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Session 1 – December 6, 2010
An improbable group of adventurers have joined forces to explore and pacify the Stolen Lands under the authority of the Surtovas, rulers of Brevoy. Two gnomes on their ponies are surrounding a tall elf.
The first gnome has purple skin and, with her magenta hair flowing behind her as she proudly rides her war pony, is clearly a combatant, in spite of her small size. Her lance, clipped to her saddle, sparkles in the light cast by the low sun, as does her armor made of small scales, and the tiny longsword sheathed at her side. She beams with the expectancy of new experience sure to meet her in the unexplored wilds. The small symbol of an unknown god dangles around her neck.
Riding in the back, the other gnome could be seen as a negative image of his companion. His hair, black, his hide armor, black, carved with a multitude of snakes, his attitude, sombre. A gloomy character miles away from the cheerful attitude that is expected from gnomes.
Between them walks the tall figure of the slender and haughty Iaurinn o-Lossaeglir. He carries himself as a figure of importance and the large tome that bounces on his leg each time he steps forward identifies him both as a knowledgeable person, and as someone who has little knowledge of the practicalities of life in the wild. At regular interval, he absent-mindedly rubs a birthmark on his left hand.
Under their feet, the packed dirt roads they use to exit Restov transform into a countryside path, before it becomes a trail and finally leads to an old rundown fort in the distance. We are on Calistril 28 and the group of explorers is about to reach Oleg's trading post, the starting point of their exploration of the Stolen Lands…
Calistril 28, 4711 — In the cold afternoon, they reach Oleg's Trading Post and are welcomed with relief by Svetlana and Oleg Leveton who mistake them for the guard they have called for to protect their small estate from the brigands. There is much exasperation when they realize that the PCs have not been sent to protect them, but Lilac is quick to offer their help and deal with the situation the next day, when the bandits are expected.
Pharast 1 — In the crisp morning (the temperatures are far below freezing), the group of brigands appear in front of the closed fort's door. They pretend to be mere travelers looking for a hot soup and a bit of comfort, but the group of adventurers easily sees through their bluff. The brigands and their angry leader leave for now. A decision is quickly made to follow them, using Sempor's knowledge of the wilderness. Before they leave, Oleg quietly asks the PCs to keep an eye for Svetlana's ring, that the brigands have stolen.
Traveling all day towards the west, the PCs reach the Thorn River bandit camp where the brigands have regrouped with their companions. Under the pale moon light, the small purple gnome, Lilac, leads the group into the bandit camp, with the elven wizard hastily casting silent images of guards accompanying them to bolster their numbers. They are stealthy enough to reach the central camp fire without being spotted and a tense confrontation with the eight brigands ensues. Lilac explains to them that the rule of brigands in the Greenbelt is over. Kressle finds the little paladin amusing and takes up her offer of a duel to decide their fate. It quickly turns sour for Kressle . She calls for helps from the other brigands but both Kressle and Happs quickly fall to a color spray and are made prisoner. The other brigands flee given the sudden turn of events.
Happs begs for his life, telling them about the Stag Lord, their leader whom he has never met. He mentions that some of their goods have been stolen by mites, who reside somewhere to the south-east. Kressle stays proud and spends most of her time taunting the PCs. She doesn't seem to care much about "their parody of justice."
After retrieving the bandits' loot to bring back to Oleg, the explorers put their camp together a mile away from the brigand's camp, still under Kressle's taunts. Both prisoners have been tied up and placed inside the cart that has been found at the brigand's camp.
Pharast 2 — The group sets up guard turns at night but, in the morning, Iaurinn realizes to his horror, that his bonded amulet has disappeared. It is quickly found around Kressle's neck, despite her being tied up. She seems as confused as him but quickly takes it as another opportunity to laugh at the PCs incompetence. The gnomes suspect feys might be at play here and they leave gifts behind them, in the form of a few coins and some of the liquor they had found amongst the brigands' loot.
The PCs make their way back towards Oleg's during this cold day; the cart with the prisoners slows them down. It is an uneventful day and they set camp at the limit of the Narlmarches forest. In the middle of the night, Sempor has a pile of snow suddenly being dumped on him. He is confused and angry at the prank as the PCs hear the flapping of wings in the distance. Only a few minutes after that, though, things turn sour as Kressle and Happs have successfully freed themselves and are running away from the camp. As the PCs try to run after them, and/or shoot them down, the forest suddenly comes to life to entangle the two brigands as the ground becomes slippery (grease). The feys, if they really are feys, giggle lightly at having helped in recapturing the brigands, but remain invisible.
Session 2 – December 10, 2010
Pharast 3 — Temperatures get a bit less cold but remain well below freezing. The heroes reach Oleg's trading post to find it guarded by a handful of armed men under the command of Kesten Garess, a taciturn soldier sent by Restov after Oleg's plea for protection against the brigands. Another adventurer, Hêmael, an athletic looking half-elf has also arrived to the trading post while the explorers were tracking the brigands. He has been sent to join in the exploration effort which, being the true follower of Kurgess that he is, he sees as a way to test his mettle.
Infuriated at the sight of Happs and Kressle, Oleg wants them both hung from the walls of the trading post. This inflammatory remark reaches Kesten's approval, although he makes it clear this is none of his problem. Seeing his life ending here and there, Happs breaks down completely, swearing he will repent and do whatever they want of him. Kressle remains proud and distant, obviously disgusted at Happs, but can't prevent herself from calling the inhabitants of the trading post and the explorers on their parody of justice that is no more than barbaric slaughter.
Both brigands are taken outside the fort by the PCs to face justice. A long philosophical debate ensues, before they decide to show mercy and release Happs, who flees towards the north, swearing he will never, ever dab into brigandry again. In the end, Kressle is also let free, although it came very close to her being executed but her alluding to the conditions that led her to a life of brigandry seems to have moved her captors. She is let to roam the wilds, told that these lands will soon be in need of citizens, and that banditry has no future. As she leaves, a spark of hope seems to light her harsh visage, and her appreciative look towards her former captors might herald the beginning of a new life… or the appraisal of life-long enemies.
The adventurers give his stolen goods back to Oleg. They have earned an afternoon of rest that they use to groom their horses and eat hearty meals prepared by Svetlana. Their hostess tells them forcefully that they will always be welcome here and that they will never have to pay for a night of rest or a meal at the trading post. Oleg, in a rare moment where he utters more than a couple of grumbling sentences, comes to thank the heroes in the evening as well. He offers them three potions and a small pouch of gold that he hopes they will put to good use. He offers to trade with them whenever they want, and buy from them anything they might find in the wilds, in the limit of his abilities, of course.
Pinned to the wooden walk of the dormitory, the PCs see some old wanted posters for which Restov is offering hefty rewards. One is asking for someone to take care of bandits. The other one refers to the Kobold Sootscale tribe, which has recently been riled up and has attacked honest trappers and hunters. A reward is offered for whoever can deal with them, calming them down, or getting rid of them.
The explorers can, for once, enjoy a roof above their heads instead of a freezing night outside…
Pharast 4 — It's by another cold morning that our adventurers decide to start their exploration of the Stolen Lands. Before they depart, Svetlana mentions that one of the main attractions of the post used to be a special soup she would prepare from moon radishes but that her usual provider, a foul-mannered trapper named Breeg Orlivanch, has not shown up for weeks. The only patch of moon radishes she knows of is too deep inside the Narlmarches for anyone to reach with all the bandits roaming around. She asks them to keep an eye open for any patch closer to Oleg's, just in case. Lilac agrees with her usual cheerfulness.
In the plains south of Oleg's the fog quickly lifts, leaving a sight of overcast plains that extend to the horizon. Boredom quickly settles in as it becomes obvious that mapping a featureless region is not an easy task. Light snow starts falling mid-afternoon, as the northern wind picks up. Before the sun sets, the adventurers reach the hut of an eccentric potion-maker who calls himself Bokken. In spite of his continuous rambling about his evil and mad brother who cut one of his fingers, he agrees to sell a potion of healing to the group and tells them he can make other potions for them (for a price, of course). He is also looking for fangberries, a major ingredients that make his potions not too bitter, and offers a rebate on any potion if the explorers can bring some to him. In spite of feeling they are turning into vegetable scavengers, they again happily accept, probably thinking very strongly that a rebate could always be useful.
The camp is later set next to a small copse of trees. It is awfully cold and it is still snowing. Everyone is expectedly waiting for the gnome Sempor to start the fire when a humanoid figure is seen making his way through the falling snow, towards the group. Wary of bandits or other dangers of the wild, all set their hands on their weapons whilst Lilac cheerfully hails the shadow through chattering teeth.
