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The rest of the day and following evening carry on uneventfully. Keeping a strong pace, the party finally arrive at Daveryn, seeing it's towering walls in the distance and massive farmlands sprawling out in all directions except eastwards into the ocean.
The claw and bite marks look to be that of large wolves, but Kyriel could deduce that the meet is indeed safe to consume.
The last few blows from Kyriel and Karl manage to revoke the lives of the blind boars, leaving their oversized bodies strewn on the ground. Aside from the damage inflicted by the party, their bodies are covered in strange claw and bite marks.
Karl's rapid blows distract the angry pig long enough for Nukilik and Kyriel and Cal to get in heft attacks, quickly dropping the beast. The two blind boars make their way through using the noise, attempting attacks against Karl and Kyriel.
Kyriels final arrow drops one of the blind boars. The other two stumble around while the only unimpaired charges towards Kyriel.
GM:
Kyriel and Cal succeed at hitting the wild pigs with their respective attacks, causing the animals to go into a frenzy. Three of the boars aimlessly bump into eachother, but the fourth fixes his gaze on the group, ready to charge.... INITIATIVE: 1. Kyriel
Not only vicious, but out of place. Some fifty miles west is a mountain system that runs north to south down the massive eastern peninsula of Talingarde. At the base of those mountains are the only dense forests on the east side of The Borderlands. It is there, that these dangerous beasts should be. There are four in total.
The first night passes uneventfully; even miles away, billows of smoke peer over the horizon from what was once Aldencross. Though it's residents are now without home, they escaped with their lives thanks to your efforts. During travels on the second day, Cal spots a group of wild boars long before they notice any of you.
With enough time, the party finds a quiet grove to set camp in for the night...
With the residents Aldencross packed as quickly as they can, the villagers move westward on the road to Lorinsgate. Though visibly dismayed at Nukilik's decision to travel with his newfound friends, he still urges his cub-child to move without him. He had always known the young Naatanuk was made for greater things, but no parent is ever ready to see their child go. The people of Aldencross grant horses to those of you who desire one. Each will come with bit, bridle and enough feed for a week. They will also supply each of you with a week of dry rations. Moving southward into the borderlands on a straight route to Daveryn, within hours the glowing hue of fire can be seen in the distance back in the direction of Aldencross, mingled with a thick clouds of smoke; the invasion has begun. The borderlands are primarily grassy plains, with sporadic dense woods and small lakes. As the sun sets and moon rises, the heroes must decide where to stop for the evening, if at all.
End of Chapter 1: The Fall of Balentyne Though all that was done that could be, an assault on Balentyne, and most likely Aldencross is inevitable. The four men bearing the mark of the forsaken had all too well sabotaged the castle's defenses. Were it not for the unlikely heroes, they would have vanished into the night after murdering Commander Havelyn, free to watch the invasion from the distance. The townsfolk, obviously distressed at the news, hastily pack what little they can. The nearest city, Daveryn is not too far, perhaps a hundred miles, but wagons are unable to make a direct route through the wilderness. Instead, the will take the road along the wall, passing warning to Lorrinsgate along the way, all the way to the east coast and trail it down until they reach Daveryn. What will our unlikely heroes do now?
Forgot to add the villains items. Suit of Black and Red MW Fullplate
Spellbook:
The unlikely heroes find more weapons and armor than they know what to do with; most still attached to the corpses of those who tried to fend off the saboteurs. The villains carried a large satchel of gold, platinum, and potions: most likely looted from the tower.
There will be some time to do that over the next few days, so feel free to preemptively do it now for Kyriel. This is going to be a pretty long list. I'm sure you won't be taking all of these items. I'm going to continue with the gameplay thread while we discuss here who takes what items and how you want to manage your party inventory. I am not overly concerned with coin weight unless we're talking something like 30,000 copper. ................................... Coinage:
Weapons:
Warhammer
Armor:
MW Full Plate x3
Magic:
Spellbook:
4th-Ice Storm, Stoneskin.
