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10 Fireseek, 581 CY, Adri Wood
We had just saved the rangers from certain death and were cleaning up the mess when Adamane came up with a plan to investigate the raven attacks. He suggested we see an old friend from his adventuring days. We were given a letter of introduction and a name: Ilgrar, a sage of the Eldritch Lords, based out of Rel Deven. The Eldritch Lords rule the city and a large swath of the western lands of the Great Kingdom. He suggested we address any questions regarding Pervost, Tehlei and the Order of the Raven to Ilgrar.
DM: The party needed the letter because nobody is allowed into the Towers of the Eldritch Lords, where Ilgrar was now a sage and scholar. The letter would prove the PC's had some legitimacy to a request to speak with Ilgrar.
11-16 Fireseek, 581 CY, Munevar
We collected the rest of the woodsmen and herded them to Munevar. Adamane handed us the promised letters, a map and wished us good luck. Everybody began training and working on new skills and Isaac continued attempting to craft a composite bow.
DM: There was no immediate hurry to get to Rel Deven, but the party would be wise not to tarry over long.
17 Fireseek to 2 Readying, 581 CY, Munevar
In our absence, strange doings had been afoot in town. Orest of Baalzy had moved out of the inn and got himself an outbuilding of his own to hold services. There is a large shipment of gold coming in the spring to build a shrine. Prince Herrell was informed, and to our surprise, he wasn't yet aware of this development.
DM:This is a result of Orest's following becoming more loyal and no longer in need of the security of a familiar inn. After several instances of harassment by some local layabouts Orest decided a more private location was needed.
3 Readying, 581 CY, Road to Tarrentch
We covered 15 miles in the day, stopped for the night in Wraile. Everyone in town was surprised to see travelers moving in the winter time. We slept in a barn because there is no inn in town. This also marks the end of Prince Herrell's territory. Right before we went to bed, we informed Cedric about the Baalzite shrine going up in Munevar. He was understandably piqued.
4 Readying, 581 CY, Road to Tarrentch
We arrived in Tarrentch in the late afternoon and took rooms at the Goldenfleece Inn. There was also a shrine to Olidammara which Oliver and Galen visited, Galen as a worshipper, Oliver as an observer. Our holier-than-thou priest had to bribe his way into the inn in order to bring his holy symbol (a club) past the front door. Some investigation revealed to us that the Prince of the town is actually a woman. She goes by the name of Lady Ilona. Other rumors floating around the town include a tale of Prince Jichrisen, the lord of Jennden, acquiring more land around his principality diplomatically.
We also heard that raiders have been attacking outlying farms to the north, near the Adri. Lady Ilona is looking for mercenaries to deal with them.
People in the tavern also mentioned that local woodsmen were having trouble with the rangers in the Adri. Seems that the rangers have been harassing locals and causing all kinds of mischief and mayhem. We should ask Adamane about this when we se him again.
DM: Actually the woodsmen are speaking of incidents are occuring to the east. There the people of the Adri are being plagued by monsters of blacked wing. The general belief is that the rangers have angered these creatures by interfereing with affairs beyond their station. The people of the western Adri shun the rangers in fear that the rangers will bring these creatures to them as well.
That night we made ourselves comfortable in the common room, with Galen regaling the crowded room with story and song. Oliver made "friends" with a voluptuous blond woman who showed him the meaning of "a good time." Darcius got twins for himself, leaving Galen to the rest of the tavern wenches. Cedric disapproved and went to bed early.
5 Readying, 581 CY, Tarrentch
Sadly, Oliver seemed to have taken a snake to his breast. The blond woman had disappeared in the night with a large chunk of his money and only the memories of the previous night in reward. Not that it was all bad, they were good memories. Oliver was so angry about this betrayal he stormed straight to the constabulary to report the theft. The sheriff laughed after hearing the description, and as explanation, told Oliver that he had been robbed by the infamous Goldwhite. She is wanted in the western lands with a bounty offered in Innspa for her capture. Oliver was unsatisfied, but secretly pleased he had been chosen as a target for such an acclaimed rogue.