The figure is that of a hunter, Harl, who offers to share his two hares with the explorers in exchange for a place next to their fire. ASked about the Stag Lord, Harl tells them of many rumors roaming the wild: some say that the Stag Lord is indeed the leader of local brigands; others that he is a magical creature, a man with the head of a stag; some even say that he is a mighty stag-man, sent by Erastil himself to rule over the region. Many rumors can be heard in the wild, where small acts become mighty deeds. Harl even tells them of Tuskgutter, that is supposed to be a ten-foot tall boar that has his lair in the Narlmarches! Probably another rumor grown out of proportion. What he knows, though, is that these lands are dangerous and that there certainly are brigands here. The Greenbelt is a harsh mistress and even some honest hunters and trappers have been known to turn brigands. He takes the example of a lone trapper and occasional companion of his, Breeg, who he thinks became a bandit in the face of the cruel and unending winter.
Harl leaves them after dinner as he wants to head back to the forest west of Oleg's post as quickly as possible and he can use the starlight, now that the snow has stopped falling. He wishes them well on their explorations and promises to meet them again at Oleg's on another day, Erastil willing.
Pharast 5 — The temperatures have plummeted again, well below freezing, well below the temperatures one can expect for this season, well below any comfortable zone. Lilac the gnome paladin has the most difficulties dealing with the cold. Her toes are blue, even bluer than usual and she hurts. At least the sky is clear, but the prospect of another day mapping a region with no landmarks casts a gloomy veil on the group's morale and, after they've saddle their horses and ponies and started moving, boredom enshrouds them, made even worse by the bitter cold. So much so that it is only at the very last instant that, as they pass between two copses of a few trees, our heroes notice five humanoid figures hiding between the meager trunks. As arrows start flying and one of them slices in-between the scales of Lilac's armor, they realize they have fallen into a brigand's ambush!
Lilac pushes her trusty Buttercup to charge the two brigands to their right and quickly skewers one of them with a by-the-book charge, her magenta hair flowing behind her. The second brigand, fumbling to get his sword out is no match for the paladin and her pony who quickly exert their wrath on him. In the meantime, the sneaky Sempor calls on the powers of nature to get the grass to entangle the three brigands hiding in the trees to the left. The doesn't prevent them from firing with their bows but their shots are wild as, wild-eyed, they see the ghosts of many bears rising from the ground (. Hêmael, the perfect athlete, starts rushing towards them, thrusting his javelins one by one in a fluid movement and, each time, the javelins fly true, pinning two of the bandits to the ground. The last one, fleeing, is quickly surrounded and given the choice to live an honest life without his weapons, or to die here and there. In spite of his (not very convincing) saying that he is no brigand and only a misunderstood traveler, he chooses to flee alive, but weapon-less.
In the aftermath of the battle, it is decided that the bodies should be buried (Lilac will have it no other way) until they can bring them back to Oleg's as proof of their enforcing the Restov swordlord's justice and so they can ask for their bounty.
All this takes quite some time and it is only in the late afternoon that they can depart again and continue their exploration that leads them, just before the cold evening, to a region of the field where skeletons seem to have replaced rocks and trees. Many skeletons of humanoids, as well as animals (with even the skeleton of a bear!), lay there, with some of them ensconced in the frozen ground and having obviously been there since the previous fall. As they investigate, finding no sign of unnatural deaths on the skeleton , Lilac is suddenly attacked by a gigantic spider, the size of a pony, that lurches from the ground! Its bite ripped of Lilac's sturdy armor, twice, before the spider retreats back in her cache, invisible from the outside. Deciding that wouldn't do, Hêmael rushes forward and, with a beautiful long jump, crashes through the trap's dry grass cover. He ends squeezed in the hole, next to the spider, and later joined by Lilac, not the last for heroics. The spider is then quickly dealt with, without much damage but a bite on the half-elf muscular shoulder.
In the spider's den, our heroes find a few skeletons, one of them being that of a brigand, as is made obvious his silver stag amulet. In his boot, the PCs find what looks like a treasure map: a drawing of a claw-like dead tree on a hill, with a cross draw in blood at its roots. "I think he ran out of ink" ventures Lilac. There is no indication as to where this tree is, though…
Camp is set up not a mile away from the field of skeletons and the night goes by with the northern wind finally settling down.
Pharast 6 — In the morning, our explorers wake up to snow, that has started falling before the sun had risen. Iaurinn studies his books whilst the other get ready for another freezing day of this perpetual winter. The temperatures are still very low and most of them have suffered from the icy-cold night in the wilds. The day is spent heading further south, to the limits of the region they have been chartered to explore. They do not encounter a living soul. The hills, to the west, should provide a nice change from the monotony of the plain, in the morrow.
As the sun set, the day of snow forces them to find a dry place for the night. Sempor, always aware of nature's best spots finds a crack in the side of a hillock that they are all too happy to head towards. But they are not the only ones to have spotted this shelter and, as they squeeze in, Iaurinn's light reveals the slithering body of a gigantic specimen of centipedes, revealed later to be a whiptail centipede. Made aggressive by the disturbance, he does not wait and lunge forward to attack the PCs, even though he is hampered in his movements by the narrowness of the cave.
In an insightful moment, Hêmael suggests a retreat, that the overconfident and proud Lilac casts away. Perturbed by the paladin's attitude, Hêmael does not see the centipede striking him, leaving a bite wound that would have cleft a boar. The half-elf is barely standing but the druid quickly sneaks up behind him and heals him, whilst the wizard creates many illusions of Hêmael that apparently greatly confuse the huge arthropod. It does not know which version of his foe he should hit. One, two, three hits of the Kurgess cleric's Aldori sword weaken the centipede that Lilac finally fells with her small sword. She beams with pride at her victory over the monstrous vermin…
The horses are used to drag the body of the centipede outside of the cave and the explorers prepare themselves for another night in the wilds, with the snow drifting in the wind, outside.
Session 3 – December 15, 2010
Pharast 6 (night) — The snow has moved on to sprinkle other countries, swiftly replaced by an eery thick fog. Our explorers are silently eating their rations around the fire when they hear footsteps in the snow outside and panting sounds. They are preparing themselves for yet other dangerous wild encounter when a woman appear in the glow of the fire, at the entrance of the crack. She presents herself as Khala, a traveler and asks them for a place around their fire. She explains she is on her way to Oleg's trading post but got lost in the snow storm and fog. When told Oleg's is a couple of days away, she seems distressed at having wandered so far off her path. But something about her story seems off and when she asks to help for the watch turns, she is kindly but firmly told to rest so that she can recover from her journey. Khala goes to the back of the small cave and quickly starts snoring. Snores that seem awfully fake…
In the meantime, Sempor and Hêmael pretend they are asleep, keeping an eye on the strange traveller, ready for an ambush, whilst Lilac goes to bed clad in her armor, but with the intention to really sleep, which she does quickly! Iaurinn stands guard, throwing lit snowballs outside in the thick fog, expecting something to stir, and he is not disappointed when his keen eyes notice four shadows swiftly making their way towards the crack. He doesn't have time to warn his companions that already two arrows are flying by, one shattering on the ground in front of him, the other one hitting him straight in the shoulder!
And the fight erupts in the cave as Sempor tries to grab Khala's sword before she can make use of it, but fails and tumbles with her on the ground. Iaurinn retreats back inside the cave, calling on his mastery of illusions to create a thick fog of smoke, coming out of the fire, which slows the now blind bandits. Lilac finally wakes up and swiftly deals with Khala, piercing life out of her body in one swift blow, thrust under Arshae's guiding insight. Hêmael rushes to the front of the cave to help Iaurinn with the bandits, half lost in the illusionary smoke. Two of them are quickly dealt with before the last two decide to flee and quickly disappear in the fog outside.
The PCs have survived yet another ambush from bandits and are starting to understand the numerous warnings they've received regarding bandits, and are starting to hate them even more. With the ground too hard to be dug and them wanting to leave the cave unspoiled, they decide to keep the bodies outside, ensconced in ice forming quickly forming after Sempor has called on his nature-related magic to create water on few times.
Pharast 7 — Another day of cold, boring exploration mapping the last stretch of the plains before they reach the limit set by their charter. The fog finally lifts at midday, leaving clear skies above their heads, and bringing the temperatures down. In the afternoon, they enter the hills known as the Kamelands, finding a small copse of trees near a frozen rivulet to set camp. An uneventful night lets them rest from an uneventful day. The first one in over a week.
Pharast 8 — Temperatures have plummeted again and are now way below freezing during the night. The fog has reappeared and sticks to the ground for much of the morning, making the mapping duties and the exploration even more difficult. The hills are a nice change from the monotonous plains, though. In the afternoon, light icy snow competes with a clear sky that allows them to see in the distance and notice a dead oak tree, at the top of a hill, in the distance. It looks uncannily like a skeletal claw trying to grip the sky, and reminds them of the treasure map they've found on the dead brigand, in the giant spider's den, three days ago.
Getting closer to investigate, they find the dead tree also makes for a nice campsite and they settle in, looking around for the sign of a cache. The frozen, heard ground between the roots of the dead tree seem to have been disturbed, but digging it out would prove too difficult. Sempor instead offers his service and, suddenly gets the dirt to spurt out and form a meter-deep crater in no time . It reveals the old leather cloak of a wizard and a few items .
