attempting to pressure the humans to come to them with a diplomatic offer, only to be asked why exactly he would act antagonistically. The "winged kobold" responded that it worked, didn't it? Adventurers arrived to investigate. Therefore his plan was not a failure. Bickering inevitably ensued as the heroes probed further into Trex's story, until inevitably, after a heated exchange, with the mention of "Janth" Trex underwent a very strange experience as a man dived out of Trex's body and attempted to charge into Toh-Toh's!
Luckily, Toh-Toh was able to hold on to his inner strength, and fight off the possessing spirit, whose form could finally be seen, that of a rather bookish-looking human who seemed aggravated at his discovery. Luckily, while the group's rolls were quite excellent, mine were not, and the restless spirit was handily disposed of without it being able to possess or severely hamper anyone (as Malaggar surely proclaimed he was not terrified, despite much evidence to the contrary).
Inevitably, the spirit was defeated, and the group recovered themselves, discussing what had just occurred with the kobolds as well as venturing beyond to fully explore the mine. Interestingly, Malaggar had managed to maintain a spell that allowed for the detection of the presence of magic during the skirmish between the spirit, and was able to divine that some sort of magic could be sensed from deeper within the mine. It appeared to be emanating from a strange skull affixed into the wall. The skull had four holes where the mouth normally was, only for it, upon being removed from the wall, to dissolve into dust, leaving behind a faintly glowing crystal, obviously the source of the magic, in its place.
The Pis Crystal, an intriguing magical item that facilitates telepathic communication
Upon investigating the crystal, its magic seemed to focus on those who had a mastery over their mental faculties, as Captain Tommy took it for his own, seeking to investigate it further with more downtime. Meanwhile, after Toh-Toh had discussed the other kobolds, the group eventually came to the conclusion that they should seek employment for food and shelter with Oarus Masthew, the speaker of the town. Thus, the group, with both the kobolds and the heroes in tow, returned to the windswept but beautiful Termalaine late into the night.
Upon their return, Gildas traveled ahead in order to brief Oarus of the situation, as Oarus gathered the mercantile leaders within the town, who were none too pleased to be awoken at such a bitter cold hour. Regardless, after some time putting on furs and other winter clothing, a meeting was set at the Speaker's Hall. As the group returned altogether, they brought the kobolds along with them to the meeting; however, before Oarus could congratulate the heroes and thank them for their valorous deeds, the mercantile leaders began to question whether or not the heroes (and Oarus) had truly done the right thing, and when asked whether or not they'd support the presence of kobolds assisting the miners of Termalaine with their work in the minds (so as to help in the struggle to keep the Ten Towns afloat during the everlasting Rime).
This discussion eventually devolved into an almost interrogation, where it was eventually learned that the merchant leaders had, in fact, made alliances with the Targosian speaker Naerth Maxildinarr. The other candidate for speaker, Borus, at this point, was brought in by Shimo, and through a combination of the threatening presence of Thrax, as well as Oarus' own understanding of the Termalaine legal system, the merchant leaders were ousted and exiled from Termalaine. Then, realizing that much of the discord was wrought by the wealthy elite of Termalaine, Oarus and Borus worked together, acting as speaker and vice-speaker respectively. The kobolds were signed to work with the miners, and with a hefty reward in their pockets for all of their hard work, the heroes settled down for the night, ready to begin yet another day of adventure.