By the time everyone else had rolled off of, umm, bed, it was midday and our sometime leader Galen joined us at table. We planned to get an audience with Lady Ilona by posing as traveling mercenaries who wanted to hire out as "troubleshooters", taking care of the gnoll raiders. (<DM> the party did not discover the raiders were gnolls until after the meeting with Lady Ilona) Our story got us in the gate almost immediately and an audience equally as quick. We explained we were available for the duty if there was a reward for the bandits being brought in. She agreed to a five Ivid per head bounty and told us a little more about the target. They were a group of a dozen gnoll deserters from the northern army. Their path is leading slowly west, and they are projected to enter the lands of Herrell next. A quick conference was taken and Oliver was outvoted with his idea of heading straight on to Rel Deven and leaving the gnolls to the standard defenses of Herrell. The rest of the party thought that two days delay was not a big deal, and our first responsibility was to our homeland.
6 Readying, 581 CY, Tarrentch
We headed north and into the fringe of the Adri, where we tracked the raiders. We assumed that they were nocturnal by nature and would be best left until morning, when they would be groggy and disadvantaged. We set camp and double watches and went to bed. And true to form, the gnolls found us. Half the group charged wildly into the woods after a diversionary group while Isaac and Oliver defended the camp from an attack from the opposite side. We managed to kill nine of the stinking dogmen with minimal damage to ourselves. We collected their two sleds and their armor and headed back to town.
Battle Report
DM: The party tracked the gnolls all day and had almost caught up by the time
night had fallen. When dusk arrived the gnolls were able to smell the party
on the strong prevailing winds that blow from west to east. The wolf-men decided
to hunt the hunters and tried to outflank the party. One group positioned themselves
north of the party with bows and a sheaf of arrows, the remainder prepared to
charge from the south. They hoped the party would try to flush out the archers,
leaving their rear unprotected. The gnolls were getting into position when Cedric
heard the clinking of their scalemail in the darkness. As the party began to
stir the gnolls decided to attack. Deadly arrows whisked through the night,
mercifully off target. Not wanting to wait and see if the gnolls aim improved
Darcius and Angele charged into the dark forest in search of their assailants.
Galen began to run in another direction, apparently confused by the darkness.
Oliver guessed that this was a lure to draw the party into the darkness and
took cover to await the rest of the gnoll forces attack. The rest of the party
followed suit.
Having extinguished the campfire earlier so as not to attract unwanted attention
the party was in darkness, Ryvvik decided to remedy this and immediately a soft
light shone from his staff, revealing the remainder of the gnoll force approaching
the camp from the rear! Galen, apparently not confused and simply trying to
gain a tactical position, began to sing a Midnight Lullaby and the gnolls who
heard his song began to drowse. Meanwhile arrows continued to barrage the party,
many of which where forced away by Ryvvik's powerful magic.
For Darcius and Angele the battle was joined. The gnoll archers dropped their
small bows and took up strange axes which proved far more dangerous. The beasts
also proved to be far larger than Darcius anticipated and he quickly realized
he was in for a ferocious fight. In the camp the gnolls rushed from the shadowy
woods, howling and snarling. The group of defenders backed around Ryvvik, even
as Issac loosed a deadly sheaf. The arrow that would have killed a man staggered
the gnoll, but the wound was not fatal and it responded with a mighty axe blow,
forcing Issac to abandon his bow and dodge the swing, else keep his bow and
lose his head.
Darcius and Angele were outnumbered and blind to the gnolls in the dark forest.
They called for help and Galen rushed forward. A well aimed axe blow ricocheted
off of Darcius's studded armour, bruising his shoulder. Angele cried out in
pain as a gnolls axe sliced open her leg, something had to be done or the two
warriors would fall. Weaving behind a tree that she hoped was between the gnolls
and herself Angele called for light from her goddess. The feral animal eyes
of gnolls were revealed all around the two combatants…
Issac pounded his foe with a heavy oaken club, breaking it's snout and sending
it whinning to the ground. Oliver deflected his foes mighty blow with a barrage
of spear swings, however the waepon was unfamiliar to him and he was unable
to thrust it with enough force to pierce the gnolls armour. Ryvvik seeing the
trouble Darcius had gotten himself into raised his staff and blasted one of
the now visible creatures with deadly red force spheres.
Finally the battle turned in the parties favour. After locking axes with the
gnoll Darcius was able to prevent it from severing his arm, though the blow
still cut him badly. With axes still tangled Darcius yanked the axe out of his
foes hand and buried his axe into it's skull. Angele stabbed her attacker in
the gut, killing the beasts fighting spirit and sending it staggering into the
darkness. Galen dispatched the slumbering gnoll, and the last one fled, having
lost all advantage.