At the heart of the night, Iaurinn who is standing watch is suddenly grabbed by a lean quadrupedal creature that suddenly takes him by surprised. Fortunately, his companions quickly wake up to the sound of his screams. Hêmael quickly helps his elven friend and is rewarded by a very nasty bite to the thigh that only barely misses his femoral artery. Iaurinn tries to disentangle herself from the brush thylacine but the animal is too swift and he can't cast within a safe distance. He nevertheless decides to unleash a cloud of lit snowflakes on the beast which, confused resists no more and is finally cut down by Hêmael. The explorers have met with another dangerous predator of the wilds. In the morning, the PCs realize that this brush thylacine had been stalking the campsite for quite some time before finally deciding to attack it…
Pharast 9 — The PCs continue on their journey south through the hills, with the hope of reaching the Shrike river before the end of the day, which they do. However, they quickly realize that it is impossible for them to cross the river, which extends over a couple hundred feet. They follow it for a while until they reach a collapsed bridge, with now only a rope crossing the river, at a place called Nettle's Crossing. On the other side of the river, a burned-down wooden building, or what is left of it, echos the unrelenting nature of the life in the Stolen Land.
As they discuss whether they should shimmy across the Shrike river, an undead abomination suddenly raises from the water, telling the explorers that they are not its tormentors and that they should bring the body of the Stag Lord to the river. Hearing the name of the Stag Lord (somewhat misunderstanding what the undead has said), before anyone can react, Sempor decides to suddenly disguise himself into the bandit king. With the help of his magic, he seems to grow to the towering shape of a burly human with antlers coming out of his hood. Against all odds, the undead creature falls for it and, entering a frenzy, suddenly charges the gnome druid that is quickly brought unconscious. In a rare moment of coordination, Iaurinn and Lilac coordinate a silent image of the "Stag Lord" rising from the unconscious form of Sempor, on the ground, and being thrown into the river by the charging paladin. That tricks the undead Nettle and he disappears in the river, following the silent illusion.
Instead of fleeing and recovering from this shocking encounter, Lilac decides to wait by the side of the river, in case this undead abomination rises again… which it does, even more angry at having been tricked. Ensues a fight to the edge of our heroes ability, in which they can barely keep us with Nettle's regenerative abilities. Hêmael and Lilac keep falling unconscious to be brought back to life seconds later by dwindling potions and spells. As the situation is getting really desperate, Hêmael, calling all on his duelist knowledge, finally thrusts a precise blow that gets the better of the undead, who finally disolves into water that is quickly sucked by the ground.
Long discussions follow to try and understand what went wrong, what was misunderstood and how such a dangerous situation should be avoided in the future. They set camp a few hundred feet away from the river but, as they are starting to rest, at night fall, they hear the sound of soggy feet on the ground, and the moan of unlife closing on them. In their horror, they realize that Nettle has been revived again is hunting them down. In a desperate rush, they flee Nettle's Crossing, leaving behind a sputtering fire and a haunting undead…
They set camp farther in the hilly landscape and try to get some rest.
Pharast 10 — Nothing else bothers them during the night and, the next morning, the wind is blowing strongly, with powerful gusts that will render the day's exploration difficult. It is only then that they realize that Lilac's thrashing during the night seems to have been more severe than mere nightmares. She is unconscious. Hêmael brings her back to consciousness with his faith in Kurgess and, still shaking, looking awfully tired, she tells them of her nightmarish visions of Nettle dragging her to the river and drowning her there whilst, all along, asking for the body of the Stag Lord to be brought to him.
Worried by Nettle's haunting presence and how far his influence can be felt, they leave for another day of exploration…
Iaurinn tries to disentangle herself from the brush thylacine...
Unlike certain other elven wizards, I am really not that androgynous...
Thanks for the write-ups! :)
Session 4 – December 20, 2010
Pharast 10 — Our companions decide to continue exploring towards the west, heading downstream along the Shrike. The bitter cold is still very present, made even worse by the western wind that has started blowing before dawn. Strong gusts sometimes make going forward difficult but keeping to the valleys allows the group to take at least some shelter from the hills around. They continue mapping the region, unhindered, until, near midday, they notice tracks in the frozen mud of the riverside. Sempor quickly identifies these marks of three-toe feet as being left by Kobold and, remembering the sign posted at Oleg's about the riled up Sootscale tribe that needs to be either calmed down, or dealt with, they decide to track the kobolds in the hope of pacifically meeting with them.
The kobold tracks quickly lead them to the entrance of a cave, obviously an old silver mine from the sign that is dangling above its entrance. A mite is standing in the cage, near the dark opening, squeezing its eyes shut under the relentless gaze of the sun. Before they can do anything, a grey kobold jumps from behind a rock screaming "I wanna talk, I wanna talk!" Nakpik explains that maybe the biggensies can help the Sootscale tribe and that he'll bring them to Tartuk, their shaman. Glad that they don't have to fight their way to the heart of the kobold tribe, the PCs follow him.
Inside, they first meet with the suspicious Chief Sootscale, who doesn't seem to see them as a good omen. Lilac's smooth tongue is enough to convince him that they should be left to talk with the shaman. Tartuk, a unexpectedly purple kobold is obviously an abhorrent and calculating character. He explains to them, with much screaming and gesturing, that the tribe is cursed because they let their god be stolen by the neighboring mites. They are now at war with the mites but, as long as god remains stolen, the tribe will be cursed. Already some of the kobold have died and turned yellow from the curse. There are no more than a dozen Sootscale kobolds left. The PCs volunteer to recover god, if only to calm the kobolds down, but asking for the mite prisoner not to be sacrificed for the success of their mission as Tartuk wanted. They however suspect some power struggle is at play between the chief and the shaman.
The PCs spend the night outside before heading for the mite's lair: a giant sycamore tree further north. Hêmael has horrible nightmares, like Lilac the night before. Getting away from Nettle's crossing doesn't seem to have attenuated his haunting of the group. The cleric of Kurgess wakes up a bit shaken but, at least, not hurt, thanks to his strong will.
Pharast 11 — After a couple of hours of walk through the hills, the PCs reach the old sycamore tree, on top of a hill, surrounded by the numerous bodies of dead kobolds and mites. A war has clearly been raging here. Finding a tunnel that slithers between the roots of the tree, they enter the mites lair. The gnomes enjoying being small as the elf and half-elf crawl their way through the tunnel, the PCs quickly reach what is obviously a disgusting hatchery where the mites are raising giant centipedes. These are quickly dispatched as the only mite present flees to warn her companions. Our heroes quickly follow further into the earth, via another tunnel, where half a dozen mights have now gathered. Combat is the only way through and Lilac makes good use of her shield and armor as the tunnel can only slowly disgorge the PCs. The angry little blue pests try to cast the evil eye on them, but they are little match to the organized explorers, in spite of their fey nature and annoying resistance to damage.
Reaching the heart of the mite's lair, the situation very quickly becomes quite dire: not only is there a handful of mites here, but Garbles, the chief of the mites, jumps on a giant tick the size of a pony before leading his troops in an attack against PCs. It is barely able to remain on top of the tick, but it is the giant beast itself that is truly frightening, not the mites. The quick use of entangle and grease spells help breaking the assault of the mites, and one of the few remaining uses of the wand of burning hands finishes most of them off. But then, the tick starts wreaking havoc amongst the adventurers. No one but Hêmael is able to withstand the powerful bite of the vermin, and even he can resists for very long. In the end, only Sempor the druid remains standing, in front of a barely standing tick; everyone else is sprawled on the ground, mites and heroes alike, closing with death. But Sempor's club, recently crafted by Lilac, hits square on the head of the vermin, killing it before it's too late.
A quick use of the remaining potions and a channelling of positive energy is barely enough to bring all the PCs back on their shaky legs. They've seen the realms of Pharasma from a little too close and finally realize that the Stolen Lands are not to be trifled with, that these are dangerous places…
Session 5 – January 12, 2011
Pharast 11 (continued) — In spite of their brush with death, the PCs decide to continue the exploration of the mites lair, under the assumption that, with the mite leader dead, there should be little threat remaining. Exploring the loot that the mites have gathered, they finally a small demonic statue covered in a mix of dry blood and wax: the "god" of the kobolds. Continuing in the exploration of the underground series of caves, they rile up another bunch of mites, that they quickly dispatch, but they also annoy a giant whiptail centipede that was laying low in a deep crack. With the explorers low on resources (and health), this fight quickly turns to their disadvantage, with Lilac falling unconscious to the bite of the giant vermin, quickly to be followed by the others, until Sempor distracts it with the ghost sound of a giant bird. Feeling threatened by this enemy that appears much more powerful than this ragtag group of humanoids, the centipede tries to find the source of the noise, which gives the PCs enough time to flee the Sycamore Tree…
Still carrying the unconscious Lilac, they set up camp a kilometer away, only stumbling on a pair of frightened elks that they quickly scare away. The following night is calm, only perturbed by Sempor's nightmares of being drowned by Davik Nettle, screaming for vengeance at what the Stag Lord and his men have done to him.
