Bloody and in pain, Perrik retreats behind the wagon and invokes divine wrath against the wounded dwarf.
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In pain and bloodied, Perrik moves to put the wagon between his attacker and himself allowing him to target the wounded dwarf spell caster with a blast of spirit energy from a divine lance. The blast hits the dwarf who grunts in pain but remains standing.
The purple rat steps up to Celosia and tries to chew on the humanoid plant. Missing with the first bite the rat hits plant flesh with the second bite pierces into Celosia.
purple rat Celosia
◆ Step
◆ Melee Strike jaws: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14 (agile, finesse) to hit, Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
piercing
◆ Melee Strike jaws w/-4map: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 7 - 4 = 18 (agile, finesse) to hit, Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Piercing
The lumberjacks continue to encircle the hellhound hacking at it with their axes but the hound is fast and manages to avoid many of the blows while snapping back at the Jacks. Jollibin takes a nasty wound but is still standing tall ” Don’t worry about me I’m a Lumberjack and I’m OK!” There is still a wounded rat fighting alongside the hellhound.
Olli still peeking out from the wagon tarp cover his eye with his tail. ” Oh I can’t watch! Tell me when it’s over!”
Hargrit LeadBuster (black) (-37-12+20-14-8= -51hp) (Laughing fit: Can't use reactions for duration. by Celosia)
Argigoth AC20 (38/42hp) (Runic Body)(battle form Animal Bull)
Perrik AC17 (15/36hp)
Blue Rat (-22-12= -34hp)
Yellow Rat (-24= -24hp)
purple rat (-6= -6hp)
green rat (14= 14hp)
Magenta rat (-6-5= -11hp)
* Goxomas AC21 (23/41hp) (Stumbling Stance)
* Tain AC20 (35/42hp) (Runic Weapon +1 striking)
* Celosia AC17 (20-7= 13/32hp)
* Mikhail AC20 (19/35hp)
Omblin Leadbuster (Gray) (-6-2= -8hp)
Goxomas will move in to flank Hargit.
Then Goxomas
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Goxomas moves to flank Hargit and eviscerates the dwarf with a flurry of critical attacks! The dwarf drops like a sack of rocks.
Celosia kicks at the rat, as she sends an electric arc at it and the dwarf sniper. The rat dies from taking a full jolt, Omblin takes a partial jolt from the spell.
Omblin calls out angrily as Hargrit drops ” No brother!”
Hargrit LeadBuster (black) (-51-14-20= -85hp) (dead)
Argigoth AC20 (38/42hp) (Runic Body)(battle form Animal Bull)
Perrik AC17 (15/36hp)
Blue Rat (-22-12= -34hp) (dead)
Yellow Rat (-24= -24hp) (dead)
purple rat (-6-7= -13hp) (dead)
green rat (14= 14hp) (dead)
Magenta rat (-6-5= -11hp)
Goxomas AC21 (23/41hp) (Stumbling Stance)
* Tain AC20 (35/42hp) (Runic Weapon +1 striking)
Celosia AC17 (20-7= 13/32hp)
* Mikhail AC20 (19/35hp)
Omblin Leadbuster (Gray) (-6-2-3= -11hp)
Casting about for the second dwarf, Tain rushes between the log piles to the north, then scouts to the treeline. Seeing the dwarf the warrior yells out:
”Drop your weapon and surrender Leadbuster! It’s over!”
◆ Stride ◆ Stride ◆ Stride
Seeing Perrik take a brutal hit, Mikhail prays for Pharasma to heal Perrik. He then moves up and puts himself between Perrik and the remaining Leadbuster!
◆◆
◆Stride
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Tain moves to cut off the second dwarf’s escape and calls for him to surrender.
Mikhail Prays for Pharasma to heal Perrik a glow of divine energy envelops the cleric healing all of his wounds. Mikhail moves to help protect his ally.
Celosia is ready to strike the dwarf down with a force barrage.
The dwarf is about to fight on, but you hear the dying howl of the hellhound and rat as the lumberjacks put them down.
Omblin sighs dropping his hand crossbow and surrenders ” Curse you long-leg humans I can’t outrun you.”
Olli flies in a loop-da-loop, ” Yea, we won! I didn’t doubt it for a minute.”
Hargrit LeadBuster (black) (-51-14-20= -85hp) (dead)
Argigoth AC20 (38/42hp) (Runic Body)(battle form Animal Bull)
Perrik AC17 (15+32= 36max/36hp)
Goxomas AC21 (23/41hp) (Stumbling Stance)
Tain AC20 (35/42hp) (Runic Weapon +1 striking)
Celosia AC17 (13/32hp)
Mikhail AC20 (19/35hp)
Omblin Leadbuster (Gray) (-6-2-3= -11hp)
Tain moves in cautiously, sword and shield at the ready, blade pointing at the dwarf.
