H&Y Infinite Open Table Session 22 (Back to the Bank)
Characters:
Silvio (Reeves) + Eclair
Tanzy Redmountain (Duress)
Xavos (Laggs)
Gundur Bundur (Oscar)
Summer 73, 6023
The party decides to return back to the depths of the Underworld and go to First National Bank, the duergar outpost that Gundur and Xavos were once imprisoned in and the only place any one of them had ever seen a vault. Silvio was particularly antsy to go because of his quest from the dwarven god of vaults and secrets, Domotor. Domotor had issued him the task of permanently sealing a vault with all of its contents without first looking inside of it, promising power if he succeeded. Domotor had also heavily implied that Vikram was at the duergar bank, Vikram being a powerful mage that could free Flamagio from his padlock prison.
The party heads north to the Buzzing Temple and from there into the Underworld Observatory. They found many signs that Vikram had gone before them, namely cleaned tunnels, a permanent stone ladder replacing the rope down to the Observatory, and several potential traps or false steps replaced with smoothed over stone.
They climb down the ladder to the Underworld Observatory to find themselves greeted by Ramblin' Ralph and his extended family, the lizard-snake-man (?) merchant they had met and saved from the duergar before. The party trades for a signet ring and magic shield that formerly belonged to the heir of the Greenhills orc clan, someone that Ralph claims to have never met or interacted with.
The PCs finish up with Ralph and continue deeper to the lower levels, finding a ghoul prisoner transport procession near the hedge maze. They ambush the ghouls and vanquish them, acquiring several ghoul-saliva-filled paralytic explosive vials in the process.
Continuing deeper into the complex, the PCs carefully cross the bridge that once had duergar ballista watching over it, finding instead that the gatehouse outpost on the other end had been wrecked and pillaged. They looted the place, finding a life-size copper dwarf statue and a bag of gemstones animated to act like a catfish. They slip downwards down several ladders, finding the path towards the bank actually replaced by a powerful mimic. Several of the party are almost swallowed alive by the mimic but Xavos's incredible demon strength and Silvio's lightning magic prevail at the last moment.
The party enters First National Bank to find it deserted, the duergar who once inhabited evidently having left shortly after Gundur and Xavos escaped long ago. They do hear chanting from deeper inside the building, the chanting of an ancient dwarven community demon-binding ritual.
The party hurries inside to look for the source of the chanting, finding an exhausted Vikram trapped in a magic circle in a stalemate with a massive demon. Gundur and Tanzy quickly join the ritual to allow Vikram to recover. With a moment's breath, Vikram is able to pull out his other Tome and Banishes the demon, trapping it within an empty book he has on his person. After hearing about their troubles with Flamagio, Vikram agrees to help him for prior services rendered and then immediately falls asleep. The PCs put a blanket on him and then move to explore the rest of the bank.
Silvio seals the vault before anyone can look inside, mentioning his quest from Domotor. As the vault is sealed, it fades away from the material plane to join Domotor's, the contents lost forever. Xavos, Gundur and Tanzy explore the back offices of the bank, finding an onyx figurine of a knight and a bedroll with 2 gold ingots sewn into the "pillow." The party decides to stick around in the bank until Vikram wakes up, then head back.
Summer 74, 6023
Head back to Circlebrook. Tanzy examines her onyx figurine, figures out it has an entity inside much like the demon inside Xavos, and promptly tosses it into the river outside the Buzzing Temple. Tanzy trades the copper statue of the dwarf they found to the Buzzing Temple in return for more magic cider.
Vikram breaks Flamagio and the imprisoned faculty and staff of Darkwind Academy out of the padlock altar being kept safe by the Council of Currents. The faculty and staff are none too happy to see Vikram but are quite happy to be free. The residents of Darkwind Academy (former in Vikram's case) leave to return to their school.
Rolof of the Redmountain Clan hires the current party to eliminate a splinter branch of the clan that has kidnapped Lord Megara's estranged son, trying to prop him up as a puppet patriarch. He also clandestinely implies to Tanzy that it would be better for everyone if the son "mysteriously died" soon after being freed during the operation.