Pharast 12 — The next morning, they head back to the Sycamore Tree and, having emptied it from the mites on the previous day, easily make their way back to the giant centipede. Being prepared, this time, the vermin poses little threat and is quickly overwhelmed by their assaults, especially those of Hêmael whose sword swings seem guided by Kurgess himself. Finishing exploring the mite lair, the PCs find a poor little kobold, tied to the wall, and who has been the target of the mites' playful torture for some time. He is the only survivor of a group of four kobolds whose bodies are still hanging from the walls. Freed, he collapses at the feet of his saviors and begs for their help in retrieving the Sootscale god. But when Mikmek realizes that the PCs have already recovered the statue, he yelps in joy, letting slip an inappropriate "Death to Tartuk!" before clasping his hands on his mouth. Feeling something is at play with the shaman, the PCs decide to head back and get to the bottom of this.
At the entrance of the kobolds' mine, Nakpik is not on guarding duties anymore (they'll learn later that he's been sacrificed by Tartuk to bring the PCs "luck"). They are brought to Chief Sootscale by the new sentry and there, after a tensed conversation with the kobold chief who definitely seem more trustworthy than the crazy purple shaman, Lilac decides to hand him the statue of "god." He quickly and decisively smashes it on the ground with a cry of victory, victory for having been freed from the curse that was afflicting the tribe, and scurries towards Tartuk's chamber to rid the tribe of the shaman. The PCs follow, uncertain at what to do, except for Lilac who wants to avenge poor Nakpik's death. The cramped kobold caves are not well suited for a fight and the purple shaman's magic causes fear in his enemies' hearts, whilst his magical images confuse them. But he is finally vanquished and Chief Sootscale is again allowed to rule freely over his tribe.
A giant party is thrown in, this evening, to celebrate the new alliance between the Sootscale tribe and the "tribe of Oleg." In exchange for having helped the kobolds, the PCs are able to secure a peace treaty with their draconic new friends, who agree to stop attacking random longshanks, except for those who enter the kobolds' dominion. As a token of good faith, Chief Sootscale let the explorers have all of the cursed Tartuk's belongings. There, they finally find Svetlana's ring, stolen from Svetlana by the brigands, from the brigands by the mites, from the mites by kobolds, and from the kobolds by Tartuk. The PCs also find Tartuk's journal, in which he tells his sad tale of being a gnome, reincarnated into a kobold by villagers who thought he was helping them against an ogre attack (when, really, all he wanted was to make a deal with the ogres and help them destroy the village). Since them, he'd become more and more crazy, allying himself with kobold tribes and destroying them from inside. At recounting Tartuk's story, Lilac lets a "Dad?!…" escape her lips…
During the night, Sempor has continues having nightmares about Nettle, but is able to shrug it off. Iaurinn and Lilac are however starting to feel pain in their joints…
Session 6 – January 19, 2011
Pharast 13 — Departing from the kobold's cave in the morning, the PCs spend their day exploring the region around the Mites' old sycamore tree. During the day, it becomes obvious that Iaurinn, Hêmael and Lilac are suffering from red ache, probably from the giant tick's bites. Lilac has nightmares during the night.
Pharast 14 — They head west, along the Shrike river, reaching the merging of the Shrike and the Thorn river and a ford on the Shrike river. They spend the day exploring and mapping this region. Her strong stamina enables Lilac to quickly heal her disease but Iaurinn and Hêmael are still strongly suffering from it, with the wizard becoming weaker and weaker. Lilac has nightmares again during that night.
Pharast 15 — The PCs are now heading north-west, along the Thorn river, on the western bank. Around midday, they find a vale taken over by fangerries bushes and decide to start collecting them for Bokken. In addition to the very thorny bushes that really hurt Lilac (but are no hinderance to Sempor's druidic powers) they rile up a swarm of spiders. Iaurinn's use of his wand of burning hands found previously proves very valuable in dealing with the swarm, even though that can only be at the expense of a few burns for Hêmael. The wand is exhausted but the swarm in dispersed. During what is left of the day, they finish exploring this region. Later that day Hêmael heals red ache but Iaurinn has a relapse and is starting to feel very weak. Sempor has nightmares again during that night. It appears no safe distance can place them away from Nettle's curse.
Pharast 16 — In the morning, the explorers reaching a rickety bridge over a gulch made by the Thorn river. They decide to try crossing it and Lilac, Sempor, their ponies and Iaurinn are able to cross easily. But the bridge collapses under the weight of Iaurinn's horse and it falls and disappears in the river, luckily without any rider. Hêmael, now alone on the west bank of the Thorn, decides to push his horse to jump over the 20 ft. canyon and, after a quick prayer to Kurgess, succeeds… Very heroic. The explorers then follow the river down for a few hours, until the end of the day, before abandoning their search for the horse.
Iaurinn is getting weaker and weaker from red ache; he also has nightmares during the night. During the wizard's guard turn, two wolves try to pull Sempor away from the camp. They fail and awake the group, that quickly deals with them. Sempor charms one, who eventually flees. The other one is killed, and transformed into a pelt.
Pharast 17 — They continue their exploration and mapping of the Kamelands. Sempor has nightmare at night. Nothing else happens during this calm day.
Pharast 18 — The PCs turn around towards the east to finish their loop and their exploration of the Kamelands. They find a crack in the hills that leads to an underground cavern. It's the lair of a worg who thinks he can easily snack on the poor Sempor, who has imprudently entered the dark cave stealthily (but not stealthily enough) on his own. His companions quickly come to his rescue, though, and the worg is killed. A potion of cure light wounds is found in the lair, as well as a few coins. The most important finding is, however, that this cavern could be changed into a gold mine with a bit of work.
Pharast 19 — They finish exploring the region around the gold mine and then head back towards the east, in the plains, to recover the bodies of the brigands they had left behind. With the milder temperatures, their ice protection has started to melt, making for an uncomfortable sight and smell… They then start their journey back towards Bokken and Oleg's.
Session 7 – February 2, 2011
Pharast 20 — The PCs reach Bokken in the morning. The old man is still as crazy as usual and it takes a lot of convincing to explain to him that they have found the berries he wanted. He offers a 25% discount on all his potions but the PCs quickly leave, expecting to never come back and have to deal with the crazy old man and his ramblings of his even crazier brother (probably an invention anyway).
Oleg's trading post is a welcome view, in the afternoon, and the PCs can finally rest, a roof above their heads, able to eat warm food, and chatting with the more and more numerous hunters and trappers who fill Oleg's. They take this opportunity to tie a few loose ends, discretely giving Svetlana's ring to Oleg. The gruff trader could even seem moved, and he offers 1,000 gp of store credits to the PCs as a generous reward. The trappers warn the explorers of the dangers roaming the wilds, not quite aware of who they are talking to, and an old hunter, Vekkel, tells them of the mighty Tuskgutter, a boar the size of an elephant, to whom he has lost his arm. Seeking revenge against the boar, and unable to use his bow of high craftsmanship, he offers it as a reward to whoever can bring him the head of the boar. Kesten looks as grim and bored as usual but still gets himself to mention to the PCs that if they ever encounter Falgrim Sneeg, a former guard from his group gone rogue, and bring him to Oleg's (preferentially alive), he'd be able to get them a reward in the form of high-quality weapons.
A new visitor has settled in at Oleg's in the PCs absence. He quickly introduces himself as Jhod Kavken, a priest of Erastil who has decided to come to this burgeoning community and provide his guidance. Something seems to trouble him, though… He comes through as very friendly, however, and he offers his help in tending the poor Iaurinn who, by now, can only barely stand and feed himself, given how severe his bout of red ache has become. When he is not attending to the elf, he engages into heated religious debate with Lilac, whose Arshean tenets quickly clash with the very conservative values advocated by Jhod, as a fervent follower of Erastil. Lilac is very close to bursting, in a very un-paladin-esque nature when she decides she's had enough and should just go and rest.
Pharast 21 — The PCs decide to stay at Oleg's as Iaurinn is bedded for the whole day, fighting red ache. Hêmael, Lilac, and Sempor take this opportunity to rest and relax (the first time in three weeks), and conduct business with Oleg, ordering some equipment from Restov. Now that they've gathered a bit of gold from their exploration (scavenging and looting), they wish to better equip themselves for the dangerous life in the wild. Frustrating discussions with Jhod (who always seem to need to talk about the principles of the hunter-god) reveals that he expects there is a ruin of a former Erastil temple in the forest and he humbly asks for the PCs to keep an eye out for it. He obviously cares deeply about this matter.
Pharast 22 — At dawn, Iaurinn is finally feeling better and on his way to a speedy recovery. They leave soon thereafter towards the north-west, hoping to map all the plains west of Oleg's within a week, and get back to the trading post for when their ordered equipment should arrive. North-west of Oleg's, they are very surprised to find Kressle again, in the shack she has built for herself in the plains. This is where she seems to have decided to build her new life, taking the PCs at their own words. Gruff as usual, she is not very friendly but certainly not as antagonistic as she used to be. It is agreed that the explorers will stop by the shack on their way back to the trading post, so they can vouch for Kressle there and she can buy some supplies off of Oleg.