3rd-Fireball, Fly. 2nd- Bull's Str, Flaming Sphere, Protection from Arrows, Scorching Ray, Web. 1st-Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Sleep. Misc:
We're finally coming into magic items. I'm going to make a slight change to the existing magic weapon and armor rules with ABP. The rules as is allow you to create a magic weapon at a discount, because the bonus of the item comes from your ABP bonus. Example. Flaming is a +1 special ability. If your total ABP for a weapon is +2 Enhancement, then when using a flaming greatsword, it would be considered a +1 Flaming Greatsword. New Rule: When attuning to a weapon with a special ability, you may choose not to attune the special ability. So for the above example, you could use it as a +1 Flaming Greatsword or a +2 Greatsword.
Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Before the end, I'll have a loot list up from things that youd probably scrounge from Balentyne during the time you have. After that I'll provide some direction for the next leg of the campaign. Please take this time to level your characters up to 4.
No. The 'evil' party spends an entire month in the town slowly sabotaging it. Usually the group is level 5 around this point, but these guys were gestalt and had a level 7 caster to push them through.
There's no way to meaningfully damage this bridge that would delay them anymore than an hour, since the iron framework goes on both the sides and underneath the drawbridge. Karl has done what could be. As for the watch posts, nothing is very intact at all. For the most part, there is only one tower and one gatehouse in Balentyne. In the, there was a room with arrow slits and tons of arrows, but they were all burnt down. In the gatehouse, the arrow stores were burnt down, the scalding sand was dumped out. Anyone with knowledge engineering could tell you that this place is pretty indefensible now. The intruders did a smash up job of sabotaging it.
A brief run through the castle reveals a gruesome scene. Downstairs, in the master barracks, the bodies of over three dozen guards lay in their beds, all of their throats sliced open. Nearby, Father Donnagin and his monks are slaughtered in their holdings. They put up a valiant fight, but were no match for the intruders. In the courtyard outside the keep, the remains of Captain Barholde and a few of his retinue are thrown in the grass. The nearby temple to Mitra has been desecrated and marked with the unholy symbol of Asmodeus. Finding ways to make blockades proves futile. A river splits Balentyne from it's keep to the gatehouse, separating it from the Savage North. With the drawbridge raised, it would be nearly impossible to get an army through quickly, but the mechanics to raise it have been sabotaged. So too has the gatehouse: the portcullis may no longer be lowered and even if it were, a large hole is now in the foundation of the gatehouse for easy access. The stores of arrows and scalding sand within have been split or burnt. Balentyne has been left defenseless. On the drawbridge below the causeway lay the body of the caster who fell. Perception 20 from the causeway, 10 from the bridge: The dead caster has a runic "F" burnt into his forearm. It is the sign of the forsaken, given to prisoners at Branderscar before they are executed.
Despite Karl's insults, the antipaladin fought a mighty battle, protesting until his last breath. Now, the causeway is littered with the bodies of friend and foe alike. From the top of the bridge, the group has a vast vantage of the north beyond the wall. In the darkness of the night, the glow of torches can be seen. As the noise of battle gives way to silence, the thunder of war drums can be heard in that same distance. An army marches on Balentyne! Judging by their pace and distance, it will only be a few hours before they descend upon the compromised watchtower.
The scuffle continues: though weak and injured, Karl's incessant taunts and dancing about infuriates the antipaladin and further draws his attention.
Kyriel's blade slips between the metal sheets, finding flesh and blood. The plated monstrosity only seems to become more angry, reflected in his wild blows.
Cal's arrow penetrates the raging antipaladins armor and distracts him long enough for Kal to maneuver about and get a clean shot to the back of his head, but the helm absorbs the blow. The man wanted so much to climb that tower and make Cal more intimate with his weapon than he probably ever intends to be, but Karl is still close enough to hit, and he's still pissed at him too. His anger gets the best of him; his wild swings coming nowhere close to contact.
The final bolt from Mathilde prooves fatal for their healer, the force of the blow rendering him unconscious and pushing him off the edge of the causeway. Landing on the drawbridge below, his figure contorts unnaturally. "Limp wristed...!? I'LL KILL YOU!!!", the plated monstrosity angrily screamed.
