Session 10 Overview

Ysera ties the Von Heltzer Paladin; Cedric to a stake in the ground and both the Hell-Knights interrogate him for details about Heidi and here exact whereabouts. When his replies don't satisfy them, he is burnt alive. The group are then led away from the mill towards the village, via a secret forest path known by Ramos, the newly acquired prisoner-spy. He reluctantly assists the party, as it seems he has little choice in the matter, and is frustrated when he is disallowed his hidden personal belongings (which he had stashed nearby). Hel fainted in response to the fiery coup-de-grace but the party did not notice until fifteen minutes into their hike. Eventually they realize, and return for her, but when they arrive back at the mill, they witness that her unconscious body is being looted by a cloaked figure. The figure is spooked instantly, and bolts into the forest, he has taken all of Hel's gold (500gp) as well as her Ring of Protection. Hel is roused afterwards and they continue where they left off. The party sneak past a number of Von Heltzer patrols along the way until finally they can see the ransacked village, from a natural overlook half-a-mile away.

The village is of no strategical value, the Von Heltzer army had simply marched their way through
when they came for High-Haven, it's denizens were unlucky enough to be in the way. Many of the buildings have been destroyed and there are large pyres placed around the settlement. The banners of House Von Heltzer stand proud and triumphant, the golden griffin sigil swaying in the wind and smoke. The party devise a plan and split into two groups, one as a distraction party (designed to draw the majority of the Von Heltzer forces away from the Chapel - where Heidi is said to reside), and the other an infiltration party, to sneak deep into the village and confront the Paladin Lieutenant. The distraction party (Ramos, Ysera, Nefarion) head for a barn on the outskirts of the village, in the hope to detonate it's explosive contents. A perfect distraction one might say.The infiltration party (Hel, Cynthia, Seltyiel and Mack) carefully navigate their way through the village until they can see the Chapel from an adjacent alleyway. A great pyre sits in the plaza outside of the Chapel, and at closer inspection, human corpses can be seen within it. Countless men, women, and children have been butchered, and their bodies left to burn and rot. The Chapel stands tall and undamaged, and it's surrounding streets are swarming with Paladin regiments. The distraction party break the lock off the barn, but to their horror find no explosives inside, further investigation suggests that the explosives had been moved out of the village since Ramos had been here last. Realizing that the distraction would not happen as planned, Ramos took it upon himself to make his way towards a patrolling regiment of Paladins, and alert them to 'insurgent activity' in the village. He led them into the barn, where Ysera and Nefarion had planted a trap. When only a handful of Paladins went inside, news spread quickly up the ranks that there were in fact no 'insurgents' to be seen. In panic, Ramos slammed the barn door shut and the Paladins (still outside) became confused and agitated. In desperation, Ramos attempted to trick them all, by suggesting that the 'insurgents' were within the Paladins own ranks. This caused some of the Paladins to become suspicious of each other, but for the most part, Ramos had failed. Realizing this, he made a run for it, but not before he received a few stab and slash wounds from their swords. Paranoia had spread throughout the Paladin ranks however, and a civil conflict had erupted within their numbers. Enough of a distraction for Ramos to break away and bolt it down the street. Nefarion and Ysera had also made a dash, after witnessing this turn-of-events at a safer distance.


Back at the infiltration party, the distraction that Ramos had improvised had seemed to pay off. Enough of the Von Heltzer forces had cleared the area to give the party an opportunity to get inside the chapel and confront Heidi. Within the Chapel, a large space has been cleared, and three caped armored figures stood before the chapel's shrine. Each wearing the Paladin plate mail and capes. Despite being clad in the same armor as the other two, the central figure was without a helmet, and possessed an unmistakably feminine stance. Her exposed head revealed short hair, and tanned skin. Before she sees here new guests, she let's out a roar and swings a heavy mace at the shrine's stone deity. Smashing it into pieces. Seltyiel drinks a potion of invisibility prior to his entrance, so for the mostpart, the party is disguised as Von Heltzers.