By the evening, they camp at the edge of the Narlmarches forest. At night, our heroes are woken up by yet another trick of the feys, who make the camp fire burst in an explosion of colorful, blinding sparks. But when they realize that none of the explorers are blinded by their little trick, they try to force them into a magical sleep. Iaurinn, being elven and immune to magical sleep, takes this as a threat and he quickly retaliates with a magic missile on a small flying shape that flees in the distance. The war is declared between the explorers and the feys of the Narlmarches…
Pharast 23 — The PCs decide to dash quickly through the forest north-west of the trading post so they only spend a limited amount of time in the fey-infested forest. They are able to avoid both trap-infested glades they had been warned about and feys until one of the feisty creatures greases Iaurinn's saddle, and the wizard falls into a bear trap hat was lying there. The feys ambush the PCs, getting the bushes to entangle them, whilst they focus their effort on attacking the elven wizard who, prone on the ground, stuck in the bear trap, can do little to defend himself. Before a regretful act is committed, Lilac is able to use her diplomatic talents to sooth the feys (a beautiful female grig and a no-less-pretty fairy pseudodragon have revealed themselves, by then) and explain to them that it was all a misunderstanding. The feys let the PCs go, warning them that they are not welcome in these parts of the forest.
Later that day, in the plains, the explorers encounter a couple of mites that they slaughter with no summations, given how much of a pain the little pests had been ten days back.
Pharast 24 — In their exploration and mapping of the plains, the PCs find a forgotten barbarian cairn for a tribal lord, from centuries past. They quickly decide to investigate it further, "for archeological finds, of course," says Iaurinn to calm Lilac's concerns about looting. There, they find a magical ring (a ring of swimming), depicting an eel and a frog locked in a tangle.
Pharast 25 — Exploration and mapping of the plains.
Pharast 26 — They finish exploring the plains that fall under the purview of their charter and start heading back towards Oleg's.
Session 8 – February 9, 2011
Pharast 26 (continued) — The PCs arrive at Kressle's shack in the nick of time, as she is under attack by a pack of hungry wolves, driven out of the forest by the very cold spring. The defense is heroic as the wolves show no wish to yield, even after a few of their numbers have been slain, but our heroes finally prevail. They take Kressle with them, back to the trading post, that they reach in the middle of the night. Upset at being woken up in the middle of the night by the explorers, Kesten only grudgingly opens the gate of the post…
Pharast 27 — The PCs rest at Oleg's, Lilac keeping an eye on the uneasy interactions between Oleg and Kressle and convincing Oleg to let Kressle buy what she needs. Kressle leaves later that day, thanking the PCs for what they've done for her. The PCs plan their next foray in the forest and decide to buy some booze and jewelry to cajole the feys.
Pharast 28 — They leave for the forest, to the west, planning to map it for a couple of days before coming back, when their equipment should have arrived. In a clearing covered with moon radishes—the very turnips that Svetlana is looking for—they encounter a group of four Sootscale kobolds, almost in a food coma from eating too many of the bulbous roots as they were harvesting them. With their history with the Sootscale tribe, the PCs are able to reach an agreement with the kobold tribe, whereby the kobolds will deliver to the trading post baskets of moon radishes every day when the moon is full, in exchange for a barrel of fine alcohol.
At night, some jewelry and a bottle of alcohol are left out as a present for the feys. The gifts disappear overnight and a prank is played at Iaurinn's expense, who pretends he finds it funny. He also has a nightmare of Nettle dragging him for kilometers along the Shrike, south of the junction with the Thorn, into a lake overlooked by a wooden fort. The bodies of his companions are hanging from the walls. It is the worst nightmare any one of them has ever had from Nettle's curse.
Pharast 29 — Exploring further west the next day, they stumble on a path of uprooted trees, a path of destruction left by what Sempor quickly identifies as a troll. Instead of trying their best to avoid the giant beast, they decide, after one of Lilac's moving speeches, to hunt down the troll and rid the Green Belt of this mighty threat. They quickly catch up with it and, through a tactic combining attacks from a distance, as much fire damage as possible, and a careful retreat in front of the charging giant, they are able to fell the beast before it can land a single blow!
At night, baubles and alcohol are again left out as I gift to the fey who seem to appreciate it.
Pharast 30 — The PCs are back at the Thorn River camp, where they captured Kressle and Happs almost a month ago. To their surprise, there is a group of brigands there, led by Happs, who discretely explains that he is spying for the PCs and trying to learn more about the brigands. They aren't fooled by Happs' appalling bluffing skills and decide that he now deserves a quick sentence to death. A fight ensues and the brigands are slaughtered, except for two of them who are captured. Interrogated, they explain where the Stag Lord's fort is (it seems to fit with the heightened nightmares that have been plaguing the PCs' nights), that he is a beast of a man, but that he spends most of his time, drunk at the fort, leaving his men to roam the wilds. These are getting disgruntled.
Pharast 31 — After a long day of riding back to Oleg's, the explorers finally reach the trading post in the middle of the night. Truly annoyed at being woken up in the middle of the night for the second time in the week, Kesten is in a foul mood and decides not to open the door of the fort for the PCs. They scale the wall and are still able to have a night of rest under a roof.
Session 9 – February 16, 2011
Gozran 1st — In the meantime, Oleg has been working on expanding the trading post: the horses are left outside, now, and the stables have been converted into two big rooms for the representatives of authority (the PCs) and the guards. The PCs room is left to important visitors (Jhod, etc) when the explorers are not around. Part of the main building where Oleg and Svetlana live has now been transformed into an inn, to cope with the numerous trappers that are now often present. And, talking about that, Oleg tells the PCs that the place would highly benefit from a dragon's head to decorate the walls and that he would pay well for it. A red dragon's head would do, but he would also settle for the head of a tatzlwyrm.
The PCs take the morning off to rest a bit and get the equipment they had ordered from Oleg. Svetlana pays them 250 gp for the moon radishes and the deal they were able to secure with the kobold tribe. They decide that, now that they have a good idea of where the Stag Lord's fort is (thanks to the nightmares they have been plagued with, and thanks to the indications from the brigands they captured at the Thorn River camp), they need to swiftly deal with him. Additionally, they could do with the reward that has been promised by the Swordlords for the death of the brigand king. They settle on infiltrating the fort, disguised as bandits or invisible. They leave at midday, heading south.
Gozran 2nd — After an uneventful journey through the Kamelands, the PCs reach the Stag Lord's fort in the afternoon. It is where they were expecting it to be, on the shore of the Tuskwater lake. They infiltrate the bandit lair by disguising themselves as brigands (using disguise self, the dust of illusion they had found in Taruk's chamber, and invisibility for the wizard). The group is let in. Despite the difficulty for the two gnomes to try and pretend they are humans, the brigands don't seem to notice, or care. To further help the brigands' attitude towards them, Lilac offers alcohol to the Stag Lord who has come out of his shack, half drunk. He quickly thanks them before disappearing inside again, leaving a suspicious Akiros in charge of handling the PCs. Realizing Akiros's ambivalent attitude towards the bandit leader, Lilac tries and succeeds at turning him. The show is now over and the explorers loudly call for the brigands to throw down their weapons…
Hell ensues. The brigands are scared and do misstep after misstep, unable to properly use their weapons and even hurting themselves in the process . The half-dozen regular brigands are quickly dispatched with Akiros's help and they are even able to capture Falgrim Sneeg alive. An owlbear that was kept in a cave inside the fort's ruins is released by one of the Stag Lord's brigand, Dovan, while an ox of a man, Auchs, jumps from the roof and joins the frey. The judicious use of a couple of pony charges, create pit and summon nature's ally spells helps keeping the enemies split apart. Dovan flees when he realizes that things are turning sour for the brigands, and Auchs falls to Hêmael's Aldori sword. Akiros fights the owlbear alone, after a pit that had hampered the beast disappears.
After half a minute of fighting, the Stag Lord emerges from his stupor and from his room to almost kill Hêmael with an incredibly insightful shot of his longbow. In spite of being very drunk, he is also still very dangerous. The PCs regroup, and then push on with their attacks on the Stag Lord who has now climbed on the roof so he can better benefit from his good archery skills. Arrows, bolts, spells are exchanged. The bandit king fells poor Hêmael who tries to reach him as quickly as possible, rushing up the stairs. The Stag Lord finally dies, though, dealt with by a beautiful crossbow bolt, straight in the heart, shot by Lilac.
The fighters catch their breath; Akiros more than the others. The PCs heal themselves before deciding to go and investigate the "freak" that the brigands had said lives underground. Akiros tells them a bit more about this old man but he does not follow them downstairs.
Session 10 – February 23, 2011
Gozran 2nd (continued) — The PCs enter the cave below the fort to deal with the old freak who lives underground. Their investigation doesn't reveal anything until they are trapped in a cave in, magically triggered by a wolverine that walks on the ceiling, and hides in the wall! It takes the group some time to realize that it is the wolverine that is harassing them with multiple spells, summoning a giant ant, a bat swarm and spreading them apart in the caves. In the end, a strong blow kills the transformed druid that reverts back to his original shape: that of a sickly thin, old man bearing a strange resemblance to the Stag Lord. A family member?
