Every Saturday, I run a group of 5 players through a Pathfinder campaign. We play for 8 hours. Every week, I write a recap story of the previous week's adventures. Here's session 14.

Session 14 - Sneak Attack
A few hours after the rescue of Captain Gregory Pantora, our heroes consulted him on what he knew of Niles Highreach. The still-human Captain was all too glad to tell what he knew of the likely inhuman Captain of the Southwest District and the militarized city watch under his command.

“Highreach isn’t his real name, it’s a moniker. He rose straight from being a city watch Special Investigator, just like you had been, to being a Captain. The rest of us, well, those of us who were human all this time, call him that because of his ambition. His district in the Southeast is practically one big factory, everyone has a job and does it on time. Food gets put into boxes and barrels. Wood and iron get turned into said boxes. Turned into weapons, too. Difference from Treasure, Inc is there’s some real craftsmen in there, too; dwarves, elves, sea elves, all the other races make fine enough gear but human smiths are the most consistent. Place is hot, popular in the wintertime. Anyway, Highreach.”

“Niles, it almost doesn’t surprise me he’s got holes in his head. Maybe he always did from the start. He’s got the finest glassteel armor out of any captain and his glassteel bardiche can deflect any attack. He’s too clever by half and can make you hit your companion if you’re not careful. Break his weapon before he breaks yours. Only Von Vorrath has ever been able to get him to first blood when we sparred.”

While our heroes strategized on the best approach, an errant thought reminded them of a more personal matter and people who may be in more immediate danger. Back at Von Vorrath Manor they had left behind a dozen men and women, the house servants of Lord Lugner. When Masa had last snuck in to retrieve the head of Hans Dellinger the servants and house guards, including Brody and Charm, had been hiding in a hidden cellar with only a few days supply. Those few days were now up. The manor had been under heavy guard since the attack and servants of the Ulitharid had been carefully examining every square foot of the building perhaps in an attempt to find Lord Lugner or our heroes. It was unknown if these innocents were still safe. All of our heroes agreed; they must conduct a rescue operation immediately.

Although they had spent many resources in the rescue of Captain Pantora, yet again Sophie Claire’s powerful illusions cloaked our heroes as they slipped out the still-hidden back entrance from the Church of Tyr. The Ulitharid’s eyes and ears could not detect even the least stealthy of the party as they made their way into the city proper. Without their tabards and their identities now widely known across all the Voidmind city watch patrolling the city streets, our champions kept to the back alleys and side streets as Lugner had shown them. Not even the seeking psionic Eyes laid gaze upon them as they traveled across half the city to the West district and returned to Von Vorrath Manor. Very few citizens were still in the streets by this point and the sense of unease and fear radiated off those common folk who had no choice but to be out and about.

Observing the residential block surrounding the lord’s estate, our heroes found well over a dozen city watch and several sergeants had locked down the area. Tir’istiana envisioned she would create a distraction to draw a number of them away and make infiltration possible or at least an assault that much easier. She drew forth all the signal whistles she had claimed from slain sergeants and took to the skies several blocks away. Winds shrieked through the whistles, alerting most of the district to her presence. While many city watch rushed towards her, our heroes observed that not one of the guards posted around Von Vorrath Manor budged at all. As a stealthy investigation would later confirm, all of them were Voidminds. Tir’istiana flew high, high into the skies out of range of petty bolts fired from simple crossbows. At least, her distraction would discombobulate any reinforcements and delay a response elsewhere in the district.

Seizing their moment, our heroes attacked. Masa and Sophie Claire snuck close to the guards on the street, Mez prepared to charge deep into the fray, and Esme kept at range to hurl detonating flames. Though they fell to the assault, these Voidmind guards seemed somewhat tougher than those patrolling the city at large, tough enough to survive long enough to blast our heroes with acidic slime and strike them with glassteel weapons. Yet the guards had a secret ally with them, an invisible caster who proceeded to summon deadly monsters to join the battle. A massive cobra, several winter wolves, and once Tir’isitana joined the battle from above, summoned several massive wasps to harry her. Fortunately these threats were dealt with and the wizard – a gnome from the rainbow isles that had also been Voidminded - found and slain along with the rest.