"The only thing you're about to do is taste Asmodean steel!" The towering figure charges down the causeway towards Karl swinging his blade with all his might, each hefty step on the way sending vibrations down the narrow bridge.
The other mysterious man moves towards the gatehouse, digging through his robes to produce a flare. Pointing it straight up, he fires it into the sky, cackling fiendishly. "Talingarde will taste the might of Asmodeus!"
The plated man turns slightly, half-facing Karl and half the Commander laying on the access bridge. He smiles wickedly at Karl before yelling out "Have you come to save your precious commander!?". Without hesitation, he brings his blade down on the back of the commanders neck.
The plated mans ally rushes behind him, chanting briefly... Spellcraft 17:
Kyriel lets loose a shot worthy of a tale to tell his grandchildren. The arrow catches the man in the neck; while he remains on his feet, the wound is clearly mortal. He snarls out, taking one last stab at the Commander.
Both the crazed man and Commander Havelyn fall to the ground.
Initiative: 19 - Kyriel
The group continues up the tower, the next floor was once a supply store for arrows, but they have all been recently burned. The lack of smoke would suggest magic may have had a hand in the destruction. Finally, one more floor up, they reach the top of the tower. Two large double doors at the top of the stairwell are burst open with such force that one lay on the floor. The room itself is an orgy of death: dead bodies of dozens upon dozens of messenger ravens litter the floor, surrounding their keeper, Martin. He lay on the floor facedown in a pool of blood large enough to indicate he could no longer be alive. From the opening in the wall used for the birds to come and go, much can be seen: The top of the tower is two stories above a courtyard, with a keep in the center. A stone watch-wall is erected around the perimeter. Centered on the western wall, a small access bridge leads from the watch-wall to the gatehouse, where Karl would know a lever is placed to raise and lower the drawbridge beneath. In the middle of the access bridge, everyone can clearly see Lord Commander Havelyn fighting off three attackers. One is short, lithe and garbed in black dancing agilely around Havelyn and laughing. Another is adorned in plated armor as black as the night itself, gripping in his hand a sword larger than most of you. The final remains in the back, throwing divine incantations. They are roughly a hundred feet away and two stories down.
The room above the smith once served as to commemorate Balentyne. Where banners of recognition once proudly hung from the walls, now only tattered cloth remains. Two guards have been murdered here, their bodies discarded to the floor. There are two additional exits: a door heading to the northwest, and a set of stairs leading up.
Various wounds cover Captain Barholde's body, ranging from slashes made from large swords, bite and claw marks, and even burns. He certainly did not die a swift death.
Moving through the door at the end of the hall, Karl enters the main thoroughfare of the keep: a twenty-foot wide, one hundred and sixty foot long hallway with massive double doors on each end. From his experience here, Karl would know that taking a right through the double doors would lead to the drawbridge that connects the keep to the gatehouse that serves as access to the savage north. Going left would lead them out and to the road leading back to Aldencross. There are three doors on the wall opposite the side the party enters from, all closer to the left exit. There are also two doors on the same wall the party comes in through, further down on the left.
Tracks on the floor indicate a great deal of movement throughout the day, possibly guards coming and going. The most recent movements have been through the door at the end of the hall.
Barging through the door, Karl finds Captain Barholde, dead on the floor. The wardrobe, desk, chair, and bed are all dented, broken or pushed about, being slammed into during the obvious struggle that occurred here.
Each of the doors on the sides of the hallway are locked.
The group pushes through to a short hallway that takes a right turn at the end, only thirty feet down. While the end of the hallway the party is on is dark, a small bit of light trickles in from around the corner. Moving to the end of the hallway near the turn, the hall extends another sixty feet, lit by a torch burning on a sconce. There are five doors in this hallway; two on the left, two on the right, and one at the end. Karl immediately recognizes this area as housing for the four captains of Balentyne. Bellams older brother, a Captain himself, once brought him here for drinks in his room after a particularly frustrating encounter with Lord Havelyn. It is disturbingly quiet.
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