The PCs spend the rest of the day looting the fort and gathering all that could be turned into valuable building material for the future settlers of the Greenbelt. For lack of a better destination or goal, Akiros decides to stay with them, warning them that there are zombies dwelling in the hill the fort is built on. Akiros seems fine looking after Flagrim Sneeg who does his best to try to flee (pathetically).
Gozran 3rd — Temperatures are down again and it now snows. After a night at the fort, the PCs explore a small exit trap they had spotted the day before. It's possible that's how Dovan was able to flee… The PCs decide to rid the hill of the scourge of the undead, and finally succeed. The multiple and successive waves of zombies was almost too much for them, but Hêmael's faith in Kurgess proved very valuable and, in the end, the difference between survival and joining the zombies in undeath.
When the fort is cleaned up, the explorers start heading towards the east to Nettle's Crossing, thinking of one day coming back and putting the solid walls of the fort to good use. But, for now, they want to undo the curse that Davik Nettle has put on them.
Gozran 4th — The group reaches Nettle's crossing at the end of the day and toss the body of the Stag Lord in the river (keeping the head to prove their success and claim the reward from the swordlords of Restov). In a final sigh, Nettle frees them from his curse and his magic +1 ranseur washes on the shore of the Shrike.
When the PCs go back to their horses and ponies, they find Akiros talking to a couple of wild man and woman (rather obvious bandits). They present themselves as travelers and are let to leave (and live), after being told that banditry has no future and that order is coming to these lands.
Gozran 5th to 10th — Heading back to Oleg's takes time with all the carts the PCs are dragging behind them, loaded with the brigand's loot and equipment. After having improved and verged on spring-like, the weather becomes grim and cold again, alternating snow and cold rain. The only part worth mentioning during this time is the group running into an owlbear as they are following the Shrike river to the east and quickly dealing with the poor beast.
The PCs reach Oleg's to find it surrounded by carts, wagons and many people that Oleg and Svetlana have a hard time taking care of. A dwarf seems to be heading the large group…
Session 11 – March 2nd, 2011
Gozran 10th — The PCs meet with Grimstock Golka, sent by the Swordlords of Restov with settlers, and he gives them their new charter. It states that they are responsible for settling the Stolen Lands, transforming them into a new kingdom. Golka also hands them a hefty reward for having dealt with the Stag Lord; the few thousand gold pieces are welcome but quickly forgotten as the PCs switch into crisis-mode…
The group quickly gathers the main characters that are present at Oleg's, trying to convince them to help in the kingdom-building effort. They quickly convince Kesten to become the warden of their new kingdom. He seems rejuvenated by the task at hand. It takes more time and energy to get Oleg and Svetlana to (at least partly) abandon their trading post in exchange for administrative duties. Oleg, in particular, is really not happy at seeing civilization catching up with him when his goal for founding the trading post was to get away from civilization. Lilac's golden tongue works miracles, though, and they agree to take the positions of treasurer (for Oleg, "because you incompetents would just waste the money and resources anyway, so I guess I need to help you!"), and grand diplomat (for Svetlana, who is extremely frightened of her new role). In exchange for the PCs promising to find the temple of Erastil he is seeking, Jhod also agrees to provide spiritual guidance to the fledgling kingdom (he takes up the position of grand priest). Once the new officials have left the room, the explorers turned leaders agree to their own duties, as baroness for Lilac, councilor for Sempor, general for Hêmael, and magister for Iaurinn.
The first decision they will have to make as leaders is that of Flagrim Sneeg's fate. But, for the moment, the sun has set.
Gozran 11th — After a difficult night where responsibilities start to sink in, the PCs decide to try and get Kressle to join them in their endeavor. They feel she would be a wonderful marshal, especially given how well she knows the region. They depart for her shack at dawn. They meet her during that day, offering her the position. She heartily laughs at the turn of events but accepts, humbled.
Back at Oleg's the first council convenes to decide on Sneeg's fate. After a long discussion, it is decided he will pay for his crimes by indentured servitude, for 10 years. There are roads to build…
That settled, the leaders can turn to no less important decisions: after a long discussion, they decide that they will found their first city where the Stolen Land's scourge has ended: the Stag Lord's fort. The kingdom of Gwendor shall have its capital, Stronghold, there! Later that day, the colony of settlers, led by the baroness and her close companions, departs for the south and the Stag Lord's fort. Oleg and Svetlana will stay at the trading post for the time being and they make it very clear that there needs to be a road built as quickly as possible between Stronghold and the trading post, and that they feel it's imperative the Narlmarches are explored, mapped, and cleansed.
Gozran 12nd-13th — The leaders have the unsettling idea of recruiting chief Sootscale of the kobold tribe as a master spy and so they head towards the Sycamore tree, where the mites lived. They are attacked by a troll on the way and the beast kills a handful of settlers before our heroes can deal with it. The dangers of the wild sink in, at least for the settlers. The group visits the Sootscale tribe, and have Chief Sootscale accept the position of master spy, flattered at the attention of the Gwendorien leaders.
Gozran 14th-15th — Traveling south to the Stag Lord's fort, the colony reaches it on Gozran 15th, Taxfest, like a sign for the first night of the settlers at the location of their new city.
This is interesting to read!
Thanks! :)
It's very original that they hired Kressle to take a place in their kingdom's management!
Yes, it is! And knowing they almost put her through the sword after there first encounter…
Session 11 – March 9th, 2011
Gozran 16-17th — Many a decision needs to be made regarding the burgeoning new kingdom and the new leaders have their hands full with meetings, trying to decide what is best. They make their first important two decisions after a lengthy day of discussion: their kingdom shall be named Gwendor, and their capital Stronghold. Many names were ruled out but the final decision seems to satisfy everyone.
They later take their roles as leaders at heart, making sure the usuable supplies they had found in the ruin of the Stag Lord's fort are properly used , and going to the trouble of redistributing the stolen jewelry, loot of the brigands, back to their rightful owners . They start planning the expansion of their kingdom buy sending engineers under Golka's command to start building amenities in the region where they wish to build their future capital and, mainly, to start transforming the ruins of the Stag Lord's fort into a viable castle.
Gozran 18th — After having been overwhelmed by their duties for two days, the PCs are glad to head back into the wilds, under the pretext that the Narlmarches forest needs to be explored further for the security of the kingdom.
Gozran 19th — Exploring the region to the northwest of the ruins of the Stag Lord's fort the PCs are attracted to a clearing by the pathetic yelps of an animal and they almost fall into a trap left by a careless trapper. A thylacine is trapped in pit, obviously hungry from days of not eating. They try helping the animal but its aggressiveness certainly does not help and they eventually decide to leave it there, not wanting to deprive even a careless hunter from his quarry, but with Sempor and Lilac sad at the thought of letting the beast die there, or at the hand of the trapper.
Later that day, the group encounters a group of three bold grigs, small feys with the lower body of a cricket but the torso of men, just like the cute female fey who had caused them so much trouble not so long ago. These grigs make it clear that they don't like the PCs and their colonial manners. They go as far as to cryptically tell them that their attempt at pacifying the region will not go far as "the queen will kill them all." This puzzles the PCs…
At night, the group sleeps outside, in the calm forest, but their night is cut short by an owlbear crashing into their camp and attacking them. A quick use of grease, lance charges, javelins, flaming sphere and a final blow of Hêmael's Aldori sword repels the threat.
Gozran 20th — The PCs continue exploring and mapping this region, heading towards the north, slowly making their way to Oleg's. The slicing cold of a few weeks ago has been replaced by an unrelating heat and temperatures that make traveling in armor uneasy at best.
Gozran 21st — At the heart of the forest, the explorers finally meet with Tuskgutter. He is far less impressive than rumors have him and, even though he is a sizable boar, he is no larger than a pony. Cunning as he is, he is still able to badly gore Hêmael before he is taken down by the newly appointed general in a strong, decisive blow. They keep the head of the boar to bring to Vekkel, the old hunter at Oleg's, but prepare the rest of the meet as rations for the next few days of exploration.
At dusk, they are almost ambushed by a group of three frog-like humanoids, boggards. An uneasy stand-off ensue and the lack of common linguistic grounds renders any conversation difficult. The high magister partly solves the problem with a scroll of comprehend languages, and Lilac's golden tongue smooths things out. The boggards are looking for a traitor who has defied their king, eaten all the sacred dragonflies and fled the tribe before he was to be eaten as a punishment. The baroness officially agrees to look for the traitor and warn them if they ever find him.
Gozran 22nd — More exploration of the Narlmarches.