Knowing they had limited time, our heroes rushed to the now undefended manor. They found the insides had been trashed, with carpets and furnishings upturned, cabinets flung open, fine china and glassware smashed across the floor. It seemed no part of the manor had been left unsearched and with no regard to the valuables it had contained. Clearing a path through the trash with magic and winds, our heroes briefly paused as they detected a psionic presence hidden beneath a fallen cubboard. Tossing it aside and pulling off the pile of rags and blankets, they found not a threat but a terrified red-scaled kobold instead. How or why such a creature had made its way here and hidden itself in the refuse was unknown; and rather than take the time to interrogate it, our heroes simply let it scurry away.

Masa showed the party to the wall panel that hid the secret door to the hidden cellar. Ever cautious and wary of both traps and potential infiltration, Masa had Sophie Claire use magic to communicate with Brody using a secret name that only Brody would know and a response that only a non-Voidmind Brody would give. Satisfied that the rambling, unfamiliar-with-magic response from the house guard indicated that all the servants were indeed safe, still located in the cellar, and not Voidminds, our heroes proceeded to carefully review the wall panel for a trap. Indeed, a trap had been placed upon it – and one specifically designed for them. Perhaps the Ulitharid had indeed found the servants but rather than capture and interrogate them, it used them as bait to draw them into the trap. The magical trap placed on the wall panel would, once triggered, attempt to rip information from the minds of any nearby, information that would surely go to the Mind Flayer itself. A cunning scheme!

Sophie Claire attempted to dispel the magic of the trap but found her attempt was not strong enough to unwind the spell. The party selected one of their own with the strongest will to brave the trap and risk their knowledge while the rest stayed far away. Triggering the trap, the magic attempted to pluck knowledge from Esme’s mind but instead grasped nothing at all and fell away. Breathing a sigh of relief, our heroes quickly opened the panel, opened the secret door, and let free those trapped inside. That breath would be the last breath of fresh air that any of them would smell for a while as the stink of a dozen humans trapped in cramped conditions for over three days rushed out. One by one the servants of Von Vorrath Manor climbed out, eager to leave their confines. All of them were grateful but only expressed their gratitude after several gulps of fresh air. Knowing they had limited time before the Voidmind city watch descended upon them, the servants were granted a brief moment to grab a single change of clothes and their most precious mementos before they would be led out through the city streets.

Traveling with such a large group would be dangerous. They would be easily spotted and it would be difficult to defend so many if they were attacked. They could not travel far under these conditions, nor very fast. This was a wealthier district and there were hotels, though most were closed. Digging deep into their pockets might be the only way to save these innocent civilians. Checking that no guards were following them, the party hurriedly rushed the servants out of the manor and down the street. Only a few blocks away was one of the most expensive hotels, though its doors were closed. The promise of five hundred gold quickly convinced the proprietor to accept the whole lot; though some would need to work the kitchen and baths if they all wanted the amenities. These conditions were immediately accepted as both heroes and servants alike were glad to have a place to stay without the immediate threat of discovery by Voidmind thralls. Night fell and though they heard the boots of City Watch on the streets below them, our heroes bed down to rest in security.

Such security was only physical. Dreams turned to nightmare as our heroes were reminded that the creature they opposed was an entity of unfathomable mental power.

Each of our heroes found their subconscious selves enveloped by an all-encompassing psionic presence. Nearly formless, it nevertheless extended probing tentacles into their thoughts, scanning their dreams for information. Those of strong will managed to repel the psionic scan of their minds but others could not stop the sheer force of its alien will, nor obfuscate the information it sought.

From Masa, Mez and Tir’istiana it asked and learned of our heroes’ hideout at the Church of Tyr. So too did it learn from them of which of their other allies they had told about the Voidmind thralls; the kobolds of Treasure, Inc, the dwarves of the Dwarven Reclaimers, and the Elves and Sea Elves of the Embassies. Masa’s will broke free of the dream scan here, severing the psionic intrusion.

From Mez and Tir’isitiana it plucked their deepest desires and motivations; the oni-born tiefling barbarian Mez sought gold, wealth and riches while the elven storm-singing aerokineticist sought mastery of the Stormsong. Mez’s will broke free of the dream scan then, surrendering no more information to the monster.

Thus remained Tir’isitiana as the last member of the party to be trapped in her own dream, the sole focus of the Mind Flayer’s flaying questions. It learned from her that her desire for the stormsong’s mastery would not be enough to convince her to cease her opposition to the entity. But so too did it learn of her deepest fears - of being crushed, silenced, denied access to the beloved winds. Lastly, before the rest of the party was able to pull the elven singer from her nightmare and back into the waking world, it learned from her that Lugner Von Vorrath was indeed working with them to oppose it, but she did not know his whereabouts.

