Session 1 Summary - The Ominous Discovery
The adventure began when our three heroes—Ner, Variel, and X—arrived at Sandpoint Cathedral in response to a letter from Father Abstalar Zantus. They were greeted by Lyra Nightsong, a local acolyte of Desna, who welcomed them before they met with the priest.
After exchanging pleasantries, Father Abstalar shared the tragic tale of Nualia—an aasimar foundling who grew up in Sandpoint under the care of the previous priest, Father Ezakien Tobyn. Though beautiful and celestial by birth, Nualia was treated as an oddity rather than a person. Townspeople believed her touch could cure ailments and her hair could increase fertility, while Father Tobyn imposed strict rules to “preserve her purity” while exploiting the religious fervor her presence created. Her life of isolation led to a desperate search for connection, resulting in a relationship with a manipulative man named Delek who abandoned her when she became pregnant. When her monstrous child died moments after birth, the devastated Nualia turned to Lamashtu, Mother of Monsters, burning down the cathedral and later organizing a goblin attack on the town before being defeated by adventurers.
Father Abstalar revealed his plan to call upon Nualia’s restless spirit to offer the town’s forgiveness and hopefully bring her peace. For this ritual, he needed a physical link to her spirit—her remains. However, when he and Naffer, the graveyard keeper, attempted to exhume her body, they discovered her grave had been tunneled into from below and her remains stolen. Troubled by this discovery, Father Abstalar enlisted our heroes to investigate the tunnel and retrieve Nualia’s remains if possible.
Venturing into the cramped tunnels beneath the graveyard, the party encountered a group of goblin ghouls. Ner, with her knowledge of Necril, managed to communicate with them and extract valuable information before intimidating them into fleeing. The ghouls revealed they had been tunneling into graves for food and had stumbled upon ancient Thassilonian ruins housing a powerful fire demon that had already killed four of their number.
Deeper in the tunnels, they confronted Glorkus, the leader of the ghoul goblins, who explained he was trying to make amends for his failures in the ruins by retrieving and reanimating Nualia—apparently considered a heroine among the goblins. Through clever negotiation, the party convinced Glorkus to challenge the leadership of the undead goblin tribe with their support against someone called Riptide, described by Glorkus as “differently dead and much scarier.”
After successfully retrieving Nualia’s remains and returning them to Father Abstalar, the party began arranging a contract to clear the ruins mentioned by the goblins while the priest prepared for the ritual. With Father Abstalar unable to provide further funding, they met with town clerk Shayliss at the town hall, who offered them a fixed price to clear the ruins and return any treasures they might find.