After a sickinging crack to head a second gnoll fell at Isaac's feet and Oliver,
having abandoned his spear after catching a gnolls axe in it (truth
is, I kept using the blunt end as the spear point :P), stabbed his foe
in it's torso with a half sword and ripped it's innards out. The remaining two
beasts fled, now being the outnumbered ones, and harried the party no more.
7 Readying, 581 CY, Tarrentch and south
We returned to Tarrentch and claimed the bounty on the gnolls before heading out of town. Oliver was still on the lookout for Goldwhite and the rest of the group were finding it getting a little old by this time.
8 & 9 Readying, 581 CY, on the Road to Ralsand
We stayed one night on the side of the Harp river and the next day we stopped briefly in the hamlet of Kali Point. We camped that night alongside the river again.
10 Readying, 581 CY, road to Ralsand (First night of Full Moon)
We didn't travel today as the temperature dropped sharply. Our camp became small havens of personal safety and movement was kept to a minimum. Night came swiftly enough and with it, respite from the cold. The cold snap broke and returned to seasonal.
That
night:
Cedric was rudely awakened by a small black figure plunging it's beak into his
shoulder, near his neck. He noticed that his tent mate, Isaac, was absent before
he was fully engaged by the small black raven-man. Galen was also attacked at
almost the same time by another of the raven-men, who burst from the snow. It
took a minute before the rest of us could react, but Darcius was nowhere to
be found either. Oliver's reaction was to tackle the tent where Isaac and Cedric
had camped, collapsing the canvas over the two combatants. The raven-man burst
up through the tent and both bird-things took flight. They appeared to be three
feet tall, half men, half raven. We recognized them as the same things that
attacked us in Delcouth Keep and in the Adri, while protecting the woodsmen.
(Hey, it just occurred to me that we may have big problems
when we get back to Munevar, since more than one of those woodsmen were injured
by these things, not that I'm trying to make things harder for us.) Soon
everyone was engaged by the flying vermin and still no sign of Isaac or Darcius.
Had they been taken by these things? Or wait, it kind of hit us that these things
just might be Darcius and Isaac, and we were definitely worried about that prospect.
Our weapons had almost no effect on the creatures, though Cedric clerical powers
were able to hurt and repel them, while Ryvvik blasted at them with gouts of
flame. Wounds began piling up and Oliver was the first to drop. Angele abandoned
her defense to scoop him up and drag him into the underbrush, taking a wound
in the process (Thanks, one I owe you). Galen
distracted the ravens with a sound effect of more men coming to help us and
we fell back behind a defensive screen of magic, into the darkness. Oliver was
healed back to consciousness and we hid, waiting for morning.
11 Readying, 581 CY, road to Ralsand (Second night of full moon)
We returned to the campsite in the morning and found Darcius and Isaac asleep in tattered clothes, further confirming our suspicion that they were, in fact, the very same raven-men that attacked us. Galen elaborated on the subject, explsining that he knew of a creature affected by lunacy, known as a lycanthrope. These creatures were also known as weres, in our case were-ravens. They are susceptible to silver and belladonna is somehow involved in curing it(at least that's what we thought), though he didn't know any more about it. Needless to say, they were unimpressed.
It took about half the day to clean up the mess, but a council was held as soon as possible. We decided it would be in our best interest to split up, Isaac and Darcius would remain here for a day then follow the rest of us to Ralsand. We would meet at the Twin Harps.
That night Darcius and Isaac turned again, and when they woke, they were east of the road, and underclothed. They made their way back to camp in the morning.
12 Readying, 581 CY, Road to Ralsand (Third night of Full moon)
The main group proceeded to Ralsand at best speed, while Darcius and Isaac trailed a half-day behind. Ralsand was reached that night and we bedded down at the Twin Harps.
That night the two trailing fellows changed again, killing a vagabond and eating part of the body. Isaac and Darcius both woke up the next morning in a trashed camp, next to a mangled body.
DM: I think the
phrase was "You awaken in the morning in a campsite that doesn't belong
to you. Nearby is the body of a man, likely a vagabond, who has been savagly
killed and most of his guts are missing. Also you are not very hungry this morning"
Sanity is overrated anyways…