All our heroes were awake now; it was still far from dawn’s light. They conferred, drinking tea or cocoa to soothe their flayed nerves, discussing what had just happened to them and the urgency of their next actions. They would still need to rest to recover their resources but their allies would now be in imminent danger. While their enemy had not found their precise location and was not on their doorstep yet, the future bode ill for where they might hide next. The time to strike deeper and closer to the Mind Flayer would be at hand.

Morning came, the skies as bleak as the hearts of our heroes. No rays of dawn shone through the cloud cover, but a magical message did reach our heroes from Kyra Crystalkeeper, Holy Justice of Tyr and leader of the Church of Tyr. The church was under attack! The City Watch had surrounded it, and their magic detected no thoughts among any of the guards - they were all Voidmind thralls. It was a small army, one the church would fight. Kyra estimated the church could withstand the assault until the next morning. Captain Gregory Pantora would aid them and try to dissuade any human City Watch who happened to be pawns in this fight. Our heroes responded that they would be going on the attack, and now was finally the time for Kyra’s most powerful magic to be brought to bear, and bring down a blizzard upon the entire city. Glaskey would be covered in Tyr’s Frost.

Our heroes prepared themselves for war. They would not target Captain Niles Highreach after all, but instead plunge into the very heart of the city and attack the head of this monstrosity controlling Glaskey. Magister Lord Perrin Fais Gaffe would be their target, sitting atop the massive complex of the Courier’s Guild. They knew they would be facing hundreds of likely Voidminded couriers and office workers but at least the blizzard would cover their approach. Niles Highreach would likely come for them in a pincer movement, they knew, but the blizzard would also buy them some time at least to conduct the attack. As they stepped foot outside, the first gusts of wind brought the first flakes of snow to their faces. White began to stick to the streets. Not a soul, Voidmind or otherwise, could be seen on the streets as vision was clouded off to no more than twenty feet in any direction.

The party quickly made their way to the Courier’s Guild before the snow and ice built up too much to slow their progress. The blizzard covered their approach as they reached the deserted streets surrounding the massive shipping and mailing facility and approaching the nearest service window, they found it closed. The roar of winds and heavy snowfall muffled the unlocking and opening of the metal covering and as soon as it opened, they climbed inside the darkened workroom and hallway leading around the facility. A lone worker approached to investigate the noise but Masa quietly dispatched them before they could be alerted to the party’s presence. The ninja quickly checked the corridors and confirmed the coast was clear; but the party would need to be quick and quiet if they were make it to a stairwell that led to the second floor. As luck would have it, even the least skilled at stealth were able to make do with the magic Sophie Claire brought to bear and together, the adventurers crept through a storage room with several toiling workers without alerting a single one. They reached the second floor and found what Masa had warned them of; a maze of office cubicles, high and low walls, pillars, mail sorting rooms, and carts filled with letters and packages. Hundreds of workers, all Voidmind thralls, busily cataloged and reviewed these items and shuffled about, carrying out the tedious tasks they had all been assigned. Only an alien mind could have designed such a place and direct so many minions to where they needed to go. Only the most skilled navigator could discern a direction and find the one stairway that led to the the Magister’s office on the third floor.

Fortunately, Mez was an experienced tracker and led the party through the maze. All kept close to Sophie Claire within a sphere of invisibility and skillfully they slid out of the way of carts passing by and of office Voidminds moving about. They kept quiet so only the low droning of idle office conversations would be heard by these minions. After several minutes of searching, Mez located the center of the cubicle maze and the one door that led up. Masa whispered that nobody was supposed to go up or for this door to open, and so a distraction would be needed to draw attention away from the door. One that would not give away their presence or alert the Mind Flayer controlling these thralls, but would briefly draw ears and eyes away from the door. Carefully assessing several of the low cubicle walls, they devised a ploy to make it seem like a minor accident would cause a domino effect of several cubicles. Odd, but not so odd that it would warrant intense scrutiny. Carefully loosening the wheels of a package cart, our heroes waited for a Voidmind to push it and cause the accident. They waited by the door and as luck had it, their plan worked; the drones and cubicles took a tumble and off popped the door lock. Stairs led up and our heroes nearly rushed to head up it; Masa stopped them at the last moment and quickly searched for any traps. A wise move, as indeed the stairs were riddled with traps; a horrific number of them. Blades, trip wires, a ceiling that would collapse; all needed to be bypassed before our heroes could safely ascend. They only had a moment but a moment was all Masa needed; pressure plates disabled, tension wires clamped, and the door quietly shut behind the last of the party.