”Down on your knees Leadbuster. Any other weapons, drop them now.”
Once de- and disarmed, Tain will stand guard while someone much better with ropes does the trussing.
”Alright Leadbuster - lay it all out. What’s the story here?”
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Tain moves in cautiously, sword and shield at the ready, blade pointing at the dwarf.
”Down on your knees Leadbuster. Any other weapons, drop them now.”
Once de- and disarmed, Tain will stand guard while someone much better with ropes does the trussing.
”Alright Leadbuster - lay it all out. What’s the story here?”
Omblin is disarmed and tied up and Tain begins interrogating the dwarf trying to get to the bottom of what's happening.
At first, the Dwarf doesn't want to talk as he stares at the body of his dead brother. Tain continues to talk to the dwarf he begins to speak " The company assigned us to evaluate and undercut the competing lumber operations in Otari, but Hargrit decided to go further using a diabolic ritual, he summoned creatures from the infernal realms to do his bidding a little sabotage at first but went didn't work he decided to take out one of the lumber camps."
Searching the dead dwarf's body you find an incriminating map of the region that shows the Leadbuster Lads' attacks in detail. It also shows their current base of operation the Maunder Castle.
Omblin had a hand crossbow (6 bolts), leather armor, and a rapier.
Hargrit had a +1 dagger, half plate, religious symbol of Asmodeus, and scroll of magic weapon.
Happy for the heroes' timely appearance Jollibin and the lumberjacks provide the heroes 40 sp and a bracelet of dashing for saving them.
"Which company?"
Tain nods at Perrik’s question and has one of his own, pointing a the indicated castle.
”Is this the ruined castle by the bridge? Any of more of your crew there?!?”
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Hargrith shrugs " The Kortos Consortium. Yes, the castle by the bridge. My other two brothers should be there."
Jollibin scoffs " The Kortos Consortium will deny everything."
Celosia asks the lumberjacks what's been going on.
Jollibin shakes his head "Like I said earlier. It’s been going on for about a week. At first, our prospective sites were targeted. We scout a site nearby, ensure it’ll provide a good, clean harvest, and mark the trees with chalk. At first, the chalk marks were being erased overnight, but soon enough, the trees we’d marked were
all burned up. Good thing we’ve had a lot of rain lately—otherwise there might have been a forest fire."
“Second, aggressive animals have injured three of my eight lumberjacks, leaving me understaffed. They’re recuperating in the cabin now. Most of them were attacked by gigantic red-furred rats, but Torklo spotted that hellhound running around."
“The last three nights, we’ve had fires right in the camp. The first two were in the storage tents, but we put them out quickly. No sign of who set them. The most recent was an attempt to set the cabin on fire. Luckily, we put that out, too.”
He changes back from auroch to orc. So there are a total of 5 dwarven brigands? he asks. Well 2 less this one.
Mikhail turns to Jollibin, "Can you show me where your injured workers are? Perhaps I may be of assistance in helping them recover from there wounds."
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The Auroch morphs back into Argigoth the Orc druid wondering if there are 5 dwarves.
Celosia asks for Perrik or Mikhail to tend to the wounded.
Tain correctly guesses that Omblin didn't know you already dealt with his brother Kotgar Leadbuster. Saddened by the news the dwarf is even more defeated. You learn his remaining brother is Morgrym Leadbuster a necromancer.
Mikhal turns to Jollibin offering his healing services to the injured workers. Treating all the wounded included in your group takes a few hours, but everyone is now fully healed.
Returning to the Maunder Castle you find that it has been hastily abandoned. You easily defeated the weak slime and two skeletons left as guards.
Searching through the tower you find a pile of materials on a work table that are Morgrym’s notes about necromancy. Of all these notes, only one piece doesn’t bear Morgrym’s handwriting: an unsigned note stating that the Leadbuster Lads are “stepping into business they would be smart to avoid”. Nothing of value was left by the final Leadbuster brother in his hasty retreat. Oddly the body of Kotgar Leadbuster is missing as well.
The return trip to Otari is uneventful.
By defeating the Leadbuster Lads, your group has ended a serious threat to the region. Alymora Inkleholtz, head of the Whistledown Cutters lumber company and the Inkleholtz family, is particularly grateful for your group's assistance in defending her family’s logging camp, making it clear that her family owes you a favor.
The Leadbuster Lads don’t have an obvious connection to the Kortos Consortium. In turn, the Consortium simply denies it had anything to do with the dwarven group whatsoever.
