Through the Mists

Session 11: The Road Out of Martira Bay

At a glance

  • In-game date: The day after the bargain with Black Lily and the following morning
  • Starting location: The warehouse district of Martira Bay
  • Ending location: The road beyond Martira Bay, beside the captured coach
  • Characters present: Ignatius, Rage, and Carver

Summary

The road to Castle Avernus began in Martira Bay’s gutters, where Black Lily’s explosives contact operated behind the indifferent labor of a warehouse workshop. The workers paid the strangers little heed until Rage made raw strength his introduction. The display won the foreman’s attention—and prompted one of the human toes hanging from Rage’s necklace to twitch. Rage answered the omen by biting down and eating the entire foot.

Clenis, the workshop’s foreman, admitted that he did not trust the Kargatane. In Martira Bay, however, one did what one had to do around those who held power. He spoke with genuine respect for the Order of the Guardians, then sold the party three iron Boom Sticks, each packed with explosives and fitted with a fuse, for twenty-five gold pieces.

Carver bargains over three Boom Sticks while Rage horrifies Clenis by eating the twitching foot from his trophy chain.

The negotiation takes an appalling turn. See the image record.

Preparations carried the party toward the bazaar. Rage raised the black feather given to him by the Keepers and called a raven down from the city sky, commanding it to watch Martira Bay from above. While it scouted, the party purchased three days of provisions. A rat darted through the market and died beneath the invisible force of Rage’s mockery. The raven returned with images of ordinary street patrols before flying free. Soon after, a noble passed with two immense mastiffs at their side—a brief reminder that the city’s wealth traveled under guard.

That night they took rooms at the Gilded Thorn, a rowdy inn wearing the manners of a finer establishment like borrowed clothes. Rage lost ten gold pieces to a scarred gambler in a game he barely understood, then recovered spectacularly by defeating the armored adventurer Galf and winning twenty-eight. Ignatius, listening past the revelry, overheard an elf and a human speaking of something better hidden deep beneath the town—apparently Kargat headquarters or tunnels under Martira Bay.

Rage partied until morning and received a parchment card from a mime bearing a single printed name: Risibilos. Ignatius and Carver later found him asleep while still standing upright. On the way out, Rage stole food, earned an expulsion from the inn, and left Carver to restore peace with a gold piece.

The party crossed into Martira Bay’s wealthy southern quarter, where old families, guild halls, and government buildings crowded around a grand square. Rage called another raven on this new day and sent it ahead. Through its eyes he found Black Lily packing an aged coach near the stables. Lily confirmed that the journey was one way: he would remain in Martira Bay while the party continued with the coach and its driver.

Vermoth drives the party's worn coach across the bridge out of Martira Bay.

The expedition takes the road out of Martira Bay. See the image record.

That driver was Vermoth, a tall, pale elf in a black-and-red cloak. Bow, arrows, and leaf-shaped pendants gave him the look of a hunter or wilderness guide, yet his evasive answers about his place in the organization left Ignatius suspicious. The party loaded its supplies into the worn coach and crossed the great bridge out of the city. Carver noticed Eternal Order priests also departing Martira Bay.

Beyond the walls, Ignatius took the seat beside Vermoth. The dragonborn’s presence seemed to tighten every nerve in the driver. At last Vermoth declared that he had his own plans, wanted out, and meant to go his own way. Rage tried to halt the horses with magic, but the command failed. When he confronted the driver, the ambush revealed itself.

Two pale, shadowed humanoids crawled from beneath the coach and tore at Rage. They appeared to be Kargat vampiric thralls of some kind, though the party never learned their precise nature. Vermoth moved with the horrible agility of a spider, springing around the horses and striking with his shortsword.

Ignatius leapt down into the melee. His first flying kick went wide, but he recovered with a hammering flurry and used his healing preparations to keep Rage standing. Carver summoned Chip, wrapping his companions in protective power before sending spectral fire through their attackers. Rage answered with greataxe and fury, his sweeping blows cutting through both Vermoth and one of the pale creatures.

Ignatius drove a Hand of Harm into Vermoth with a devastating surge of necrotic power. Rage left the elf barely standing and killed one thrall with the continuation of the same brutal swing. The remaining creature struck with a purple, necrotic blade that wounded even its wielder. Vermoth summoned a violent gust that knocked Rage from his feet—but Ignatius closed the distance and killed the traitorous driver with a punch to the face.

Ignatius delivers the final punch to Vermoth beside the halted coach.

Vermoth’s betrayal ends at Ignatius’s fist. See the image record.

The last thrall fled for the trees. Chip’s fire found it first. Carver restored Rage, who rose into a reckless charge and took the creature’s head before it could escape.

The silence after the ambush left the party with the horses, the coach, and questions no corpse could answer. Vermoth carried a shortsword, a longbow, and an envelope from Black Lily. Inside was a stark message:

“The phylactery must be hidden in the castle.”

The party understood the line to mean Azalin’s phylactery—and Castle Avernus.