Gozran 23rd — The PCs finally reach the ruins of the temple of Erastil that Jhod was looking for. A pool of murky water stands, surrounded by a few pillars, on front of an grotto in the cliff where the shape of a stag has been carved. Before they can decide what to do next, a clearly enraged bear appears at the entrance of the grotto and charges them. There is something clearly wrong with the bear but they have little time to understand the reason for this feeling of unease as the beast is already mauling Hêmael. The following fight is quick and violent. When the bear finally dies, it is as if a sigh of relief echos in the clearing, and he quickly transforms into the shape of an old man, before turning to dust. The pale that was hanging above the former temple is now gone, and the pool fills itself with refreshing water.
Gozran 24th — Continuing their trip towards the north, the group reaches a strange region where the game trail they are following is suddenly cut by two felled trees. A sign adorns them, stating: "You are not welcome." The PCs quickly take it as the sign that the feys they had had issues with can't be far and, indeed, they appear not long after, high up in the trees, telling the explorers that they are not welcome, repeating what is written on the now obvious illusionary sign. A difficult conversation follows but a deal is finally reached whereby the PCs shall leave this region unexplored as a tribute to the feys and, in exchange, these shall stop pestering the humans in the regions. A few words are exchanged between Hêmael and Iaurinn about just squashing these little buggers but they decide to not go forward with their threats.
They depart towards Oleg's, making sure they stay away from the fey-region.
Gozran 25th — A bit too confident in their abilities, the explorers let their concentration slip and a brigand ambush surprises them, but they make quick work of the bandits. The PCs finally reach Oleg's Trading Post, where they can collect the few items they had ordered from Restov before they left for the Stag Lord's fort. They offer Tuskgutter's head to Vekkel, the old hunter, who solemnly hand them his high-quality bow and six magic arrows which should slay animals in just one shot.
Gozran 26th-27th — The PCs decide to head back south to Stronghold via the west of the fey-region to finish mapping the northern end of the Narlmarches. They go through the region riddled with traps again, commenting on how they need to have their hunters use traps properly.
Gozran 28th — Continuing their mapping to the south-west, the PCs find a dead trapper in the woods, having apparently died to his own deadfall trap. His high-quality handaxe is not lost for everyone…
Gozran 29th-30th — Heading back south towards their kingdom, that they reach at the end of the month.
Session 12 – March 16th, 2011
Desnus 4711 AR — The PCs decide to sit through most of the blistering summer and focus on getting their burgeoning kingdom somewhere. Much needs to be done for all the settlers that are slowly flowing from the north and Brevoy or the south and Mivon to be fed to their fill, and to have a roof under which to sleep. Barren hilly lands are slowly taken over and transformed into ripe farmlands.
In Stronghold, a clever use of the ruins of the Stag Lord's fort make it possible to build a castle for the kingdom, "Stronghold," much faster than one would expect. With a few houses that start flourishing next to the new fort, it seems almost like this could become a viable community. Not everyone wants to be living in the new burg, though, and the leaders are contacted by Loy Rezbin, a forward, open man and his wife, Latricia, who want to be gathering their own community in the Narlmarches, at the site of the old bandit's camp on the Thorn river ford. This region belongs to no one, but they feel that they should ask the new rulers of the Stolen Land their permission, which is gladly granted. And so they go on their way to found Thornforn.
Seranith 4711 AR — The new addition of a town hall in Stronghold boosts the feelings the locals have of being heard by their rulers. The kingdom continues expanding towards the north, taking over the region that was previously plagued by mites before our heroes dealt with the annoying little buggers.
Under the impulse of baroness Lilac, the leaders decide that they should try to incorporate the kobolds into their kingdom. The matter takes a while to be settled as the High Magister and the General see the little draconic creatures as pests at best, and a threat at worst. Sempor on the other hand, seems to be gleefully looking forward to there being more kobolds around. A trip to the Sootscales cave settles the matter as Chief Sootscale and his minions are overjoyed to be considered as equals to the longshanks. They are mildly disappointed to have to stay in their region of the kingdom, and to have to promise not to randomly attack humans, but the appointment of Mik Mek as the kingdom's Royal Assassin — a job he seems to disturbingly enjoy, especially the torturing part of it — seems to help in reaching a consensus.
Erastus 4711 AR — The deal being settled with the kobolds, Gwendor engulfs the kobold's caves. The kobolds will get an extra source of income by working the silver mines their caves hosts.
The only event worth noting in the kingdom is the start of a feud between loggers, tanners and fishermen on the use of the rivers and lake shores. Sempor's conciliatory skills (and veiled threats) settle the matter with little trouble.
Arodus 4711 AR — Another month of expansion and having to deal with the kingdom's internal affairs, from getting the newly claimed gold mine running, to listening to fishermen complain about an old cranky giant turtle taking a lot of pleasure capsizing their boats and trying to eat them alive.
Towards the end of the month, the PCs head out for a little bit of exploration, mapping the region just south of Stronghold and that had, until then, remained a dark patch on the map. There, they find an old deaf crone who welcomes them kindly enough as the leaders remain very polite. And it's a good thing they didn't try to trespass as the crumbling scarecrow guarding the old witch's house was more than it seemed at first glance! The PCs enjoy the woman's hospitality for the evening, as she tells them about many landmarks of the region (the lizardfolks to the south, the presence of a mad hermit [maybe Bokken's brother?] to the west, an old crypt east of Stronghold, where undeath stirs). Around midnight, she abruptly sends them on their way as she heads for bed.
Rova 4711 AR — The event of the month is the inauguration of Stronghold's new watchtower, supposed to help spotting danger from miles away. It is of little use against the acts of Howl-of-the-North-Wind, however, a worg rumored to be responsible for many attacks on farmers and settlers, to the east, just at the edge of the kingdom. The watchtower is also of little use against other rumors, reported by Kressle, of trolls prowling in the south. Gwendorians are getting notably twitchy at as these rumors spread…
I also find it quite original that the ruler of the land will be a female gnome paladin.
It certainly makes for interesting situations, especially as she is a follower of Arshae! It's been a lot of fun.
Session 14 – March 23rd, 2011
Rova 16th — After most of the last few months spent dealing with the kingdom's affair, the PCs are glad to be out in the wilderness again, set with dealing with the worg Howl-of-the-North-Wind and his pack of wolves. They are uneasy with such a menace prowling so close to their capital. The leaders head due east from Stronghold and quickly find traces or, actually, warnings in the form of human remains stacked into cairns. Tracks of wolves can easily be found in the surroundings. However, following them in the hilly landscape, Sempor is only able to lead the group to a small forest where they encounter a pack of angry boars, eager to protect their piglets. They are dealt with, with the helped on some summoned hyenas. There will be boar on the menu for a few days, but that requires setting up camp to prepare the beasts, which the explorers decide to do, despite the few hours of daylight left.
All is well during this first night for a while sleeping under the stars, until Iaurinn, on guard duty, is suddenly startled by the screams of poor Sempor being dragged away from the camp but a worg the size of a horse. The camp is surrounded by wolves! Once they have gone over their surprise at being ambushed in the middle of the night, the general takes on a couple of wolves all by himself whilst the magister rushes forward, unleashing his magic on Howl-of-the-North-Wind. So much so that the worg has to release Sempor who takes this opportunity to unleash his own magic in the form of a flaming sphere that rolls towards the demon-wolf and burns a sizable chunk of his fur. Lilac closes the fight by smiting evil out of the worg and killing him in one swift, final blow. The one wolf Hêmael hasn't dealt with runs away from the campsite quicker than he came in.
They chop off the head of the beast to claim a reward from Restov.
Rova 17–19 — More exploration of the Kamelands. The excruciating, boring aspect of exploration comes back to mind very quickly. The explorers haven't missed it…
Rova 20 — More exploration, heading back to the eastern shore of the Tuskwater lake. The only thing worth mentioning is a failed attempt at an ambush by a group of kobolds. Not being very discrete, the PCs spot them before it's too late and the misunderstanding (the kobolds are from the Sootscale tribe) is quickly set aside for a night spent drinking much alcohol.
Rova 21 — Having reached the shores of the Tuskwater lake, south of Stronghold, the PCs find a little path on the cliff, leading to a small cave near the lake. There, they find the cantankerous giant turtle they have been warned is making Stronghold's fishermen's life a misery. The druid's attempts at calming the animal are not efficient at all and, despite the strong carapace of the chelonia, they quickly bring the kingdom's wrath on the animal who can but dent a shield here and a weapon there. There will be turtle soup on the menu, tonight…
The PCs decide to camp in the turtle's cave that is large enough to host them all. Their bad habit of cooking their encounters for dinner this time attracts a group of three ravenous grizzly bears. The shock of the surprise overcome, a quick use of druidic magic calms one of the animals whilst another one is finally brought down by Hêmael's and Lilac's sword wall. The last bear realizes it is in its best interest to leave these humanoids and hunt some easier game.
They had Lilac charge a boar when I was out of town?
Poor innocent thing.
They had Lilac charge a boar when I was out of town?
Poor innocent thing.
But dinner was good… ;)
Not for the vegetarian character it wasn't.