Your recent exploits have earned your group more than a small amount of fame around Otari. You receive a friendly request to come to the Dawnflower Library at the western edge of Otari. It ends with a bright “Hope to see you soon!” signed by Vandy Banderdash head priestess.
Goxomas will purchase an upgrade to his handwraps (giving them striking), and some Charlatan's Gloves.
Than, when the others are ready, he will head out tothe Dawnflower Library with the others.
Perrik will purchase an expanded healer's kit (50 gp).
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The front doors open directly into the temple’s central, domed area built in the Qadiran style. Past a small desk, tall bookshelves fill the space, leaving several feet between their tops and the dome’s apex. Stained-glass windows in the dome depict the Dawnflower healing the wounded and illuminating dark, monster-filled caverns. The light from the morning sun causes these depictions to serenely glow, warmly illuminating much of the library below.
A thin, blond halfling woman emerges from behind the desk, smiling widely. Her boots click softly as she crosses the marble floor. “Hello, hello!” she chirps. “I’m so glad you came! I’m Vandy Banderdash, the head librarian and priestess of Sarenrae. Please, come with me to my office. I have something very interesting to show you!”
Vandy leads your group through the library and up some stairs to a cramped set of quarters in the temple’s eastern minaret. The halfling motions to chairs and a food tray ” Please sit. Help yourself to the lemon cookies and spice tea it's a special blend from Qadira.” She waits while you settle in ” I hope you are enjoying Otari. Your group is becoming quite the talk about town.”
After a few minutes of small talk, Vandy retrieves a blue leather-bound ledger from a personal bookcase placing it on the desk in front of her for you to see. ” This ledger is a copy of the champion Thida Aubade’s notes on the investigation of the Lamashtan cult and provides an account of the group’s interrogation of a captured kobold cultist. Driven to repent by Thida’s admonishments the cultist details the location of their lair, the Scar, and warns Thida’s group about the terrifying illusions that cloak the area, saying ‘only those blessed with three-eyed sight can pass safely.’ The kobold also mentions the ‘Test of the Five Beasts,’ and on a later page, Thida notes that she discovered the ‘Laws of the Five Beasts’ in an obscure religious text, copying them in their entirety.”
The halfling librarian reads or summarizes all of this information to the heroes in an excited rush before mentioning ” Alas, I fear the worst since the group never made it back after they went to confront the cult.”
” Though months have passed since there has been any notable activity out of the Scar, I am concerned that the cult has recuperated from any attack Thida and her allies mounted against them and that the cult could strike back at Otari soon. I implore you as the new heroes of Otari to head into the hinterlands to find the Scar, and take down the cultists.”
Vandy waits for your questions answer to the quest she offers.
Argigoth AC20 (52hp)
Perrik AC18* (46hp) (*Mistic Armor)
Goxomas AC22 (52hp)
Tain AC21 (52hp)
Celosia AC18 (40hp)
Mikhail AC21 (44hp)
Perrik takes a cup of tea and blows on it to cool it, contemplating the spirals of steam rising from its surface. "The Mother of Monsters is depicted as a three-eyed jackal, so I'd guess that "three-eyed sight" somehow refers to that. Maybe there's a special symbol they carry that lets them see through the illusions when they look through its eyes."
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Beyond the common knowledge that Lamashtu is the Mother of Monsters, Argigoth has not heard of a cult of the five beasts as Vandy talked about the ‘Test of the Five Beasts’.
The fiery Leshy nibbles on a lemon cookie as she asks for more information about the cult and three-eye sight.
Perrik contemplates the steam rising from his hot tea as he recalls some of his religious studies of monster cults.
Vandy shrugs ” The Cult of Lamashtu is found worldwide and mostly comprises gnolls, goblins, monsters, and outcasts. For those who revel in the corruption of the pure or who find themselves scorned and neglected by a world that despises their differences, Lamashtu offers respite among her grotesque brood. The Mother of Monsters readily accepts mortals into her fold and has made it her goal to twist mortal life toward her abhorrent ideals. Her intervention is widely known to inflict corruptions and terrible nightmares. Ostracized individuals who share her ideals will find this intervention a boon, while others treat similar events as horrible curses. Above all else, Lamashtu desires the proliferation, permeation, and dominance of her children. Her touch upon the mortal world reveals the repugnant flaws among those considered to be beautiful and moral. She and her followers seek opportunities to rip the veil of innocence from every creature and reveal the writhing, heinous potential in a hypocritical world.”
Vandy adds ” Her holy symbol is that of a three-eyed Jackal. How that gets you past the ‘Terrifying Illusions’ the kobold mentioned I do not know, you’ll have to figure that part out.”
