A Ser Killian Adventure
Spoiler Alert - The following adventure is based on the D&D adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. You may not want to read this if you plan to play that adventure.
The Expedition Convenes
After the party's defeat at Axeholm, Ser Killian calls for reinforcements. Killian hired a pair of fighters at Leilon. He also wrote to the church in Neverwinter, asking for help. The church sends a cleric and 3 templars, holy warriors who guard the temple and its priests.
Traveling to Axeholm
The expedition's trip in uneventful. At the threshold, Brother Reginald, the cleric from Neverwinter, blesses the party's weapons. Their steel can now cut into the ethereal essence of the banshee.
Exploring the Lower Level
The expedition arrives in Axeholm without incident. They find that the front portal remained open, so they can enter with ease.
Fortunately, the lower level is clear. Apparently, Killian's party did a good job in their earlier foray. The expedition enters the shrine, which Killian did not explore previously. It seems that holy power prevented the shrine from corruption. Indeed, when they approached the altar, they felt a blessing descend on them.
Game note: I rolled a boon as a random encounter. Since they were in a shrine, I assumed they received a blessing. The blessing should have given the party a bonus in combat, except I forgot to apply it.
The Upper Level
Like the lower level, the party finds that the upper is clear. That is until they reach the gallery.
Suddenly, the banshee materializes and emits a mourning wail.
Brother Reginald and Brother Martin raise their holy symbols to turn the hideous abomination. Reginald's power is strong enough to cause the banshee to flee shrieking.
"We must destroy her!" Killian reminds the party. With that, they pursue.
The Banshee's Lair
Our heroes chase the banshee back to the bastion. There, at the spot where her mortal body died, she makes her stand.
She lashes out at the remaining templar, Tomaz. She hits, and nearly kills him.
Thus begins the battle. The fighters are largely ineffectual, although Nashad manages to dodge an attack.
Killian and the clerics have more success. Although they take some wounds, they slowly drain the banshee of her unholy power.
Finally, Brother Martin winds up with his two-handed hammer and smacks the creature. She turns on him and begins clawing at him. He steps back, swings, and connects. His blessed hammer strikes, parting the banshee's substance as if she were mere wisps of vapor. With a screech of pain, the banshee dissipates to nothingness.
Aftermath
Brother Reginald performs a rite of exorcism at the site of the banshee's death. This ensures that she can never return. With that, Axeholm is clear.
The clerics render aid to the party members stricken by the banshee's wail. Haiden and a templar manage to return to consciousness, but Alyn and the other templar are too far gone. The party buries their bodies just outside Axeholm. Here, they will be memorialized as brave warriors who gave their lives to clean the stronghold from evil.
With that, Brother Reginald and his templars depart for Neverwinter. Killian's party returns to Phandalin to prepare for their next adventure!
What does the future hold for Killian and his crew? Find out next time!
To the best of my recollection I don’t recall this (adventurer/all-round-good-guy) ever being a “career choice” when I was at school. I can imagine it is way more exciting than … (the clerical work I perform in an office) but it also surely way, way, way more dangerous. Still the whole point is for your characters to have adventures, so I suppose there needs to be a little “suspension of disbelief”.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Geoff