Our champions had made it this far with stealth; they were almost to Lord Perrin Fais Gaffe himself, just on the other side of the door at the top of the stairs. Blades and poison dart traps were nullified and, holding their breaths, Masa cracked the door open to peek inside the final room. In the far corner of the room, behind an immense desk, sat the ‘human’ Magister of Glaskey himself, attending to paperwork. It seemed they had managed to completely avoid all notice and could get the drop on him! Without risking a whisper to devise a plan, Masa pushed the door open and attempted to stride right on through; nearly tripping over a last tripwire they had not spotted but using their sudden stumbling motion to put up a blustering bluff. Lord Perrin looked up, true surprise on his human face. Still ensconced in invisibility, the rest of the party tiptoed into the room while the Magister was confounded by Masa’s imbroglio for a few more seconds. They had the drop on him, and took it.

Sophie Claire’s invisibility magic dispersed as our heroes launched a surprise sneak attack. Tir’istiana’s lightning lanced, Esme’s scorching rays seared, and Sophie Claire’s magic missiles pummeled before the Magister had time to react to any of it. Mez launched himself at the man to engage him in melee, attempting to leap atop the desk; but found the traps had not ended at the stairway up. As soon as the oni-spawn landed upon the desk it sprung into the air and smashed him against the ceiling before collapsing on top of him on the floor in bits and pieces. But without the desk in the way, Masa had room to slide in close and threaten with their blade. The battle was on.

Despite enduring a great many blows, the Magister of Glaskey was shockingly resilient. Though he appeared to wield no magic, his toughness had likely been profoundly reinforced by the Ulitharid that controlled him. Thankfully, our heroes gave Lord Perrin no time to establish a connection back to his master, forcing him into a desperate defense. Such defenses were still formidable, as he moved and writhed with incredible alacrity, dodging attacks and using his feet, knees and elbows to trigger remote traps all over the office. The entire office was rigged with dangerous devices; bottles of lightning blasted, metal tablets disguised as books flew from shelves, bolts snapped from hidden crossbows. The chamber was a death trap that the Magister seemed intent on closing on our heroes. Only one true offense could be mustered by him as he caught all our heroes in a blasting wave of extremely potent acidic slime, though it was not enough to truly incapacitate our heroes. Defensive tricks to dodge attacks, to negate a blow, or even smear a healing potion onto a blade before it cut into him, helped him hold out for more of his traps to be try to kill his assailants.

But in the end, the only death in this office was his own. Having been denied any warning or alert that our heroes were here, having been caught completely unaware of their presence, having failed to anticipate so many devastating sneak attacks all at once, it was in his own office, surrounded by his own traps, that Magister Lord Perrin Fais Gaffe, Voidmind Lord met his end. Lightning crackling from her fingertips, Tir’istiana shocked his heart to stillness and he collapsed, crisped, dead. Our heroes paused to breathe a sigh of relief. They had taken out one of the Mind Flayer’s most valuable minions and the leader of the city. No more would his voice or station be used to control the city of Glaskey.

Searching Lord Perrin’s body, our heroes found several items. A Blessed Book, a thousand pages upon which spells could be written, was filled with nonmagical notes in Aklo, the language of an aberrant mind. A chain shirt made of Blue Crystal chains offered great protection against the attacks of Red Crystal creatures and a sensory advantage in areas of blindness or darkness. Lastly, a powerful ring that would protect its bearer with a defensive Magic Circle that could be discharged to smite all around the wearer with holy power.

Carefully reviewing the traps, Masa intentionally triggered the trap that caused the stairwell to collapse upon itself so they could not be followed up by any of the Voidmind thralls in the levels below. At first it seemed they might be stuck here, but found in the corner of the room a series of tubes, complex artifice that would allow messages and packages of many sizes to be transported anywhere in the facility. The largest of these could allow an entire body to be sent through; would this be a way down to the deepest levels and to the Ulitharid’s lair?

Our heroes paused for a moment to catch their breath and plan their next move. They had snuck in but were now trapped, with only the pneumatic tubes to trust for their escape. Where the tubes led and how they could adjust them to reach their destination would need to be solved. How long they had to rest and plan was unknown. Their allies were under attack, their enemies were on the move, and the powerful psionic monstrosity they fought against still had unknown layers of defenses to protect itself.

What they choose to do and how they choose to win, is a mystery to be answered next time, dear readers. Please join us then.

Over 14 sessions I've written 82 pages of recap stories just like above. They are just now level 10.