Olli is curled around a lemon cookie gnawing on it with great enthusiasm and creating an impressive pile of crumbs, ” Maybe you grow a third eye? I could teach you a spell to do that, but you still haven't learned to cast fireball yet. What if all three eyes when cross-eyed that would look weird.”
Tain listens carefully, though to be honest all this talk of mystic goddesses and strange cults leaves him feeing perturbed.
”Perhaps it is as simple as cupping one’s hands like so on one’s forehead…” the young warrior offers, making a circle with his two hands cupped against his forehead… He smiles a little self-consciously. [b]”Or perhaps we paint a third eye on…”
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Tain offers one suggestion of making a circle using his hand like a third eye or painting one on.
Vandy shrugs, ” That may work, but we won’t know until you try.”
Argigoth is ready to go.
The halfling librarian nods ” Excellent. One more thing Thida’s squire had a rare Sarenite magic item called a Sun Wheel when the group confronted the cult. Because they never made it back, I believe the Lamashtans have likely kept the group’s belongings as trophies, including the Sun Wheel, even though Sarenrae probably wouldn’t allow them to use it. While exploring keep an eye out for the Sun Wheel a copper disk emblazoned with a stylized image of the the sun. I wish to study the item in hopes of figuring out how to recreate it. You are welcome to keep anything else you find.”
From Thida Aubade’s notes, the group knows that they can reach the Scar by traveling only a few hours away from Otari. You should prepare to spend up to 3 days outside of town while hunting down the Lamashtan cult.
When ready to set out from Otari, Thida’s notes help guide you through the hinterlands.
Argigoth AC20 (52hp)
Perrik AC18* (46hp) (*Mistic Armor)
Goxomas AC22 (52hp)
Tain AC21 (52hp)
Celosia AC18 (40hp)
Mikhail AC21 (44hp)
Goxomas will continue Scouting.
Survival
Nature
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Goxomas switches from avoiding notice to Scouting for the group as they move through the scrub.
Mikhail recalls what he knows about Lamashtu also called Mother of Monsters she accepts all who find themselves scorned and neglected by a world that despises their differences. She offers respite among her grotesque brood and has made it her goal to wist mortal life toward her abhorrent ideals.
Argigoth leads the group for half a day through the rough land outside of Otari to reach the area known as the Scar. You can see the Kortos Mounts in the distance as the land begins to rise slightly. The orc druid recalls the existence of a large ridge nearby, past a space of open hillside just on the outskirts of the woods. Unfortunately, your group aren’t the only ones in the area.
You come face to face with an orc warband comprising seven battle-scared Orcs. Spotting your group the ill-tempered Orcs roar a battle cry and make threatening gestures with weapons drawn. The leader stands forward and angrily declares ” You will leave this area!”
Tain scowls at the unwanted interruption, and realises that perhaps here, neither party are particularly…intruders. He leans in close to the orc druid.
”Your kin, Argigoth - think you can let them know we aren’t here to mix it with them? They can live, and enjoy a…longer life.”
Goxomas takes a drink and moves forward.
"Fret not, brothers. We are a band of orcs from the Spandelfras tribe, who have been ensorcelled by the lich king Puceldoma to appear not as we truly are. What tribe are you from?"
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You come face to face with an orc warband comprising seven battle-scared Orcs. Spotting your group the ill-tempered Orcs roar a battle cry and make threatening gestures with weapons drawn. The leader stands forward and angrily declares ” You will leave this area!”
Tain scowls at the interruption and turns to Argigoth to deal with the orcs
Goxomas takes a drink and tells some wild tale that you are ensorcelled Orcs. The Orcs are not impressed.
Celosia gigglesnorts and tries to help with an intimidating statement asking if they want to do something about it. The Orcs look to their leader looks at the small leshy and smilies ” Why yes we do!” Turning to his warband he yells ” Kill them, then kill them again!”
Tain AC21 (52hp)
Mikhail AC21 (44hp)
Argigoth AC20 (52hp)
Perrik AC18* (46hp) (*Mistic Armor)
Celosia AC18 (40hp)
Orc Black (0= 0hp)
Orc Red (0= 0hp)
Orc Blue (0= 0hp)
Orc Yellow (0= 0hp)
Orc Purple (0= 0hp)
Orc Green (0= 0hp)
Orc Cyan (0= 0hp)
Goxomas AC22 (52hp)
Mikhail pulls his shield from his back. His companions may notice that his shield has the symbol of Pharasma emblazoned upon it. He also pulls out his dagger and then moves to the side to spread out from the group.
◆Interact
◆Interact
◆Stride