Within the coach they found enough provisions for thirty days, two scrolls of detect magic, a third-level scroll of summon undead, and the plain bag Black Lily had been packing. It was a Bag of Holding, now carried by Carver on behalf of the group. Whether Black Lily had arranged the betrayal, unknowingly placed them in Vermoth’s hands, or intended the letter for some other purpose remained uncertain. But the expedition had changed before the castle ever came into view: their driver was dead, the coach was theirs, and somewhere ahead waited the possible soul-vessel of Darkon’s vanished king.

Key events

  1. The party purchased three Boom Sticks from Clenis for 25 gp.
  2. A human toe on Rage’s trophy necklace twitched; Rage ate the entire severed foot.
  3. Rage used his Keeper’s feather to scout Martira Bay on two consecutive days.
  4. Ignatius overheard a reference to Kargat headquarters or tunnels beneath the city.
  5. Rage received a card bearing the name Risibilos.
  6. Black Lily remained in Martira Bay and sent the party onward with Vermoth, a coach, and horses.
  7. Vermoth betrayed or abandoned the expedition and attacked with two presumed Kargat vampiric thralls.
  8. Ignatius killed Vermoth; Rage killed the final fleeing thrall.
  9. The party found Black Lily’s note stating that “the phylactery must be hidden in the castle.”
  10. The party retained the coach, horses, a Bag of Holding, supplies, and several spell scrolls.

Decisions and consequences

  • Rage ate the twitching human foot from his necklace.
    • The human trophy is gone, but the wererat foot and mimic fragment remain on the chain.
    • Whether this addressed—or deepened—the crone’s warning is unknown.
  • The party trusted Black Lily’s arranged transportation.
    • Vermoth turned on them outside the city.
    • Black Lily’s degree of knowledge or responsibility remains unresolved.
  • The party killed Vermoth and both of his underlings.
    • No attacker remained to explain the ambush.
    • The party retained the expedition’s coach, horses, and supplies.

People

  • Clenis: Warehouse foreman who sold the Boom Sticks, distrusted the Kargatane, and expressed respect for the Order of the Guardians.
  • Galf: Armored adventurer defeated by Rage in a gambling match at the Gilded Thorn.
  • Black Lily: Packed the coach, stayed in Martira Bay, and supplied both Vermoth and the phylactery note; his knowledge of the ambush is unclear.
  • Vermoth: Pale elven driver whose attempted betrayal ended with his death at Ignatius’s hands.

Places

  • Martira Bay: The party completed its preparations and departed the city by its southern bridge.
  • Gilded Thorn: Rowdy, falsely elegant inn where Rage gambled and Ignatius overheard talk of passages beneath the city.
  • Castle Avernus: The presumed castle named in the phylactery note and the expedition’s destination.

Clues, lore, and notable items

  • Clenis respects the Order of the Guardians despite working under Kargatane pressure.
  • The Kargat may possess headquarters or tunnels beneath Martira Bay.
  • The printed name Risibilos appears connected to some kind of theatrical or circus performance, but nothing more is known.
  • The party believes Azalin’s phylactery may be hidden in Castle Avernus.
  • Vermoth’s exact allegiance, purpose, and relationship to Black Lily are unknown.

Story threads

Rewards, losses, and character changes

  • The party spent 25 gp on three Boom Sticks and 15 sp on three days of group rations.
  • Rage lost 10 gp gambling, then won 28 gp from Galf.
  • The party recovered a Bag of Holding, generally carried by Carver as communal storage.
  • The coach contained thirty days of rations, two scrolls of detect magic, and one third-level scroll of summon undead.
  • The party retained the coach and horses.
  • Rage ate and thereby removed the human foot from his trophy necklace.

Memorable moments

  • A severed toe twitched against Rage’s chest—and he answered by eating the whole foot.
  • Ignatius and Carver found Rage asleep while standing upright after a night of gambling and revelry.
  • Pale creatures crawled from beneath the moving coach as Vermoth sprang around the horses like a spider.
  • Ignatius ended Vermoth’s betrayal with a punch to the face.
  • A single sentence in Black Lily’s envelope transformed a dangerous expedition into a hunt for Azalin’s possible phylactery.

Open questions

  • Did Black Lily know Vermoth planned to betray the party?
  • What did Vermoth intend to do with the coach, supplies, or party?
  • What exactly were Vermoth’s pale underlings?
  • Is the phylactery truly Azalin’s, and is it actually hidden in Castle Avernus?
  • Who was meant to receive or act upon Black Lily’s note?
  • What lies beneath Martira Bay?
  • What is Risibilos?
  • Did eating the human foot change the curse or prophecy hanging over Rage’s chain?

Next session

  • Immediate situation: The party stands on the road outside Martira Bay beside Vermoth and his dead underlings, now in possession of the coach and horses.
  • Likely goals: Continue toward Castle Avernus, determine a safe route, and make sense of the phylactery note and Vermoth’s betrayal.

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