Age of Ashes A Pathfinder 2e Campaign
Hellknight Hill

Session 2025-03-29

Narrative Summary

The party ventured into the caves beneath Guardian's Way to pursue Voz Lirayne. Following tracks of medium humanoid footprints, they advanced eastward into the dark tunnels. Theo cast Shield in preparation for combat, and Trisiel summoned a Protector Tree to serve as a defensive position. Upon entering the first chamber, the party encountered Voz Lirayne surrounded by mirror image duplicates.

Combat erupted with Voz using her arcane arsenal aggressively. She cast Vampire's Touch at Alak Stagram, intending to drain his life force, but the Hellknight's training and inherent resistance allowed him to completely negate the spell while the backlash temporarily disoriented Voz. She then deployed a scroll containing Fireball, unleashing a massive explosion in the confined chamber that dealt catastrophic damage to the entire party—William bore the brunt of the blast, taking 46 damage and being knocked unconscious twice during the combat.

Despite Voz's powerful magic, the party's coordinated assault gradually wore her down. Theo demoralized Voz with a critical success, causing her confidence to falter. Frazzle destroyed all of Voz's mirror image duplicates with a pulse of disruptive magic, leaving her fully exposed. Nadira channeled divine healing multiple times to restore the party's health, bringing William back to consciousness. Trisiel continued to assault Voz with melee attacks. Alak delivered the killing blow, cutting down Voz with a devastating greatsword strike that ended her schemes permanently.

After Voz's death, the party explored the chamber and discovered her gear, including critical documents. Her journal, bound in worn leather and written in Necril (the language of necromancy), contained letters exchanged with the Scarlet Triad. The correspondence revealed that the Triad was funding Voz's assassination guild and necromancy laboratory on the condition that she confirm Alseta's Ring's existence, secure it, and activate its portals. One letter mentioned a contact named "Laslunn" within the Scarlet Triad. Significantly, all of Voz's letters were signed "By Norgorber's hand," identifying her as a devoted adherent to Norgorber, the god of secrets, assassination, theft, and poison.

The party then continued deeper into the caves where they encountered Balka, a tixitog (aberrant spider-like creature) dwelling in a web-filled chamber. Nadira's channeled fire from Sarenrae burned the webbing and egg sac, causing Balka to surrender rather than fight. The creature offered its accumulated treasures in exchange for peace. Among the bones and refuse, the party discovered the corpse of a recently consumed gnome adventurer bearing a +1 splint mail and +1 returning striking starknife. The party agreed to let Balka live in peace, with the understanding it would avoid hunting humanoids, and Trisiel placed warning signs to alert other travelers.

Proceeding deeper into the Goblinblood Caves, the party encountered six large hunting spiders. Nadira's divine light revealed the chamber filled with thick webbing and several cocoon-wrapped humanoid shapes along the northern wall. The spiders were formidable predators, but the party quickly dispatched them through coordinated attacks. Theo's Ignite Fireworks scroll dealt significant damage to multiple spiders, William scored a critical hit against one, and Nadira maintained group healing while protecting the party through her blessed aura (providing +1 to saves against poison within 15 feet).

The party faced three spiders that were quickly eliminated, with the second round of combat ending swiftly after all arachnid threats were neutralized. The session ended with the discovery that more encounters remain in the Goblinblood Caves, but the party chose to rest rather than continue the delve, planning to resume exploration the following session.

Session Notes

Key events:

  • Engaged Voz Lirayne in combat within the caves
  • Voz used Vampire's Touch (negated by Alak), Fireball (devastating area damage), and mirror images
  • Voz defeated and killed by Alak's final blow
  • Discovered Voz's journal and letters indicating Scarlet Triad involvement and funding
  • Identified Voz as a devotee of Norgorber via her sign-off phrase
  • Encountered Balka the Tixitog; negotiated surrender and peaceful coexistence
  • Found +1 splint mail and +1 returning striking starknife among Balka's hoard
  • Discovered gnome adventurer corpse (recently consumed)
  • Defeated six hunting spiders in Goblinblood Caves chamber
  • Found humanoid cocoons in spider lair (fate unknown at session end)

NPCs encountered:

  • Voz Lirayne (half-elf necromancer; killed in combat)
  • Balka the Tixitog (aberrant spider creature; surrendered, allowed to live)
  • Six Cruel/Nervous/Sleepy/Proud/Zen/Brave Hunting Spiders (defeated)

Combat:

  • Voz Lirayne fight: Multi-round combat; featured spell duels, heavy damage from Fireball, strategic use of illusions
  • Six hunting spiders: Brief combat in round 2; spiders quickly eliminated through coordinated ranged and melee attacks

Party decisions:

  • Spared Balka's life despite being a dangerous predator
  • Allowed Balka to continue living in the caves under agreement to avoid hunting humanoids
  • Decided to rest before exploring further encounters in the caves
  • Agreed to translate Voz's journal with Falwan upon return to town

Unresolved threads:

  • Identity and fate of humanoid cocoons in the spider chamber
  • Nature of the remaining three encounters in the Goblinblood Caves
  • Meaning of the Scarlet Triad's "substantial compensation" offer to Voz
  • Location and security status of Alseta's Ring
  • Identity and role of Laslunn within the Scarlet Triad organization

Rewards/loot:

  • Voz Lirayne's spellbook/gear (contents not detailed)
  • Voz's journal (written in Necril; requires translation)
  • Multiple scrolls from Voz's collection
  • Letters from the Scarlet Triad correspondence (evidence of conspiracy)
  • +1 splint mail (from gnome adventurer corpse)
  • +1 returning striking starknife (from gnome adventurer corpse)
  • Treasure hoard from Balka (exact contents beyond weapons listed above not detailed)

Combat and Mechanical Notes

  • William received disproportionate damage throughout the session, being targeted multiple times and knocked unconscious during Voz's Fireball
  • Nadira discovered that healing spells deal extra damage to Voz if she is counted as "living" rather than undead
  • Theo's scroll-based spell casting (Ignite Fireworks) proved highly effective in area-denial situations
  • Balka's surrender mechanic allowed for negotiation rather than forced combat, offering moral complexity
  • Six hunting spiders in second encounter were eliminated swiftly due to party's effective crowd control

Campaign Status

  • Book 1 (Hellknight Hill) is complete
  • Book 2 (Cult of Cinders) is in progress with Voz's death confirming Scarlet Triad involvement
  • Party discovered critical connection between individual antagonists and larger organization (Scarlet Triad)
  • Alseta's Ring remains a central objective for the Scarlet Triad's expansion plans
  • Necromancy, assassination, and slavery themes established as core antagonistic elements
  • Theo will be unavailable for next session (RL commitments); DM offered to autopilot the character