Session 15 – April 13th, 2011
end of Rova 4711 AR— Heading back to Stronghold, our leaders have the nasty surprise of discovering that some savage murders have been committed in their capital. Whispers of werewolves are heard amongst the common folks. A little investigation quickly narrows down the list of suspects to only one Ulfen stranger who has been in town for a few days and nights. Scouting through the dark streets of Stronghold, that night, the PCs indeed encounter a werewolf who attacks them before they can even think about trying the diplomatic approach. It does not prove too problematic, though, as Hêmael quickly immobilizes the monster with a successful casting of hold person before he can wreak havoc in their ranks. They quickly bind him with rope and drag him to Stronghold's stronghold.
Once the Ulfen stranger has reverted back to his normal self, the leaders assure him that they will do what they can to free him from his curse. No one yet is powerful enough in the kingdom to remove his curse so he'll have to remain sequestered in the dungeon for the time being.
Lamashan 4711 AR — The expansion of the kingdom progresses regularly, with efforts placed in trying to attract nobles to Gwendor. Not all of them are particularly friendly, though, as to nobles from two Brevyan families decide to settle a feud with a duel to the death in Gwendor that they consider a (backwater) neutral territory. The leaders of Gwendor are very adverse to this idea. Diplomacy works miracles and they are, in the end, able to prevent a dual to the death without upsetting their neighbors and without letting this event become a diplomatic incident.
Notable other events of the month include the PCs gathering their rewards for having dealt with Howl-of-the-North-Wind, and for having freed the fishermen of the scourge of the giant turtle. Oleg takes this opportunity to tell them that he's not interested in a tatzlwyrm's head anymore (that would be the emblem of a backwater inn, no more), and that he'd now settled on a green dragon's head… An obnoxious alchemist, having heard about the troll rumors and the leaders' intentions of dealing with the source of it, explains to them that he's ready to put together a sizable reward in the form of potions to whoever could bring him a waterskin of troll blood.
Lamashan 16 — Having dealt with the kingdom's requirements, the PCs decide to explore this crypt, said to be inhabited by undead, due east of Stronghold. A couple of days ride later, and following the indications provided by Beldame the witch, they reach the entrance of a tumulus. The group quickly starts exploring, causing unrest in a colony of bats that proves more irritation than real concern. The PCs force their way through to reach a small room, its four corners decorated by grimacing faces. A corps lies sprawled on the floor. Most of the leaders are weary of the undead they were told about but Lilac nevertheless goes forward to investigate the corps…
… When, suddenly, dark rays of energy spurt from the grimacing faces, and rays of exhaustion hit most party members, quickly followed by a dozen skeletons emerging from two of the three unexplored tunnels! The combination of Lilac's and Hêmael's channeling quickly turns the tide and the skeletons are transformed into mounts of bones. Since only Iaurinn is exhausted from the rays, they decide to continue their exploration. The two rooms the skeletons were coming from contain nothing of interest but small alcoves covered in mosaics from another time. The last room, on the other hand, hosts a stone catafalque on which rests a withered corpse, its bony hands clutching a broken sword on its chest. The corpse soon starts moving.
The fight against the cairn wight proves one of the hardest the explorers have ever had to win. Quickly drained from part of her energy, Lilac is reluctant to go toe to toe with the undead, whilst channeling does little to weaken it. Iaurinn's spells are weak compared to the resolved of the wight, and Sempor's summons are not much more efficient. In the end, though, good coordination does miracles and they are able to rid the Stolen Land of this undead abomination.
River Runs Red IV
Session 16 – April 27th, 2011
Lamashan 16th (continued) — With no living soul left in the crypt, our leaders take their time looting the tomb of what they identify as an ancient Aldori sword lord, from the time before the dueling school was as formalized at it now is. The broken sword of the dead wight, a primitive version of the current Aldori swords, is further proof of that. It's also quickly identified as a magic item of great power that the general, being the only wielder of such a sword, quickly claim. If only he could find a smith, crafter of magic weapons, to repair it for him…
Quickly dashing through the swarms of bats again, the PCs exit the Lonely Barrow. There is too much light outside, in this late afternoon, for the bats to dare follow. Our explorers decide to continue towards the west, aiming for the "mud bowl" where the witch Beldame told them black rattlecap mushrooms, which would make a very fine addition to her teas, grow.
Lamashan 18th — Having followed the pervading stench of rotten eggs, the PCs reach the mud bowl, a deep valley ensconced in-between high cliffs. The small bubbling pool certainly stinks of geothermal activities, which the elven wizard cannot handle well and sends him puking for a minute or two. Mushrooms grow feet-tall, here, clearly benefitting from the nutrient-laden mud, and some rattlecap mushrooms make their characteristic sounds as the wind rattles their hard spore bags. A mount of rotting vegetation, mud, and mushroom quickly gets the groups attention, but it's sudden eruption into a 15-foot high tendriculos is highly unexpected. With the magister Iaurinn puking and the baroness Lilac surprised, things turn sour… They get even worse when, in an instant, the monster grabs the poor gnome paladin in its mouth, and then quickly gobbles her! The following fight is messy: the magister mainly perseveres at focussing on getting his stomach to settle, Hêmael, as a good general rushes into melee to try and fell the beast, Sempor models the mud around into an earth elemental, and Lilac, thankfully for her, is able to get her dagger out despite the darkness of the tendriculos' belly and to carve her way out of it. But no sooner has she escaped that she ends up in the mouth of the beast again…
The tendriculos is finally felled, though, and with only a few dire wounds, and casualties. Desna's fortune must be with them… The PCs quickly gather a dozen black rattlecap mushrooms, complaining at the fight with the gigantic plant having transformed quite a few of the mushrooms into an unsavory purée. The witch should be happy nevertheless, and she promised a reward…
Lamashan 19th — The PCs finish exploring this region to the south of the Tuskwater Lake, before moving further west towards the Candlemere Lake, whose shores are reputedly haunted, and where a tower is sometimes seen at the center of the lake, when the thick mist parts. They reach the shore of the Candlemere Lake before sunset and, yes, indeed, the keens eyes of the druid quickly spot a small island in the middle of the lake, and a tower erected on it. As the night settles in, the druid has had the time to commune with nature and to learn the water breathing spell. Despite the mist and darkness that are now veiling the lake, they decide to cross towards the island, underwater.
As they set foot on the small island, a few eery balls of light are glowing in the mist. These sometimes move in sudden moves, before completely disappearing. Our explorers start making their way towards the tower and a low building in front on it, with a bent wooden door as its single entrance. The tower appears to be in a perpetual state of crumbling, but before they can investigate its architecture further, screams are heard and ghostly figures run out of the building, through the door, fleeing in utter terror in front of something unseen and causing fear in the hearts of our leaders. But before things get out of hand, the paladin, valiant adversary of fear, sees in these figures the manifestations of undead spirits. She quickly repels them by channeling the light of Arshae. The ghosts disappear.
The PCs enter the building, finding little in it but rubble and deformed skeletons that could be those of humanoid creature, men, elves, dwarves, but whose bones are twisted in unnatural ways. As they proceed further, towards the altar that sits at the end of the lowly building and the wide set of stairs behind it (certainly leading to the tower), they start hearing voices that persuade them that others… their companions… are here to get them and killed them. Lilac and Hêmael, true followers of their gods, are able to shrug off these dark vision, but such is not the case of their two companions who start attacking each other. Spells are exchanged: stinking cloud for flaming sphere, pit for summoned snakes and before they can get their mind back, Iaurinn has fled outside, attempting to kill himself and falling unconscious under his own attempts at hurting himself.
As the others head back outside, having made sure Sempor now recognizes friend from foe, they find one of these eery glowing balls of light floating above the unconscious wizard. Angry at being disturbed, it zaps lightning at Lilac a couple of time, before disappearing completely. And that is as well as the thing was nigh impossible to hit!
The group finally makes its way to the tower and find that it contains a dark pit, and a helicoidal set of stairs reaching a floor, a hundred feet above. Climbing up the stairs, they feel the onslaught of another haunt, before they can actually see the dark, moist tentacles that are rising from the depths below. In spite of all the divine magic they unleash on them, the tentacle reach both Iaurinn and Lilac, ensnaring them at the same time a group of shadow creatures rise from the darkness. A quick fight ensues, threatening Iaurinn like he has never been threatened before, his strengths slowly being syphoned away by the undead creatures. Magic and the few magic weapons the heroes own finally rid the tower of the shadows without too much damage, though.
Climbing the stairs to the last room, our explorers find a completely empty room, lit by the moonlight. The only peculiarities are these runes written on the walls. These are much more powerful than they look as the mere fact of studying them brings both Iaurinn and Lilac on the brink of sanity, mumbling dark words about the veil of reality and Yog-Sothoth… Finding nothing else there, two puzzled Hêmael and Sempor do all they can to get the two others back to the shore of the lake without riling up the wispy lights. With water breathing, they reach their camp again, where they are welcomed by the sight of most of their horses having been slaughtered by a pack of wild beasts that they cannot identify.
The decide to stay nearby for at least a day in the hope of find some of their horses back (they find two), and for Iaurinn and Lilac to get their mind back, which they eventually do.