For backgrounds on the characters played in this campaign, look here~
Having driven the Dust Coven from Tsar and securing passage through the watchtower, the party made preparations next to assail the site of the Trollstone: therein lay another statue of the Nine Disciples, key to bringing the group ever closer to breaching the Citadel of Orcus. All was slowly beginning to fall into place after the group’s extensive efforts–and with passage through the temple-city meted out, Emma visited the Children of Steel to solicite martial support from their mercenary regiment.
With troops poised to blockade the entrance to the cave system, the party set out themselves–bringing a bucket of heated coals in order to stoke the fires Cassandra would need to unleash her djinn upon the trolls. Performing the ritual upon the cusp of the Trollstone caves, Cassandra loosed efreeti and the party swiftly rushed in behind them, battling a bloody and brutal rush through the throng of dozens of trolls packing the caverns. Emma and the others felled towering trolls left and right as they worked their way deeper, a chaos of melee within the cave–until the final chamber was neared by the party.
Breaching past the entrance, the adventurers were faced with several jotun-blooded multi-headed trolls, rock and ice trolls, and a large field of anti-magic at the rear of the chamber where doubtless lurked the troll arcanist Meryk had observed prior. There was little time for wasting words–the Trollstone and the statue of the disciple were visible ahead and with their focus on their prize, the party unleashed their most potent magics and martial maneuvers against the immense trolls which surrounded them.
Leveling powerful blows, loosing ravaging volleys of arrows and working their way swiftly and fiercely through their foes, the party brought to bear the considerable might they had built throughout their adventures in Tsar. Emma was swallowed up by one of the jotun-blooded trolls, only to obliterate the monstrosity from within and burst her way free from its belly; Cassandra and Anselme in tandem brought devastating fire magics to rain upon the many trolls and Brother Vang, ever stalwart, worked vigilently to empower his fellows and mend what wounds they sustained.
While the bulk of the trolls within the chamber were laid low with swift and brutal efficiency, potent magic was unleashed against the adventurers with alarming effect; a powerful cone of cold nearly slew Cassandra, while several disintegrates were loosed against Meryk, Anselme and Pandora. Leone was laid low by a third jotun-blooded troll before Meryk and Emma devastated the creature–but now, the party had difficulty locating the troll arcanist, for he was able to utilize his magic within the field–allowing him to remain invisible as he repositioned and continued to loose powerful magic.
Emma pursued the troll with a fury, but Pandora became trapped behind a wall of force; Emma attempted to destroy the wall before resorting to battering away a hole beneath it for the drow to slip through instead. Hatching a plan of her own, Pandora brought about her own anti-magic field and began seeking out the troll. In the meantime, while Cassandra had erected a wall of force to block the entrance to the cave lest other reinforcements arrive, the sounds of battle could be heard beyond again–a terrible black dragon having engaged the djinn and other forces outside. Karkuune, the party knew with a certainty–and thus their imperative became more crucial still.
After hunting and maneuvering throughout the cave and fighting off painful barrages of magic, the troll arcanist became revealed–battle having stretched on for quite some time. Emma moved swiftly to bear down upon the troll as the others worked to close the distance–yet to the surprise and dismay of all assembled, the troll hoisted his staff high with a spiteful snarl before breaking it over his knee–a staff of power! What followed was an awesome explosion of arcane power which rippled across the chamber, nearly slaying several where they stood–while the troll was nowhere to be seen afterward.
Wasting little time, the party recovered the statue of the disciple before bringing down Cassandra’s wall of force, moving quickly to the exterior ca ves. Karkuune was no longer present–seemingly driven off for the nonce; alongside the djinn and Children of Steel’s mercenaries, the cause was made apparent: the Crimon Sword dragonslayers had arrived on the scene, those three forces rebuking the tyrant–at least, temporarily.
With another statue recovered, the party gave their thanks to their supporting forces and turned an eye towards the upper reaches of Tsar: General Karkuune would need to be dealt with left, for the dragon doubtless possessed another of the statues–and all assembled were certain that the battle to come would be monumental. Much had transpired in the temple-city of Tsar and the adventurers could feel the hour drawing near to the fruition of their long efforts: the mystery of the hidden Citadel, the wrath of the tyrant Karkuune and the ultimate fate of Golarion would soon begin to come to a head…
